4 – A Shabby Shack (4)
In the novel, I, Rajen Vertus, was a character equivalent to the final boss.
My strength was the greatest in the story. I was described as having ferocious swordsmanship while maintaining precision, as well as possessing enormous power.
I was so powerful that even the crown prince, who appeared as the most perfect male lead, could not defeat me in a one-on-one battle.
It was like this until the final showdown. Multiple male leads had to go through a considerable struggle to kill me, even when they cooperated.
It was only natural that I was skilled with a sword.
I never slacked off in my efforts.
The blades clashed. Terion and I worked tirelessly to break through each other’s defenses.
The two steels screeched as they scraped against each other. At the moment when power and power collided sharply, I raised the handle and changed the direction of my blade.
The sword is nothing but a straight line. However, our world was three-dimensional, with width, length, and height. Even a slight change in direction created an opening.
The moment the defense crumbled, Terion retreated without hesitation.
It was a good decision to put some distance between us. If we had remained facing each other’s blades, it would have ended in my victory.
Of course, the advantage was still with me.
“First, let’s get in one attack!”
It would be difficult for a cut to succeed against an opponent who was being so cautious.
So let’s start by breaking their stance. I quickly approached Terion, pretending to swing my sword, and kicked him hard.
It was a clean hit. So, I go for it one more time. My low kick exploded on Terion’s leg.
Seeing Terion retreating once again, Sirien’s eyes widened.
“Wow! Well done, well done!”
“Hey, whose side are you on?!”
“Obviously Rajen’s side. There’s no way I’d be on your side, brother!”
“I’ll get to you later!”
Sirien giggled.
It was said that modern siblings were programmed to kill each other.
The noble siblings of this era were not much different. Terion was energetic from a young age, and Sirien had an innocent appearance.
However, there were very few people around who could be the target of their ‘pranks’. This fact became the tragedy of the siblings.
Well, more precisely, Sirien’s tragedy.
No matter where or when, a younger sister in her growth phase could never defeat her brother.
Terion was responsible for half of the tears Sirien had shed so far…
“You should be watching me right now!”
“Rajen! Keep going, more!”
After breaking their stance once, I continued to attack mainly with my sword.
Rather than engaging in a close fight with our blades crossed, I kept the pressure on by continually swinging my sword.
Terion didn’t just defend either. From time to time, he struck back with excellent counterattacks.
Although it was a skill to use a counterattack effectively, it didn’t always work out well.
The one who showed the greatest prowess in the story wasn’t the current me, but rather the future me. And there was a gap of a whopping ten years between the two.
I made a mistake. Or should I call it a lack of experience? A grin spread across Terion’s face.
Terion charged forward like iron.
“Got you!”
* * *
Cirien burst into laughter.
“Oof, oof… Hoo, hoo…”
“So how exactly did you two end up rolling in the snow together?”
An icy voice descended. Hena was still smiling kindly and warmly, but her eyes held a harsher chill than the winter of the north.
Cirien ate her snack with an amused expression from behind Hena. Seemingly enjoying the situation, she sat in the chair leisurely watching the two of us.
That girl always feigned innocence, but she had mischievous tendencies.
“Well, for some reason today, Rajen was being annoying, so…”
“What, you’re blaming me?”
“Sir Rajen, is there something you’d like to say?”
“…”
Hena used ‘Sir’ when addressing me.
Usually, she called me by my name since I was only a trainee knight, not a formally initiated knight yet.
There was no need to be so formal with each other, given the amount of time we’d spent together.
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She only addressed me like that when she was very angry.
And I was afraid of an angry Hena.
“No, that’s not it…”
The root cause of the incident was as follows.
I enthusiastically swung my sword and left an opening; Terion never missed an opportunity like that.
It was an obvious fact that when it comes to swordsmanship and martial arts, I was several steps above Terion. However, there was one aspect in which Terion didn’t lag behind me.
To be precise, there was something I couldn’t do well.
It was.phase transition. Although swordsmanship and phase transition had such a close relationship they could be considered as one, strangely enough, I did not improve easily in phase transition skills.
Upon reflection, the me in the novel received attention for his outstanding swordsmanship, sword energy, and tremendous power.
No matter how much I racked my brains, I couldn’t recall a scene where I subdued someone with phase transition. I only had scenes of cutting and slicing.
Perhaps the author of ‘Saintess, Reverse Harems are Impure!’ was not aware that knights had basic phase transition skills.
The novel didn’t mention it, so there was no way he was born with any special talent.
When I shrank in front of Hena, for some reason, Terion’s energy came to life.
Did he think Hena was taking his side? Actually, today was a good day for Terion.
After all, his winning rate against me had been miserable. But today, he recorded a ‘draw’!
“You see, I grabbed Rajen’s arm? When knights clash…”
I, with my arm grabbed, had to desperately dodge his sword.
My sword was blocked, and Terion still could swing his sword.
For me, the most effective way was to knock Terion down. In the process, we both had to let go of our swords.
From the moment we hit the ground, it was practically a mud wrestling match. Either overpowering the opponent or recovering the sword first to attack. We fought fiercely for control.
Terion showed excellent skills today.
However, there was a problem.
Snow was fundamentally frozen rain. Beneath the snowfield, there was not grass but soil.
From the snow’s point of view, our heated bodies were like lumps of body heat. The snow had no choice but to melt under the body temperatures of growing boys.
Naturally, the snow turned into water, and the soil that held the water turned into mud.
And what Hena was genuinely curious about wasn’t ‘how we fought?’, but ‘how on earth did they get their precious clothes covered in mud?’
As Terion excitedly spoke, Hena’s gentle smile gradually faded.
Her eyes were already cold.
“I was the first to tie Rajen’s legs, but Rajen turned his body over and untied himself. But I was still in the advantage…”
Terion.
Stop.
“Still, I am stronger, right? I saw Rajen trying to grab his sword during that time!”
Stop it.
“I used my arms like this…”
Please.
I beg you like this.
Though I can’t say it because I care about Hena’s feelings, how can this desperate plea not work?
“Young master.”
“I really think today was……huh?”
“May I speak with you, and could we go upstairs to the second floor together?”
“Huh? Uh, okay?”
“I’ll go up first.”
Teryon had endured Hena’s nagging for a whole hour.
Fortunately, she only gave me about 10 minutes of it.
Unnoticed, the sun was setting dimly.
Teryon, whose spirits were dampened, pretended to read a book while observing Hena, who was tidying up a table downstairs.
On the second floor where we were, there was a window in the attic.
Looking out through the window, we could see the sun setting somewhere deep into the forest.
The sky, melted with greens, was stained with redness, and the shadows of the deciduous trees stretched as long as the sunlight.
It seemed that Sirien liked that window.
Or maybe the scenery seemed very intriguing to her.
Her beautiful red eyes stared distantly at the endless sky.
“It feels strange. I think this is my first time sleeping outside a castle.”
The sunset came through the window.
Sirien’s white hair was dyed the same color. Even in such a desolate place, her white, clean skin didn’t lose its color.
A delicate and tender looking girl. She was a child who would receive love from everyone, now and far into the future.
Later on, when Sirien entered the social world, the servants of Rehaim said that she would shake the hearts of men throughout the empire.
That wasn’t a lie.
Although the novel portrayed Sirien with a cruel demeanor, many men still became her followers, captivated by her beauty.
The protagonist of the original work was a gentle and warm sunflower, while Sirien was described as a beautiful but a dangerous poison.
The illustration was no different. A delicately crafted pure white beauty. However, it never lacked dark backgrounds and bloodstains.
“Have you ever slept outside the castle, Rajen?”
“Well, yes.”
“When?”
“I think it might have been when I joined the knight training.”
“How was it? Tell me, tell me.”
That Sirien wasn’t someone who could smile so beautifully and innocently.
“It wasn’t easy. After all, it was training. The senior knights did take good care of us, but our bodies were already very exhausted. As soon as it was bedtime, I just collapsed.”
“True, Rajen, you fall asleep immediately when you lie down on the bed.”
“How do you know that?”
“Um… My nanny told me!”
“Really? I suppose a wet nurse would know.”
Cirien stretched out.
Her cheeks, pressed against her arm, looked quite cute.
“Ugh, I miss my wet nurse. I wonder if everyone’s doing well.”
“We can visit them in ten days.”
“Yes, let’s do that for sure.”
As they chatted about this and that, the sun, which had seemed to move slowly, had almost completely set.
Cirien was worried about whether she would be able to sleep well due to the changed sleeping place, but she fell asleep before even the first verse of the lullaby was over.
The long and short ten days.
For those ten days, we spent our time laughing and playing, yet it was a time devoid of any real depth or fulfillment.
And Count Roksen did not come.
I thought they would find them