Klugen, who had claimed to be Rose's Phantom, had snuck into Court Count Mainhof's banquet to assassinate the crown prince, where he and I had engaged in a fierce, life-and-death duel.
Honestly, with my skill at the time, holding my own was the most I could manage. I was only able to defeat the exhausted Klugen because the Mainhof family's private soldiers, blinded by rage at their master's death, had attacked him first.
Hmm, I couldn't even guarantee a win with my current skill. He was the knight the Lord of Rosenheim took pride in, and he held the honor of being the Rose Knight. Viktor and August held him in tremendous regard.
The more they reminisced about Klugen, the more I realized that hiding the truth wasn't a good idea. August had become my vassal knight and Viktor had become my subordinate, so I had a duty to tell them the truth.
