The story of the black silk female knight

Valensa stuck out her tongue, surprised that her boasting had the opposite effect.

"It's not actually that dangerous... Sister Melina, look at me, I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I?"

"...Is it really not dangerous?"

Melina, however, seemed somewhat skeptical, staring intently into Valensa's eyes.

"Uh-huh..."

Valensa, unable to lie under her gaze, could only lower her head.

“Okay, it was a little dangerous… I’m sorry, Melina, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken such a risk and made you worry.”

"No, you don't need to apologize to me. You should trust your own choice, Miss."

Melina then smiled gently and took Valensa's hand:

"As far as I know, young ladies always cherish their lives above all else... There must be a more important reason for you to make the decision to risk your life in this battle."

For example…Young Miss, you saved many people again this time, even the capital city, didn’t you?”

"Waaaaah... Melina, you're so kind."

Valensa couldn't help but hug Melina tightly, her breathing becoming rapid.

"...We're still on the street, so watch your image, Miss."

Melina didn't struggle, but simply chuckled and whispered in Valensa's ear:

"If you need comforting... should we go to my place? Or should we get a room at a hotel?"

"Let's... let's go to a hotel and get a room."

Valensa chuckled:

"Although Melina's staff dormitory has single rooms, the soundproofing doesn't seem to be very good. I'm afraid I won't be able to help but make too much noise..."

Melina naturally agreed, and the two quickly booked a room at a luxury hotel in the capital.

While enjoying Melina's gentle care, Valensa didn't hide anything and told Melina about her experiences and plans during this period.

Whenever Melina gets to the exciting parts, her behavior becomes quite thrilling, causing Valensa's voice to rise in pitch and become melodious and graceful during the storytelling.

Only after Valensa finished telling the truth that the church had kept from her and her plans did the two embrace in a more peaceful manner on the sheets.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss."

Before truly falling asleep, Melina gently kissed Valensa's half-closed eyes:

"No matter what choice you make, I will support you as always... There may be many things I can no longer help you with, but you can always come to me for a good rest whenever you need me."

"Hmm...where Melina is, is my warm home."

Valensa wrapped her arms around Melina and returned the kiss.

Goodnight, Melina.

"Yes, goodnight, Miss."

This night was exceptionally warm.

. . . . .

The following morning, after making some preparations with Melina's help, Valensa visited the residence of the Kingdom's Minister of Finance by carriage.

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, Valensa did not visit in the name of the church this time, but rather as a noblewoman.

This is one of the reasons why she went to see Melina first yesterday... How could a high-ranking nobleman visit someone alone?

Recruiting Sophia to work at the church would inevitably disrupt the Chancellor of the Exchequer's planned marriage. Valensa didn't want the Chancellor to find out too early, so she used the excuse of visiting a friend.

The servants of the Chancellor of the Exchequer knew that Sophia was attending the Iris Girls' Academy.

Valensa looked to be about the same age as Sofia, so the servants at the Chancellor's house naturally assumed that Valensa was Sofia's classmate and didn't pay much attention to her.

The visit of a classmate of a concubine's daughter was not enough to alarm the head of the family... Valensa was quickly taken directly to Sofia's residence, which was exactly what Valensa wanted.

"Instructor?"

Sofia, who was reading in her room, was clearly surprised to see Valensa. She quickly got up, went to Valensa's side, and asked with concern:

"Is your body alright now?"

"Yes, it's all over now, don't worry."

Valensa smiled and nodded, and sat down at the table across from Sofia, who was very hospitable.

"That's great!"

Sofia breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart:

"I was so worried when I saw you fall, Instructor... By the way, the students in the capital are planning a banquet tomorrow night to celebrate our escape from death. Instructor, why don't you come too? You're our hero."

"A class reunion? Yes, I'll attend."

Valensa's eyes lit up immediately; wasn't this the perfect recruitment opportunity?

However, before recruiting other noble girls, it's necessary to win over Sophia first... Even if Sophia refuses the recruitment for various reasons, it's still important to persuade her to help convince others.

With that in mind, Valensa stopped beating around the bush and, after a few casual words, went straight to the point and presented her plan to Sofia.

"Instructor, you want to... recruit students to work in the church?"

Sofia blinked her beautiful eyes repeatedly, looking quite surprised.

"Why? Arranged marriages are very normal among nobles... We are born to enjoy the wealthy life provided by our families, so we naturally have an obligation to contribute to them."

"Since we lack the talent for cultivation, are not good at management, and are not qualified to inherit management rights, isn't our only option to arrange a marriage?"

"Of course I understand these principles. After all, I myself am of noble birth, and I almost became your classmate."

Valensa shrugged and smiled, but her eyes became unusually serious:

"It is true that children who enjoy the wealth given by their family should contribute to the family, but must they sacrifice their own marriage and happiness?"

Those who are mutually in love with their fiancés are fine, but many young noblewomen are married off to older men who are much older than them... Is it possible for them to be happy?

Even if they lack cultivation talent and cannot participate in management and business, female nobles can still contribute to the family in other ways and repay the family's kindness in raising them. There is no need to arrange a marriage.

I don't want to destroy the traditions of the nobility; I just... want to give those noble girls who are unwilling to sacrifice their love and marriage a chance to change their fate through hard work.

Are you willing to change your fate of being merely a tool for arranged marriage, and help more classmates change their fate as well? Sophia?

Chapter 16 Asking the Goddess to Grant a Child

Unlike Lian, Sofia readily agreed to Valensa's recruitment.

Sofia has several older brothers and sisters, so she doesn't need to carry on the family bloodline. She only needs to fulfill her obligation to contribute to the family, and there's no need to use a marriage alliance as a means.

Furthermore, with Sofia's engagement still undecided, she felt no burden whatsoever and could seize the opportunity Valensa offered to work hard for herself.

Young girls are always sentimental.

If one were not burdened by responsibilities and obligations to the point of having no choice but to resist, who would be willing to casually sacrifice their life's happiness?

If there's a chance to struggle, of course you should seize it fiercely.

Sofia was confident in persuading some of her classmates to accept Valensa's recruitment. She even immediately gave Valensa a list and began discussing the persuasion plan for the next night.

After discussing business and chatting casually for a while, Valensa took her leave.

To avoid arousing suspicion from her family, Sofia saw Valensa to the door like a real classmate and warmly invited her to come again next time.

Valensa naturally played along and finished the charade.

With Sofia's help, the recruitment will surely be much easier, Valensa is very confident about this, and can just wait for the celebration party tomorrow night.

So she canceled her original plan to visit several girls and spent the whole day with Melina shopping, eating snacks, and having fun in the capital before sending Melina back to the staff dormitory and returning to the church herself.

"Instructor, instructor..."

As soon as they arrived at the church's rest area, Lian excitedly ran over:

"I heard from a priestess that as long as you receive the blessing of Her Majesty the Sun Goddess, you can have children even without a man! Is that true?"

"There is nature."

Valensa smiled and nodded, ruffling Lian's hair:

"However... Her Majesty the Goddess's grace is not something you can just wish for. You must be a very devout believer or have made certain contributions to the church to receive it."

"It's alright, I will work very hard and I will definitely receive the grace of Her Majesty the Goddess!"

Lian confidently clenched her little fist and looked up at Valensa:

"I've made up my mind, Instructor! I... I still want to become a Paladin! I want to protect the weak and become a true hero like you, Instructor!"

"Yes, I knew you would eventually make this decision, Lian."

Valensa smiled without any surprise, then hesitated for a moment before asking:

"And what about your family...?"

"It doesn't matter with the family!"

Lianxian was very confident:

"I will train harder and become an excellent paladin, so that Her Majesty the Goddess will reward me and grant me a child!"

The elders in my family have been pressuring me to get married, isn't it all because they want children? Well, if I have one, it'll be... a child bestowed upon me by Her Majesty the Goddess, and I won't have to worry about the man's family having ambitions! There's no reason for the elders to disagree with a way that satisfies and makes everyone happy!"

"To repay the family's kindness in raising me by having a child bestowed by Her Majesty the Goddess? Hmm... that is indeed a good idea. Perhaps I could... cough."

Valensa briefly indulged in her thoughts before quickly pulling herself back to reality.

She looked at Lian intently:

"Now that you've decided to become a paladin, the training ahead will be very tough... After all, Lian, you started a bit late, and you'll need to put in twice the effort to catch up... Are you prepared?"

"Of course! I was already prepared for this!"

Lian nodded repeatedly, her little fists clenched tightly:

"Compared to smart people like the instructors and Sophia, I may be a bit slow, but when it comes to belief and perseverance, I am confident that I will not lose to anyone!"

Any problem that can be solved with hard work is not a problem for me!

"very good!"

Valensa ruffled Lian's hair again, growing fonder with each passing moment she looked at Lian.

Even though she and Lian are about the same age, she has the kind of expectation that a senior has for an outstanding junior.

In her past life, when Valencia read martial arts novels, she never understood why some powerful seniors would readily impart all their knowledge to the protagonist or even risk their lives to save him. Now, she can somewhat understand that feeling.

That's how she felt about Lian... Even though they hadn't known each other for long, they clicked immediately, and she wanted to pass on her skills to Lian so that Lian could grow into an even better person.

"Let's go to the training ground."

When people are in a good mood, they become more generous and open-minded, and Valensa is no exception:

"Consider it a celebration for Lian's choice, Instructor has a gift for you!"

"Huh? The instructor is going to give me a gift?"

Lian was delighted, but also somewhat puzzled:

"But why go to the training ground? Can't we do it here?"

"Because that gift was rather sharp."

Valensa smiled slightly:

"I must teach you some basic techniques first to ensure that you don't get hurt by it."

"oh oh……"

Lian nodded obediently, but her eyes were filled with even more anticipation.

Something sharp... must be a weapon, right?

The instructors are definitely the best. Unlike those boring men back home, who would send me nothing but flowers and cakes all the time, which was totally meaningless.

With Lian full of anticipation, the two women quickly arrived at the training ground.

There were still quite a few paladins training here. Valensa smiled and nodded to them in greeting before leading Lian to a more spacious corner.