Believe, and Wait with a Smile
Sylvia was finishing the garden she hadn't managed to complete the day before.
Under her practiced hands, the ragged thickets rounded themselves into shapes as plump and yielding as cushions.
"Thankfully it wasn't too badly damaged."
Helen, who had been helping from behind, stepped up beside her.
"I know. A little more work and it might even look better than it used to."
Sylvia smiled faintly and lifted the shears. She trimmed every last unkempt patch as if she meant to erase every trace of the havoc Raiden had wrought.
"My lady."
"Yes?"
"Will it really be all right to leave the young master as he is?"
Helen's face was the gray of ash. Worry had clearly stolen her sleep. The other maids seemed no better; they blinked in unison.
"We should do whatever it takes to stop the duel…"
"I thought the same at first."
Sylvia handed Helen the shears and nodded.
"I thought we had to stop it no matter what. That we absolutely could not let the duel go forward. I was about to go straight to Father."
"Then why…?"
"Because of Raon. Before I knew it, that little boy had taken on the face of a swordsman."
"Ah…"
"Before he left on his first mission, I told him something. I asked him to live proudly—like a swordsman of the Zieghart of old."
She turned, met Helen's eyes, and smiled at the maids.
"Raon is living far more splendidly and proudly than the words I ever gave him. So much so that I feel ashamed of myself now."
"My lady…"
"When a child wears a face like that, how could his mother not believe in him? And besides…"
Sylvia's lips curved into a thin smile as she looked toward the back of the Annex, where Raon would be.
Raon memorized every scrap of information Judiel had given him on Raiden, then burned it.
He had never actually seen Raiden's Linked Sword Technique, but the notes were so thorough the forms seemed to unfurl inside his head of their own accord.
Training like this should be enough.
His goal was to crush Raiden with nothing but ordinary techniques—the Yeonseong Sword Art and Garam Footwork—so having this information made preparing for the match far more comfortable.
Using Judiel's intelligence, he adjusted the flow of his footwork and swordsmanship by a fraction and began to train. He swung his blade while picturing the enemy's movements and ran his footwork in answer, and the whole of it grew steadily more systematic.
Hoooo.
He was deep in the work when a thin thread of cold air rose from the Ice Flower Bracelet.
"How pitiful."
Wrath clicked his tongue and let out a sneer.
"To put in that much effort just to face a piece of trash. It's enough to make This King feel sorry for you. If it were This King, a single puff of breath would have frozen him to the marrow."
"Beating him right now would be simple."
Raon shoved Wrath aside as the little creature puffed out a breath.
"What matters is overwhelming him. To the point his sword never even grazes my body."
"This King does not understand. Winning is winning, is it not?"
"No."
He shook his head. If it were a simple spar, it wouldn't matter how he won. This time was different.
"The moment I laid a hand on Raiden, the Annex and I became targets for the direct line and everyone who follows them. Even if I win this duel and slip out from under Jinmu Hall's threat, others will still come after us."
In any family there was a high, thick wall between the direct line and the collaterals. In a house of Zieghart's stature, that wall was too thick to ever break through. The direct descendants of such a house, and those who followed them, did not want collaterals reaching their station—not even those who had once been of the direct line themselves.
That's why I have to show them.
He had to burn it into Glenn's mind that he was more useful than any direct descendant.
"Since ancient times, humans have obsessed over ancestral blood. The thicker the better. As if they didn't even know it was all the same red. They're not even vampires. A shabby, filthy tradition."
"First time I've ever agreed with you."
The idea that he shared a thought with this demon, who exploded in rage at every turn, was so absurd he let out a hollow laugh.
"Work hard. Everything you are will belong to This King anyway."
With that, Wrath slipped back into the bracelet.
"Wow. Getting me to lose all respect for you in a single sentence. That's a talent."
Raon rose with a cold smile. Just as he was about to resume training, he sensed someone approaching.
Not Judiel.
It wasn't Sylvia or Helen either, but the presence was extremely familiar. As he waited, a small doll-like figure appeared.
"Huh?"
Vacant eyes, fluttering silver hair, snow-white skin. The person coming toward the clearing was Runaan.
"Runaan?"
"Mm."
Runaan walked over with light, catlike steps, clutching a wrapped bundle. She came up beside him and plopped down next to a tree.
"Why are you here…?"
"Fight."
It seemed Runaan already knew he was fighting Raiden. Of course it wasn't a simple fight—it was a duel.
"So I came."
Her small hands fidgeted as she began unwrapping the bundle she'd brought.
"Hmm…"
Watching her, Raon felt a great many gazes and lifted his head. Behind the wall, the rocks, and the trees, Sylvia, Helen, and the maids were watching.
These people, honestly.
He'd thought they'd gotten a bit more serious, but they'd already loosened up. They really were strange people.
"Done."
He turned at Runaan's voice. Inside the carefully wrapped cloth was the ice cream box she carried around like treasure.
Tak.
When Runaan opened the lid, five bead ice creams larger and more glittering than any he'd seen before exhaled a pale frost.
"Eat."
Runaan held out the open box just as it was. Her vacant, sunken eyes sparkled exactly like the ice cream. It seemed to mean he could eat whatever he wanted.
"Hmm."
Raon looked at the ice cream for a moment without touching it.
"Eat."
When he stayed still, Runaan waved her hand. Looking at those eyes, he felt like he had to eat something. He just had to pick anything other than the pink ice cream she liked.
"What are you doing! Eat it already!"
Wrath, who had just gone back into the bracelet, popped out like a mole.
"This King is drawn to the green one! Eat the green one with chocolate in it! Hurry!"
When Raon still didn't reach for it, Wrath grew even more anxious and started spraying cold air like a madman.
So noisy.
He frowned. He didn't even glance at the green ice cream Wrath wanted. As he smacked his lips wondering what to pick, Runaan's hand reached toward his head.
What's this?
He considered dodging, but there was no killing intent, no hostility. He loosened every muscle in his body, ready to move at any moment.
Tok, tok.
All that tension was for nothing. Runaan's hand tapped his head twice, truly lightly.
"Runaan?"
Raon opened his mouth and looked up. Runaan nodded, her lips lifted just enough to be noticeable, and patted his head again.
The softly glowing silver eyes and the calm voice made his chest ache.
This kid…
Only now did he understand why Runaan had come. This child had come to the Annex to give back the words he had once given her—that it was okay—when she'd dueled the orc.
"Ha."
Raon let out a hollow laugh. To be worried over by a little kid like this again—it was ridiculous. But it didn't feel all that bad. Some emotion he couldn't quite name seemed to round out his chest.
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's nothing."
He shook his head, picked the black bead ice cream from the box, and put it in his mouth. A taste both sweet and bitter, just like the feeling in his chest, wrapped around his tongue.
"Oh! Chocolate! It seems they mixed chocolate with sugar and coffee and aged it for a long time. When This King was in the Demon Realm, coffee—w-what are you doing!"
Quiet.
He forcibly shoved Wrath, who'd started a long ramble, back into the bracelet.
"Is it good?"
"It's good. Thanks."
"Eat more."
"No, that's enough."
It really was enough. Not that his stomach was full—his heart was. He didn't need any more.
"Okay."
Runaan swallowed the red bead ice cream on the right in one gulp and stood up.
"I'm going."
And just like that, she left. It seemed she'd finished what she came for and didn't want to interrupt his training.
"Honestly."
Raon watched Runaan's steps, lighter than when she'd arrived, and smiled faintly. Now even the back of her head was enough to make him smile.
"Raon."
The moment Runaan left, Sylvia emerged from behind the tree.
"Mom thinks she looks a little closer than just a friend. That's not ordinary ice cream. That's a very expensive treat."
"I'm curious too. From the looks of it, this isn't the first time he's gotten ice cream from her."
"Raon. Mom would like to talk with that girl once…"
"Both of you, don't say another word."
Raon waved his hand. He didn't like them looking downcast, but those mischievous eyes were even worse.
"Please…"
The next day, a second guest came to the Annex.
"Hrm…"
Raon narrowed his eyes at the guest walking over with a grumbling air.
To be honest, he'd thought Runaan might come. That child wanted to follow or learn his training methods. But this guy was a genuine surprise.
"Burren."
Raon tilted his head at Burren approaching with elegant, aristocratic steps. He truly had no idea why this guy had come here.
"I heard you're dueling Raiden."
Burren stopped, his lips jutting out.
"So you heard too."
"The rumor is all over the family. That an insolent brat like you caused a massive incident."
"A massive incident…"
"A collateral who dared send a sword at a direct descendant, then requested a duel without even having the qualifications of a swordsman. Of course the people in high places would hate it."
Burren looked down at him sitting there and snorted. Just as Raon was about to ask if he'd come to mock him, the guy's mouth opened again.
"But I think you did well. I like it."
"What?"
The words he never imagined would come from Burren's mouth left him stunned, his jaw hanging open on its own.
"Raiden sits in a direct descendant's seat and does nothing but smear Zieghart's name. He's a piece of trash. All he has is strength—no honor, no conviction."
His voice was hot, as if filled with anger.
"The moment I heard you and Raiden had a problem, I figured that bastard started it. And I was right."
"Hmm…"
Those words meant Burren trusted him. The guy was showing a surprisingly unexpected side today.
"Here."
Burren pulled a palm-sized box from his back pocket and held it out.
"What's this?"
"Salve for injuries. Cheap stuff I don't even use, but I figured it'd suit you, so I brought it."
"Uh…"
"Take it. Hurry up!"
Burren forced the medicine into his hand and turned his back.
"You're the top of the Fifth Training Ground. Feel the responsibility, and don't you dare lose."
With that, he went back the way he'd come. Amusingly, his walking speed kept increasing. His earlobes were red—he was embarrassed again.
"Hrm."
Raon opened the lid of the box in his hand. A clear, refreshing medicinal scent wafted out. He scooped a little of the salve and applied it to the wrist he'd injured. A warm energy spread, and the pain in his wrist vanished.
This is cheap?
Judging by the clear scent and the color of the medicine, this was absolutely not cheap. Looking at the back of the lid, it said Saiman.
Saiman was a guild famous for making highly effective medicines. This salve was something you could barely get even with money.
"What even is this."
Raon shook his head and put the medicine in his pocket.
"Raon. When did you get so close with Burren too…"
"Young master. Another friend of yours…"
The moment Burren vanished, Sylvia and Helen, who'd been watching again, approached with smiles.
"Don't come over!"
Thanks to Raon training with everything he had every single day, Jinmu Hall was quiet—unlike the bustling Annex.
The atmosphere was one of certain victory, as if a duel with Raon wasn't even worth considering. Raiden rode that atmosphere, doing no training whatsoever and spending his time even more leisurely than usual.
"Young master."
The butler Merkin bowed his head toward Raiden.
"What?"
Raiden, lying on the bed with a red-haired maid, turned his head.
"Shouldn't you be training a little now? The duel is only a few days away."
"Training? Are you talking to me right now?"
Raiden chuckled and sat up.
"Training to face a guy like that? If I'd used my Linked Sword back then, that bastard would already be fish slices buried in the ground."
"B-but that guy's movements aren't ordinary. I blocked the sword because I expected it, but I couldn't even properly see the punch coming."
Merkin rubbed the spot where Raon had hit him.
"You think I'm the same as you? Huh?!"
Raiden threw a wine glass from the table. The glass shattered, and blood-red liquid spilled across the floor.
"I know exactly what that bastard uses! The Yeonseong Sword Art and Garam Footwork—stuff I already know. If I just use the Linked Sword, I can tear a guy like that apart with my eyes closed!"
"Hmm…"
"You go train. The guy who rolled his eyes back and passed out at the critical moment."
"I'm sorry."
"Get out!"
Raiden roared, then lay back down on the bed. Merkin bowed his head and left Raiden's room.
He's hopeless.
Merkin shook his head looking at Raiden's room, from which cackling laughter spilled. Because of the humiliation of being beaten by Raon, he clearly had no intention of training at all. He was obviously clinging to his pride, wanting to show he could crush him without even bothering to train.
Raon Zieghart.
On the other hand, he'd heard that Raon at the Annex was training with everything he had, day after day.
That guy really isn't ordinary.
Raon's movements had been strange. Like an assassin, his presence and motions were hard to read.
"Hah…"
Merkin let out a sigh. For some reason, he felt like he could already see the result of this duel.
Marta sat perched on a tree at the entrance of Bukmang Mountain, looking down at the Annex clearing.
"Tsk."
She twirled a lock of black hair brushing her cheek around her finger and clicked her tongue thinly.
"Disgustingly popular. Why do so many people keep coming to see him."
Marta's gaze was on Raon sitting in the clearing, talking with trainees from the Fifth Training Ground. While she'd been watching from here, seven trainees had already gone to see him. She couldn't hear clearly, but they seemed to be cheering him on to win the duel.
"Hmph. Since when were they close."
Seeing trainees who'd treated him like a stranger at the training ground now acting buddy-buddy just because they'd gotten a little closer on the last mission made her guts twist.
"Every last one of them is pathetic…"
"Why don't you go see him too?"
"Kyaah!"
At the sudden voice from behind, Marta screamed and fell from the tree.
"Oof, you're fun to tease."
When she looked up, Rimer was kicking his feet in midair, giggling.
"Raon doesn't even flinch when I do this, so it's no fun."
"You damn elf…"
Marta ground her teeth and got up. Just as her black eyes started to turn red, Rimer waved his hand.
"You sure about that? You've already been spotted."
She turned following his chin-jerk. Raon in the clearing was looking this way.
"Ugh, you did this on purpose…"
"If you came all this way, you might as well show your face and cheer him on."
"I didn't come here to cheer him on!"
"Huh? Then what's in that pocket? For me?"
"I-it's because he saved me on the mission…"
Marta shoved her hand into her coat pocket and scrunched her nose.
"Cheer him on. It'll definitely give him strength."
Rimer smiled and pointed toward the clearing. Raon was still looking this way.
"Damn it…"
Marta bit her lip hard, then went down the mountain.
"Hmm-hmm!"
Rimer sprawled out on the branch Marta had fallen from and hummed.
"So naive. Well, that's a child's privilege."
Raon narrowed his eyes watching Marta come down from Bukmang Mountain. He'd known she was up there, but he hadn't thought she'd come down. Rimer must have been messing with her.
"Hey."
Marta tossed him a small glass bottle and a square box wrapped in cloth.
"Huh?"
Raon caught the box and glass bottle flying toward his chest.
"Payback from last time. Eat it before the duel starts."
"Hmm…"
"It's not poison. It's Clear Heart Water that cleanly restores stamina and mental strength. Eat it or throw it away, your call."
When he looked at the glass bottle, Marta took another step closer and frowned.
"Thanks."
Raon put the glass bottle in his pocket.
"I was going to stomp that monkey brat myself since he kept yapping, but you beat me to it. If you're going to fight, kill him for sure. So he can never talk back to your mother again."
"Yeah."
"If you lose to a monkey like that, I'm canceling our promise too."
When he just nodded, Marta whipped around her black hair, which now reached below her shoulders.
"I'm going."
She left the training ground without looking back.
"Why didn't she mention this?"
Raon tilted his head and opened the box Marta had left.
"Beef?"
Inside was beef, looking far higher quality than what they usually ate at the Annex.
So it was her.
Sylvia had occasionally mentioned that high-grade beef had been left in front of the Annex. It seemed those had been Marta's gifts.
"That black-eyed one left that delicious beef?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, good. This King is magnanimous, as befits a monarch. From this day forth, This King shall call the black-eyed one Beef Girl."
……
Ignoring Wrath's nonsense, he was gathering the beef when Sylvia and Helen burst up from the bushes like moles popping out of the ground.
"Beef and Clear Heart Water. She's thinking entirely of Raon."
"Of course. The meat is one thing, but giving something as expensive as Clear Heart Water means they're not just ordinary acquaintances."
"Raon. Later, invite Marta to a meal…"
"Ah, please just go!"
Raon shook his head. The two of them slipped back into the bushes like ghosts and returned to the Annex.
Honestly…
A few days ago he'd been worried because they were so downcast, and now they were so lighthearted he couldn't handle them.
Well, this is better.
Sylvia and Helen believed he would win, and they were showing this bright side so he wouldn't worry. They were originally bright people like this. To protect their smiles, he had to make sure that anything that would harm them couldn't even let its shadow touch them.
Raon slowly steadied his breath, stood up, and began training again.
The training continued without distinguishing night from day, and before he knew it, the morning of the duel had dawned.