Eilyn Rutenia (2)
Saren, a maid of the Marquisate of Rutenia. She loved the Marquis more than anyone, and the Marquis loved her more than anyone in return. But theirs was a forbidden love. Upon realizing she was pregnant, Saren vanished from the estate without a trace.
The Marquis exhausted every resource to find her, but she was nowhere to be found. Or perhaps, he simply chose not to look—hindered by the fierce jealousy of the Marchioness.
Marquis Rutenia despaired. His heart burned to ash, and his emotions grew numb. One day, as he dragged himself through his ruined life, a desperate cry echoed from the main gates of the estate.
"Please save your daughter, Eilyn! I beg of you!"
It was Saren. The Marquis dashed toward the gates like a man possessed. He ran to meet the fruit of his true love, whom he had not seen for so long. Now, finally, he would be reunited with the woman he had spent years searching for.
But there was no time for words. All that met the Marquis's eyes was a cold, lifeless corpse.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Swish. Flicking the dark, viscous blood off his sword, a knight spoke.
"She was afflicted by the Contamination. Do not go near her, my Lord."
Right then, high priests who had rushed to the scene after receiving a report of Contamination began the purification process, burning her body right in front of his manor. He reached out toward what was left of Saren, but the knights held him back.
His world shattered. His numb emotions fractured into pieces. As Saren's body went up in flames, the Marquis's heart burned with the fire of absolute despair.
Only one phrase kept his crumbling mind intact.
Save your daughter, Eilyn.
He steeled his resolve to find the last trace she had left behind. He would never, for as long as he lived, forget her final plea.
"Investigate every single step this woman took. If you fail to bring me even a shred of information, you are all finished."
"We obey your command, Your Grace."
The Marchioness attempted to interfere out of petty jealousy, but the Marquis crushed her pathetic attempts with absolute authority. He should have done this from the very beginning. He should have searched for her with his life on the line. Thanks to his relentless efforts, it did not take long to find the child born of his and Saren's love.
Eilyn Rutenia.
Eilyn Rutenia. The illegitimate daughter of the Rutenia Marquisate. The title she bore was nothing short of "the shame of the family." While the Rutenia family was known for their bright blonde hair, Eilyn possessed light brown locks, inherited from her mother. Yet, her ruby-red eyes were a spitting image of her father's—a fact that only made the Marchioness and the eldest son, Shadys, loathe her all the more.
She was left entirely alone in her room. No, she wasn't quite alone. She had the company of a pigeon pierced by an arrow and the severed head of a beast.
"Haha! That's what you get for crawling into this family when nobody wanted you here!"
Shadys Rutenia's torment grew more sadistic by the day. Tossing animal carcasses and severed heads into her room was just the baseline; physical abuse and confinement became a daily routine. Perhaps because of this, even the estate's servants began to treat her like dirt. The maid tasked with bringing her meals would serve rotten potatoes and moldy bread. The only water Eilyn had to drink was muddy puddle water.
Still, she told herself it wasn't so bad. She was destined to die anyway, so she should be grateful just to be alive. She was fine. She wasn't sad. Yet, tears kept spilling over. Her tear ducts, it seemed, did not agree with her mind.
"Sob... hic..."
Searching for a black cat in a pitch-black room. It was a desperate search for love and affection, a feeling we call loneliness. That was the emotion that consumed Eilyn.
Even though Saren's daughter was treated like a stray dog, the Marquis did nothing. He neglected her, turning a blind eye. He knew that if he showed her any favor, she would likely be assassinated by his wife. Eilyn did not resent her father. She had never expected anything from him in the first place. To her, the world was simply painted in shades of black and white.
While she stared blankly at her monochrome world, the Marquis enrolled her in Estrada Academy under the pretext of education, claiming that even an illegitimate child required proper schooling. And so, Eilyn Rutenia entered Estrada Academy.
"Tch, worthless trash."
Thud, thud. Shadys Rutenia stepped over the broken door and stormed out.
"Are you alright?"
"You... what on earth were you thinking?!"
"Don't worry about me. Instead, you should start thinking about what color the world will look like once the light returns to your eyes."
Eilyn Rutenia shouted at me. "...Why? Nobody ever cared before! So why now?!"
"Because nobody cared until now, that's why I'm caring."
Eilyn Rutenia's mouth hung open at my response.
"Ha..."
I swept away the shattered glass as I spoke to her.
"I don't know your past, Lady Eilyn. But I do know what will happen to you if things are left like this. That's why I'm doing this."
"What happens if things are left like this?"
I paused. Looking down at the floor of the trashed room, I replied, "...You don't need to know. It's enough that I'm the only one who knows that future."
"What does that even..."
Without answering her, I called out to the dormitory staff.
"Excuse me, I need some help here!"
The dormitory staff arrived one by one and began helping clean up the room. I, too, focused entirely on the cleanup in silence.
"Whew, it's finally clean. Thank you for your help."
"Not at all, Young Lord Johannes. It is our duty. We will have the door repaired immediately, so please do not worry."
"I apologize for breaking the door myself."
The staff smiled warmly and began the repair work. A single door wouldn't take long to fix. I turned back to Eilyn, gently placing my hands on her shoulders.
"No one in this world deserves to be treated the way you have been, Lady Eilyn. For now, just trust me and wait."
"..."
Eilyn fell silent. Judging by her expression, she was utterly flabbergasted. Perhaps everything had happened too fast for her to process...
"I'll take my leave then."
I gave her a gentle smile and left the room.
Mid-meal, Mycaris's eyes went wide.
"You're having a duel?"
"Yes, a duel with Young Lord Shadys Rutenia."
"Seriously, you have a duel once a year at this rate..."
Ronia asked, her face brimming with curiosity.
"Why are you dueling him?"
"I went to Lady Rutenia's dorm room to invite her to our party, but I found her brother physically abusing her. Judging by the old marks I saw, the abuse has been ongoing."
"Abuse..." Ronia gasped, covering her mouth. "That guy is completely out of his mind. How could he beat his own sister, even if she is illegitimate?"
"Exactly. And to think he went all the way to her dormitory to do it... it's unbelievable."
"There really are some deeply disturbed people in this world."
Ronia and Mycaris stared blankly at me.
"I don't think you're one to talk..."
"I really don't think you have the right to say that, Lord Hound..."
"...Excuse me?"
Ronia and Mycaris stood up from their seats.
"Anyway, we have a class soon. Don't you have any more lectures today?"
"No, I'm done for the day."
"Must be nice. Well, we'll be off then."
"Good luck."
Ronia and Mycaris made their way toward the lecture hall.
Now, the question is how to handle this duel...
Winning wasn't the issue. But I wanted to inflict a defeat more humiliating than any other. Just like I did with Lutera and Winston. Beating the absolute living daylights out of bastards like them always left me feeling incredibly refreshed.
To do that, I needed to know what Shadys Rutenia's specialty was. I walked over to a table in the cafeteria where a group of lower-ranking nobles were gathered.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Oh, Lord Johannes! Please, have a seat."
I didn't know his name, nor did I care to. As long as he answered my questions, nothing else mattered.
"By any chance, do you know much about the young master of the Rutenia family?"
"I know a bit about him, yes."
"Could you tell me what his major is?"
He paused his fork mid-air, lost in thought.
"Hmm..."
Why is he thinking so hard? What is it? He's making me anxious for no reason.
"Young Lord Rutenia is an archery major, if I recall correctly. But why do you ask...?"
You tell me everything first and then ask why? Yeah, this guy is definitely not someone to trust with secrets.
"It's nothing major. I just have an opportunity to meet him, and I figured it would be wise to know his specialty beforehand."
"Ah, that makes sense. Hahaha."
"Thank you for answering my question. I'll be on my way."
"Wait, hold on—!"
Having extracted the information I needed, I left the cafeteria without offering anything in return. Not that I had any obligation to.
An archery major, huh...
How should I beat him to make it absolutely legendary? I fell into deep, serious contemplation.
Should I blind him first and then inflict fear? Or maybe inflict fear first, then use Ererna's Gale to blow some of his hair off?
As I stared up at the ceiling, thoroughly engrossed in my thoughts, the perfect person appeared.
"Fancy meeting you here, Lord Johannes."
It was Saint Richmond.
"Young Lord Richmond, it's been a while."
"What are you thinking about so deeply that you didn't even hear me calling you?"
"Ah, did you call me? My apologies, I was lost in thought..."
"What kind of thoughts?"
I asked a slightly sensitive question to Richmond, who was himself an archery major.
"What is the absolute worst thing an archer can face?"
"Are you asking me that?"
"I'm asking because it's you, Young Lord."
Saint Richmond pursed his lips.
"Well... I suppose it would be sheer numbers charging blindly at you. Archery is specialized for long-range sniping and rear support, after all."
"Sheer numbers?"
"Yes. If the enemy's numbers are overwhelming, any archer below the level of a Great Archer has no choice but to run."
Sheer numbers... I had the perfect spell for that.
"Thank you for the answer. That completely solves my dilemma."
"I'm glad I could help. However, that's not why I came to find you."
Saint Richmond narrowed his eyes, staring intently at me.
"Your eyes have changed since I last saw you. Is it the same eye as mine? No... it's slightly different."
As expected of an archer possessing the Hawk Eye, his perception was incredible.
"Who knows... I'm not quite sure myself."
"Is that so? Does becoming a Sword Saint change something in a person...? Well, I must be off."
"Take care, Young Lord."
Saint Richmond stroked his chin as he walked away, seemingly deep in thought.
Is he trying to analyze me?
I had felt this way when reading the original novel, but he really was an odd fellow. A bit of an eccentric, perhaps. Even with my Eye of Clairvoyance, I couldn't quite figure him out.
Well, that wasn't important right now.
I had found the perfect way to cook Shadys Rutenia to absolute perfection. It was none other than the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons combined with the Eastern Six Paths of Rebirth I had learned from the Dark Magic Encyclopedia. I hadn't tested it yet, but this would surely leave Shadys with a massive, lifelong trauma.
An involuntary smirk crept onto my face in anticipation.