Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Once a Friend, Always a Friend
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It was Serdian.
As the children parted to either side, Serdian walked through the gap and stood before Tesian.
Tesian’s gaze lifted slightly.
They were definitely the same age. When they first met at the grand duke's estate, he had been shorter and smaller than Tesian.
But…
‘When did he get so tall?’
In less than a year, Serdian had shot up and was now looking down at him.
Moreover, his frame, honed by training, looked far sturdier and larger than his own.
‘I haven’t slacked on my training either…!’
But the real change wasn't his appearance.
It was Serdian's red eyes and the aura emanating from his gaze.
Those eyes were no longer the dark eyes that had wavered with insecurity over his common birth or silently endured the contempt of others.
An overwhelming pressure, befitting the heir of the North, enveloped Serdian—one that could not be defied.
Tesian unknowingly swallowed a dry gulp.
While he had been stagnating, trapped in petty envy and jealousy, that boy had been growing like a monster in the shadows.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said let’s switch places. Yours for mine.”
Serdian was assigned to Team 3. A normal, safe purification mission. It was the best team, the one everyone envied.
Tesian gritted his teeth and looked again at the list of special team members on the bulletin board.
Irnel, Keilin.
He had thought that even if he left the team, he could easily win over the other members and get Lucillea into trouble.
But with Irnel, it was a different story.
Keilin would surely join in on tormenting Lucillea with just a little push.
However, Irnel would never go along with his plans. She wasn't interested in other people's affairs and, more importantly, seemed to detest anything dishonorable.
‘If Irnel refuses, Keilin won’t join in either.’
So, in the end, if he wanted to get revenge on Lucillea, he had to stay on the special team.
But.
‘I hate that idea even more!’
Up until now, field training had always been about being assigned to an outpost and purifying the northern borders.
His plan had been to lure the clueless Lucillea into the middle of a monster-infested area during that purification mission…
But a Northern Mountain Range subjugation? That was on a whole different level. A whole different level.
‘It’s a shame, but I’ll have to put off crushing those two for another time.’
There’s always more time.
Tesian stared at the board, then slowly turned back to Serdian.
Tesian shouted, acting as if he were doing him a great favor.
“Fine! I’ll switch! But only because you begged me, you hear? If any problems come up later because of this, it’s not my fault. And you owe me one. Got it?”
“…”
Serdian looked at Tesian with pity before speaking coolly.
“Stop spouting nonsense and go ask the instructor to change the teams. Tell him I gave my permission.”
With a visibly relieved expression, Tesian turned away. Only the children, caught in a strange atmosphere, remained in front of the bulletin board.
Just then, Lucillea, who had been pushed back by the crowd, unable to squeeze through due to her small stature, grabbed her head with both hands as if to tear her hair out.
‘Whaaat?! The spe-ci-al teeeam?!’
What in the world just happened?
Even after being swept away by the crowd, Lucillea couldn't shake off the shock she’d felt in front of the bulletin board.
She remembered hearing about field training from Mei.
‘It’s sort of like a midterm exam.’
The process and results of the field training were used to judge a child's progress and issue appropriate rewards or punishments.
But it hadn't even been a month since Lucillea had come to the grand duke's estate.
It was no different from pushing a toddler who had just learned to walk and telling them to run.
And on top of that, a mission to escort His Highness the Grand Duke.
‘What in the world is a Northern Mountain Range monster subjugation?!’
Lucillea knew nothing about what these monsters looked like or how they threatened people.
Escorting Elbadin aside, she wondered if it was even right for her, someone who hadn't learned a single offensive spell, to be assigned to this mission.
‘And I haven’t even chosen my affinity yet.’
Learning various spells, including offensive magic, came after choosing an affinity.
Lucillea was still in the process of determining her affinity, which naturally meant she was learning how to handle mana and practicing the initial stages of each elemental magic to find her own.
‘What should I do? Should I go find my master right away and ask him to teach me the necessary magic for the subjugation first?’
At this rate, I might really become dead weight. What if the other kids get hurt or die because of me?!
Wow…
‘So this is the world of the grand duke’s estate.’
After all, in the wild, predators don't go easy on you just because you were recently born.
‘If anything, you just get eaten more easily.’
The wild. Yes, this ducal house is the wild. A vast wilderness where you ultimately have to prove yourself and survive on your own.
‘A wilderness where I have to worry about being eaten by monsters!’
Lucillea swallowed a deep sigh.
‘There’s no time to lament.’
The die had been cast, and she was on the board, whether she liked it or not.
‘This is what I prepared myself for.’
She never thought she could just play around and do nothing when she came to the grand duke's estate.
‘If I can’t avoid it, I have to prepare for it.’
First, I need to find out what kind of monsters are in the Northern Mountain Range.
‘And I should also look into magic that’s immediately useful for combat.’
I’ll prepare as much as I can with what I have.
Lucillea pressed her lips together firmly, then quickly turned and ran toward the library.
***
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
Jed asked Serdian about switching teams.
Serdian answered calmly, as if it were no big deal.
“I heard Tesian was plotting something.”
At that, Jed looked even more confused.
Tesian had been tormenting Serdian for a very long time, and since they were assigned to different teams this time, he could have avoided getting involved if he had just stayed put.
As if understanding his question, Serdian nodded and continued.
“It seemed I wasn’t the only target; Lucillea was too. It’s obvious what he would do. He probably planned to get rid of Lucillea in the chaos of confronting monsters.”
But now that he had switched teams, Tesian wouldn’t be able to execute that plan for the time being.
“…What?”
Jed looked surprised.
“Did you really become friends with Lady Lucillea?”
Serdian nodded.
“It just sort of happened.”
“…”
In that moment, Jed could see a faint smile grace Serdian’s lips.
‘Did he genuinely accept her…?’
Serdian didn’t let people get close easily.
It was partly due to his childhood environment and also because of what he had experienced since coming to the grand duke’s estate.
Most of the children who came to the estate were wary of Serdian, and the heirs of other families despised him.
Especially after Elbadin named Serdian his heir, even the collateral branches and vassal families began to openly keep him in check.
Jed recalled the day he first met Serdian. The day he had gone to see him after being appointed as his aide.
-“If you get involved with someone like me, you might end up being treated the same way. I’ll speak to His Highness the Grand Duke, so go back. …I don’t need an aide.”
Serdian had warned him that staying by his side would bring a lot of trouble. And he was right. Jed had faced death several times and suffered humiliation.
But he had never resented Serdian for it.
He only found Serdian, who silently carried out his duties amidst such opposition, all the more remarkable.
‘Which makes this even stranger.’
For those very reasons, Serdian, who was extremely reluctant to let anyone get close, had suddenly decided to keep Lucillea by his side.
Among the children chosen for the Elite Corps, Lucillea was the only one who had run up to him asking to be friends.
Perhaps the girl’s proactiveness and bold nature had moved Serdian’s heart.
Jed wore a complex expression for a moment before returning to the main topic.
“So… did you switch teams because of Lady Lucillea?”
Serdian stopped walking and gazed out the window on the way to the training grounds.
“It’s better to have her in my sight than to worry about her where I can’t see her. And more importantly…”
Serdian paused for a moment before continuing.
“She said, ‘Once a friend, always a friend.’”
“…”
“And I don’t want to be the kind of trash who abandons a friend.”
“…”
Jed realized that something he didn't know about had happened between Serdian and Lucillea.
And at the same time, he understood. For the first time in his life, Serdian was feeling the desire to ‘protect’ someone.
It wasn't a sense of duty or responsibility as the heir to the grand ducal house.
It was simply the clumsy but sincere stubbornness of a boy wanting to protect his little friend.
A faint smile touched Jed’s lips.
‘This is good.’
Jed didn't dislike this small breeze that had blown into his master's empty heart.
***
A week later.
The day of the field training finally arrived.