Ch.29029. Professor Briana’s Exclusive Disciple

As Gilbert entered the private training room, he could feel the hot air clinging to his cheeks. The heated atmosphere inside was so intense it felt like stepping into a sauna.

Gilbert gazed at Seraphina, who had warmed the room to such a temperature. He observed her in a meditative stance with her eyes closed, focusing intently. He kept his mouth firmly shut and didn’t make even the slightest sound of breathing, not wanting to disturb her.

At the moment when the silence reached its peak, Seraphina’s eyes suddenly flashed open.

*Swoosh!*

The sword was drawn from its scabbard with lightning speed, slicing through the air. With that dynamic movement, her long golden hair fluttered, and her red eyes gleamed sharply as if targeting an imaginary enemy.

It was a perfect draw-and-slash executed from a flawless stance.

Gilbert felt as though the hot air had been split the moment her sword was drawn. Though she might not have reached that level of mastery yet, her single strike had achieved such a high degree of skill that he sensed she would attain it soon.

“Huff. Still not there yet.”

Seraphina sheathed her sword and turned to look at Gilbert. Her training outfit, a blend of black and red, was soaked with sweat, suggesting she had put all her strength into that single strike.

“It’s been a while.”

“I pay my respects to Your Imperial Highness.”

Gilbert offered a perfectly measured greeting to Seraphina, who was wiping the sweat from her face with a towel received from Yanik. She waved her hand dismissively at his formality.

“You may raise your head.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“The title ‘Your Highness’ is unnecessary. You are currently affiliated with the Yedo Academy, so it is right to follow the academy’s rules.”

Gilbert inwardly smiled with satisfaction at Seraphina’s demeanor, unchanged from the game’s setting. She was every bit the principled imperial princess who made no exceptions, not even for herself, when it came to what she believed was right.

“Would ‘Lady Seraphina’ be appropriate?”

“That will do. While titles are this lady’s insistence, I am aware they can be burdensome for you all.”

“I am grateful for your ocean-deep consideration.”

“Enough flattery. Rather, tell me why you have sought me out. It must be urgent enough to interrupt my training?”

Though Seraphina’s words might have sounded like a rebuke, they weren’t meant as a scolding. In fact, she was looking at Gilbert with eyes full of inexplicable expectation.

Gilbert noticed this and realized one thing.

Has Professor Briana already given her a heads-up?

Gilbert concluded this must be the case. Naturally, the imperial princess Seraphina’s permission would be required to accept another exclusive disciple. Of course, it was also appropriate that she be informed about the offer itself.

“Since Lady Seraphina likely already knows, I’ll get straight to the point. I wish to become Professor Briana’s second exclusive disciple.”

“Exclusive disciple… Do you understand what that means?”

“I do. It means becoming your disciple, Lady Seraphina.”

Seraphina found Gilbert’s confident expression of his opinion before her amusing. As in their first meeting and during the entrance mock battle, Gilbert possessed all the elements that stimulated her desire for talented individuals.

His confident attitude and the talent to back it up—if not for the unsavory rumors surrounding him, he would have been her top recruitment priority, someone she would have approached first.

“Correct. Becoming Professor Briana’s exclusive disciple means becoming this lady’s disciple. And becoming this lady’s disciple means drawing attention.”

“I’m aware of that as well.”

“But this lady finds herself hesitating. The rumors surrounding you make it difficult to reach a decision.”

‘So reputation is the issue again.’

Gilbert felt a bitter taste in his mouth at Seraphina’s words. If he could go back to before his possession of this body, he would never include such a useless setting. No, it would be wiser to delete Tactical Combat entirely and never look at it again.

But he had already been possessed with the delinquent setting in place, and now that setting had become Gilbert’s actual reputation. As much as he hated to admit it, he had no choice but to acknowledge himself as a delinquent.

“You mean the rumors that I’m a delinquent?”

“Yes. Those rumors widespread in social circles. This lady knows they are true.”

At Seraphina’s calm statement, Gilbert thought for the first time that this sub-quest might fail. Though he had resolved not to think of this world as a game, he had unconsciously assumed everything would work out.

It was his mistake not to realize that even Seraphina, with her great desire for talent, wouldn’t want to embrace Gilbert, who was like an unpredictable time bomb.

“However, after meeting and observing you, this lady cannot deny that you are quite different from the rumors. From your daily training without missing a day to your near-miraculous skill in controlling war golems shown in the entrance mock battle—none of these are qualities a delinquent would possess.”

Gilbert could tell that this conversation was the most critical turning point that would determine the success of the sub-quest. If he wasn’t extremely careful with every word, becoming Professor Briana’s exclusive disciple would be out of reach.

He tightened the loosened string of tension.

“I have no intention of denying it. As you said, Lady Seraphina, I am indeed a hopeless delinquent.”

His choice was a direct approach. Considering Seraphina’s character, which disliked lengthy excuses, it was better to straightforwardly admit to being a delinquent.

Gilbert anxiously studied Seraphina’s expression, but reading the face of someone who had experienced battlefields at a young age and navigated the political arena of a vast empire was no easy task. The eyes that had shown interest now revealed nothing.

Seeing those eyes like transparent glass marbles devoid of emotion, Gilbert decided to gamble on what he knew of Seraphina’s personality.

“I have no intention of denying my past. My actions were no different from trash. It’s true that I bullied innocent commoners and harassed women.”

“Then there is no reason for this lady to accept your request. This lady appreciates talent, but that doesn’t mean she likes problematic trash.”

Seraphina’s eyes sharpened like they had during her training. Her gaze, as fierce as a blade, pierced Gilbert.

An immense pressure descended upon him. The imperial authority of the great empire’s princess began to bear down on him.

‘Is this a Presence skill?!’

When the sum of the special ability stats Authority and Command exceeds 130, a limited passive skill is generated. It’s a skill that can inflict stiffness on opponents with lower special ability stats, can be toggled on and off, and if the sum exceeds 170, it can even inflict physical damage—a kind of hidden piece skill.

If his memory served him correctly, Seraphina’s current Authority and Command stats were 95 and 80 respectively. The sum already approached 175, making it possible to inflict physical damage.

Gilbert forcibly resisted the urge to kneel immediately. Though his insides churned and his eyes bloodshot, he couldn’t back down here if he wanted to become Professor Briana’s disciple.

Somehow gritting his teeth and enduring, the pressure suddenly lifted.

Gilbert exhaled deeply.

“Why do you not back down in such a state?”

“I have something I must do.”

Gilbert barely managed to answer, not even thinking to wipe the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The thought suddenly crossed his mind that he seemed to suffer internal injuries every time he attempted a sub-quest.

“By your own admission, you are a delinquent and trash. Is it this lady’s misconception to think that whatever a delinquent trash must do could pose a threat to the empire’s security?”

Seraphina’s words were logical. Whatever a delinquent had to do would likely be delinquent behavior. If it wouldn’t benefit the empire’s future, it was the imperial princess Seraphina’s duty to eliminate it.

“I only wish to do what I rightfully should.”

“And what is it that you rightfully should do?”

Gilbert did not back down even as he faced Seraphina, who looked ready to draw her sword at any moment.

“As a member of House Hart, which guards the empire’s borders, I wish to fulfill the destiny passed down in my blood.”

“To this lady’s ears, that sounds like you merely wish to succeed the Count of Lithuania. Is that what you rightfully should do? Should this lady stand by and let a delinquent like you take charge of the empire’s borders?”

Seraphina’s right hand moved toward her sword hilt. Her intent was clear—depending on his answer, she was genuinely prepared to cut him down.

‘This is the decisive moment.’

Though she showed signs of truly wielding her sword, Gilbert was confident she wouldn’t.

Despite Gilbert being a notorious delinquent and Seraphina being the imperial princess, she couldn’t arbitrarily swing her sword to harm him.

He was still the eldest son of the Iron Border Count.

However, if he gave the wrong answer here, the sub-quest would certainly fail.

And he would never have another chance to become Professor Briana’s exclusive disciple.

“I have no intention of inheriting the title of Count of Lithuania.”

“What did you say?”

Seraphina was startled by his unexpected statement and asked again. She scrutinized him to understand his true intentions, but his resolute expression showed not the slightest wavering.

“As I said, having lived like a delinquent, I would not be able to properly lead the Lithuania domain. If someone like me were to inherit the title, it would only cause chaos.”

“Do you understand what you’re saying?”

“I do. I am telling you that I am renouncing my right to inherit the title of Count of Lithuania.”

Seraphina sensed his sincerity in Gilbert’s firm tone.

“Then there is something this lady wishes to ask.”

“Please speak freely.”

“Then what is it that you rightfully should do?”

From her softened voice, unlike before, Gilbert sensed he had crossed the major hurdle. If he could deliver one decisive statement here, gaining Seraphina’s permission wouldn’t be difficult.

“I will become the Empire’s Sword.”

“The Empire’s Sword, you say.”

While the Shield of the Empire referred to the Border Count, the Sword of the Empire was the opposite.

The vanguards who led the charge on the battlefield before anyone else.

Headmaster Lucas was one, Professor Alexander was one, and Professor Briana was one.

Those who always dedicated their lives to the empire and never retreated were honored with the title: the Sword of the Empire.

Seraphina quietly released her grip on the sword hilt. Becoming the Empire’s Sword was no easy feat. It meant starting from the bottom and patiently climbing up through moments of pain.

Seraphina smiled slightly.

Just as Headmaster Lucas, Professor Alexander, and Professor Briana had done.

So too had Seraphina.