Chapter 3
Kaiden calling my name in such a gentle voice gave me goosebumps, and I instinctively rubbed my arms.
“Your Grace, that’s creepy.”
Kaiden paused, raising one eyebrow. It was a habit he had whenever something irritated him.
Is he finally going to chew me out this time?
But he actually tried to comfort me.
“…They say fainting at the sight of blood will get better if you rest for a while.”
“…….”
That’s not going to happen. I gave a bitter smile inwardly.
The trauma from my past life started when I was eleven. It was after witnessing my mother’s death right before my eyes.
A car accident. The sight of my mother’s bloodied body in the driver’s seat of an overturned car—it was too much for me back then.
Not that the sight overwhelms me now. How many soldiers’ corpses have I seen over the past ten years of beast extermination?
I’ve long since stopped feeling anything when looking at mangled bodies. As a child in the slums, I even slept alongside rotting corpses.
So why is the trauma from my past life holding me back now?
I thought about it. The most plausible conclusion I could come to was that becoming aware of my past life had somehow affected my subconscious.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“Your Grace.”
“What.”
“Let me retire.”
Ugh, whatever. I’ll just be shameless. Explaining my past life would only get me labeled as a lunatic.
And it’s not just the trauma—I might end up dead by your hands!
“I told you that’s not possible.”
“No. I want to quit.”
“No. I’ll arrange compensation for your injury.”
…Money is tempting. Come to think of it, I did have a bit of gambling debt. Just a little, from some playful bets. I decided to be brazen.
“Give me the money and let me retire.”
Crunch.
I heard Kaiden grinding his teeth to suppress his anger. What a foul-tempered guy. But I couldn’t back down either.
“Give it as severance pay.”
“Marion Krugman.”
Kaiden finally said my full name. I figured even in his life, he’d never had a subordinate who frustrated him this much.
Born as the only son of the archducal family, he’d been pampered from a young age.
The imperial family was the only one who could speak down to him, and even the Emperor treated him with respect.
And here I was, a commoner-born knight defying him. All this was only possible because I was a Swordmaster.
That’s why it stung even more.
“I’ve been through ten years of this. I’ve killed thousands of magical beasts. And yet, I’m still just the Knight of Fire, nothing more. Other knights say if I weren’t of such low birth, I’d have been granted a barony long ago.”
Kaiden sighed once as he listened to me.
“Haa. Is this just about a title?”
What? Just? Just about a title?!
I was furious. Since I’d already decided to retire, I might as well air out all my grievances.
“…Of course. To Your Grace, someone like me who clawed their way up from the bottom isn’t even worth considering, right? I should just be grateful for being granted a knight’s title beyond my station and grovel, shouldn’t I?”
“…Don’t blow things out of proportion.”
Kaiden rubbed his forehead, looking tired. I kept on with my sarcasm.
“I’m so sorry for blowing things out of proportion. My empty head, devoid of education, keeps missing the point and branching out like a tree. So this stupid human is trying to disappear from this place.”
“Marion. Enough.”
“Fine, I’m done. So prepare my severance pay. I’m out.”
With a cheeky attitude, I tried to brush past Kaiden. But in an instant, he drew his scabbard and extended his arm to block my path.
“Stay. Here.”
His clipped words dripped with irritation.
“Are you trying to pick a fight?”
But I was just as pissed off.
“It’s an order.”
Oh, please.
I swiftly struck the scabbard blocking my way. Kaiden used the recoil to spin around and swing at me again. I parried, and a duel began.
Clang!
Crash!
A vase shattered when it was hit by a scabbard, and a teacup left by a maid fell after being grazed by one of our movements.
Chairs flew, split in two, and bed curtains tore.
At least neither of us had drawn our blades from their scabbards. The moment one of us did, it could easily turn into a life-or-death fight.
“Marion. Are you defying my orders?”
Rip!
The wallpaper tore.
“Why should I care about orders when I’m quitting?”
Thud!
Kaiden’s scabbard clashed with mine. It was a test of strength.
I glared into Kaiden’s eyes. As always, he looked at me with stern eyes.
I used to think those blue eyes sparkled like jewels. If only I’d known they were the eyes of a devil!
I gritted my teeth.
“I’m done with everything!”
Crack!
The moment I knocked his scabbard away with all my strength, both our scabbards flew off.
“What are you two doing?!”
Clang!
As the head maid, the matriarch of the archducal castle, burst through the door, the flying scabbards hit the chandelier.
Crash!
The chandelier fell with a louder racket than ever before.
Kaiden and I froze instantly. We had no choice.
The head maid, Madam March, had roared with the fury of a lioness.
“Both of you, stop! Now!”
—
Who is Madam March?
She was Kaiden’s nursemaid and a close friend of his mother, who was recuperating in the south due to poor health. She was the highest-ranking woman in the current archducal castle.
When I awakened as a Swordmaster, she was the one who hurriedly taught me etiquette before I visited the imperial palace.
She also had a knack for delivering harsh truths with a kind face, making the listener realize their mistakes.
“Who made this room such a mess?”
I bowed my head like a sinner and answered.
“…His Grace started it.”
“To be precise, you struck first.”
Kaiden tried to deflect, and I bristled.
“Your Grace drew your scabbard first to block my way!”
“I only blocked you; you struck first.”
“Enough! I’m not here to assign blame!”
At the angry voice rising from the middle-aged woman’s gut, Kaiden and I clamped our mouths shut like clams.
A glance at the room showed it was in a sorry state. I caught a glimpse of maids and servants waiting outside, ready to clean up.
“For two Swordmasters to be swinging swords in a room—how utterly shameful.”
“I’m sorry, Madam March.”
Kaiden readily admitted his fault. I felt wronged but always shrank in front of Madam March.
“I’m sorry.”
Madam March sighed once, then spoke in a slightly softened tone.
“This reminds me of when you two were teenagers. Back when you realized you were each other’s only equal.”
Kaiden and I immediately grimaced. What nonsense was this? I was about to protest, but she clasped her hands like a young girl and continued.
“You were each other’s only worthy opponent, dueling every day in the training yard.”
Oh, that’s what she meant.
I couldn’t help but agree with that.
A Swordmaster was the pinnacle of what a human could achieve with a sword. Sparring with anyone else felt trivial, so we often sought each other out.
But why bring that up now?
“That was in the training yard, wasn’t it?”
My question was quickly answered. I thought her tone had softened, but I could feel a subtle anger emanating from her.
“If you want to fight, do it outside.”
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By Anna 💓
