The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)

MARIUS

"For that reason, there shall be no pork dishes at the Autumn Festival this year," I told the room full of disgruntled members of the cooking club, including Thomas.

"But Marius—pork pies have proven to be extremely popular at the Academy’s festivals, traditionally. They are one of the signature festival foods that represent the Academy. Many visitors look forward to them," the head of the cooking club, Erika, said.

I could understand her reasoning. I remembered the skewers that Skylark taught me to eat as traditional festival food when we were at Hoffberg. A popular festival food with tradition missing would disappoint many for sure.

At the same time, the president had been stressing repeatedly how important it was that the festival satisfied the special guest in every way possible. The reasoning was simple—the lady did not like pork, not only because of its taste, but she had a particular aversion to cooking and eating pork in general, the reasons for which we mere students weren’t given.

"I’m sorry, but this is a special requirement for this year’s festival. I do understand it is important to uphold tradition, but sometimes there are exceptions, and this is one of those exceptions. We are facing extraordinary circumstances and very specific requirements for this festival," I tried to explain as reasonably as possible.

All the while, I couldn’t help but notice Thomas’s glare, which had been fixed on me for the entire conversation I was having with Erika.

"You are really limiting our options here. Pork pies are one thing, but a traditional festival skewer won’t be complete without pork either. The whole idea of a festival skewer is that it includes all kinds of meat," Erika argued back.

I didn’t like that it was phrased as ’me’ limiting their options. I was merely here as a representative, but picking on that would have made it appear that I was here just because I was forced to—that I was making requests that I did not believe in. That wasn’t how one should represent the decisions of the student council.

"I plead for your understanding that this is for the benefit of the Academy as a whole. Where one option closes, other possibilities arise. Perhaps this is a chance for the cooking club to create new types of festival food that don’t use pork but are just as great," I said.

"Whose idea is this?" Thomas, standing among the crowd of cooking club members, raised his hand and asked.

"That is not for us to discuss," I drew a line.

"So we are supposed to change the tradition for the sake of ONE guest that we don’t even know? That’s ridiculous!" Thomas raised his voice.

There were murmurs and nods of agreement.

"This is for the greater good, Thomas," I said firmly.

"How is everyone pandering to one person a ’greater good’?" a girl from the crowd shouted out, which was met with applause.

The conversation had run its course.

"We are here to become Royal Knights—hundreds of us aspiring to serve and protect the Royal Family. We are meant to prioritize those who matter more to the Empire."

That made the room go cold and silent.

And I felt a knot in my heart.

I spoke the truth.

But why am I feeling this way?

And why am I thinking of Skylark?

Erika then turned to face her members, clapped her hands three times, and said,

"Right. No pork this festival. Let’s come up with new menus that people will remember for years!"

There was applause but no cheer. Thomas stood in the middle, his eyes cold. He didn’t look angry—just empty.

I left the cooking club room and headed back to the student council.

"How did it go?" Luka, who was going over the budget sheets for the upcoming festival, asked me, looking up from his papers as I entered the room.

"They have agreed to the no-pork rule," I reported.

"It’s not like they had an option to say no," said Avril, somewhat sarcastically, but there was no malice in her voice.

"Good work, nevertheless," the president said.

"Maybe we should send Marius for everything," Luka added with a chuckle.

"Right, then let’s give the song list to the choir. Marius can do it," Avril said.

"You know anyone in the choir?" Hilda asked me.

"Yes, I have a friend who joined."

"Must be a good singer. Their audition isn’t easy to pass," Luka muttered, going back to his budget sheets.

"Pass Marius the song list," Mikael said to Hilda, who quietly handed over a sheet of paper to me.

"A song list?" I asked.

"These are the songs the special guest would enjoy hearing," the president said casually.

I hesitated a little before I spoke.

"President, some... at the cooking club were suggesting that the Academy was doing too much for this special guest."

"Thank you for the report. And that is the song list," Mikael said flatly.

"Do you also feel that way?" Hilda asked me this time.

"I can’t say if it is right or wrong. But it does feel extraordinary," I answered truthfully.

The president leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands behind his head.

He said to the room,

"Maybe you guys would understand the situation better if you knew who this special guest is."

"President, it is confidential information," Hilda objected immediately.

"The Second Consort will grace us with her presence at the Autumn Festival."

"President!" Hilda slammed the desk and stood up.

"Take a seat, Hilda," the president said calmly. Hilda duly obeyed, albeit with a delay.

"It goes without saying that you should not reveal this to anyone. But it should give you a clear conviction in what you do. There is no higher honor for a Royal Knight than serving the Royal Family."

We were all silent for a long time as the president’s words lingered in the air.

My heart beat faster, untied from the knot.

It really was an honor.

And I won’t fail.

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