Chapter 23
Apprentice
Within the Imperial military, the position Sir Noel held could rightly be called absolute.
But that did not an there was no one who disliked her. Though their numbers were few, there were indeed those who had turned into her enemies for their own reasons.
Envy, jealousy, or simply people who had belonged to opposing factions within the military and had been defeated in the competition...
Most likely, everyone in this room could relate to such stories.
“…I understand what you’re trying to say.”
Sir Levant, a knight known as the “Great Wolf,” reluctantly opened his mouth.
If you only heard the na, it wouldn’t sound so bad, but if you dared to call him by that nickna in front of Sir Levant, you had better be prepared to have your nose broken.
After all, it was an obvious insult. It clearly implied he was rely the leader of those “under” the Lionhearted.
And just that fact alone explained quite succinctly why Sir Levant disliked the Lionhearted, but how he felt about the task they were now being “commissioned” for was another matter altogether.
“Are you openly telling us to harm soone close to the Lionhearted?”
“Strictly speaking, not soone close.”
A man with a voice as smooth as silk, elegant, and refined however you described it replied without hesitation.
He had the looks of a nobleman.
But the words he spoke were remarkably vicious, entirely unfitting for such an appearance.
“I’m talking about striking at her husband’s bodyguards. Even if you’re tracked afterward, it won’t cause any serious problems.”
…To be honest.
He was not the sort of man one could take a liking to.
The way his delicate, gleaming appearance seed like a mask to conceal the nature of a viper was all too apparent.
And it was troubling because he was the sort of person who would never betray any hint of that.
Rad Ilja Varfon. The Empire’s Chief Administrator. A great noble ranked sowhere around fourth or fifth in the imperial court’s hierarchy.
That status alone was already oppressive enough, but there was another fact that overshadowed even that.
‘The Second Prince’s closest confidant…’
Rembering that information, Sir Levant brushed his lips with his fingers.
Most likely, the very fact that he was brazenly coming here to incite them spoke directly on behalf of that faction’s will.
“You have no reason to refuse. I’m sure you’re all aware on whose orders I am here.”
“…”
“If you handle this matter well, think carefully about whose protection you might enjoy in the future. Also, consider who the rightful heir to the throne is at this mont.”
“…It is an enticing proposal.”
Sir Levant, still frowning, looked straight at the man.
To be honest, I couldn’t figure out what the other party’s true intentions were.
If anything, it would have been easier to understand if they had simply co to ask us to strike directly at the Lionhearted herself, but this…
‘Rather than the Lionhearted…’
Wasn’t this request clearly driven by malice toward the Lionhearted’s “husband”?
“I can’t even begin to guess what benefit you think cos from attacking him.”
“Yesterday, I heard that the Lionhearted and her adjutant ended up in a fight on the training grounds. Have you heard about it?”
“…?”
Wondering what he was suddenly talking about, Levant tilted his head slightly. Rad continued in a voice tinged with amusent.
“They fought quite fiercely, to the point that they injured each other. But the adjutant completely ‘regenerated’ the wounds. Without showing any sign of pain.”
“…What do you an by that…?”
“It’s not widely known, but there’s a ‘royal’ in the Holy Crown Kingdom who has exactly that sa ability.”
“…”
As soon as the words fell, Levant’s expression grew serious as well.
“If she has a royal serving as her adjutant… well. That alone is an act of blasphemy in the eyes of the Holy Crown Kingdom. If, by so ‘unfortunate accident,’ she were to be injured, it would beco twice the scandal.”
In other words.
Whether they succeeded or failed, just having that princess beco entangled in sothing ugly would be a significant incident.
The Lionhearted’s husband would be caught in a checkmate.
“…But if we end up killing a mber of the royal family, wouldn’t that be a far graver problem for us? This is absurd—”
“She will be unhard, so don’t worry.”
“…Pardon?”
“What the Holy Crown Kingdom cares about is that princess’s status as a ‘royal.’ They won’t be overly concerned with any personal grudges. One way or another, it can be smoothed over.”
“…Is regicide really sothing that can be brushed aside so easily?”
“If it’s that princess, then yes.”
Rad spoke with a short, derisive laugh.
In the first place, she wasn’t soone who would die even if an assassination attempt succeeded.
More importantly, she was a very peculiar sort of person soone who had not a single ‘ally.’
In other words.
“That woman… she’s an outcast.”
Rad’s words slipped out smoothly.
“There isn’t a single person who would grieve, no matter what happens to her.”
Smooth or not.
His words were edged enough to feel almost malicious.
▣
-System ssage
[ One day remains to progress the sub quest. ]
[ If you fail, penalties will be imposed! ]
…I knew that perfectly well, even without being reminded.
It had been exactly one day since Katya, who had stayed silent no matter what I said to her after the incident in the training ground, had disappeared sowhere without a word.
Sir Noel had also shut herself away in her private room and refused to co out. All in all, a grim atmosphere hung thick within the barracks.
‘I’m certain…’
The sub quest had instructed to resolve this situation peacefully.
Most likely, that was just another way of saying I should diate between the two of them and settle things amicably.
‘First, I have to find out where she went.’
There was no point in talking about resolving things peacefully or otherwise when I didn’t even know where she was.
That was where I needed to start.
But the clue to solving it ca from a completely unexpected place.
“Her Highness is on the rooftop.”
The mont I ran into her in the corridor, Sir Stella spoke in a weary voice.
“I did what I could to keep yesterday’s commotion from getting any bigger. But trying to calm the parties involved… that was beyond .”
“…Thank you for your trouble.”
“She seems ready to explode if anyone approaches carelessly, so I’ve instructed everyone to stay away. It’s dangerous, but… if you might be able to soothe Her Highness sohow—”
“I’ll try to calm her.”
“…”
Stella narrowed her eyes and stared at .
“Are you sure you can?”
“Yes.”
The look she gave said she couldn’t believe I was speaking so lightly about a bomb that could go off at any mont, but I t her gaze calmly.
“…Aiden.”
After locking eyes with for a long while, Sir Stella finally let out a heavy sigh and opened her mouth.
“It has been a very long ti since I’ve seen Sir Noel act so emotionally. Not once since the end of the Allied War, I think.”
“…”
“You really are… quite the person. For people of their stature to be so unsettled because of you.”
“Thank you… for the complint?”
My words of gratitude ca out awkward because, frankly, the way she said it did not sound like a complint at all.
The next thing she said made that perfectly clear.
“Please, I’m begging you—be careful not to beco a philanderer.”
“…”
“If sothing happens in the future that makes Sir Noel grieve… well.”
-You’ll have to take responsibility yourself.
Watching Sir Stella vanish after that terrifying warning, I scratched the back of my head.
‘…I’m sorry, but.’
Honestly, I couldn’t make any promises.
If I had taken up the burden of saving the world, then I had to do everything within my power.
In the first place, the reason I was even trying to reach out and resolve things with Katya was part of that sa conviction.
-Skill Info
◈ Weaver of Fate
Only you know the true nature of this world. Build bonds with the main story’s key figures to unlock new rewards!
Relationships were like that—whether they developed or deteriorated, it always happened when emotions were at their peak.
If I was thinking only about forming a “bond” with Katya, there would never be a more opportune mont than this.
“…”
…It did prick my conscience.
But even so, that very action seed to be the most honest expression of the path I had to walk from here on out.
I had no intention of deliberately toying with soone’s feelings, but even so—after acquiring the Weaver of Fate, from the perspective of winning people’s favor, Aiden was in a position where he had to do whatever it took.
There was still much to ponder about what exactly the system ant by “favor,” and in what form it would manifest, but Aiden couldn’t be certain it wouldn’t eventually evolve into sothing like “romantic affection” between a man and a woman.
Even so, there was one thing he was sure of.
‘I think…this person is safe.’
Looking at Katya sitting on the rooftop railing with her legs stretched out, Aiden found himself thinking that.
Whatever else could be said, he had an odd certainty that Katya wasn’t even the sort of person with whom you could begin to talk about affection between a man and a woman.
How should he put it?
She just didn’t seem like soone who even understood what those feelings were in the first place.
“Your Highness.”
When he called out to her, Katya whipped around to look at him.
Her expression instantly crumpled into a scowl, only to swing back forward again just as quickly.
What could he call that?
Like a sulky child.
“…”
Aiden gave a wry smile.
At the very least, since she wasn’t running away or trying to avoid him despite her mood, this was probably the perfect chance to start a conversation.
Indeed, she said nothing even as he ca up beside her and sat down on the railing.
“Why are you in such a foul mood?”
“…Go away.”
“Are you still bothered by what Sir Noel said?”
Katya snapped her mouth shut so fast it made a sharp sound.
Silence was as good as an admission.
Suppressing a growing amusent, Aiden quietly sat right beside her.
He hadn’t known this princess for that long, but from watching the way she behaved, there was one impression that stood out above all.
‘She really is like a kid.’
In everything from start to finish, she always tried to bend everything to her will, and when that didn’t work out, her first reaction was to get angry.
She could sotis be as sharp as an awl in perceiving other people’s feelings, yet she had absolutely no ability to control her own emotions.
“…”
As for why she’d grown to have such a personality, there wasn’t much need to agonize over it.
‘When you think about it… it’s strange.’
Ever since she entered the Empire, she’d co alone, without a single attendant. Even now, she was staying here entirely on her own terms, and the Holy Crown Kingdom hadn’t once demanded her return or even shown any normal concern about her well-being.
As if they couldn’t care less whether she was here or not.
That was exactly how the Holy Crown Kingdom treated Katya.
If he thought back on her background setting, there was even an annotation that until she was incorporated into the main scenario, Katya hadn’t had a single proper friend or even anyone she could call an acquaintance.
A freak. A monster. An aberration. Sothing repulsive. A source of fear.
In other words, an outcast.
No matter how intelligent she was, it was clear she had never once managed to form a proper “human relationship” in her life.
Which ant she had never had any chance to mature emotionally.
And this was the kind of person who, for the very first ti, wanted to make a good impression on Aiden himself.
It made sense that the form of her favor shown on the status window was “obsession.”
Because aside from him, there probably wasn’t a single person in the world she even wanted to be close to.
“…Why did you co.”
And that gloomy voice was likely her reaction to the fear that she might have earned the hatred of the one person she cared about.
Aiden stroked his chin and replied.
“I ca to check on you. You looked so unwell.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“….”
“Then I’ll leave now?”
He smiled cheerfully as he said that, and Katya glared at him, pouting.
“…I.”
She trailed off and was silent for a long ti, then finally forced the words out in a strained voice.
“Was I… just a burden to you?”
“No.”
Putting it like that was too harsh.
After all, she had followed everything he’d asked so far without a single complaint.
“…Then was that woman talking nonsense?”
“No. You are a nuisance, though.”
Katya’s face went blank when Aiden agreed without a shred of hesitation, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Looking at that face, Aiden gave a thin smile and continued.
“Then let ask you the opposite. Logically speaking, isn’t it a nuisance?”
While Katya stared at him, dazed, Aiden calmly began listing things off, one by one, without the slightest hesitation.
Since she’d insisted on becoming his adjutant, all the inconveniences he’d endured ca pouring out.
“You kept asking , day or night, to kill you just once so you could feel sothing.”
“….”
“You trailed after everywhere, acting like I’d never get a shred of privacy again.”
“….”
“I couldn’t sleep properly, couldn’t eat properly, and I could barely even go to the bathroom, you know?”
“….”
As Katya’s expression grew more and more bizarre, Aiden yawned as if nothing were out of the ordinary and continued reciting further complaints in a steady stream.
It would be one thing if she were oblivious, but she knew full well and still acted this way, which made it even worse. Please, start paying a little attention to the people around you. Even here in the barracks, the staff were always filing complaints because of her…
“…Then.”
For a long while, every trace of her usual arrogance drained out of her body.
After being pumled by words until she looked utterly deflated, Katya finally opened her mouth in a voice thick with uncertainty, her expression twisted in anguish.
It was a side of her Aiden never would have imagined and her eyes were glistening faintly.
As if, after everything he’d just said, she had actually been wounded sowhere deep in her heart.
“I…I’m not needed by you—”
“So just don’t do that anymore.”
Katya’s eyes grew round.
She looked as if she’d just heard sothing she could never have imagined, and Aiden let out a quiet sigh inwardly.
Like this.
Seeing the way she genuinely seed unable even to imagine what it ant to be “forgiven,”
He could roughly guess what kind of life she must have led in the Holy Crown Kingdom.
“…”
Co to think of it.
In the main scenario’s Act II, “Blasphemy,” the incident was sparked precisely because of this trait of Katya’s—her complete isolation.
So.
Right here, right now, he decided to plant the seed that would twist that event entirely out of shape.
“Friends can be a bit of a nuisance sotis. As long as you don’t keep doing it, it’s fine.”
Honestly, saying sothing like that to a royal would be considered high treason, but…
Even so, Aiden finished speaking in a firm tone.
Sure, part of it was to raise her favor and copy her skill, but in many ways…
He thought this was exactly the sort of relationship she truly needed.
Soon, Katya’s face grew even stranger than before upon hearing those words.
“…Friend?”
She pronounced the word friend like soone being told to go eat boiled shoe leather.
As if this was the first ti in her entire life she’d ever heard the term.
“Friend.”
“…You and…? Friends?”
“Friend.”
Aiden repeated it one more ti, like driving in a nail, then pulled sothing out of his coat.
A small hip flask. Sothing Aiden occasionally used.
It wasn’t much of a gift, but after saying sothing like that, he couldn’t just leave it at words, so he handed it over.
“This is the token.”
“….”
Katya took it with a still-bewildered expression, her movents stiff.
“Katya.”
“…Yeah.”
“Since we’re friends, promise just one thing.”
“….”
“Stop picking fights with everyone for no reason. If you can, try not to do things that hurt others.”
“….”
“And later, please apologize to Sir Noel for picking a fight with her.”
“….”
“Can you promise that?”
“…Alright.”
Katya hunched over and hugged the hip flask tightly to her chest.
She looked like a mother bird warming an egg.
“I will.”
…Well.
At least she seed willing to listen. That was a relief.
“I’ll trust you.”
Aiden stretched and spoke, and Katya nodded her head.
…Uncharacteristically, she was quiet almost ek.
▣
-System ssage
▶ The target Katya’s “Obsession” stage toward you has risen to Stage 2.
▶ Skill “Weaver of Fate” activates. You may now copy an additional skill!
▶ Your influence over the target Katya has greatly increased.
▶ A significant change has arisen in the target Katya’s feelings because of you. The possibility of altering the future has been created.
▶ The target’s “Individual Quest” will soon unlock.
▶ Information about the unique trait “Origin” is now available.
“…”
Just pick one, seriously.
All I’d done was make a single promise of friendship, and now I had no idea why so many things were pouring in at once.
But among them, one stood out more than the rest.
‘…A unique trait?’
Aiden tilted his head slightly as he opened the skill window.
If his mory served right, this was an overwhelmingly powerful ability, different in nature from all the other skills.
-Skill Info
■ Omnipotence [Stage 1]
You can combine two or more supernatural abilities to create effects far stronger than the originals.
▶ Currently discovered combinations
〓 Guardian’s Fla (Heart of Pure White ↔ The First Vow)
.
.
.
■ Origin [Locked]
Increase your influence over others to unlock this ability.
▶ Individual Quest [1/2]
…Individual Quest.
From the system ssage, it seed like this was unlocked when you caused a major change in soone’s feelings, creating the possibility of “future alteration.”
If he completed one more, the skill would be unlocked.
Given that Omnipotence took the form of adding special modifiers whenever he perford that sort of action, judging from the conditions…
‘…Is this the kind of ability that lets you exert profound influence on others?’
That was probably the most reasonable conclusion.
He’d only know for sure later on.
‘More importantly…’
So.
One side was sohow resolved.
-System ssage
[ One day remains to progress the sub quest. ]
[ Progress: 50% ]
“…”
Aiden stared at that window with a slight frown.
Why was it only halfway complete?
‘…Do I have to comfort Sir Noel too?’
With Katya, he’d expected it—her emotional maturity was so underdeveloped that she practically needed soone to soothe her.
But for Noel to need this as well… That was unexpected. Just what kind of state was she in?
“…This is my life.”
He let out a sigh and started walking again.
Unlike Katya, he already knew where Noel was.
Reaching the door to her private room, Aiden knocked lightly.
“Sir Noel, it’s Aiden. May I co in?”
…He waited a long while, but there was no reply.
He tilted his head and cautiously tried the doorknob.
The mont he cracked the door open, the sharp tang of alcohol stabbed up into his sinuses.
The air was so thick with the sll that it felt like it slapped him across the face the instant the door opened. Aiden’s brows drew tight.
He himself often enjoyed a beer or two after work, but drinking so much that the stench filled the entire room was sothing he found so crude it went beyond any question of liking or disliking—it was sothing he tried to avoid entirely.
Which ant this scene was absolutely bizarre.
Especially when he considered who the occupant of the room was.
“…Sir Noel…?”
He stepped carefully inside, only to have his mouth fall open at the sight before him.
Empty cans. Bottles drained dry. If he gathered them all up, there was no doubt he could have built a small pyramid.
Even in this state, the fact that the empty containers were all neatly organized in rows spoke volus about Noel’s personality.
Aiden stood there for a mont, too dumbfounded to speak, before picking up the bottle closest to him.
The label proudly proclaid 50 proof.
Glancing around, he counted at least five more empty bottles of the sa label.
“….”
He stood there in stunned silence, staring at them, when suddenly soone on the bed began to stir.
“…Oh.”
With a face flushed bright red, Noel.
“Hee—”
She tried to speak, her tongue thick and clumsy.
“A-Aiden, it’s you—”
A dopey grin spread across her face.
“….”
…What on earth was this.
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