When the Daffodil Blooms

CHAPTER 6

"Your Highness, General Castella is now here."

"Alright. Then tell them to start the preparation now."

Butler Dennie bows her head and temporarily leaves the Crown Prince's side to convey his orders. After that, she quickly returns to her post near the princess. So far, everything is happening according to their plans today. Princess Andrea is sitting quietly on her seat while her fingers are secretly fiddling on her new favorite necklace, the nobles are quietly waiting for the star of this event to enter this room, the knights are properly aligned on their posts and the weather today is just right.

Today, Prince Marius will lead the ceremony for the new General Commander of the Solaris Knights. Usually, the emperor is the one who has to do these things. But unfortunately, Emperor Halil Demitria, the current emperor of their empire has been sick for years now. According to the healers, their emperor's body is turning weak and rumors are spreading that his remaining days are already counted.

Fortunately, they already have a reliable and stable Crown Prince that will sit on the throne if something bad to their emperor. Aside from Princess Andrea, Prince Marius has no other sibling that can fight him to get the throne. The princess is not suitable for politics and she is a pampered job. Every time they are reminded of this, the people will always say that the Crown Prince is truly destined to become the most powerful person in their empire.

Since today's occasion is an official and important event, Prince Marius is now dressed in his official black uniform ornamented with gold accessories. Opposite him, Princess Andrea is wearing a white dress with silver and Count accessories around her neck. The pure white dress with Counts on it is making the princess's beauty look purer than before. With her quiet temperament and the gentle expression on her face, many noblemen are yearning to get her attention even once.

Too bad that only two people can pique the princess's attention.

Soon, everyone heard the loud trumpets signaling the arrival of the main character of this event. When the knights open the huge doors, a man wearing a pristine white military uniform enters the room. There are several medals clipped on his uniform that proved his achievements as a knight. After noticing his clothes, the people curiously looked at his face next.

He has midnight blue hair that the young ladies always compare to the velvet skies every night. His amethyst eyes are calm and only looking straight at the Crown Prince that is waiting for him in front. His steps are steady but a bit heavy which is understandable since he trains heavily and participates in a lot of wars for his empire. He also has tan skin and a muscular body that adds to his beautiful physique as a man.

This man is Aster Castella, the new General Commander of the Solaris Knight starting today.

Aster Castella became an official knight at the age of fifteen and participated in a war when he was sixteen. But before he becomes a knight, Aster Valentine is also the future Grand Duke of his family. He is the only son of their current Grand Duke who is a relative of their emperor.

Many people, including the other knights, ridiculed Aster because of his young age. Some even spread a malicious rumor saying Aster used his connection and wealth as the Grand Duke's son to become a Solaris Knight. But this rumor was wiped out when the young knights offered the head of their enemy's General Commander to their emperor which symbolized their County victory. It was said that Aster goes straight to their enemy's camp and kills their General Commander to finish the war that was expected to last for a year.

Since then, no one has tried to challenge Aster's ability. They also forget the fact that he is younger than them. On the battlefield, age, gender, and status are all nothing. You need to have enough strength, patience, determination, and bravery if you want to be one of the people who will survive it.

When General Aster arrives in front of Prince Marius, he bows his upper body and properly greets the prince. After that, he stands up and glances at the left side of the hall. Aster feels a little disappointed when he discovers the person he's expecting to see today is not here. But he quickly schooled his expression and lowered his head a little to show his respect for the royal family.

"General Aster Castella, please come forward."

With the Crown Prince's order, Aster moves his feet to get closer to the prince. And without saying a word, he kneels his left knee in front of the prince and puts his right fist on his chest. Closing his eyes, the young knight also lowers his head and waits for the prince to start their Knight's Oath and Blessings.

Prince Marius motions his head and his royal attendant moves closer to him while carefully holding a sword in his hands. The prince checks the sword first before he carefully removes it from its sheathe. Then he lifts the sword for everyone present in this room to see it. After that, Prince Marius carefully put the sword on Aster's left shoulder.

"This is glory."

The prince moves the sword on his right shoulder.

"This is loyalty."

Then he moves the sword next to the top of Aster's head.

"And this is faith."

When Prince Marius lifts the sword again, the bright sunlight coming from their glass ceiling shines on its smooth and sharp edges.

"I, Marius Iyrl Demitria, am now officially making Aster Castella the General Commander of the Solaris Knight."

After that, Aster opens his eyes and looks at Prince Marius. It is now his turn to give his oath to the prince and his empire. Aster detaches the sword from his waist and removes it from its sheathe. Then he shows it to Prince Marius and bows his head.

"I, Aster Castella, swear to give my loyalty, faith, and strength to the Gerdiva Empire. I will protect the weak and be fair to everyone. I will prioritize the safety of our empire and stop whoever wants to destroy its peace. This is my knight's oath."

After that, Aster offers his sword to Prince Marius. The prince accepts it and exchanges it with the sword he used to give his blessing to the young knight. With this, Aster Castella is now the new General Commander of the Solaris Knights. He has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders to carry starting today.

The people present inside all stand up and clap their hands. They are all greeting and congratulating the new General Commander. But Aster only shows them a calm expression on his face as if this ceremony is just a normal occasion for him.

After the ceremony, a huge banquet is waiting for the guests. Only the people who received the invitation from the royal family can attend this banquet. These people are either influential or have a strong connection with the royal family. The faction that supports Crown Prince Marius is also invited to this banquet.

Naturally, General Aster is also at this banquet. Many people are toasting their drinks and congratulating him on his promotion. Some even give him huge praise just to get his favor. But none of it can bring an effect on the young General. He simply thanked them for their words before leaving them with an excuse to meet the other guests.

While the banquet is still ongoing, the huge door suddenly opens. A woman wearing a military uniform enters the hall with her quiet steps. Unlike the pristine white military uniform of the Solaris Knights, the woman is wearing a raven-black uniform with a few gold ornaments with it. She also has a few medals in her uniform that show her own achievement.

But unlike the newly appointed General Commander, this woman is covering half of her face with a black mask. They can only see her chestnut-colored hair and a pair of silver-gray eyes. When she steps inside the hall, no one dares to stop her or get in her way. Soon, the woman arrives in front of the Crown Prince.

The woman in a black military uniform slowly kneels on her left knee on the carpeted floor. Then she bows her head in front of the prince. She also put her right fist on her chest which symbolizes a knight's loyalty to the lord they are serving.

"I apologize for being late, Your Highness. The pests that I saw earlier were a bit troublesome to handle. I will accept any punishments that you'll give for my tardiness."

"Stand up, General Valentine. I should be the one apologizing for giving you a mission on this festive day."

The woman slowly stands up and looks at Prince Marius who has a smile on his lips. When he moves his hand, a royal servant gives him a glass of champagne. Prince Marius looks at their guests and raises his hand that is holding the glass.

"I am raising this toast for General Commander Aster Castella of the Solaris Knights and General Commander Rovira Valentine of the Nocturnus Knights. These two strong talents are the General Commanders who will bring peace and unity to the Gerdiva Empire."

The guests' eyes are now on the female General who entered the party hall. Some are looking at her with wonder and respect while the others just give her a glance before they continue what they are doing a while ago.

General Commander Rovira Valentine is a huge mystery for everyone.

No one knows where she comes from or her family history. She just appeared in their empire three years ago together with Prince Marius who won a huge-scale war at that time. In the same year, the Crown Prince gave her the title of a duchess and put her in a position as the General Commander of the Nocturnus Knights.

The Nocturnus Knights are the opposite of the Solaris Knights in every sense. They do not have a huge number of knights similar to the Solaris Knights they have five thousand knights including their newly recruited one this year. According to the latest report, the Nocturnus Knights only have three knights this year. But although their numbers are small, no one should underestimate them.

These knights' specialties are not their physical combat skills or their endurance. It is their skill to kill an enemy without spilling too much blood. They do not care about the lengthy process. The Nocturnus Knights just need to end their enemies' lives.

That's why it was truly a surprise for everyone that a new person will become their General Commander. And it is a woman too! Based on her body frame and physical attributes, they can tell that she's still young and probably around the same age as their Crown Prince. On that part, many people had started doubting the new General Commander if she can truly do her duty right.

Second, many nobles are curious to see General Rovira's face. Every time she appears in public, there is always a black cloth that covers half of her face. All they can see is her silver-gray eyes which don't show too much emotion and her long chestnut hair that she always ties behind her with a black ribbon.

Many people are saying the General Commander possesses great beauty while others disagree and spread the news that she probably has a hideous scar and refused to show her face in public. Still, these people will not dare talk about these in front of the General Commander. Not when she has two powerful people behind her back.

The first person is the Crown Prince of their empire.

It's a well-known fact that Prince Marius believes in General Commander Rovira a lot. The nobles tried to protest about it in the past. They all said Rovira Valentine is suspicious in terms of her background, education, personality, and family history. No matter how hard they try to find it, they cannot find anything about a person named Rovira Valentine.

But it was all for naught when the Crown Prince ignored their complaints. He simply dismissed their so-called concerns and asked them directly to come forward if they are dissatisfied with him becoming their next emperor. Aside from the fact that most of them are attacking the General Commander of the Nocturnus Knights by planting suspicions about her, it is also a secret attack that can possibly put damage the Crown Prince's faction.

Contrary to everyone's belief, not all people are pleased with Prince Marius taking over the throne. Although he is the only one who can possibly sit on the throne once something happened to their emperor, many people still doubt the prince's capabilities. The majority of this reason was the prince's absence in their empire for nine years. The emperor said he sent Prince Marius to another empire to study and learn about different cultures that can help them in the future.

When the nobles tried to continue their plan of planting suspicions in everyone's hearts, Rovira Valentine had enough and decided to do the job of clearing her reputation. First, she proved her loyalty to the empire when she goes to the war and offered several heads of their enemies who threatened them in the past. After that, Rovira gave a blood oath in front of everyone saying she will not do anything that can harm the empire and the imperial family. Lastly, Rovira Valentine showed proof of her background.

The second person who supports the female General is their Saint.

General Rovira submitted the written testimony written by Ingrid, the Saint of Light in their empire. Saint Ingrid is a person that no ordinary person can meet whenever they want. It is said he is in a semi-seclusion area and only a few people can meet him. That's why people were baffled to hear that Rovira Valentine had a testimony from the saint.

In that letter, Ingrid simply stated that Rovira Valentine is a child that he loves like his own flesh and blood. He also added that she can be trusted and there was no reason for them to be wary of her anymore. Several high priests checked the legitimacy of that testimony and all of them say the letter is not forged because of the seal on it. The Seal of Light can emit brilliant light and something that no one can ever possess except for Saint Ingrid.

So when General Rovira showed it to everyone, no one dared to challenge her again. They can try to offend the female General but they are not brave enough to challenge the Saint. If they really did, it is like they are also protesting their church and their empire's beliefs. But it still surprised them that she is a close acquaintance of Saint Ingrid enough for him to give a seal that can clear all the suspicions and questions about her.

Aside from the seal, General Rovira proved that she deserves the position given to her by showing everyone her capabilities. The female General can easily finish all the missions given to her. If the mission is a bit hard, then she will personally do it and deliver good results in front of Prince Marius.

Just like today.

Prince Marius send a piece of information to General Rovira that a few pests were lingering in the vicinity near the Royal Palace. And when he said pests, the prince is referring to the spies sent by their enemy kingdom. The reason why General Rovira was absent from the ceremony earlier is not that she doesn't want to acknowledge the new General Commander of the Solaris Knights. It is simply because she dealt with the spies around their empire first.