Ch.13EP.4 – Ihan Has Been Demoted

Knights are mostly from noble families.

Some receive knighthood and become independent from their homes.

Naturally, it’s better to receive support from one’s family.

Especially these noble children are people who have lived under someone’s care from birth until adulthood.

In serious cases, there are even bizarre spoiled brats who can’t wash themselves or change their clothes with their own hands.

Well, such tendencies gradually disappear when they attend academies where dormitory life is normal, or when they get used to the life of a knight.

But even if they gradually improve, can someone who has lived as a spoiled brat their whole life change quickly?

Many knights still keep attendants even after becoming knights.

Nannies or butlers are always on standby, rushing over at the slightest sign of discomfort…

You have no idea how ridiculous this looks.

Ihan especially couldn’t understand it, and honestly, he would sometimes click his tongue wondering if it wasn’t embarrassing.

But then…

“Oh my, Rihan bringing a maid? That’s a first?”

“Judging by her uniform, she looks like a royal maid. Was she bestowed upon you?”

“What a beautiful lady, perhaps we could have some tea…”

“…Rihan is right behind you.”

“Eek!”

…That embarrassing situation was happening to him.

Even though he never intended it.

“…Damn it.”

Ihan cursed under his breath.

“So, who is this beautiful lady?”

“Beautiful? Doesn’t she look a bit dull?”

“…She does look rather drowsy.”

Jake playfully slapped Ihan’s back, laughing as he faced the lady his friend had brought for the first time.

Unlike the other guys, Ihan had seemed so pitiful, insisting on staying single without making a girlfriend or wife.

Actually, maybe there was something wrong with his body, or perhaps he preferred men instead of wo-

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it feels unpleasant somehow?”

“Hmm, what did I say? Don’t make assumptions.”

“…Am I wrong?”

…This guy is like a mind reader.

If there were levels to perceptiveness, he’d be an Aura User.

Jake glanced around cautiously, then looked at the woman sitting on the grass at the edge of the knights’ training ground, looking drowsy and about to fall asleep.

She was even starting to drool, clearly about to enter deep sleep.

“…She does look very tired.”

“Sigh.”

“What’s your relationship really? You wouldn’t have hired her yourself.”

“…Just know there are various circumstances. It wasn’t my intention. And I’m sending her back soon.”

“Hmm. Perhaps a designated request from the royal family?”

“……”

“I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Jake nodded, finally understanding the situation.

The others seemed to understand as well.

Perhaps they had guessed from the presence of a royal maid.

It happens occasionally.

When the royal family designates a knight and issues orders.

It’s an incredibly honorable matter, and a request that must be kept absolutely secret.

Although they might feel envious and jealous of being chosen by the royal family, it’s unthinkable to question a royal decision.

Respect and loyalty to the royalty, to the Pendragon royal family, is something everyone holds regardless of social status.

“Do well. I’m rooting for you.”

“What kind of request do you think it is?”

“Not the request, I mean with that young lady. She may look a bit dull, but she’s beautiful, haha!”

“……”

“Huh? Why do I suddenly feel a chill…”

Ihan considered beating this guy up.

He wasn’t just teasing anyone.

‘I want a lover too, you jerk!’

A painful secret he could never tell anyone.

Ihan wept inwardly like silk while maintaining his outward composure.

* * *

Leira Winter.

That was the maid’s name.

Though this situation was like swallowing mustard while crying, it wasn’t the dull-looking maid he disliked but the wicked madam who created this situation, so he should at least remember her name.

“Miss maid, instead of doing this here, why don’t you just rest at home from now on? Or go back to the palace.”

“No, Sir Knight. I should do my best at the job I’ve been assigned. I’m getting paid for this work, hehe.”

“……”

She might be a bit dull-witted, but she’s a good kid.

Just twenty-two years old.

Looking at her without prejudice, she’s a commendable young woman who’s sincere and hardworking.

…The only problem is that things get destroyed one by one whenever she works.

‘Did that madam send her to destroy all my belongings?’

He was feeling something between suspicion and certainty when—

“Cute child. Too good for you.”

“…Please make some noise when you move around. Do you know you sometimes seem more like an assassin than an old man?”

“I did have a friend who was an assassin in my youth. I killed him with my own hands though.”

“……”

“Hoho.”

What a crazy old man.

He makes such brutal statements so casually, yet they never sound like empty boasts—that’s this old man’s flaw.

But even that flaw would be praised and flattered by some.

“Why are you here today? No meeting to attend?”

“Why would an old man like me go to such places? The young ones will handle it.”

“Still going your own way, I see.”

Though his hair is white like an elderly person’s, it gleams with moisture, and his skin is so elastic it’s hard to believe he’s in his 70s.

His body may appear small and unremarkable, but his deep eyes and the mysterious aura floating around him make him seem extraordinary.

If this world were a martial arts novel instead of medieval fantasy, his fitting nickname would probably be “Sword Immortal.”

Baltar Grace.

Starting as a gladiator, catching the eye of the king at that time, becoming a knight. An established knight who became an Aura User after achieving great military exploits in war.

‘If you meet Baltar on the battlefield, run away’ —there are so many tales of his valor that there’s even a poem about his military achievements, making him nothing less than a legendary rare human.

He was a powerful knight whom even royalty couldn’t treat carelessly, and an eccentric who refused the position of military commander-in-chief to lead the 3rd Order of Knights.

…From Ihan’s perspective, he was also a mountain to overcome someday.

“Why did you really come? You don’t usually visit the knights’ order.”

“Hul-hul, I heard you brought a woman, so I came out of curiosity.”

“…You must be terribly free.”

“Should I be working at my age?”

“…I have nothing to say to that.”

Even for an Aura User, he’s certainly past retirement age.

It’s just that as an Aura User, he maintains his physical prime longer, which is why he looks young like this.

That’s something.

“I’m envious, really. I heard you got another wife?”

“Not a wife, a lover. Don’t try to make me a married man.”

“After having ten children, shouldn’t you admit it? That’s just stubborn.”

“When the body is young, so is the heart. I’m still in my youth, hoho.”

“…The country is in good shape.”

Amusingly, this old man whose appearance brings to mind a wizened sage is, unlike his looks, a very vigorous gentleman.

He clearly has wives, but he calls them self-proclaimed lovers, and has over ten children.

I heard his great-grandchild was born recently?

Yet he refuses to acknowledge being married.

If there was no wedding ceremony, it doesn’t count, he says?

But strangely, he’s loyal, treasures the women who bore his children, and fulfills his role as a father faithfully, so despite having a family environment ripe for discord, they’re oddly harmonious.

…In my opinion, rather than those so-called female leads in romance fantasy or male leads in regression stories, this man is the real protagonist.

‘I’m envious.’

Some people haven’t even properly held a woman’s hand in their 30 years of life?

Huh? How many years if you add the previous life?

…Be quiet.

“You look troubled today.”

“…I have some things on my mind. An opportunity has come to find something I had given up on, but the process might get a bit messy.”

“Hoho, acting unlike yourself. Just go straightforwardly as usual, that’s more like you.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Hul-hul.”

He burst into a hearty laugh, and only then did the members notice his presence and freeze.

Once he deliberately conceals his presence, it’s difficult to detect him.

“G-Greeting the Captain!”

Sincere salutes followed one after another.

There are probably some here seeing Baltar for the first time, and many who have only heard his name.

Being like a mythical figure, seeing him in person is a rare privilege.

And those who saw him all displayed a common emotion—admiration.

It was natural for their eyes to sparkle upon seeing someone who had been a legend since before they were born, and especially the eyes of Yord Decker, the new knight who had fought with Ihan, burned more intensely than ever.

As he is effectively the pinnacle of the kingdom’s knights, it’s a natural reaction for orthodox knights.

“Everyone, carry on with your duties. I’ll just take care of my business and leave.”

But despite the intense gazes, he didn’t pay them much attention.

A smiling expression yet somehow unapproachable atmosphere.

Many wish to seek his teachings, but few dare approach him easily, and Ihan—

“Hoarding skills is a waste. What’s so great about what you’d teach anyway.”

“Hush, I also detest troublesome matters.”

Baltar was uniquely famous for not taking a single disciple despite being an Aura User.

They say even his children who became knights never received his teachings, which shows his eccentric character.

At that moment.

– Come to the back garden later, I’ll give you an appointment letter.

A voice tickled Ihan’s ear.

A voice only he could hear.

Not using Aura, but applying a breathing technique.

Even if one learned breathing techniques, they couldn’t easily replicate this.

That’s how high-level this skill was.

And the person experiencing such a high-level technique responded with admiration and—

“It’s nice to witness a rare skill, but let’s just speak with our mouths. Having a man’s voice echo in my ear isn’t pleasant.”

“…Ill-mannered brat. You should play along.”

“It gives me goosebumps.”

“…Before we talk, shall we have a dialogue with swords first?”

“Hoho, that sounds good. Follow me to the rooftop, old man!”

“Where is there a rooftop here?”

Sling.

Baltar accepted his insolent provocation, and Ihan couldn’t be more delighted.