Chapter 166
I tried to reassure myself by repeating the same thoughts over and over. Perhaps my concern was visible. Taran gently pulled my arm.
“Luwen will be fine. That guy is crazy strong.”
There seemed to be a slight misunderstanding, but Taran’s heart was in the right place, so I didn’t bother to correct him.
“Yes. He will be.”
My sister was also someone who could be described as “crazy strong.”
The same went for the Second Prince. The two of them often sparred, but the Second Prince had never beaten my sister. Because of this, my sister had once gotten angry, accusing the Second Prince of going easy on her.
‘This was exactly the same as in the original story.’
The funny part was that the Second Prince wasn’t even conscious of this fact. Out of respect for my sister, he gave his best effort, but in decisive moments, he unconsciously held back. That’s why my sister always won.
But in reality, the Second Prince is strong. Stronger than my sister.
‘Protect her well so she doesn’t get hurt.’
It was pathetic to know so much yet be powerless to do anything but wait. But if I were there, I’d only be in the way. My sister might even get hurt because of me, so it was right for me to stay put here.
‘That’s why it’s more frustrating… I haven’t felt this helpless in a long time.’
When I was young, before I became aware of my past life, I often felt this way. I disappointed my father by not being able to handle a sword properly, which caused me to fall out of his favor, which in turn disappointed my mother.
Unable to handle even a single sword properly, I would be pushed around, and when I fell after gasping for breath due to lack of stamina, it felt like everyone was laughing at me. Afraid of being pointed at as unqualified, I would hide alone in the depths of my mother’s rose garden to practice, avoiding people.
‘Hey, is your hand okay? It’s bleeding…’
Ah!
With a sudden memory, my eyes widened. Walter Lorentz. I remembered our first meeting. But I couldn’t help but chuckle wryly.
‘He’s changed so much.’
It’s difficult to match a small, diminutive little boy with the sturdy man of today. The only physical similarity between then and now is his hair color.
Back then, Walter tried to wrap his handkerchief around my hand, which was all scratched up and bloodied from holding the sword for too long. I pushed him away out of embarrassment at being caught in such a state.
‘But I don’t remember making any promise.’
I recall running away from him, and him persistently following me. During that process, he spoke to me one-sidedly, but I never answered. I just wanted to hide out of embarrassment.
Kuwoong-!
A loud noise pulled me from my memories.
“Wow! Did you see that? An ogre’s head just flew off!”
Before I could answer, a second ogre’s head was cut off. Its massive body fell backward, spewing blood. Another thud was heard, but it was drowned out by the cheers of witnesses. Then two more ogres fell simultaneously.
“It looks like Luwen is fighting alone.”
Taran murmured in a mesmerized voice.
‘I knew he was strong, but enough to subdue ogres in one stroke?’
I was also inwardly surprised, so I traced the vivid traces of sword energy left like afterimages. Among those the Deputy Minister took with him, none except Luwen could handle sword energy.
‘Come to think of it, all the Sword Masters of the empire are gathered here.’
The Second Prince, Cromwell, my sister, and Luwen.
‘…! That’s right, the Honorary Duke was there.’
The moment I recalled the person I’d forgotten, my tension eased. The Second Prince’s unexpected participation in today’s hunting banquet was to win over Cromwell. So he would have been hovering around him, knowingly or unknowingly. Even if assassins appeared, Cromwell would help the two of them.
‘What? I was worried for nothing.’
I must have been trapped in the original story, narrowing my thinking. I lamented how stupid I’d been, but since my sister wouldn’t get hurt, I didn’t feel bad even if I had to act like a fool.
With a lighter heart, I gazed straight ahead. A clear, transparent blue line appeared in the air, followed by a gush of red blood. The ogres noticed the anomaly and changed direction, but Luwen was faster.
‘Did the Deputy Minister of Sword Affairs devise a strategy?’
I wasn’t sure exactly what strategy was planned. But whatever it was, I could see that Luwen was now nullifying it all. They wouldn’t have ordered him to handle everything alone.
‘Luwen himself was the strategy.’
As I was admiring the elegant blue line with secret pride, a troublemaker appeared.
“Young Master.”
Theobalt’s face was pale and covered in sweat. His breathing was rough, and he had mud on his clothes as if he had fallen.
“Lord Theobalt?”
“Something seemed off, so I looked around. The disappearance of the horses, and there were traces of many people running at full speed in the forest.”
As I suspected. An attack?
But the fact that traces remained bothered me. It would be tiresome to explain how stealthy the movements of an elite assassination group can be. Even if the ground was muddy from melted snow, the fact that someone like Theobalt, who only knew theory, could see traces meant they hadn’t bothered to hide them.
‘They’re trying to end this quickly.’
Cromwell is with my sister. Although it’s just an assumption, the probability is high. Yet they still haven’t returned…
‘The Second Prince is probably using this opportunity to both impress Cromwell and gather evidence to uncover the culprit. That’s just like him.’
He has the ability and boldness to turn a crisis into an opportunity. And although I hate to admit it, he cherishes my sister greatly. They’re not coming back because my sister is safe.
I had to think this way for now. Only then could I maintain my composure.
“Oh dear. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“…How could one not be afraid in this situation?”
With my attention focused on my sister, I responded in line with his interpretation, not wanting to deal with him. Meanwhile, another ogre fell.
“I’ve told the remaining knights to strengthen their vigilance, and just sent a knight to the Deputy Minister.”
Theobalt continued while looking at the group of ogres.
“Since your guard seems to be handling everything, I told him to report our situation and request reinforcements. As long as we’re preparing for an attack, we should be fine if our forces here are strengthened.”
“What about those who went to the extermination? His Highness the Second Prince is there, and my sister is in the dangerous forest. Your family members are there too. Is there no preparation for them?”
I reminded him of who was in the forest, just in case. Shouldn’t the royal family be the top priority?
“Duke Vinter and Honorary Duke Cromwell are with His Highness. Even if we all went, none of us would be stronger than those two. We’re in more danger here.”
Ah, so Cromwell is with them after all. Getting confirmation of my vague assumption relieved me. Now my head started working properly, and I realized Theobalt’s judgment was accurate.
Our position is clearly exposed, and having set up camp in an open field, we lack cover to hide behind. Above all, the most fatal issue was that most of us couldn’t properly fight.
‘…Come to think of it, I hadn’t considered the possibility of them targeting us here.’
Worried about my sister due to the attack deviating from the original story, I missed the fact that the camp could also be in danger. Even in my father’s case, didn’t he try to use Kans to make it look like a mansion attack to hide the poisoning?
I should have anticipated that they might send attackers toward the camp as well to conceal that the Second Prince and my sister were the targets. There were many high-ranking nobles here.
Suddenly, I remembered the third-rate villain-like lines I heard when my identity was exposed to the First Prince.
‘Well, causing such a commotion just to catch me wouldn’t be cost-effective.’
Kuwoong-
Another ogre fell.
‘No, if they’re thinking of handling it all at once, could there be a better time than now?’
Just as I was starting to feel a sense of crisis.
Sshwaeaek-! Thud!
“…!”
A familiar but unwelcome sound reached my ears, and then an arrow struck at my feet. The arrow’s feather trembled.
“We’re under attack!”
The knights drew their swords simultaneously.
“Young master!”
Taran quickly pulled me, almost embracing me, and shielded me with his body. As if arrows had eyes.
“Aaargh!”
“Help me! H-help- Kuhak!”
“Kyaaaah!”
People hit by the shower of arrows rolled on the ground. Screams and cries deafened the ears.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
