The Lord's Manor.
Even though it was night, the place was incredibly lively.
Even as Silas huddled in the stable, he could hear the commotion. The brown mare, after being missing for so long, had apparently gotten hungry and returned on her own to graze in the stall.
"We almost all died!"
"Thank god she's back. You must watch her closely. Never let her escape again."
"..."
When the shift changed, the older groom's legs were still shaking like jelly.
But only Silas knew that this horse was actually quite gentle; someone had secretly led her out.
As for the brightly lit manor hall in the distance, the commotion was likely caused by that woman's return.
Silas suddenly remembered the man he had beaten, the one who looked like a knight.
Though he had been grabbing her arm... it was nothing else, and his frantic expression didn't look like he was going to harm her.
Could he have actually been someone out searching for her?
Whatever.
Regardless of which it was, she was the one who called for help, and she was said to be the Lord's distinguished guest... she should be fine.
"..."
Silas rubbed the rump of the brown mare, who was now full and crouching there.
[Time remaining until next simulation: 49 hours, 25 minutes, 23 seconds]
He glanced at the semi-transparent text box.
Closing his eyes again, Silas felt a bit exhausted.
Whether it was seeing Rose in the confessional with a colder aura and more serious attire,
Or getting bullied by a noble lady only to reclaim his dignity in the end,
Actually, things were going quite smoothly, right? Following the career path he had planned. It's just... is it possible that the "wealthy lady" could be replaced by an "Archbishop"?
"...Whew."
Silas rolled over, turning his back to the mare.
Forget it.
There was no point in that. Even if he could train her to that level, it truly had no meaning.
Better to think about whether to use that noble lady's influence to transition into a knight first. This place didn't look like it was heading for war; he probably wouldn't have to kill anyone for a while.
Watching the horses until midnight, Silas eventually drifted into a daze.
"..."
Then, in his half-sleep, he sensed someone approaching.
It was the maid again.
However, this time she was treading lightly on tiptoe. It seemed she didn't intend to wake Silas.
Rustle, rustle.
Squinting, Silas could vaguely see her looking around. After confirming no one was there, she slid off the small panties from under her skirt and tucked them into her pocket.
Is she really that thirsty?
Wait, that's not right.
Silas suddenly remembered that his title "The Fake-Sleeping Husband" added 10 points to his Charisma while asleep, and the effect was even more explosive on those who already liked him...
If he wanted to, he could definitely do it. Purely for release.
"Miss Maid."
"Eeeek?!"
Silas suddenly opened his eyes, giving her a fright that made her jump.
"Thank you for always taking care of me. I'm new here and everything is very unfamiliar."
"Luckily I have you looking out for me like an older sister. It's helped me adjust a little."
"...Eh?"
"I mean, can I look at you like my own sister? I've had no family since I was a child, and I've never felt the warmth of a home."
"..."
The maid left. She was still commando under her skirt, but her lust had mostly evaporated.
She returned to the kitchen, grabbed a piece of bread, then another.
Slap.
She suddenly slapped herself.
"I'm such a piece of shit! He has such a tragic past and looks at me as a sister, yet I actually wanted to have secret sex with him."
"..."
The maid grabbed her colleagues' dinners in one go, left a few copper coins, and brought them all to Silas in the stable.
This time the bread had filling too, but it was actual cream.
"Thank you, Big Sister."
"..."
Looking at the young man with his glowing skin and bright smile, that "Big Sister" hit her right in the heart.
Leaving the stable, she slapped herself again.
I really am a piece of shit!
Luckily he didn't find the note and is still willing to see me as a sister. Even if I can't hold back in the future... it must be done even more discreetly.
"..."
Back in the stable, Silas held seven or eight loaves of bread and took a bite.
"Cream?"
"Charisma was the right stat to pump."
Time to sleep. He wouldn't have to worry about midnight snacks here from now on.
Morning.
All the servants at the manor who weren't busy were called to the spacious courtyard.
It was the first time Silas had seen so many knights wearing armor and carrying longswords.
The pot-bellied Lord sat in a chair, with several nobles Silas had never seen before by his side.
Then, a group of people, some in simple clothes and some in finery, stood in the center of the field.
"The horsemanship assessment will now begin."
"..."
Silas held the reins, handing over the harness of the lop-eared horse to a participant.
The servants were called here for nothing more than serving tea, cleaning the assessment site... and leading horses like Silas was doing.
"Big Sister, what is this assessment for?"
"Eee... don't call me that so suddenly."
The maid intercepted by Silas almost shrieked before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The Knight Order and the higher-ranking nobles are all here at our Lord's place to recruit. They need men to suppress the mountain bandits."
"Suppress mountain bandits?"
The term was a bit foreign to Silas.
"You probably don't know, but a merchant caravan on the main road was raided a while ago. Not a single person survived."
"..."
Isn't this just recruiting people to be meat shields?
Silas suppressed the urge to shout and participate in the "Sect Test." He had no desire to join some bandit-culling mission.
"I have an egg here. Take it and eat."
"Thank you, Big Sister."
"...Mm."
The maid was now completely overflowing with maternal radiance.
"..."
Silas hid behind the crowd, peeling the egg and watching.
First was the riding competition.
The assessment was conducted by active knights of the Church.
They were using wooden swords for jousting. But it looked painful as hell when they hit; within moments, the young applicants were bruised and swollen, clutching their heads and begging for mercy.
"If you hadn't begged for mercy, I would have given you one point. But like this, do you even deserve to be a knight?"
a young knight spoke with disdain, showing absolutely no face to the Lord sitting nearby.
Not a single person passed the riding test.
Only one person managed to last more than two rounds in hand-to-hand combat.
The subsequent javelin and fencing tests saw zero qualifiers.
"Lord Flores, are these the only men you've gathered?"
"..."
Count Flores's face turned ugly. He hadn't heard that the assessment would be this strict. Besides, the Knight Order and the guards from the capital were supposed to handle the bandits together; he wasn't actually expected to contribute real force. It was essentially just for show, so he hadn't taken it to heart.
But he didn't expect the personal guard knights to be so disrespectful.
"..."
Silas kept staring at the knight in silver armor holding a sword. The face partially visible under the helmet... why did it look so familiar?
Their eyes met.
"?"
Clearly, the face inside the young knight's helmet twitched slightly. He immediately averted his gaze.
"Count, I know you have a decent candidate here."
Then, a more familiar woman's voice rang out. Accompanied by the click-clack of footsteps, a woman in a white dress appeared next to the Count.
"The person you mean is?"
"..."
Silas happened to catch the woman's eyes. He saw her reach out her hand with a slight smile.
"That groom."
"...Eh?"
Before Silas could be surprised, the maid next to him was the first to be stunned.
"A groom? You must be mistaken. How could a groom participate in a knight's trial? Please rest assured, give me one more day and I will surely prepare a candidate that satisfies you."
The Lord began to panic. He thought the Princess was extremely dissatisfied with his choices and was doing this on purpose.
Having no choice, he could only prepare to sacrifice his most prized private soldier.
"I'm terrified, why is she targeting you... did you offend her? Quickly, lower your head, don't look at her."
The maid let out a sigh of relief, lightly patting Silas's neck to get him to look down and stop making eye contact with the nobles.
"..."
The other grooms were somewhat disappointed. This guy who got along so well with the maid didn't actually go up to get beaten.
"I'm not joking. Igor, you assess the groom I mentioned."
The young knight, who had quietly shrunk back into the ranks and lowered his head, suddenly curled his toes in embarrassment.
Where would he get the courage to assess Silas again? The man who yesterday had snatched his sword barehanded and beaten him so badly in seconds that his ribs still throbbed?
"Why is that noble lady only staring at you? You're so good-looking... what if your face gets ruined?"
"Just go, give up after a few hits. I'll help you apply medicine later."
Speaking of applying medicine, the maid's eyes seemed to light up again. Wouldn't that be a legitimate chance to feel him up?
"I hope this guy gets beaten so hard he can't get up... Damn it, why does he get so much care from the maid after only being here two days?"
"She just likes the young ones, right? I heard her husband has been bedridden for a long time."
"..."
Silas had no thoughts about the gossip around him.
He just looked at the young knight who was forced to step out. Then he looked at the white-haired girl who was still sitting in the chair, smiling.
Damn it, I felt something was off yesterday. Is she playing with me?
"I concede."
Just as Silas was about to pick up a wooden sword, the young knight took off his helmet.
Revealing the bruised part of his face.
"I already lost to this groom yesterday. As a knight, I felt it was disgraceful to lose to a groom, so I wanted to hide the truth. But if I do that, I can no longer hold the pride of a knight."
"Your Highness, if you want him to join the Knight Order as a reserve knight, I have no objections."
"..."
Silas froze in place, holding the wooden sword.
He looked at the young knight kneeling on one knee, then looked at the white-haired girl next to the Lord.
Ah, Princess?
So yesterday I pinned her against the wall. I knew she was a distinguished guest, but I didn't think she was this expensive!