My mother looked around nervously, "I-I..."

The Queen smiled at her reassuringly, "Sharon. What do you think? Should we find the Marquis guilty? Even though he did remove you from the family tree, he is still your father."

The Marquis spoke quickly, "That's right! Sharon, I know I treated you poorly. But I am still your father. Think about your mother. Think about your family. Think about how much they would be hurt if you made the wrong decision."

My mother looked at my father with a panicked expression. Although Kane wanted to rip out the Marquis's throat, he knew he couldn't make this decision on my mother's behalf. He smiled warmly at her a placed his arm around her to comfort her. She looked down and pressed her lips together.

The Marquis noticed her hesitating and spoke quickly, "Do not forget about everything I have done for you. When you were a little girl, I spoiled you relentlessly. I gave you everything you wanted."

My mother's face twitched. She turned up her head to meet the Marquis's eyes. For the first time since she had been disowned, the fire in her eyes returned. She fearlessly and ferociously glared at the man who had hurt her in so many ways.

Her tone was spiteful, "You are not my father. The Blythe's are not my family either. Or did you forget that when you all cruelly threw me away like trash?" My mother reached up and pulled off the ribbon that hid her scar. She shouted, "You were the one who would rather I died than go against your wishes! You were the one who convinced the Earl's son to attack me! I won't let you torment me any longer."

Her voice echoed off the wall, "I find the Marquis guilty of high treason!"

The Marquis's face paled, "S-Sharon! Do you realize they will kill your mother as well?!"

Sharon sneered, "Mother knew all about what you did to me. However, she never tried to stop you. You both deserve death."

I smiled with pride. That's my ferocious mother.

The King nodded, "Very well. Under Lady Sharon's decision, the Marquis and Marquette will be hanged. Guards. Take them away to the dungeon."

As the Guards pulled away the two shouting their innocence, I rushed over to my mother. I grabbed her hands and smiled at her proudly, "Mother! You did it!"

My mother smiled slightly and gave a single nod, "I did."

I giggled, "So how does it feel to get your revenge?"

My mother paused and her face froze as a realization came over her. She stuttered out, "S-Seri... Don't tell me... You planned this?!"

I nodded, "Yup. Although Penelope's outburst was a surprise, everything else went according to my plan." I swept my eyes over the neck of my mother. I smiled faintly, "I'm glad you were able to move on from your past. Maybe now you can have a much brighter future."

"Seri..." My mother went to speak, but she was interrupted by the Queen.

"Seri. You performed so well. I have never met anyone as capable as you. I think you truly are suited to be Queen."

I turned to her and forced a smile, "No, my Queen. Unfortunately, what they accused me of wasn't necessarily wrong. I am much too vulgar to become a graceful Queen like yourself. Prince William is my friend, so naturally I will lend a helping hand. When I discovered they were trying to discredit him, I decided to beat them at their own game. While Dante is William's sword who fights on the frontline, I am William's knife that hides in the shadow. I will always help William through less direct ways."

The Queen nodded solemnly, "Well... I can't force you into anything. While I would really want you to marry my son, I suppose being his confidant isn't bad either. You and Prince William will be the same as Simon and the King."

"Exactly." I froze, "Wait. Why will I be like Simon?!"

She continued ignoring me, "I guess it was the right decision to allow you to become Prince William's personal Knight along with Dante."

"Personal Knight?!"

"Actually, I do not even see the purpose of forcing you to take the Knight exam. Today you have shown just how capable you are. Not only did you protect Prince William against the nobles who wished to discredit him, but you also did so without overstepping your bounds. We can just have you take the oath of Knighthood right now."

My mind swarmed with the sudden attack, "T-The oath of Knighthood?"

The King explained, "By being the personal Knight to Prince William, you will be agreeing to serve him with your entire being." The King nodded and a servant handed over a scroll. I read it and my face turned ashen.

I read it aloud in disbelief, "You must be willing to die for your Master and follow him in death. You will remain by his side at all times, only getting 5 hours off a night to sleep. You can not visit another person on duty. You must always act under the Master's discretion and never independently."

I screamed, "You can not drink on duty!?"

When would I have time to drink if I only got 5 hours off a night?!

I looked up with a shocked expression, "What the hell are these demands?!"

Everyone looked at me in surprise. The Queen spoke, "These are the rules every Knight must follow. How did you not know this?"

I stared at the piece of paper speechlessly. Dante was familiar with this, so he wasn't too surprised. William looked dismayed as he realized that I had never once read about the rules that Knights must follow once they enter knighthood.

The King chuckled, "Should we proceed with the Knighting ceremony?"

I looked up in a panic, "Wait wait wait! I'm not ready!!!"

The Queen smiled, "I believe you are more than ready to serve under Prince William."

I spoke quickly, "But why must I serve William?! Don't I have a choice in the matter!?"

William sighed in exasperation. Queen Luna's face twitched as she explained, "What did you think it meant when Prince William recommended you for knighthood?"

"I thought it meant that I could train..."

And eventually wear pants.

William explained in an irritated tone, "It meant that you would become a personal Knight for me. Anyone who recommends another means that they want them to become their personal Knight."

My head hurt from the information, "B-But.... I...."

I didn't actually want to lose my freedom!!! This system is more like slavery!!! SLAVERY!

My father smiled at me with a large grin, "Aren't you happy Seri? You will be the first women to be accepted into Knighthood! It is such a high honor!"

I tossed the paper and shouted loud enough for the entire room to hear, "I relinquish my path to Knighthood!!!"

A collective silence spread across the room. Everyone stared at me completely dumbstruck. Dante broke out into laughter and quickly tried to stifle his chuckles.

The Queen's face looked as if it would break, "S-Seri... What do you mean?!"

"I mean that I refuse to become a Knight. I quit. I give up. I'm done."

My mother frowned, "Then what do you plan to do?! You have already attended school to become a Knight! It's too late to pursue another career path!!!"

"Then I hereby drop out of the Academy!"

My mother fainted and my father quickly caught her. He started to fan her face with a panicked expression.

I pointed to the headmaster, "You hear that old man?! I am dropping out!"

"What did she say?!" The headmaster was stunned and turned to Joel who was next to Lona. Lona hid her face in her hands in shame. Her pregnant stomach showing under her dress.

Joel shouted in his ears, "She said she is dropping out of the Academy."

The headmaster's face twitched and he hit Joel with his cane, "I am not deaf! I heard her the first time!!"

Joel rubbed his head with a smile, "Then why'd you ask?"

Lona suddenly wondered if she should abandon this shameless man.

The Queen's voice cracked, "B-But you can't drop out!! You must become a Knight! You just said that you were Prince William's knife!! Was that a lie?!"

I shook my head and spoke confidently, "It was not a lie. I am still willing to be William's knife and confidant. Except I will do it in a different way."

William finally spoke up, "Which way?"

"I will become a mercenary." I stated assertively.

The King chuckled in a lively manner, "A female mercenary? I suppose you would be the first one."

I smiled at the King, "Do you approve of my request?"

He looked at me carefully, "Is this what you want?"

"Yes."

The King beamed ear to ear, "Then I hereby grant you the title of an Imperial Mercenary."

In this world, almost anyone can become a mercenary. However, an Imperial Mercenary is a special position. It meant that the high ranked nobles and the Royal family trusted you and could employ you. It was the highest position a mercenary could have. The only way to become one, would be to have permission from the King.

Dante stepped forward, "My King."

Queen Luna held her head trying not to faint, "No... Not you too..."

The King smiled, "What is it? Feel free to ask."

Dante spoke without hesitation, "Please grant me the position of an Imperial Mercenary as well."

I looked at Dante in surprise. Although I was not sure what happened to Dante in the original novel after the King's death, I know for a fact he became William's personal Knight. It was only after Dante was revealed to be the son of the King that Dante ended up leaving William's side. How did the story manage to skip ahead? Did Dante know the truth?

The King hesitated and looked at William. Actually, everyone looked at William once Dante asked this. Any outsider would see this as William losing major face in front of everyone. Not only did I refuse to be his personal knight, but Dante who has always been by his side refused as well. It was like a slap to the face to poor William.

However, William didn't seem to mind much. He spoke in a clear and loud voice, "I discussed this with Dante beforehand. He will still be employed to protect me most of the time, however he will be able to enjoy the benefits that an Imperial Mercenary position offers. I believe that a personal Knight position is too demanding. Even though Dante is extremely capable, I don't want him to burn out from constantly watching over me. I would rather my sword be sharp than rusty."

What William said made sense. A personal Knight really was too much stress and challenging. Many Knights have been known to burn out from the stress which put their Master in a compromising situation. William was just using this fact to make it seem like it was his idea rather than Dante's. However, this was actually not the case.

But they didn't need to know this.

The King nodded, "Very well. Since Prince William has already approved it then I will also grant you the position of an Imperial Mercenary."

Dante glanced at me and smirked slightly. I fought off the urge to pinch his face.

The King spoke to the both of us, "Come find me in a few days. I will have the documents prepared." He sighed, "Right now I need to figure out how to deal with all of these crimes committed."

I leaned forward and whispered to him, "Your Majesty, I know that there are a lot of nobles on that list and getting rid of all of them would put the Kingdom's economy at risk. So I took the liberty of pointing out the people who will learn from their mistakes and be obedient. Perhaps you could just give them a fine?"

The King stroke his chin with a large smile, "I'm impressed. It truly is a shame you won't become Queen."

No, it's not a shame at all.

Dante and I bowed respectively to him as we watched him walk away. The Queen sighed, "It's really a shame you won't become my daughter Seri... If you ever change your mind, please let Prince William know right away."

Dante's face turned dark at this. William glared at his mother, "Mother. Please stop."

She waved him off, "Fine. I will stop. You three behave yourselves."

My father picked up my mother, "I will bring your mother back to Lona's to recuperate. However, we need to have a nice long chat about what you intend to do for the future."

I sighed, "Yes Daddy." As I watched him walk away I shouted, "This doesn't mean that I will take over your business!"

He shouted back, "There's still time to change your mind!"

William glanced at me, "So you'll still work for me?"

I nodded and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry little tsundere. Dante can protect you if you're attacked by swords. But I will protect you if you are attacked by words. Just think of me as your most trusted advisor."

William nodded, "Very well. Once I become King I will do just that."

I bowed, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find an accountant for my business."

William raised an eyebrow as I walked away, "What business?"

Dante followed close behind me and I found Mathias in the crowd. I smiled at him as he tensed up slightly. "Matty. I need an accountant for my businesses. You were really helpful pulling together all the documents I needed today. What would you say about becoming my assistant? You wouldn't have to meet with any people or anything. All I ask is that you remain tight lipped."

Mathias spoke slowly, "H-How much money?"

I whispered in his ear.

His face turned dark. "I... Accept."

I nodded, "Great. Once I get everything settled I will find you. However, right now I need to figure out where I'm going to be living."

I quickly walked out of the room and Dante followed after me. Mary sighed as she moved to stand next to William, "I can't believe Seri just left..."

William watched as we left with a complicated expression. His heart felt heavy, but when he glanced at Mary, it didn't seem to feel as bad. Being around her was surprisingly refreshing.

Mary added, "There's still plenty of food left, so you would think she would stay longer."

The corner of William's mouth twitched as a smile threatened to form. He found her airheaded behavior to be quite interesting. "Yeah...." He hesitated then looked away from Mary with a frown, "If you want... We could probably dance..."

Mary looked at William in surprise, "You want to dance with me?!"

"...No." William lied with a scowl on his face.

Mary ignored his answer and nodded her head, "Then let's dance."