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Chapter 8
Pathetic.
Aiden watched over the students and slowly shook his head.
Apparently, the Academy had become so afraid of students getting injured that training had been watered down. The cadets were weak, lacking both strength and endurance.
Watching them tumble from a cliff that wasn’t even particularly high, fluttering down like falling leaves, drew a deep sigh from the very bottom of his heart.
How am I supposed to turn these people into proper knights and get them into the Order?
He shook his head again.
They still had an unbelievably long way to go.
“Huff… huff… I’m almost th— AAAAAAH!”
“Good. Off you go. Don’t forget to climb back up. Today’s training doesn’t end until every single one of you reaches the top.”
“AAAAAH! AAAAAAAAH!”
The students screamed like a flock of crows.
Aiden frowned slightly.
His gaze drifted down the cliff.
Students clung to the rock face like barnacles, grinding their teeth as they desperately climbed upward with bloodshot eyes.
Compared to the beginning, they had developed a satisfying amount of grit.
And among them—
Olive.
There she was.
Olivia.
The little sister he’d watched over for so many years.
The one he treasured more than anyone.
She had already fallen from the cliff four times.
Every time she fell, his own heart dropped with her.
But…
He couldn’t stop now.
“Please don’t accept her. There are plenty of other Knight Orders. Olivia graduated at the top of her class—she can go anywhere she wants!”
“Sir Aiden, that’s overstepping your authority. The Lux Knight Order always needs exceptional knights. Miss Olivia is an outstanding candidate.”
“Commander. Olivia is the treasured daughter of House Kishir. She’s never done a day’s hard labor in her life. We’ve spent our lives with blood on our hands, killing whenever duty demanded it. We even fight against the prejudice people hold toward us. You’re asking me to drag her into that kind of life?”
“Even so, that’s Miss Olivia’s choice—and her responsibility.”
The Commander had only responded with frustratingly reasonable words.
Aiden simply couldn’t accept them.
Olivia…
His precious little Olive…
She deserved a peaceful, comfortable life.
Not this filthy, horrific existence.
The gemstone on the engagement ring around his left ring finger sparkled beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Aiden stared at it absentmindedly.
He knew he could remove it now.
Yet he didn’t.
There wasn’t any profound reason.
Whenever he looked at it…
He remembered Olivia smiling as she slipped it onto his finger.
And…
He didn’t particularly want to see the hurt expression she’d wear if he suddenly took it off.
By now, Olivia had climbed halfway up the cliff.
Even while struggling, she stubbornly refused to give in.
It was… admirable.
“…At least you’ve got guts.”
After falling four times, the fire in her eyes still hadn’t died.
Her emerald eyes were fixed directly on him.
He rather liked that unwavering focus.
But…
Even so… not the Lux Knight Order.
Aiden clenched his teeth.
No matter what…
He wouldn’t allow it.
Time passed.
The sun gradually dipped behind the distant mountains.
The sky slowly turned a deep blue.
Thunk!
“Huff… huff… I… made it…”
A pale hand appeared over the edge of the cliff.
Olivia.
The murderous glare she directed at Aiden could have frozen anyone in place.
…Huh.
Didn’t know she could make an expression like that.
Feeling a tiny pang of guilt, Aiden avoided her eyes and instead surveyed the other students.
Half of them haven’t even made it yet.
There’s still plenty of time.
He decided to help Olivia…
One more time.
“Hey, top student.”
Both hands gripping the cliff’s edge, Olivia looked up at him with unmistakable anxiety.
“Since you’re the top student…”
“You should make one extra trip.”
“…What did you just say, you crazy—”
“Yeah, yeah. No need to thank me.”
Tap.
Aiden pried one of Olivia’s hands from the cliff and placed a magical anti-fall device into it.
Then—
“Have a nice trip.”
“AIDEN OBLIVION, YOU BASTAAAAARD!!”
He threw Olivia back over the edge.
Silence fell across the cliff.
An icy…
Terrifying silence.
Every student immediately buried their face against the ground and pretended to be dead.
Unfortunately…
It was completely useless.
Feeling guilty about making only Olivia suffer, Aiden began searching for his next victims.
“Now then.”
“Our top student has generously volunteered for additional training.”
“Th-That’s a lie…”
“In training, there are no exceptions. We can’t leave Miss Olivia feeling lonely down there, can we?”
“Training never ends!”
“Follow the example set by your top student!”
“Everyone, back down the cliff!”
With that…
Aiden kindly picked up the exhausted students one by one…
And tossed them over the cliff.
A chorus of screams erupted as they rained downward once again.
Far below…
Olivia, who had landed safely and was already fueling her hatred toward Aiden, stared blankly at the absurd spectacle unfolding above.
“…Crazy bastard.”
By now…
Swearing had become completely natural for Olivia.
* * *
The brutal training continued every single day without rest.
“Hold your stance!”
“You call yourselves future knights when you can’t even endure this much?!”
“Stand firm!”
“When you reach the battlefield, you’ll face conditions far worse than this!”
“You’ve only repeated the strike ten thousand times, and your sword form is already falling apart?”
“You’re getting sloppy.”
“Again.”
“Another ten thousand.”
“Today’s training will take place on a new cliff.”
“Technical drills begin immediately afterward.”
“Attendance is mandatory.”
Once physical training ended…
Technical training began.
After that…
Meditation to discipline the mind.
Every step of the process drove Olivia to her absolute limit.
She excelled at adapting techniques and possessed remarkable agility.
But raw physical stamina had never been her strength.
Every evening…
She barely managed to drag herself back to the dormitory, completely exhausted.
Every single day…
She wanted to quit.
Yet she never did.
Ironically…
Because of Aiden’s relentless whip.
“You must never choose the path of a knight lightly.”
“They’ll call us the Empire’s shield.”
“They’ll call us its sword.”
“They’ll feed you all sorts of glorious words.”
“But in the end…”
“A knight is a killer.”
“The moment you pick up a weapon…”
“Never forget that you now possess the power to kill.”
“Understood?”
His piercing gaze always bore directly into Olivia.
This isn’t a place for someone like you.
You don’t belong here.
Go back to the peaceful life you once had.
That was what his eyes seemed to say.
And because of that…
Olivia endured.
She wanted to prove…
That she could do it.
Still wearing her filthy training clothes…
She collapsed onto her dormitory bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Beside the bed…
The carefully wrapped Defensor emitted a faint glow that drifted into her vision.
Come to think of it…
I haven’t had any time to persuade this sword lately.
Blinking sleepily…
Olivia turned toward the holy sword.
“When are you finally going to accept me?”
As though responding…
Defensor pulsed with soft light several times.
“If I become a real knight…”
“Will you acknowledge me then?”
She reached out and grasped its hilt.
A sharp electric pain shot through her palm.
At that moment…
The memories of the day she’d first obtained the sword resurfaced.
“What exactly do you plan to do with it?”
“Become its master.”
“Listen. Plenty of people have tried.”
“That sword has never accepted anyone.”
“Even better.”
“That means I’ll become its first master.”
“If that’s truly possible, it’ll become an incredible ally.”
“But it won’t be easy.”
She had definitely made progress.
At first…
The sword wouldn’t even let her touch the hilt.
The moment she reached for it…
It spat sparks in rejection.
Most of the burn scars on her palm came from trying to hold it.
Frowning…
Olivia released the hilt again.
“…Nine hundred ninety-first attempt.”
Another failure.
She felt strangely sad.
Aiden rejected her.
Now even the sword rejected her.
“…Why is it…”
“…that everything I want only keeps pushing me away?”
She truly didn’t understand.
With a long sigh…
She stood Defensor upright beside her bed once more.
“I’m only letting you off today because I’m exhausted…”
“If this were any other day…”
“I would’ve taught you some proper discipli…”
Her voice faded away.
She fell asleep instantly.
Soft breathing quietly filled the dormitory room.
It wasn’t ordinary sleep.
It was closer to losing consciousness.
And because of that…
Olivia never saw it.
Flash.
Flash.
Late that night…
Defensor, standing silently against the wall, suddenly began radiating an overwhelmingly sacred light.
Its mysterious brilliance filled the room.
The light flowing from the sword gently touched Olivia’s hand, which hung limply over the edge of the bed…
Then quietly disappeared.
It was the middle of the night.
