Chapter 6

The knight’s eyebrows, which had just been relaxed a moment ago, twitched.

From his expression, it seemed his pride had been wounded.

Forcing a smile, the knight shrugged.

“Haha, you’ve got quite the sense of humor. I’m Hendrick, the one who personally guided your stance once, third young master.”

“That so? I don’t really remember.”

At those sincere words, Hendrick’s face twisted instantly.

He hadn’t expected Lucian to truly have forgotten him.

Or rather, to be exact, it wasn’t that he forgot him—it was that they had never actually met.

“Ahem… anyway, what brings you here today?”

“Since when is the training yard a place you can only visit for a reason?”

“That’s not what I meant, I just found it curious. It’s only been a year since the second young master scolded you harshly, so I didn’t think you’d be back.”

Noticing that there wasn’t a shred of respect in his tone, Lucian’s brow furrowed.

What had happened a year ago for a mere knight to dare behave like this?

Since he didn’t know the details, he had no choice but to make a few probing comments.

“It hasn’t just been a year—it’s been a full year. Avoiding the training yard over things in the past is ridiculous. From now on, I plan to come frequently, even if only to learn sword techniques.”

“Sword techniques? You, third young master?”

“Well, it’s true that I’ve neglected training up until now, but I’m sixteen. It’s not like it’s too late.”

Mana paths are said to close completely around the age of twenty-five.

Before that, it’s still possible to learn sword techniques and become a knight.

The problem is that starting late narrows the path, making the process far more difficult.

Although Lucian was speaking truthfully, Hendrick burst into an exaggerated laugh.

“Hahaha, what a great joke! At the third young master’s age, it’s far too late to begin. Learning sword techniques now?”

“Too late? At sixteen?”

“That’s right. Sword techniques only show their true effect if started before fifteen. From sixteen onward, even if you learn them, they’ll only make your body a bit tougher at best.”

“That’s strange. As far as I know, mana paths don’t fully close until twenty-five.”

For a moment, Hendrick flinched, though only for a second.

He quickly resumed smiling and spoke naturally.

“It’s true that the mana paths close after twenty-five, but by sixteen they’re already as narrow as they can be. Saying you can still start before that is just a hopeless illusion for those who started late.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Utter nonsense.

Lucian swallowed the insult rising up his throat.

That it was too late to learn sword techniques at twenty-five?

Then what had he been in his past life?

He’d learned fencing after turning twenty and had crushed battlefields full of knights.

And there was no need to rely on just his own experience.

There were countless knights who had started training at a later age and still went down in history.

If someone claimed that sixteen was already too late, there were only two possibilities.

Either this knight lacked even the most basic knowledge—or he was lying deliberately.

“If he hasn’t learned even the basics of sword techniques, then it can’t be the first. So it’s the second.”

The problem was why he would lie like that.

Maybe commoners wouldn’t know, but among knights, this was almost fundamental knowledge.

Even if he managed to fool Lucian now, it would all be exposed sooner or later.

And yet, he dared to tell such a blatant lie without flinching.

“Seems like you and I operate with very different knowledge.”

“What do you mean? This is something everyone knows. If you don’t believe me, ask the second young master.”

“The second… You mean my brother?”

The second young master of House Valdeck, Jordi Valdeck.

In Lucian’s past life, he had fiercely competed against the firstborn for the right to succession.

Lucian hadn’t seen him many times in person, but his methods were known to be cunning and underhanded.

“He used to hire people from outside, squeeze them dry, and then refuse to pay their rewards.”

Back when Lucian was a guard, one of his jobs was to deal with the discarded workers who lashed out in anger.

After doing everything they were told, they’d be dismissed without pay, so their fury was understandable.

Jordi would watch them from a distance with a mocking smile, while Lucian had to stop their desperate charges, often risking his life.

Sometimes they were even stronger than the average knight.

“That’s right. You’re not suggesting that the second young master is mistaken, are you?”

Seeing that Lucian didn’t reply, Hendrick seemed to think he’d backed down, and a mocking smile curled on his lips.

At that moment, Lucian finally grasped the whole situation.

“So the plan was to make me look like a fool.”

First, implant a false belief to turn him into a laughingstock.

If that didn’t work, use his fearsome brother’s name to stop him from pushing back.

And if his name did get mentioned, he’d feign innocence and act like he never said such a thing.

In the end, the only one who’d look ignorant would be the poor third young master.

“Truly disgraceful.”

The scheme was so petty it was laughable—but even more absurd was the fact that the target was Lucian.

To dare do something like that to the son of his own lord.

It was clear he either had a powerful backer or someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

But whatever the case, Lucian didn’t care.

“If what you say were true, that’d be shocking. Wouldn’t it mean my brother doesn’t know something even a child would? Are you saying he’s that stupid?”

To someone like Lucian, a veteran of many battles, this kind of harassment was so old and predictable, it almost made him yawn.

***

“….”

“….”

At Lucian’s words, a heavy silence fell over the training yard.

Even the knights who had been absorbed in their practice opened their eyes wide.

Hendrick looked at Lucian, stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“W-what did you just say…?”

“I asked if my brother is really an idiot who doesn’t even know the basics. That at sixteen it’s already too late to learn sword techniques? Does that sound like something that should come out of a noble’s mouth?”

“Are you denying the second young master’s words?”

Hendrick shot him a fierce look, but Lucian didn’t even blink.

Rather, as if letting out a dramatic sigh, he brought a hand to his face.

“How dreadful. Then it’s true my brother said such a thing. Ah, what am I supposed to do now? The blood of the Valdeck is this stupid! It’s a true disgrace for the family!”

As his tone grew more mocking, Hendrick’s mouth opened and closed, unable to say anything.

He never imagined Lucian would dare insult Jordi so openly.

After pretending to sob for a moment, Lucian suddenly looked at Hendrick as if reaching a conclusion.

“Wait… now that I think about it, something here is strange. Sir knight, are you plotting a scheme?”

“A-a scheme…?”

“Are you suggesting that Valdeck blood doesn’t even know the basics? Could it be you’re using my brother’s name on behalf of another family?”

“W-what…!”

It was absurd.

Was he seriously planning to drag another family into this over such a trivial matter?

“Stop saying nonsense, third young master! Are you trying to humiliate me?”

“Humiliate you? More like you should clarify who said that nonsense! Was it my brother? Or was it your own invention? Answer already!”

Bang!

Lucian struck the ground with his cane.

Hendrick felt like he was about to lose his mind.

If he insisted, he would make the second young master look like an idiot.

If he admitted the lie, he himself would be seen as a conspirator.

And if he said it was just a joke, he’d look like a knight who mocked the lord’s son.

“Damn it… why is this coward, who used to tremble just at the mention of the second young master, suddenly acting so bold?”

Cornered, Hendrick’s eyes darted around looking for an escape.

Just as Lucian was about to raise his voice again—

“What’s going on here?”

“S-second young master!”

Hendrick immediately bowed before the newcomer.

His attitude, in stark contrast to how he had treated Lucian, was now impeccably respectful.

“Jordi Valdeck.”

The second son of the Valdeck family, twenty years old, four years older than Lucian.

He was a handsome young man, worthy of the title of noble, though his slightly upturned eyes gave him a particularly fierce air.

He was also the Valdeck Lucian had seen the most in his past life — though almost always for unpleasant reasons.

Jordi looked around at everyone before fixing his gaze on Lucian.

“You again, Lucian?”

Again?

Lucian tilted his head, and Jordi curled his lips in a mocking sneer.

“Just a year ago you ran from the training yard because you couldn’t handle my teachings, and now you shamelessly come back. How thick is your skin to show up here again?”

At the word “teachings,” Lucian’s brow furrowed slightly.

He could imagine fairly well what had happened that day.

‘He used it as an excuse to humiliate him. Or beat him outright.’

If something like that had happened, it was only natural not to want to return.

Though to the current Lucian, it no longer mattered.

“Someone like you was never worthy of the Val——”

“Perfect timing. There’s something I need to confirm with you.”

Lucian cut him off without letting him finish.

He had no intention of playing along.

Jordi frowned in irritation at being interrupted.

“Where did you learn such manners? You’re always pulling new tricks.”

“That’s not important right now. First, we need to clarify whether or not you are a disgrace to the Valdeck.”

“What nonsense is this…?”

“I only have one question. Did you really say that after fifteen, it’s impossible to learn sword techniques?”

Diving straight into the matter, Jordi closed his mouth.

After a moment, he looked at Lucian with eyes sharp enough to kill.

“And if I did, what would you do?”

It was meant as a threat, but it was laughable.

A brat who had never risked his life on a battlefield staring at him like that — and so what?

Lucian smirked disdainfully and tilted his head slightly.

“What would I do? I’d ask Father to send you to a monastery.”

“What?”

“Maybe someone who never learned swordsmanship could be excused, but someone who trained for years and still doesn’t know the basics — that’s not a lack of talent, that’s a brain problem.”

“…”

“Right now, it just seems like you’re forgetting things, but what’ll happen when it gets worse and you start soiling your pants? That would become a weakness for the family. For the sake of the Valdeck name, you must go to a monastery. From now on, you’ll live quietly, without drawing attention.”

As soon as Lucian finished speaking, the training yard grew so silent that you could have heard a feather drop.