My older sister is a villainous rich girl

The First Prince breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to refuse."

I was originally going to refuse.

But then he thought again, he couldn't just rely on Chris to find a powerful patron; the woman in front of him was also one of the most powerful patrons.

Yes, they shouldn't be underestimated.

Chapter 15 The First Prince's Request

After school, the First Prince invited Wayne to ride in a carriage with him.

Another classmate was also on the bus, Gavin Warren, who was practically inseparable from the First Prince.

“Just call me Gavin. Our families have been friends for generations, so there’s no need for you to be so formal, Wayne.”

"Yes, you can also just call me by my first name, Richard. That's what my friends call me."

Wayne readily changed his tune, but his inner vigilance had already reached its highest level.

Offering unsolicited favors is either a sign of malice or theft.

Even if there are family ties involved, it wouldn't be appropriate to invite someone to one's home when they are completely unfamiliar with them.

Generally, only close friends can enjoy this kind of treatment, and Wayne obviously does not belong to this category.

But on the surface, you could not tell that they had just met today; their conversation was very natural and casual.

The conversation in the carriage started with homeroom teacher Tommy's seventh failed romance and went on to the head of discipline wanting to develop a new hair transplant magic.

Wayne listened with great interest, feeling that his horizons had been broadened considerably.

First Prince Richard glanced at Gavin and subtly brought up the topic with Wayne.

"Actually, the reason I specially invited you this time is because I have a favor to ask."

Can I refuse?

"It's best not to."

Answered instantly.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

Richard gathered his thoughts and continued, "Actually, I have always admired Duke Elliot Winchester, especially the exceptionally talented squire mage corps inherited from the Winchester family. So, I also formed a squire knight corps, composed of talented individuals selected from among the noble children. My original intention in inviting you was to have you, a member of the Winchester family, point out their shortcomings."

"I was thinking that once they had practiced enough, I would take them to meet the Duke and ask for his personal guidance."

Richard looked at Wayne expectantly: "But I want them to appear in their best and most perfect condition at that time, so I'm leaving that to you, Wayne."

...Your Highness, isn't this considered keeping a private army? Won't the king become suspicious?

Oh, it seems I have one at home too. That's alright then.

Wayne stroked the expensive armrests inside the carriage. "But I'm still young and know nothing about squires. I'm afraid I can't help you."

It's not that I don't know anything about it, but rather that I've never had any contact with it at all.

Although his biological father was a squire knight of a local noble family, he died a long time ago, and he did not inherit his memories. He did not know what kind of image the squire knight had in his mind.

“It’s alright.” Richard wasn’t discouraged by his refusal. “Even the smallest suggestion is of great help to me.”

Now that he was already on board, Wayne couldn't very well jump ship halfway, so he decided to go and take a look.

Lately, he has been frequently visiting Chris's study to borrow books, and the existence of squire knights is occasionally mentioned in some of the books that describe local customs and traditions.

In his understanding, being a knight was probably a more economical and less desirable option than being a mage. Most people who lacked the talent of a mage but came from wealthy families would be trained to be knights.

They would have stronger physiques than ordinary people, and might be able to use some magically enhanced weapons, but that would be about it.

After a slight tremor, the carriage arrived at the prince's residence, and the servants opened the carriage door and prostrated themselves on the ground.

The prince stepped onto the back of a servant and gracefully alighted from the carriage, then held onto the door.

Gavin gestured for Wayne, the guest, to get out of the car first, while Richard, holding the car door, also adopted a courteous and respectful demeanor.

But Wayne only glanced at it before leaping off the carriage and landing steadily on the flat ground further away.

"..." The prince's perfect smile faltered.

"Well, very much like Miss Chris." Gavin followed behind and stepped off the carriage, stepping on the servants.

Wayne turned to the side and asked softly, "Are you mocking me and my sister?"

No, that's not what I meant at all.

"Will I tell on you?"

Please don't do that!

The three of them walked into the courtyard, joking and laughing.

Although it is called a mansion, it is actually no different from a private estate, with a very large area.

“Richard, to be honest, I envy you having such a large territory all to yourself,” Gavin said.

"Why don't you just have your father pay for one for you? If you're only looking for privacy, there are plenty of cheap plots of land in the suburbs."

“My old man won’t let me out of his control.” Gavin shook his purse. “Look, I’m penniless.”

“Sigh.” The prince sighed. “Actually, I’m not rich either. The cost of maintaining this estate has exhausted all my savings, and I’m just barely breaking even.”

Gavin turned his gaze to Wayne, who was admiring the view of the courtyard.

He put his arm around Wayne's neck and whispered, "Hey bro, how much pocket money do you get each month? Tell me so I can get a sense of it."

Wayne asked in surprise, "There's such a thing as pocket money? I just ask Sister Chris for whatever I want..."

Gavin showed a hint of sympathy: "It seems you're in a worse situation than me."

"Come this way."

Richard led them into the side courtyard, which was a large training ground.

"Clap, clap." He clapped his hands twice, and a very well-dressed knight order appeared in the center of the training ground.

They were all young faces, around fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in uniform red and white attire, somewhat similar to the kingdom's military uniforms, but made of significantly better materials.

As the command sounded, the knights waved their gleaming longswords in unison.

"How about it?"

Richard asked, unable to hide his excitement.

"...Looks good, has a strong presence."

Wayne noticed that the more mature-looking young man at the head of the group looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, he remembered that he had met him once at a banquet and had an unpleasant encounter with him.

Seeing Wayne's gaze linger, the prince took the initiative to introduce him: "This is Ida Campbell, son of Earl Campbell, who is currently serving as the vice-commander of the knightly order I founded."

Wayne noticed that when these nobles introduced themselves to each other, they would habitually state their family background first, and then add their own identity afterward.

It's as if someone has no right to speak up if their title isn't inherited.

"How many deputy regimental commanders are there in total?"

Wayne pondered the source of Campbell's hostility towards him.

"Two people, the other one is Gavin Warren, and I will be the head of the delegation."

Gavin immediately adopted an arrogant expression after being called out.

Chapter 16 Weapons and Episodes

...Indeed, it was a childish game, blatantly favoring relatives and friends.

Surprisingly, the knights didn't even glance at it, seemingly having absolutely no opinion on it.

No...maybe they have opinions, but they just haven't voiced them.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain Ida Campbell's hostility towards herself.

It wasn't that Wayne looked down on His Highness the Prince and his classmates, but rather that at their current age, they lacked social experience and simply didn't possess any management or organizational skills; at best, they were only at the level of class leaders.

These two only had time to come over for a "review" after school. It is likely that the one who truly plays a coordinating role within the Knights is another resident vice-captain, Ida Campbell.

As the actual training officer, he was already quite annoyed by being overshadowed by his two young direct superiors. To learn that the fruits of his labor would be "guided" by another complete novice and even younger child, it was only natural that he would be unhappy.

“Wayne, don’t hold back, just say what you think.” Richard seemed to value Wayne’s opinion very much.

“What if I said I also want to join this knight order and serve as the vice-commander?” Wayne asked, feigning eagerness.

Ida Campbell couldn't hold back and immediately glared at him angrily.

"Huh?"

The prince hesitated for a moment, then said carefully, "It's not impossible... but I must pass an assessment."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but let's not go for it," Wayne said with a smile. "I was just kidding."

Gavin said coolly, "Maybe Wayne is actually the type who likes to use jokes to express his true feelings."

Wow, you're quite perceptive.

Wayne smiled but remained silent.

At this point, Ida could no longer hold back and jumped out: "Your Highness Richard, although Duke Winchester is renowned, it does not mean that his son necessarily possesses outstanding military talent, so please consider this carefully."

Richard said sternly, "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

"...I wouldn't dare."

Looking at Date's expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't, it was as if he was wearing a mask of pain.

Although Wayne found it amusing, he still came to his rescue, saying, "Actually, Sir Ida is not wrong. In fact, I have never studied military tactics in my past life."

He could understand why Richard was biased in speaking on his behalf.

If nothing unexpected happens, Elliott Winchester, as a powerful duke, will inevitably be an important force that His Highness the Prince needs to win over.

This is also the main reason why Chris was able to get engaged to Prince Richard, who was the crown prince, in the original setting.

“Although I don’t know much about it, I’m personally very curious about the knights’ fighting style. If it’s convenient, could you show it to me?” Wayne added, “Especially those weapons with magical enhancements.”

Richard immediately said, "Want this? It's easy! I have a very well-made magical weapon in my collection, I'll give it to you."

He ordered his attendant to bring him his sword.

"Because there's no need to use it at school, and it might scare the girls, I've never worn it."

A moment later, an extremely ornate sword was placed on a wooden tray and respectfully presented to Wayne by a servant.

The scabbard is wrapped in the tough hide of some kind of animal, adorned with pure gold patterns and sparkling gemstones, but it is noticeably smaller than a typical longsword.

It's obvious at a glance that this sword was specially optimized for easy handling by young boys who haven't yet grown up.

“Uh…it’s too valuable,” Wayne declined. “I just wanted to take a look out of curiosity. Just give me a basic, standard magical weapon.”

"Don't refuse it; consider it a testament to our friendship."

Hey, I wouldn't have the heart to use it for destructive experiments. What if I break it? Wouldn't that mean our friendship would be over in no time?

"Come on, give it a try."

Richard cleared out a space for him.

“Let me spar with Young Master Wayne. I’ll use a defensive stance and just attack.” Without another word, Ida stood opposite Wayne.

"Infuse your magic into the sword, and the magic will then attach to the blade as sword energy. Then you can swing it like a normal longsword," he said. "Be careful not to cut yourself; I'm sure you won't make such a basic mistake."

"Hmm." Wayne closed his eyes.

He calmed down and sensed it.

Numerous points of light surrounded him, dancing wildly in the darkness.

Every thought stirred up a vast expanse of light that surged like waves, like a whale parting the water to swim in the ocean.

"O earth elemental spirit floating in the universe, lend me your power!"

As his completely unnecessary and incredibly childish shout faded, a surge of earth-yellow sword energy erupted.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the sword in Wayne's hand, whose original decorative patterns were completely unrecognizable.

"This is... a lightsaber?!"