Chapter 242: The Knight Hated Dysfunctional Family (5)
by Afuhfuihgs
…Where else can I find such drift?
“…”
“D-don’t look at me like that.”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“Aren’t you looking at me like I’m a criminal?”
“So you know.”
“!!?!”
The more immersed Lee Han was in the story, the more shocked he was.
Was it the same kind of shock a child who reads a fairy tale that stimulated their innocence would feel when they meet an adult who showed them the original fairy tale just because they have the original?
In other words…
This is unprecedented.
A child abuser. In some ways it’s a cliché that always came out like a skeleton in a romantic fantasy genre. But when Lee actually heard it happened, he became livid. He genuinely despised it.
“W-wait! I-I think you misunderstand! So please stop!”
“That sounds like a common line of some criminals….”
“No! Even though I can’t deny that I’m a bad parent, there are valid reasons for everything, so listen to what I have to say.”
“…”
“I appreciate you listening to me, but please do something about that gaze. I’m hurt…”
Felicia looked really resentful towards Lee Han and continued to grumble.
“I’ve used up all my lifespan, so wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t retire?”
-Cough…
Felicia was dying.
Her volume of coughing increased with every passing day, her arms shook so much that she couldn’t even swing her sword, and her eyes were so blurry that it was hard for her to even see ahead.
She was 65 years old at the time. Considering that the average lifespan of a woman was 55 years, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she had been living for such a long time.
…However, living long did not mean her luck was good.
On the contrary.
-Cough…
-Milady!
-E-elza, bring me the medicine.
-T-that…
-Quickly.
-…I understand.
She was a knight who had been rolling around on the battlefield for a long time and had more than three digits of wounds all over her body. Moreover, she was also an adventurer and hero who had ventured into countless dangerous areas and prevented multiple conflicts.
It was a proud history of Felicia, a history that served as a stepping stone for her growth. But unfortunately, as if the backlash from her youthful days had come, her body was now in ruin. In addition, aging, something no living thing could stop, came to visit her, so, her body was ruined even faster.
No matter how much Felicia was called ‘Immortal Felicia’ or ‘Knight of Fortune’ she still could not overcome the destiny given by the heavens or the flow of time. Every single day became harder and harder, and it would not be strange if she died at any moment as even breathing had become painful for her.
Despite this, the reason Felicia endured it was none other than:
-Ah, I want to swing the sword one more time.
…It might sound crazy, but she wasn’t hanging onto her life because of her family or her children. It was because of the ‘sword’. She wanted to swing the sword one more time. Because of that, she lived by taking drugs mixed with painkillers.
Even though she knew it was ruining her body even more, she didn’t stop, and when the drugs couldn’t suppress the excruciating pain that assaulted her body anymore…
-Iliad, I’m sorry.
-No, mother. You’ve worked hard.
-Haha, I’m not dying yet.
-T-That’s not what I meant…
-Forget it. Son, let me hug you for once.
-…
-I’m sorry for being such a bad mother. I’m really sorry… .
-…You are a respectable mother who I didn’t deserve, mother. I hope you live like yourself until the end. Because that’s the mother I admire and love… .
…She eventually handed over the position of the head of the household to her child and went into seclusion. She became something no different from the last leaf that could disappear at any moment as she settled down in the annex of the secluded house.
-…I’ll meet you soon.
As she finally lost the strength to move even a finger, she smiled happily as she recalled her husband who had gone to Avalon first…
“But suddenly, this thought occurred to me. Do I truly not have the strength to swing a sword?”
“…”
“If I can’t swing a sword with my body, shouldn’t I just keep swinging it with my mind? Shouldn’t I continue to pursue the sword without ceasing? That’s how I swung the sword with my ‘will.’”
“…”
“And at some point, I became an ‘Aura User’.”
“Are you going to just skip the process and tell me the result?”
“Hehe, I don’t want you to listen to it. I don’t want to see the baby I like die after listening to it for no reason for making a ‘futile attempt’.”
“…”
Felicia became an Aura user. At that time, she was seventy-one years old. However, even though she was that old, she was still the youngest ever to become an Aura User. Moreover, she was also the first female Aura User.
Once again, the king sought her out, then in front of him, Baltar and Albert fought against her to prove that Felicia was truly an Aura User.
-Huh! Is this what they call a personal victory? Senior. You are truly amazing.
-I don’t think there will ever be another case like you in the present and future.
The very first female Aura User had appeared. No one would be able to imitate her life, and no one would be able to become an Aura User like her. It was a sincere evaluation from two Aura Users about her, and it was an incident that shook the continent.
After that…
-Madam Felicia, I want to learn from you.
-How can I become a knight like you?
-Can I become an Aura User too?
She had to suffer from countless people for a while since the Offen family began to grow rapidly with incredible momentum.
Weren’t they a family that produced the Aura User?
Because of that, It was only natural that the number of the family’s disciples increased exponentially. Not only that, the merchants also begged the family to take their money just to get even a little bit of a connection with her.
Jokingly, people said that the Offen family’s authority at the time was comparable to that of the royal family.
But, Felicia knew that this was not a good trend, so she,
-I have retired and have no intention of returning to active duty. So, if you want something from the Offen family, go back. You won’t get anything from me.
After she blurted out her true feelings mixed with a warning, the Offen family finally returned to normal. Well, because of the effect of her becoming an Aura User, the family had already become more successful than at its peak, so maybe it’s not really gone back to normal?
Anyway, as the family gradually stabilized through those times, her appearance was rejuvenated to the time when she was in her 40s due to the life energy (Aura) that filled her entire body.
And immediately…
-I can train with the sword again…!
… She didn’t even care about regaining her youth or becoming a superhuman. She was simply happy because she was able to ‘directly’ swing the sword again.
“Isn’t it funny? Even though I lived the life of someone who was betrayed by the sword, I never let go of the sword until the end. And because I loved it, I was called a great swordsman, which is not even a fitting title for me. It’s really ironic.”
“Isn’t that too harsh of a self-evaluation for someone who became a superhuman?”
“Haha, I can’t help it. In reality, my swordsmanship is still very lacking.”
“…If you are lying that much, It’s no different from a murder.”
“I-I’m just telling the truth! Y-you have received my sword, so you probably know that it’s far from the swordsmanship of those geniuses, right?”
“Is that so?”
“…You, you’re not very talented either, are you? I guess I found the wrong person to sympathize with.”
“…Fuck.”
…Felicia knew it might sound like a lie to others, but in reality, the swordsmanship Felicia had practiced throughout her life wasn’t that special. She was not called the worst talent in the history of the Offen family for nothing.
She was the dullest of the dull, and even after learning the whole subject of something, she was a swordsman with a cursed understanding power that could barely digest 0.1 of the teaching.
However, the reason she was called the Sword Duke and became a hero in her 40s was simply because she overcame countless battles and became stronger despite her limitations.
No, she did not become stronger in terms of swordsmanship…
In a way,
“I am similar to you.”
“…Hmm.”
A swordsman who simply practiced cutting and stabbing endlessly in order to use a strong cutting and stabbing that no one could stop. That was the identity of the swordsman called Felicia, and it was no different after she became an Aura user.
Felicia was still a challenger, a seeker who was advancing on the endless path of the sword.
But…
-Mother, is this how you use your swordsmanship?
-…
-M-Mother?
-…So this is what a genius is.
-Yes?
Felicia felt both empty and pride at the same time as she watched her son catching up with her 70 years of life in just ‘ten days.’
The person who was loved by the sword more than anyone else. The fact that person was her son, Iliad…
“It was really amazing. That child saw my most ideal swordsmanship and immediately imitated it, understood the meaning of the swordsmanship within a week, and after two weeks, absorbed all of my swordsmanship and created a new swordsmanship.”
“…You’re not exaggerating because it’s your son, are you?”
“Of course not. I confirmed it myself. There were also many witnesses from the family, so you can ask anyone.”
“…So, he’s a really incredible guy, huh?”
“Yes, he’s incredible.”
At the time, Iliad was just over twenty years old. However, he was already doing his job as the head of the household perfectly while juggling with learning Felicia’s old comrades past records and even writing ‘fairy tales.’
Later, he created the great masterpiece called the [The Female Knight Series] while also learning about the work of the head of the household and swordsmanship.
Looking at him at the time, Felicia thought that her child might become the greatest swordsman in history.
She was already confident that he had surpassed her swordsmanship, that he would be one of the top ten swordsmen in the kingdom in just ten years, and that he would be the best in twenty years.
It wasn’t just because she was blinded by the fact that he was a genius and because he was her son.
-Mother, is this how it should be done?
-You’ve already mastered willpower, huh? Amazing! You are amazing Iliad!
-T-thank you.
After all, Iliad also studied swordsmanship passionately.
He had not only talent, but also sincerity and effort. And at some point, he even mastered willpower.
-Try to learn this too. It’s a copy of swordsmanship that I obtained from an ancient temple.
-I-I’ll give it a try.
-You will definitely become a great swordsman. Even this untalented mother could do it, so why can’t you!
-…Yes.
Iliad the swordsman became more and more perfect, and the swordsmanship of the family that Iliad recreated and supplemented exceeded dozens.
Felicia was proud and impressed by her son.
Then one day.
-Mother… How do you become an Aura user?
Iliad asked how to become an Aura user.
-Hmm? Do you want to get to where this mother stood? You should do it step by step.
-I’m not trying to be greedy. I’m just curious about the ‘method’ of becoming an Aura User. After all, it’s not recorded in any records.
-There’s a reason for that. You have to risk your life to become an Aura User.
-Life…
-Hehe, you can think of it as the process of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.
-Then, can you just teach me how to do it? I want to record it.
-Hmm
-Mother.
-…Well, if it’s you, I don’t think you will do something foolish. So I will teach you.
Felicia trusted her son. After all, he was a son who was infinitely better than her. He was always a source of pride who exceeded her expectations. So she thought that nothing bad would happen.
But that choice…
“…That is the moment I regret the most in my life.”
-Hey, Iliad! Come to your senses, Iliad!
That day when she saw her child dying, Felicia almost went crazy. Her whole body trembled, and she was consumed by fear, her judgement clouded.
-Why, why did he make this choice…!?!!
But she couldn’t find the reason.
Why did her son take on such a foolish challenge without saying anything to her?
Why did that wise son of hers…
But she could find the reason later.
“…I just unknowingly poured out my aura. Fortunately, the aura, which contained the purest and strongest life force was overflowing in me. I barely delayed Iliad’s death, and only after using the ancient elixirs I obtained from various temples did Iliad come back to life.”
“It’s a miracle.”
“A miracle, yes, it was a miracle. That day, I felt grateful to God for the first time.”
“…”
“But probably because he had defied a certain death, Iliad had to pay a price. He became someone that could no longer swing a sword.”
A crippled body. Iliad was unable to use his legs for the rest of his life, but it could be said that it was a cheap price for returning to the land of the living.
“It was the day that Iliad died as a swordsman. But… Iliad seemed relieved after hearing those words for some reason. As if he’s glad that things happened that way. Because of that, I thought that maybe, Iliad, that kid didn’t really like swords.”
“…”
“Could it be that he was forced to learn swords because of me, because of his bad parents? Such questions and feelings of guilt kept coming to me.”
“…Did you ask him?”
“No, I couldn’t. Even after he woke up, the kid didn’t give me any answers. He just worked as a wise head of the household and an author. I also thought that this was enough for me.”
“You’re a coward.”
“Haha, you’ll know when you become a parent. All parents can’t help but become cowards when it comes to their children.”
“…”
She smiled crestfallen, and Lee Han didn’t criticize her anymore.
…No, let me correct it.
“But why on earth would he do that? Why would that brilliant child make that choice? I still don’t understand it at all.”
“W-what…?”
Even though Lee Hantried not to criticize her, he couldn’t help but continue talking as if he was nagging.
“Why don’t you know that?”
“Huh?”
“Do you really not know? Or are you trying not to know?”
“??”
“…I’m going crazy.”
Lee Han was so frustrated when the person in question acted like they didn’t know anything even though they knew.
Then he realized,
That woman, The Sword Duke, was truly…
“You may be a great hero, but you’ll never be a good parent.”
“…?”
She was a person who was really lacking as a human being.
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