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Chapter 3
Three Years Ago
Three years ago, Olivia had been in a state bordering on madness from the pain of heartbreak.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Kishiar had done their best to comfort her, but at the time, she had been blind to everything else.
And honestly, it couldn’t be helped.
Aiden Oblivion.
Olivia’s first love.
The childhood friend of the Kishiar siblings.
And the man who had finally become her fiancé.
Only to announce the dissolution of their engagement and disappear three days later.
“So, you’re asking where Sir Aiden Oblivion is?”
“Yes. As his fiancée, I believe I at least have the right to know where he is.”
“Hmm. Information regarding dispatched knights is confidential.”
And that was precisely why Olivia had come to the Lux Knights in broad daylight.
Watching his subordinates train, Eugene, the captain of the Lux Knights, replied with obvious boredom.
“You should head home. There’s nothing I can do for you.”
“You can’t even deliver a letter?”
“It’s not official business.”
“But—”
Shh.
Eugene gestured for her to lower her voice and pointed toward the training grounds.
Silence followed.
Biting her lip, Olivia looked at the same scene Eugene was observing before speaking again.
“Listen, Sir Eugene. As a knight, you know this better than anyone. Victory and defeat in battle are decided less by flashy techniques and more by habits ingrained into the body.”
“For a noble lady, that’s quite an interesting comparison.”
“Look over there. That knight always tenses his shoulders too much before swinging his sword, doesn’t he? That’s why his movements are sluggish.”
“…What?”
Olivia needed to persuade Eugene.
She had simply chosen a comparison that she thought he would understand most easily.
Yet Eugene’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at her.
Calmly, Olivia continued.
“Aiden has a very bad habit too. He runs away. I know him better than anyone. This dispatch assignment is just another result of that habit— Sir Eugene? Are you listening?”
Eugene was looking at her with eyes completely different from before.
“What do you think of that one?”
“What do you mean…? Surely you mean his habits?”
“Hurry.”
“…When he should be stepping forward, he drags his back foot slightly. I think he’s applying his strength incorrectly— Wait, why am I even telling you this?”
But Eugene ignored her question as though he hadn’t heard it.
“Tell me, can you imitate the movements of knights?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never tried, but I think I know how they should move. House Kishiar is a martial family, after all.”
Aiden had often trained alongside Cesare in House Kishiar’s training grounds.
Watching them had been one of Olivia’s greatest joys.
Because training had never been permitted to me.
You must behave like a proper lady. That’s how you avoid bringing shame upon the family.
Olivia had always been trapped within those words whispered to her by the Marchioness.
Because she had to be.
Because she couldn’t disappoint her parents like her older sister had.
And so Olivia lived as a proper noble lady.
Burying countless desires and dreams deep within her heart, telling herself that one day she would forget them.
Perhaps that was why—
Even if it was only a tiny bit of attention, if it was something she had been allowed to have, she refused to let go of it.
“…You can do it?”
“If I had the muscles to support those movements. Right now, it’s impossible. As you can see, I’m terribly fragile.”
As a noble lady, Olivia wasn’t allowed to wield a sword.
But acting like a proper noble lady, she could bring water and towels for her hardworking brother and watch the training.
And so she did.
The movement of muscles.
The techniques being used.
Even the smallest habits.
Watching long enough, she memorized them.
Naturally, she began analyzing them.
Because she was curious.
And eventually, her eyes had opened.
Still…
Wasn’t this the sort of thing anyone could do if they spent enough time focused on one subject?
Olivia couldn’t understand why Eugene found it interesting.
“Passed.”
“…Excuse me?”
Out of nowhere, Eugene blurted out something absurd.
“What was your name again? Olion?”
“It’s Olivia! Olivia Kishiar!”
“Right, right. You’ve passed.”
Can I really trust this man?
Did I come to the wrong person?
As doubt filled Olivia’s mind—
Eugene dangled a very tempting bait before her.
“You said you wanted to know Sir Aiden’s whereabouts? Well, it’s not entirely impossible.”
“What is it?”
His words were irresistibly seductive.
“Would you like to join the Lux Knights?”
“…Are you insane?”
“Then I guarantee I’ll place Sir Aiden right in front of you.”
“Within three years.”
It sounded utterly ridiculous.
But that was the very reason Olivia had changed departments.
* * *
Recalling that day, Olivia smiled sweetly.
To enter the Lux Knights, she’d had to transfer to the Knight Department.
And after that, she had endured hardships that could hardly be described without tears.
But—
Eugene had kept his promise.
Aiden was standing before her now.
Thinking that, Olivia turned toward the platform once again.
Aiden was still there.
Whether he was glaring holes into her was none of her concern.
What mattered was that they were finally in the same place.
“Olivia, doesn’t that instructor seem to be staring at you? Or am I imagining things?”
“Looks that way, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. What if you’ve already gotten on his bad side on the very first day?”
As if.
And even if that were true, Olivia wouldn’t mind.
This was exactly the situation she had always dreamed of.
The fiancé whose whereabouts she hadn’t known for years had finally appeared before her eyes.
And better yet—
He was looking at no one but her.
That alone sent thrills through her.
Smiling brightly, Olivia answered Bennett.
“No. I don’t mind being singled out.”
“…What?”
“It’s exciting. I wonder how much attention he’ll pay to me from now on.”
“Ah… um… I see. Exciting…”
That was the end of the conversation.
Bennett immediately fell silent.
He even took a step away from Olivia, as though he no longer wished to associate with her.
In a voice too quiet for her to hear, he muttered:
“They say there’s no cure for illnesses like that… Better not catch it.”
Normally, Olivia was calm and gentle.
But sometimes—
Her eyes would flip over, and she’d become completely unhinged.
When that happened, it was best to leave her alone.
Nothing anyone said would get through.
Just as Bennett expected, Olivia, lost in her own world, didn’t notice the look he was giving her.
Three years.
A full three years.
Three years spent agonizing alone, anxiously waiting for her reunion with Aiden.
To Olivia, this moment felt like a dream.
At last—
She would finally be able to speak with him properly.
The waiting she had endured—
Being abandoned without even knowing why—
Was finally nearing its end.
Joy filled Olivia’s eyes.
Along with a faint trace of anger.
* * *
Professor Seton, Veritas Academy’s swordsmanship instructor, was enjoying a pleasant conversation with a former student who had come to visit after a long time.
“So, Eugene. Have you spotted any promising students?”
“They’re all excellent. Considering they’re students personally trained by you, Professor, what else would I expect?”
“Hahaha! Look at you. Your flattery’s improved! But surely one of them caught your eye?”
At the question, Eugene returned a mysterious smile.
“Who knows? I’ll have to find out gradually. Though whether they’ll join the Lux Knights is another matter.”
“Stop lying. You summoned Miss Olivia first thing after arriving at the academy.”
“Miss Olivia is an exception. I’ve had my eye on her for three years. Don’t covet her, Professor.”
“Hoho. That depends on Miss Olivia’s choice. Which is why—”
BANG!
At that moment, the office door burst open with a tremendous noise.
“W-What? An intruder?”
“Calm down, Professor. I don’t think it’s an intruder.”
“Then what is it?! Who dares kick open a professor’s office door like—”
Just as Seton angrily rose to his feet—
“Professor! I know you’re in there!”
A voice so familiar that it was almost nostalgic echoed from beyond the door, which was already beginning to creak shut again.
Seton, who had looked ready to storm out and hunt down the culprit, instantly became astonishingly calm.
He didn’t even care that the words had sounded almost like a threat.
Because that person had always been like this.
“Ah, so it’s you. I thought age and entering society might have taught you some manners, but that hope was foolish.”
Such shamelessness.
Such audacity to kick open a professor’s office door.
There was no need to look twice.
“Young Aiden? You’re just the same as ever. No, I suppose I should call you Sir Oblivion now?”
The infamous troublemaker of the Lux Knights—
Aiden Oblivion
—burst noisily and energetically into Professor Seton’s office.
