LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9 - A mess from the first day. (2)
Everything felt meaningless.
-Step step
My memories returned, and everything I had with him disappeared.
He’s not by my side anymore.
A situation I never even thought about has come to me.
Regression.
I came back to the past with memories of the future.
First, I tried to find him, but the news I heard was that both the territory and the family had fallen.
I didn’t want to give up.
I want to believe he’s still alive.
But…
Right now, without him, it’s so hard.
“Start!”
Everything is bothersome.
-Kagagaga
I don’t even want to move.
I just want to fall asleep and remember the memories with him.
-Whoosh
I want to believe he’s alive, but I keep remembering him collapsing in front of me.
Him, who collapsed because of me.
At that moment
“Hmm…”
A familiar sound reached her ears.
A sound that was so familiar.
‘Aa…ron?’
It was the sound he made when he found something interesting.
The moment she heard that sound, the aura that hadn’t shown any movement since regaining her memories began to run through her body.
-Kagaga…gagaga!
Like an old engine, the aura that had been stiff begins to accelerate and flow.
Like a ship trapped in numerous icebergs gradually breaking through the frozen sea to find freedom.
-Ting
The sword clashed with its sheath as it was drawn.
‘Move.’
I need to go check.
Whose voice that is.
“[Pagitonas]” (Glacier)
-Rustle
A shape like a beautiful crescent moon.
The blue sword lightly grazed the opponent’s cheek.
-Crack
That was the end.
The ice of the aura ran at tremendous speed from the cut cheek across the opponent’s entire body.
He was no longer an obstacle.
“I froze it lightly, so it will melt soon.”
She turned away from the frozen opponent.
Although she went too far, the ice wasn’t enough to freeze the opponent completely.
-Step step
As she turned her body to look in the direction of the voice
‘Aaron.’
She saw him.
He who always vowed to be by my side.
He who always wiped away my tears.
He who always protected me.
“Hey, hey! Gwen!”
Aslan walked towards her.
However, I couldn’t care less about him.
-Step step
The distance gradually closes.
The distance between him and me.
My heart, which I thought had stopped, started beating faster.
‘This time, I’ll protect you.’
Because it’s my responsibility as his last master.
Because it’s my responsibility as the one who acted spoiled to her butler until the end.
Finally, in front of him.
I finally, for the first time since regaining my memories, utter:
“… Aaron?”
Him, who was my slave and my butler alone.
—–
‘?’
“…?”
Why is my name coming out of your mouth?
I don’t even know what’s what anymore.
I could laugh off the previous events as bad luck, but what is this situation?
“Aaron?”
How should I put it?
It’s a very rude thought in front of a duchess, but she calls my name while turning her face like a cat asking for attention.
“Uh… I’m sorry, Lady Gwen Cabala. First of all, I am Aaron Dight.”
I don’t know the situation, but if I stay dumbfounded any longer after the duchess has called my name twice, I might get my head chopped off, so I answered for now.
‘I want to live longer, even if I have a terminal illness.’
“… You don’t know me?”
What kind of question is that?
“Uh… Aren’t you Lady Gwen Cabala?”
Did I get the name wrong?
Even if you ask what I don’t know, how should I answer?
“……”
Gwen just stares at me silently.
‘Why are you doing this? I’m scared.’
The Ducal family.
One of the five great families that started the Empire together, their power is on par with the Emperor’s, making them one of the few existences that can be called the top of the continent.
A few words from them can just erase a small country; that’s what a ducal family is.
When such a person is nodding their head in front of me, I’d be even crazier to act confident.
“…You.”
“Yes.”
A quick answer, different from before.
Now that I’ve come to my senses, it’s better to answer quickly.
“Let me know later what classes you’ll be taking.”
“…Pardon?”
‘Pardon?’
I can’t think straight.
Why is the ducal family curious about my classes?
At that moment
“You there! Isn’t your homeroom professor calling you from behind! Hurry up and move! The whole class can’t move because of you!”
‘Wow.’
Thank you, homeroom teacher!
I didn’t know this lack of humanity could be so helpful.
Seeing him speak casually and order the duchess, now I know what kind of person he is.
An extreme principlist.
The type who puts rules above themselves.
‘I can’t believe I’m having thoughts of gratitude towards this homeroom teacher…’
I have an inexplicable feeling that I’ll be indebted to him a lot in the future.
Let’s pretend the earlier resentment never happened.
“…Then,”
She couldn’t move and was hesitating at the homeroom professor’s words, so she kept staring at me.
‘What?’
I seriously wanted to say this.
“I’ll see you in sword class.”
-Tadadada
Gwen Cabala leaves, leaving only those words behind.
“……”
“”……””
I feel like all the nobles around me and I are making the same expression.
In the ensuing silence, the voice of one noble is heard.
“The… the ducal
approached first…”
With that one sentence, I could understand what their silence meant.
‘Life.’
For them, it seems like an incredible rise in status from a fallen noble to a toy of the ducal family.
“”……””
“Everyone, what are you doing not coming? We need to start the test!”
In the awkward situation where I couldn’t even raise my head due to the nobles’ gazes and silence, the homeroom teacher saved me once again.
‘Thank you.’
I never thought there would really be a person who goes from worst to best in just one day…
At the teacher’s words, they reluctantly got up from their seats and started moving to the dueling ground.
-Step step
Of course, I followed them from the very back.
-Swoosh
“The duel will proceed with 2 people at a time, and I will stop it if I judge it to be dangerous. The weapons are…”
As everyone in the class moved in front of the dueling ground, the homeroom teacher started explaining the basic rules of the duel.
“…These are the grading criteria. Any questions?”
‘There won’t be any.’
The teacher explained everything so neatly that there was nothing to be curious about.
‘That’s good.’
As long as that person doesn’t troll in the middle, he’ll be in my good books for a whi…
“Ah, I’ll let the students who duel first choose their opponent. Is there anyone who wants to go first?”
-Swish
“Hmm.”
They say ‘what if’ catches people.
Who would have known that not just words but even thoughts would catch people as soon as they’re thought?
Of course, the one caught was me.
‘Everyone’s eyes look fierce.’
Of all things, it had to be involvement with the ducal family.
I don’t know what they’re thinking, but it’s awkward in many ways.
“Professor Hector. I’ll go first.”
The man who walked up to the homeroom teacher and raised his hand.
It was Aslan Reinhardt.
‘Oh. This is the same.’
The fact that Aslan goes first for the duel hasn’t changed.
Who was his opponent agai…
“As my opponent, I choose that student named Aaron.”
“…Me?”
Me?
Did my family fall because we incurred the wrath of the ducal families?
First Gwen, and now you, why are you doing this?
—–
‘That Gwen approached first…’
Aslan Reinhardt.
He, who has crossed swords with Gwen for a long time, knows.
Gwen doesn’t even mingle words with people unless they’re related to swords.
And even then, not unless they’re at a considerable level.
How severe that is, well, one of the conditions for being a servant in her family, the Cabala family, is to be a Sword Expert, so that says it all.
Even for himself, it took 2 years to be acknowledged by Gwen and exchange words.
‘That guy, there’s something about him.’
Being connected to a duke.
‘That Aaron guy is hiding something.’
He slowly unsheathed his blade.
‘As someone who will stand at the top of the continent in the future, I was taught that there should be nothing unknown. I’ll thoroughly find out what you’re hiding…’
-Swoosh
The two people standing on the dueling ground.
When the distance between the two was somewhat apart, the homeroom teacher shouted start.
“Then, begin!”
-Tap
He jumps high as soon as it starts.
‘Let’s start lightly. First, I’ll check his strength.’
-Kuuung
The greatsword filled with aura falls quickly towards Aaron’s head.
-Kagagaga
“Hooh…”
Despite the heavy greatsword, Aaron didn’t avoid it and received it.
-Tadat
As the greatsword is deflected, he runs quickly to Aslan’s vicinity.
But
“Slow.”
He was far too slow compared to Aslan.
-Whoosh
The greatsword is swung once more.
-Kaang
And again, Aaron receives it in place.
“You… are you weak?”
Seeing Aaron’s condition after receiving the greatsword twice, Aslan felt it.
‘He’s too weak?’
He thought Aaron first received the greatsword because he was bold and received it head-on.
But even when he intentionally deflected it and created an opening, his running speed was strangely slow.
The fatigue on his face makes it hard to think it’s an act.
That’s why he swung the greatsword once more.
Although he swung it lightly and the speed wasn’t that fast, Aaron didn’t avoid it.
No, he was certain Aaron couldn’t avoid it.
“Huff… huff…”
It was difficult to think of it as boldness when he was panting from this much.
“Tsk.”
He’ll have to ask Gwen later.
What reason did she have for speaking to someone like this?
“Let’s end this quickly.”
-Whoosh
Once again, the greatsword comes down on Aaron’s head as he stands there looking about to collapse.
“Defense… defense… defense…”
The sight of him just muttering something with unfocused eyes looked truly pitiful.
However
-Kiiiii
“Hmm…”
Something was different from before.
The sight of him deflecting the incoming sword at an angle.
-Whoosh
“But anyone who holds a sword can do that.”
Merely blocking a downward strike by holding the sword at an angle is a basic stance that anyone learns.
-Kaang
“Huh?”
Once again, the greatsword is deflected.
-Whoosh
-Kaang
Once more.
“I guess I need to get a little serious.”
-Kuuuu
Aslan’s aura, which had been calm, starts to fluctuate.
But Aaron,
“Defense… defense… flow… a little more…”
Started to focus on something.
[Trait: {Analyzer} is preparing to bloom.]
[Trait: {????} is #@%$.]
To the extent that he couldn’t even read the black window that appeared in front of him.