Chapter 103
Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.27 – The Knight Doesn't Want to Return to Duty (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Early afternoon.
The scorching summer sun beat down on the earth, making it an unbearably sweltering and miserable day for anyone. Yet, despite this oppressive heat...
Whoooosh! Whoosh-!
"......"
The girl—no, she—silently swung her sword.
Sweat poured down in rivulets...
Drenching her entire body unpleasantly, but she didn't give up.
A hundred downward strikes.
Not just any downward strikes, but ones so perfect that only then would each count as "one." In that sense, she had already swung Levi's downward strikes over seven hundred times with ease, yet she still hadn't completed a full perfect hundred.
Because she had only managed a satisfactory one thirty times so far.
'The sword... is really hard.'
Her mouth was parched, and she felt like she could collapse from exhaustion at any moment, but instead of falling, Levi reflected once more on the profundity of the sword.
The more she swung, the deeper it seemed.
Even if she thought she was swinging the same way, the trajectory looked different each time, and the intent infused in the blade changed.
Thus, Levi thought...
'...This is fun!'
Yes, it was fun.
The fact that she could immerse herself so completely in one thing.
And the fact that she could see herself improving the more she put in effort.
It wasn't just swordsmanship that was fun.
She was looking forward to learning archery afterward, and even new etiquette and linguistics.
On top of that, she wanted to start learning cooking for her master right away.
A life where she could learn so many things freely...!
She couldn't be more satisfied.
...However.
"Miss."
She flinched!
"You seem quite fatigued now. Wouldn't it be best to pause your training for a bit?"
"......"
"The knight said so as well. You must properly replenish fluids and rest, or it will harm your body. So, please stop now, Miss."
"Mm..."
Everything was satisfying, but Levi still hadn't adjusted to the sudden change in her living environment. With a timid expression, she spoke to the maid.
"Um... I get it, so could you stop calling me 'Miss'?"
"Oh? Why is that?"
"...It feels like I'm wearing clothes that don't suit me or doing something beyond my station."
Levi's honest feelings.
Of course, it wasn't uncommon for her to be called "Miss."
No matter if it was a [fake life], she had lived as a noble lady.
...But seeing someone treat her with such genuine respect was a first.
What was this feeling?
For example, it was like living as a stage actress, and then that actress's role became reality?
Probably something like that, and Levi began to sweat for a different reason.
This excessive treatment was overwhelmingly burdensome.
"Oh dear, more sweat. This is why you should train indoors; your beautiful skin will be ruined."
"...I-It's fine. Skin is, well..."
"Skin is important too, you know. You mustn't forget that you are the daughter of His Excellency. The position of a marquis's lady is no light matter; you must maintain the necessary dignity, conduct, and always noble bearing."
"......"
"Now that you've become someone who must set an example for others, not only in swordsmanship but in appearance as well, you must inspire awe in those around you. So, please understand even if I speak harshly."
"...I-I get what you mean, but even as a daughter, I'm just an adopted one, so it's too..."
"My, has some insolent fool within the family dared to mistreat you because you're an adopted daughter—?"
"......"
"If so, tell me right away. I will handle it immediately."
"...N-No, there's no such person."
"That's a relief then."
"......"
...Scary. No, intimidating.
Harder to deal with than the sword.
The way she said "handle it" sounded like she meant burying that person.
So Levi resolved herself.
'I need to watch my mouth from now on.'
She might carelessly cause several deaths if she spoke wrongly, so she must never be careless with her words again.
Levi, age 19.
It was a day when she truly felt that life as Lady Tristan was beyond her.
- Yes, I'll do it.
- ......
- Oh, were you joking?
- No, not at all. I'm rather surprised you accepted so readily, heh heh...
Not long after the graduation ceremony, Levi received an adoption proposal from Marquis Tristan and accepted it without a second's hesitation.
It was only natural.
She couldn't keep freeloading at her master's house forever; clinging on any longer would be shameless.
She wanted to be someone helpful to her master, not a leech.
Thus, the marquis's offer was truly a stroke of heaven-sent luck.
Even if it meant becoming the daughter of the man she had nearly married, she knew this was a miraculous opportunity beyond any price.
More than anything...
- Thank you, Master.
This was also a precious opportunity, created through her master's—...her first precious person's blood and sweat in life, so accepting it was only right.
However, one thing...
If there was something bothering her...
- B-But there's one thing I must tell you. I am...
- Ah, I know about that. No need to disclose it.
- Pardon?
- Heh heh, consider this a gift. Use it well as you see fit.
- ......
What Levi had been hiding.
It was her origins and status.
She tried to reveal it herself, but the marquis cut her off and simply handed her a ring and a single parchment. Seeing it, Levi's eyes widened.
- H-How is this...
- The mother and daughter of the Pollet family each kept one. Probably received from their husband or father.
- ......
- We collected them on our side, but it seems the true owner is someone else.
- ...Even knowing this, you're still accepting me, Marquis?
- It's not accepting. If anything, I'm the one begging. Begging you to give me the chance to take a talented child like you as my own, heh heh.
- ......
At that moment, countless emotions swirled in Levi.
Amazement that she was worth so much, and utter bewilderment at the overflowing fortune.
And unknowingly...
- Master...
She called out to her one and only bluebird who brought this fortune, and a smile bloomed in place of tears.
She realized for the first time in her life that sometimes, when people are too happy, they laugh instead of cry.
And now.
'What should I do with this?'
Enduring the unfamiliar maid wiping her sweat, Levi fiddled with the ring.
The parchment from the marquis... no, the "slave contract" she had been forced to sign after being kidnapped against her will.
It had been a week since she burned that contract.
...But the ring.
She couldn't dispose of it carelessly.
Though her slave status was gone, the [Mark of Submission] still remained on her back.
And this ring was like a catalyst for that mark of submission; removing it would be ideal, but...
'That's the worst option.'
Why else would the mark of submission be called a curse?
Once engraved, it doesn't vanish easily even if the catalyst is destroyed—that's why it's a curse.
Even if she got rid of the ring, illicit mages could create a new catalyst instantly upon seeing her mark.
Thus, the answer wasn't destroying the existing catalyst but extracting the mark of submission from her body itself. Until she found a safe extraction method...
'I can't destroy the ring right now.'
She had to manage it meticulously instead.
This ring literally held power over her life and death.
After much deliberation, Levi decided to entrust the ring to someone else.
Keeping it herself?
Nothing could be more insecure.
How could a weak girl like her, who could only be protected, safeguard this ring?
So she would entrust it.
To the most reliable and sturdy man she knew.
None other than...
"...Where is Master right now?"
"I believe he's with the knights. Shall I guide you—?"
"Ah, no need. I-I can find him myself."
Fearing the maids waiting in the distance might follow, Levi quickly quickened her steps.
She dashed off like she was kicking off the ground, wanting to avoid the situation where five or more maids trailed her every move.
"Miss!"
She heard them calling from behind, but Levi only apologized inwardly and didn't stop.
She still wasn't used to life as the marquis's lady.
...Probably wouldn't be for another five years?
The adaptation story of a wounded blue stray cat, betrayed many times from commoner life to people, was set to continue for a while.
Rooooar.
As expected of a great noble family's training ground?
Typically, training facilities were just plain parade grounds or gym-like setups at best. But the training ground where they—the Crimson Eagle Knights—trained was on another level entirely.
'How does a training ground even have a waterfall?'
The scale, no, the environment itself was worlds apart.
The flowing waterfall wasn't some gentle stream babbling down—it was a massive torrent of water pouring in real time.
A spectacular sight that cleared the mind just watching it.
And such a waterfall was in the training ground.
Apparently made by deploying a large number of mages—an artificial one. Only a great noble could invest in training facilities on this class.
'This is what a waterfall is.'
Of course, it wasn't just the waterfall.
Even without knowing climbing as a sport, they'd artificially created similar cliffs, plus facilities like 30-meter rope climbs, swamps, and sand pits. Wow.
'The White Silver Lion Knights didn't have stuff like this.'
Well, they emphasized personal training, so it wasn't odd they lacked such facilities, but still, they were a royal knight order, and yet...
'Can't help but compare even if I don't want to.'
It felt like going from minor leagues to an Olympic athlete's top-tier facility overnight.
'Man, I gotta visit home more often.'
The other facilities were impressive too, but the waterfall undoubtedly stole the show and the heart.
"...Martial arts-style training is still the best."
Waterfall-facing training.
Lee Han smiled contentedly at finally trying the training he'd always wanted to do at least once.
Toward him...
"I asked before, but what the hell is this 'wuxia' you keep talking about?"
"A place where lots of people train like me."
"...Sounds like a terrifying place."
Bale, vice commander of the Crimson Eagle Knights.
He wore a fatigued expression toward the man happily doing squats amid the waterfall pouring hundreds of kilos of water in real time.
And he thought...
'Wuxia, huh... I don't know what kind of place it is, but are they all just sadistic perverts who enjoy this kind of torment?'
...What a truly awful place.
Bale, now harboring an irreversible misunderstanding about wuxia.