After the meeting, the spirited knights of the hospital returned to their positions and began preparing for the upcoming battle in an orderly manner.
In the empty conference hall, only the young commander and Marshal Pierre remained.
"How are the reinforcements from Europe doing?" the young commander asked.
The Marshal's face was filled with worry, a far cry from his impassioned speech earlier. "We have sent messengers to most of the powerful countries in Europe. France, England, Spain, Aragon, and the Holy Roman Empire are all engaged in conflicts on the continent and have explicitly stated that they are unable to send reinforcements. The Genoese refused to provide support, citing a peace agreement with the Ottoman Sultan. The Emperor of Constantinople was willing to help, but they have their own troubles... Only the Kingdom of Naples has expressed willingness to send their naval fleet to support our battle..."
"The fleet of Naples? Well, it's better than nothing..." the young commander sighed, then asked, "What about Venice?"
"At first, the Doge of the Venetian Republic promised to send a force of 3,000 troops, but later, for some reason, they began refusing to see our messengers. The attitude of Venice is now very ambiguous... I'm afraid..."
At this point, the Marshal hesitated and looked at the commander with uncertainty.
"I'm afraid we can't rely on them either."
The young commander sighed again, articulating the unspoken words of the Marshal.
"Commander..."
"No need to comfort me." The young commander waved his hand to the Marshal who looked worried. "I know how powerful our enemies are."
"'Sword Slaves'?" A self-deprecating expression appeared on the young commander's face. "If even the Turkish slaves possess such combat strength, the Sultan would have conquered the Vatican and drunk from the Horse Cross River long ago."
"But as long as all the knights can unite like they did just now..."
Pierre still wanted to console the commander.
"Marshal, do you seriously think that just with the speech earlier, we can dispel the fear in everyone's hearts?"
"Well..."
"I may be young, but I'm not a child." The young commander seemed to see through Pierre's thoughts. "As the leader of the knights and the people of Rhodes, I'm not deaf or blind. How could I not know the complaints of my subordinates?"
"But Charlotte, you're putting too much pressure on yourself..."
The Marshal patted the young commander's shoulder gently, understanding the burden weighing on the "youngster" in front of him.
"I have let go of that name. Here, please call me Grand Commander, Marshal." The young commander casually brushed off Pierre's hand from his shoulder. "I will protect the Order and the island of Rhodes, and I swear by the True Cross and my grandfather's name."
After speaking, the young commander left the conference hall.
Listening to the sound of the young commander's footsteps fading away, Pierre sighed heavily.
"Ah, I don't know if it was right or wrong to bring her here all those years ago."
...
After leaving the conference hall, the young commander went to the castle's kitchen and hastily solved dinner with a piece of salted meat and some black bread. Then he returned to his own living quarters.
Passing through the magnificent and imposing commander's office, the young commander opened a small door and entered his bedroom.
It was a very simple room, with only a bed, a wardrobe, and some swords and knives for training.
The young commander locked the window and the door, and pulled the curtains closed. Then, he began to remove his battle robes.
First, the heavy boots came off, followed by the black battle robe. After that, he untied the cloth strip tied around his chest, revealing a pair of snowy, well-rounded breasts that clearly did not belong to a man. Next, "he" untied the hairband holding up the long hair, letting the fiery red hair cascade onto the fair shoulders.This is not a young boy at all! Clearly, it's a beautiful young girl with a graceful figure and a lovely face!
The redhead girl stepped into the bathroom barefoot, submerging her body into the already filled bathtub of hot water.
"Ah."
The girl reclined in the bath, closing her eyes and sighing.
After a moment, the girl opened her eyes.
Through the steam rising from the hot water, she lifted her ample bosom with her hands.
"Why is it that, despite my rigorous training.... my body remains fragile and girlish?" The girl couldn't help but furrow her brow, "And these two immodest bulges of fat, having to bind them every day truly hampers me in battle..."
Suddenly, the girl noticed the pendant nestled between her bosoms.
It was a pendant of an eight-winged angel, the only heirloom left to her by her grandfather, and the thing she treasured most. The girl always wore it around her neck.
"Grandfather."
Clutching the pendant tightly, the gentle countenance of her grandfather appeared in her mind.
"...When our knight order was surrounded by Saladin's massive army, a heavenly angel with eight wings emerged from the sea, leading us to cross the ocean, escaping from the grasp of the infidels... My dear Charlotte, take this pendant with you. The angel will protect you..."
The memory of her grandfather's voice and smile echoed in her ears, causing tears to well up in the girl's eyes.
She was Charlotte de Vallières, the granddaughter of Folques de Vallières, who was once a grand commander of the knights.
Her grandfather, Folques, was once a hero.
When the knight order had just evacuated from the Holy Land and their old commander passed away in sorrow, Folques willingly took on the role of the grand commander.
He led the knight hospitalers in capturing the island of Rhodes, which had been infested with pirates, as their new base.
When Folques set foot on Rhodes, it was nothing more than a barren and desolate island. But after only twenty years under Folques' leadership, the knight hospitalers had turned it into the most prosperous and wealthy commercial port in the Mediterranean, as well as the strongest fortress in the region.
So, Folques had once been the hero of the knight hospitalers.
But the good times didn't last. One day, the knight in charge of finances was astonished to find that the treasury of the knight order, which should have contained vast wealth, had been completely emptied. It was discovered that the revered Folques had embezzled the hard-earned money of the knights.
After a thorough investigation, the knights were shocked to find that a significant portion of that money had been given to their enemies, the Mamluk Sultanate!
Angry, the knights accused Folques of being a debauched traitor who conspired with the enemy. They surrounded the grand commander's palace, deposed him from his position, and exiled him back to his homeland of Provence, in France.
And it was in Provence that the girl was born.
Throughout her life, she carried the stigma of being the "traitor's granddaughter" and faced the disdain of her neighbors. But the girl never believed that her grandfather, who led a simple and kind life, could be a traitor to the knight order.
When the girl was seven years old, the knight hospitalers conquered the city of Alexandria in the Mamluk Sultanate, alongside the armies of various European countries.
The knight order sent a representative with the holy relic, the "True Cross," brought back from the Holy Land, to receive the cheers of the people in the streets of Provence.
On that day, the girl joined the crowd in their celebrations.
She watched the knights with their crimson battle robes, gleaming swords, and armor.
The girl muttered to herself in a soft voice.
"Was my grandfather also such a brave knight?"
Her eyes were filled with admiration.
"Your grandfather, that despicable traitor, was never a knight!"
A malicious voice came from beside her.
It was the children from the nearby neighborhood.
"My grandfather was not a traitor!" the girl defended herself angrily.
"He wasn't? Hahaha, then why is the traitor's granddaughter here at the victory ceremony? Are you here to curse our brave knights, perhaps?"
"No, I'm not..."
Thud.
A wooden stick struck the girl's head heavily.
The girl felt dizzy, weakly collapsing to the ground.
"Haha, let this traitor's whore receive divine punishment!"
"Kill this little slut!"
...
The boys surrounded the girl, continuously hurling stones and spitting on her."Grandfather..."
The girl tightly clutched the pendant in front of her chest, the only thing left to her by her grandfather before he passed away.
She didn't cry, years of bullying had made her strong and stubborn.
Silently, she endured and resisted, never surrendering.
"Oh my God! The true cross has revealed itself!"
A wave of commotion came from the crowd.
It turned out that the true cross placed at the front of the knight's procession emitted a dazzling light.
The holy radiance illuminated the entire street, and everyone believed it to be a miracle from God.
The children who had bullied the girl were also shocked by this sudden miracle. Forgetting their abuse, they stared blankly at the light of the cross.
"You rascals, stop!"
A distinguished knight pushed through the crowd and walked toward the girl.
The children in the neighborhood scattered in fear upon hearing the knight's angry shout.
The knight walked straight up to the girl, and stooped down.
"What is your name?"
The knight asked.
"Charlotte," the girl answered, somewhat puzzled.
........
That knight was Pierre, the Grand Marshal of the Hospital Knights. He realized that it was the girl who triggered the miracle of the true cross.
After the ceremony, he brought the girl to the Vatican Palace in Rome. According to the judgment of the Ecclesiastical Inquisitor, this girl named Charlotte was undeniably qualified to become a holy knight.
Pierre had the girl disguise herself as a boy named Loche and took her to Rhodes to train as a knight.
The girl did not disappoint the Grand Marshal's expectations.
In just a few years, she became proficient in the use of all knight weapons. Under the guidance of the Vatican Inquisitor, she also learned the three combat techniques of the Holy Knight. By the time she turned fifteen, she had already reached the rank of a Holy Knight, possessing the strength to fight against hundreds of enemies alone.
As the only Holy Knight in Europe, the girl undoubtedly became the symbol of the Hospital Knights. However, her identity as the "traitor's granddaughter" still caused many to be uneasy.
When the girl turned sixteen, the old Captain of the Knights passed away. Pierre, going against public opinion, gave the position of Captain to the girl. Thus, the girl became the youngest leader in the history of the Knights.
When the girl attended the inauguration ceremony, she noticed that there was an empty space on the wall of the council chamber where portraits of past leaders should have been hanging. After the ceremony, she went to check and found a small note attached to the wall:
The position of the traitor, Folke de Villaret
"I will use my own hands... to prove my grandfather's honor!"
Clutching the angel pendant in her hand, the girl named Charlotte de Villaret silently made up her mind.
