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chapter 9
Older Brother
Morgan lay sprawled on the ground, foam at his mouth. His injuries were severe enough that he would need to survive on soup for a while and would require at least two months of recovery before he could pick up a sword again.
And the one who had dealt this blow, Myer, swung the sword in his hands with a satisfied smile, as if relieved.
The spectators watching the scene were all open-mouthed in shock, as if by some unspoken agreement.
It was unbelievable that the one collapsed on the ground was Morgan, not Myer, and that Myer had not taken a single hit, yet had knocked Morgan down in a single strike and pummeled him.
“Winner: Myer Garden.”
At that moment, Rando broke the silence and announced Myer’s victory. Myer nodded toward Rando.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“Efforts…”
Rando muttered the words, as if mulling them over, and then made eye contact with Myer.
“It seems we need to have a talk, Prince Myer.”
Rando’s tone had shifted. Now that he realized Myer was not just an ordinary seedling but the legitimate heir of the family head, he had chosen to speak with the respect due to a knight.
Myer smiled faintly.
“Just as planned.”
Nan Gong Sword.
That was the move Myer had used: the one-second technique.
Naturally, Morgan, who had no idea that Myer could wield such a high-level sword technique, collapsed from the first strike. And that was exactly what Myer had intended.
“He was underestimating me.”
If Morgan had known Myer could use the Nan Gong Sword, he would have been cautious, and if he hadn’t let his guard down, he wouldn’t have been struck down in one blow.
But a careless fool deserves what happens to him.
Myer bowed his head slightly.
“I am always in the same place.”
“I understand.”
Rando ended the conversation plainly, then turned away without hesitation. Watching this, Myer admired him inwardly.
“Incredible patience and self-control.”
Rando had clearly seen Myer use his sword technique, Nan Gong Sword, yet he did not comment immediately and was able to exercise restraint—that in itself demonstrated immense patience.
Once Rando disappeared, Myer raised his head arrogantly. He looked at Morgan’s fallen body and spoke to his bewildered companions.
“What are you doing? Not removing the loser from in front of me?”
Flinch.
Morgan’s companions hesitated, then hurriedly came forward, lifted Morgan, and left the practice hall without even making eye contact with Myer.
“Master!!!”
At that moment, a familiar voice called out to Myer. It was Hoirun, staring at him with wide eyes. Myer chuckled lightly.
“You’ve come?”
“You’ve won.”
“Didn’t I say I would win?”
Hoirun looked at Myer with changed eyes. At first, he thought Myer’s earlier bravado was just youthful arrogance, but surprisingly, Myer had completely defeated Morgan.
One strike.
Of course, Morgan was just a seedling, and he had been caught off guard, but seizing that opportunity to win was all thanks to Myer, who everyone had dismissed.
The one who couldn’t even hold a sword properly.
The fool who peed at the sight of blood.
The ugly child ignored by the family head.
The coward hiding in the annex.
Watching Myer calmly, Hoirun’s eyes trembled.
“Was I wrong?”
From the moment he had first asked for food upon seeing Myer, Hoirun had sensed something had changed in him. But he hadn’t believed it.
No, he couldn’t believe it.
Because Myer had never changed before.
At that moment, Myer spoke to Hoirun.
“You’re not my steward, Hoirun.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Hoirun nodded at Myer’s words. Myer smiled gently.
“I thank you in advance.”
“Excuse me?”
“I need you to take care of me up to the annex.”
Slowly, Myer’s eyes closed, and his body collapsed sideways. Hoirun quickly lifted him. Hoirun’s eyes widened.
“So light.”
Myer’s body was astonishingly light. He wasn’t just slender—he was frail. Likely a result of living on meager supplies while confined and being moved to the annex.
“And yet he wields that sword…”
Hoirun had little skill with a sword, but he understood that the sword Myer had used to fell Morgan in one strike was extraordinary.
“Rando must have been surprised.”
To others, Rando’s expression may have seemed ordinary, but Hoirun had a keen intuition and could instinctively perceive it.
And yet, Myer executed that sword technique with such a body.
“He hasn’t let go of the sword even in unconsciousness.”
Even fainted, the sword did not leave his hand. Hoirun could see the extent of Myer’s obsession with his sword.
And then.
Drip, drip.
“Blood!!!”
Bruises blossomed across Myer’s arms and legs, and blood began to flow from them.
Hoirun, shocked, instinctively started running.
Myer Garden had changed.
The duel, supposedly only between two seedlings, in which the knight Rando mediated, became the talk of the entire lord’s castle within an hour.
And the fact that one of the seedlings, Myer, was actually the family heir, and that he defeated Morgan Stanley—the most skilled among the seedlings and the next knight candidate—in a single strike, made everyone doubt their ears.
That cowardly prince…
The confined prince…
Winning a duel against Morgan…
With just one strike…
Everywhere, from knights to soldiers, even maids, servants, and laborers, no one failed to discuss it.
People can change, but for Myer, who had been confined for nearly ten years, to suddenly change so drastically was hard for most to believe.
The opinion of Myer hadn’t changed.
But the gaze of those who now looked at him with “perhaps” had shifted.
“Hmm…”
Myer opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling, tilting his head. His last memory was asking Hoirun to take care of him, yet he woke up somewhere other than the annex.
Blinking, Myer sniffed the air.
“An apothecary?”
Smelling medicinal herbs, it indeed seemed to be an apothecary. Myer tried to sit up but groaned and lay back down.
“My arms… and legs…”
Seeing his limbs wrapped tightly in bandages as if in a cast, Myer trailed off.
Nan Gong Sword.
Rando’s four-star swordsmanship was not something that should have been executable with Myer’s frail body.
Using it in his first real fight, Myer immediately realized something was wrong.
His arms, legs, shoulders—every joint had taken a toll.
But Myer endured. To leave a strong impression after defeating Morgan in one strike, he had to withstand it.
Hoirun had apparently brought Myer to the apothecary.
“Ugh…”
“Master, please stay still. Doctor!”
As Myer groaned again, Hoirun came from outside. He laid Myer down and called for the doctor, who examined Myer’s injuries and nodded.
“The swelling is going down. The stagnant blood has drained properly. You mustn’t overexert yourself for now. Once fully healed, you can start training gradually.”
The side effects of wielding a four-star sword technique with an untrained body were severe. The doctor disappeared into the preparation room to prepare medicine.
“You brought me here?”
“Yes.”
“Surprising. I thought you’d just leave me in the annex.”
Myer chuckled. Hoirun, eyes reddened from running, replied:
“If I had done that, my neck would’ve been on the line. Ugh… all this wasted effort because of you, Master.”
Despite his complaints, Myer could see that Hoirun was soaked in sweat from carrying him all the way here.
“Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
“Thank you.”
Hoirun, startled at Myer’s sincere words, nodded.
“I’m… glad. That you understand what you’re thankful for. I thought you didn’t even know…”
After a short while, the doctor returned with both topical and oral medicine. Hoirun held it out to Myer.
“You can’t walk alone.”
Myer smiled slightly, took Hoirun’s hand, and stood up. As he did, he trembled and shivered in pain.
“Ah… it hurts.”
He had heard his muscles were torn and blood clots had formed, but not that it would hurt this much. With Hoirun’s support, Myer limped out of the apothecary.
“Ugh… Hoirun. I can’t move. You’ll help me, right?”
Back at the annex, he’d be alone again. He needed help to walk, eat, and even use the bathroom. Myer reached for Hoirun, but Hoirun shrugged.
“That’s not my jurisdiction. Also, if anyone sees us like this…”
Hoirun’s sly expression suggested he was daring Myer to struggle. Then Hoirun inclined his head toward someone.
“Prince Kyle is here to see you.”
At the name Kyle, Myer whipped his head around.
The adopted son of Erigo Garden.
The very Kyle rumored to have been brought instead of Myer.
Upon seeing him, Myer’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning.
[Kyle Garden: ★★★★★?]
“Insane???”
Seeing the stars above Kyle’s head next to his name, Myer was speechless.
Five stars + α.
At minimum five stars, maybe more. Kyle appeared handsome, but the deadly aura around his eyes intimidated anyone who looked at him.
He approached without hesitation.
“Little brother.”
Hearing that voice alone made Myer’s body tense in terror. The fear instilled in him by Kyle in the past sent him into panic.
“My body won’t obey.”
Myer’s body reacted instinctively, but he bit his tongue to regain composure. The fear he felt was the same fear engraved into him before.
The portion of Myer influenced by Park Yeon did not know this fear, which allowed Myer to stay conscious.
“You seem unwell.”
The very person who had previously brought him here under the pretense of scolding and then mercilessly beaten him now approached calmly as if concerned. Goosebumps ran down Myer’s arms.
“So it’s true—you beat Morgan. Well done. I knew you’d succeed someday.”
Though praising him outwardly, Kyle’s eyes were venomous, like a hunter studying prey.
“Luckily, if you recover, your wounds will heal. Once healed, I’ll watch your swordsmanship. You need to become a knight and serve the family, don’t you?”
Kyle’s gaze sparkled. Myer struggled to breathe, trembling, unable to speak. Kyle smiled widely.
“Then.”
Kyle turned as if he had come merely to check Myer’s condition. But Myer, voice trembling, called out.
“B-… Brother.”
Kyle’s gaze darkened briefly, but he turned, offering a gentle smile as if nothing had happened.
“Why?”
“I… need potions, Brother.”
Kyle, who had come to see if his cherished younger brother was fine, smiled widely and nodded.
“I’ll have them brought to the annex. Please recover quickly.”
But Myer wasn’t done.
“C-… can I ask for another favor, Brother?”
Myer’s weak voice strained, causing a vein to bulge on Kyle’s forehead.
