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As we entered the throne room and walked down the red carpet toward the King, I observed that we were flanked on both sides by royal guards. Behind the royal guards stood a host of nobles, their eyes following Dad and his noble friends while I and the knights from my and the other two noble houses trailed behind them.
When we were before the king, we all took a knee and bowed our heads, and Dad and the other two nobles said, "We greet His Majesty!"
From my peripheral vision, I saw the king nod and say, "Rise, defenders of the kingdom.", and so we did.
When we all got to our feet, the King spoke, "Lords and Ladies, Nobles of the Realm! We have gathered here today to reward exceptional bravery and performance. As I am sure all of you know, recently, our belligerent neighbors to the north have started a new campaign of aggression against us and attacked ten forts along our border using powerful weapons we have never seen before. In the ensuing battle, seven of our forts were captured, and many good men died. But despite these losses, new heroes arise." the king said while gesturing at us.
"Despite the overwhelming strength of the enemy wielding these powerful weapons, three forts managed to stand strong against the attack and even managed to capture the weapons used against us." the king declared grandiosely.
This caused the nobles to ooh and ahh while talking among themselves about what they thought actually happened.
As the king carried on praising our accomplishments, I started to realize what this was. We were being used as morale reinforcement to boost the public's confidence in the country. Despite all the flowery language, at the end of the day, despite the forts now being taken back by our side, we lost seven forts in one night, and that made the kingdom look weak and worried the people. And in times of weakness, heroes rising to the occasion usually comfort the masses.
When the king was done heaping praise upon us, he got to the part most of us were waiting for, "Seeing all that these men have accomplished, it was only right that they are rewarded. First among those rewards is bestowing upon you, Lord Holmer, Lord Ironcrest, and Lord Ducel, the title of Defender of the Realm." the king announced, making the nobles gasp in excitement.
The title Defender of the Realm is a formal title acknowledging heroism. It also granted the person bestowed this title the right to raise a personal army instead of the paltry number of men at arms Dad currently had at his disposal.
However, with the right to raise a personal army came the increased responsibility of taking a more active role in defending the border near them. In other words, instead of the royal army manning Fort Eldric, the king may extend our lands for it to incorporate Fort Eldric, making it Dad's responsibility to man and defend it, freeing up some of the royal's finances and manpower. So, it is not all good, but that is quite a lot of land that could be a boon if used wisely.
After the titles were bestowed, the monetary rewards came. All of us, including the knights, were awarded gold; even the knights who died were awarded gold posthumously, which would go to their families.
When all that was done, I saw the king's eyes zero in on me. I knew that he had something in mind, and I had a bad feeling about it.
What confirmed my bad feeling was when he smiled at me, "While all these accolades are being given out, there is a special mention that made it possible to recover the enemy's new weapon for study."
Oh no…
"Luke Ironcrest, step forward." the king said, but at this point, it was more a command than anything else.
When I was right in front of the king, he asked me to take a knee, which gave me an idea of what was coming next.
The king drew his sword and tapped me on the shoulder, "By the power invested in me as king of the realm, for your meritorious deeds and skill of arms by slaying powerful enemies in single combat, I hereby knight you." the king said as he tapped my other shoulder with his sword.
"Rise, Sir Luke Ironcrest, knight of the realm." the king said, and I did so while putting a forced smile on my face, only to see his smug face as he did me a great honor… well, he did, but I was not happy about it.
Being the son of a baron, the title of Knight did not mean much to me in my daily life. The only thing this granted me was the prestige that came from the title and formal authority in military situations instead of being known as 'some noble's son' on the battlefield.
On the bright side, I did not need to go through being a page or squire before gaining this title. The other upside to me gaining this title was the matter of who gave me the title. Sure, one could become a knight by appointment of a noble, but there was a difference in prestige when the king himself knighted a person.
As I turned back to take my place beside my father, I could see some of the nobles eyeing me like a piece of meat. I could practically hear them mentally practicing their sales pitch to introduce their daughters to me.
When I stood by my father's side, I could not miss the look of pride on his face. "Congratulations, son." he whispered to me as the king invited everyone to move to an adjoined ballroom to mingle.
"Not my idea of reward I was expecting to get. Is there any way to get out of this social event as fast as possible? I can practically feel the socialites looking at me like prey." I asked Dad.
"I am afraid not. Leaving too early might cause a scandal. Besides, did you not learn how to mingle in etiquette classes? I am sure you can get through this without causing any incidents. Just politely turn down their request if they ask you for anything you are not comfortable with." Dad replied.
"Yes, I learned it in etiquette class, but that does not mean I want to apply it." I complain petulantly.
"Well, too bad. If I have to go through it, you do, too," Dad said mockingly as we moved to the ballroom, and the socialites closed in on us.
I have survived one battle, and now another has begun. I just hope my social stamina is enough to weather this battle.