Chapter 13: Lee Han Got Demoted (2)

Knights mostly came from noble households. Though there were some knights that declared their independence from their households after they were knighted, most of them felt the most comfortable to stay and kept on receiving support from their family. At the end of the day, they were still raised as nobles; they had been cared for by someone since birth until they became adults.

In more severe cases, there were even some strange and spoiled brats who couldn’t even wash themselves or change their clothes. Though, since they had to live in a dorm when they were in the Academy and got used to their life as a knight, that tendency would gradually disappear.

However, even if that tendency got better over time, they had been living their whole life as a spoiled brat. It was nonsensical to think that it could be completely fixed just like that.

That was why there were many people who lived with their servants even after becoming knights. Those guys would have a maid or a butler on standby, and they would run to those pathetic guys’ aid if they were to find even the slightest inconvenience.

Yes, it was ridiculous. Lee Han just couldn’t understand what the hell they were even thinking when they did so. He’d even click his tongue at times at them and occasionally mutter to himself, ‘Aren’t those guys ashamed?’.

And yet–

“Huh…? Lihan…brought a maid with him…? It’s the first time he ever did something like this…”

“Judging by her attire, isn’t she a royal maid? Did someone give her to him?”

“What a beautiful lady… I should ask her out for tea…”

“…Hey, Lihan is behind you.”

“Huh?!”

–He didn’t even want this to happen, though. And yet, he was stuck in this situation anyway.

“…Damn it.”

He let out a curse.

“So, who’s that beautiful lady?”

“Beautiful? You mean stupid-looking?”

“…Well, she does look tired…”

Jake slapped Lee Han on the back and laughed playfully as he stared at the lady that his friend brought for the first time. Unlike the other knights, Lee Han didn’t have a lover nor wife and he had been insisting to keep it that way. Actually, even Jake suspected that he either had a health problem or he just swung that wa—

“I don’t know what you’re currently thinking, but for some reason, I feel like you’re insulting me…”

“A-Ahem. What? I didn’t think of anything. Why are you accusing me like that?”

“…Huh, was I wrong then…?”

…This sharp bastard…

If one were to classify someone’s intuition into levels, Lee Han’s would probably be in Aura User’s level. In any case, after paying attention to Lee Han’s emotion, Jake sat down on the lawn at the edge of the knight training grounds and stared at the woman who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

Actually from the drool on her mouth, she could probably fall asleep at any time now.

“…She looks exhausted.”

“Haa…”

“So, what’s the relationship between the two of you? Knowing you, there’s no way that you’d hire her.”

“…It’s complicated. I don’t even want her around. I swear I’m gonna send her back soon.”

“Hmm. Did the royal family commission something to you?”

“…”

“Fine, I’ll shut my mouth now.”

Jake nodded while saying that, gesturing to him that he understood the situation. Though, some of the other knights must have come to the same conclusion as him. After all, it was obvious that she was a royal maid.

Sometimes, the royal family would pick out a knight and give them an order or two. The knight would deem this as an honorable task and they would usually have to keep the details of such a task a secret.

Although many of the knights were envious of Lee Han over the fact that he was picked out by the royal family, none of them dared to criticize the royal family’s decision. After all, respect and loyalty toward the Pendragons were held by everyone, regardless of status.

“Do your best. I’ll cheer you on.”

“Do you even know what I was tasked to do?”

“Nah, I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about that young lady. She looks a little foolish, but she’s really pretty, isn’t she? Hahaha!”

“…”

“Huh? Why did it become so cold suddenly…”

Hearing his friend’s words, Lee Han was genuinely considering beating up the guy.

Because his teasing had just gone too far, especially for someone like Lee Han.

You punk! I want a lover too if I can, you know?!

It was sad, but it was a secret he could never tell anyone.

Though he didn’t show it on the outside, he was crying inside.

Leila Winter.

That was the name of the maid.

Even though his current situation was unwelcome for him, Lee Han only sent his resentment towards the old woman who created this situation, not the stupid-looking maid. That was why he decided to remember the maid’s name at all.

“Maid, from now on, rather than coming here with me, you should just stay at home and rest. Or better, you could go to the palace.”

“I have to refuse, Sir Knight! I’m being paid to do this, so I need to do my best!”

“…”

She was actually a good girl, she was just a little bit stupid.

Currently, she was twenty two years old. If Lee Han wasn’t looking at her with tinted glass, she was actually an honest and hard-working woman. It was to the degree that he would admire her.

…But, the problem here was, every time she worked, there was bound to be something that she’d destroy.

Seriously, did that old woman send this girl to destroy my house?!

Suspicion and conviction. Lee Han’s feeling was somewhere between the two.

“She’s cute; a waste for someone like you.”

“…Please make your presence known when you are walking around. Are you even aware that sometimes you feel more like a former assassin than me?”

“When I was young, I had a friend who turned out to be an assassin. I killed him, though.”

“…”

“Hehehe.”

This crazy old man…

I swear, him being able to make that kind of crazy remark without a care in the world while making it sound like he isn’t bragging is his shortcoming or something. The annoying thing is that people will still try to flatter him even if he were to do that…

“Why the hell are you here today, anyway? Don’t you have a meeting to attend?”

“Tell me, why the hell would an old man like me attend something stupid like that? The young guys will take care of it anyway, who cares.”

“I see you’re still doing whatever you want, huh?”

Just like any other old man, his hair had already turned white. Unlike any other old man though, his white hair still looked shiny. Not only that, his skin also looked so smooth that it was hard to believe that this old man was someone in his 70s. While he looked thin and unremarkable, the depth in his eyes and the mysterious energy floating around his body gave off a mysterious feeling.

If this world wasn’t a medieval fantasy but a murim one, someone would probably call him something like ‘Sword Immortal’.

By the way, this old man was none other than Baltar Grace, the knight commander. He was a former gladiator who caught the eye of the king and ended up becoming a knight afterward. After making great achievements in war, he ascended to be an Aura User.

There was even a saying about him, ‘If you meet Baltar on the battlefield, don’t think, just run away’. He was pretty much a legendary figure who had numerous stories of his bravery and people even made poems about all of his military exploits.

Baltar was a knight of great stature who even the royal family couldn’t afford to treat lightly. He was also an eccentric who refused the position of commander-in-chief of the military and took on the role of the commander of the Third Order of the Order of Silver Lion instead.

…Despite all that, from Lee Han’s perspective, he was just a mountain that he had to overcome someday.

“So, why are you here? You don’t normally visit the Order…”

“Hehe, I heard that you brought a woman, so I figured that I’d take a look.”

“…Must be nice to have so much free time…”

“What? Are you telling me to keep working diligently at this age?”

“…No comment.”

Even though he was an Aura User, it was true that he was already old enough to retire. He still looked pretty young though. That was because he had been maintaining his peak physical condition for a long time since he was an Aura User.

“I’m really jealous of you. You have more than one wife, right?”

“Wife? No. Lovers. I’m not married, why are you turning me into a married man?”

“You old coot, you already have kids, just admit that you’re married! Seriously…”

“Just like my body, my heart is also young! I’m still too young to marry, haha!”

“…This kingdom is doing really well, isn’t it?”

Funnily enough, despite his appearance that reminded Lee Han of an ascetic every time he saw this old man, he was actually a very energetic old man. Even though he already had a wife, he had ten so-called lovers and even had children with them too.

I heard that his great-grandson was born recently.

However, the man didn’t acknowledge the fact that he was married. Maybe it was because he hadn’t had a wedding yet, that was why he acted like that.

Strangely enough, he was loyal  to all his women and cherished all the women who gave birth to his children. On top of that, he was actually a good father. So, even though his family looked like a mess, it wasn’t actually a mess. On the contrary, they lived harmoniously somehow.

This was what made Lee Han think that the guy was the real protagonist of this world. More than the woman who had a background similar to a female protagonist in a rofan or the guy whose life sounded exactly like a male protagonist in a regression story.

Fuck, I’m so jealous…

It wasn’t a wonder that he ended up envying the old man. After all, he had never held a woman’s hand in his entire 30 years of life. Now, if he were to include his previous life in his calculator…

Let’s stop thinking about that…

“By the way, it seems like you have something in mind today, hm?”

“…Yes, I do. Recently, I found out that I could finally chase after something that I’ve given up on, but if I were to take up on that, things might turn a little messy…”

“Haha, why are you even thinking about this? Just go on like what you usually do.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Hahaha!”

The old man burst into laughter after hearing that reply. Only then did the other knights realize his presence and their bodies instantly went stiff. Well, it was normal for them to be unable to notice him since he was trying to hide his presence.

“S-Salute to you, Commander!”

The knights saluted him one after another with sincerity. Some of them probably saw him for the first time at this moment, and many of them had only ever heard of his name.

Then again, he was like a mythical creature, seeing him could be considered as an achievement in itself.

Everyone who saw him shared the same emotion; ‘admiration’. Their eyes sparkled because they were seeing someone who had hailed his status as a legend before they were even born. The new knight, Yord Decker, especially—the one who fought against Lee Han the other day—had his eyes burning brighter than ever.

The Commander was practically the pinnacle of the knights in the kingdom, so this was pretty much a natural reaction for all the legitimate knights.

“Alright, get back to your work, you all. I’m gonna leave after I’m done taking care of my business.”

However, even though he was receiving such hot stares, Baltar didn’t even pay any attention to it. On top of that, even though there was a smile plastered on his face, he exuded an air that made it difficult for people to approach him.

There were many people who wanted to learn from him, but he had been actively trying to make it so that no one could approach him easily.

Meanwhile, Lee Han…

“Stop being stingy, it isn’t like they’re asking you to teach them something crazy. You can still keep your skill a secret while teaching them a thing or two.”

“The problem is, it’s annoying and I hate annoying things.”

Baltar was famous for not taking any disciple even though he was an Aura User. Even to his children who became knights just like him, he had never taught them a single thing. This eccentricity of his was well known to everyone.

Suddenly…

-Come to the backyard later, I’ll give you the appointment letter.

A voice tickled Lee Han’s ear, a voice that only he could hear. It wasn’t sent to him using Aura, but rather an application of combat techniques.

Of course, it didn’t come from just any combat techniques. It was a high-level skill that was hard to replicate.

Towards the person who had let him experience such a high-level technique that managed to rouse his interest, Lee Han…

“While it feels good experiencing such an amazing thing, can’t you just say it out loud next time? Hearing a man’s voice ringing in my ears will just make my skin crawl.”

“…Rude rascal. Adjust to your senses.”

“No. Creepy things are creepy.”

“…Fine, before we talk, why don’t we talk with our swords first, huh?”

“Haha! Nice, nice! Alright, come up to the rooftop, old man!”

“We don’t have a rooftop here.”

Swiish-!

Hearing Baltar accepting his arrogant provocation, Lee Han expressed his happiness.