Chapter 241: The Knight Hated Dysfunctional Family (4)
by Afuhfuihgs
The greatest swordsman in the history of the Offen family which was renowned for their swordsmanship was undoubtedly Felicia. She had made a name for herself in countless battlefields, granted the title of Sword Duke by the previous king, and the pride of Pendragon whose name was known to other kingdoms.
Looking back at history books, there were almost no female knights with names known in history, so it was clear that Felicia was the most influential figure among all the female knights on the continent. She had personally shown that even a woman could be a great knight, and had proven that they could be great.
Historians were already certain that her name would be remembered as a legendary female knight for thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands, of years to come.
The first female Aura User in history, and a great swordsman.
Even though she was such a great swordsman…
“Do you know? I was once called ‘the shame of the Offen family’ and ‘the most untalented and unworthy swordsman.’”
“I know about it after reading the fairy tales.”
“Haha, how was I portrayed there?”
“A follsigh female knight.”
“Foolish, huh? Seems like my portrayal was toned-down a little. You know, I was once called a woman who was more untalented than a goblin.”
“Who dares…”
“Calm down… It’s only an old story. Moreover, it’s not a wrong nickname at that time.”
After all, she was really a swordsman who was more untalented than a goblin.
From his experience, Lee Han knew the correct answer was not to comfort or pretend to understand, but to listen silently. Because of that,
“Haha, thank you for listening to the lament of an old woman.”
Felicia smiled softly, as if she was grateful. In the meantime, Lee Han shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing special.
“What’s there to be grateful for when I just listen to you? And as a fan of your fairy tales, it’s interesting to listen to your old stories.”
“…Can you stop talking about fairy tales?”
“Rather than that, talk a little more. Let me listen to the end of what I’ve already heard.”
“I really don’t know if you are being sincere or being mischievous…”
Felicia shook her head, feeling dumbfounded at his reaction.
Still…
“Yeah, I’ll make you listen to this old woman’s story until the end today.”
She seemed happy that she had find someone to talk to seriously.
…Felicia de Offen was a swordsman who was not only treated as an invisible child by the Offen family, but was even despised 80 years ago
In the first volume of the
“At that time, the Offen family was going through a crisis. The family’s economy was struggling due to frequent wars. The merchant group that the Offen family ran collapsed, and even their disciples turned their backs on them. Due to various other unfortunate events, they were on the verge of collapse. But in that situation, a direct descendant who had no talent for swordsmanship was even born.”
The Offen family was one of the rare families in the southern continent where anyone could become the head of the family regardless of gender. Therefore, Felicia, who was born as the only child, definitely would become the head of the family in the future. Because of that, the family hoped that she would have the potential to be an outstanding swordsman, even if her personality was a little strange.
Of course at the time she was born, the families had no worry about her having a bad talent for swordsmanship. There was simply no swordsman with no talent amongst those who inherited the Offen family’s bloodline.
But…
-She is still at that level?
-What the… It’s been five years since she picked up a sword, and she’s still using basic swordsmanship like that… Ha! I’m speechless.
-…Could it be that she’s not the real daughter?
The family was beyond disappointed, they felt betrayed.
The family was beyond finding it absurd, they misunderstood and suspicious of her.
The family was beyond frustrated, they were furious.
At that time, the senior members of the Offen family really said everything they shouldn’t say. That’s just how bad Felicia’s talent was. In the end, she even heard that she wasn’t of the Offen family’s bloodline, and there were even suspicions that the wife of the patriarch of that time had an affair.
…Fortunately, the head of the family at the time wasn’t delusional or stupid enough to believe such words, so they severely punished those who spread such rumors.
-Felicia.
-Yes, father.
-… Don’t do anything.
-…
-I’ll not expect anything from you any longer. Sigh! How can you still be so bad at swordsmanship at fifteen… Seems like I should try to have more children, or find a candidate for the head of the family from the collateral line.
-…
-…Tsk!
Even her biological father was so disappointed in her that he didn’t have good feelings toward her. Honestly, it couldn’t be more unfair from her perspective. Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to be talented. The family and people just treated her badly and despised her just because she had a little talent for swordsmanship.
However, that was also something that couldn’t be helped in that era.
“At that time, ‘talent’ was everything. The former king used talented people regardless of their status. Even if someone were in a noble family, if they lacked talent, he would never hire them. Because of that, many families hoped that their children would have outstanding talent, and if they lacked it, they would express their disappointment without hesitation.”
“There was such a thing back then?”
“It was like that back in the day. At least the treatment I got from my family could be said as a good treatment. They did nothing like starving me or simply killing me because I had no talent.”
“There’s a place who would starve or kill them if they are not talented?”
“They are a radical family. Well, those radical people happened to lived in the former king’s era and became the trigger for the bloodshed in the kingdom.”
“…”
“It’s not something to criticize His Majesty the former king in particular. Even the former king probably wouldn’t have dreamed that civilized nobles would commit such barbaric acts.”
“…Ha.”
…As such, Felicia’s childhood was a time when it was considered natural to be looked down on for being incompetent, and it was especially right to be criticized for a child of a noble family not having talent in martial arts. Because of that, many young nobles, both boy and girl, were disappointed in themselves and took their own lives.
Another funny thing was that the nobles often gave ridiculous comments like ‘that is what it means to be a noble’ or ‘that is honorable’ when they saw this. Rather than tarnishing the honor of the family, they found it more honorable to just die.
It was ridiculous, no, nonsense. But…
“There was someone among the family’s senior members who seriously advised me to commit suicide.”
“…What happened to him?”
“He committed suicide without permission after I became an Aura User. They say he wrote in his will that he was wrong… Well, since he was someone whose name I forgot, I guess I forgot about him and just lived my life without caring about him.”
“He went away peacefully…”
“Haha! Thank you for getting angry in my stead.”
“No, he really went away peacefully. If it’s me, I would have tortured that bastard until he’s on the brink of death, brought him back to top condition, and repeat the process.”
“…Dear, I definitely don’t want you as my enemy.”
Countless evils had attacked Felicia throughout her life, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that she lived in a harsh, if not hellish, environment since she was young. Perhaps, if it were anyone else, they wouldn’t have been able to endure the family environment that Felicia experienced and would have committed suicide, like those who kept the honor of the noble family by dying.
“…But, I didn’t really care even if they cursed at me.”
“…”
“D-Don’t look at me like that. I don’t really enjoy being cursed at!”
“…Did I say anything?”
“Y-your eyes! You are looking at me with that kind of thought, aren’t you?”
Felicia didn’t give up on life despite countless insults and hellish circumstances flung her way.
Why?
Well, it wasn’t anything special…
“-I liked the sword too much. It was almost to the point of loving it.”
Felicia de Offen. An incompetent who was considered abandoned by the sword. The most untalented swordsman and a fool in history. However, despite this evaluation, she still loved the sword.
It was really ironic. If she had no talent for swordsmanship and was ignored by her family and those around her because of it, it was only natural for her to hate swords. If no matter how hard she tried, the result still did not come, it was only natural for her to hate anything. But Felicia ignored that obvious common sense and still loved swords and chased after them.
Every day, she just swung her sword and never stopped swinging it. Just like that, she turned twenty-three. Even though it was an age when most noble ladies should be getting married, she still hadn’t gotten married or even dated. Rather, she suddenly left for the battlefield to perfect her own swordsmanship that she had dreamed of for her whole life.
When the Offen family members realized Felicia had left for the battlefield, everyone was sure that she would be the first to die. After all, there’s no way she could survive with that abysmal talent of hers.
But…
-I-it’s Felicia!!
-Run away! It’s the demon of the battlefield…!
…It didn’t even take two years for their expectations to be overturned.
Felicia clearly had no talent for swordsmanship, but she was someone who never gave up. She was neglected and despised by her family for decades, but she was perfectly fine living with her sword.
In other words, she was a woman with a stronger mind than anyone else, and she had the courage to not give in to any situation.
Well, in war, someone couldn’t survive with just courage alone, but turned out, she had a ‘talent’ that even she didn’t know about.
-You said you were Lady Felicia? I’ve seen your courage. It would be nice to be a comrade with someone like you.
-At least you don’t seem like a coward.
-Oh, do you know that kid named Baltar? I think he’ll be joining our unit this time. Since people said his talent was acknowledged by the King, I think we can look forward to it.
‘Strong luck’, that was her hidden ability. She became friends with young heroes who had yet to make a name for themselves, and they became her strong companions who supported her recklessness. Thanks to those strong companions, she was able to survive dozens, if not tens of thousands, of life-or-death situations. And at some point she ended up becoming stronger.
No matter how untalented someone may be, if they practice their swordsmanship while crossing the line of death more than ten thousand times, they cannot help but become stronger even if they do not want to be.
By the time she was in her forties, she became a renowned knight and a strong person in the southern continent. At that time, she already had all the achievements and fame to return to her family in glory, but she did not return to her family.
Instead, she chose to…
“I thought nothing can be done even if I went to the family. In the end, what could make someone as untalented as me stronger would be difficult trials and suffering, fierce battlefields, or the hardships of nature. I knew it was reckless, but I was sure that these trials would make my sword sharper.”
So she left the southern continent. She went to all places, like the eastern continent, western continent, and the northern continent.
She went through a lot.
She almost died in the sea.
She almost died in the mountains.
She almost died in the forest and volcanoes.
She almost died from monsters, cold, and natural disasters.
And yet she survived.
And at that time, her adventure partner and future husband evaluated Felicia like this.
-You have incredible luck with survival.
-Sometimes I find it strange myself.
Felicia, the woman who doesn’t die even if you kill her. From then on, the continent called her ‘Immortal Felicia’. If she had traveled around the continent a little more, she would have created more legends. However, she ended up returning to the southern continent.
The reason?
“Because I had a child.”
Her adventure ended with her love for her husband. However, even after she returned, people did not leave her alone. She had already become a great knight who had created legends throughout the continent, someone who even the royal family could not do anything carelessly against.
So,
-From today on, I will call you ‘The Sword Duke.’ This is a single title that only Felicia can use, and it is a royal promise that even royalty will not treat you carelessly.
She enjoyed her second heyday in her 50s, receiving the recognition as a god in human form.
At that time, she thought about abandoning the Offen family name and asking the king to establish a new family, but…
-…I am sorry.
-…
-I know that these words cannot repay everything. I know that your years of suffering will not disappear even if I said it. Nevertheless, I will beg and kneel. I could give you everything. So please, save the family.
-…Father.
The father knelt before his daughter, apologized, and treated her respectfully. Seeing her biological father choosing to submit to someone much greater than him, not to her daughter made Felicia feel various emotions
It would be a lie to say that she said she didn’t feel any resentment and hatred towards the family. No matter how much she held out because of her sword, they were the reasons why her childhood was hellish in the first place.
-…Our family names will be erased from the House of Nobles.
-!!?
… After saying those words, she finally returned to her family.
“Are you a fool?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you returning? Just eat well and live well on your own.”
“…Don’t you know what it means for nobles to have their names erased from the House of Nobles?”
“What does it mean?”
“It means losing all the honor and authority. It means being erased from history. I gave them a punishment worse than death. If I only hold to my resentment, only I will be branded as incompetent.”
“So what if people called you so? This is why nobles are no good…”
“T-the punishment I gave them is really harsh, you know! Why are you criticizing me so much…”
…Anyway, Felicia returned to her family and inherited the family as it was to enjoy absolute power. After all, who could dare to oppose her, who had become a hero who had made a name for herself on the continent without anyone’s help?
In this situation, her good luck, which always shone on the battlefield and adventures before shone through once again.
-Genius…
Her son, Iliad, was a genius of top level.
Iliad possessed such great talent to the point it was hard to believe such a genius was born in the Offen Family. Then, when her five-year-old son learned basic swordsmanship in three months, the family went crazy. They said that he was a talent that would surpass Felicia.
She also couldn’t help but be impressed and convinced. She was certain that her child would definitely become the best.
-My son will be greater than me, for sure!
He was so loved by the sword. He would definitely become a great swordsman! He had talents that she did not have.
As if to live up to this expectation, Iliad became famous as a swordsman who was hard to find rivals in his teens. In the meantime, Felicia…
-You can lead the family better than me.
-Mother?
-You are more talented than me. So it will be okay.
…She announced her retirement.
“Wait a minute, how old is he when you hand him your position?”
“…”
“When he’s still a teenager? No, just how old was him exactly?”
“Fif…teen.”
“Huh?”
“…Fifteen.”
“…”
“…Don’t look at me like that.”
“…”
Lee Han suddenly felt the back of his neck tightening.
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