Chapter 13
Chapter 13
It took three months before the young lord finally opened his eyes.
Sir Lekun had many things he wanted to say, but he restrained himself until his lord recovered enough strength.
Then, four days later, he finally spoke.
That the ungrateful brat of a commoner girl should be thrown out of the castle immediately.
That she needed to learn just how harsh the world truly was, like every other orphan.
Even though it was Eden who had lost an eye and become half-blind, the one overflowing with fury was Sir Lekun.
But honestly, it was understandable.
From the perspective of a loyal retainer, the sole heir he served had been permanently maimed because of some rootless orphan girl.
That was the kind of outrage that could shake the heavens.
A vassal treating his lord’s affairs as his own was something worthy of gratitude.
To Eden, Sir Lekun was both a benefactor and a difficult man.
He was the old veteran knight who had once served Eden’s father.
The weight of his years was not something to ignore.
On top of that, his weathered face looked fierce, and his voice was loud and sharp.
That was why Eden had always lowered his head and quietly agreed whenever Sir Lekun became angry.
< She’s just a child. She’s still a kid who doesn’t know any better. >
But when it came to defending his young companion, he did not yield even a single step.
He remained the same kind and gentle boy as before.
That had not changed in the slightest.
< Sera’s only five years old. >
And yet, the determination in his eyes was firmer than ever before.
< She’s still at the age where she needs someone to take care of her. >
Even as the seasons changed, the young lord’s stubbornness never wavered.
Not even the furious shouting of the old knight could shake him.
< ...Understood. >
In the end, even the rough-tempered old knight had no choice but to surrender.
Whenever that happened, Sera would hide herself away in a corner of the bedroom or crouch between the hedges of the garden.
In her previous life, she had been an adult.
But here, she was being treated like a child.
And by someone whose life experience was far shorter than her own.
Yet she had nothing to say in response.
Because she truly had behaved like a child.
When hiding eventually became tiresome, Sera began grabbing tree branches and swinging them around.
If she had found a goal, then she needed to strive toward it.
Relying solely on supernatural abilities was no longer acceptable.
As time passed, Sera found herself thinking more and more that it was a shame.
She wished she had a teacher.
At this rate, her training was no different from the physical conditioning she had done in her previous life.
This world valued swordsmanship far more than fists.
To learn, Sera secretly watched the old knight train whenever she had the chance.
But merely observing with her eyes was nowhere near enough to imitate those mysterious movements.
So after half a year passed, she cautiously asked Sir Lekun to teach her.
< What business does a commoner girl have learning the sword!? Once you’re old enough, get out on your own! >
With her favorability toward him sitting at zero, rejection was inevitable.
She did not beg every day, only once each month to avoid irritating him further, but the answer never changed.
Recently, he had even told her to stop wasting time and work as an unpaid maid instead.
Sera seized the opportunity and asked him if he would teach her swordsmanship if she worked as one.
< Nonsense! >
Of course, that failed too.
Even so, Sera still felt grateful toward Sir Lekun.
He undoubtedly knew she was secretly watching his training, yet he never chased her away.
That sort of daily life continued for another year.
After finishing her own training, Sera lay in the grass and sank into thought.
Her thoughts centered on the people she needed to punish.
Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles.
Of course, reality often ignored even that principle.
Still, identifying who the enemy was and what kind of strength they possessed remained absolutely necessary.
They were knights.
So then, what exactly was a knight?
It was difficult to define clearly.
The answer varied depending on the era, the nation, and the situation.
First of all, romantic ideals about chivalry were almost entirely fiction.
As time passed, Sera had come to realize that painfully well.
Unless someone was a weirdo like Sir Lekun, truly living by knightly ideals was nearly impossible.
They claimed to value honor and romance, but most of the time they behaved more like hired thugs or street gangsters.
It was not a problem with “chivalry.”
It was a problem with people.
There was no need to deeply analyze why.
Just as few monks perfectly followed the teachings written in scripture, knights were no different.
Anything handled by humans inevitably had limits because of personal interest.
That was why corruption and scandals endlessly emerged whenever people formed groups.
Government workers, company employees, small business owners—
This other world was still a place where humans lived.
Naturally, the same principles applied.
Even so, there was one undeniable truth when it came to defining knights.
They were biological weapons representing the medieval era.
That much could not be denied.
Their entire profession revolved around combat.
All they did from morning to night was swing weapons.
The very existence of their profession was built around warfare.
And unlike ordinary soldiers or mercenaries, they did not fight out of temporary necessity.
Their lives were the culmination of years spent investing themselves into martial training with singular focus.
As mentioned earlier, matters like “personality” could be glossed over with appearances alone.
But skill had to be genuine.
Someone lacking ability could never receive formal knighthood.
Thus, whether a knight was good or evil, they all polished their martial skills equally.
And once they became true knights, those skills were naturally refined and preserved through real combat until retirement.
If such biological weapons were then given full plate armor forged from steel and massive warhorses—
Then calling them the medieval equivalent of armored vehicles was not an exaggeration.
And in this world, that comparison was frighteningly close to literal truth.
The warhorses here had become gigantic beasts through generations of magical breeding and enhancement.
Compared to them, horses from Earth looked delicate enough to seem feminine.
The average warhorse weighed nearly three tons.
They were not ordinary horses at all, but combat species bred for battle.
On top of that, there was Aura.
Aura elevated an individual knight’s combat power to absurd levels.
A blade coated in Aura could cleave through thick trees and iron plates like paper.
Aside from the fact that only a tiny number of people could wield it, Aura possessed destructive power surpassing modern assault rifles.
‘At first, I thought it was bullshit...’
Sera used to dismiss such information as exaggeration because she had only read about knights in books.
She had treated it like myths or heroic legends.
The same way people regarded tales about kings hatching from eggs.
As a former fighter, Sera understood the limits of the human body very well.
Even highly trained humans struggled against multiple opponents.
And if the enemy carried proper weapons, even professional fighters could not guarantee victory in a one-on-one fight.
Yet now she was supposed to believe that a single swordsman could rival military weaponry?
To someone raised in the modern world, that was naturally hard to accept.
But that skepticism belonged to the past now.
After encountering the bandit knights, she had learned the truth deeply enough for it to chill her bones.
‘How the hell am I supposed to beat them?’
That realization made the future feel hopeless.
Sera intended to face monsters like that someday.
That challenge was far more difficult than simply surviving into adulthood.
Of course, there were differences among knights.
Pages and squires were still far from being true knights.
And lower nobles like barons often handed out honorary titles to younger sons, meaning many “knights” were barely different from ordinary people.
But the enemies Sera swore vengeance against were absolutely not that kind.
They were the real thing.
Monsters who coated their weapons in Aura and split apart massive trees with ease.
‘Maybe I got too emotional...’
Sera regretted it slightly.
Perhaps she had made an impossible vow of revenge while blinded by rage.
The overwhelming strength of this world’s people made her feel embarrassed for ever imagining herself becoming the strongest in the world.
‘When I was an adult... my stats were about twice those of an average man, right?’
Back on Earth, physical ability like that would have dominated the Olympics and nearly every combat sport imaginable.
And since she gained stat points every year here, surpassing world records would not even be difficult.
But in this world?
If she had to compete against knights treated as living weapons?
‘Not even close.’
To make matters worse, she could not even use Aura like they could.
She had to fight using pure physical strength alone.
‘If I became a knight... would I at least be average?’
Even that was uncertain.
Still—
‘...I have to repay the debt.’
Sera sighed while clenching both fists.
Reality was hopeless, but she still had to harden her resolve.
At first, Sera had considered pretending none of it mattered.
She had wanted to live selfishly and escape the collapsing Bellark estate.
‘Black-haired beast.’
But she wanted to prove that label wrong.
Not only to Eden, but to everyone else as well.
Even though nobody expected anything from her.
Tomorrow morning, the moment she saw the young lord’s ruined left eye again, she knew she would naturally pick up a sword.
And she would once more burn with hatred toward the giant who had smiled at her.
That endless cycle had become Sera’s daily life.
Ding!
< Trait Selection! >
The familiar notification announced the arrival of a new year.
Yet Sera merely glanced over with a calm expression.
What she needed this time was a clue powerful enough to oppose knights.
Even if it could not become a complete solution, it had to help somehow.
‘Hm? That second trait sounds weirdly familiar.’
For a moment, Sera nearly recalled a pirate-themed story from her previous life, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
What difference would one extra sword make for someone physically weak?
She doubted she could even manage dual wielding properly.
And even if she mastered three swords, it probably would not matter much.
‘Damage immunity, huh...’
The third option was not bad either.
The problem was how situational it was.
‘That only sounds useful against someone around my level.’
As Sera’s gaze shifted, a faint smile finally formed on her lips.
Perfect timing.
She had been wondering how to overcome the limitations of her own body.
And the answer might have been much closer than she expected.
‘Gear carry?’
Though it was definitely going to cost a fortune.