Disowned from the Shadows
My heart nearly stopped... I'd just left the house where I'd lived for twenty years. It was because they wanted me to inherit the family business. The Knoxveil de Arken Baron Estate. Unlike other famous noble houses, my family was a shadow clan that few people knew about. We specialized in assassination rather than open warfare, after all. But I hated that about us.
I wanted to proudly declare what I did among people, fair and square. More than killing someone, I wanted to protect them. That's why I dreamed of becoming a knight. The fairy tales I secretly read as a kid were full of knights heroically saving people.
"Father, I don't want to become an assassin."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. I want to be a knight, not an assassin."
I told him straight up, but Father didn't even respond. He just called in his men and had me waterboarded.
"Urgh...!"
The agonizing sensation of water flooding my lungs because I couldn't breathe. The servants would pull me out just before I drowned and ask,
"Young master, have you changed your mind?"
But they say pain you can't die from only makes you stronger.
"Not at all. I still want to be a knight..."
If anything, the torture made my dream even clearer. They ripped out my nails and toenails, seared my skin with fire, even stabbed me multiple times with knives, but my dream of becoming a knight wouldn't fade.
"...You're insane."
Finally deciding he couldn't persuade me no matter what, Father struck me from the family registry.
"I can't even stand the sight of you anymore. Go be your precious knight if that's what you want. Of course, you're no longer part of the Knoxveil family, so don't even dream of our support."
Honestly, at that moment, the joy of finally being free outweighed any despair. If I could just scrape together the tuition somehow, I could become a knight.
"Thank you, Father. I hope you stay healthy."
"Get out before I change my mind and kill you."
With that, I bid him farewell and left home to start earning money. Stepping into the streets, I felt a sense of liberation I'd never known inside that house. Kids laughing and playing. Merchants hawking their wares noisily. People strolling leisurely. Just watching them made me happy.
Until now, I'd lived under the family's control, training only in killing and enduring pain. But I was filled with hope that I could live like them soon enough.
However.
"We don't hire people without status. Go home."
"Sorry, we can't work with you..."
"How can we employ someone with no proof of identity?"
No one wanted to hire a guy who'd lost his status entirely. Sure, I could've gathered tuition quickly by taking assassination commissions... but I didn't want to become a knight that way. My reason for wanting to be one was to protect people, after all.
So after a week of not eating a thing, curling up on some stairs to sleep...
"Hey, kid, it's been raining since last night. Why are you sleeping out here?"
A woman approached with pink hair like it held cherry blossoms and golden eyes sparkling like stars.
"...I ran away from home."
"How come? What's a kid like you got to run away for?"
"I didn't want to inherit the family business... so I left."
"Hmm... I see. Sounds complicated."
She fell silent for a moment, pondering, then asked,
"How about... living with me at my place?"
"...Pardon?"
I thought I'd misheard at first. But she looked dead serious.
"My house is pretty big. Plenty of room for two."
"No, I mean... you're asking a total stranger to move in just like that...?"
"Worried I might hurt you?"
"Not that."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm confident I can protect myself..."
What an odd person. She was offering her personal space to someone she didn't know, who could be dangerous.
"Then it's settled. Come to big sis's house!"
"...Why should I trust a stranger? We don't even know each other's names."
"Hmm... Should I prove who I am first?"
She smiled and pulled something from her sleeve. Thinking it might be a hidden weapon, I tensed up defensively.
But what came out was a rosary.
"I'm Elysia Atradain! Saintess of the Atradain ducal house... Ring any bells?"
Hearing her name, I was honestly a bit shocked. Elysia Atradain. Anyone at the Academy or interested in it knew that name instantly. The woman before me was one of the Academy's Five Stars, the Saintess of Purity.
The Academy hides their identities so tightly, I had no idea what she looked like...
She was even more beautiful than I'd imagined. The kind of beauty that could steal every man's heart if she wanted.
...And this woman was inviting me to come along. No one would believe it.
"...Why would someone as exalted as the Saintess offer that to me?"
"Hmm~ That's a secret! I'll tell you once we're living together."
She grinned and booped my nose with her index finger.
"You need a place to crash and food ASAP, right? You'd be the one losing out if you turn this down."
...She was right. My body, starved of nutrients, was at its limit. And the autumn rain before winter hit was brutally cold. I'd be the fool to refuse.
"...Can I really live with you? You're the Saintess of Purity."
"Don't worry. The Academy and Church keep my identity under wraps, so bringing a boy home won't cause issues."
She grabbed my hand with a delighted expression.
"And from now on, call me sis, not Saintess! We're living together—'Saintess' sounds too stiff."
"...Sis? But our ages—"
"I'm twenty-four, you punk!"
Elysia—no, Elysia sis—flicked my forehead. Her mature look had me thinking she was older; I was surprised she was younger than expected.
"...Got it, sis."
"Good. Let's head home and get you showered first. Bet you haven't washed in ages."
"Yeah... But..."
"Hm?"
"You don't want anything from me?"
Even if she was a saintess, I couldn't help suspecting. This wasn't a fairy tale; it was reality. People usually help others for something in return. I wondered what she wanted.
"Hmm, what I want..."
Elysia sis tapped her lips, then smirked.
"How about granting me one wish?"
"...A wish?"
"Yeah. Nothing material or anything."
I didn't get it. From a ducal house, she had endless wealth and status. As a saintess who'd saved countless lives, her honor was unmatched. Why ask a useless guy like me for a wish?
"...Fine. As long as it's not material."
I was in no position to refuse anyway.
"Great! Let's go home right now?"
She pulled me under her umbrella. Our hands were still linked.
"Sure."
"Oh, never asked your name. What is it?"
"My name..."
No family name now that I'd been disowned. And revealing Knoxveil ties to someone so informed wouldn't help.
"...Kyle. Just call me Kyle."
"Kyle... Cool name...! Looking forward to living together!"
Unlike me, raised in an assassin clan, maybe it was because she was a saintess, but Elysia sis was genuinely bright. Like the sun.
"Same here. Nice to meet you."
After arriving at Elysia sis's house, I showered as she suggested and lay on the bed in the room she showed me.
So soft...
When was the last time I'd lain on a bed this comfy? Probably not since I was seven. After that, training meant no such luxuries. The Knoxveil way was raising kids into killing machines that could operate in extreme conditions. Sleeping on the dirt floor was a luxury.
Can I finally sleep easy now...?
As I lay there thinking that, the door opened and Elysia sis came in.
"Sorry...! You must be starving? I took a bit to wash up too..."
"It's f—"
I couldn't finish. Her outfit carrying the food was way too aggressive.
Dangerous...!
Was this some kind of test? Her see-through clothes revealed her figure so blatantly that any normal guy would've blushed crimson on the spot. If I hadn't trained in expression control, I'd have nosebled right there.
I turned my head, forcing a neutral face.
"It's fine, really."
"That face doesn't look fine at all...? You catch a cold or something?"
She came closer and touched my forehead. So close, her deep cleavage like a valley filled my view.
Whoa.
My heart nearly stopped...