9 – The Place I Want to Leave (5)
The night sky was heavy and dark, covering the earth below.
Stars and the moon descended from a cloudless and clear sky. Their faint light gently shone on the white snow and the evergreen forest.
The moonlight passed through the window, caressing the faces of the siblings.
Perhaps Terion was in a good mood because of its soft touch, as he let out a soft laugh in his sleep.
The night was quiet in this world.
I didn’t know about other places, but the northern nights here were as calm as the sound of sleeping children’s breaths.
I tossed and turned several times, trying to fall asleep but couldn’t. Sleep was just not coming to me.
‘I slept too long during the day.’
Carefully, I stepped outside so as not to wake the children.
The snowy night was colder than usual. Even though I was dressed warmly, I could feel the chill.
Every time I exhaled, my breath turned white.
‘But this is just right.’
What could I possibly have to do outside? There was nothing but swinging my sword.
I didn’t intend to work up a sweat, just planned to go back when I felt reasonably tired.
As I drew my sword, the moonlight shone on its shimmering blade.
That was it. My sword had a very realistic appearance. It didn’t have any mysterious power that could even easily cut through steel.
That level was still far away from me.
‘It seems like I’ve barely grasped a clue…’
The concept of mana was difficult for me. Perhaps my modern rigid thinking made it difficult for me to grasp.
It wasn’t that I was lagging behind. It was said that even if you held a sword from a young age, it wasn’t until you were past twenty that you could awaken mana.
Even that was only for the geniuses. Most people struggled despite their efforts and couldn’t awaken mana. If you awakened mana before twenty, you were considered a candidate for the next Sword Master.
The title of Sword Master was deemed an area impossible to reach without absolute talent, effort, and miracles.
In my case, I had only recently found a clue.
Physical abilities beyond those of ordinary people. I could feel that there was something within me enhancing my body.
Objectively, my growth was not slow at all. But I couldn’t afford to be leisurely.
The world would still move diligently without us knowing. I knew this world harbored malice towards us.
‘In the novel, Rajen was already recognized as a Sword Master when he first appeared.’
There was roughly a decade left until the original heroine was reincarnated into this world.
There was a bit of a gap before Siri and I appeared in the novel.
But that time couldn’t be considered leisurely.
‘I need to get stronger, faster. Even more so than the Rajen in the novel.’
I swung my sword for a long time.
I practiced alone, correcting my posture and checking for bad habits. If I didn’t like my form, I repeated it until I was satisfied.
The memories of my father were very helpful during these times.
His sword was already a finished masterpiece. The sword that faced countless opponents continued to move in my head.
My father wasn’t just a simple powerful opponent. Some days, he was stronger than me, while on others, he was faster. Sometimes, he imitated an opponent with good techniques or used tricks.
All these memories became my textbook.
How much did I move my body?
I heard someone approaching from behind. It was a familiar silhouette.
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“I happened to wake up.”
It was Sirien.
In her hands were some simple snacks and a drink. It seemed like she brought the ones that Hena had made during the day.
“You should’ve just stayed in bed. Why come out in the cold?”
“I don’t know, I couldn’t sleep and was bored.”
“You don’t like the cold.”
“It’s okay now.”
Sirien found a spot on a nearby rock. She tapped the empty space next to her, as if inviting me to sit.
I was worried that I might smell like sweat if I got too close. But upon taking a whiff, it didn’t seem like that was the case.
I sat down next to her with relief.
“I saw you practicing for a long time. I didn’t want to disturb you since you seemed to be working hard. I came down when it looked like you were about to rest.”
“I was just stretching my body a bit.”
“Really? I was watching from the attic. It reminded me of when we were at the castle and I liked it.”
“At the castle? You haven’t actually seen me practicing, have you?”
“Huh? No. Um, you know Rajen practiced hard at the castle, right? That’s what I was thinking about.”
It felt like she was skirting around something. But it wasn’t a subject that required lying.
Once again, Sirien fed me a snack.
I just accepted it knowing that refusing would be futile. This time, it was a dried peach?
The unique sweetness of the fruit danced on my tongue.
Sirien let out a breath, and a cloud of white smoke rose into the cold air, making her giggle.
“I was just thinking about the card game earlier. It was fun. Singing was nice too.”
“You’ve always enjoyed singing since before.”
“Yes. I loved dancing and singing. I learned a lot of instruments too, but it’s been so long since I played, it’ll be hard to practice again.”
In social circles, one’s birth family, appearance, and clothes were important, but nobility’s dignity was also valued.
Such dignity typically referred to manners, dancing, and a refined way of speaking.
Surprisingly, or maybe not, Sirien had confidence in all those aspects. She had been well-educated since childhood and seemed to have talent or genuinely enjoy it.
Everyone in the duke’s family eagerly awaited Celine’s debut ball.
Indeed, they said the whole empire would be abuzz. However, their anticipation was realized in a slightly different direction.
“Wasn’t it fun when we had a party at the castle? I mean during my birthday party.”
“I remember. Terion spilled juice on you while playing a prank.”
“My brother is a fool. I’ll never forgive him for that.”
Although she thought it would be an unpleasant memory,
Celine surprisingly had a smile on her face.
It was during Celine’s twelfth birthday party.
Terion had caught a bug in the forest and brought it back, intending to tease Celine. When he showed her the bug, Celine was startled and spilled juice on her dress.
What Terion had not anticipated was that the dress was the one she cherished the most. The precious dress was sprinkled with yellow juice, and Celine, who was already startled, ended up falling to the ground.
The shock of falling to the floor must have been painful enough for a young girl.
With her beloved dress stained yellow and the surprised guests staring at Celine, bearing that pain and humiliation was difficult.
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Celine was sulky for more than a week after her birthday party was ruined.
Terion received a strong scolding from the Duke and Duchess, and I had to mediate between the two of them.
“At first, I really hated being here. There was nothing I liked. In fact, I don’t even like the clothes I’m wearing right now. It feels strangely irritating. I really don’t like it.”
“Oh? I thought you weren’t bothered since you didn’t make a fuss.”
“Of course I would be. I’m just bearing it because we’re all together. When we’re playing together, I’m so happy that I forget about it.”
She seemed sincere. People become surprisingly strong when they have someone to lean on.
That time when we caught the thief. Celine was undoubtedly smiling brightly. And that was possible because Celine relied on our presence as her support.
For a moment, the faces of Terion and Hena came to my mind.
What happened to them in the original work? Although it was said that Terion died of an illness, there was no detailed description of what that illness was.
Was it a severe epidemic? I’m not sure. There was no mention of such a thing in the original work. However, there were too many things not mentioned in the novel, so I couldn’t be sure.
The answer would have been known to me and Celine from the original story, but it was a subject we couldn’t dare to bring up even when our relationship with the heroine was smooth. Obviously, it wasn’t described in the novel.
If Terion and Hena were to disappear like in the original work, would Celine be able to endure it?
Would this delicate and gentle heart be able to withstand that storm?
No. It was an unnecessary thought.
All I had to do was make sure such a thing did not happen.
“I will wait diligently for three months as long as Rajen, my brother, and Hena are with me. If I wait patiently, my parents will surely praise me, and then I will ask them to let me raise a puppy in the castle. Oh, right. I want to raise a parrot too.”
“Wouldn’t they not allow that? Don’t you remember when you cried out loud because it bit your finger?”
“That was when I was young!”
She still looked young in my eyes.
If I had said it out loud, a flame of hell would have burst from the princess’s eyes.
“Anyway, I couldn’t do it earlier because we were singing, but there’s something I want to do.”
“What is it?”
“Dance. Will you ask me?”
Her eyes shone with anticipation.
I couldn’t let her down, so I laughed softly.
“Let’s do it. Shall we dance to a song, my lady?”
“I’d love to.”
We synchronized our breathing in an empty field.
It was far from perfect. Sometimes we stepped on each other’s feet. There was no music, so the rhythm was a mess.
But Sirienn laughed as if she enjoyed it nonetheless.
It was a memory from 20 days before we left this shack.