episode_0058

-Thud.

Something falls onto the grass.

And the one who caused it to fall is none other than Mark Redeltine.

The head butler stood frozen in place, his face turning pale blue.

“What did I just hear? The young master… what? It’s your fault?”

“Mark…”

“Explain so I can understand. What did the young master say? Speak up!”

Mark, forgetting why he came here in the first place, began to interrogate Radiel.

It seems like he accidentally overheard their conversation here.

“If it’s a mistake, then say something, Radiel! Clearly, this is about you and the young master!”

“…”

“What’s Lady Emma doing here? She’s a duchess. What does she have to do with us? Why is she involved with that person?”

But he didn’t hear everything.

Vaguely, he only caught Radiel saying it was his fault.

‘No. Maybe I heard more than that.’

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have turned so pale.

“I won’t stop until you tell me everything.”

“Mark? What are you trying to do? Why are you going towards the young master…!”

“Let go. If you won’t talk, I’ll have to ask myself!”

“Mark!”

“Don’t stop me, Radiel. You have to tell me the truth. There’s clearly something you’re hiding between you and the young master. I’m getting frustrated!”

“It’s not like that! There’s nothing with the young master…!”

“If there’s nothing, then why were you crying in front of the young master?”

Radiel, with his mouth shut, couldn’t give Mark an answer. Mark, determined, approached him aggressively, like a raging bull.

Radiel couldn’t resist him, and Mark broke through his defenses and came within ten steps of him.

“Tell me. Young master. Didn’t you promise not to run away this time?!”

With eyes seeking the truth and a face demanding answers, he took another step closer, uttering the word “promise” once again.

And I couldn’t take my eyes off the object Mark had dropped and the status screen.

▶Countdown will end in 5 seconds!◀

▶Once the countdown ends, the memorial will be automatically obtained!◀

▶Use the memories in the memorial to calm Mark down!◀

A black object falling onto the grass, emitting a bright light.

It was a sword, a memorial used by Carsein, the sword that disabled Radiel’s arm.

3

2

1

-Clang!

▶The memorial is automatically activated!◀

Clang!

***

It was consciousness again.

The familiar consciousness that always comes like clockwork.

Now, Carsein was starting to get used to this consciousness.

Whether it was a day or a week, it didn’t matter.

The period of consciousness was over, and he could go outside, but the mansion was not a place where he could freely roam.

So the boy wandered aimlessly outside the mansion. Not a soul was in sight, not even the maids.

It was a sunny day, but the sky gradually darkened.

-Rumble

The sky, which had started to cloud over, soon poured rain. The boy, who had been walking around outside, was soon soaked.

‘Rain…’

Even in the slums, it was common sense to avoid the rain. It was said that getting wet in the rain would make you sick.

He couldn’t keep getting soaked, so he turned his steps back towards the mansion to take shelter from the rain.

But…

He changed his mind and started running straight ahead. He couldn’t go back to the mansion.

“Pant, pant.”

He had to find a place to avoid the rain. Running along the alley, he found a spot to take shelter.

Since there was no one around, no one would scold him for seeking shelter. He just had to wait until the rain stopped.

But his body was shivering.

He had found a place to avoid the rain, but he had already been drenched.

“Chu… cold.”

The boy’s body gradually became hot, and even his breath felt hot. His coughing increased, and his heartbeat accelerated.

“Huh? Why is a child like this in a place like this…?”

At that moment, a woman approached the boy. He had no strength to resist, and his vision was already blurry.

“Wait. Young master? You’re burning up! Are you okay?!”

After checking his condition, the woman realized he was the young master of the duchess and placed her hand on his forehead, surprised by the heat.

At a loss for what to do, the boy finally lost consciousness.

As his eyes closed, all he could think about was the fear of getting in trouble again because of this.

The rain stopped.

When he opened his eyes, he was on a soft bed, not the hard ground. The bright sunlight was streaming in through the window.

“Oh. You’re awake?”

In front of him was the blurry face of the woman he had seen before he passed out.

“You slept for a whole day. You must be very tired.”

A day?

He could have slept for a few hours, but a whole day seemed impossible.

But looking out the window where the rain had stopped, he realized a day had indeed passed.

The sun had moved significantly from where it was before the rain. Unless time was flowing backward, a day had passed.

Carsein cautiously asked the woman, “Where am I?”

“This is the resting room of the proud 1st Knight Order that protects the Baronet Bagrand. I’m Radiel.”

“Radiel… Did you bring me here?”

“Yes. I was surprised by how high your fever was, so I quickly contacted the Baronet, and the physician arrived.”

The physician arrived. The thought made him close his eyes tightly.

If it had reached Shayden’s ears, it must have reached the Baronet as well.

He was sure he would hear a scolding when he returned to the Baronet.

“By the way, why did the young master end up here?”

As Carsein resigned himself to the situation, Radiel asked him carefully.

He couldn’t say he had escaped from the mansion and wandered aimlessly. She said she was a knight protecting the Baronet, after all.

With a flash of inspiration at the mention of being a knight, Carsein decided to play along.

“I want to become a knight too.”

“Huh? You want to become a knight, young master?”

“…Is that not possible?”

After a moment of hesitation, Radiel smiled gently and replied, “Of course it’s possible. If you work hard, you can become a great knight.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you work hard, you can achieve it. But first, you need to fill your stomach.”

Radiel handed Carsein a bowl of soup.

After eating, he expected to return to the mansion soon.

But as time passed, there was no call from the mansion. Instead, Radiel called him, and another male knight joined them.

“What are you doing, young master? Hurry up and follow me.”

“Huh…?”

“You said you wanted to become a knight. You need to learn how to wield a sword… I’m a female knight, as you can see.”

“What are you doing, young master? Hurry up and follow me.”

“Huh…?”

“You said you wanted to become a knight. You need to learn how to wield a sword… I’m a female knight, as you can see.”

“Because our physical abilities are different, it’s better for me to teach. That’s what Commander Radiel said.”

“Hey, Mark.”

“Why? It’s the truth.”

“If I don’t teach you properly, you’ll regret it.”

“Alright then.”

Watching the back-and-forth banter, Karsein was perplexed. He had only intended to linger a bit longer by playing tricks, but he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

Nevertheless.

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wielding a sword under the guidance of Mark and Radiel was undeniably enjoyable. Despite the disapproving glances of other knights, the two of them taught with sincerity.

That day, the boy felt joy for the first time.

As time passed, Karsein received an order to return to the mansion. Despite facing a barrage of reprimands all at once, it didn’t matter. He could endure the difficult life of a nobleman because he had found a refuge where he could learn what he desired.

However.

An unexpected event unfolded.

One day, as Karsein made his way to the training grounds as usual, he headed straight to a specific location.

“Today, we’re meeting in a rather unusual place?”

Whenever he left the mansion and arrived at the training grounds, he would usually meet Radiel waiting for him.

But this time, the message was delivered directly.

A letter from Radiel instructing him to come to a specific location.

Deep within the forest, away from the training grounds.

That was the designated meeting place.

Without any apparent doubt, Karsein thought that Radiel must have had a reason for calling him to such a place.

In the dimly lit forest as night fell.

Karsein, carrying a torch prepared in advance, made his way through the thickets.

“Radiel, where are you?”

Even after looking around, Radiel was nowhere to be seen.

And Mark, who was usually with her, was also absent.

Thinking that they hadn’t fully reached the meeting place yet, Karsein continued on, speculating that perhaps they were planning to train in a different way today.

As he walked towards the meeting place, Karsein suddenly realized that someone was following him from behind.

“Radiel, are you there…?”

Before he could finish his sentence, Karsein stopped abruptly.

He had a sudden intuition.

The person following him was not Radiel or Mark.

‘The footprints…’

They were different.

Even if Radiel and Mark were conducting surprise attack training, how could they leave such simple evidence behind?

Silently holding his breath, Karsein pretended not to notice and began to circle back around, as advised by Radiel, in order to ambush whoever was following him.

Karsein swiftly moved from one corner to another, causing confusion for his pursuers, and was able to subdue the person’s body as he had learned.

When he pulled off the hood, the face of a knight was revealed.

“Argh…! This guy…!”

“You…?”

It was Theo Ramsteer, a trainee knight who had always bullied and harassed Karsein during training.

While avoiding the eyes of other knights, he would secretly engage in malicious acts.

Where was Radiel?

Why was Theo following him here?

Karsein had many questions, but he decided to confront Theo.

However.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

Karsein was struck on the back and fell to the ground.

Theo, who had subdued him, was released, and two more figures emerged from behind, their hoods pulled back.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Damn, this guy used a submission technique on me? Let me go. I’ll show him…!”

“Calm down, man.”

The one who had struck him scratched his head as if annoyed.

“Hey. We agreed to handle this properly. Why did you have to mess it up?”

“If you hadn’t been caught in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess. It was an easy job, so I thought I could blow off some steam.”

“You should have handled it properly from the beginning. Now we might not be able to listen in anymore.”

“Hey. This isn’t the time for you guys to fight.”

With that, the three trainee knights left Karsein with their parting words.

He was being driven away.

By the request from the mansion.

Without anyone knowing. Quietly.

It didn’t matter who had made the request.

Karsein just had to fight back against them.

“Aaargh!!”

Even if it meant breaking Radiel’s taboo of never drawing a sword recklessly.

“Did you draw it?”

“Stay still. I’ll deal with him.”

“Alright, then. Your anger is your own.”

Ignoring Karsein, only one of the three trainee knights stepped forward.

Theo, who had been pushed back by Karsein during their training, was the one who stepped up.

However.

-Clang!

When Theo’s sword clashed with Karsein’s, Theo began to be pushed back.

Karsein, who had been diligently training, was not someone Theo could easily overpower.

And that wasn’t all.

Ka-ga-gak-

“Ugh?! This… this guy…!”

“Hey. Is that…?”

“Damn, this can’t be…! How can he…!”

The mana faintly emanating from Karsein’s sword was a power that the three trainee knights had yet to reach.