August and Chief Wentner approached me.

"I believed you’d come leading the reinforcements, my lord."

"It’s thanks to you defending Feuzen that we were able to win this battle."

"It wasn’t just me. The truth is, there’s someone who did something even greater than I did."

The cheering stopped.

The crowd behind August parted, and a knight in plate armor, the blood wiped clean off, walked toward me. Graceful and feminine, yet with the gait of a strong knight.

Her beautiful wine-colored hair had been cut to a bob, but it was Hilda, the one I loved most in the world. The moment I saw her, my heart pounded fiercely. But I felt a wave of unease at the wavering in her eyes.

Why was she hesitating to come close to me?

Why was she looking at me so pitifully, with such anxious eyes?

The reason was very simple.

Nobles deeply dislike a lady taking up a sword. Whether noble or commoner, a woman is the property of the patriarch, and the very act of stepping out of line or asserting herself is regarded as offensive.

Hilda knew me better than anyone, but the husband me and the noble me were bound to be different. So no matter how generous a man I was, Hilda had no choice but to be careful.

The townspeople all watched me with anxious hearts.

The children pressed their hands together in prayer, and the adults trembled with as much unease as showed in their wavering eyes. The mood was very strange. It looked as if I were about to punish Hilda.

If anything, it seemed prejudice against me had been piling up.

How unreasonable. As if there’s a noble anywhere as generous as I am.

What’s needed at a time like this?

I forcefully pulled Hilda into my arms and gave her a deep kiss.

Her wide eyes curved into crescent moons as she pressed herself tightly against me.

Hoooorrraaaay!

The townspeople erupted into wild cheers.

She and I stayed lost in each other on that spot for a long while.

"I defended Feuzen while you were away, Wolf. I think I’m qualified to be a knight now too, don’t you?"

Hilda wanted to become Beren’s first female knight. Wanting to enter tournaments and loving horses, it all stemmed from her yearning to become a knight. She was making that joke to me.

A joke, huh.

Jokes don’t work on a lord.

"How many did you kill?"

"Huh? Uh, three."

Hmm, our proud wife is telling a lie. When I glanced over at August, he grinned and shook his head. When I turned my gaze back to Hilda, she corrected the number.

"Five."

"..."

"...Eight."

"..."

"Actually, it was thirteen."

Now she’s telling it straight. That a lady had killed thirteen enemy soldiers was such an astonishing feat you wouldn’t believe it even if you saw it. But she seemed terribly embarrassed to confess the truth in front of me.

"You’re already more than qualified. Wouldn’t you agree?"

August, along with Fiel and Viktor, looked at one another and then nodded. The townspeople seemed bewildered about what was happening. The retainers’ faces filled with anticipation.

A knight appointed by the grand duke is called a duchy knight.

A knight appointed by a lord is called a vassal knight.

"Brünhilt von Steiner, kneel."

At my sudden order, Hilda, her eyes going wide, knelt on one knee in a daze. The Duchy of Beren refuses to let women become knights. But it isn’t forbidden by law.

Because I’m a lord, I can lawfully appoint knights.

Drawing my longsword, I tapped the blade on Hilda’s left shoulder.

"Do you swear, as a warrior of Christ, to defend the Church and destroy its enemies?"

"...I swear."

"Do you swear, as a warrior of Saint Peter, to protect the weak and devote yourself to them?"

"I-I swear!"

Gradually, Hilda’s voice began to tremble.

"Fear not your enemies, and always act with courage. Speak no lies, and protect the innocent. As Lord of Feuzen, I hereby appoint you a knight."

The corners of Hilda’s eyes were already glistening with tears as she looked up at me. Something she’d never even dreamed of had come to pass. Because she had fought to defend Feuzen, it made for a truly splendid justification.

"Let every person here be a witness. Rise, Knight Brünhilt!"

Hilda rose carefully.

Then someone began to clap.

When August clapped vigorously, Fiel and Viktor followed.

And that applause spread to the retainers and all the townspeople.

Clap, clap, clap!

Knight Brünhilt of Feuzen!

Knight Brünhilt of Feuzen!

The knights and townspeople cheered wildly, chanting Hilda’s name. The tears Hilda had been holding back to the very end burst forth. I held her tight and comforted her.

"A lady being appointed a knight must be the first such event in Beren’s history."

"The lord’s wife is more than qualified. I watched over her at her side."

Fiel and Viktor couldn’t hide their astonishment, but August, who had led from the front alongside Hilda, had become the finest witness of all. And the same was true of the townspeople.

The cavalry rummaging through bodies and gear heard the townspeople’s frenzied cheers and thought nothing of it, but this very moment would be remembered as the day a female knight first appeared in Beren’s history.

While she was being congratulated and basking in the emotion, Hilda suddenly collapsed.

Screams erupted from all directions.

"Hilda!"

"Lady Hilda!"

Sabine and Priscilla, eyes brimming with tears, hurried to support Hilda, but of course they couldn’t lift her in her armor. I lifted her instead, since the two of them were straining and grunting. After all, I had strength to spare.

It seemed the exhaustion had crashed over her whole body now that the tension had broken. Going to war out of a sense of responsibility to protect the estate must have caused her enormous stress.

On top of that, she’d been struggling to get up in the mornings and sleeping more than usual.

Sabine and Priscilla were looking after her, so she’d be fine, but I felt like a failure as a husband.

I paced outside the bedroom. A while later, Sabine and Priscilla came out, drenched in sweat. Just taking off the armor was no easy task, so it seemed the handmaids had had a hard time of it.

"Is Hilda all right?"

"Don’t worry, master. The lady is just sleeping."

Sabine’s gentle smile put me at ease. She was the only handmaid who could pat my shoulder as if to tell me not to worry. Priscilla spoke.

"I’ll go fetch Madam Arzt shortly."

Arzt’s wife had studied medicine just like her husband, so she mainly examined Hilda and other high-ranking women whom Arzt found difficult to examine. After they left, I went into the bedroom with a sense of relief.

I approached the bed and gently looked over my wife, who had become a knight of Feuzen.

Thankfully, her expression looked peaceful.

"..."

For a long while, I just watched Hilda sleeping soundly.

I gently took her hand.

"I’m so glad you’re safe, Hilda."

More than anyone, I was truly glad she was safe. How desperate I must have been, to pray to the Lord for strength for the first time in my life. Even though this world was made not by the Lord but by a being called the operator.

[Scanning]

A system window suddenly popped up, startling me.

What’s it scanning, anyway?

[Congratulations. Lady Brünhilt’s pregnancy has been confirmed.]

[Week 2 of Pregnancy - Childcare Shop Unlocked]

P-pregnant?!