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162. Beggar Siblings – Double Life

“That brat! Not bad at all!”

Katrina shouted.

Today was just another ordinary day. The newcomer named ‘Deros’ was still frustrating, and her swordsmanship seemed to have hit a wall, making no progress whatsoever.

The only relief in her life was living with Ellen, and as she grumbled, “Ugh, I should just go home and eat,” something unusual happened. A flamboyantly dressed boy approached her. His eyes were deep, and his cheeks dimpled, giving him an almost feminine charm.

Today was a real treat for the eyes…

“Are you a knight? I’m sorry, but could you please take a look at my swordsmanship just once?”

Katrina’s blood pressure shot up at his words. He had already drawn his sword, so why the question?

How dare he look at a knight in such a way…

Fuming, Katrina kicked out in anger. Normally, she would’ve just cut him down,

[Achievement: The Man Katrina Dares to Protect – Gained Significant Favor with Katrina.]

But was it really necessary to go that far? Maybe just a good beating would suffice.

“Huh?”

However, the brat reacted quickly. The sword was flipped upside down, and a low kick aimed at her waist came flying at her.

It’s tough to block a low kick with a sword. Usually, one would evade or swing the sword in a way that said, “I’ll let you hit my leg, but you’re getting my blade!”

Inducing such a tussle was Katrina’s specialty. It was her preferred style of combat.

But since this kid had a unique response, Katrina adjusted the trajectory of her flying kick.

Gathering both feet together, avoiding his sword tip like it was some ballet move, she whipped her sword diagonally while spinning her body…

‘Oops! I didn’t intend to kill him!’

Regret came too late, following her instinct-driven action. Surprised by her own reflexes, Katrina resolved to just keep the sword from biting.

– Clang!

“Oh! I blocked it?”

Leo, holding his sword backwards barely managed to defend himself. He knelt, under the pressure of Katrina’s sword skills.

It felt like his wrist might break.

He felt blood soaking through the fabric of his clothes, mingling with the pain as he pressed against her. Pushing off the ground with his kneeling left leg propelled him into Katrina’s lower region.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Leo’s counterattack was easily thwarted as Katrina lowered her posture. With her sword raised, she pinned him down, immobilizing him.

For just a brief moment, even that slight struggle made sweat bead up on Leo’s bony back.

If it were Leo Dexter, he would have had no trouble handling this Katrina. {Swordsmanship.4v: Jakobryu} had raised his level of skill and athleticism above the rest.

But even with his Knight Commander-level skills, he couldn’t cope with this hopelessly physical battle.

Of course, he had come prepared for that…

‘Why is she coming at me so hard? She wasn’t like this before.’

He politely pulled out his sword in front of her, remembering how she’d thrown a fit when he tried pulling it from behind.

Oh, the temperament…

Tsk, clicking his tongue, Leo pulled his sword back. Feigning vulnerability (though it was true he was being pushed back), he pivoted at the point where their swords touched, twisting his sword tip.

That was the swordsmanship of “Jakob,” the Swordmaster he had met last time.

In one word, his sword skills could be described as ‘weapon destruction techniques.’

It was all about maximizing advantage the moment the blades met, and this didn’t just concern breaking the opponent’s sword.

“Whoa?!”

As Leo’s blade swiveled back towards her, Katrina was taken aback. When swords clash in that moment of struggle, moving them recklessly is a no-go.

More often than not, the one who moves first ends up at a disadvantage, so one would typically either widen the distance slowly or somehow use strength to push the blade away.

This brat did neither.

While steering his sword harmlessly past hers, he adjusted his footing, then slowly rotated the earlier awkward positioning into proper stance, prompting a startled exclamation from Katrina.

“This kid! Not bad at all!”

– Clash!

Thinking she might end up disadvantaged, Katrina shouted out as she pushed her sword away. Despite winning in that strength contest, she chose to reset the situation.

Leo felt as if he finally understood why the diminutive Swordmaster had such unusual techniques.

He lacked confidence in sheer brute force. That’s why he, Leo Dexter, could withstand the confrontation, despite his skills being far below par.

Leo quickly sheathed his sword.

He knew continuing would only lead to loss, so he bowed to the fuming Katrina, who shouted, “What are you doing?! Sheathe your sword!”

“Thank you for viewing my skills. How about it? Am I good enough?”

“Good enough, my ass! You still won’t draw your sword?! Now it looks like I lost!”

It took a considerable amount of time for her to calm down. No matter how much she threatened, Leo refused to draw his sword, leading her to put away her weapon with a dissatisfied frown.

“What are you even doing? You’re as scrawny as a twig… Wait, that’s not the issue. How old are you?”

Now coming back to her senses, Katrina looked over Leo. Though he appeared older than he was, he was still young.

How did this kid manage to block my sword? I couldn’t do that at his age.

‘Is this the genius I’ve heard so much about?’

That’s the only conclusion she could draw. His skills were far from typical for someone his age.

Knights were all geniuses at their core.

Only those with tremendous talent could ascend to knighthood among the countless humans. Deros, the junior she always berated, also had significant potential, though it varied in degree.

Still, there existed a massive divide depending on whether one could forge their own swordsmanship or not.

To Katrina, it was clear that this brat had already established a unique set of sword techniques. It was hard to believe, but that was the case.

“My age is…”

“Should we discuss this elsewhere? Oh, hold on. Are you… a noble?”

Her suspicion was founded. Strangely enough, Katrina’s demeanor shifted, and when Leo cleared his throat, she turned pale.

‘Damn it. No wonder he’s good-looking. This could be problematic if he gets hurt… Please don’t let me be dragged away for disrespect!’

“No, I’m a commoner.”

“You little… Draw your sword!”

*

With Leo looking like he had been through hell, he munched on some bread. They were at the same restaurant he had visited once before, while Katrina sat across the table sipping her drink.

“So you just up and moved to the capital?”

How ridiculous it was to beat someone so badly just for a joke. Leo felt the need to reevaluate his “significant favor” achievement as he obediently replied.

“Yup… I just got here a little while ago. But the knight order entrance exam is over, and I’ve run out of money…”

“Why that long face?”

“I thought I’d come and ask for help, Sir Knight.”

A thug of a woman. Just you wait.

As she forced a smile while speaking, Katrina grinned wide. She looked unconcerned about any potential future trouble.

“Help? I can help you.”

“How so?”

“Join our knight order. I’ll recommend you.”

Regardless of how it turned out, now that Leo had entered a long-desired stage, he cleared his throat.

“Uh, no. I’m planning to join the Royal Guard. I heard their entrance exam is in a few weeks.”

“Royal Guard? Why would you want to go there? Our order is much more casual and enjoyable. If I recommend you, you can join without taking the exam.”

“Thanks for saying so, but…”

– Swallow.

This was an important moment. He knew that showing off his skills meant Katrina would want to recommend him to the knight order. And Leo desperately needed that recommendation.

He swallowed the bread stuffed in his mouth, pretending to be somewhat insincere.

“The Royal Guard seems way better. The kingdom’s knight order has to mobilize during wars, while the Royal Guard just needs to keep the palace safe.”

“Palace? What’s that about?”

“…There’s a saying in my hometown. I want to live comfortably. Anyway, whether it’s the Royal Guard or the knight order, you’ll be training every day. So wouldn’t it be better to work at the palace?”

“Oh my, who is this kid? What on earth does he think knights are…”

Ah, right. A genius.

Even though he looked young and had probably not trained much, if he already possessed such skills, it made sense for him to have a low view of knights.

‘No, I shouldn’t be agreeing with him.’

Katrina shook her head. She pondered over how to persuade this thief-like kid, saying,

“Hey, wars don’t just break out out of nowhere. The pay from the knight order is better! They take care of your time off too. You don’t get that in the Royal Guard. You’ll be cooped up in the palace, and promotions are slow. If you join the knight order, you’ll thrive.”

“But the difference isn’t that great. You can’t even take a long trip during the holidays, and you can only get promoted to captain at most. The higher ranks like commander and deputy commander are usually held by nobles.”

“…”

How come this kid from the countryside knows so much? Katrina clicked her teeth in frustration and said,

“Not necessarily! Who knows? Someone your age could become a Swordmaster. Then you could become the knight order commander like Count Hermann Forte and live like a king.”

“Swordmasters can live like kings no matter what they do.”

“……”

That’s true enough.

However, nearly reaching her boiling point, Katrina wanted to yell, “You little brat! I’m not recommending someone like you! Go on then, do what you want!” but it was clear he could become a Royal Guard even without her recommendation.

So she went with one last attempt at persuasion.

“…Look, it’s tough for a Royal Guard to settle down. You live in the palace for work and your home is there too. Where would you even find a woman? Being a knight is way better.”

But that attempt sank with Leo’s single response.

“I have a girlfriend.”

“WHAT!! You’re something else!”

In the end, the table was overturned amid their shouting. Bits of bread flew through the air like a glorious spectacle.

*

“This is my place. The keys are here.”

Grumbling, Katrina handed Leo the keys.

A house buried in dust. This place clearly hadn’t seen a tenant in ages, as dust piled high over the entrance threshold. Leo stepped inside.

It was the home where Katrina had lived. She occupied it until moving in with Ellen, situated in the southeast from the castle.

The state of the house was a mess, but Leo felt satisfied. The theater where Ksenia and Leah worked wasn’t too far from here.

“Well, I’m off. You got my address, right?”

“Yup. Memorized it.”

Still muttering under her breath, the phrase “that damn brat” briefly flitted by, but Leo waved her off with a bright smile.

That smile vanished the moment the dusty door closed behind him. There was no longer a need to act.

“Phew. At least I’ve sorted out my living situation…”

Although Ksenia promised to take care of his sister, he couldn’t keep living at the theater.

He now planned to commence a somewhat troublesome lifestyle.

First, he squeezed a promise from Katrina to recommend him. He absolutely needed to become a Royal Guard this time.

There were two reasons.

First was to deal with Gilbert Forte. If he didn’t handle that brat, Leah, from the childhood friend scenario, would be expelled from the monastery.

Killing that brat wouldn’t be difficult. However, the repercussions were severe, which Leo fully realized during the last beggar siblings episode.

Spending time on the run and, most importantly, losing the chance to gain Count Gustave Peter’s support thereafter.

This time, he intended to ensure Gilbert Forte wouldn’t make it to the monastery without killing him.

Leo figured the only way to do that was to enter the palace and prevent Gilbert Forte and Princess Chloe de Tatalia from causing any trouble.

Since it was a Swordmaster who sent his son to the monastery, all he had to do was prevent a kiss between Gilbert and Chloe in front of the Prince of Austin Kingdom.

If that happened, maybe a war wouldn’t break out. Even though killing Gilbert last time had caused a war, who’s to say that the Princess wouldn’t end up kissing some other fool because of killing that brat?

With the old phantom fox caught in the engagement scenario, there seemed no way to avoid the {War} event now, so it was a choice he had to consider.

The second reason was to meet Count Gustave Peter ‘safely.’

The fact that Count Peter and Cardinal Berg were father and son was almost certain.

And Cardinal Berg was a critical figure who could greatly assist in defeating the Apostle Orias and Eric de Yeriel of Conrad Kingdom.

Leo had seen Cardinal Berg summon the huge form of God during the last childhood friend scenario.

Compared to Reb, who gained the ridiculous “Counter” benefit, it wasn’t much, but that was still immense power. He absolutely had to charm that man.

The problem was that he wasn’t very cooperative with Leo, the returned Prince Leo de Yeriel.

Thus, it seemed he would need the help of his son, Count Gustave Peter (or Baron Monarch), but the son was just as uncooperative.

During his ninth episode, when separated from his sister, the Count instantly recognized Leah and me but pretended to ignore us. He reported us to Marquis Benard Tatian.

‘It’ll probably be the same this time.’

Marquis Benard Tatian was a terrifying man. Leo no longer felt confident about confronting him. If he could avoid meeting him, he would.

And so, he needed the title of Royal Guard. If a Royal Guard wanted to meet someone, they typically ended up as the king’s messenger, which would allow easy access to Count Peter.

At the same time, being affiliated with the royal family meant even if Count Gustave Peter were to report him to Marquis Tatian, the Marquis couldn’t act recklessly.

Of course, getting caught wouldn’t be a good situation.

The Marquis was one thing, but if news spread that he was the runaway prince of Conrad Kingdom in the Tatalia royal family, who knew what chaos could ensue?

Raising his arms to dust off the bed, Leo looked at the {Barbatos Bracelet}.

As he gazed at the simple leather bracelet with two red beads remaining, he concluded his plans.

He intended to use everything he had.

First, he would become a Royal Guard and meet the ‘Klian de Tatalia’ Prince he hadn’t encountered yet. After gaining a slight favor from the nobles serving the House of Tatalia, he would seek out the Count. And with this bracelet…

He knew Count Gustave Peter was a frugal man who didn’t wear much jewelry.

Thus, the charm would definitely succeed.

Moreover, if he also succeeded in invoking {Royal Blood}, {Dignity} to extract a pledge of loyalty… the {Master-Servant Relationship} achievement would activate.

Count Peter would then reveal all his secrets to Leo, and within those secrets, there would surely be a way to charm Cardinal Berg.

Spreading a thin summer blanket over himself, Leo lay down on the bed.

Even amidst the dust floating around, his gaze remained fixated on the ceiling.

Chaehwa.

I will definitely return. I’ll go back and apologize for all the mistakes I’ve made.

Only after a while did Leo fall asleep. He prepared for all potential, possible, and impossible scenarios and intended to sneak out to the theater now and then to check on Leah, starting his double life with the Royal Guard as a backdrop to unraveling those mysteries.