I could only tolerate it to some extent

Evan silently watched the back of Jaite, who was walking ahead of him.

Despite his advanced age, Jaite’s sturdy muscular back stood straight with a neat waistline.

He seemed to have trained his body quite diligently, exuding a healthiness that surpassed the knights in the family.

But why? From that massive body emanated an indescribable sense of elegance.

Crunch!

Suddenly, a soft touch was felt on his right hand.

Walking beside Evan, Olivia was tightly holding his hand.

The atmosphere was uneasy. This time, it seemed like they wouldn’t easily overcome the barrier.

“…I’m feeling anxious.”

This was already the second incident. While the first one could be excused as a mistake, there would be no leniency from the second one onwards.

And to think it happened before the aftermath of the first incident was even resolved.

Of course, Evan wasn’t afraid of the punishment. He just felt too sorry and uncomfortable.

“By the way, when will you speak?”

They were already on their second lap around the mansion’s garden. About 30 minutes had passed, time-wise.

It wasn’t a particularly long time to walk without any conversation, but the lack of conversation made the situation awkward.

How would they endure this awkward atmosphere?

“Evan.”

Jaite stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Evan.

With a face filled with complex emotions, Evan briefly tried to interpret those emotions but gave up.

Should he apologize?

It wasn’t a situation where he could assert his pride. Evan lowered his head and waited for Jaite’s next words.

“No matter what anyone says, you are my son.”

“That’s right.”

“And no matter what anyone says, I am your father.”

“Indeed.”

A strong vibration, as if an earthquake had occurred, suddenly shook through.

To be precise, it wasn’t Evan’s hand but Olivia’s hand.

As their hands clasped, her hand trembled like a reed in the wind, and her fingers were tightly intertwined.

Evan glanced at her hand and thought, ‘This is a touchy subject.’

Between a biological father and son, she must have felt excluded as the stepmother.

After all, she was a stepmother, so it would be a lie to say she didn’t feel neglected.

Evan added a forced comment.

“And you are also my mother.”

“…!”

Olivia turned to Evan with astonishment.

Her widened eyes blinked rapidly one after another.

Finally, tears welled up in her large pupils.

“Sob… Sob….”

“…Thank you, Evan.”

“I just stated the truth.”

For a whole decade, she had been trying to earn her son’s recognition.

So, even if she felt hurt, she didn’t show it, and she endured any harsh words she received.

However, despite her efforts, there was no sign of improvement in her relationship with her son.

“Sob…! Evan… My proud son….”

Today, Evan finally acknowledged her as his mother.

How could she not be moved? Olivia knelt down where she stood and cried endlessly.

‘I can’t figure out this household no matter how well I know it.’

Having made his mother cry in the end, Evan awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Jaite, with closed eyes, wiped away the tears welling up.

#

The next morning, I left my room.

I declined Charlotte’s offer to prepare breakfast and headed to the training ground.

One might ask if I was going out to train early in the morning, but no.

I am not that diligent of a person, and at this time, I should be snoring away.

‘I wonder why he called me.’

Jaite, Evan’s father, summoned me.

I couldn’t guess the reason, but it was easy to infer the location.

Now that you are also a member of our household, I will teach you the family’s swordsmanship, or perhaps challenge you to a duel with this father.

“Still, it turned out well.”

I don’t know when I’ll leave the mansion, but while I’m here, I plan to train my body.

I didn’t enter yesterday, but now that the master has allowed it, there’s no need to be cautious.

I soon arrived at the training ground.

There, knights in the midst of training exuded a fervent heat.

“There! Your stance is off! The footwork is crucial for lower body stability!”

Dozens of knights demonstrated swordsmanship in front of a training instructor.

With each sword strike, a fierce energy mixed in, and just by the momentum alone, it seemed like even a dragon’s scales would be cut through.

I watched their swordsmanship for a moment.

“Reset your stance and focus on footwork!”

“Yes, sir!”

There didn’t seem to be anything special. If compared to the knights of the Hwang family, they might be at a novice level.

What can one expect from ordinary knights? And if I were to judge, I would be just average. My standards for satisfaction are quite high.

Of course, there was nothing to be done about the regret.

“I feel like I want to correct every single detail of their posture.”

In my opinion, they shouldn’t learn anything more.

I don’t know.

They’re just starting to take their first steps, but they’re already challenging a sprint. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.

“But that woman seems a bit better.”

A black-haired woman swinging a sword alone in a corner, Aisha, the twin sister of Evan’s Iransung.

Her tremendous magical power could be felt even from a distance. Her aura was both aggressive and stable, showing a high level of control.

I remember she was destined to become a great figure in the future, right? Although not as famous as the sword saint Rebecca, she had been mentioned several times as a named character.

“But where is this guy?”

He asked me to meet him at the training ground, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Could he be oversleeping? I wondered at that moment.

“Here.”

Aisha, who seemed to have finished her training and gathered her mana, approached me.

The tone of her voice seemed like she had something to show me.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her voice was as cold as ice. Correspondingly, her face was equally indifferent, exuding a chill.

It was a bit awkward, but I went along with it. After all, she had been described as a cold beauty in the novel.

“You were waiting for me? Where did your father go?”

“He’s not here. Instead, he asked me to do this.”

Do what? Suddenly, what is she asking for?

“To teach you swordsmanship.”

“…?”

“So, grab a sword. I’m busy with my personal training.”

Did I hear that right just now? Is she asking me to teach her swordsmanship?

It was beyond belief, and I couldn’t even muster a fake laugh.

“Damn it?”

There’s no such nonsense. Even that dignified demon guy wouldn’t make such a ridiculous request.

Thud!

A wooden sword flew towards me in an arc.

Lost in my thoughts, I unconsciously caught the sword.

“It’s been a while, but we don’t have time for pleasantries. Let’s get straight to the point.”

“…Are you asking me to teach you the family’s unique swordsmanship?”

If that’s the case, my pride might be somewhat restored.

I naturally don’t know the unique swordsmanship of this family, and it’s natural to receive teachings on something I don’t know.

But Aisha’s next words brutally shattered my pride.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“What?”

“That’s for you to find out. Today, we’ll start from the basics. With a sparring session.”

“B-Basics?”

Aisha nodded without any change in expression.

“Next is applying mana. You still need to polish your basic swordsmanship.”

“….”

“Understood? Grab your sword and let’s get started. I’m busy.”

…If Lucas sees this, he’ll probably burst into laughter and clutch his stomach.

#

While others may mock Aisha for being arrogant, the truth is quite different.

Asha’s self-objectification was merely well done. Furthermore, she did not feel the need for humility, so she did not belittle herself by raising others.

Even if the opponent was someone who couldn’t even reach her feet, she would not show respect or consideration.

“Come at me.”

Asha adjusted her sword handle and took a stance.

A proper swordsman’s focused stance. It exuded a strange sense of crisis originating from her.

Evan also took a stance following her. However, it was not a stance suitable for the current situation.

‘…?’

Evan’s center of gravity was leaning forward.

An offensive stance, solely focused on attacking. It seemed like defense was not a concern from the start.

With a puzzled expression, Asha asked, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

In response to Evan’s curt voice, Asha furrowed her brow.

“You’re arrogant.”

“Well, you’ll lose soon.”

Swish.

Veins popped on Asha’s forehead.

Unconsciously, her foot moved forward first.

Like the wind, she approached Evan and swung her sword horizontally.

Clang!

Just before reaching the target, Asha’s sword flew through the air.

And a short groan echoed.

“Ugh!”

The owner of that voice was Asha.

She bit her lip, gripping her right wrist where the sword had slipped.

‘Did I… drop my sword?’

At first, Evan’s face. Then her fallen sword.

Asha captured them with her widened pupils.

“I won?”

“….”

She cleanly lost. No room for excuses, just a clean defeat.

She understood it in her head, but her pride couldn’t accept it.

Or maybe I was just being foolish? To the point of not realizing my mistake?

‘No.’

I didn’t lose.

The factor of defeat just now was complacency. The emotion she unconsciously harbored led to her defeat.

“That was good just now. But that method is risky. You could die with just a slight difference.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. I’ll tell you why. Come at me again.”

Both of them took the same stance as before.

The outcome that unfolded shortly after was also no different.

Thud!

“Eugh?!”

“I won again?”

“….”

Asha alternated between Evan’s face and her fallen sword on the ground.

After a moment, she finally spoke with difficulty.

“Well, I guess I’ll give you that much credit.”

“That much?”

“Yes. But you showed too many openings. It’s a characteristic of beginners. If I had aimed for your left side just now, you would have screamed in pain.”

“…But in the end, I didn’t win, right?”

“I gave you a chance. I haven’t even used half of my skills yet. Come at me again.”

The sparring that followed also ended with the same winner.

The next round, and the one after that, and the one after that.

“I’ll admit it. You’re quite good.”

“…I heard a bone-breaking sound just now. Did you dislocate your wrist?”

“Oh, no? It was the sword that dislocated?”

“….”

“Well, well. Anyway, that was somewhat satisfactory just now. But there are still some regrets.”

“You know you lost to me, right?”

“I held back in case I hurt you. I went easy on you.”

“But you’re the one who got hurt, right?”

“Arrogant… I won’t go easy on you anymore.”

Asha spent more time taunting than swinging her sword.

Of course, she was aware that her current appearance was unseemly.

But what could she do? To lose to Evan, of all people?

Accepting that fact meant denying her 20 years of swordsmanship.

“This is really the last time. One more round.”

“Again? It might be better to stop now.”

“Oh, no. Come on, let’s fight one more time.”

“…This is really the last time.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Evan rushed at her again.

The result remained unchanged. Just like watching a recorded video, Asha’s black sword once again floated in the air with just a single strike.

“This can’t be happening….”

Twenty defeats in a row. At this point, she couldn’t deny her defeat.

In the end, Asha fell into despair.

“Why… did I work so hard… why….”

“…Are you okay?”

“How can this happen…. Why did I….”

After last year’s defeat to Rebecca, she had put in relentless efforts to sharpen her skills.

Rest? Food? Leisure? She gave up everything and focused solely on her sword.

She believed that year was more meaningful than any other swordsman on the continent.

But why?

“This, this is unfair….”

Her voice, tinged with regret, gradually faded.

By the end, there was a hint of moisture mixed in.

“I worked so hard all this time….”

“Um….”

Watching Asha blame herself more than he had anticipated, Evan rubbed the back of his neck.

Did I do something wrong? Should I offer some comfort?

No. In times like this, it’s best to leave her alone. Interfering might only lead to resentment for being pitied.

About five minutes passed.

Asha still muttered to herself like a lost soul, and Evan, feeling helpless, decided to leave.

“Whatever it is. Just keep working hard, okay? I’ll be off.”

“W-wait….”

Asha’s voice, filled with desperation, stopped him in his tracks. Evan glanced at her face out of the corner of his eye.

“H-help me….”

“What?”

“Help me with my training….”

In the end, Asha had cast aside her pride.