The Pareira estate was always a peaceful place except for the monster subjugation period in May.
Due to the recent increase in the scale of the quantity of monsters, the army was strengthened and at the same time, they were constantly training.
However, compared to the western kingdoms who were serious about swords, it was difficult to consider this in any way other than just knights who were just following orders because they had to.
But it wasn’t like that now.
After the Young Lord of the estate had returned, the family’s training hall was now more crowded than ever before.
Wheik!
Kang!
Kaang-!
“Huh!”
“Gasp. Gasp…”
“One more round! The ones who can’t keep up will pay for dinner!”
Watching the skills of the Young Lord with their own eyes and not just hearing about him from the rumors.
After constantly confirming the influence of the Young Lord, which were only heard about in rumors.
Even the nobles with higher titles than the Pareira family, and the nobles of greater nations too, thought that they had to work hard.
And they tried to treat everyone equally when it came to swords.
And such changes made the knights and swordsman of the estates move.
‘It is the ability to be treated differently.’
‘If it isn’t possible now, then we just have to put in effort.’
So, that one can become an existence who could keep up when in comparison to their lord!
With that, many people voluntarily began to train.
Of course, there would always be those who would quit too, and those who lowered the effort they put into the training from the first day too.
However, there were many people who had a flame in their heart and swung their sword day and night so that they could keep improving and become better than their versions of yesterday.
But.
Even the hottest ones among them couldn’t be compared to the two young people wielding their swords in front of them.
Swish!
Kwaaang!
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
“Kuak!”
“Get yourself together! Again!”
“What the fuck…!”
Ilya Lindsay, the youngest child of the Lindsay family and the youngest Sword Master.
And the genius who led the golden batch of Krono, Bratt Lloyd.
After arriving at the Pareira mansion, the two continued to train and compete as if they were in the middle of a war.
Of course, winning and losing didn’t seem to matter to them.
Unlike Bratt who had just reached a new height, Ilya was peeking into the world beyond.
Kwaang!
‘It is strange yet interesting.’
Ilya thought as she unleashed the sword attack wrapped in a gust of wind.
After moving completely out of the shadows of Ignet, she knew that her growth had accelerated…especially after she had realized her feelings for Airn.
However, for the past few days, the speed at which she had been improving in her swordsmanship was something that surprised even her.
She wouldn’t have noticed it this much if she had been sparring with her father or Airn.
However, the one she was facing off against was Bratt… and his skills were far inferior to hers.
Which was why it was more strange.
How was she feeling that her swordsmanship was improving in the midst of a leisurely fight?
After pondering for a moment, Ilya came to a rough conclusion.
‘I think it’s because Bratt likes to be hit.’
No, not exactly like that…this blue haired guy was a real good opponent.
Even if it seemed like he was being beaten unilaterally, he would make unexpected attacks and ordinary swordsmanship would suddenly seem more creative in the middle of a fight.
In short, his swordsmanship was more free than before.
Of course, only that factor couldn’t have influenced the growth of Ilya, but she decided not to think of it anymore.
‘When the chance comes, he will just lose more.’
Over the past few days, she had somehow turned a bit mean-spirited.
She smiled softly and moved again while putting strength into her feet.
Phat!
She charged for Bratt three times without holding back!
Facing the hurricane, Bratt cursed out.
‘Act in moderation you idiot!’
Kwang!
Jjjjjkkkk!
“Kuak…!”
After receiving a huge shock, he was pushed back. His entire body turned numb.
However, there wasn’t enough time to even catch his breath. Watching the sword fall from his hands, Bratt just grunted.
In fact, he knew how this current situation had happened.
Like Ilya, he too had been growing in recent times. So, he wanted to push himself to the limit through a match with a strong opponent.
He wanted to rise with the experiences he could get from such matches.
But it felt like it was too much.
The current Ilya was too radical! It was as if she was releasing all the stress she had been accumulating while waiting for Airn onto him.
Her attacks were ferocious. They were a bit harsh too, but it was even more terrifying than the stone devil Bratt met.
He endured those attacks for ten long days and might have endured it for even longer. But now, he felt like it was too much for him to handle.
Kwang!
“Kuak!”
‘No. this can’t… go on!’
Bratt thought as he groaned and blocked the sword from the side.
It was difficult. Maybe he had to run away from this monster.
No, he couldn’t run away from her, so maybe he had to get enough time to take a break. That way he could live.
“Cough!”
Seeing that he coughed blood, Ilya pulled her sword back.
Seeing his friend approaching her with a worried expression on her face, Bratt felt relieved.
Right, this is enough for today.
It was good to fight. But now it hurt too much, and he could get some good rest.
With that thought, he looked at Ilya who had now pulled something out from her pocket.
“Sorry. This… a high-quality potion made by the Runtel Kingdom.”
“…”
“It doesn’t seem like a severe injury. So, take a 30 minute break after having this and you’ll get back fine…”
“Ilya.”
“Uh?”
“Your appearance recently is not falling under good light.”
“What…”
Ilya, who was about to swear, held back.
Her friend’s expression was severe. It didn’t seem like he was joking.
In an instant, she was ready to listen.
She wasn’t like this in the past, and she used to be too conscious of others’ words and despite that, she would never seek advice from those close to her.
Of course, it was fine now. All thanks to Airn.
He had told her to open her heart and her ears.
And seeing that she was ready to listen to some advice, Bratt Lloyd said to her
“… how about ending the spar and having some alcohol?”
“Alcohol? What the…”
Before she could finish, Bratt spoke again.
Slightly urgently, he spoke to her.
“No, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this because I want to drink. It isn’t because the spar was too hard for me and not because I am upset at you for treating me like a stress relief toy. If you thought of it like that, then apologize to me. It is fine to ignore your friend, Bratt Lloyd, but to despise the young lord of the Lloyd’s family and think bad about the family is unbearable. No, it is fine too. Don’t bother saying anything. My heart is already weeping. Sorry if you misunderstood and don’t bother thanking me. Well, that was long. Coming back to the point, the advice I wanted to give is…”
Bratt poured out what he felt.
Although it seemed logical it was too nonsensical, so Ilya couldn’t understand the meaning behind the words.
Bratt calmly chimed it once more and she nodded.
“… I don’t think you are wrong.”
“Right. I always say the right thing.”
“UH…”
“Don’t think too hard. Anyway, alcohol is poison when consumed extremely, but a medicine in moderation. That is the situation now. Enjoy a light drink to escape from the tension and the impatience which constantly drives you… this is a very generous and wise act.”
“That…”
“I heard that Lord Pareira enjoys drinking quite a bit. So how about it? At this point it isn’t bad to taste the alcohol that the Lord often enjoys in advance to know about it and taste…”
“Is that so?”
“…”
“What?”
“No. Nothing…then let’s end the match here.”
He just had to mention Pareira.
Bratt was happy that she had accepted the idea.
It was because his time to rest had come.
Of course, it wasn’t without risks.
Bratt welcomed a new drinker, but depending on who the other one was, it would be like moving back and forth between heaven and hell.
For reference, in the case of Judith..
Although she was his girlfriend, her actions were unusual.
‘Ilya… it’ll be fine with her. Because she has control.’
Although not often, she too would drink with Kuvar in the past and had never caused problems.
Thinking about it, Bratt took out a few bottles of whiskey with a happy face enjoying the aroma and taste.
With Lulu who was in the middle, he drank and smiled at Ilya who was drinking.
That was the problem.
Although he was calm in his mind, he hadn’t realized that his friend had overdone her drinking.
It was also unexpected that this would happen.
He also didn’t think that Airn, Kirill and Lord Pareira would come.
Bratt and Lulu chased after her, but they couldn’t keep up.
“Ah, we were too late…”
“We are late, Bratt.”
‘Late for what?’
Hearing that, Airn looked at the two in confusion, but it didn’t last long.
Ilya reached out and grabbed his face. And then turned it to make him look at her.
“Where are you looking at? Look at me.”
“…”
“See this, only look at Ilya.”
“…”
“Are you not following me?”
“Ah, I’ll only look at Ilya… uh…”
“What. I told you to only look at me, why do you keep looking around?”
Looking at Airn’s changing eyes, Ilya had a sullen expression on. She didn’t like this.
For ten days, she only thought of this one man for every single moment that had passed.
Why was Airn constantly turning his head?
‘What is making him do that?’
She didn’t want to know.
But at the same time, she wanted to know, and the latter won.
She frowned cutely and turned to where Airn was looking at.
And saw Baron Harun Pareira looking at them.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Absolute
Still
Silence.
In that air, Ilya removed her hands from Airn’s face and took two steps back.
And her field of vision widened and saw another person.
A person who showed a kind smile to her all her stay here.
Airn’s mother, Amelia Pareira.
Ilya Lindsay, who saw her, remained silent for a few seconds.
Phat!
And she ran out faster than ever.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The stillness is still there.
The entire Pareira family kept their mouths shut, and those who came to meet the Lord were unaware what had happened and looked around.
At that moment, Bratt who was silent till then, looked at Airn and said.
“It’s all your fault.”
“…”
“Do you admit your sin? Airn Pareira?”
At those words from his friend, Airn didn’t say anything.
The Pareira couple looked at each other and their silent son.
Clap!
“… now, we are calling for an emergency meeting now.”
Kirill Pareira clapped her hands and said looking at everyone.
The Pareira estate was always a peaceful place except for the monster subjugation period in May.
Due to the recent increase in the scale of the quantity of monsters, the army was strengthened and at the same time, they were constantly training.
However, compared to the western kingdoms who were serious about swords, it was difficult to consider this in any way other than just knights who were just following orders because they had to.
But it wasn’t like that now.
After the Young Lord of the estate had returned, the family’s training hall was now more crowded than ever before.
Wheik!
Kang!
Kaang-!
“Huh!”
“Gasp. Gasp…”
“One more round! The ones who can’t keep up will pay for dinner!”
Watching the skills of the Young Lord with their own eyes and not just hearing about him from the rumors.
After constantly confirming the influence of the Young Lord, which were only heard about in rumors.
Even the nobles with higher titles than the Pareira family, and the nobles of greater nations too, thought that they had to work hard.
And they tried to treat everyone equally when it came to swords.
And such changes made the knights and swordsman of the estates move.
‘It is the ability to be treated differently.’
‘If it isn’t possible now, then we just have to put in effort.’
So, that one can become an existence who could keep up when in comparison to their lord!
With that, many people voluntarily began to train.
Of course, there would always be those who would quit too, and those who lowered the effort they put into the training from the first day too.
However, there were many people who had a flame in their heart and swung their sword day and night so that they could keep improving and become better than their versions of yesterday.
But.
Even the hottest ones among them couldn’t be compared to the two young people wielding their swords in front of them.
Swish!
Kwaaang!
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
“Kuak!”
“Get yourself together! Again!”
“What the fuck…!”
Ilya Lindsay, the youngest child of the Lindsay family and the youngest Sword Master.
And the genius who led the golden batch of Krono, Bratt Lloyd.
After arriving at the Pareira mansion, the two continued to train and compete as if they were in the middle of a war.
Of course, winning and losing didn’t seem to matter to them.
Unlike Bratt who had just reached a new height, Ilya was peeking into the world beyond.
Kwaang!
‘It is strange yet interesting.’
Ilya thought as she unleashed the sword attack wrapped in a gust of wind.
After moving completely out of the shadows of Ignet, she knew that her growth had accelerated…especially after she had realized her feelings for Airn.
However, for the past few days, the speed at which she had been improving in her swordsmanship was something that surprised even her.
She wouldn’t have noticed it this much if she had been sparring with her father or Airn.
However, the one she was facing off against was Bratt… and his skills were far inferior to hers.
Which was why it was more strange.
How was she feeling that her swordsmanship was improving in the midst of a leisurely fight?
After pondering for a moment, Ilya came to a rough conclusion.
‘I think it’s because Bratt likes to be hit.’
No, not exactly like that…this blue haired guy was a real good opponent.
Even if it seemed like he was being beaten unilaterally, he would make unexpected attacks and ordinary swordsmanship would suddenly seem more creative in the middle of a fight.
In short, his swordsmanship was more free than before.
Of course, only that factor couldn’t have influenced the growth of Ilya, but she decided not to think of it anymore.
‘When the chance comes, he will just lose more.’
Over the past few days, she had somehow turned a bit mean-spirited.
She smiled softly and moved again while putting strength into her feet.
Phat!
She charged for Bratt three times without holding back!
Facing the hurricane, Bratt cursed out.
‘Act in moderation you idiot!’
Kwang!
Jjjjjkkkk!
“Kuak…!”
After receiving a huge shock, he was pushed back. His entire body turned numb.
However, there wasn’t enough time to even catch his breath. Watching the sword fall from his hands, Bratt just grunted.
In fact, he knew how this current situation had happened.
Like Ilya, he too had been growing in recent times. So, he wanted to push himself to the limit through a match with a strong opponent.
He wanted to rise with the experiences he could get from such matches.
But it felt like it was too much.
The current Ilya was too radical! It was as if she was releasing all the stress she had been accumulating while waiting for Airn onto him.
Her attacks were ferocious. They were a bit harsh too, but it was even more terrifying than the stone devil Bratt met.
He endured those attacks for ten long days and might have endured it for even longer. But now, he felt like it was too much for him to handle.
Kwang!
“Kuak!”
‘No. this can’t… go on!’
Bratt thought as he groaned and blocked the sword from the side.
It was difficult. Maybe he had to run away from this monster.
No, he couldn’t run away from her, so maybe he had to get enough time to take a break. That way he could live.
“Cough!”
Seeing that he coughed blood, Ilya pulled her sword back.
Seeing his friend approaching her with a worried expression on her face, Bratt felt relieved.
Right, this is enough for today.
It was good to fight. But now it hurt too much, and he could get some good rest.
With that thought, he looked at Ilya who had now pulled something out from her pocket.
“Sorry. This… a high-quality potion made by the Runtel Kingdom.”
“…”
“It doesn’t seem like a severe injury. So, take a 30 minute break after having this and you’ll get back fine…”
“Ilya.”
“Uh?”
“Your appearance recently is not falling under good light.”
“What…”
Ilya, who was about to swear, held back.
Her friend’s expression was severe. It didn’t seem like he was joking.
In an instant, she was ready to listen.
She wasn’t like this in the past, and she used to be too conscious of others’ words and despite that, she would never seek advice from those close to her.
Of course, it was fine now. All thanks to Airn.
He had told her to open her heart and her ears.
And seeing that she was ready to listen to some advice, Bratt Lloyd said to her
“… how about ending the spar and having some alcohol?”
“Alcohol? What the…”
Before she could finish, Bratt spoke again.
Slightly urgently, he spoke to her.
“No, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this because I want to drink. It isn’t because the spar was too hard for me and not because I am upset at you for treating me like a stress relief toy. If you thought of it like that, then apologize to me. It is fine to ignore your friend, Bratt Lloyd, but to despise the young lord of the Lloyd’s family and think bad about the family is unbearable. No, it is fine too. Don’t bother saying anything. My heart is already weeping. Sorry if you misunderstood and don’t bother thanking me. Well, that was long. Coming back to the point, the advice I wanted to give is…”
Bratt poured out what he felt.
Although it seemed logical it was too nonsensical, so Ilya couldn’t understand the meaning behind the words.
Bratt calmly chimed it once more and she nodded.
“… I don’t think you are wrong.”
“Right. I always say the right thing.”
“UH…”
“Don’t think too hard. Anyway, alcohol is poison when consumed extremely, but a medicine in moderation. That is the situation now. Enjoy a light drink to escape from the tension and the impatience which constantly drives you… this is a very generous and wise act.”
“That…”
“I heard that Lord Pareira enjoys drinking quite a bit. So how about it? At this point it isn’t bad to taste the alcohol that the Lord often enjoys in advance to know about it and taste…”
“Is that so?”
“…”
“What?”
“No. Nothing…then let’s end the match here.”
He just had to mention Pareira.
Bratt was happy that she had accepted the idea.
It was because his time to rest had come.
Of course, it wasn’t without risks.
Bratt welcomed a new drinker, but depending on who the other one was, it would be like moving back and forth between heaven and hell.
For reference, in the case of Judith..
Although she was his girlfriend, her actions were unusual.
‘Ilya… it’ll be fine with her. Because she has control.’
Although not often, she too would drink with Kuvar in the past and had never caused problems.
Thinking about it, Bratt took out a few bottles of whiskey with a happy face enjoying the aroma and taste.
With Lulu who was in the middle, he drank and smiled at Ilya who was drinking.
That was the problem.
Although he was calm in his mind, he hadn’t realized that his friend had overdone her drinking.
It was also unexpected that this would happen.
He also didn’t think that Airn, Kirill and Lord Pareira would come.
Bratt and Lulu chased after her, but they couldn’t keep up.
“Ah, we were too late…”
“We are late, Bratt.”
‘Late for what?’
Hearing that, Airn looked at the two in confusion, but it didn’t last long.
Ilya reached out and grabbed his face. And then turned it to make him look at her.
“Where are you looking at? Look at me.”
“…”
“See this, only look at Ilya.”
“…”
“Are you not following me?”
“Ah, I’ll only look at Ilya… uh…”
“What. I told you to only look at me, why do you keep looking around?”
Looking at Airn’s changing eyes, Ilya had a sullen expression on. She didn’t like this.
For ten days, she only thought of this one man for every single moment that had passed.
Why was Airn constantly turning his head?
‘What is making him do that?’
She didn’t want to know.
But at the same time, she wanted to know, and the latter won.
She frowned cutely and turned to where Airn was looking at.
And saw Baron Harun Pareira looking at them.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Absolute
Still
Silence.
In that air, Ilya removed her hands from Airn’s face and took two steps back.
And her field of vision widened and saw another person.
A person who showed a kind smile to her all her stay here.
Airn’s mother, Amelia Pareira.
Ilya Lindsay, who saw her, remained silent for a few seconds.
Phat!
And she ran out faster than ever.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The stillness is still there.
The entire Pareira family kept their mouths shut, and those who came to meet the Lord were unaware what had happened and looked around.
At that moment, Bratt who was silent till then, looked at Airn and said.
“It’s all your fault.”
“…”
“Do you admit your sin? Airn Pareira?”
At those words from his friend, Airn didn’t say anything.
The Pareira couple looked at each other and their silent son.
Clap!
“… now, we are calling for an emergency meeting now.”
Kirill Pareira clapped her hands and said looking at everyone.
