Ch.43Inauguration Ceremony (3)

“…Hah.”

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew. It was before sunrise, probably dawn when the first light was just beginning to break.

Outside the window it was still dark, but my eyelids didn’t feel heavy at all.

My body felt light, and my eyes were wide awake. It would clearly be difficult to fall back asleep.

I tried closing my eyes to get a bit more rest, but the thoughts swirling in my head forced them wide open again.

Habits are truly frightening things. In the past, I used to sleep well past midday.

But now my eyes opened naturally before sunrise, and I sighed at the thought that I could no longer live as I once did.

Well, I’d been living this way for a year now, so I’d gotten used to it.

Still, going outside alone in the early dawn was rather lonely.

Thwoop-

I took off the clothes I was wearing. As the cold winter wind cut into my body, I finally felt that I was outside.

Why bother taking off my clothes? Well, it was just the top I removed,

but doing this made me feel somewhat freer.

Besides, I wasn’t that cold since I covered my body with mana. Clothes would just get soaked when swinging a sword, and changing them was a hassle.

With my top off, the scars covering my body became visible.

Whenever I saw those scars etched all over my body as if carved by a knife, I wondered what kind of life Evan had lived.

The occasional burn marks. Besides those, there were plenty of long, continuous scars.

Even at a glance, it didn’t seem like he had lived simply as the son of a noble family.

‘It doesn’t hurt.’

They just looked a bit unsightly, that’s all. There was no point in worrying about it further.

They didn’t hurt, and I figured they were probably from harsh training in childhood.

Thinking about this, what bothered me was the Fried Earldom, the family I belonged to.

Normally, if news came that your child had fought a dark mage,

or at the very least when an appointment ceremony was to be held, shouldn’t there be some kind of contact?

Yet I hadn’t received even a single letter since becoming Evan.

That old letter I saw back then did bother me, but… unless the family had been wiped out, they should be able to keep in touch.

But I couldn’t send a letter first since I knew nothing about them.

Sling-

But I soon pushed these thoughts aside and drew the sword I was carrying.

A sword whose blue blade emerged when infused with mana. I think a white blade appeared when I fought the troll last time,

but for some reason, no matter how many times I’ve drawn it since, I haven’t seen the white blade again.

Perhaps there are certain conditions needed to see that sword again.

Quelling the remnants of mana pulsing in my heart, I stepped forward lightly and swung the sword.

As the mana disappeared from my body, the sword felt heavy, but this weighty sensation actually excited me.

This is what makes it feel like proper training, isn’t it? I wasn’t originally a particularly diligent person,

but I knew well enough what kind of pleasure the fruits of effort could bring to a person.

And now this body.

‘It’s beyond imagination.’

If I have the will, it accomplishes more than what that will desires.

I swing the sword. Not just swinging it, but with enough power to tear apart everything before me.

I draw up mana. Beyond simply strengthening my body like other experts, I could summon power beyond human limitations.

I still remember how Lord Chris was surprised when he saw how I handled mana, saying it burned like fire.

He asked how I could possibly handle mana like that.

Anyway, one thing was certain: Evan Fried’s body was extraordinary.

No, it was even alien compared to ordinary humans.

-For example, the mana you possess. Or your bloodline.

Zhanzir’s words came to mind. My bloodline, what on earth did that mean?

It’s not like I hadn’t investigated the Fried Earldom.

But all I could find out was that it was an earldom on the frontier, once renowned.

I might learn something if I went there directly, but I’m not in a position to do that right now.

What frustrated me most was that I could only speculate about all of this.

I couldn’t find out anything directly.

After the appointment ceremony, perhaps only after completely dealing with the extinction, might I finally have some leisure time. What could I investigate in the current situation?

So I picked up the sword again. It was a bit heavy, but when I took out the sandbags I had prepared, a satisfied smile finally formed on my lips.

I’d probably keep swinging the sword until sunrise.

This kind of training might look like I was overworking my body to others.

No matter how well I handled mana, the sandbags I was wearing were quite heavy.

Each one was about 20kg, and I had five of them attached to each ankle and wrist.

In my current state, without drawing up mana, I had to concentrate fully just to swing the sword once.

But I liked it.

At least during these moments of training, all distracting thoughts disappeared, and I could focus solely on the sword.

With each step, the ground sank beneath me,

and the accumulated snow melted from the heat emanating from my body, leaving a clear circular mark where I stood.

As I began swinging my sword alone in the garden where no one else was present,

time quickly passed, and the sun began to rise in the distance.

Normally I could train more, but I should probably stop now.

After all, today was the day of my appointment ceremony.

The sandbags fell to the ground with a thud.

After calling a servant to tidy up the place, I began making my way back to the mansion.

The appointment ceremony—it would be best to prepare well for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

#

“Ugh, did you train again?”

“I do it every day, why are you so surprised?”

“Today is your appointment ceremony. You should be more presentable, not sweaty!”

“What will we do if you’re all sweaty?”

As I entered the mansion and began buttoning up, Rofena approached and frowned at me.

In one hand, she held what was probably the uniform I would wear today.

I looked at the silver uniform for a moment, then shrugged my shoulders, causing Rofena to sigh and pout.

“Go wash up quickly. Or use that mana… anyway, do something. The ceremony is in a few hours, don’t you want to look nice?”

“Well, I wonder if there’s really a need for that.”

It was a bit amusing, but there was no need to stand out too much.

After defeating the troll, the letters I received had increased to the point where they piled up daily,

and thinking about how much more they would increase after today made my head throb.

Rofena seemed to understand this too, as she handed me the uniform with a bitter smile.

“Anyway, the maids will be here soon. Come out after you’re dressed and I’ll help you get ready. And don’t forget to visit the young lady before the ceremony.”

“The young lady? Did she call for me?”

“…Well, it would be good if you could figure such things out on your own. This uniform was prepared by the young lady before, remember? During the hunting festival.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I recall the memory, and my lips parted slightly.

Come to think of it, wasn’t there a uniform among those flags? No wonder it looked familiar.

The uniform, with its black base, was elegantly adorned with silver embroidery.

The Yuris emblem on the chest and a single star. It symbolized that I was a knight,

and at the same time certified that I belonged to Yuris. Looking at it made me newly aware of the fact that I was a knight of Yuris.

And the other piece of clothing Rofena gave me was a dark black cloak with quite rough fur.

So this goes over the uniform. Come to think of it, this was the northern region.

Looking at the cloak, which resembled the image of a northern knight fixed in my mind, I couldn’t help but smile.

The uniform and cloak would probably look quite good together.

I should wash up after training, but realizing there wasn’t much time left, I gently wrapped my body with mana.

It was a method I often used when I was too lazy to wash, and it actually made my body cleaner than washing would.

After my skin became completely dry and fluffy as the sweat was removed,

I entered my room where Lize looked at me and waved her hand slightly.

“You’re here. Come quickly, we need to get ready. Today is your day.”

“…I could just dress myself.”

“What nonsense. Remember how long it took you when I let you dress yourself for the ball last time? Do you want to ruin the appointment ceremony?”

“That’s not it… alright.”

I guess there’s no choice. Considering how I struggled just to put on one outfit last time, her reaction was understandable.

But it felt awkward to undress in this place full of women,

so I glanced at Lize cautiously as I took off my clothes, causing the surrounding maids to let out small gasps.

“Oh my.”

I smiled bitterly. The gazes of the maids, all with sparkling eyes, weren’t exactly welcome.

Of course, they weren’t harboring strange feelings toward me, so I just smiled bitterly once.

Soon, as I put on the uniform I had received from Rofena, Lize looked at me with a grin.

“It suits you well. You really are handsome. Who did you take after to be so good-looking? I’ve met Earl Fried once, but honestly, he wasn’t particularly blessed in appearance.”

“Well, I must take after my mother.”

I actually had no idea who Evan’s mother was,

but when I answered like that, Lize nodded and handed me the cloak.

The dark black cloak with rough fur to the touch—it was made of wolf fur, wasn’t it?

As I took the cloak, I let out a small gasp at how surprisingly light it was.

At this rate, I could wear it regularly without any problems.

The cloak seemed to suit me surprisingly well.

I had wondered if it would go well with my golden hair and green eyes.

But once I put it on, it seemed to match quite well, perhaps because of my face.

When I glanced at Lize, I saw her looking at me with her mouth slightly open, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Ms. Lize.”

Doesn’t she look like she’s entranced by something?

When I called her name, she flinched after a moment and carefully opened her mouth.

“…You’ve grown well. Yes, you’ve grown well.”

“I think it’s going to be hard to handle all the letters soon. What should I do?”

“To be honest, you’re well past the age for engagement…”

I could clearly hear the maids murmuring around me, so I shrugged once and looked in the mirror.

When I first saw myself, I looked purely gentle, but now that some time had passed, my eyes seemed to have become sharper.

Of course, perhaps that’s why the cloak on my shoulders suited me quite well.

“I should get going now.”

Now that I was dressed, I should visit Aileen as Rofena had said.

When I said this, Lize, who had been whispering with the maids, looked at me.

“Going to see the young lady?”

“I should. After all, she prepared this outfit for me.”

“…Hmm. Alright, go ahead. And congratulations on officially becoming a knight.”

“Thank you.”

When I smiled faintly, Lize also smiled and waved her hand slightly at me.

Although not as much as Rofena or Aileen, Lize had also treated me well.

If it hadn’t been for Lize when I first became Aileen’s guard, it would have been difficult to become friendly with the other maids.

I could only hope that she too would remain safe later.

#

As I left the room, the gazes of the maids wandering the corridor turned toward me.

Some occasionally blushed, and some stared at me intently, which was quite uncomfortable.

They could pay a little less attention to me.

Bwooo-

At the sudden sound of a trumpet, I turned my head to see knights already lined up outside for my appointment ceremony.

In the distance, Lord Chris was also standing in armor for the first time in a while,

and among the flags fluttering in the wind, I found a familiar pattern.

‘…The Imperial Family.’

The dragon emblem symbolizing Evangelium, the empire’s capital and its only sanctuary.

Only the imperial family could use it, and it could only be displayed with the permission of the imperial family, making it the most eye-catching flag.

Didn’t they say the crown prince was coming? Perhaps he was already here, a thought that naturally made me frown.

Although I wanted to establish a good relationship before the female protagonist of the original work appeared,

negative feelings were hard to shake off.

When I was just reading the novel, I thought he was just an unpleasant guy,

but now that I had become Aileen’s guard knight, just thinking of his face made me want to curse.

Of course, if I were to face him directly, I would have to kneel immediately, but…

What does it matter what one says when the king isn’t around?

The corridor was quiet, busy with preparations for the appointment ceremony.

Sunlight filtered through the windows, imprinting their shapes on the corridor,

but there were no shadows of people blocking the light, so my footsteps echoed clearly in the quiet corridor.

Click- Click-

Until just now, there had been no maids passing through the corridor, and even the guards I occasionally encountered were nowhere to be seen.

As I headed toward the office where Aileen would be,

I suddenly noticed a commotion outside and looked out the window again to see many people gathered beyond.

Especially where many knights were lined up, and where flags planted as if to pierce the sky were fluttering intensely in the wind.

Knights in brilliant armor were marching in step, holding spears, all for one person.

“…The Crown Prince.”

And finally, one person walking alone among those lined-up knights.

How could I not recognize that black hair that stood out even in the brilliant sun?

Those red eyes sparkled.

Arrogant and majestic steps, yet they suited this unique existence of the empire.

The Emperor, and there, that Crown Prince.

Kaisel Freya di Evangelium.

When the Crown Prince finally stood at the end of the knights’ formation,

I couldn’t help but be surprised by the amount of mana he possessed.

The amount of mana, as pure and abundant as mine, if not more, was proof that he would reach Master level someday.

If the future unfolds as I know it, someday I will cross swords with that Crown Prince.

Could I win? As I was thinking about that,

I flinched and looked ahead as I felt mana being transmitted to me.

Far away, despite the distance making it difficult to notice each other’s presence, I could clearly feel a gaze directed at me.

Blood-red eyes. And when I realized those eyes were directed at me,

I inadvertently smiled and met that gaze.

I thought he might have come to see Aileen or the Duke, but now I was certain.

The Crown Prince had come to see me.