Skolhart (17)

1.

“Huu…”

The Saintess, Elia, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

“Is this enough?”

Eric was sprawled on the ground.

He looked as tattered as a rag that had been used for years without being thrown away.

It was the result of repeating the process of beating him up, healing him, beating him up, and healing him five times.

“I think it’s more than enough…”

Yuriel, who had been standing blankly and watching her older Hyung get beaten, muttered.

Of course, she wasn’t worried.

Rather, she felt vicarious satisfaction every time a fist landed on her older Hyung’s face.

“Did you wait? Shall we start our training now?”

Elia had a refreshed look on her face, as if she had just come out of a sauna.

She had properly relieved her stress.

She hadn’t intended to use violence from the beginning.

As the elder, she had tried to persuade him gently with words, but because he didn’t listen, she had to resort to fists.

It seemed that both the eldest son and the eldest daughter only listened after being hit a few times.

She had felt this before, but these bloodlines were stubborn.

“C-Can we just leave him like that?”

Yuriel pointed to Eric, who was collapsed.

He was lying face down in the thick snow, looking unsightly.

Judging by his lack of movement, he seemed to have lost consciousness.

Of course.

His jaw had been hit, and he had flown into the sky several times.

It was only natural that he would faint.

“Don’t worry.”

Elia waved her hand.

“People don’t die that easily.”

Even in summer, the cold of the north was constant.

If you left someone outside in this weather, the probability of them freezing to death was very high.

Still, based on her long experience, there was no way he would freeze to death in this level of cold. The Ice Canyon of the Demon Realm was several times colder.

Camping there was truly insane.

“And I gave him a little bit of Divinity.”

The Divinity would heal his tattered body and keep his body temperature from dropping.

“Do you want to kick him once?”

“Yes? Yes?”

Elia pointed to Eric, who was lying down with his butt raised.

“Haven’t you ever thought about wanting to vent your anger at least once?”

Just once?

She had thought about it hundreds, thousands of times. She had always wanted to give her siblings a big blow someday.

If she had the opportunity to kick his butt, she would definitely do it.

“Ah, no. I’ll pass.”

But she wanted to give them a blow in a different way.

Her older Hyung always treated her harshly, saying harsh things and threatening her, but he had never directly used violence against her. Perhaps that was why she felt more of a desire for recognition from her older Hyung than revenge.

She wanted to be recognized by him, who valued the family name.

She wanted to be recognized for her swordsmanship that was worthy of the family name.

No, she wanted to surprise him.

…It was still a long way off, though.

Her younger Hyung was indifferent to her. No, he was indifferent not only to her but also to her other siblings.

Since he was young, he had only been interested in women, and he had left home early to become an adventurer in order to live a free and dissolute life.

So, she had neither this feeling nor that feeling for her younger Hyung.

He was no different from a stranger with the same family name.

Finally, her Unni…

If the person in that place was her Unni, she might have kicked her out of frustration.

Among the three, the person who had tormented her the most was her Unni.

She tormented her with words and actions.

She had made it the most difficult for her, to the point that it would remain a trauma.

She didn’t want recognition from her Unni.

She didn’t want an apology either.

There was only one thing she wanted.

To flatten the nose of the Unni who was looking down on her.

This, too, was something she didn’t know when it would be achieved…

“I do want to give my Hyung a blow, but… I want to do it with my own strength. Someday…”

Elia nodded her head.

“That’s an excellent attitude.”

Elia borrowed Eric’s sword.

“Tomorrow is the Blood Offering Ceremony, so I’ll be merciless today.”

Usually, it was right to take it easy and manage your condition before an important competition, but…

“Let’s give them a blow tomorrow.”

She had to help Yuriel grow even one step further for the sake of the fighting spirit that was quietly burning in her eyes.

2.

“Hiss… Hiss…”

Beriel, who had finished taking a bath, stomped her feet, panting.

“Aooo…! Aooo…!”

Beriel screamed like a beast howling.

As if screaming wasn’t enough, she tore at her hair and punched the wall with her fists.

This was the most humiliating thing in her life.

Not only had she been helplessly beaten, but she had even peed her pants.

“Aaaaah!!!”

Beriel screamed so loudly that the hallway echoed, and she threw a flowerpot that was decorating the hallway.

-Clang!!

The flowerpot shattered.

When she thought about squatting in the bathroom to wash the yellow stains off her underwear so that the maids wouldn’t find out, she felt like her head would explode with anger.

Since she couldn’t explode her head, she took her anger out on something else.

“Annoying! Annoying! Annoying!”

Beriel headed to the Annex.

She needed someone to vent her anger on.

Yuriel.

If she tormented her half-sister, she might be able to cool down her anger a little.

The Saintess was annoying, but…

Anyway, she wouldn’t be seeing her face after the Blood Offering Ceremony.

“What?”

While heading to the Annex, Beriel found something strange.

Someone was lying face down in the snow in a ridiculous posture.

“Huh?”

She could immediately tell who it was by looking at the sword sheath he was wearing on his waist.

“Hyung?”

She didn’t know where the sword had gone, but judging by the sword sheath, it was definitely her older Hyung.

Beriel grabbed his belt and pulled Eric out.

“W-What is it?”

Eric’s face was a mess.

His face was covered in blood as if he had been beaten exclusively on the face.

“Wake up. Wake up.”

Beriel tapped Eric’s cheek.

“Cough!”

Eric coughed up blood and opened his eyes.

“Uh… Where is this…?”

He was dazed.

He got up and looked around.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

Beriel looked down at the tattered Eric.

“And where did your sword go?”

“Sword?”

Eric fumbled around his waist.

He had the sword sheath, but the sword was gone.

His memory was hazy.

“Certainly…”

He had met the Saintess and decided to learn a thing or two from her.

“That’s right, the Saintess!”

He had lost consciousness after being hit by the Saintess.

He seemed to have regained consciousness a few times in between, but he had immediately lost it again.

“Where is the Saintess?”

Eric turned his head from side to side, looking for the Saintess.

“What? Did Hyung get beaten up by the Saintess too?”

“Too?”

“I got beaten up too, that damn bitch.”

Beriel bit her nails.

“It’s annoying. It’s annoying, but it’s even more annoying that I can’t do anything to the Saintess.”

This time, she kicked his eyes.

“Isn’t that right? Hyung is annoyed too, right?”

Eric blinked, as if he didn’t understand what she was saying.

Anyway, he was looking for where the Saintess had gone.

He became even more interested in the Saintess.

He had fainted and hadn’t been able to see her movements, so he wanted to see them again.

“I’m on my way to vent my anger on Yuriel, do you want to come with me, Hyung?”

Eric sighed as he looked at Beriel.

“Are you still tormenting her?”

“Is that not allowed?”

Beriel glared at Eric with dissatisfaction.

“She took my mother’s place because of that bitch.”

“Why is that Yuriel’s fault?”

“W-What?”

“Mother died of illness. It’s only natural for a noble to have a new legal wife when the position of legal wife is vacant.”

Beriel’s lips twisted.

“What? Are you trying to turn over a new leaf now?”

“I’ve always been like this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You used to torment Yuriel too.”

“I tormented her?”

That’s strange.

Eric stroked his chin.

“I don’t particularly have any ill feelings towards Yuriel.”

“You ignored her!”

“All I did was urge her to be recognized as a member of the Skolhart Family as soon as possible. As you know, the Skolhart Family can’t survive if they’re weak.”

Eric shook off the snow and stood up.

“How long are you going to act like a child?”

Eric looked down at Beriel.

“Act like a Skolhart if you’re a Skolhart. Sharpen your sword and explore swordsmanship. Judging by what I saw today, it seems like Yuriel will catch up to you soon.”

“Whaaaat?”

“She used the Dragon Severing Sword, albeit weakly.”

“Don’t lie. How could that bitch use that technique?”

“I don’t know. But she really used it. She must have worked hard on her own to use it. While some are moving forward, some are standing still.”

Beriel’s lips trembled as she was compared to her younger sister.

“But I’ll win! That bitch can never beat me!”

Eric snorted.

“We’ll see tomorrow.”

Beriel glared.

“Ha… Damn it, why is everyone being so difficult these days?”

“Don’t swear. Maintain your dignity.”

“Don’t give me that, you were just buried in the snow.”

Beriel brought her face close to Eric’s.

“See you tomorrow. You’re next after that bitch, Hyung.”

“……”

“I’m standing still? We’ll see tomorrow.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Beriel gritted her teeth and turned around.

After Beriel’s figure disappeared, Eric slumped down in his seat.

“Damn… I can’t put any strength into my body.”

Eric’s head was filled with the dignified figure of the Saintess.

It had become even more troublesome.