Erica - When a Friend is Obsessed With Me

Chapter 57

Everyone was willing to tolerate a few minor accidents for the sake of the thrill.

They even showed some concern for Erica.

"She's going to be working shifts for the rest of her life."

"Yes. No matter how talented she is, Lady Erica... will never become a direct knight."

The imperial hierarchy in Tenearha was twofold.

A small number of direct knights served directly alongside the imperial family, while a larger group comprised the rotating knights.

The immediate knights stood by the imperial family's side, whereas the rotating knights moved throughout the entire imperial court.

They were more than twenty paces away from the immediate knights, making their role largely ceremonial.

Erica belonged to the latter group.

She was quite happy with the relative freedom of her position.

It was much more enjoyable to roam the entire imperial castle than to be tied to a single palace.

"You're never going to get a direct knighthood in your lifetime."

"Thank you."

"That's not good!"

"Oh, by the way, would you like to share this? It was a gift from the Empress's maid earlier."

Getting to know so many people in the Imperial Palace was quite pleasant.

From that moment on, Erica quickly became a favorite among the courtiers.

While she wasn't as popular as she had been as an S-class mercenary—once the unrivaled celebrity of the South—she was on track to regain that status.

This was especially evident within Tenearha.

Knights eagerly sought to spar with Erica on the training grounds and hoped to share guard duty shifts with her.

The average age of the Swordmasters was similar to that of an uncle, so most found her cute and approachable.

It made sense; her exceptional skills made her impossible to dislike, even for a commoner.

Yet, as always, there were exceptions.

"..."

Just three!

Only three people treated Erica with coldness and disdain.

"Poor uniform."

The first was Count Herais, the Templar Commander.

"I'm at a loss for words. Do I, the commander of the Knights Templar, really need to reprimand you for something like this?"

"No, this is a drill."

"No talking back. You must wear your training uniform during training. You're not a child, and I shouldn't have to explain this to you again."

"..."

"Why no answer? Maybe your boss isn't making sense anymore."

"No... Seriously... I thought you said no talking back."

What an asshole. He accused her of not responding when he had just told her not to!

Erica tried her best to avoid him, but it was futile.

As the commander of the knights, he had so little to occupy his time that he constantly appeared throughout the Tenearha district.

Then there was the old head of the Administration Building.