Chapter 58

-Thunk.

A certain object falls onto the grass.

And the one who made that object fall was…

“Ma, Mark…”

None other than Mark Redeltain.

As the deputy, his face turned pale as he stopped in his tracks.

“Just now, what did I hear? The young master… said something? That it was your fault?”

“Mark…”

“Explain it clearly. Huh? Radiel. At least tell me what the young master said!”

Without remembering why he came here, Mark began interrogating Radiel.

It seemed he had overheard their conversation by chance.

“Talk about fault or whatever, Radiel! Just look at this, it’s obviously related to what happened that day between the young master and you!!”

“…”

“Who is this Emma, the head maid? She’s from the Duke’s House. Why is she involved when she has almost no connection to our unit? What kind of relationship do you have with her?”

However, he didn’t hear everything.

Vaguely, all he heard was Radiel admitting some fault.

‘No. It must be more than that.’

Otherwise, there’s no way his expression would be so grim.

“You won’t say it until the end.”

“…Mark? What are you doing? Why are you going towards…!”

“Let go. If you don’t talk, I’ll have to ask directly!”

“Mark!”

“Don’t stop me, Radiel. I need to hear it clearly now. There must be something between you and the young master that I don’t know about. I’m getting restless!”

“That’s not it! I have nothing to do with the young master!”

“Then why were you crying in front of the young master!!”

Unable to get an answer from the silent Radiel, Mark approached aggressively to interrogate her.

Radiel tried to stop him, but he was like an enraged bull.

With one arm not cooperating, it was beyond Radiel’s ability to restrain him, and blocking him was the limit.

By then, Mark had entered within ten steps of Radiel.

“…”

“Please tell me, young master. Didn’t you promise me that you wouldn’t run away this time!!”

With eyes yearning for truth, a face seeking answers,

He held the word ‘promise’ once again and approached step by step.

And I couldn’t take my eyes off the fallen object and the status window.

▶Countdown ends automatically in 5 seconds!◀

▶Upon countdown end, automatically obtain Memorial!◀

▶Use Memorial memories to calm Mark down!◀

A bright object fell onto the grass.

It was a sword, and also a Memorial.

The sword that caused Radiel to lose her arm and the one used by Carsein.

3

2

1

-Beep!

▶Memorial activates automatically!◀

*Sound effects*

***

Once again, it was a confinement.

An everyday confinement that felt increasingly annoying.

Ironically, due to this confinement, Carsein began to get used to it.

Whether it was a day or a week, it didn’t matter.

Though he could leave the mansion after the confinement period, the mansion was no longer a place where he could stretch his shoulders.

Thus, the boy wandered relentlessly outside the mansion. He even searched for places unseen by family members and maids.

Despite the sunny weather, the sky gradually darkened.

*Swoosh*

The cloudy sky darkened further, hidden by thick clouds, then poured rain. The boy got drenched instantly.

‘It’s raining…’

Even in the slums, avoiding rain was common sense. Staying in this rain would make him sick, so he couldn’t keep standing in it.

If he turned back toward the mansion, he could avoid the rain, but…

The boy redirected his gaze from the mansion and started running straight ahead. He couldn’t return to the mansion.

“Huff, huff.”

He had to find shelter from the rain near the building. Running through side streets, he found a place to hide.

Since no one was around, there would be no adults scolding him. He could wait until the rain stopped.

But his body started trembling.

Although he found a place to hide, he had already been soaked too much.

“Ch… Wuu.”

The weak boy’s body gradually grew warmer, and his breaths carried heat. Coughing started, and the frequency increased progressively.

“Huh? Why is there such a young child here…?”

At that moment, a woman approached the boy. The boy, already too weak to resist, could barely see.

“Hold on. Young master? Huff! Your body is burning up? Are you okay?!”

After a brief examination, the woman recognized the young master and placed her hand on Carsein’s forehead, startled by the heat.

Just as the woman was at a loss, the boy finally lost consciousness.

Until the last moment, the boy feared punishment.

The rain eventually stopped.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn’t on a hard floor but a soft bed. Sunlight shone brightly through the window,

“Ah, you’re awake?”

The woman’s face, seen vaguely before losing consciousness, appeared close by.

“My goodness… You slept for a whole day. You must have been very tired.”

A whole day?

Even though he thought he might have slept for a few hours, the idea of sleeping for a whole day seemed impossible at first.

Looking out the window, it really had been a whole day.

The sun’s position was much earlier than before the rain. There was no other explanation except that a day had passed.

Carsein cautiously asked the woman,

“Where am I?”

“This is the rest room of the proud 1st Knight Order protecting the Bargrand Duke’s House. I’m called Radiel.”

“Radiel… Did you bring me here?”

“Yes. I was surprised how feverish you were at first. I quickly contacted the duke’s house, and the doctor arrived.”

The doctor arrived. Those words made Carsein’s eyes shut tight.

Sheiden would surely hear about this in the knight order.

Returning to the duke’s house meant he would inevitably receive harsh words.

“By the way, how did young master come here?”

The resigned Carsein was asked cautiously by Radiel.

How could he explain wandering aimlessly after escaping the mansion? She said she was a knight protecting the Bargrand Duke’s House.

Realizing she was a knight, Carsein decided to play a trick.

“I want to become a knight too.”

“Huh? Young master wants to become a knight?”

“…Is that possible?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Radiel smiled warmly and replied,

“There’s no reason it’s not possible. If young master puts in the effort, you can become a wonderful knight.”

“Really?”

“Yes. With hard work, you can achieve it. Of course, there are conditions.”

Clack.

Radiel lifted a soup bowl to feed Carsein.

“But first, you should eat properly.”

The boy ate and expected to return to the mansion soon.

However, no call came from the mansion. Instead, Radiel called him, along with another male knight.

“What are you doing, young master? Hurry up and follow me.”

“Huh…?”

“You said you wanted to be a knight. Then you should learn how to wield a sword… Since I’m a lady knight, I can’t teach you.”

“It’s better if I teach you because of the physical differences. That’s what Captain Ladiel says.”

“Hey, Mark.”

“Why? It’s the truth.”

“For the young master… Forget it. If you don’t teach properly, I’ll make you regret it.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

Watching them bicker, Carsein felt bewildered. He only intended to stay longer by tricking them, but things developed unexpectedly.

Still.

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

Following Mark and Radiel’s teachings, holding and swinging a sword was undoubtedly enjoyable. Despite the other knights’ disapproving looks, these two taught him with genuine sincerity.

That day, the boy felt joy for the first time.

Time passed, and Carsein received the order to return to the mansion. Although he faced a barrage of criticisms, he didn’t mind.

He finally had a refuge where he could learn what he desired, allowing him to endure the difficult life in the duke’s house.

But.

An unforeseen incident occurred.

One day, as usual, Carsein headed to the training hall.

“Today, they’re calling us to a different location?”

Every time he left the mansion for the training hall, he would meet Radiel waiting for him.

But this time, he received a direct letter from Radiel.

A letter instructing him to go to a specific location.

Inside the forest, a bit away from the training hall.

That was the meeting place.

There were no unusual questions.

They often changed locations slightly for various trainings, so Carsein assumed Radiel had a reason to call him there.

In the dimming forest.

Carsein walked through the underbrush with a prepared torch.

“Radiel, where are you?”

Radiel was nowhere to be seen.

Neither was Mark, whom he usually saw with her.

Maybe they haven’t fully arrived at the meeting place yet.

Perhaps they were planning a different kind of training today.

As he walked toward the meeting place, Carsein realized someone was following him quietly.

“Radiel, are you…?”

He paused mid-sentence.

He suddenly realized.

The one following him was neither Radiel nor Mark.

‘The footprints…’

They were different.

Even if Radiel or Mark were conducting surprise training, how could they leave such simple evidence?

In the quiet forest, whoever was following him couldn’t hide their presence as well as Radiel or Mark.

Silently, Carsein pretended not to notice and circled the area, planning to ambush them as Radiel suggested.

Carsein moved quickly to confuse the tracker and managed to subdue the opponent as he learned.

Pulling off the hood, he revealed the figure of a knight.

“Gruh…! You…!”

Along with the apprentice knight he trained with.

It was Theo Lamstair.

The one who constantly harassed him during training.

The one who secretly committed despicable acts, evading other knights’ notice.

Where was Radiel?

Why was Theo stalking him here?

Carsein was about to interrogate Theo.

But.

*Bam*

“Gruh…!”

Carsein fell to the ground after being hit in the back.

Theo, who had been restrained, was freed, and two more hooded figures emerged.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Damn, this guy used a restraining technique on me? Let me go. This guy is mine…”

“Calm down, kid.”

The man who kicked Carsein scratched his head in frustration.

“Hey, we should have handled this properly from the start. Why did you drag it out?”

“Who knew it would turn out like this? We thought it was an easy job and planned to take it out on you.”

“If you hadn’t been caught, we wouldn’t have needed to use this opportunity. Tsk.”

“Hey, now isn’t the time for you guys to fight.”

While they bickered, Carsein struggled to stand up.

“Why are you chasing me in such a place?”

“You don’t need to know. You’re just a commoner.”

“What…?”

With a dumbfounded look, they proudly recounted their deeds.

“After all, you believed that letter was really from the captain? Really thought the captain cared about you?”

“On the contrary. You’re holding back the captain from advancing further.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Oh, right. You wouldn’t understand. Haha!”

“That guy has a nasty streak. Didn’t mention that taking you in reduced the captain’s support funds.”

“He’s quite a remarkable person. That’s why he could carry out such covert operations in the duke’s house.”

“So what does that mean?!”

Shocked, Carsein shouted, and they laughed louder.

“Ha! Foolish. There’s no way the captain’s letter went to you correctly.”

“Sorry, but we got a request from the duke’s house to throw you out. Quite a generous offer.”

“That letter was fake. The captain never sent you any letter.”

“The seal… You wouldn’t know. But the old lady handled it properly.”

“In any case, just let us take you back to the alley.”

“Thinking about wielding a sword like that. Tsk. Finally, some cleaning up.”

Those were the words the three apprentice knights left with a chuckle.

He was being thrown out.

Through a request from the duke’s house.

Silently, without anyone knowing.

It didn’t matter who issued the request.

Carsein clenched his teeth and had to charge them.

“Aaahhh!!”

Breaking the rule that he shouldn’t draw his sword recklessly, set by Radiel.

“Hey, you drew it?”

“Stay back. I’ll handle this.”

“Alright, alright. Venting is your part.”

Ignoring Carsein, one of the apprentice knights stepped forward.

It was Theo, who had been riled up after being subdued by Carsein earlier.

But.

*Clang!

When Theo’s sword met Carsein’s, Theo started to lose ground.

Carsein, having trained excellently, was not inferior to Theo in skill.

Moreover, it wasn’t just that.

*Kakakak*

“Gruh?! This…!”

“Hey, could it be…?”

“Damn, it can’t be…! How can there be such a kid!”

Mana emanated faintly from the sword.

It was power beyond the reach of the three apprentice knights.