013
The blood of the Lionel royal family is very thick.
Especially the hair color.
Out of the ten children, five sons and five daughters, who inherited the blood of the current king, nine have black hair. Only the 4th Prince Akard stands out with his fiery red hair.
Is that why?
Ever since he was young, he would bully me at every opportunity. Among the brothers who had what he couldn’t have, I must have been the easiest target.
His greedy and vicious nature from birth is also a major factor. It’s an open secret in the palace that a maid lost her life on the spot after being whipped mercilessly by the 10-year-old Akard.
The servants of the royal family are mostly from noble families without inheritance rights. There were rumors that some lower nobles supporting his full brother, the 2nd Prince, were about to defect after being beaten up over that incident. Since I haven’t heard of anyone being directly beaten to death after that, the probability of it being true is high.
Akard started physically assaulting me right after the fall of my maternal family.
To be precise, it was the first day I stepped out of my room, gripping a wooden sword, after my nanny and those around me had vanished into the morning dew of the execution grounds.
– **Kekeke, I rushed over when I heard our little brother started sword training. I’ll help you out, so be grateful.**
I was beaten like a dog on a leash.
– **Our little brother, you really have no aptitude for swordsmanship. How can you not block a single strike? I’ll specially teach you to the point where you won’t get hit anywhere, so learn well. Got it? ······ Don’t answer back, you brat!**
He crushed me so I couldn’t even try to struggle after being stepped on once.
“**Ha······ Is he insane?**”
My right hand gripping the wooden sword trembled slightly at the growling voice of Akard responding to my retort. My body was reacting involuntarily due to the ingrained memories of violence from childhood.
Even now after regaining my past life’s memories, I still react this way. How much worse must it have been before?
After becoming aware of my past life and gaining wisdom, I ruminated over past events. There was no fault of mine anywhere.
‘Back then, it all seemed to be because of me…….’
In the end, it seems I had subconsciously fallen into self-loathing, believing Akard’s words that my sword talents were trash.
The founding king Lionel’s nickname was the Knight King. Considering my great-grandfather was the Northern Sword, logically I should have had at least some innate talent.
The first day Akard beat me like a stray dog, I had stopped eating and drinking, depleting my strength. On top of that, I had swung the wooden sword until I was utterly exhausted. It was only natural I couldn’t block any of his attacks.
‘I was thoroughly gaslit.’
Personally, I disagree with the saying “If you fall seven times, stand up eight.” People can only say that because they haven’t truly fallen. If your legs break to the point you can’t stand again, and even the crutches you use to try snap under the strain, one cannot simply stand up.
Unless a special opportunity arises.
Fortunately for me, that opportunity came not long ago.
“Hey, that guy’s trembling, isn’t he?”
The attendants standing like mannequins beside Akard nodded sharply. Among them was George, the one who used to share Akard’s information with me.
Ah, that brat.
‘Has he betrayed me?’
Alfonso and George, individuals of interest, their status windows always occupy the corner of my vision. To check in real-time if any changes occur in our relationships.
Though annoying to constantly display their status windows in my peripheral vision, it was a nuisance I could tolerate.
Currently, the relationship between George and I is still ‘Fear’.
Seeing it hasn’t changed to the red text indicating a negative relationship, it doesn’t seem to be a betrayal. But the Rossa system is still a mystery to me, so I can’t be certain.
– “I cannot leave a child alone in this cruel world, so I shall go with them.”
Don’t some spout such nonsense in their suicide notes, claiming it’s out of love for their decision?
One can never be too careful, even with those in ‘Trust’ or ‘Friendly’ relationships, lest a harsh blow comes from behind.
“Our little brother. This big brother must have hit his head too hard, to be acting so strangely these days. He’s gone completely mad.”
Ignoring Akard’s words, I firmly flicked his forehead with my phantom hand.
[Skill]
[Relationship: Hostility]
——
‘Hostility?’
A fresh relationship I’ve never seen before.
It was the reddest text color I’ve ever seen. I’ve just been confined to the Emerald Palace, walling myself off from the world…
I decided not to overthink it too much.
Even in my previous life, there were many who disliked strangers they’d never met for silly reasons. Trying to understand them would only give me a headache. They’re just mentally ill people. Akard is quite ill.
‘No need to check stats or skills.’
Even in a distrustful state, checking stats and skills is almost impossible, and in an even more negative ‘hostile’ relationship, it would obviously just show [?]. At best, I could only see information I already knew, like [Lionel’s Swordsmanship].
“What’s with bringing all these disciples here? It seems you’ve found the wrong picnic spot.”
I glanced over the disciples Akard had brought along. One knight escort, three servants, two maids. They all looked overworked.
The knight escort caught my eye from the moment I first saw her.
Wavy silver hair draped over her shoulders.
A feminine figure that couldn’t be concealed by light armor.
She was a knight.
In this life, women’s rights are ‘quite’ advanced. Even princesses have the right of succession, a prime example.
It’s because of magic power.
While the physical superiority of men doesn’t completely disappear, among those who have awakened their magic power, that gap becomes meaningless. Women tend to have relatively better magic control, perhaps due to their unique delicate nature.
Discrimination isn’t entirely gone. For ordinary people living lives unrelated to magic power, women’s rights are little different from the Middle Ages on Earth.
Come to think of it, I do recall hearing about her.
– “Prince, Prince! Did you know? The 2nd Knight Order admitted its first commoner recently! And she’s a woman! She just graduated from the Royal Military Academy but is already a 5-star knight. Everyone’s saying the future Sword Saint will come from our kingdom.”
‘So that knight is her.’
I wonder how she ended up as the Fourth Prince’s escort.
Her hazy, just-awoken cat-like eyes seemed disconnected from the current situation, lost in thought. At a glance, she almost looked like she was sleeping with her eyes open.
I brought my phantom hand to her forehead and checked her basic information.
Name, Reina Jeanne. Relationship… Caution?
It had been a while since I’d met someone whose relationship wasn’t Distrust. I wanted to examine her status window further, but Akard interrupted me.
“Pic…nic? Hah, really… There’s no cure for the insane. Everyone back off! I’ll fix this bastard’s lunacy today.”
Akard gripped his sword.
It was not a wooden sword.
A blunt sword without an edge. Indeed, far more dangerous than a wooden sword that could break upon impact. If that bastard’s attack that awakened my past life had been with a blunt sword instead of a wooden one…… would I have ended up with some kind of disability somewhere?
“I heard our brother has been practicing swordsmanship alone again these days? I brought this especially for him. I’ve been trying to catch him but he’s never around, so I finally get to see him now. I don’t know how he knew I’d be coming. Looks like I’ll have to do some family disciplining.”
As the bastard spat on the floor, I discreetly studied Jordi’s face without anyone noticing. He seemed lost in thought after hearing the words “family disciplining”.
While inwardly wishing the guy good luck, the space around Akard and me had somehow formed a circle.
The prospective members of the 3rd Order couldn’t do anything and all had the look of having bitten into something foul. Well, if such a scene unfolded in their own courtyard, only a madman would be excitedly watching the spectacle.
‘But how is there not a single person around to lend me a practice blunt sword?’
No matter how dull the edge, a blunt sword is still officially recognized as a sword, so only those with permission can carry them within the palace grounds. I had left mine back at the Emerald Palace.
As I sighed and reached for the wooden sword I had brought,
“Prince! Prince! Here, this one.”
Alfonso came running with a blunt sword in hand.
What’s this?
“hahahahah! Suddenly someone poked me from behind, so I turned around and there was this blunt sword lying on the ground. I swear, I didn’t bring it myself!”
I glanced over to where Alfonso had run from. There was a group of commoners gathered. I had never properly spoken to any of them, but I suppose having shared the same space and sweat a few times earned me this bit of courtesy.
‘Whoever it is, I’ll gratefully make use of it.’
As I smiled and gripped the blunt sword, Alfonso scurried back to his original spot like his butt was on fire.
“I guess even the dregs have some understanding between them, huh? Well, whatever. Come to think of it, there might be talk of me educating someone wielding a wooden sword with a blunt one.”
I silently gripped the sword and glared at the 4th Prince.
Perhaps feeling slighted, his face flushed red and pale. Soon, he looked around at the knights surrounding us and shouted loudly,
“Listen up, all of you! Anyone who interferes during our duel will not be left alone, so mind yourselves.”
Smaller than I expected, but still large. My body still flinches at his every reaction.
“Disciplinary training, begin!”
I faced the charging giant Akard.
***
‘I must have lost my mind.’
The shaggy-haired Adol regretted his rash action.
He didn’t know what he was thinking. When he came to, he had handed a practice blunt sword to the 5th Prince’s attendant. He had resolved not to get entangled like this……
‘No one saw that, right?’
He had tried to do it discreetly amidst the commotion, but worry gripped him. Adol looked around again.
‘Oh no!’
He once again met the eyes of his fellow military academy classmate, who had made him feel like a lump of inferiority. A commoner-born woman who had become a 5-star knight even before graduating, and had exceptionally joined the 2nd Knighthood despite being a mon… no, a genius.
‘The monster is separate.’
As always, her hazy eyes revealed nothing about what she was thinking. Adol awkwardly smiled and turned his gaze towards the two princes.
That Akard, who had systematically trained in swordsmanship, had earned his second star was something even a cat aiming for the 3rd Knighthood’s leftovers knew.
Logically, it was only natural for Evan to be one-sidedly beaten down.
‘That’s only natural though……’
Adol recalled the time after his first meeting with Evan.
On the first day, Evan had shockingly demonstrated swordsmanship skills that followed the Guardian Sword techniques just from observing them. For about a week after that, he appeared with splints on both arms, staring intently as Adol trained before disappearing.
‘I guess even for a monster, fully replicating the mana control was too much of a stretch.’
After his arms recovered, he did not train with mana control, but the forms were undoubtedly those of a master’s Guardian Sword techniques.
‘If the 5th Prince had a bit more time.’
Adol couldn’t help but feel regretful about that.