Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Mondegreen (4)

“Your sword is deeply colored by Rudehrn’s influence.”

It felt like someone had hit me hard on the back of the head. Something brushed from my left temple to my right.

With that one sentence, I could understand what the problem was.

“At first, I wasn’t sure. It felt familiar somehow. I thought you might be a disciple of someone I knew.”

“Is that so?”

“A Sword Master’s swordsmanship is not easily forgotten, but your sword wasn’t completely Rudehrn’s, and it’s been quite a while since I dueled Rudehrn, so I didn’t recognize it right away.”

Mondegreen continued with a solemn face.

“But seeing something like an awkward wave, I realized. That you’ve been greatly influenced by Rudehrn. In a bad way.”

It’s hard to describe a Sword Master’s influence as bad. But for me, it is.

Because I’m not someone who should be continuing Rudehrn’s sword, but someone who should be drawing my own sword.

Every swordsman must develop their own swordsmanship to become a Sword Master.

The same goes for me. I need to cultivate as much strength as possible to survive in this world.

“Behind your moonlight, there’s an ocean. Well, the waves on a moonlit night are beautiful too, but that’s not the picture you’re aiming for, is it?”

I silently nodded.

There was nothing wrong with what he said. The cause was my duel with Rudehrn and the battle fought in my best condition.

It would have been fine up to the duel. Rudehrn tried to develop me rather than show off his own sword.

But the battle wasn’t like that.

I was greatly shocked by that battle and tried hard to catch up to it.

Because the Sword Master’s swordsmanship looked so beautiful in the expanded thinking under the best conditions.

That was the problem.

I had been unknowingly borrowing and imitating Rudehrn’s swordsmanship.

‘They say imitation is the mother of creation, but I didn’t advance to creation.’

No, rather than creation, I had merely followed. Meeting Mondegreen in the desert wasn’t a disaster, it was luck.

If a few more years had passed in this state, where would I have had to start correcting my swordsmanship?

I got goosebumps at the thought I couldn’t even dare to imagine.

Maybe I would have completely lost my way somewhere in the vast sea between the moon and the waves.

“You’ll understand what I mean.”

“Yes. I sincerely thank you.”

I bowed deeply. It was an action that came from the heart. Mondegreen patted my shoulder.

Next came the duels of Aron and Jofor, but I didn’t have time to watch them.

My head was complicated just thinking about Rudehrn’s influence that had seeped into my swordsmanship.

Denif beside me was the same. He had been sitting lost in thought, staring at the ground since I stepped up.

After a short contemplation, I judged that it was impossible to cleanly remove this problem.

I had to start from scratch.

‘It won’t take that long.’

Going back to basics doesn’t mean my abilities disappear. It won’t be a problem in battle either.

It just means re-examining the swordsmanship I’ve developed from the beginning. A step back for two steps forward, you could say.

The imperial capital, Chenarus.

It’s quite far in terms of distance, but it didn’t feel that long to me.

***

A thick fog had been covering the imperial capital Chenarus for days.

In a corner of the palace training ground, where visibility was limited to four steps ahead, the princess was sitting.

“Your Highness. Let’s go inside now.”

Emmet approached and carefully opened his mouth. His face was full of worry.

The princess was looking at the sky. Even though nothing could be seen through the dense fog.

There wasn’t much change in the princess’s daily life after the empress assassination incident. For the first few days, she didn’t even eat properly, but not anymore.

She managed supporting nobles, had tea time with noble daughters in the capital, and often met with the emperor.

Of course, this means there was no change as far as others could see.

Emmet, who was always by her side, knew that she was still suffering greatly.

‘She should overcome this now.’

Her contemplation at the training ground was one of the proofs.

Emmet had taken over the princess’s training that Carlyn used to do. The princess devoted herself to it passionately.

But at the end of each training session, she always stayed in the same place for a long time. It was the bench where Carlyn used to rest.

To Emmet, it seemed like the princess was waiting for something there.

It was true. The princess was always waiting for the wind with the right temperature and volume that used to blow after training.

Sometimes she felt the wind she was looking for.

Of course, most of the time when she looked up in surprise and looked around, the wind had already disappeared.

And after a short while.

She realized that it wasn’t the wind she had been waiting for, but just a momentary wind that happened to blow at the right time, that it was her imagination.

Even so, she couldn’t exactly understand why she continued this wait.

‘The troubles don’t go away.’

In fact, the princess had already reached a conclusion in her heart. Carlyn, Carl Schurtafen, did not try to kill her.

Hundreds, thousands of times, the memories and circumstances she recalled and examined in painful agony were saying so.

Carl Schurtafen tried to protect her. And her mother tried to kill her.

Even though she had reached this conclusion, her heart wasn’t at ease.

Sometimes the truth is heavier and more wounding.

The princess felt a deep ache in her heart every time she acknowledged this conclusion. Perhaps that’s why she was searching for a gentle and mild wind.

“I wish the wind would blow away this damp fog.”

Emmet watched the princess carefully.

He was one of the few people who knew about Carlyn’s mystic. He understood what her words meant.

“Emmet, do you know?”

“I don’t know.”

The princess hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Schurtafen is not a devil worshipper or anything like that.”

And at that moment, she felt her heart ease a little. She could immediately understand why.

Because she was sharing the weight of the truth.

At least from her perspective, she was the only one in this palace who knew of Schurtafen’s innocence.

Even Emmet had denounced Carl Schurtafen.

Because he was one of those who felt the greatest sense of betrayal, as much as he had believed in Carlyn.

“Your Highness, those words……”

Emmet expressed his discomfort with a bewildered expression. The princess didn’t mind him.

Emmet was one of the few people she could trust.

She thought it was time to tell the truth. At least with Emmet, she felt she could share this weight.

And as she judged, Emmet was not someone who would tell the emperor or the intelligence agency no matter what she said.

“Actually, Schurtafen……”

The princess opened her mouth, using the thick fog as a screen.

Around the time the princess was talking about Carlyn, the three princes were gathered in a secret place in Chenarus.

“What?”

“Anyway, we won’t die even if we kill Erendil. We’ll just be imprisoned. When either I or the second prince takes the throne, whoever it is will pardon you and give you the position of Duchess Lyurik.”

“So why do I have to do it? Speaking bluntly, can’t one of you older brothers do it?”

“The nobles want one of us. You know that, right? You’ve completely lost the nobles’ hearts.”

The third prince didn’t particularly refute. It was true. He just made a disgruntled face.

Even though there were more nobles supporting the princess now, there were still many factions supporting the princes.

In the long history of the empire, a woman had never ascended to the emperor’s throne. The nobles didn’t want an unprecedented event. It was an old stubbornness.

Anyway, the princes’ decision wasn’t sudden.

They tried to harm the princess using Carlyn’s empress assassination incident as an excuse, but failed due to the management of the imperial family’s image.

Rather, the princess became the person who prevented her subordinate’s rebellion in time.

The emperor’s reaction wasn’t good either. Although he didn’t show it, the frequency of his meetings with the princess gradually increased.

The first and second princes agreed that they needed to act before it became more solid.

They also agreed to use the third prince to avoid harm to themselves.

‘Look at these guys? It’s really true.’

The third prince was laughing inside. If his brothers had spoken a little earlier, he might have fallen for those words.

But he already had another force supporting him. The third prince grinned. It was going according to plan.

“I don’t intend to take the blame alone. Either find a way for all of us not to get caught, or we all get caught together. Instead, I’ll proceed as you brothers said.”

The first and second princes looked at each other with troubled expressions. That stupid younger brother wasn’t so easy to handle.

***

“Aren’t you scared of big brother these days?”

“Of what? He’s just concentrating.”

“No, it’s the first time he’s been slow to react even when called. He used to turn around before being called. He’s like a completely different person.”

“That’s true.”

“I thought only Big Brother Denif was a bit weird, you know? But they’re not friends for nothing. Big brother doesn’t even eat well these days. Says it’s a waste of time.”

I can hear Aron and Jofor’s whispers. Hmm. I don’t have much to say. It was really like that.

I had somewhat isolated myself from the world and was focused on my inner world. Denif was the same.

It couldn’t be helped. We needed to refine our swordsmanship as much as possible before arriving in Chenarus.

Because we don’t know what might happen in the capital. The results were clear. I had escaped Rudehrn’s influence in no small part.

When I or Denif requested, Mondegreen immediately picked up his sword and watched over us. We were very grateful.

Although our first meeting was terrible, I thought this might be the biggest help I’ve received in swordsmanship since coming to this world.

But anyway, the end of the desert was approaching. It meant it was time to part with Mondegreen.

On the last night in the desert, Mondegreen asked while taking out the alcohol he had prepared.

“Where are you going now?”

I quickly racked my brain. I couldn’t possibly say I was going to Chenarus.

It would be troublesome if they looked for me there.

And it would be a problem if they happened to learn my identity. Of course, he’s not someone who would attack me even if he knew.

He’s a person who lives as he wants.

But I didn’t want to cause unpredictable events again. Actually, this was something I should have thought about earlier.

I was too busy with the sword. Of course, even if I had, I wouldn’t have found the right answer.

Because I didn’t know Mondegreen’s destination.

The answer needs to be quick but good. Because if I’m not careful, our companionship might be prolonged.

“Well, nothing’s decided yet, but I’m thinking of going to the southwestern plains or the west.”

“The west because of the civil war? To do mercenary work?”

“Yes. I’m debating whether to hunt monsters in the southwestern plains or participate in the western civil war. Where are you going, sir?”

I asked casually, as if it didn’t matter at all.

“I’m thinking of going east.”

“East?”

“Yes. My first and second disciples left for the east, saying they wanted to see the eastern sword. I need to tell them about the youngest’s death. I should let them pay their respects.”

I nodded. It was fortunate. Of course, I shouldn’t show my joy. I maintained composure.

But then Mondegreen looked at me.

“So I was thinking……”

A sense of foreboding swept over me.

“How about putting my first disciple into your mercenary group?”

“Pardon?”

No way.

Mondegreen’s first disciple, I know him well. The Casanova Sword Master. This guy is crazy.

He tries to seduce every woman he meets. He also had the looks for it.

He did help quite a bit in fighting the devil worshippers, but there’s a reason he’s called crazy.

It’s still unbelievable that he seduced a king’s daughter in the allied forces and eloped with her.

There were even worse incidents.

He single-handedly invaded the devil worshipper camp and came out after seducing a high-ranking devil worshipper.

‘I really couldn’t believe it.’

In all my time playing the game, this was the only case I’ve seen of a high-ranking devil worshipper defecting.

He seduced that crazy fanatic with his charm.

Gamers who chose the charming value system at the beginning of the game to play as Casanova all imitated him.

I heard some people even ran macros until they got characters with outstanding appearances.

‘Anyway, this crazy guy is too much to handle.’

It’s obvious that we can’t tell him about what we’re doing. And besides Rina, Mary is a problem.

Of course, he doesn’t like young children. But Mary will be an adult in a few years.

I wouldn’t mind if they liked each other, but this guy seduces women and then leaves abruptly.

In the future, could he handle the grown Aron’s anger?

He’ll definitely try to chase him, and by then Aron will be playing a big role in our organization.

And he’s not really a style that would be helpful for our work either.

“Well, I decide on mercenary group members after seeing them myself.”

“It’s important to see their character too. But don’t worry. My first disciple is a really good person.”

He wasn’t like that at all.

Is he only seeing his disciple in a good light, or did he behave normally in front of Mondegreen?

“It’ll be good for you guys if my disciple joins. He’s a bit more skilled, so you can stimulate each other.”

“Really? I’d like to face him once.”

Denif, who had been listening from the side, showed curiosity and competitiveness. Sigh, this really doesn’t help.

I want to tell him to just stay quiet, but we’re in front of Mondegreen.

Of course, that statement itself is true. He’ll become a Sword Master in a few years, so he’s probably better than us right now.

“Wouldn’t it be better for the three of you to fight together, including my disciple, rather than just you two?”

I could understand Mondegreen’s intentions. He probably wants to accelerate our development by pairing us with his disciple.

Looking at the situation, it seems impossible to refuse.

I know Mondegreen’s stubbornness, and Denif is showing his characteristic competitiveness. There’s no proper justification either.

I made up my mind.

Mondegreen has given us tremendous insights, so I’m very grateful, but wrong is wrong. I’ll have to lie.

“Well, if you insist… We’ll go to the southwestern plains. If we stay there for about 4 months and then go west, we might be able to meet even if it’s a bit delayed, right?”

Denif looked at me. Because he knows our destination. But fortunately, he didn’t act stupidly.

“Oh, such consideration. Thank you. I’ll send my disciple as soon as I find him. I’m looking forward to your meeting.”

Yeah, no. I have absolutely no intention of meeting. We’re going straight to the empire.

The reason I said 4 months is to make him waste time.

“Me too.”

Of course, I didn’t forget to give a kind smile.

Author's Thoughts

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