Chapter 13: Sword & Magic
Thud.
Even though Alain’s arm, which had shot up high into the air, had fallen to the floor and was rolling around, no one opened their mouth in the face of that shocking sight.
Drip.
A perfectly severed arm.
Thanks to that, the amount of blood flowing from Alain’s shoulder was not all that much.
When that small amount of blood had soaked the floor, I, Hein Reichart, opened my mouth.
“Family Head, with this, I wish to conclude the punishment procedure for the criminal Alain. Will you permit it?”
“…….”
Even at my question, Redin did not answer easily.
The fact that the arm of Vispon’s promising successor had been severed, and the fact that the one who had staged that scene was the bastard ‘Hein Reichart,’ must have been too shocking.
“I permit it.”
Only after a brief silence did Redin declare that all procedures scheduled for tonight would come to an end.
Then, guided by Ares, the audience that had filled the place began to leave the courtroom like an ebbing tide.
“That was really…… was that really the young master I used to know?”
“I’m telling you, I’m truly sick of it. Good grief. I don’t know the young master well, but at the very least, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that decisiveness and spirit he showed today.”
“The Grand Madam must be devastated. No matter what, today the Grand Madam was completely played by the young master.”
As they left, each person spilled out bundles of impressions and they became sharp daggers that stabbed into Rishu’s chest.
However, there was one more wound that gouged into Rishu’s heart even more than their comments.
“Alain, Alain. My son, how did this happen to you…….”
“Ah…… F, Father…….”
It was the sight of Belkent, clutching his son who had barely been able to stop the bleeding while pouring out tears, and Alain, pale blue and dazed out of his mind.
Crunch.
What settled into Rishu’s eyes as she looked at her nephew whose arm had been cut off was not so much sadness as it was something closer to rage.
The humiliation she had to bear tonight poured oil onto that rage and she turned her head with venomous eyes.
“You will regret it.”
Her gaze landed on me as I wrapped the cloak I had taken off earlier around myself and prepared to leave the courtroom.
“Did you say regret, Mother?”
The way I addressed her had changed from Grand Madam to Mother.
That fact made her even angrier.
“Yes. You will regret today’s affair, without fail.”
“Hmm, then about when will I come to regret it?”
“What!”
“If you tell me the timing, I thought I might prepare in advance.”
I spoke without even looking at her as I fastened the edge of my cloak.
“If the timing gets decided later, will you give me notice in advance?”
Crunch.
Instead of an answer, all that came back was the sound of Rishu grinding her teeth, but I rose from my seat without caring.
“Then I will take my leave. I hope you have a comfortable night.”
With those words, I left the courtroom.
There were not just one or two hostile gazes stuck to my back.
Step step.
Whether I knew it or not, my footsteps as I walked out of the courtroom were nothing but confident.
***
The next morning, Emily was briskly moving her feet to attend to my breakfast.
But there was a voice that stopped her.
“Emily!”
“Yes, did you call for me?”
The owner of the voice was the head maid who oversaw the annex where I resided.
“Come here for a moment.”
After calling Emily over, the head maid briefly scanned the surroundings and then asked in a discreet voice.
“Where is the young master right now?”
“The young master? The young master is of course in the bedroom…….”
“The bedroom? Then did the young master perhaps leave the bedroom at any point during the night?”
The head maid’s gaze, as she asked about my whereabouts, was even more secretive than her voice.
“I’m sorry, but last night, right after the young master returned to the bedroom, he gave the order that everyone was to withdraw because he was tired, so even I do not really know where the young master was during the night…….”
“I see. So that’s how it is. Understood. Then go on your way.”
After hearing Emily’s answer, the head maid pressed her lips together once and then hurried off.
Watching her back, Emily let out a quiet sigh.
This morning, on the way from the quarters where she stayed until she arrived here, the head maid was not the only person who had stopped her.
As many people as the tangled web of relationships within the mansion had asked her questions about me.
What time did the young master return to the bedroom last night?
Did he say anything unusual?
Did the Family Head perhaps send for the young master?
From questions reeking of suspicious intent like those…….
To questions filled with admiration that made it clear they were sensing my raised status over the past few days.
They said the young master seemed like a completely different person, is it true?
No matter how you look at it, doesn’t it seem like Young Master Hein is an aura user?
Did you know that?
You served the young master up close, and you truly didn’t know he was hiding his strength and talent?
As Emily once again keenly felt the clearly changed status of her master over the past few days, she hastened her steps.
And just as she reached the door of the kitchen.
“You there. Your name is Emily, right?”
A young knight with a slender build appeared before her.
“Y, yes…….”
“I have one favor to ask of you. Can you do it for me?”
“You have a favor to ask of me…….”
Although he was not wearing splendid armor, the young knight had very sharp eyes.
He stepped one pace closer to Emily and spoke in a low voice.
“I wish to meet Young Master Hein, so deliver a message to the young master.”
***
‘Let’s see, where should I start?’
At that time,
After waking from sleep, I, Hein Reichart, sat with the Family Sword in front of me, lost in thought.
Whether I knew or not that the entire mansion was buzzing with rumors about me, my gaze stayed fixed on the Family Sword, which shone with an enchanting light in the early morning sunlight.
‘It’s definitely no ordinary item. The formulas and spells engraved on this Family Sword must have been made according to the secret arts passed down within the Reichart family, right?’
It was difficult to find any trace of last night’s spectacle in my focused face.
Even the events of last night that had shaken the entire mansion seemed like nothing to me.
‘I should verify it, but this sword is probably closely resonating with Reichart’s exclusive sword technique.’
Nodding as I examined the Family Sword, I organized my thoughts.
Although the Kingdom of Zodiac was not large, Reichart’s sword techniques and forging arts were famous across the entire continent.
If so, then it would not be strange for the Family Sword, granted only to the family’s direct line, and the family’s exclusive sword technique to produce synergy.
‘Of course, Haineph must have forged the sword according to the forging method without knowing that much. But Redin should understand the facts. I should meet the Family Head first.’
Having settled my thoughts, I nodded again.
A chill that had never been seen before settled into my eyes.
‘Wait for me. Gillian! It won’t take that long.’
The greatest task given to me in this life was to bring down Gillian.
To achieve that goal, I had to reach mastery in both magic and the sword.
‘Magic alone can’t win against him.’
I knew it well.
When two people who had each reached the ultimate realm in their respective paths clashed, magic could never defeat the sword.
Of course, if it was tactics against multiple opponents, or a support role to smoothly carry out war, it would be different.
But at least in a one-on-one duel, a mage could not defeat a swordsman who had reached the ultimate realm.
‘That bastard Gillian is a genius swordsman who will be remembered throughout the continent’s history. When it comes to the sword, my innate talent and his are fundamentally different. Even if I started from now and trained only the sword like my life depended on it, I wouldn’t be able to reach the same realm as him.’
Recalling Gillian’s overwhelming talent, I pressed my lips together.
In the end, for me to take Gillian’s head……
‘Magic and the sword. I have to train both at the same time.’
There was no other way but to carve out the uncharted realm of a ‘magic swordsman’—someone who trained both magic and the sword to the level of mastery.
In ordinary circumstances, training both sword and magic at the same time was considered impossible.
Although a mage’s mana and a knight’s aura both had the commonality of being derived from runes, there were tremendous differences in the process of cultivation and manifestation.
But I was confident.
‘Because I have an excellent textbook. The model answer was called Gillian Tercios, the greatest swordsman on the continent.’
I knew that even if I could not match Gillian’s, I still possessed outstanding talent in swordsmanship.
Moreover, hadn’t I watched from right beside him how Gillian, who had once been an ordinary boy, honed that talent and became the strongest swordsman in history?
Considering this situation, becoming a ‘magic swordsman’ was a gamble well worth taking.
And the moment the plan succeeded and the sword and magic of ‘Hein Reichart’ reached a level that satisfied me, that would be……
‘Let’s meet then, Gillian.’
Pressing my lips together once, I focused my gaze on the Family Sword again.
‘First, I need to study Reichart’s exclusive sword technique. Understanding the correlation between the spells engraved on the Family Sword and the sword technique comes first.’
In truth, I needed a swordsmanship manual anyway.
Even if Reichart’s exclusive sword technique did not measure up to Gillian’s, it would still be more than sufficient for achieving my initial goal.
Sching.
Just as I sheathed the Family Sword after forming my short-term plan,
Knock knock.
“Young master, breakfast has been prepared. May I come in?”
Emily’s knock sounded, announcing the breakfast.
Only then did I feel hunger, and I nodded.
“Come in.”
***
“Young master, would you like coffee or black tea?”
“Coffee. Strong. No separate sweets are needed.”
Without even glancing at the various kinds of dessert pastries prepared on the tray, I finished breakfast with a single cup of strong coffee.
Slurp.
As I focused on the deep acidity felt on the tip of my tongue and brought the cup to my lips, drinking about half—
“Young master, may I speak with you about something?”
“Something to say?”
I looked at Emily with a hint of curiosity.
This maid was fairly sharp, but she was not the talkative type.
Yet she was stepping forward to say she had something to tell me.
“Speak.”
“Actually, before coming here, I met a knight.”
With my permission, Emily began to relay information about the knight she had just met, in a careful voice.
***
‘Ismael Belianov…… age 22. Born a commoner, but received a knighthood and was appointed as a low-ranking knight after placing in the territorial swordsmanship tournament held five years ago. After that, his outstanding merits were recognized through three monster subjugations and two defensive battles, and he was brought into the Harm Knight Order as a senior knight.’
I nodded as I recalled the information about the young knight I had heard through Emily.
‘Sounds like he’s quite capable.’
Even if the territory’s swordsmanship tournament was conducted regardless of status, it was never something that favored a commoner.
So the fact that a commoner-born soldier had placed while surpassing competitors from knight families showed that Ismael possessed exceptional ability.
His excellent results in the wars that followed were further evidence of his outstanding skill.
“That friend Ismael’s current posting is the fortress guard unit?”
“Yes, young master.”
At Emily’s answer, my brow furrowed slightly.
No matter how many excellent knights the Reichart family had, assigning someone with Ismael’s level of skill to the fortress guard unit was difficult to understand.
‘There must be some inside story. Otherwise it doesn’t add up.’
A young knight demoted to the fortress guard unit.
Interested in that title, I asked Emily an additional question.