My Ex-Girlfriend Was Appointed as a Knight Commander. - Chapter 3

For the first time in his life, Maxim Apart felt the urge to commit suicide. If possible, he wanted to run into a bamboo forest and let out a bizarre scream like “Kyaaak!” Or maybe repeatedly slam his forehead against a huge oak tree.

He thought it would be a relief if she just laughed at him. But all Maxim could hear was the sound of the wind brushing against the grass.

Because of that, Maxim Apart’s face rapidly turned red. If it were morning instead of late afternoon, he would look like someone who had a drink.

Maxim struggled to fix his vision, which had turned white and hazy. Theodora Bening was standing not a few steps away. Ah, this must be a dream. If someone told him it was a dream, he thought he could accept it. Maxim’s flushed face slowly regained its color.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Theodora Bening, the newly appointed commander.”

Theodora didn’t seem to care whether Maxim stuttered or his face turned red. He felt relieved, but at the same time, bitterness filled his mind. It seemed like he was the only one who was conscious of it.

Swoosh.

Theodora reached out her hand. Maxim blankly stared at the hand wearing white gloves. Her fingers were still delicate and slender. Only after a few seconds did he realize it was a hand requesting a handshake.

“I look forward to working with you, Vice Commander. What’s your name?”

Maxim’s face, which had been regaining color, flushed again. Maxim quickly extended his hand to grasp Theodora’s.

“…I’m Maxim Apart. Nice to meet you.”

A handshake—that brief contact between hands—was enough time for Maxim to evoke various memories. He quickly let go of her hand and returned to a proper stance. Theodora approached Christine, who was standing relatively naturally beside him. Christine shook Theodora’s outstretched hand and greeted her.

“Mage, Christine Watson.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Watson.”
“Please call me Christine.”

As Christine said that with a bright smile, Theodora’s cold aura slightly softened.

“Alright, then, Christine.”

During that time, Maxim gathered his thoughts. How long would he remain absentminded? Putting aside his personal feelings for now, he had to play the role of a vice commander of a knight order. He swallowed his saliva and took a step forward. It was just as Theodora and Christine’s greeting had ended.

“I will guide you through the headquarters.”
“Yes. Please do.”

A cold smile bloomed on Theodora’s face. Seeing that smile, which was like a rose made of ice, Maxim felt a little intimidated. With the mindset that he had no future if he revealed his feelings even now, he walked into the headquarters of the Raven Knight Order.

“Please follow me.”

There was no response. Christine walked behind Maxim but ahead of Theodora. The two soldiers serving as escorts followed behind Theodora. The headquarters building, covered in ivy vines, came into view. Maxim felt extremely embarrassed by its shabby appearance. Before entering the headquarters, he introduced the training ground before the building.

“This is the training ground of the Raven Knight Order.”

Theodora blinked and turned her head, scanning the training ground as if exploring it.

“It’s neater than I thought.”

Theodora opened and closed the cover of a helmet hanging on a scarecrow. A creaking sound was heard, indicating a lack of oiling.

“In addition to this, there is a backyard, an armory, and a riding ground, but…”
“There’s not much time, so I’ll look around later. Please guide me through the interior of the headquarters.”

Even as she said that, Theodora didn’t walk ahead of Maxim. She was considerate of the guide’s position. Although her words were cold, her actions never disregarded the guide. Maxim confirmed that her personality had not changed and let out a sigh of relief inwardly. At the same time, a feeling of longing began to tickle a corner of his heart.

Maxim tried hard to ignore that feeling and stood at the head of the group, opening the door to the headquarters. Beyond the door, an unnecessarily spacious lobby was revealed. The lobby floor, swept and polished for the first time in a long while, had a presentable shine. Maxim and Christine felt a little proud of the tidier-than-expected lobby.

“This is the lobby. The corridors on both sides lead to the bedrooms for the knights in the preparatory stage. Currently, no knights are in the preparatory stage, so they remain empty rooms.”

There was no response. Theodora only glanced around the lobby with a cold gaze.

“…I will guide you to the second floor.”

Theodora didn’t say a word even while walking to the second floor. Maxim could guess her mood just from the slightly subdued atmosphere. Theodora was currently in an irritated state.

Maxim couldn’t figure out why she became like that. Did she think the cleaning condition was poor? Or did she not like the interior of the building? Perhaps she didn’t like his existence itself. A bead of cold sweat ran down Maxim’s back. He quickly tried to change the atmosphere by explaining the structure of the second floor.

“The second floor is where we practically handle administrative tasks. There is the commander’s office, the vice commander’s office, and an archive for storing old documents.”

Maxim’s group walked slowly on the second floor. The creaking sound of the old wooden floor was particularly loud.

“This is the commander’s office.”

Maxim opened the door to the office. There were no notable objects in the room. It was just shelves packed with tactical books and swordsmanship manuals that were never read, an unnecessarily expensive desk, and a carpet. The belongings of the current commander, that old man, were roughly packed and thrown into the warehouse.

“This is the place where thirty commanders have stayed and left. It’s no exaggeration to call it the history of the Raven Knight Order.”

Still, no response or reaction was heard. At this point, it would have been nice if she had at least said a sarcastic remark or even cursed at him. Maxim told himself not to mind and guided the group to the archive. Although it was called an archive, there was nothing particularly worth seeing. It was just a room with shelves emitting the smell of rotting ancient documents.

The last place they headed was the vice commander’s office. It was located at the edge of the second-floor corridor, with the archive in between. Even the door differed from that of the commander’s office.

“This is the vice commander’s office.”

When he opened the vice commander’s office, a small sigh was heard. Maxim restrained himself from turning his head. The tour of the headquarters, which felt like sitting on a bed of thorns, was finally over. Theodora was looking around the vice commander’s office, turning her head here and there.

“That’s roughly the structure of the Raven Knight Order headquarters… I understand you will visit again on Monday morning.”

Maxim spoke to Theodora. Their eyes met. She didn’t avoid his gaze and gave a response.

“Yes, I plan to arrive a little earlier than the other members’ work hours. I thought we would proceed with the handover right away.”

Her voice was cold. Maxim chose to keep a straight face.

“I understand. Then I will ensure the handover procedure can be done over the weekend.”

Theodora gave a faint nod. Judging from the fact that she didn’t seek out the commander, she seemed well aware of what was happening in this knight order. Maxim considered that it would be beneficial for his mental health to dismiss everyone now that the introduction was over.

“Then, good work…”

Of course, Maxim had no chance to take care of his mental health.

“Wait, I have something to discuss with the Vice Commander.”

Maxim’s mouth stiffened at Theodora’s words. Her gray gaze met the eyes of the people in the office one by one and stopped as it reached Maxim.

“It will be a conversation that only requires the Commander and Vice Commander, so the rest of you can return first. It’s already past the end of the workday, and it would be rude to keep you any longer.”

The two soldiers serving as escorts murmured in confusion. Then, as if they had made up their minds, they looked at Theodora and spoke.

“How can we go back first?”
“That’s right, Commander. We will wait downstairs.”

Theodora shook her head.

“No, it’s alright. You must have had a hard time following me after finishing today’s work, so please leave first.”

The two soldiers pondered for a moment and then saluted before turning around.

“Good work, Commander.”
“Yes. Good work.”

The two soldiers opened the door and left the vice commander’s office. Christine, who was left behind, quietly observed Theodora and Maxim. Maxim gestured slightly with his head to Christine, who was still not moving her feet.

“Go ahead first. It’s the weekend tomorrow, so you should rest.”
“…Yes, Vice Commander.”

Christine took a step back and saluted Theodora and Maxim in turn. As Christine left, the door to the vice commander’s office closed.

Thud.

Silence flowed. The yellow afternoon sunlight had also changed to the crimson color of the sunset. Outside the window, blue clouds were drifting across the vermilion-dyed sky.

Maxim hesitated. It was difficult to speak right away. Maxim didn’t know what words to say or how to tell them even if he opened his mouth.

“…It’s been a while. Theodora.”

So, Maxim decided to just greet her. As if it was nothing.

“Yeah. It’s been a while, Maxim. 3 years, right?”

Theodora accepted the greeting. The coldness in her voice did not disappear. Three years. Quite a painful time for Maxim. He nodded shallowly.

“3 years… That’s right. It doesn’t feel that long.”

He didn’t ask if she had been doing well because she must have never been doing well after that incident three years ago. It was entirely Maxim’s fault. He looked straight at Theodora’s face.

Although 3 years had passed, time seemed to have bestowed only blessings upon her. The same platinum blonde hair. It was not the long hair he remembered from the past. It had been cut short to the neck. A delicate chin. Red lips contrasted with her pale skin that couldn’t even be called white jade and a sharp nose above them. Not to mention her large gray eyes directed at Maxim.

They were eyes that didn’t show any past emotions. Maxim could accept that much.

“Why did you suddenly come to this dying knight order?”

When Maxim spoke with a hint of self-deprecation, Theodora narrowed her eyes.

“It’s a decision made by the Central Knight Order.”
“Are they trying to make this knight order useful?”

Theodora didn’t answer his question right away. She just pursed her beautiful lips as if she didn’t like it and looked at Maxim. He didn’t urge her, who had suddenly closed her mouth. The sound of a bird chirping against the backdrop of the setting sun could be heard.

“You’ve changed, Maxim.”

Those were the words Theodora finally uttered. Although they were unrelated to the topic, Maxim could nod and agree with them. He had changed unintentionally.

“No one remains unchanged. You know that, Theodora.”

If the painful three years had bestowed upon Theodora a blessing, it was a curse for Maxim. He gritted his teeth and continued.

“I’ve been changed since 3 years ago.”
“That’s right.”

A voice that seemed to cut into flesh was heard. The irreversible flow was becoming more intense. Maxim had to be swept away by that flow, no matter how painful it was. Silence flowed. Theodora broke the silence by asking Maxim again.

“Is your fiancée doing well?”

The words Theodora uttered nonchalantly. Maxim’s eyes wavered for a moment. He forcibly opened his mouth and spoke.

“She’s doing well. We see each other occasionally.”
“…I see.”

Theodora stroked the wall of the office. Silence descended again. There was no continuity between the conversations. Maxim waited for her to speak again.

“I’m going to reform the Raven Knight Order.”

Their conversation returned to the original topic. Theodora kept her eyes tightly closed. When she opened them again, even the icy presence had dissipated.

“Reform, you say.”
“…His Majesty the King and the Central Knight Order want to revive the Raven Knight Order to a level befitting its former reputation.”

Maxim made a small clicking sound with his tongue.

“And you’re at the forefront?”
“Yes. Simultaneously with my appointment as the commander, a large-scale personnel reshuffle will occur. Most of the knights just idling around here will probably be expelled.”

As expected. Maxim smacked his lips bitterly.

“But there was also an order to keep the useful knights. They can’t completely ignore the existing personnel.”

As Theodora said, it was difficult to overhaul a knight order completely. The problem was how to select the personnel to retain.

“They will have to undergo a selection test. For those who want to give up… I have no intention of actively stopping them.”

Theodora spoke as if warning Maxim.

“The Vice Commander is no exception. If you want to give up, the story might differ slightly, but…”

A steady gaze directed at Maxim. It was painful for him to withstand that gaze.

“No.”

Maxim shook his head.

“I’ll take the test.”

It wasn’t because of Theodora. Maxim thought so. If he gave up here, his life as a knight would truly be as good as dead. He expressed his determination to take the selection test, not out of lingering feelings for Theodora but of attachment to himself as a knight.

He repeated in his mind that there was absolutely not a single bit of lingering feelings for Theodora mixed in.