My Ex-Girlfriend Was Appointed as a Knight Commander. - Chapter 2

The first time they conversed was on a winter night before the year they became adults.

Maxim was diligently training alone with a wooden sword at the academy’s training ground. It was before the flames that he harbored for the sword turned to embers.

Theodora’s visit to that training ground was by chance. On her way back to the dormitory, she discovered the lit training ground. She entered it like a moth drawn to the light without any thoughts, intentions, or goals.

“Because I’m lacking.”

Looking back, Maxim would evaluate that time as a period when he was obsessed with the sword. He began wielding the sword, fascinated by his master’s swordsmanship. Still, he had never even come close to reaching that level. While others were unleashing Aura Blades, Maxim still insisted on sword training. In retrospect, he thought it was a truly foolish behavior.

He had no interest in others, especially the opposite sex. He was content with his social life, which consisted of relationships with a few friends. After that, it was only the sword. He stayed at the training ground until late hours, drawing sword paths. Few people knew that fact.

Therefore, Maxim hadn’t even imagined that the person entering through the door would be a famous figure in the academy. He realized that fact when he noticed that the voice he heard was unfamiliar.

“…Theodora Bening?”

A low voice flowed from Maxim’s mouth as he briefly lowered his sword. Seeing that, Theodora slightly raised the corners of her lips.

“You’re finally looking here, Maxim Apart.”

At that moment, Maxim properly saw Theodora’s appearance for the first time. He remembered her impressively fluttering platinum blonde hair. He also remembered her gray eyes swirling like dark clouds. He had lived his entire life thinking only swords were beautiful, but he realized there were things as precious as swords.

For the first time, he dated a woman and loved someone other than his family. They admired martial arts together and wielded swords together. They held hands, embraced each other, and even mixed their tongues while pressing their lips together. However, they eventually broke up due to some incident.

And now, it’s no exaggeration to say that their situations are completely opposite. Theodora Bening has risen as a promising figure not only in the Empire but also across the continent.

A martial maiden who swings an Aura Blade as beautiful as her appearance while her shining platinum blonde hair flutters. The Bening Count family, famous for their swordsmanship, also supports her. Theodora’s status was high enough to be mentioned as a candidate for the next corps commander.

On the other hand, Maxim Apart. There are no modifiers. Specs that can’t even be called an ordinary knight. The only thing he could boast about was the fact that he learned unique swordsmanship from a wandering adventurer. Even that was often dismissed. He was told he had talent in swordsmanship, but his talent in mana was worse than average. The first battlefield he was assigned to was not the front line but the frontier. After wandering the frontier, he was dispatched to the Raven Knight Order.

“Whew.”
“Vice Commander, please stop sighing. How long have you been doing that alone?”
“You don’t understand how I feel.”
“How can I understand when you don’t tell me what’s happening?”

Christine threw the mop into the bucket with a snort. The dirty water splashed and splattered on the floor. The office cleaning was already in its final stages. Maxim mobilized a few members who at least listened to him and turned the knight order headquarters upside down for cleaning. Fortunately, Theodora’s messenger arrived and informed them of the visit time.

“What could they be thinking? I can’t understand the higher-ups’ intentions.”

Christine frowned as she ran her finger along the window frame.

“What about it?”
“Appointing Theodora from the famous Bening family as the commander of this knight order.”

Maxim’s stomach churned upon hearing those words. Theodora from the famous Bening family. He felt the urge to sigh again. Of course, he couldn’t actually do it, considering Christine’s watchful eyes beside him.

Even putting aside Maxim’s personal circumstances, this personnel appointment would likely cause controversy. They placed a knight who commanded prestige not only in the Empire but also across the continent in the commander position of this hopeless knight order. Even if it was thought to be the beginning of the knight order’s reorganization, the degree was excessive.

“Could they really intend to revive this knight order now?”
“Probably. Otherwise, a knight of Theodora Bening’s caliber wouldn’t come.”

Bitterness seeped from Maxim’s voice.

“Isn’t it good, Vice Commander? At least you won’t have to quit being a knight on good terms.”
“Yeah. They’ll definitely be a more proper person than the current commander.”

Saying “definitely” was an understatement. The difference was the earth to the moon and back. Maxim clicked his tongue softly.

“But why is your reaction so bad?”

Christine asked, finding it strange.

“I don’t know. Is the cleaning all done?”
“It’s been a while since we finished. So, why is your reaction so bad when a good commander is coming this time?”

Maxim frantically pieced together excuses in his head. Even if someone beat him to death with a stick, he had no intention of telling the truth.

“Think about it. If there’s already talk of reorganization, there’s a high probability of overturning the existing personnel, so do you think we’ll be safe?”
“…At least they won’t recklessly kick out the only mage and the vice commander in the knight order.”

Christine spoke in a sullen tone. She sat on the vice commander’s desk.

“Even if it’s not that, Vice Commander, your current state is a bit strange. Can’t you tell me?”

Christine looked at Maxim with wide, sparkling eyes. Rather than a concerned look, it was the gaze of a gossip lover who couldn’t contain their curiosity after smelling a whiff of it.

“Never mind. You worked hard cleaning, now disband and do what you must. I need to prepare to welcome the new commander.”

Maxim pushed Christine out of the room while stretching exaggeratedly.

“Ah, Vice Commander…”
“Shut up, it’s annoying, so don’t whine.”
“But just answer one thing…”

Gulp.

Maxim’s eyebrows twitched. Christine seemed determined to stay in his office until the end if he didn’t answer this question. He looked at her while holding his head.

“What is it?”
“Vice Commander, do you happen to know Theodora Bening?”

Maxim unconsciously shook his head vigorously.

“How could that be?”
“Hmm.”

Christine narrowed her eyes and stared at Maxim’s face. Her green pupils frantically stabbed at Maxim’s face.

“No, I said I don’t know her, so why are you staring at me like that?”
“Well, whatever. I’m satisfied as long as a good commander is coming in.”

Faced with Maxim’s unexpectedly stubborn attitude, Christine gave up and opened the office door.

“Go out and rest a bit. Come back at four-thirty later.”
“…Do I have to be there too?”
“You’re practically my assistant. Wouldn’t it be better to be together?”

Christine’s expression turned blank, and she suddenly burst into laughter. As Maxim stood there dumbfounded by the sudden change, Christine pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes.

“Really… Vice Commander, you’re too much.”
“Now you’re laughing out of nowhere. You’re so erratic.”
“No, it’s not that. Then I’ll come back later.”

Boom.

The door closed. Maxim shook his head and began to ponder what to say to the new commander, who was also his ex-girlfriend.

==

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking on the office door was heard. Maxim looked in the mirror, meticulously inspecting his tidied hair.

‘This should be…’

Knock, knock.

Christine knocked again.

“Vice Commander, are you ready?”
“I’m all set. Come in.”

The door opened. Christine, who entered hesitantly, was wearing a neat uniform. Her hair, usually left loose and disheveled, was tied into a single braid and tidied up. She applied light makeup to create a natural look. The winged staff insignia on her chest indicated that she was a mage.

However, contrary to her well-groomed appearance, Christine’s expression crumpled as if she had seen something unpleasant when she saw Maxim.

“No, Vice Commander.”
“What?”

Christine let out a big, obvious sigh.

“Shouldn’t it be that a person’s groomed appearance is better than their ungroomed appearance?”

The corners of Maxim’s mouth twitched.

“No, don’t I look pretty good?”
“Pretty good, my foot!”

Christine rushed to Maxim in an instant.

It would be nice if she moved this swiftly during training.

Maxim couldn’t actually say that and instead tried to talk to Christine, who was frowning and fiddling with his hair.

“Uh… Mage Christine Watson?”
“Wait a moment. Why did you grease your hair so much? Even if you style it nicely, I don’t know…but why did you make it a mop head that doesn’t even suit you?”
“Isn’t that cool…”

Christine shook her head.

“Emergency treatment won’t do. I’ll go get a comb.”

Christine quickly returned with a comb. She even used a small magic spell to restore Maxim’s hair to its original state. He quietly observed and cautiously spoke again.

“Christine… You don’t have to go this far…”
“It’s embarrassing for me. Do you want to be ridiculed all over town with that appearance?”

There was an edge to Christine’s words. Maxim kept his mouth shut, sensing that further argument would be futile. As he became quiet, her hands became busy.

“There… It’s done.”

Maxim’s hair, which Christine had been working on for over ten minutes, was completely transformed. She neatly parted his hair to the side and fixed it with oil.

“How is it?”

Christine held up a mirror. Maxim couldn’t help but laugh at his drastically changed appearance.

“I, Christine Watson, guarantee your appearance is much better, Vice Commander. Now you look a bit more like a man.”

Maxim couldn’t argue any further. The hair that Christine had styled for him objectively looked much better. Since he was meeting his ex-girlfriend, shouldn’t he go out looking his best? Of course, she wouldn’t know that fact, but he had definitely received unintended help.

“Eek, Vice Commander, the time.”

More time had passed as Christine got startled by Maxim’s attempt to dress up nicely and changed his appearance to something else. They hurried outside.

Ten minutes before five o’clock in the afternoon, the strong early summer sunlight scorched the streets. The grass was bending, but the blowing wind was still cool. The shadows cast on the lying grass were short.

At the entrance of the knight order headquarters, Maxim and Christine were ready to welcome the new commander in the official uniforms of the Raven Knight Order. The current commander naturally didn’t show up. From the beginning, he would sneak out of the knight order and leave work as soon as it was four o’clock. Of course, today’s Maxim was too preoccupied with other thoughts to care whether he showed up or not.

Maxim awkwardly touched his hair that Christine had tidied up. He didn’t know he lacked the skill to groom himself to that extent. Just as he was about to feel grateful to her again, Christine, who had been looking at him, added an unnecessary remark.

“You look like a puppy about to poop right now, Vice Commander.”

Maxim pinched Christine’s soft cheek as she teased him and impatiently tapped his foot on the ground.

“Ow, ow, ow… It… It hurts, Vice Commander…”
“Can you stop being so irritating?”
“I got it, I got it…”

Maxim let go of Christine. She rubbed her slightly reddened right cheek and glared at him with all her might.

“You did it too hard.”
“Sorry. But you shouldn’t tease me like that.”
“Yes, yes.”

While Maxim and Christine were bickering, a presence was felt at the end of the uphill road. The two quickly corrected their posture and stood upright.

“Can you feel the presence?”
“Yeah. It’s very strong.”

When Christine asked, Maxim nodded and spoke. The presence of the person climbing the hill was three. The two leading the way were ordinary, but the one following behind had a strong presence.

Sharp and chilling. It felt like an icy awl piercing the skin.

“It’s quite imposing.”

Christine’s voice was mixed with a slight tremor. Maxim nodded without verbally responding. It was a very familiar feeling to him. The sharp gaze he felt whenever he sparred with her. The chilling yet intense presence she exuded when she was fired up to face him.

It had definitely grown stronger than what existed in his memory, but the feeling was the same. Maxim struggled hard against the waves of memories surging up in his mind.

It’s going to be harder to endure than I thought.

Maxim inwardly let out a hollow laugh at his weakness. He thought it had disappeared over time, but facing the approaching memories was this burdensome.

“…! I see them, Vice Commander.”

The sound of footsteps began to be heard. Maxim raised his head. The two soldiers leading the way were armed. The dazzling sunlight reflected off their silver armor, making his eyes ache. And behind them, an unarmed knight with a dignified demeanor was walking.

Damn it.

His unnecessarily trembling heart was annoying. His mouth was parched. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice felt like it would vibrate and tremble. Maxim deliberately blurred his vision, trying not to look at the new commander’s face.

He didn’t want to meet her. He didn’t want to face her. Even if they met, he never wanted to meet in this way.

The group approached. Maxim cut off the endlessly circulating flow of thoughts. Rather than being like this, he at least had to make his first greeting normally and calmly.

It’s okay, as long as I don’t stutter.

Maxim took a deep breath.

“W-Welcome to the Raven Knigh Thorder.”

Ah, fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck…