Ch.151Past Story: Serena Elizabeth – 2

Serena couldn’t fall asleep that night for some reason.

Usually, after finishing her grueling daily chores, she would quickly drift into dreams when nestled in her mother’s arms. But tonight, her eyes remained wide awake.

‘I need to sleep. The sun will rise soon. Then I’ll have to work again…’

Knowing from experience what punishment awaited if she dozed off during her duties, Serena desperately tried to fall asleep.

Of course, it was useless. She rose with a gloomy feeling. Beside her, her mother was in a deep sleep, breathing heavily as if unconscious.

Her mother probably wouldn’t wake even if Serena jumped on the bed, but she still carefully extracted herself from the arms embracing her.

Then she opened the creaking wooden board and cautiously left the house. She couldn’t explain why she did this. She could only guess that fate had guided her.

Serena loved the forest.

It was where her parents had often gone for outings, and in fairy tales, it was always in the depths of forests where knights and lords confirmed their love.

So whenever she had time, she would often stare blankly at the forest. It was a simple hobby since her home was tucked away in a corner of the estate grounds, requiring only that she step outside.

“Huh…?”

While gazing at the forest as usual, she spotted an orange flame glowing between the trees.

An orange flame emitting light in the dense forest where even sunlight was blocked by thick branches. It aroused a kind of curiosity in Serena.

Although her natural character had been largely suppressed by years of overwork, Serena was fundamentally more curious than fearful.

Before her father had shut himself away, she had wandered around the mansion and kept sneaking into the basement until the servants, exasperated, put a lock on the door.

Unable to resist her curiosity, Serena hopped over the barely-there fence and walked toward the light.

This was only possible because the defensive magic surrounding the mansion was not activated near Serena’s house. Otherwise, she would have been blocked by the protective spell.

The light was surprisingly close. Serena carefully pushed through bushes and trees, advancing forward. Her skin got scratched by branches, but she didn’t mind.

And near the bonfire, she discovered a black-haired boy being eaten alive by a wolf-like monster, his lower body already in its jaws.

“Ah.”

“Ah…?”

The boy’s voice overlapped with Serena’s, and suddenly the smell of blood spread everywhere. Seeing the wolf’s glowing red eyes, Serena’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

Their eyes met. Then the monster tossed aside the half-devoured boy’s upper body and began approaching Serena one step at a time.

“Hic!”

She hiccupped involuntarily. No matter how difficult her life at the mansion was, Serena was still just a ten-year-old girl. It was natural to be frightened when facing a monster head-on.

This was especially true since in fairy tales, monsters were beings that presented trials to knights alongside evil nobles.

Serena scrambled backward, flailing her hands and feet. She didn’t turn around. She felt that if she took her eyes off it, the monster would pounce and devour her instantly.

After crawling backward for some distance, her back hit something hard. Startled, she looked behind her. It was a tree. There was nowhere left to retreat.

While turning, her elbow bumped against something. She turned her head the other way. Beside her was a long metallic object lying on the ground.

A longsword in its scabbard, of ordinary length.

Trembling with fear and barely conscious, Serena grabbed it. The cold metal felt strange in her hand.

A low growl sounded—”Grrrr.” Drool dripped from the monster’s half-open mouth.

Serena pointed the still-sheathed longsword at the wolf-like monster, which roared and leaped forward.

And honestly, she couldn’t remember much of what happened after that.

When she came to her senses, Serena’s body was covered with a soft blanket, and right beside her, a bonfire crackled as it burned.

Feeling the warmth from the fire, she unconsciously curled up, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, then suddenly sat up with a gasp.

Her confused eyes surveyed the surroundings.

“You’re awake?”

Am I dead? Serena was convinced she had died. The last thing she remembered was the wolf-like monster lunging at her, so it wouldn’t have been strange if she had been devoured in one bite.

She had expected to die someday, but thinking about her mother left alone after her daughter’s meaningless death made her heart heavy.

If Serena disappeared too, her mother surely wouldn’t last long. She wondered if they could meet in heaven after death. She hoped so.

“Hello? Hey?”

Why couldn’t I control my curiosity? Why did I enter the forest? Why did I leave the bed? Why couldn’t I sleep? Why—

Snap! Serena was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of fingers snapping right next to her. She looked to the side with startled rabbit eyes, and the extended hand was withdrawn.

There sat the black-haired boy who had been eaten alive by the wolf earlier. Serena stammered in confusion.

“How… how? Mister… are you dead too?”

Serena had almost called the boy “mister” but quickly changed her address. He looked too young to be called that—he appeared to be not even twenty.

Fortunately, the boy didn’t seem to hear the “mister” part and shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Me, dead? I wish that were true.”

“You wish it were true?”

“You’re perfectly alive. I’m not dead either. To begin with, why did you think we were dead?”

He asked while stirring a pot placed over the bonfire with a ladle. Serena searched her memory. The image of the boy having his lower body devoured by the wolf came to mind.

“Because… you were being eaten by the monster, and then it came after me too.”

“Oh, that? I thought you charged in knowing everything, but I guess not. I thought you were some incredible prodigy at that age. I wondered if there was some sword master family I didn’t know about.”

“Charged in knowing?”

The boy removed the ladle from the pot and pointed to the opposite side with it. Serena’s head naturally turned in the direction the ladle indicated.

There lay the brutally mangled corpse of the wolf-like monster. Seeing it, Serena was terrified.

“Hii, hiik!”

“Why are you so surprised? You did all that.”

“M-m-me?”

Serena looked at the boy with even more shocked eyes than before. The boy nodded.

“Yes, you did it.”

“H-how?”

“Why are you asking me? You grabbed the sword, dodged all the monster’s attacks, and left it in that state. You didn’t even unsheathe the sword—you used the scabbard. If anything, I should be asking you how you did it. What have you been doing that lets you slice a monster with just a scabbard?”

She looked down at her hands with a puzzled expression. Did I really do that? Kill that wolf without even drawing the blade?

“…”

Serena felt dazed. It was hard to comprehend. She truly had no memory of what happened after the wolf lunged at her, so it was difficult to believe she had created that corpse.

But with the evidence right in front of her, she couldn’t outright deny it. The boy had been half-eaten by the wolf with only his upper body remaining, so he couldn’t have fought the monster in that condition.

‘Wait a minute?’

Having reached that thought, Serena tilted her head and looked at the boy’s lower body.

It was intact. Both legs.

“What are you staring at?”

Her gaze must have been quite obvious, as a response came immediately. Serena carefully opened her mouth.

“Um, earlier…”

“Earlier?”

“Earlier, you were being eaten by…”

“Oh, that?”

The boy dismissed it as if it were nothing, taking out a bowl and filling it with whatever was boiling in the pot over the bonfire. A delicious aroma wafted through the air.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. And here.”

“Huh? What?”

Serena flusteredly accepted the suddenly offered plate, her body moving before her mind could catch up—a habit formed from her life as a servant.

Though the only light came from the bonfire, making it hard to see clearly, it appeared to be some kind of soup. It smelled incredibly delicious. Grumble—Serena’s stomach cried out for food.

But she had to hold back.

“Should I just hold this?”

“What?”

The boy, who was about to put down the ladle after serving himself nothing, looked at Serena with bewilderment.

“I thought you wanted me to hold it while you—”

“I gave it to you to eat.”

“What?”

At those words, Serena stared at the bowl with round eyes. Indeed, there was a wooden spoon with its handle sticking out in the bowl.

“You, what on earth… Never mind. Just eat. Let’s think after you’ve eaten.”

Serena hesitated for a long time despite the boy’s permission. Seeing this, the boy sighed deeply and forcibly placed the spoon in her hand.

Only then did she cautiously take a spoonful of soup. Her eyes widened in surprise at the taste, and she began to move the spoon hurriedly. It took less than three minutes for the bowl to be emptied.

The boy, noticing Serena glancing at the pot on the bonfire, smiled slightly and took her bowl to serve her more soup.

Only after emptying the fairly deep pot and soaking up the last bits with bread in her final bowl did Serena finally put down her spoon.

As her stomach filled, she seemed to recall her unseemly behavior and blushed bright red. In a small, stammering voice, she offered her thanks.

“Th-thank you…”

The boy who received her gratitude met Serena’s eyes. Feeling as if he was mocking her, the already red face grew even hotter.

“If you’re that grateful, can I ask you a few things?”

“Yes? About what?”

“Who else? You’re right in front of me.”

The boy pointed at Serena.

Perhaps due to her full stomach and the warmth of the bonfire, Serena, despite having just met the boy today, very willingly revealed who she was and what she had been doing all this time.

From how her mother had married the noble who ruled this territory, to how her father suddenly brought in another woman and then shut himself in his room, claiming to be ill.

How after that, the treatment of her and her mother gradually worsened, and now they lived in a dilapidated building in the corner of the mansion, treated worse than servants.

After listening to Serena’s story to the end, the boy’s face hardened.

“He suddenly claimed to be sick and locked himself away? That sounds highly suspicious… Tsk, it’s probably some mental magic. It might not be worth much, but I should investigate.”

The boy’s face looked quite serious, making Serena naturally watch his expression. Had she done something wrong?

After muttering something for a while, the boy suddenly looked up.

“So, you’ve never held a sword before? This was your first time?”

“What? Yes.”

“…”

As soon as he heard the answer, the boy rubbed his chin as if pondering something again. It was quite some time before he raised his head again.

“Hey, you.”

“Y-yes?”

Serena answered with a startled voice. The boy’s face was extremely serious.

“Would you like to learn swordsmanship from me?”

“What?”

The unexpected question increased her confusion. They had only met a few hours ago, and he was suddenly asking if she wanted to learn swordsmanship?

“Ah, of course, I’m not offering to teach you for free. If you come to learn from me regularly, I’ll make sure you’re never hungry or sleepy. I have some magical tools. What do you think?”

Hearing this made her even more confused. Isn’t it usually the student who pays the teacher?

Yet this boy was offering to pay her to learn swordsmanship from him. She couldn’t help but wonder.

“…Why?”

It wasn’t that she was suspicious of the boy. Just pure curiosity. Why was he being so kind to someone who was merely a servant? It was behavior that Serena’s mind simply couldn’t comprehend.

To her questioning gaze, the boy replied matter-of-factly:

“Because I need you.”

Serena accepted the boy’s offer.

He didn’t seem like a bad person, and there was no harm in being fed well and taught swordsmanship and mana usage on top of that.

Moreover, it had been a very long time since Serena had felt human warmth, which made the decision even easier. The boy’s eyes didn’t look like those of someone telling lies.

“First, take these. I’ve cast perception distortion magic, so others won’t see them. This necklace periodically absorbs bodily fatigue, this bracelet makes cold water feel not cold to your hands, and this bracelet prevents various odors from sticking to your body…”

On the very day Serena accepted his request to train in swordsmanship, the boy handed over all sorts of magical tools as promised. They were all optimized for menial tasks.

The amount of magical tools Serena received was enormous, making her wonder where he got them all. Among them was also medicine that would prevent her mother’s condition from worsening further.

He said he could give her medicine to cure the illness immediately if she wanted, but that would raise suspicions about its source, so she should wait until she reached a certain level and then present it as something she obtained through her own power.

Since he guaranteed that her mother would never die from the illness while taking the medicine, it was enough that it wouldn’t worsen further.

“Are you a magician or a swordsman, big brother?”

“Me? Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“You’re skilled with a sword, but you also have lots of magical tools. I heard only magicians can make magical tools.”

“Only magicians can make magical tools, but ordinary people can buy them too.”

“So you’re a swordsman? One rich enough to buy so many magical tools?”

“Well…”

In the end, Serena couldn’t uncover the boy’s identity. She pouted, saying she would definitely get an answer someday, but he just smiled and brushed it off.

Meeting the boy completely transformed Serena’s life. Now she worked at the mansion during the day and sneaked out at night to learn swordsmanship from the boy waiting in the forest.

She didn’t sleep. Thanks to the necklace the boy gave her, she didn’t need to.

She initially tried to learn physical enhancement through mana, but Serena soon decided to skip that step.

This was because she realized that what she had been unconsciously drawing upon to alleviate fatigue from labor was mana, and the actions she had been taking unconsciously were a form of physical enhancement.

The boy couldn’t hide his astonishment at seeing Serena, who wasn’t even ten years old, instinctively grasp how to draw upon mana and enhance her body.

“I think this will make cleaning easier!”

“…Huh?”

Though his expression changed to one of bewilderment when he heard that her only thought was that it would make cleaning easier.

After that, Serena absorbed all the knowledge the boy taught her. Especially in the field of swordsmanship, she reached a level where if taught one thing, she understood a hundred and could apply it in a thousand ways.

It was around this time that Serena’s height began to noticeably increase.

Until meeting the boy, her body had been overworked daily without proper nutrition, making her significantly shorter than girls her age.

But once she received adequate nutrition and no longer felt fatigue, her body began to grow properly.

Her height, which had been shorter than girls her age, had now grown to exceed that of boys a year or two older. The servants at the mansion couldn’t help but notice such a change.

By now, a year had passed since the boy and Serena first met.

“You! What on earth have you done!”

“What do you mean?”

Serena responded in a stiff tone to the maid who was pointing at her accusingly.

As she opened her heart to this new relationship, she conversely locked her heart more firmly against others.

While she showed her true self as an 11-year-old girl in front of the boy, she was different in front of others. She wasn’t intimidated by threats of violence, and even when occasionally beaten, she shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

Serena could leap from the first floor to a third-floor window in one bound using physical enhancement. There was no way she would feel pain from a mere fist without mana.

The servants, unable to adapt to such a drastic change in Serena, kept questioning what she had done. Serena kept her mouth shut.

She didn’t want to reveal the boy’s existence to these insignificant humans.

“You’re going to keep your mouth shut till the end!”

Slap! A palm struck her cheek, but Serena didn’t even flinch. Instead, the one who had slapped her clutched their hand in pain.

Meeting eyes that could hardly be believed to belong to a mere 11-year-old, the maid hesitated, then left the kitchen, hurling insults.

Serena remained silently in the kitchen, cleaning up. Her circumstances hadn’t changed, but Serena had. She was no longer as sorrowful as before. Because now someone recognized her.

After neatly finishing the kitchen cleanup, she opened the door to return to her building.

“Coming out now?”

She narrowed her eyes at the unexpected figure she encountered.

Laila.

The woman who had seized actual control of the mansion in place of her father who had shut himself away.