Fritz said he saw Arnold wielding his sword.

But if he was a child who had escaped to safety, there would have been no such opportunity.

The Emperor Arnold Hein, whom Rishe knew, was himself at the forefront.

He was the same in this lifetime when they were on their trip back to Garkhain. When bandits attacked the carriage, Arnold alighted from the carriage and swung his sword, despite the presence of the knights guarding him.

His Highness Arnold is always the most dangerous in the battlefield.

If he witnessed him wielding his sword, then Fritz was left in the danger zone when Siutena became a battleground.

“It was like a dream come true for me when His Highness Arnold saved me… Everything that happened that day was a dream that somehow felt surreal.”

“…Uh-huh.”

“But it was all real.”

When Rishe looked down, Fritz remained downcast.

“Aren’t I pathetic? I even remembered how scared I was to see someone I admired. I dreamed about that day for the first time in a long time, and I became a knight in Siutena. But I was so different from His Highness Arnold, and I was too scared to move a tiny bit.”

“…”

“I couldn’t even help you in my dreams.”

Rishe gently crouched down and looked Fritz in the eye.

“Fritz, it’s okay to be scared, you know?”

“…huh…”

She smiled softly resting her cheek on her knees.

“War is naturally scary. It’s a given that you’ll get scared and disgusted.”

“But I’m about to become a knight, you know? A knight is worthless if he’s afraid of fighting. No matter how much you practice with your sword, you’ll still be the weakest in the battlefield.”

Rishe shook her head.

“How can you be weak? You were a victim of the battle of Siutena, and you were really scared. — But you worked hard to make it a reality, with a longing that could be called a hope for the future.”

“…Lu.”

Looking straight into Fritz’s eyes, he looked genuinely surprised.

“You’d probably make a better knight if you knew the fear of battle.”

Because Riese wasn’t afraid.

She lived the life of a knight and wasn’t afraid of dying that day when she fought to protect her masters. That was the true meaning of a knight. She risked her life on the battlefield.

That was why she died.

She never regretted living that kind of life and dying that way.

But she could say with certainty.

“You will be stronger-because you knew how to fear what you should be afraid of.”

“…”

Fritz’s almond-shaped eyes widened round in surprise.

He chewed on Rishe’s words, and slowly made a pretense of thinking to himself, then chuckled.

“I feel better.. Please excuse me, Lu.”

Although his voice had a troubled timbre to it, it was perfectly clear. Fritz laughed mischievously and said.

“It seems like there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore just because you guaranteed I’ll be stronger.”

“…Pfft!”

In that case, wouldn’t it nullify what Rishe just said?

Rishe stood up, laughing at the joke. Fritz followed suit with an enlightened look on his face.

“Let’s be knights together, Lu.”

“…”

Rishe smiled softly instead of responding.

“Lu?”

“It looks like Sven is back. Let’s go get the cleaning supplies together, Fritz.”

“Uh, oh-oh…”

While walking out together, Rishe quickly restored her expression.

Sorry for lying, Fritz.

She had no right to nod here.

Rishe of this lifetime wasn’t a knight on the front lines, but the one who would send them into battle.

But that was why.

— I have to do what I do to protect you from the war.