[4 years ago]

—After having experienced her first battle, Katherine returned home to the Morrison family for a short vacation.

As he got home, an eager Din was awaiting her arrival.

“Kat, Kat! How was it?!”

Din jumped into Katherine, giving her a big hug.

Katherine laughed, “How was what? You don’t mean the battlefield, do you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You’re a Gold knight now so you were leading your own squadron, right? Right?”

“Yes, I was. Din, let me put my baggage away first. I would like to take a warm bath too.”

Din reluctantly let go of his sister and then walked besides her to her room.

“Where’s mother and father?” Katherine asked.

“Mom’s in her room. Dad went fishing with Uncle Paro, said they were going to be out for a while so I didn’t go.”

Katherine placed her baggage on her chair before taking off her cloak along with her armor.

“You wouldn’t believe how sore I am right now. The carriage ride on our way home was not the best ride we could’ve gotten,” she sighed. “I guess it wasn’t the worst either.”

A moment later, she noticed that her shoulder armor had a been damaged.

“Not again. Why is it always the shoulder piece that keeps getting destroyed? Din, I’m going to take a bath, but do you think you can get a servant to take the shoulder armor to the blacksmith at the shop near the fountain?”

Din nodded and then took the armor piece.

That night after dinner, Din and Katherine went for a walk through the city. The sky was clear and the red moon was bright in the sky. Even though it was only a crescent moon, the light emitting from it was enough to see the streets of Ravenwalt with only limited visibility.

“Do you think you’ll be promoted to Platinum knight soon? We did the win the battle against Zante with the help of your squadron!” Din asked enthusiastically.

Katherine scoffed, “We would’ve won even without my help. Our troops in Ravenwalt outnumber the troops of Zante overwhelmingly. King Leorin even decided to only send one Ace knight to the battle.”

“Was it Ray?”

“No, it was Callum.”

“Callum?”

“Callum Wolvenna.” Katherine dropped her shoulders as she complained, “I just don’t know how to deal with a captain like him. He seems to not care about the lives of the troops but at the same time, he always puts himself in the front line.”

Din didn’t know where Katherine was getting at.

Katherine explained, “Normally, even though Ace knights are the strongest knights in the country, they are normally positioned in the back. Their job is to lead the troops and use the plans from the strategist that they think is best suitable at the time. But Callum, he is a very reckless man. He leaves the strategy to others while he charges into the middle of battle.”

A hint of admiration appeared on Din’s face, to which Katherine shook her head, “Don’t admire him, Din. That man deserves no respect for what he does. Even his style of fighting is reckless. With two daggers on hand, he uses spinning techniques to increase the power of his hits while also increasing the area that he hits. Even if there are allies near him, he will still use that reckless style and end up injuring them.”

“You really don’t like him, huh?” Din added.

“Yes! I hate him so much. There is honor in serving your country by fighting their battles and you’re even forced to kill for the sake of the country, but that man, he looks like he enjoys killing in general. I could clearly see the hunger for battle and for blood in his eyes. Even if you’re fighting an enemy country or even an enemy city, like Zante, they are still people. They still have a family and someone they love. The only difference is they don’t agree with us.”

She suddenly stopped walking and then turned towards Din. She got on her knee and then placed both her hands on Din’s shoulders.

“Kat?” Din asked.

“I know you idolize knights. I bet almost every kid in this country does, but remember Din, becoming a knight isn’t something to be happy about. Even for the sake of your country, you shouldn’t be happy to kill.”

“But then… why did you become a knight?”

Katherine stood back up and then looked at the red moon.

“It was my form of repayment.”

“Huh?”

“You surely know of the perks of becoming a Platinum knight, right?”

“Um,” Din scratched his head as he thought of the answer.

“Once a knight has reached the rank of Platinum, the knight, along with their family, are treated as nobles. Even with just that title alone, any business they want to go through with, they can do them with ease. I wanted to repay your parents for adopting me so long ago. This was the only way I could ever hope to repay their kindness.”

“Kat…”

Katherine felt embarrassed explaining her plan so much so that she couldn’t even look in Din’s general direction. Without looking at him, she explained, “I know the title of nobility is still with your family right now, but that was only because of your grandfather. But now that your grandfather has passed away, so will the nobility title soon enough. That’s why, before that happens, I have to become a Platinum knight.”

After a while, she finally managed to calm herself and turn towards Din. She patted him on his head.

“W-what’re you doing, Kat?”

“How dare you make me spill out all my secrets.”

“What? But I didn’t even do anything, that was all you!” Din replied as he tried to release his head from his sister’s grip.

“But even so, I wish people could be more peaceful,” Katherine muttered under her breath.

Din managed to get her hands off of him. He was out of breath now.

“Huh? Did you say something just now?”

Katherine shook her head, “It was nothing, little bro.” She then leapt forward to hug him tightly.

“Ah! Let go of me!”

Even though Katherine denied it, Din could’ve sworn he’d heard her say something. Even so, he didn’t bother asking again.