IVCH 01

Chapter : 1

“Examinee number 316, Chloe Evergreen!”

‘That’s my number, right?’

“…Ah, yes!”

It took me a moment to realize I was being called, still not fully used to the name “Chloe Evergreen.”

I brushed off the examiner’s displeased glare with an awkward smile and stepped forward. A squire assisting the knight selection exam handed me a cheap iron sword.

I took it on reflex, slightly dazed.

‘What is this?’

I knew it was a sword.

But it was nothing like the ones I was used to.

I had learned swordsmanship as a hobby, but I had always used high-grade blades custom-made for me.

The dull weight and rough texture of the cheap iron sword felt unfamiliar.

It was clearly a sword in shape, but it didn’t belong in the same category as the one resting neatly in my palace storage rack.

While I was still confused, the examiner monotonously repeated what he had already explained dozens of times today.

“Pour your maximum aura into it, then strike the rock over there.”

It was a poorly made iron sword, full of impurities and likely not very durable.

‘If I hit that rock with this, it’ll definitely break…’

But even though I had been raised sheltered and lacked common sense in many areas, I knew that questioning things here would mean immediate disqualification.

So I tilted my head slightly, as subtly as possible, and obediently raised the sword.

‘So the test is to break it, I guess.’

Just before I poured aura into the blade and swung down, the examiner—who had been buried in grading documents all this time—suddenly looked at me.

“Wait.”

My arm froze awkwardly in midair.

“Pardon? Why? I mean—what is it?”

I asked back in confusion, and the examiner gestured irritably with his chin.

“Setting aside the glasses… can you even see with your hair like that?”

I pushed up my glasses, which had slipped down to the bridge of my nose, with my index finger, and swept my bangs aside.

“I can see just fine!”

The examiner flipped through my application documents with obvious dissatisfaction.

He was clearly checking the vision section.

His eyes moved back and forth several times over a certain line, but I remained confident.

‘Everything should be normal.’

In fact, my eyesight was better than most.

The glasses and my messy hair were both just measures to conceal my appearance.

It’s embarrassing to say this myself, but portraits of our royal siblings—blessed with exceptional looks—were spread throughout the Empire.

And since my coming-of-age ceremony required me to live for a year disguised as someone else, I couldn’t reveal my real face.

But the risk of failing the ceremony appeared immediately.

“That much hair is fine. But if your eyesight is good, could you take those off?”

The examiner nodded toward my precious glasses.

“Imperial knights are required to maintain dignity.”

He added this as if it were a perfectly reasonable concern.

I flinched at the justification.

As expected from an artifact taken from the Imperial treasure vault, the glasses were at least two hundred years out of style.

In other words, they were so outdated that they severely undermined “dignity.”

But if I took them off, my identity would be exposed. And if that happened, I would fail the ceremony.

Just imagining being the first imperial royal to fail the coming-of-age ceremony sent chills down my spine.

“No, I can’t!”

I clutched the glasses tightly and shouted.

The examiner’s expression, which had merely been displeased, turned noticeably more serious.

An examinee defying instructions over something as simple as removing ugly glasses—this was a perfect way to get flagged.

I quickly searched for an excuse.

‘Ah… this is a bit cheap.’

But no better excuse came to mind.

I closed my eyes tightly and blurted out:

“They’re my late grandfather’s keepsake!”

‘Well, technically it was from the imperial vault…’

It must have been passed down from a previous emperor anyway.

The examiner’s cold gaze softened considerably.

“Hmmph.”

He looked away, coughing awkwardly.

“A keepsake… then just wear them.”

Surprisingly sentimental, he seemed to imagine a story behind the glasses.

“Yes! Thank you!”

Before he could change his mind, I quickly replied and lifted my sword again.

‘Let’s finish this quickly.’

I gathered my scattered aura.

Hoo—

A faint pink glow slowly formed along the blade—barely visible, even only to me.

Then I swung down at the rock.

Clang!

The sound echoed like metal striking metal.

‘Ouch, my hand…’

Still, a clear crack formed on the rock.

Crackling fractures spread across its surface. The impact had definitely landed.

For a cheap iron sword, this wasn’t a bad result.

As I quietly shook my stinging hand in satisfaction, murmurs rose behind me.

Was something wrong?

“Do I… have to completely break it?”

My pupils trembled.

‘Am I going to fail the knight entrance exam for being too weak?’

Sir Calix said I should pass easily at my level…

Was he just flattering me because I’m his superior’s daughter?

While I doubted Sir Calix, fortunately my fears were proven wrong.

The examiner, after staring at the cracked rock for a while, calmly announced:

“Pass.”

“Yes!!”

I clenched both fists in celebration.

“You’re happy even though you broke a spare weapon and there’s no replacement?!”

The examiner let out a dumbfounded laugh.

* * *

…So swordsmanship is only fun when it’s a hobby, huh.

“358 days left.”

Each day feels like a month…

The first three or four days were actually fun.

Having spent my life restricted for safety reasons, the knight order building was fascinating.

Pretending to be “Chloe Evergreen” felt like role-playing.

But training was brutal, and rumors about how I had passed the entrance exam spread quickly, making life in the order much harder.

“358 days…”

As I sighed while counting the remaining days, a sharp voice rang out behind me.

“Hey, rookie! Can’t you hear me?”

“Yes! I can hear you!”

I answered sharply, already quite accustomed to the hierarchy after just a week.

“How many times do I have to call you? You’re spacing out already?”

It was Sir Hugo, my assigned mentor.

He was somewhat old-fashioned, but still relatively kind among senior knights. However, he sounded irritated today.

Still, the scolding didn’t last long.

“You know Sir Elias Blake is coming as the new commander next week, right?”

‘Why would Elias…?’

But saying I didn’t know would only prolong the conversation.

“Yes! I know!”

Sir Hugo gestured toward the direction of the commander’s office.

“He’s coming to our miserable 10th Knight Order, so things must be stressful for him. Go clean the commander’s office. Make it spotless.”

I had already learned in one week that asking “Why?” never ended well here.

And saying this wasn’t official work hours wouldn’t help either.

“Yes, understood!”

I had never cleaned anything before, but I answered anyway.

Every time I asked “why,” the seniors got angry.

Sir Hugo seemed slightly surprised at my quick acceptance after a week of resistance.

Patting my shoulder, he said in the warmest tone I had heard from him:

“You’re finally learning to adapt.”

Knights grow into sharp, quick individuals by serving seniors during training or apprenticeship.

‘Meanwhile, I…’

The youngest princess of the Empire.

No succession conflict because my family gets along too well.

Everyone around me—maids, tutors, friends—was kind, gentle, and positive.

Because of that upbringing, even though I tried to be attentive and polite, other knights saw me as the very definition of “those kids these days.”

I was even praised just for behaving slightly obediently.

Sir Hugo added, glancing around as if sharing a secret:

“You know the new commander is best friends with His Highness the Crown Prince, right?”

‘I know. That Crown Prince is my older brother.’

We even used to play together when we were younger.

‘Though we got awkward as we grew up.’

“Yes!”

As I answered briefly while thinking, Sir Hugo lowered his voice further.

“Even if he’s skilled, people complain he’s too young for such a position, so he’s been assigned to the 10th Knight Order. But in my opinion, he’ll move up within a year. Make sure you leave a good impression. I’m saying this for your own good.”

Sir Hugo gave me his advice with exaggerated seriousness.

I already knew Elias, but for Chloe Evergreen—the suspected nepotism hire from a commoner background—it was valuable advice.

“Yes, sir!”

Smiling brightly, I replied.

Sir Hugo patted my shoulder once more before leaving.

I headed toward the commander’s office to try this “cleaning” task.

“Should work out somehow.”

Trying to stay optimistic, I pushed open the door to the commander’s office.

“…Huh?”