The Sword Bears Will (1)

A week had passed since then.

Just when I thought I’d safely avoided crisis by indirectly rejecting Ethan’s goodwill toward me and returned to my ordinary daily life-

Having grown tired of being cooped up in my room knitting every day, I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind, taking advantage of the nice weather.

…Though, to be honest, my so-called “walk” was just strolling around the mansion’s front yard and its surroundings.

If I weren’t a debt-bound maid, I could have even hiked up the hill behind the mansion-and I probably would have if given the chance.

But my status as a debt maid, with five to six years still left, remained both a constraint and a weakness for me.

Still, after enduring this position for about a year, my mindset had become a bit more relaxed compared to before.

‘And if this were the original game, Ethan’s “training” would have started long ago. But right now, there’s no sign of that happening.’

I was fairly confident that the choking incident had significantly altered the original game’s storyline.

Honestly, if someone nearly died at the hands of their personal maid and didn’t change, they wouldn’t be human.

Anyway, the biggest reason I had been desperately trying to grow stronger was to build up resistance before Ethan could overpower me.

Since Ethan wasn’t pulling any nonsense with me now, there was no need to draw unnecessary attention and get lectured by the head maid.

Of course, that didn’t mean I had completely given up on leveling up.

‘I’ll do it when the opportunity arises. If it doesn’t come, I can always level up after leaving Blackwood Mansion.’

One year and about a month down, five years and eleven months to go-then Lilith Rosewood would be free.

Of course, by then, Lilith would be around 25 or 26, which couldn’t exactly be called “very young.”

After all, this world was set in a medieval fantasy, where women typically married young, unless they were noble ladies or enrolled in higher education institutions like academies.

…But well, that’s not really my concern.

‘I never planned to spend a lifetime with a man in the first place.’

On the other hand, for careers like becoming an adventurer or opening a shop, talent mattered more than age-so being twenty-five wasn’t much of a barrier.

In fact, there were cases of female adventurers who remained active for quite a long time without having children.

Since I had no grand ambition to pass on my genes in this world, there was no reason to feel anxious.

I just needed to endure the remaining years, then start anew as an adventurer or in some other profession-preferably one where I could freely use magic.

‘What about a concept like a secret mage hiding their face under a hood? If I can use magic, most would assume I’m a noble, and men would think twice before messing with me just because of my chest…’

As I was lost in my future plans while halfway through my stroll around the mansion’s yard-

A sharp, unnatural sound, like something long and rod-like cutting through the wind, accidentally reached my ears.

‘……Huh?’

Unlike the natural rustling of wind, this odd noise piqued my curiosity, and I found myself unconsciously turning toward its source.

Since it didn’t seem too far from the walking path, I quietly shifted my steps in that direction.

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Ethan, faster! Do you really think you can inherit Blackwood’s sword with just that?!”

“Aaaah…!”

-Swish! Swish! Swish!

…Oh, it’s just the Blackwood father and son.

Ethan was swinging his sword vigorously in a clearing behind Blackwood Mansion, while Harold stood by, supervising his movements.

It was a somewhat surreal sight, but when you thought about it, it wasn’t that strange.

‘So the rumors about him taking sword lessons from Harold were true.’

I’d heard whispers lately that “the young master has changed again,” so I assumed he’d just been acting politely somewhere.

Never would I have guessed he was actually learning swordsmanship from Harold.

Honestly, seeing that chubby body swing a sword was kind of funny-but remembering Ethan’s boss fight in the game, I couldn’t laugh too hard.

‘In the Lilith Capture Battle, he was annoyingly strong for an early-game boss.’

No matter how untrained he was now, nobles were still nobles.

Especially since he was the heir of the Blackwood family, which specialized in body-enhancement magic.

Watching that pig-like body clumsily swing dual swords was amusing, but difficulty-wise, he was still a decent early-game boss.

Even considering that the boss fight had Lilith’s slave-branded support in the backline.

In a way, Harold standing beside him felt even more surreal than Ethan swinging a sword.

Unlike his usual doting father persona, he wore a stern expression as he strictly instructed Ethan.

No matter how I looked at it, this Harold was completely different from the one I knew.

‘Even if he’s a pushover dad, as a Sword Master, he must take swordsmanship seriously.’

While he usually indulged Ethan’s unreasonable demands, when it came to sword training, he refused to compromise.

Given that his personality wasn’t exactly warm to begin with, this version of him felt more natural-if you ignored his character traits.

The only problem was that this approach would likely backfire before long.

I wasn’t sure exactly when Ethan stopped learning swordsmanship from Harold in the game, but assuming it was around the time of Thanathia’s death, that would be about three to four years.

Add the forced five-year hiatus due to the curse and the year spent idling after waking up-

Even excluding the decade he spent cursed, he hadn’t held a sword for nearly five years.

Considering Ethan’s current physical age, this was practically like starting from scratch.

Hence, he was being drilled on the basics-like swinging-to avoid injury from prematurely learning techniques.

Still, from my perspective, this training method wouldn’t last long.

Just like in real life, when starting exercise, you gradually increase the load to sustain long-term progress.

Forcing a beginner into Spartan-style training would only lead to burnout.

-Clatter.

“Haa, haa, guh…”

“Get up, Ethan. We’re only halfway done.”

“Huff, huff, huff…”

“…If you don’t pick up that sword right now, we’re starting today’s training over from the beginning.”

-Screech.

Under Harold’s strict declaration, Ethan picked up the sword he’d dropped and forced himself back up.

Even if Harold was a Sword Master, I wondered if he might end up killing his own son at this rate.

“No hesitating. Begin.”

“Ugh, gaaah…!”

Pushed by Harold’s firm tone, Ethan reluctantly gripped his sword and resumed swinging.

If this were the usual brat, he would’ve given up and collapsed by now-but his etiquette training must have instilled some willpower.

…Still, with Harold’s methods, he’d burn out in a matter of days.

I could have advised Harold to ease up on the training intensity for his son’s sake, but-

My position wasn’t one where I could offer suggestions to Harold.

Even if I was Ethan’s personal maid now, just a year ago, I was still a low-ranking maid-a commoner girl.

The chances of Harold taking my advice seriously were practically zero.

And honestly? It might be better for me if Ethan gave up.

‘At least then I wouldn’t have to worry about being overpowered by him.’

I wouldn’t interfere, but I had no intention of cheering him on either.

Making sure to stay out of their sight, I quietly retraced my steps back the way I came.

Whether that brat inherited Blackwood’s swordsmanship or not-they could figure it out themselves.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After finishing my short, somewhat melancholic walk around the mansion’s inner yard-

Just as I was about to return to my personal waiting room upstairs, a voice called my name from behind.

“Miss Lilith Rosewood.”

Turning toward the now-familiar voice, I saw the emotionless deputy butler standing there, as expected.

His gaze briefly flickered to my chest before he deliberately locked eyes with me, as if trying not to be caught staring.

“…….”

“…….”

Ah, right-his name.

Shit, what was it again? I remember it was around five syllables.

Under his expectant gaze, I blurted out the first five-syllable name that came to mind.

“…Deputy Butler Siegfried-nim?”

“Dietmeier Colin Evercroft.”

“M-My apologies.”

I had just thrown out the first thing that popped into my head, but I didn’t expect to get not a single syllable right.

Still, the rhythm was close-so compared to before, I’d improved, right?

Despite my rude thoughts, Deputy Butler Dietmeier’s expression remained unchanged as he continued speaking.

In his outstretched hand was what appeared to be a sealed letter.

“A letter from the Blackwood Territory Guard, Miss Lilith Rosewood.”

“Understood.”

Come to think of it, ever since Ethan started etiquette training half a year ago, he’d been receiving a lot of letters.

Most were about the still-vacant position of Blackwood’s heir’s fiancée.

Even before, there were nobles who recklessly pushed their young daughters as candidates just for the Blackwood name-but since news spread of Ethan’s etiquette training, their ambitions had grown even bolder.

Since Harold stubbornly insisted it wasn’t the right time, some were now sending letters directly to Ethan to persuade him.

‘If that brat just got engaged to any noble girl, it’d make my life easier.’

At least then, the chances of him bothering me would decrease.

Though that would only hold if Ethan actually cared about his fiancée and her family’s opinion.

But wait-why would the Blackwood Territory Guard suddenly send a letter to Ethan?

“I’ll make sure to deliver this letter to Young Master Ethan.”

Well, whatever happened in Blackwood Territory wasn’t my business.

Thinking that, I took the letter from Deputy Butler Sieg-Dietmeier.

Just as I was about to head upstairs, his voice called out to me again.

“One moment, Miss Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes?”

“This letter is not addressed to Young Master Ethan Richard Blackwood. Please check the recipient properly.”

“…Huh?”

Confused, I checked the sender and recipient names on the envelope-and finally understood what the deputy butler meant.

「To Miss Lilith Rosewood, From Ser Blacksong」

…What the hell?

Why is this guy sending me a letter?