Ariel (1)
"Leon oppa—!!"
"...?"
At the voice calling my name, I set down the sword in my hand for a moment and looked around. It was none other than my little sister, Lena.
"What's up?"
"Mom says to come home early tonight since we're leaving early tomorrow morning."
I was born in Laborre Village, a small village that could be called tiny or fairly large depending on how you looked at it. I was twelve years old. Lena was ten. We came from an ordinary family, but my father, Himmel, a former mercenary knight, was teaching me swordsmanship as I nurtured my dream of becoming a knight.
"Leon, keep your head down a bit more. Look straight ahead."
"...Yes."
"...Hmm."
Himmel stared steadily at his son. As a renowned mercenary knight, he could clearly see his son's talent. At just twelve years old, he had an innate gift for freely manipulating aura. If he'd been born a noble with a better teacher, he could have aimed for the imperial guard. That was how extraordinary the talent was.
Because of it, he always felt sorry toward his son.
"That's enough."
At his father's words, I wiped the sweat dripping down my face and flashed a smile.
"Oppa, you're really gonna become a knight?"
"...Huh?"
At Lena's sudden question, I looked at my little sister with a mouthful of lamb.
"Even if I don't, Lena, if I take first place in the tournament, I can get a knighthood... but there are tons of people who've been swinging swords since they were kids."
Catherine, the mother of Lena and me, gently stroked Lena's hair and turned her worried gaze toward her husband.
"It'll be okay... right? What if he gets hurt..."
"Don't worry about that. There'll be plenty of priests on standby."
"Still..."
"It's fine, Mom. The village kids aren't even opponents."
At my confident words, Himmel flicked my forehead sharply.
"...Ow..."
"Cut the nonsense and focus on yourself. Conditioning is part of your skill."
"Participant number 1208, Leon Chris."
Standing on tiptoes to hand over my papers, the bespectacled registrar glanced at them carelessly, stamped them, and tossed them back. After waiting in line for four hours, this was all I got—not satisfying, but unavoidable. Commoners could only submit after the nobles finished.
Sword tournaments were for nobles to begin with. This one was exceptional; usually, you had to rack up merits in the army or apprentice under a knight.
After registration, I had to navigate alone without Father's help. Preliminary rounds by number, then the top 64 swordsmen under fifteen would duel before the emperor to decide the winner.
"Father, I'm off."
"..."
Himmel gazed steadily at his son. He'd always told me to stay humble and never let my guard down—but not today.
"Crush the prelims."
"...!!"
"No one's worked as hard as you. Whether they're two or three years older, beat them all."
With those unprecedented words of encouragement from my father, I leaned against the wall in the waiting room. The prelims spanned three days. With so many participants, I'd spend at least two nights in the temporary quarters.
Meditating alone to practice aura control would help, but it was boring, so I started eavesdropping on the kids my age nearby.
"You hear? The winner's already decided."
"What're you talking about?"
"Ahaha... you haven't heard?"
A winner already decided? What did that mean? I shifted slightly, tilting my head to listen.
"This tournament's hosted by the crown prince himself. The lady and the prince skip prelims and go straight to finals."
"...Hah. The prince, fine, but the lady..."
"Shh, watch your mouth."
"It's the Saint Ducal House, but maybe she really has the skills?"
"...What could a noble lady who just knows luxury and indulgence do..."
Quite the interesting gossip. The prince and lady getting byes seemed unfair, but I didn't mind. It wasn't like they were declaring the prince the winner outright, and I trusted my own skills. If they offered enough money for match-fixing, I'd consider it—our family was poor, after all.
Honestly, though... the other part intrigued me more.
"But they say Ariel the lady is super pretty."
"They say the crown prince fell for her at first sight and got engaged right away... If we make finals, I wanna see her..."
I was curious about the face of the famously expressionless lady. Amid the whispers, the colosseum door burst open as a bald instructor bellowed.
"Smith! Leon! You're up! Grab your swords and come out!!"
"...Crazy, that monster kid..."
"That's him? The one with 37 straight wins who cleared prelims in two days..."
The matches were disappointingly easy. Boys two or three years older seemed intimidating, but they were all bark, no bite. Only four could even use aura, and they mishandled it badly. Our region must lack talent.
The day dragged on emptily. As I hunkered in a corner of the waiting area, a shadow fell over me. He looked young, but his unfortunate hairline made guessing his age impossible.
"...Instructor Evan?"
"...Ahem."
The instructor cleared his throat and sat beside me.
"Something seemed off, so I checked your papers. Your dad's the Mercenary King Himmel, huh? Like father, like son."
"...You know my dad?"
Evan nodded and rolled up his sleeve. I gasped at the vicious bite mark on his shoulder.
"Cool, right?"
"...What the hell is that?"
"Dragon."
"..."
I stared in disbelief, and Evan rolled his sleeve back down, explaining.
"...Precisely, a wyvern. Even a Swordmaster like the Saint Duke or the empire's strongest mage Eve would only run from a real dragon."
"Wyverns are rank-1 hazards too. You need a full knight order to take one down..."
"Yeah. That wyvern was vicious and dangerous."
Evan nodded gravely, looking at me earnestly.
"Your father saved me from it."
"..."
"In a word, he saved my life."
Smack!
"...What're you telling my kid?"
Father, whom I'd contacted earlier, had come to pick me up.
"Heh, you hermit loner. When'd you snag a pretty wife and have a kid?"
"Yeah. Must be tough for a baldy like you."
"...Wanna fight after all these years?"
Father shrugged, glanced at me, and grinned.
"You did well."
"Just like you taught me, Father. Look 'em in the eyes, don't lose momentum... and..."
"...You actually remembered. You always forgot during training."
"Well... I couldn't see the attacks..."
I trailed off and asked Father about what Evan had said. His expression turned incredulous as he listened.
"Exaggerated nonsense. Never beat a wyvern—just ran for our lives."
"...Oh, really?"
"...Curious?"
I nodded vigorously at his question. The Mercenary King Himmel let out a hearty laugh and began recounting the heroic tales he'd occasionally shared over drinks at the tavern.
The Saint Ducal House estate. The lady's private chambers—
A silver candelabra on the table cast a soft glow.
Scratch-scratch-
The young lady gripped her pen, already reviewing family business. Even after regressing, the house was still a mess. Father obsessed over the sword and neglected it; the eldest son squandered wealth and status on pleasures. And now that blond squid pranced around—headache-inducing.
'...Ugh, I wanna quit.'
No desire to play devoted daughter again, but she needed to stabilize things before the Imperial Academy or it'd collapse like last life. She shook her head, banishing the thought.
Clearing the trivialities, the priority: tracking Leon Chris.
But his childhood records were elusive. In her past life, she'd scouted him as a mercenary knight—that was it.
Still, Ariel bore a mission to find him fast.
...First love. She hated the cheesy term, but wished she was his first love. That's why she'd pieced together time to search.
'...Wait. Why am I going this far...'
Ears faintly red, Ariel slowly flipped through letters to herself. She chucked Crown Prince Cedric's love notes in the trash, then scanned the tournament organizer's finalist list with faint hope.
...Soon, she spotted a familiar name.
The one she'd worried over—alive? Not killed by her butterfly effect? After over a decade, that name again.
Leon Chris
"......"
She exhaled a quickened breath, fumbling for her teacup to calm her suddenly racing heart. Just seeing the name.
Like some illness.
'...Maybe I need exercise.'
No one watching, but she bowed her head and shoved the list into a drawer. She couldn't let anyone see this flustered face.