Chapter 10: Watch Me – 2

The next day, the Punishment Squad entered the training ground for the first time.

It was a place they hadn’t been able to use because other knight squads had been occupying it.

Bergore, the commander of the Punishment Squad, ordered us to each find a weapon and a sparring partner.

The training ground was noisy.

Some were excited just to hold a wooden sword, while others treated the place like a playground.

Among them, a few were busy mocking me when they saw my face.

“Look at that guy.”

“Didn’t they say he got beaten up by the Valon kids?”

“So much for being from the Alan family, huh, Jaedo?”

“Well, it’s obvious when there’s a size difference.”

I tried my best to ignore their whispers.

That morning, I had received treatment from Scholar Crellin, so I was covered in bandages.

However, more uncomfortable than the wounds beneath the bandages was the feeling of my neck, where Vivian had been pestering me yesterday.

The discomfort lingered, and I kept touching my neck absentmindedly.

Vergor shouted out.

“Come on, come on! Move quickly! Grab your weapons, find your opponents, and start sparring!”

I looked around the Punishment Squad and spotted Valon, Wallace, and Martin—the ones who had beaten me up yesterday.

They were all laughing at me.

I approached a wooden box on one side of the training ground.

A variety of weapons were prepared.

Naturally, I picked up the weapon I was most familiar with.

The weapon used by the men of the Alan family.

A two-handed sword.

Then, I approached Valon, Wallace, and Martin and said,

“Pick up your weapons.”

“Are you alright, young master? Your face doesn’t look the same as it did yesterday.”

They laughed mockingly.

Just then, Vergor shouted again.

“Salute the Lady!”

• Clack!

At the command, the entire Punishment Squad saluted the person approaching the training ground.

It was Vivian Rondor.

Her fiery red hair stood out even from a distance.

My heart skipped a beat, perhaps because the events of yesterday came to mind.

She stood at the edge of the training ground, looking down at us.

The Punishment Squad murmured in whispers.

“Why is she here?”

“Did she come to watch us?”

“Isn’t this her first time?”

While the others were whispering, my eyes met Vivian’s.

She, too, seemed to have picked me out from the crowd with my black hair.

We locked eyes for a long time.

Her gaze was different from usual.

Her sharp eyes were filled with intensity.

Yesterday, she had seemed dazed as she walked away, but now there was a strong energy about her.

“Resume training!”

At that command, I looked back at the trio.

“Hurry up and pick up your weapons.”

The moment Vivian’s gaze reached me, my competitive spirit ignited as well.

The fact that she came here, even though she usually stayed cooped up in her room, meant that she, too, shared a similar competitive streak.

So, all I had to do was show her that I could endure and stand firm.

If I suffered enough to make her own problems seem trivial, perhaps I wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable as I did when she talked about death.

The trio, taking their time despite my words, slowly picked up their weapons one by one.

Martin, who had plenty of acne, was the first to speak.

“Kailo Alan, I get that you’re angry, but calm down, alright? If you don’t want to get beaten like yesterday again. You’re only 14, small and weak, so what are you counting on—”

• Thwack!!

“Aaahh!!”

Martin clutched his ankle and rolled on the ground in pain.

Though I had successfully driven Vivian out of the room yesterday, I had clearly made her my complete enemy.

That alone was enough to leave me feeling more frustrated than I could comprehend.

I needed a place to vent.

I looked at the trio.

While I might lose in a fistfight, I was confident when it came to swords.

I took a deep breath and said to them,

“…I guess I owe you a greeting, too?”

“Surrender…! Ahh!! Surrender!!! I said I surrender!!”

“Get up!! I’m not accepting it!!”

***

From afar, Vivian quietly watched the training ground.

There, Kailo Alan was enthusiastically beating one of the prisoners with a wooden sword.

Around him, more than a dozen boys lay scattered, having fallen after crossing swords with him and being forced to surrender.

Even though Kailo Alan was the eldest son of a knightly family, the result was still surprising.

Vivian knew this better than anyone, having seen him up close last night.

The bedsheets where Kailo had laid had been soaked in so much blood that they needed to be changed.

Moreover, Kailo’s body was much smaller compared to the other boys in the Punishment Squad.

The average age of the boys was around 16 to 17, just reaching the end of their growth spurts, while Kailo Alan had only just entered his at 14.

And even among 14-year-olds, he was small.

Right now, he was about the same size as Vivian herself.

Vivian had heard that Northerners generally had larger builds.

She had been told that creatures from colder regions tended to be bigger.

That’s why the white bear, the symbol of the Alan family, was twice as big as the southern black bears.

Even the dragons of the North had tails longer than those in the South.

Without realizing it, Vivian muttered,

“…I heard Northerners are supposed to be… big.”

Pippin, the head butler, quickly understood her question and answered.

“Yes, and I’ve heard that the men of the Alan family grow especially large. They say the Undefeated knight Jade Alan is a head taller than the average Northerner.”

“But… Kailo Alan… he’s…”

“He’s not that big, is he? That’s normal, though.”

“What?”

“They’re born small… and then they shoot up when they enter their growth spurts. Now that the eldest son of the Alan family has entered his, well… he’ll probably grow quickly, don’t you think?”

‘Scared of adults? Then you can just crumble. I’ll endure. Just five more years, and no one will dare to look me in the eye.’

Kailo Alan was already knocking down boys bigger than him.

If he were to grow larger than them as well, the words he’d spoken yesterday wouldn’t seem like a lie.

Perhaps that’s why.

His other words seemed likely to come true, too.

At that moment, Kailo Alan glanced back at Vivian.

Vivian, without realizing it, swallowed nervously.

But she didn’t avert her gaze.

The insult to her family from the night before made it impossible for her to look away.

“Next!”

Kailo Alan demanded the next opponent.

To Vivian, it seemed like he was telling her to watch closely.

As if he was saying, “I’ll show you how strong I am.”

Honestly, Vivian was shaken.

If she were in Kailo Alan’s position, could she do the same?

Could she, in her unfit condition, take down over a dozen opponents who were stronger and larger than her?

Could she even muster the will to challenge them, regardless of whether it was possible?

‘Looking at your weakness… your family must be the same.’

Kailo Alan’s words echoed in her mind.

Vivian clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

The more her hatred for Kailo Alan flared, the stronger her resolve grew.

She would never show him her weakness again, even if it killed her.

The thought that he might be internally mocking her family filled her with rage, making it impossible to do otherwise.

Pippin spoke to Vivian.

“Lady Vivian, it’s time for you to go in. Lady Linne will be here soon.”

In the past, her heart would have dropped every time this moment came.

“Yes.”

But not today.

Today, she wasn’t afraid.

As frustrating as it was, Kailo Alan was moving forward just like he said he would.

If she stood still, he’d be far ahead in the blink of an eye, mocking her from afar.

She couldn’t bear such a future.

She couldn’t allow herself to fall behind the Alan family, her sworn enemies.

So Vivian steeled her heart.

She prepared herself to face Lady Linne.

Smack!!

Despite the searing pain, Vivian didn’t let out a single whimper.

“The Central Church strictly forbids… the survival of witches. D-d-demons—”

Smack!

No matter how hard Lady Linne struck her with the switch, Vivian made sure her expression didn’t change.

Vivian even wondered if Lady Linne’s usual annoyance had been alleviated, since her hand seemed to be gentler than usual.

But she wasn’t sure.

It could be that her hardened heart made the punishment seem less painful.

“W-w-witches who worship demons s-s-survive by passing it on to future generations—”

“That’s enough.”

Lady Linne clapped her hands, signaling the end of the lesson.

Vivian let out a shallow sigh as she set the book down.

Her arms were numb and throbbing.

But it didn’t feel as unfair as before.

Her anger toward Kailo Alan blurred the feeling of injustice.

Lady Linne spoke.

“Your stammering hasn’t improved at all. I wonder if it’s something you can’t fix, or if there’s a deeper issue to consider.”

“Lady Vivian, when did you say your stammering started?”

“…After my mother fell ill.”

“And you didn’t stammer before that?”

“…I-I’m not sure. I wouldn’t say never…”

“But it worsened after the Duchess collapsed?”

Vivian nodded.

Lady Linne, who had been contemplating with a straight posture, asked again.

“…Could it be because you lost someone to rely on?”

Vivian had no answer to the question, one with no clear answer.

Come to think of it, there was a moment last night… when she didn’t stammer for a brief time.

It was when her rage toward Kailo Alan had grown so unbearable that her words flowed smoothly.

It wasn’t exactly useful information, though.

It’s not like she could go around being that furious all the time.

Still, the fact that there had been a moment without stammering gave her a sliver of hope.

Maybe, someday, she could fix this wretched speech pattern.

While Vivian was lost in thought, Lady Linne asked her.

“Lady Vivian, do you have anyone to rely on?”

Interpreting her silence as a no, Lady Linne continued.

“If not, wouldn’t it be worth trying to find someone?”

Vivian barely managed to hold back a bitter laugh.

Someone to rely on?

Did such a person even exist?

Everyone in Rondor Castle looked at her with hostility.

They always seemed like they were just waiting for the opportunity to bring her down.

They looked at her with a mixture of contempt, disgust, and frustration.

Even though she was young, she understood that much.

She hadn’t learned much yet, but that didn’t mean she was oblivious.

In fact, being able to read the room was all she could do right now, which made her even more sensitive.

There wasn’t a single person in this castle, where she was now the head of the family, that she could trust.

If there had been, she wouldn’t be struggling like this, nor would she have shown such a pitiful sight to Kailo Alan yesterday.

After all, it was Lady Linne who had told her to hide her weaknesses.

How could you rely on someone while hiding your vulnerabilities?

Could you really say you relied on someone if you couldn’t reveal your weaknesses to them?

But Vivian didn’t voice her doubts.

Instead, she simply said,

“…Yes. I-I’ll try.”

And showed that she agreed with Lady Linne.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Lady Linne bowed to Vivian and stood up.

Left with some free time, Vivian moved toward the window.

She decided to calm her weary heart by looking out at the scenery again today.

Or perhaps, it wouldn’t be so bad to check on that detestable Kailo Alan and see how he was managing to survive the day.

It wasn’t an empty threat when she said she’d show him what it meant to be alive in a miserable way.

She knew he was making an effort.

But she doubted he was living as hard a life as she was.

So she wanted to check on his day and make sure his suffering matched hers.

She wanted to see if he could still say the same things to her after that.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Lady Linne spoke to her.

“Your stammering was the same, but your attitude today was excellent.”

It was a compliment for not having let out a single groan.

Lady Linne blinked in curiosity and asked,

“…Did something change?”

“…”

Vivian thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“No, nothing.”

She didn’t want to share her thoughts with Lady Linne.

Hadn’t she told her not to show weakness?

There was no way she was going to tell her that she had cried and shouted her emotions in a fight with Kailo Alan.

Nor did she want to.

“I see.”

Lady Linne nodded slightly.

Then she finally left the room for real this time.

Vivian stood there, lost in thought again.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she had vented so much weakness yesterday.

She had poured out just how hard things were, how frustrated she had been.

Maybe that’s why her heart felt a bit lighter.

…There was only a small downside: the person who had heard all of that was Kailo Alan.