Chapter 102: The Knight Doesn’t Want to Be Reinstated (1)

It was early afternoon. The summer sun hammered its heat upon the ground, creating a sweltering air that made people feel miserable.

However, despite the unpleasant heat…

Swish-! Swish-!

“…”

A girl, no, a woman swung her sword silently.

Trickle-!

Bead after bead after bead of sweat poured down, soaking her entire body, making it sticky and unpleasant, but she did not stop.

A hundred strikes.

However, they were not just simple strikes. For ‘one’ strike to count, she had to do it to its utmost perfection. In that sense, the woman, Levy, had swung over seven hundred strikes, but she still had not reached that perfect hundred. Instead, only thirty of them were satisfactory for her.

Sword really is a complicated weapon.

Her mouth was so dry that she felt like she would collapse from exhaustion at any moment. But whenever she felt she was about to collapse, she’d be reminded by the profundity of the sword. The more she swung it, the deeper it became. Even when she thought that she had swung it the same way, the trajectory she saw each time was different, and therefore, the heart contained in the sword also changed.

That’s why Levy…

…It’s fun!

Found it fun. She found joy in focusing on just one thing like this. And the more she tried, the more she discovered herself improving.

It wasn’t just swordsmanship. There was also archery, etiquette, language, all of them were things she was looking forward to. She was also thinking about learning how to cook so she could devote herself better to her master.

A life where she could learn so many things so freely.

Being able to live such a life, she couldn’t be anymore satisfied.

However…

“Young Lady.”

Shudder-!

“It seems like you are about to collapse from exhaustion. I believe it would be better to rest for a while.”

“…”

“Sir Knight mentioned that you need to stay hydrated and have plenty of rest, otherwise it will bring more harm than benefit to your body. So, please have a rest for now, Young Lady.”

“Nngg…”

While she was indeed satisfied with everything going on in her life right now, she still had difficulty adjusting to the sudden change in her living environment. That was why she was still speaking in a timid manner towards her maid.

“I…understand… But, can you stop calling me Young Lady?”

“Why?”

“…Because it makes me feel like I’m wearing clothes that don’t suit me, or do things that are out of line.”

That was her honest feelings. Of course, being called ‘Young Lady’ wasn’t new for her. No matter how [fake] it was, she had lived the life of a noble lady.

It was just, this was the first time she had seen someone treat her with such sincere respect.

To put it into perspective, it was like a stage actor that suddenly became the character that they played on the stage.

That was how she felt and why she felt so uncomfortable. All the excessive treatment she received was extremely burdensome to her.

“You are sweating again, Young Lady. Even if you wish to train, you have to do it inside, otherwise, your beautiful skin will be damaged.”

“…I-It’s okay, skin is not—”

“Taking care of your skin is important. You must not forget that you are His Excellency’s daughter now, Young Lady. Your position as the Young Lady of the Marquis’ family is prestigious. Hence, you need to carry on with the necessary dignity, behavior, and nobleness at all times.”

“…”

“You have become someone who must always be an example to others, Young Lady. Not only your swordsmanship, your appearance also has to be something which arouses the awe of others. So please understand even if I say something harsh.”

“…U-Um, I understand what you mean, but even if I am His Excellency’s daughter now, I’m just an adopted daughter, so…”

“Oh, is there anyone within the family who dares to persecute you because you are just an adopted daughter, Young Lady?”

“…”

“If there is, please tell me right away. I will deal with them immediately.”

“…Oh, no! No one treats me like that!”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

“…”

…It’s scary—no, it’s difficult…

This is harder than practicing swordsmanship…

Levy could tell, to the person in front of her, ‘dealing with them’ meant burying them 10 m deep into the ground.

And so, Levy made up her mind.

I have to be careful with my words from now on.

There was a chance that several people would end up dying if she said something just slightly wrong, so she decided that she would never say anything carelessly from now on.

At 19 years old, Levy truly felt that her life as a young lady of Tristan was more than enough.

-Yes, I will.

-…

-Huh? Were you just joking, Your Excellency?

-No. I was just surprised you accepted it so quickly, hahaha…

Not long after the closing ceremony, Levy received an adoption offer from Marquis Tristan, and she accepted it without a second thought.

It was only natural. She couldn’t live in her master’s house forever, and it would be shameless of her to cling to him any longer. After all, she wanted to be someone who could help her master, not a leech. So the offer that Marquis Tristan made was truly a stroke of luck from heaven.

Although her new father was someone she was almost married to, she still thought that the offer was a miracle that couldn’t be measured with money.

Above all…

-Thank you, Master.

This was a great opportunity that her master, the first precious person in her life, had worked hard to create, so it was only natural for her to accept it.

However, if there’s anything that bothered her…

-But there’s one thing I have to say. I am…

-Ah, I know about that. You don’t have to say it.

-Pardon?

-Hehe, this is a gift from me. Use it well.

-…

It was the fact that she was always hiding; her origin and status. She tried to reveal it to the marquis, but the man stopped her and handed her a ring and a piece of parchment instead.

When she read it, her eyes widened.

-H-How…

-The wife and daughter of the Fault Family each kept it. They probably received it from the head.

-…

-We collected this from them, but we believe that the real owner of this thing isn’t them.

-…Your Excellency… You’re taking me in even though you know…?

-No, it’s not like that. I’m not taking you in, I’m asking you to let me have the opportunity to have a talented child like you as my child, hehe.

-…

At that moment, countless emotions brewed in her heart. The abundance of good luck that came her way recently left her dumbfounded. But at the same time, doubts about whether she deserved all of them riddled her heart.

Even so, without realizing it…

-Master…

Instead of shedding tears, she smiled as she called out to the Oriental Dollarbird that had brought her this good luck. She realized for the first time in her life that sometimes, when someone’s happiness was overflowing, they’d laugh instead of crying.

And now, she…

What should I do with this?

Was fiddling with the ring while enduring the unfamiliar touch of the maid’s hand that was wiping off her sweat.

The parchment the marquis gave her—no, the ‘slave contract’ that she had been forced to write, not because she wanted to… A week had already passed since she burned that contract.

However, she couldn’t do the same to the ring.

Although her status as a slave had disappeared, the [Imprint of Obedience] still remained on her back. This ring was like a catalyst for that imprint, so getting rid of it wouldn’t be the best option.

If anything, that’s the worst option.

There was a reason why the Imprint of Obedience was dubbed as a curse. Because once it was engraved, it wouldn’t just disappear, even if someone destroyed the catalyst. The moment an illegal mage saw her imprint, they could easily create a new one.

Which meant, one needed to extract the imprint itself from her body to deal with it instead of destroying the catalyst. And while she was looking for a safe way to do so…

I must not get rid of the ring.

Instead, she had to take care of it carefully, as it literally held the power to decide her life and death. So after much deliberation, she decided to entrust this ring to someone else.

As for why she didn’t just keep it on herself…

It was just a bad idea. After all, there was no way she, a weak person who still had to be protected by others, could keep the ring safe.

That was why she decided to entrust it to someone else; the man she trusted, the most reliable man she ever knew.

He was none other than…

“…Where is my master?”

“From what I know, he’s with the Knight Order. I’ll guide yo—.”

“No. I-I can find him alone.”

Levy quickly walked, wondering whether the maids waiting in the distance would follow her.

She wanted to avoid a situation where more than five maids would follow her every time she moved, so she kicked the ground and ran.

“Young Lady!”

A voice called her from behind, but Levy didn’t stop, only apologizing in her heart.

After all, she hadn’t gotten used to the life of the Marquis Young Lady yet.

…Perhaps it would take 5 years before she would get used to it.

Regardless, the blue cat who had been betrayed many more times than the average person, had to continue to adapt to her life as a Tristan for a while longer.

Whoosh-!

Now, this is what a training ground of a noble family should look like.

Whenever someone mentioned a training ground, people would usually think of an ordinary training ground or a gym. But, in the case of the Red Eagle’s training ground…

They even have a waterfall here, crazy…

Its level, no, its whole environment was a whole different thing entirely. There was a waterfall that wasn’t just a place where water was flowing down, but an actual waterfall where a huge amount of water was pouring down in real time.

Needless to say, it was a breathtaking spectacle.

And such a thing was placed in the training ground. They said that the waterfall was an artificial one, created by mobilizing a large number of mages. Well, considering that this was the training ground of a great noble, the level of investment they made should be on a different level, it was just normal in that sense.

It’s an actual fucking waterfall…

Of course, the waterfall wasn’t the only thing.

Even though people didn’t treat climbing as sports in this world, they still installed a cliff that was perfect for it and for 30 m rope climb here. Not only that, they also installed swamps and sandy areas.

The Silver Lion doesn’t have facilities like this.

In the case of the Silver Lion, they valued individual training more, so it isn’t strange that they didn’t have facilities like this. However, they were still a knight order under the royal family, so Lee Han couldn’t help but feel that it was a shame.

Even if I don’t want to compare, I end up comparing the two.

He felt like a minor league player who suddenly came to a top-class training facility for Olympic athletes.

I should consider coming here often.

Of course, there were other facilities in the training ground of Tristan, but the waterfall caught his eye and heart the most.

“…Because this is the best martial arts training.”

Waterfall training. It was the training method he had always wanted to try, so he felt extremely happy that he’d get to try it.

Seeing him like that…

“I probably asked you this already, but, what is martial arts…?”

“Think of it as something that me and others who went through similar training as me had attained.”

“…The thought of having a bunch of you around is already terrifying.”

Bale, the deputy commander of the Red Eagle made a tired expression while looking at Lee Han, who was happily laughing while doing ‘squats’ under the gentle caress of the waterfall that kept on pouring water at the speed of hundreds of kilometers in real time.

A thought popped up in his mind.

I don’t know what martial arts is, but… It’s probably something that only perverts who enjoy hurting themselves could understand…

Apparently it’s something common in his hometown…? What a horrifying place it is then…

And so, an irreversible misunderstanding about martial arts was born.