Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.54 – The Knight Hates Soybean Powder (5)
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...Where in the world do they have drifts like this?
"......"
"D-Don't look at me like that."
"What's wrong with my eyes?"
"I-It looks like you're staring at a criminal."
"You know it well."
"!!?!"
The more immersed he'd been in the story, the greater the shock.
It was like the terror a child reading a heartwarming fairy tale feels when an adult suddenly shoves the original, gritty source material in their face.
In other words...
'This is on another level.'
Child abuser? It was a cliché that popped up like cheap broth in romance fantasies, but hearing it for real just made him sick to his stomach.
Lee Han felt genuine contempt.
"W-Wait! I get that there's some misunderstanding, but stop! It's all a big mistake!"
"That sounds like the standard criminal line..."
"It's not! I won't deny I'm a lousy parent, but there are valid reasons for everything. Just hear me out a bit more."
"......"
"...Thanks for at least pretending to listen, but could you do something about that look? It hurts..."
Felicia looked truly wronged, her face crumpling as she grumbled on.
"-I'd already burned through my allotted lifespan, so isn't it weird not to retire?"
-Cough...
Felicia was dying.
The coughing fits grew more frequent, her arms trembled too much to even swing her sword, and her vision had dimmed to the point where seeing ahead was a struggle.
She was sixty-five at the time.
Considering the Pendragon average female lifespan was fifty-five, she was long-lived, no doubt about it.
...But longevity wasn't always a blessing.
If anything...
-Urgh...
-Matriarch!!
-E-Elsa, fetch the medicine.
-But that's...
-Hurry.
-...Understood.
She'd spent decades rolling in the dirt of battlefields, a knight covered in triple-digit scars, an adventurer and hero who'd braved countless danger zones to quell unrest.
It was a history she was proud of, the foundation that had forged her.
But inevitably, the backlash from her reckless youth had come, leaving her body in ruins.
And now, inevitable senescence ravaged her further, accelerating the decay.
Not even the "Immortal Felicia" or "Knight of Iron Luck" could defy heaven's mandate... the flow of time.
Every day was torment, breathing alone a agony; she could drop dead any moment.
Yet Felicia clung to life for one reason.
-Ah, just once more... I want to swing my sword.
...Insane as it sounded, she wasn't struggling to survive for her family or children.
Just for the "sword."
To swing it one more time before she went.
So she lived on painkillers laced with narcotics that dulled the agony.
She knew they wrecked her body worse, but she didn't stop—even when the drugs could no longer suppress the excruciating pain.
-Iliyad, forgive me.
-No need, Mother. You've suffered enough.
-Heh, I'm not dead yet.
-Th-That's not what I...
-Enough. Come here, my son. Let me hold you.
-......
-Sorry for being such a failure of a mother. Truly sorry...
-...To me, you're more than I deserve and utterly worthy of respect. Live to the end as yourself—that's the mother I admire and love...
...In the end, she passed the patriarch's seat to her son and retreated into seclusion.
Seclusion in name only; she was like the last leaf in a annex, waiting to fall at any moment.
-...I'll be joining you soon.
Unable even to twitch a finger, she thought of her husband who'd gone to Avalon first, a happy smile on her lips...
"-That's when it hit me. Do I really lack the strength to swing a sword?"
"......"
"If my body can't, then maybe my heart can keep swinging it? Shouldn't I pursue the sword endlessly with my 'will'? That's how I wielded it through sheer 'resolve.'"
"......"
"And at some point, I became an Aura User."
"...Where's the middle part?"
"Heh, I wouldn't recommend hearing it. Don't want some kid you like trying the 'foolish attempt' and dying on me."
"......"
Felicia became an Aura User.
At the age of seventy-one.
The latest in history among countless recorded Aura Users—and the first female one, undeniably her.
The War God sought her out again, and Baltar and Albert crossed swords with her to verify Felicia's status as an Aura User.
-Whoa! Is this what human triumph looks like? Senior, you're truly legendary.
-Past, present, future—no idea if anyone like you will ever appear.
An unprecedented female knight.
No one could imitate her life, nor become an Aura User like her.
Sincere praise from two Aura Users, and the continent buzzed with the news.
Afterward...
-Lady Felicia, I seek your tutelage.
-How can I become a knight like you?
-C-Can I become an Aura User too!?
She endured hordes of followers for a while, and House Offen's fortunes skyrocketed.
They'd produced an Aura User, after all.
Disciples multiplied exponentially; merchants begged them to take their money just for a connection.
Exaggerating a bit, House Offen's prestige rivaled the royal family's.
...Felicia knew this wasn't sustainable, so she...
-I'm still retired, with no intention of returning. If you want something from House Offen, leave. You won't get anything from me.
Once she spoke her sincere warning, things normalized.
Well, they'd already surpassed their peak thanks to the Aura User boost, so not entirely back to normal?
Anyway, the house stabilized after that phase, and with her body brimming with vital aura energy, she even regained her prime forties appearance despite her seventies. She immediately...
-I can train with the sword again...!
...Overjoyed not by youth or superhumanity, but by actually wielding a sword again.
"Funny, right? My life was betrayed by the sword. But I never let go, loved it to the end—and they called me a great swordmaster anyway, despite not deserving it. Ironic."
"Isn't that a bit harsh on yourself? You're a superhuman now."
"Heh, can't help it. My swordsmanship is still woefully inadequate."
"...Even bluffing that much is murder."
"I-I'm just stating facts! You felt my sword yourself, kid—you know it's miles from geniuses'."
"Did it?"
"...You weren't exactly talented either, huh? Wrong person to commiserate with."
"......Damn."
...It might sound like bragging to others, but Felicia's lifelong swordsmanship wasn't anything special.
Obviously so.
Why else call her the worst talent in Offen history?
She was a dullard among dullards, cursed with comprehension that barely digested 0.1 from teachings of 1.
Yet she earned the title Sword Saint and became a hero in her forties prime simply by surviving countless battles and growing as "herself."
Not strong swordsmanship...
In a way...
"Like you."
"...Hm."
Endlessly drilling basic slashes and thrusts until they became unstoppable.
That was Felicia the swordswoman's essence—and it stayed the same even as an Aura User.
She remained a challenger, a seeker on the endless path of the sword.
But...
-Mother, is this how your swordsmanship works?
-......
-M-Mother?
-So that's what a genius is...
-Huh?
Felicia felt hollow pride watching her son match her seventy years in just "ten days."
The one more loved by the sword than anyone... her son Iliyad.
"It was astonishing. He mimicked my ideal swordsmanship perfectly after one look, grasped its meaning in under a week, and by two weeks, absorbed it all to create his own."
"...Not exaggerating 'cause he's your real son?"
"Absolutely. Witnesses galore in the family—ask anyone."
"......What a guy."
"Yes, incredible."
Iliyad was just past twenty then, handling patriarch duties flawlessly while researching records, consulting old comrades, and churning out that "fairy tale."
Creating the legendary Heroine Knight Series amid house leadership and sword training.
What talent!
Felicia thought her son might become history's greatest swordmaster.
He'd surpassed her already; top ten in the kingdom in ten years, the best in twenty. She was sure.
Not blind favoritism.
-Mother, like this?
-Handling willpower already! Amazing! Truly amazing, Iliyad!
-Th-Thank you.
Yes, Iliyad trained swordsmanship fervently.
Not just talent, but diligence and effort—and soon wielding willpower too. Incredible.
-Try this. A copy of ancient swordsmanship from an old temple.
-I'll give it a shot.
-Yes, you'll be a great swordmaster. If a talentless mom like me made it, so can you!
-...Yes.
Iliyad the swordsman matured rapidly, recreating and refining dozens of family techniques.
Felicia beamed with pride.
One day...
-Mother... how does one become an Aura User?
Iliyad asked about becoming an Aura User.
-Hm? Already aiming for where even I reached? Take it slow.
-Not greed. Just curious about the 'method'—no records mention it.
-There's reason for that. Becoming an Aura User risks your life.
-Life...
-Heh, like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly.
-Then, could you just teach the how? For the record.
-Hmm...
-Mother.
-...Fine. You're not foolish enough to misuse it.
Felicia trusted her son.
Far superior to her.
Always exceeding expectations. Her pride.
So nothing would go wrong.
And that choice—
"...Was the most regrettable moment of my life."
-I-Iliyad! C-Come to your senses, Iliyad!
Seeing her dying son that day, Felicia nearly lost her mind.
Her body shook, fear clouding her judgment.
-Why... why make that choice...!?!
She couldn't fathom why.
Why had her wise son attempted such folly without a word?
How...?
Reasons could wait.
Felicia...
"...Just dumped aura like an idiot. Humans' purest, strongest life force overflowed in me like seawater. Barely staving off his death, I mobilized ancient elixirs from temples, and he pulled through."
"A miracle."
"Miracle, yes. First time I thanked the gods that day."
"......"
"But at what cost? Iliyad could never swing a sword again."
A crippled body.
Legs useless for life—a cheap price for survival, perhaps.
"The day swordsman Iliyad died. But... oddly, he seemed relieved hearing it. Like it was a blessing. Made me think... maybe Iliyad never loved the sword."
"......"
"Maybe he forced himself because of me, a lousy parent? The doubt and guilt haunted me."
"...Did you ask him?"
"...No. Even after waking, he gave no answers—just carried on as wise patriarch and author. I figured that was enough."
"Coward."
"Heh, you'll get it when you're a parent. All parents turn coward regarding their kids."
"......"
She smiled sadly, and Lee Han stopped chiding her.
...Or rather, correction.
"But why did he do it? That brilliant boy—why that choice? I still don't understand."
"Wh-What...?"
He'd meant to hold back, but her lament forced his hand.
"How do you not know?"
"Huh?"
"Do you really not know? Or pretending not to?"
"??"
"...Frustrating."
He got it himself, yet the person involved acted clueless. Infuriating.
Making him realize.
Sword saints really...
"You might be a great hero, but you're no good parent."
"...?"
Fundamentally lacking as a person.