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Chapter 9
The moment I mentioned retirement, Kaiden’s strict voice and Bled’s shocked scream followed at once.
I pretended to focus only on the food in front of me without looking at either of them.
Honestly, I felt guilty.
Still, I had my own reasons. I needed to talk with Bled again later.
But why was Kaiden reacting like that?
Just as I carefully glanced at him—
“You… wish to retire?”
I turned at Lucas’s voice.
Lucas was staring at me with wide eyes.
‘…What is with that expression?’
It made me uneasy.
Then Serena, sitting beside him, asked,
“Sir Marion. Do you truly wish to retire? Why?”
She looked completely unable to understand.
Well, from their point of view, a commoner becoming a Swordmaster and serving the imperial family was the greatest honor possible.
To throw away such glory must have sounded insane to them.
‘Makes sense. Even I didn’t think about retiring until a few days ago.’
“My body is not what it used to be,” I answered.
“I was even injured by a maid’s attack yesterday.”
“Ah…”
Yesterday’s injury became the perfect excuse.
Even Swordmasters could get hurt if they let their guard down or faced unexpected situations.
“I’m sorry. Because of me…”
Serena apologized with a guilty voice.
I shook my head.
“No. It is true that my body isn’t the same anymore.”
“I see.”
Serena thought for a moment, then suddenly brightened.
“I’ll ask His Majesty for you! Even ordinary knights are discharged after serving for several years—”
“Serena.”
“Princess Serena.”
Lucas and Kaiden stopped her at the same time.
Serena blinked in confusion as she looked between them.
The two men were trying to stop the young princess from making promises she could not keep.
Lucas spoke first.
“Sir Marion. The imperial family does not allow Swordmasters to retire. You already knew that when you accepted your knighthood.”
Before I could answer, Kaiden spoke for me.
“Marion was attacked by trolls a few days ago. Her body and mind are unstable right now. Please overlook her words.”
It sounded like he was saying I had gone crazy.
I immediately glared at him.
Kaiden shot me a sharp look back.
It clearly meant: Don’t interfere.
Lucas lowered his napkin and smiled softly.
“It is too interesting to simply ignore. No matter what, a Swordmaster just spoke of retirement. As a member of the imperial family, I must take it seriously.”
“After fighting monsters for ten years, anyone would grow tired of it,” Kaiden replied calmly.
“I intend to give Marion a long vacation.”
“A long vacation? Or is that just another way of saying retirement?”
“You are making assumptions.”
The two men’s gazes clashed in the air like sparks.
I could not interrupt at all.
This was supposed to be my problem, so why did those two seem more intense about it than me?
Lucas, as royalty, was treating this seriously.
Kaiden, meanwhile, was clearly trying to bury the issue.
At that moment, I realized retirement would not be easy.
Lucas turned back to me.
“Sir Marion. Why do you wish to retire? I heard you admire my older brother, Crown Prince Marius.”
“Cough!”
I choked on my water.
I never expected the Second Prince himself to bring up the Crown Prince.
Still, everyone already knew I liked the Crown Prince.
That was exactly why the imperial family felt safe placing me under Kaiden, another Swordmaster.
Thinking about it logically, keeping two Swordmasters together was extremely dangerous for those in power.
Especially since one of those Swordmasters was already a Grand Duke with enormous authority.
And the other one?
A half-wit commoner who could not even read.
The imperial family had worried over how to control someone like me.
After all, when I was younger, I caused several incidents in the imperial palace because I could not tolerate the nobles constantly looking down on me.
Once, I even destroyed part of the palace in a rage.
Kaiden was the one who stopped me.
Fortunately for them, young me had fallen for the Crown Prince at first sight.
So the imperial family made a decision.
They placed a watchdog in the Grand Duke’s household and left my education to Kaiden.
‘And that’s how I ended up trapped in Baltstein territory for ten years, cutting down monsters.’
The imperial family had simply thrown their troublesome problem into a cold land full of monsters.
I smiled bitterly and looked at Lucas.
“They don’t even treat me that well. I think ten years is enough.”
* * *
“You called for me?”
“Sit.”
The moment breakfast ended, I was summoned to Kaiden’s office.
He stood from behind his desk and gestured toward the sofa.
I carefully studied his mood.
He definitely did not look pleased.
[See? I told you Kaiden would react exactly like me.]
Bled snorted from my shoulder.
He was right.
Only ten minutes ago, he had been nagging me endlessly.
[Did all my advice go into one ear and out the other?!
Your image is already terrible, and instead of fixing it, you suddenly tell royalty you want to retire?!]
‘I had my reasons!’
[What reasons?!]
“……”
I could hardly say:
Because I’m a side villain from a novel and I might die soon.
‘…Sigh. Life is bitter.’
I crunched the snacks the butler brought me to calm down.
Once the butler left, only Kaiden and I remained in the office.
Well, technically Bled made three.
Kaiden immediately got to the point.
“You should not have spoken about retirement in front of Prince Lucas.”
[See?]
Bled spoke proudly beside me.
I ignored him and focused on Kaiden.
“Why not?”
“Are you trying to expose your weakness?”
“What weakness? The fact that I faint at the sight of blood?”
Kaiden pressed a hand against his forehead as if he had a headache.
“Yes.”
“I never mentioned that during breakfast.”
“But you did say your body is not what it used to be.”
“Oh, that…”
I answered casually.
‘Isn’t it true? I can’t even look at blood anymore. Wouldn’t revealing that make retirement easier? If I become useless, they’ll let me go.’
Right then—
“Do not think that will help you retire. The imperial family will never let you go.”
“…Can you read minds now too?”
I stared at him in shock.
Kaiden sighed deeply.
“You are one of only two Swordmasters in the Empire. If the imperial family learns about your weakness, they’ll use magic, holy power—anything—to fix you. And…”
“And?”
Looking frustrated, he loosened his cravat and tossed it onto the desk.
“From now on, the Second Prince will start approaching you.”
“…What?”
I looked at him in confusion.
Did he mean that kind of approaching?
It made no sense.
“What do you think of Prince Lucas?” Kaiden asked suddenly.
“Out of nowhere? He’s incredibly beautiful.”
At my honest answer, Kaiden rubbed his face irritably.
“Beautiful… you say.”
He looked annoyed, and I had no idea why.
Lucas was a noble prince and the male lead of the original story.
He already had the heroine.
Why would he ever look at me?
To someone who knew the original plot, Kaiden’s words sounded absurd.
“Why would you say something so ridiculous?” I asked.
Kaiden slowly tapped the armrest with his fingers.
To others, he might have looked calm.
But after knowing him for ten years, I could see the anxiety hidden underneath.
Why was he nervous?
I tilted my head in confusion as he slowly spoke.
“Prince Lucas and Princess Serena need supporters. That’s why Serena came here to meet me.”
“I know that.”
Kaiden frowned.
“Since they arrived here, there have already been two assassination attempts.”
“That must be hard for them.”
I answered sympathetically.
Kaiden sighed.
“What I mean is… those siblings survived years of living in danger like this.”
“Huh?”
“They’ve done everything possible to survive.”
