Episode 12
* * *
The anecdotes about Dale, passed from mouth to mouth among the rich, swelled and swelled like a balloon about to burst, and spread throughout the empire.
The eldest son of the House of Saxony, who stood in front of enemy lines to save one knight from a horde of thousands of orcs.
As a party concerned, this was a story of bravery that was so embarrassing that it brought a breath of fresh air to the entire Northern Duchy.
* * *
Sword training with the knights of the Duke’s Castle from early in the morning.
“Welcome, Prince Dale!”
“welcome!”
“I respectfully present myself before the presence of Confucius!”
Leaving behind the dreary dawn air, the knights all knelt down in unison and saluted as soon as they saw Dale.
Sreung!
They all simultaneously slashed their swords vertically.
Dale is usually the one who is devoted to the sword and associates with the knights, led by Sir Helmut, without any hesitation. This in itself is an act of trust that goes beyond the walls of the noble successor of the duke’s family and the knights.
But from that day on, the hospitality of the knights heading to Dale was incomparable to any other time.
It wasn’t just respect that came from Dale’s talent or his status as the heir to the Duke’s family.
The eldest son of a duke’s family, who willingly rode his horse against his enemies to save one knight.
Of course, this does not mean that the Duke of Saxony was ruthless in having to silently watch the knight’s death. Rather, the Black Duke was renowned for caring for his subordinates, and the knights were also well aware of this reality.
In this world, nobility of status has a greater meaning than Dale, who came from another world, could imagine.
That’s why Dale’s appearance was all the more special.
‘We of Saxony never abandon our loyal sword.’
Even if it is somewhat shabby compared to the exaggerated stories told by the rich, it is nothing compared to the excitement felt by those who witnessed the situation firsthand.
“Hey, why are you all acting so embarrassed?”
Still, Dale just scratches his head awkwardly.
“Stand proud, Confucius!”
Soon, Sir Helmut bursts into hearty laughter at Dale, who can’t hide his embarrassment.
“So, what is everyone doing!”
After laughing, he takes on the appearance of a fierce beast and adjusts his grip on the sword in his hand.
“Shouldn’t we sharpen our swords even more for the sake of future Confucius?”
“I will obey your orders!”
At Sir Helmuth’s shout, the knights simultaneously raised their swords and struck their breastplates. As if, as the Duke of Saxony had feared, Dale’s kindness could never dull their swords.
With the determination to sharpen the sword even more, the hot heat began to heat up the morning before dawn.
‘There’s just no passion at all.’
As Dale watched that scene, he was at a loss as to how to respond.
* * *
He sharpens his sense of combat by facing the sword of the Seven Swords of the Continent, Sir Helmut, and becomes proficient in the artifact ‘Shadow Cloak’. He is trained in water magic by Sepia. Finally, he learns dark attribute magic from Black Duke.
Dale’s training, which was nearing completion of the second circle, was progressing at a rapid pace.
Not to mention the training of swords and magic. There are endless things to learn as the successor to the Duke’s family.
Dale’s day was a grueling schedule that could hardly be called a “king’s lesson.”
At least except for that one day.
“Your Majesty, it is time for the guest to arrive.”
After finishing his training with the knights early in the morning, the young maid, Eve, came to greet Dale.
“Your Majesty the Duke asks you to come to the Great Hall with Sir Helmut.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”
“The time has come already.”
And following those words, Sir Helmut also stopped his practice and put away his sword.
Today a very special guest is visiting the Duchy of Saxony.
A fallen noble from the Teutonic Knights. The young widow of Lord Barthel and her nine-year-old daughter.
* * *
There were countless names calling out ‘Badel Orhart’ who had been defeated by the warriors of the past.
Divine Sword.
One of the Seven Swords, and the one with the title of the First Sword. The last loyal subject of the Teutonia Knight Nation who lost his life after being defeated by the ‘Warrior of the Other World’.
After that, the Teutonia Knights became part of the Empire’s territory──.
The Orhart family, once renowned as a military family, was literally wandering around as a fallen noble family.
In comparison, the Duke of Saxony is still the greatest noble family on the continent and a family of magicians who practice black magic.
The one who brought together two families that at first glance seemed to have no connection at all was Sir Helmut, who, along with Sir Badel, had the name Seven Swords.
“Thank you again for accepting my extremely difficult request.”
“You said he was the one who helped you walk the path of a knight.”
The Duke of Saxony nodded silently to Lord Helmuth, who bowed politely.
“You said that the widowed Lady Orchardt sent a letter to you asking for help?”
Likewise, sitting on the left side of the throne prepared for the duke and duchess, his wife Elena asked, holding Dale’s younger sister, Lize, who was sleeping innocently and oblivious to the world.
“Yes.”
Sir Helmut bowed his head as if he were ashamed.
“No matter how long ago it was, we cannot ignore the difficulties faced by those who helped us.”
Elena smiled as if it was nothing special. However, Dale, who was listening to the conversation between the duke and his wife and Sir Helmut, had very complicated feelings.
‘I never thought we’d get entangled like this again.’
Lord Shingeom Badel is no longer of this world. It was he, the Imperial Hound, who took the man’s life.
After that, the fate of the Orchard family, who lost their homeland and the pillars of their family and became subject to the empire, was beyond words.
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Rather, it is surprising that it took nine years for them to finally ask for help.
“Guests from the Orchard House have arrived.”
Just then, the Duke’s butler appeared across the Great Hall.
“Treat him with respect.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
The butler bowed his head and withdrew, and soon reappeared. With the mother and daughter of the Orhart family.
A woman wearing a pitch-black veil and all-black clothing. And a young daughter, the same age as Dale, who follows her mother silently.
Both the mother and daughter have swords slung diagonally on their waists, which immediately catch Dale’s attention.
This is a rapier for noble women.
‘Even if he is a fallen noble, he goes all the way to the Saxon Dukedom without a single servant… … .’
That is probably why she is armed with a sword as a noblewoman. The fact that, aside from the servants of the House of Saxony, there is no one else to accompany and accompany the two is proof of this.
“Vanessa Orchardt, I humbly ask you to meet His Excellency the Duke of Saxony.”
“welcome.”
A woman dressed in black bowed her head and paid respectful tribute.
But the blonde girl who was by her mother’s side raised her voice without hiding her hostility.
“Mother, why do you bow your head to these guys!”
“Sha, Charlotte!”
At that attitude, the widow in black, Vanessa, is flustered and urges her daughter. At the girl’s new voice, ‘Lize’, who was sleeping in Elena’s arms, is startled and bursts into tears.
“The road here must have been rough. Thank you for your hardship.”
But the Duke of Saxony continues speaking calmly, without any embarrassment.
“Elena, Lize seems surprised. Take her to the bedroom.”
“Okay, you.”
“And Dale.”
“Yes, father.”
“I’ll show Miss Charlotte a tour of the castle.”
Perhaps not expecting the atmosphere to become so tense, he quickly leaves his wife Elena and Dale behind.
Charlotte, the daughter of the Orchard family, was no exception.
“It is the duty of a nobleman to escort a lady.”
“All right.”
‘It looks like the story is going to get quite complicated.’
But despite the Duke of Saxony’s words, the blonde girl only nodded her head confidently.
“Who would listen to the words of the imperial nobles!”
“shallot!”
Once again, Vanessa’s face hardened coldly. Only then did the girl called Charlotte begin to shed tears.
Tears welling up in her emerald eyes. No matter how hard she tries to hold them back, the tears burst out uncontrollably.
‘No matter how strong she tries to be, she’s still just a scared girl.’
A girl who lost her father before she was born and had no choice but to shoulder the burden of a fallen noble family.
I recall that day, when sleet blew across the night curtain. That day, the wife of Lord Bardell, the new swordsman, must have already been carrying that girl in her womb. Just like Dale’s mother.
For a moment, an inexplicable sense of guilt gripped Dale’s heart.
“… …Lady Charlotte.”
Dale, who thought he couldn’t ruin the mood any longer, quickly got up.
“Please come this way.”
After he woke up, he led a girl named Charlotte.
* * *
As I left the Duke’s Hall, a chilling, dreary air seeped into my lungs.
“……it hurts.”
Just then, Charlotte, who had been sobbing and silent, opened her mouth.
Only then did Dale realize that he was holding her wrist tightly. In the dark, white winter night, he remembered the girl’s father, who had taken her life with his own hands.
It was a slender wrist that didn’t even have the thought of resisting.
“… … the Dale of Saxony.”
Dale hurriedly opened the distance, and the blonde girl, ‘Charlotte’, called Dale’s name.
“People say that in the empire, there is no one who can compare to him in swordsmanship or magic.”
And then the ‘saga’ of Dale’s exploits was told by word of mouth among the rich.
“You tried to defend your knight alone against a horde of hundreds of orcs?”
“… … This is a story that has become exaggerated.”
“But aren’t they much stronger than the average knight?”
Charlotte asked back, secretly hoping Dale would affirm her strength.
“Otherwise, there’s no way he could defend his knights against hundreds of orcs.”
“So it’s not hundreds… … .”
Just then, Dale was about to correct the truth of the tale.
Sling.
Charlotte, a blonde girl, raises her hand over the hilt of her rapier.
“Fight me.”
After uploading, Charlotte said.
“Can you tell me why?”
Dale asked. At those words, Charlotte bit her lip quietly and fell silent.
“… … I will prove that my sword is better than the genius of the Duke’s family.”
After a pause, Charlotte continues.
“Because I am the proud daughter of the new sword.”
In a faintly trembling voice.
“I’ll prove to my mother that I can protect the Orhart family from that man.”
“That guy?”
Charlotte nodded quietly.
“Count Brandenburg, the Holy Swordsman.”
“… … !”
After nodding, he says one person’s name.
The executioner of Tosagupen, who stabbed the blade of the holy sword behind his back towards his previous life. A hateful name that he will never forget.
* * *
“He… …tried to r**e my daughter.”
Breaking the silence that had descended upon the Great Hall, a widow dressed in black opened her mouth.
“It was only after I pleaded that the child had not yet had her period that he finally stopped raping me.”
At those words, Lord Helmut’s expression distorts. However, the Duke of Saxony maintains his composure and listens silently to the story.
“She must be the child of the one who inherited the blood of the man called the Divine Sword, so let her conceive her with her seed──.”
“… … There is no need to say more than that.”
But even the Duke of Saxony could not help but frown at the words that followed.
The desire for eugenics is a desire that anyone can have as a human being. This is especially true for nobles who value continuing their family line above all else.
Even so, the idea of raping a nine-year-old girl and planting one’s seed in her ‘blood of the divine sword’ is… … that of a beast that has abandoned even the conscience that a human being should have.
And the significance of the blood of the divine sword was not light, to the point where he didn’t even care about falling into that kind of beast.
“But in a country that has already fallen into ruin, there is nowhere else to rely on, nowhere else to ask for help… … .”
“You must have been in a lot of pain.”
The Duke of Saxony bowed his head in deep consolation.
“Please forgive my daughter’s rudeness.”
“After going through such a terrible thing, it’s understandable why he would act that way.”
The Duke of Saxony replied as if he didn’t care.
“I would never ask for too much from you, Your Majesty the Duke.”
Vanessa Orchardt, the young widow of the Shingeom, continues her trembling words.
“Please, don’t let that man, the Count of Brandenburg, spread his ugly hands… … .”
A mother who cannot hide her worries about her daughter.
“Please accept my daughter as a maid of the House of Saxony.”
