Chapter 14: Ophel, Linnea, and one other person Part 1

The day I left to enroll in the academy was also the anniversary of my father’s death.

My father was an illiterate old man, with neither title nor ability to read or write.

To make a living, he did whatever work he could, like cutting down trees around the area and selling them to those in need or carrying heavy loads for others.

Despite the meager wages, whenever he bought potatoes, he would always give me an extra one.

It wasn’t just potatoes.

Whether it was carrots, turnips, or eggs, he would always buy three when he returned from work and give me two of them.

Later, I would realize that he was stretching his money to buy three with what was meant for two.

“Dad, have two potatoes. I’m not hungry.”

“No, Luca. The younger you are, the more you need to eat. I already ate while working outside.”

If I had been a bit more considerate, I might have insisted on refusing, but back then, I was just a seven-year-old child.

‘Since Dad said he already ate,’ believing those words was much simpler than giving up food for him.

He was always gentle with me, but there was one time he scolded me so fiercely that it seemed the sky would split open.

That was the day I stole bread because I was hungry when he couldn’t bring any food.

He hit me a few times before collapsing to the ground, crying like a child.

Then, wiping his tears, he took my hand firmly and brought me to the docks, where the sunset glowed beautifully, and he spoke.

“He’s always watching us from above.”

“Who?”

“God.”

My father, who didn’t even know God’s name, kept repeating with conviction in his eyes.

“He watches everything. Always, all the time. Day or night, He keeps an eye on us. So, there’s no such thing as evil deeds that go unseen, and there’s no kindness that goes unrecognized. Do you understand, Luca?”

The one who watches everything from above—God.

So, when my father returned from working at the orphanage without bringing any pay, was it because God was watching him from above?

I wanted to ask, but as a child, I was too overwhelmed by the unfamiliar look in my father’s eyes to voice the question.

His eyes were clear and transparent, like a cat’s, delicate enough to seem like they’d shatter at a touch.

After that day, I never did anything bad, including stealing.

I even avoided small actions that anyone could easily do.

Because God was always watching us from above.

God ultimately saw everything.

While my father worked, I could go to the orphanage he often helped for free and assist with various chores in exchange for lessons from the sister there.

Initially, I started with reading and writing, but for an ordinary child like me, it was never an easy task.

I managed to reach the point of reading words, but my body naturally yearned to run and play.

***

One day, after I threw myself into a scuffle to stop the boys at the orphanage from fighting, the sister spoke to me seriously.

“Luca, perhaps you should learn how to use weapons?”

It seemed that learning to wield a sword, or any weapon, could at least put food on my plate.

Even so, it wasn’t an easy choice to make.

Although it had been a long time since any wars, becoming a soldier was a decision too difficult to entertain even in daydreams.

Ideally, I wanted to become a wizard.

A highly respected, well-paid wizard, who could buy lots of potatoes and eggs to share with my father.

Then, one day, my father suffered a severe injury.

I was thirteen at the time.

It was an accident, a landslide, they said. Apparently, he was harmed while cutting trees.

Though I heard words of comfort about it being an unfortunate incident, I couldn’t understand. ‘Isn’t everything being watched from above?’

My father always gave me his food.

He even worked for free at the orphanage. Then why?

My father, brought to the hospital connected to the church that managed the orphanage, was attended by a few priests, but the injuries were too severe.

They told me to be prepared, as there wasn’t much hope.

When I went to the room after being told to “say your final goodbyes,” I found him barely breathing in a ghastly condition.

“Dad. It’s me, Luca. Can you hear me?”

I asked several times, but there was no answer.

The answer came only when I fell asleep beside him after crying myself to exhaustion.

“Luca. The truth is, I’m not your real father.”

‘Was it a dream, or had I woken up and spoken to him?’

In the dream, he was telling me something shocking.

“I found you abandoned in front of the orphanage that day. I felt a strange pull and couldn’t ignore it, so I brought you home. God is always watching over us… There are times when something simply feels right, and you just have to do it…”

“I felt that raising you was the right thing to do. So don’t worry—pursue your dreams wholeheartedly. Since you’re not my flesh and blood, you’ll be able to become much greater than I ever was.”

Even as I sobbed, I instinctively knew, despite my young age, that this was my last chance to speak with him.

“Dad, no matter what anyone says, you’re my father.”

In the dream, I clutched his hand tightly.

It felt warm, even though it was just a dream.

“I…”

“I may not carry my father’s blood.”

“But I carry his noble spirit.”

“The pure soul of a man who lived without shame before God, even without a single person to recognize him.”

“Dad, I’ll never forget that you’ve engraved your spirit into me.”

“I’ll never forget that God is always watching over us.”

“I should have conveyed those words to him.”

“But as a child, I wasn’t mature enough to find those words.”

“I’ll become someone as wonderful as you, Dad.”

As I spoke those final words—

“Never forget that He’s always watching over you.”

“Even when you face unfair trials and life’s storms… Always, always, God will watch your choices.”

When I awoke from the dream, the first thing I saw was—his hand.

My father’s hand.

He was pointing his finger toward the sky with his eyes closed.

And shortly after… with a slight thud, his outstretched hand fell limply onto the bed.

Even in this moment, don’t forget that God is watching over you—

That was my father’s final message, not to my ears, but to my heart.

After learning to read, Luca was finally able to decipher the name of the orphanage she frequented.

Heavenishian Adelia.

After creating a grave for her father and becoming all alone, Luca was adopted by the orphanage director, who pitied her situation and gave her the name “Luca Heavenishian.”

It was the surname given to all the children in the orphanage.

“Sister, I want to learn the sword.”

Fortunately, Luca had a considerable talent for swordsmanship.

Since she was about five years older than the other children at the orphanage, she naturally took on the role of a big sister and, at some point, started overseeing the younger children’s discipline.

It wasn’t too difficult.

Part of it was because they were like family to her, but also because she knew that everything would be watched from above.

She found herself teaching the lessons her father had taught her to the children of the orphanage.

“Stealing is not allowed. God is always watching over us from above.”

“God? Wasn’t His name… something like Igogodon?”

“That’s right. So always live kindly. Understand?”

“How can you forget God’s name? Uncle Repiton said it’s a plain fact or something!”

“I don’t care about plain facts! I’d rather have bread I can eat!”

The children generally listened well to Luca, and her swordsmanship improved day by day.

***

One day, when she was eighteen, Luca received exceptionally good news.

“A scholarship… you say?”

“I told the academy about you, and they said they’d like to nurture your talent if you could pass the entrance test. Isn’t that wonderful, Luca?”

A letter had come from a fairly reputable academy known for its swordsmanship training.

‘Even if it hadn’t been a famous place, where else could she find a free education?’

‘It’s true… He really was watching over me!’

‘Yes.’

God had been watching over her all along.

Even in these circumstances, she hadn’t lost sight of her dreams and had worked hard!

“Luca! Make sure to come back safely! Here’s a gift!”

“This is…”

A white ribbon.

It was a bit old-fashioned in appearance, but it looked sturdy.

Something in her heart twinged.

‘What was this feeling?’

‘Family?’

The children, now grown, wiped their noses and spoke up.

“You can’t let your hair get in the way when you’re using a sword!”

“We didn’t steal it, sister! We saved our allowances to buy it. Hehe.”

“Thank you, Amen. Freya. I’ll treasure it.”

With the ribbon firmly tied in her hair, Luca visited her father’s grave and spoke.

“Father, it seems you were right about God watching over us.”

“Because I lived kindly and rightly, I finally received an opportunity.”

“I won’t let pride overcome me. I’ll never forget that God is always watching…”

She chattered to her father just like when she was a little girl.

And today was the day she was leaving to enter the academy.

That day was also her father’s death anniversary.

***

At Luphrantia Academy, a place known for producing renowned knights, Luca managed to pass the entrance exam without any problems.

It was there that she met her roommate, Irina.

“Luca! Let’s get along well from now on!”

Irina was someone very different from Luca in many ways.

A beautiful blonde girl.

She grew up happily in a bright household and would often whisper cheerfully about her dream of joining the Imperial Knights and becoming the captain someday.

Luca thought that becoming roommates with her might have been another stroke of luck.

Irina knew so much about the world that Luca, who had only lived in a small village orphanage, had never known.

According to Irina, joining the Imperial Knights would bring wealth and honor.

And if one had enough talent, they could be employed as a royal guard regardless of their background, which meant achieving virtually everything a knight could ever hope for in terms of wealth and honor.

Money.

Besides just surviving, she wanted to give something back to the orphanage that had raised her.

“Then, should we both join the Imperial Knights?”

“Sounds good!”

Everything Irina told Luca was a lesson to her.

Because knowing a lot was necessary to live a life without shame before the heavens.

Because God was always watching over her from above.

***

Time flew by quickly.

In those three years, Luca realized that her life had actually been incredibly unlucky, and it continued to be so.

She only learned this after broadening her horizons upon entering the academy.

In the three years that passed, nearly nothing had gone as she wished.

From the smallest matters to slightly more important ones, nothing.

But Luca didn’t despair.

After all, God was watching over everything. Every single thing.

Was that why? Somehow, Luca overcame her misfortunes and became one of the academy’s most promising talents and a top student in her year.

If nothing else, her talent for swordsmanship was genuine.

This moment proved the sister who had once encouraged her to learn the sword had a good eye.

Her former roommate Irina also grew into a remarkable knight, ranking second in their year and being regarded as one of the academy’s brightest prospects alongside Luca.

It was no wonder that news of these two female knights spread throughout the academy.

***

One day, while they were walking the path to success…

At the age of twenty, in her third year, about to graduate…

“Is it really… true?”

Even with her life’s persistent misfortune, as if God wanted to reaffirm His constant watch over her, news came at just the right time from the state.