episode_0003

The Countess Messiah.

In the garden, there was a woman.

Her hair shone with a silvery white glow, almost mistakable for pure white.

Complemented by her fair skin and contrasting crimson lips.

Her eyes sparkled like jewels, a fairy-tale beauty.

She appeared almost unreal.

Trembling words escaped her lips.

“Grandfather….”

Her name was Asia.

The granddaughter of the Count of Gyeomseong, Asia Messiah.

Asia continued to sigh.

But as her brows furrowed, anger seeped in.

“That rotten prince!”

Despite Asia’s beauty, harsh words spilled from her lips.

The reason Asia cursed the prince.

It was all because of what the prince had done.

“Did that bastard really write such despicable letters?”

The prince of Deteosk Kingdom, Prince Nert Deteosk.

Asia learned of his actions through a maid.

Rumors spread throughout the kingdom that she and the prince were engaged.

But it was all baseless gossip.

And the culprit was none other than the prince.

“Does he think I would agree to an engagement because of such rumors? Never!”

Prince Nert Deteosk.

Behind every action was clearly the prince.

And for good reason….

“To come out like this just because I rejected his proposal. What a despicable man.”

The prince proposed, and Asia refused.

Retaliation for her rejection, or seeking public approval to force an engagement, was clearly his intention.

In other words, to make it a fact.

“You bastard! Trash! Fool!”

As Asia cursed the prince, she paused for a moment.

Then a wistful expression crossed her face.

“Grandfather….”

The root of all this lay with the prince.

But there was also an issue with Gyeomseong.

“Where on earth have you gone…?”

If only Gyeomseong were present, the prince wouldn’t dare play such tricks.

The only Gyeomseong in Deteosk Kingdom, who could harm his family.

Even if it was the royal family.

But now Gyeomseong was missing.

The public was unaware of Gyeomseong’s disappearance.

But the high nobles, including the Messiah family, knew.

Hence, the royal family planned to take advantage of this opportunity to destroy Gyeomseong’s family.

“When do you plan to return?”

Ten years of disappearance.

The news of Gyeomseong’s disappearance reached the royal family a year ago.

The royal family believed Gyeomseong was dead.

“Or perhaps….”

Are you planning to return….

Asia urgently shook her head.

She believed Gyeomseong was not someone who would meet his end easily.

She hoped he was still alive….

“I miss you.”

Asia’s search for her grandfather was not solely due to the prince’s proposal.

She truly wanted to see her beloved grandfather again.

***

A sword with a twisted hilt.

Cheap.

In the end, he bought a sword made by another blacksmith, not Rednil.

“Hmm… I just need to be careful, right?”

If he used it carefully, he could probably use it for at least a week.

With that determination, he climbed the mountain.

“That old man… still sleeping, I suppose?”

His heart raced.

The interesting information he obtained in the village.

The news of the engagement of Gyeomseong’s granddaughter.

He wondered how the old man would react.

Filled with anticipation, he climbed the mountain and suddenly found himself at the house.

“Old man!!!”

The term ‘old man’ may seem a bit impolite, but he had been calling him that for over a year, so it stuck.

And Hans Youngmin didn’t seem to mind.

But there was no answer from the cabin.

He sighed.

“Of course… he’s probably still asleep.”

Entering the cabin, he found the old man asleep.

Drum roll-. Cool-. Drum roll-. Cool-.

It’s a rare sight to see.

It was the day before the exact ten-year anniversary of Hans’ encounter with inspiration in the village.

As it was a special occasion, I decided to have a special meal tonight.

“Of course, if it’s something special, it must be that.”

The Golden Boar, known as the finest ingredient.

As the name suggests, it is a golden wild boar.

Rare and powerful.

That’s why hearing the Golden Boar being referred to as the finest ingredient was no surprise.

“Perfect timing.”

I recently discovered the tracks of the Golden Boar.

At that time, I only marked it because I was lazy.

Having marked the tracks, I knew I could quickly catch it.

“Old man, I’ll go hunting for a bit!”

Leaving the still lying old man behind, I set out to hunt the Golden Boar.

***

“Hmm… I was told to be careful…”

A cheap sword that had only been in use for a day.

But the blade of the sword started to wear out in just one day.

I knew why this was happening.

“It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.”

Should I call it a Sword Breaker?

My mana itself was a Sword Breaker.

Think of it as rough mana that constantly rotates.

But this was the problem.

“Not only the opponent’s sword, but my sword is also getting damaged.”

This was a real problem.

When I trained with the old man, the broken swords I caused were numerous.

That’s why the old man handed me a tree branch.

“Well, whatever…”

Despite the blade of the sword being a bit damaged, the hunt was successful.

A size more than five times mine.

A golden-haired wild boar.

It was the Golden Boar.

Honestly, even if I took all of this with me, I couldn’t eat it all.

So I decided to dismantle only what I could eat and offer the rest to nature.

“After all, pork belly is the best.”

After dismantling the pork belly, I headed to the old man’s cabin.

“I’m back.”

Surprisingly, the old man was up.

Moreover, he was swinging a sword.

“It’s been a while since I saw you swinging a sword.”

“It’s not just about meditation. Sometimes you have to swing the sword yourself.”

“Oh… is that so?”

Just by listening to him, it sounded like he had been meditating all along.

But he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, right. Look at this.”

Proudly, I showed him the pork belly of the Golden Boar.

“…Well done.”

A nonchalant compliment.

But I saw the old man’s pupils shaking.

And his Adam’s apple too.

He was swallowing his saliva.

That meant…

‘He’s full of expectations.’

“Well, let’s get cooking right away!”

With that, I started cooking the Golden Boar pork belly.

To make it into a direct flame-grilled pork belly.

***

Eating the fully cooked meat one bite at a time, I chatted with the old man.

“Oh, did you hear about that?”

“What are you talking about?”

I said nonchalantly as I put a piece of meat in my mouth.

“The old man’s granddaughter is engaged to the Prince of Il.”

In that moment, I instinctively reached for the hilt at my waist.

I was preparing to draw the sword that would be at my waist.

The reason was because of the old man.

The fierce aura he exuded.

It was emanating from the old man.

“Surprise. You startled me. Why are you suddenly exuding such an aura!”

“Just now… is that true?”

“Yes? I’m not sure either, but there have been rumors in the village.”

Crack-.

The fork the old man was holding broke.

‘Oh… he’s completely lost in his delusions.’

He was visibly angry.

As if it was his own business.

“…Prince of Il, Nut De’Tiosk.”

“Hey, you’ll be arrested if you call the Prince of Il by his name.”

I repeated what the villagers had said.

“Arrested? Even if he’s royalty, they can’t throw a Knight into prison. More importantly, that scoundrel…!”

The old man’s eyes lit up.

Ignoring the old man, I quietly picked up another piece of meat to eat.

To eat more than the old man.

“Arthas!”

Oh, did he catch me eating more meat?

“Yes!”

“What do you think we should do?”

Fortunately, the old man was seeking advice from me.

Not scolding me for eating a lot of meat.

I pondered for a moment and replied.

“You should return to your family, right?”

If he is a real noble, returning to his family should solve the problem.

It was a truly simple solution.

If the old man was really a noble.

“I can’t… There are still five years left.”

“Five years?”

“Yes, only five years left until the day of the promise.”

Five years.

Come to think of it, I remembered something I said nine years ago.

Surely…

There is a promise. That’s why I plan to stay here for the next 14 years.

That’s what I said.

Why am I so fixated on that promise?

“What exactly is this promise?”

“I can’t tell you in detail. It’s just something to help you see higher as an inspector.”

“Hmm… Like ascetic training?”

“Not quite like that.”

In that case, I can’t leave this place.

But I still want to break the engagement.

‘Then, there’s only one way, right?’

“Send a proxy.”

“A proxy?”

“Give them something to prove their identity and send them on an errand. Like ‘I oppose this engagement!’ Maybe a fake engagement would be better since they have a status?”

I’ve seen it a few times in my past life.

Dating contracts, fake marriages, and so on.

It brings back fun memories.

“That’s it!!!”

The old man suddenly exclaimed and stood up.

Then he gave me a strong look.

“Arthas, go and get engaged to my granddaughter.”

The old man…!

Now he’s even forcing me to participate in his delusion of nobility.