"I always thought at least Noah, you were trustworthy and knew your limits! Why are even you going along with Maria's nonsense!" Zofia sat opposite Noah, pouting as she spoke.
After learning that Maria had entered the Knight's Tournament under the name of Sparkle, she immediately became anxious, rushing all the way to Noah's place. As for why Noah's place—if Noah had firmly opposed Maria's participation, given Maria's obedience to Noah, this wouldn't have happened.
The only possibility for Maria to successfully participate was that Noah had also agreed to it.
"Zofia, calm down first—" Noah, of course, knew that there would definitely be such a three-way interrogation scene after the match. Actually, Zofia was only worried that something would happen to Maria, and was just angry for the moment.
The most troublesome one—was the current patriarch of the Nearl family, who, though silent now, had a completely gloomy expression.
Because of Mr. Manner's presence, their interrogation was even delayed until he got off work. "I just felt it was necessary for Maria to temporarily take on the position of the Nearl family's Head Knight."
"…" Manner didn't speak, but his sideways glance still instilled fear—well, Noah couldn't see it, she simply felt the gaze. Noah's perception ability was somewhat vague, but she could more or less sense the other person's mood and attitude, which made things much easier for her in daily life. Under her perception, very few people could hide their true attitudes, and through this ability, she often gained an advantage in various business negotiations.
This ability, rather than mind-reading, was more like an emotional perception, and it was always on; Noah couldn't even turn it off.
Just like now—Noah could clearly feel that the patriarch of the Nearl family was quite displeased with her.
Although Maria's participation in the tournament was her own decision, in the eyes of Zofia and Manner, Noah, who hadn't stopped Maria, seemed even stranger. In a way, this also meant they regarded Noah as one of their own.
"…It has nothing to do with Sister Noah, I wanted to participate in the Knight's Tournament myself…"
At this moment, the most frightened person was certainly not Noah, but Maria, who was trembling like a leaf.
Although she had quickly dealt with her opponent in the arena, it wasn't a complete crush (crushing victory), but a proper suppression that somewhat disappointed those spectators hoping for a repeat of the Shining Knight legend. But a victory was a victory. She practically skipped to Noah's front, only to be immediately apprehended by Zofia, who had been lying in wait, and then directly escorted home to await the joint interrogation by her uncle and Aunt.
Noah came to the scene as Maria's defense attorney.
Although Zofia and Manner both had reservations about Noah supporting Maria's participation in the tournament, they still didn't stop her from attending what was essentially a family meeting.
Noah's unwavering care for the Nearl family over the years was evident, and her family, Kielanlet, was also personally recognized by Cyril before he left as the Nearl family's eternal friend.
With these two layers of relationship, even Manner would not say anything to Noah Guillerette.
"That's what I'm angry about. Why would you, Noah, support her in participating in such… a competition?"
Zofia was once a competitive knight herself, with a career-best record of reaching the top sixteen, earning her the title of Whipblade Knight. However, in that competition, due to an injury, she retired in obscurity and has not recovered her former strength to this day.
Zofia knew best that while knight tournaments appeared to be mere entertainment, they actually harbored immense danger. Her injury was the best proof, and Margaret's victory followed by expulsion only solidified her conviction.
Maria absolutely must not participate in such barbaric competitions!
"Because I believe Maria is serious," Noah replied. "When she discussed it with me, her tone was very serious, so much so that it reminded me of Margaret's tone when she decided to participate in the competition back then."
"…Margaret, she…"
"Like history repeating itself, these two sisters have almost the same attitude towards participating in the Knight's Tournament. I suddenly had no way to stop her, just as I couldn't persuade Margaret back then.
For people like them, I know persuasion is useless, so I asked Kuro to help train Noah.
Every morning, for about three or four hours, Maria is very strong and trains very hard. Now, I believe she can protect herself in the Knight's Tournament—"
"This is a meaningless act." Manner spoke for the first time. "The honor of the Nearl family will not be dimmed by being stripped of its knightly title for not having a Head Knight, and knights are certainly not commodities to be admired. Participating in the Knight's Tournament will not bring honor to the Nearl family."
"…" The light in Maria's eyes, which had brightened due to Noah's support, gradually dimmed again. As the guardian with the most authority in the Nearl family, Manner's lack of support meant that her eligibility to compete could be revoked at any time. After all, her guardian was Manner, not Noah; no matter how much Noah supported her, she could only do so much. The rest was up to Maria herself.
However, a knight family without a Head Knight—the Nearl family really would be stripped of its knightly noble status due to bankruptcy…
Although Maria didn't know what the so-called noble knight status was actually for, and she hadn't experienced the so-called noble life, she felt that it was something Sister Magarette had won back for her, and she couldn't fail to protect it. This was why she felt this matter was very important.
"Aren't you usually busy researching those useless inventions and creations? Why suddenly pick up a sword and shield again? Are you tired of it? If you're tired, find other ways. If you really can't stand staying at home, come to my place. I have quite a few properties under my name, don't I? And the person next to you is even richer than me, and an old friend of your Sister. I bet it wouldn't even be a problem to move directly into their villa, and you could look out for each other too."
Zofia pointed to Noah, who looked bewildered, and spoke earnestly.
"Why bother becoming a competitive knight? Think about it carefully, if your prominent family hadn't refused our investment, would your family have gone bankrupt?"
"…Cough cough." Manner coughed, and for some reason, Noah seemed to detect some emotional fluctuation in that cough… It had to be said, Mr. Manner was actually completely bad at managing money… Even as a corporate slave, he never understood the importance of financial management.