Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The young lord of Kaltenberg collapsed bedridden.
And for quite a long time, he drifted between life and death.
Not long afterward, the castle’s only physician delivered a cruel truth.
Even if the young lord miraculously awakened, one of his eyes would likely never see again.
Thinking about it now, it had only been a single blow.
But it was a strike delivered with the intent to kill.
The resulting injury was horrifying.
The tremendous impact, too much for a child’s body to bear, caused a terrible fever.
The side of his face struck by the blunt edge of the blade had swollen dark blue and black from burst blood vessels.
Sir Lekun and the nanny spent each day feeling as though they were walking on thin ice, terrified their young master might lose his way forever and sink into eternal sleep.
Still, perhaps this outcome was fortunate.
If Eden had not noticed Sera’s disappearance and ordered the guards to summon Sir Lekun, the two children would have become corpses long ago.
When Sir Lekun found the collapsed Eden, his only achievement had been cutting down three or four knights blocking his path.
Protecting his lord had taken priority over pursuit.
And given the state of the dying territory, he was also the only person capable of fully defending Kaltenberg.
Black-haired beast.
That became the nickname attached to Sera afterward.
Only Sir Lekun called her that.
It felt strange hearing such a cute little child described that way.
But Sera said nothing.
She never argued against it.
She only lowered her head and buried herself in the furthest corner she could find.
As though she had become the lowest kind of person.
As though she no longer deserved to show her face.
Like a sinner trying to hide her shame.
“……”
The boy’s overwhelming selflessness constantly confused the girl.
Perhaps that was why Sera had kept her distance from Eden.
Most people instinctively disliked unfamiliar things.
To Sera, unconditional affection and kindness existed only in books.
She had never truly believed such things were real.
Yet one small boy was accomplishing something even great men failed to do.
Sera thought to herself.
Who had been the most devoted person in her life?
When was the last time she received affection without conditions?
She remembered her parents from her previous life.
A fairly decent couple.
Ordinary and kind in their own way.
And for that, she was grateful.
Children naturally ought to feel that way.
If parents did the bare minimum, their children should at least feel thankful for being raised.
That was called duty between parent and child.
Affection existed because they were bound by blood.
But while noble, it was also common.
Living beings loving their blood relatives was simply part of the instinct to continue their lineage.
But Eden?
No matter how kind he was.
No matter how ruined his territory had become.
Throwing himself into danger for a commoner girl eight years younger than him with no blood relation whatsoever?
‘Is he insane?’
Sera truly could not understand.
Was she really that precious to him?
And if so, why?
< Are you alone too? >
Sera recalled her first meeting with Eden.
Back then, she had not answered his question.
Not merely because she could not speak.
She had simply thought it was meaningless.
And after arriving in Kaltenberg, she dismissed it as nonsense.
A boy showered with affection from Sir Lekun and the nanny asking such a thing?
She figured he only said it because he thought she was just a clueless baby.
‘…That wasn’t what he meant.’
Sera slowly shook her head.
She had failed to understand the emotions of children.
And the hearts of others.
Only after committing a sin did she finally begin seeing what she had missed.
Sir Lekun was fundamentally a good man, but he constantly forced his own views onto others.
The nanny was kind, but she was ultimately the mother of three children and could not pour all her affection into one person.
The townspeople kept trying to leave before attachments could form.
And Eden’s parents had died before the young lord was even old enough to fully understand things.
For a boy with nowhere to lean emotionally, the sudden appearance of one child might have been—
“…Fuck.”
Sera wiped away the unwelcome emotion gathering in her eyes.
And cursed.
Not because she was angry at Eden.
But because she was furious at herself for dragging him into this.
It felt awful.
Even more so because of the tears in her eyes.
Aside from when she was first born, she almost never cried.
And now she was crying again.
It genuinely wounded her pride.
Sera was emotionally dry by nature.
Most modern people probably were.
People hated serious atmospheres.
Hated emotional heaviness.
They despised melodramatic stories and forced emotional scenes in dramas and films.
And rarely empathized deeply with the tragedies of others.
Sera was the same.
That damned champion belt.
Her father’s teachings.
Her entire life had revolved around chasing only those things.
She simply tried to fulfill basic decency because she did not want people cursing her behind her back.
That was the extent of her attachments and kindness.
Which was why she hated this situation.
It felt like she had become the protagonist of some cheap melodrama.
A child with no blood relation.
A tiny brat much younger than her former self.
A hopeless kid with no future and nothing to gain from befriending.
A fool whose only talent was being absurdly kind.
And now she owed this idiot a debt she could never repay.
“……”
Sera stared into the mirror with a twisted expression.
Minutes passed.
Then dozens of minutes.
Only then did she realize something.
The pathetic little brat reflected in the mirror was far more pitiful than the young lord she had looked down on.
Not physically.
Mentally.
She had lived comfortably while relying on the kindness of others.
Even her traits were nothing but lucky advantages rather than something earned through effort.
Yet she strutted around proudly like some arrogant commoner.
At the very least, she should have avoided causing trouble.
But because of her own greed, she could not even keep that simple promise.
Only now did Sera realize the truth.
She was merely a child pretending to be an adult.
What “top contender”?
What “adult”?
She had acted more immaturely than actual children.
Fury flashed across the girl’s eyes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood stained her fists as she punched the wall repeatedly.
Hatred toward herself.
Hatred toward the scum who had hurt her benefactor.
The vague dream Sera once held of becoming a famous fighter finally began taking concrete shape.
Before she could obtain the “free life” she desired, she first needed to repay this debt.
Something now mattered more than her own freedom.
Soon, Sera began digging into the identity of those scumbags.
“The Valten group.”
That single phrase spoken by Sir Lekun burned into her mind.
This was no longer about victory or defeat.
It was a matter of decency.
Something a person simply had to do.
No matter how she personally felt, the debt she owed was far too great to settle with something trivial like pocket money.
‘…Fallen knights? Fallen nobles?’
At the moment, all she knew was that they belonged to a faction bearing the symbol of a crimson serpent wrapped around a greatsword.
To defeat them, she first needed to understand what kind of monsters they were.
And if she wanted to fight knights, then becoming a knight herself was likely the most efficient option.
Ding!
An oblivious notification echoed beside Sera’s ear.
Had she turned five?
Only after a long pause did she slowly turn her head with a blank expression.
Clearly different from the past, when choosing traits had felt like the center of her life.
‘Recovery…?’
Her attention stopped on the second option.
Normally, she would never have looked twice at such a trait.
It belonged to the category of “lame abilities.”
The sort of choice she once considered a waste of a precious yearly opportunity.
She had no intention of becoming a healer, so there was no reason to consider it.
And yet—
Her hand moved toward the second option without hesitation.
And Sera’s expression looked more satisfied than after choosing any previous trait.
Even though, in a sense, she had just thrown away both last year’s familiar choice and this year’s trait together.
“……”
After calming herself, Sera looked into the mirror once more.
The storm in her eyes had long disappeared.
And somehow, she looked far better than before.
Better than the past version of herself who had obsessed over status windows, stats, and traits while ignoring reality.
She had been so focused on climbing higher that she forgot to truly live in reality.
Relationships with people were not meant to revolve entirely around profit and efficiency.
Valuing practicality did not mean she had to live selfishly.
In this life, she had finally realized there were things that could not be measured through gain alone.
‘Who was the real child here?’
Sera let out a bitter laugh.
Using her past actions as lessons.
Because she never got anything in return.
Because it always felt like a loss.
She had concluded that sacrificing for others was foolish.
Yet now she had been saved by that very foolishness.
Ridiculous.
But strangely enough, it did not feel bad.
Though without the young lord, this would have remained someone else’s story.
‘Eden is better than me.’
And the idea that nothing could be gained by staying in Bellark was laughable now.
Wasn’t Eden the one with even less to gain?
What did he possibly benefit from treating a random orphan girl kindly?
< Sera, you’re family to me even if we aren’t related by blood. >
Words she once ignored completely.
But Eden had proven those ridiculous words through actions rather than empty talk.
Just like truly good people did.
He proved that even a lowly orphan commoner could become part of Bellark.
The girl, deeply moved, walked toward the boy lying helplessly in bed.
Until Eden recovered, she decided she would remain aboard this sinking ship.
She did not understand concepts like knighthood or loyalty.
Yet she never stopped walking.
Soon, she lowered one knee solemnly to the ground.
That gesture alone spoke for her heart.
A smile slowly appeared on Sera’s lips.
‘I’m sorry… no.’
Because—
‘Thank you. Truly.’
At last, she had finally faced her one and only true friend.