Even now, Viviana felt the circumstances of their initial meeting were quite coincidental.
It was a coincidence that she accepted an interview, a coincidence that Noah overheard it, and a coincidence that Noah was looking for independent knights at the time. Finally, she invested in her, successfully investing in the popular Candle Knight.
This investment legend reportedly had several versions circulating online in Kazimierz. Some even offered courses specifically on 'discerning heroes with keen eyes,' encouraging people to become talent scouts and identify independent knights with unlimited potential. However, only Viviana herself knew that Noah didn't sign her for profit; she simply wanted to protect her.
She had only heard about Noah and Margaret's relationship from Noah herself, who said they were childhood sweethearts. But for Viviana, Margaret Lin-guang was her true idol. She had witnessed Margaret Lin-guang's rise not long after arriving in Kazimierz, and it was because of Margaret that she decided to participate in knight competitions.
It could be said that the two of them were the president and vice-president of Margaret Lin-guang's fan club. She herself had a considerable amount of Margaret Lin-guang merchandise at home. Although the Commercial Federation had expelled Margaret, they didn't delay in releasing merchandise related to the Shining Knight, from the 'Glory of the Past Limited Card Set' to the 'Limited Replica of the Shining Knight Nearl Family's Family Sword-Spear' (which Snitz had clearly taken away). There was also a 1:1 scale Shining Knight figurine, which was reportedly bought by a knight from Letania who wished to remain anonymous.
It should be known that besides merchandise for the active Candle Knight, the Shining Knight's merchandise sold the hottest. One can only say that for business, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
Of course, the money earned from this merchandise would not be given to the Nearl Family or Margaret. This seemed to be related to the fact that the copyright of independent knights originally belonged to the Knight Association itself. Noah had once tried to reclaim the copyright for the Shining Knight's character image, but the Knight Association stubbornly held onto it, as this IP could simply make too much money. They even stated that unless the Shining Knight herself came to claim it, the copyright could not be privately sold.
—Margaret herself to claim it… Why not let Old Tianma claim it?
He might be willing to claim it, but would you dare to meet him?!
Viviana still vividly remembered Noah's angry expression at the time. After all, her friend seemed to have no temper and rarely got angry. Viviana valued Noah as a friend. She was her first friend after coming to Kazimierz, and also the first friend with whom she could share poetry collections and go to the opera. She was sincere, didn't restrict her, respected her, never made her feel troubled, and even gave her small gifts on some holidays.
For example, the ornament currently hanging on her horn was a gift from Noah.
In any case, although not everything went as she wished after becoming an arena knight, and the Knight Nation wasn't as chivalrous as she imagined, at least meeting Noah was enough.
This time, when she came to the banquet at her adoptive mother's request, she had planned to ask Noah out for dinner that day. Although it was a bit of a shame, her adoptive mother rarely invited her to dinner, so she could only temporarily put that thought aside. Fortunately, she hadn't had time to send the message. As a result, upon arriving at the Supervisory Council, she found Maria Nearl, the sister of her idol Margaret Lin-guang, in the waiting room.
Viviana was also quite interested in Maria. On one hand, she also participated in knight competitions and was even called the 'Shining Knight Reborn.' On the other hand, she herself was one of the few people in Kazimierz who could be called a knight. The last reason… was that Noah was also very interested in her, reminding Viviana of how Noah looked when she invested in her. She also seemed very eager to recruit Maria into the San Hua Knight Order.
As the leader of the San Hua Knight Order, Viviana naturally welcomed the Shining Knight's sister to join, but the other party seemed to have refused.
However, Maria was much more talkative than she expected. After learning that Viviana also greatly admired Margaret, she immediately opened up—but Viviana wasn't sure if it was her imagination, as the other party seemed to carry a subtle hint of hostility when glancing at her.
Had she offended this sister of the Shining Knight somehow? Viviana was at a loss, but she pretended not to notice and continued to converse. From every perspective, she and Maria should maintain a good relationship.
Their conversation continued until Maria suddenly wanted to see the Champion's Wall. Viviana, worried Maria might get lost, followed her. When she brought her to the Champion's Wall, she saw Noah's figure beneath Margaret Lin-guang's portrait. She seemed to have noticed them early on and was now turning around, revealing a serene smile under the dim lights of the Champion's Wall.
"Noah? What are you doing here?"
"Actually, I wanted to ask you that question too… but it doesn't matter. Are you here to see Margaret?" Noah asked. "It's a rare chance to see the Champion's Wall without buying a ticket. Don't miss this opportunity, it won't come again."
Maria was also surprised that Noah was here, but seeing Manner beside Noah, she pretty much understood. It was probably that everyone in the Nearl Family, except Aunt Zofia, had been called here, and Noah, the famous unofficial family member of the Nearl Family, was naturally within the scope of the invitation. Noah was sitting in her wheelchair at this moment, beneath the large portrait of Margaret Lin-guang, and in the lighting, she looked as beautiful as another painting.
Maria looked at her sister in the portrait and Noah beneath the portrait, and couldn't help but sigh—they were too perfect for each other.
Black-haired, black-eyed Noah and golden-haired, golden-eyed Margaret. Their temperaments complemented each other; though seemingly opposite, they shared common ground in their aura. More importantly… their looks were equally matched.
However, Margaret leaned more towards a neutral handsomeness, while Noah possessed a more classical beauty. It was as if the images of a knight and a princess were recreated in reality… making it impossible to even feel jealous.
Viviana shared the same feeling as Maria. Although it was just a portrait, Noah and Margaret indeed looked very well-matched… Although she wasn't sure if Noah had any other feelings for Margaret besides being childhood sweethearts, Viviana unconsciously thought that if the two were together… no one would say they weren't a good match, right?
A slightly sour feeling suddenly entered the atmosphere…
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