Chapter 33: Becoming a Knight

Saturday, Vitta arranged to meet El at a practice field.

Her mind was in turmoil.

The words Karen said to her that day echoed in her ears again and again.

Vitta instinctively felt he was wrong, but she didn’t know how to refute him.

So, she sought out El.

This time, the situation could only be described as one-sided.

Vitta gave El no chance to control the pace, pouring all her energy in, and ended the fight in just two minutes.

On the training grounds, the “Frost Arrow” she had cleaved still lingered with cold air, and the crater from the exploding “Arcane Missile” was behind her.

El raised his hands, conceding defeat.

“You win, Vitta. I never thought this day would come so soon. Your progress is incredible—none of the Gold-rank knights I’ve seen have mastered swordsmanship as powerful as yours.”

Vitta withdrew her wooden sword, joy welling up in her eyes: “Senior El, does that mean…”

“No need to call me ‘senior’ anymore, just call me El. I’m no longer qualified to be your senior,” El said. “I’m happy for you, Vitta. From now on, no one will ever look down on you again.”

On weekends, there were rarely classes at the Royal Academy, so there were many students at the practice field, and they had watched the entire battle.

“No way, that first-year beat El? I remember he ranked third in practical magic in the second-year department, right?”

A young noble said in astonishment.

“No, El is ranked second. Pino got sent flying by his Fireball. Except for that monster Karen, El is already one of the strongest in the magic department.” His companion corrected him.

Vitta turned around, and they became the focus of the field.

The gazes directed at her were filled with admiration, longing, and envy.

Of course, there was also jealousy and disdain, but she knew those people were too weak and narrow-minded—she would not be bound by them.

She looked back at El, his eyes full of sincere blessing, distinctly different from the others.

No, Senior El, how can you look at me like that? I am your sword, so why use that gaze… as if looking at someone unrelated?

The grievances Vitta had bottled up over the past two days burst out.

She dropped her wooden sword and rushed into El’s arms, hugging him tightly with both arms.

She was small, and burying her head in El’s chest made it impossible for him to see her face.

Though her grip was strong, Vitta’s body was unexpectedly soft. Being pressed so close, El clearly felt her warmth.

“Let go already, Vitta, everyone is watching. Don’t you feel embarrassed…?”

At first El thought she was hugging him out of excitement, but soon he realized his chest was wet with Vitta’s tears, and then he knew something was wrong.

He used his remaining magic to cast a low-level Wind Breath Spell. A strong gust swept through, letting the bystanders know El didn’t want to be watched right now.

As the gazes faded away, El supported Vitta as they slowly walked out of the practice field.

“Can you tell me what happened?” El’s voice was gentle.

“I—I—El—” she sobbed, unable to squeeze out even broken words.

This wasn’t good—he needed to deal with Vitta’s situation first.

El took out a brand new handkerchief: “Let’s find a place to sit down, okay?”

Vitta nodded silently, agreeing.

***

A café in the Yosse district, one of Cielsa’s businesses.

The atmosphere was lovely—warm yellow lighting, melodious music, and the waitress was pretty and sweet-voiced.

As soon as she saw El, she hurried over to greet them.

“Hello, please prepare a private room for us.”

The waitress glanced at the girl beside El, looking troubled. “My lord, please forgive my impertinence, but may I ask if Her Highness knows about her?”

Vitta’s eyes were red-rimmed. With her petite, adorable appearance, she looked “pitiful enough to draw sympathy,” as if she’d just been bullied by El.

Hiss—surely this isn’t being misunderstood, right?

“We… of course she knows her.”

El swallowed back “nothing happened between us,” and made his position clear to the waitress.

“In that case, very well.” She clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they were seated, Vitta had calmed down considerably.

“How do you feel? A bit better?” El asked.

“Mm… sorry, I’ve troubled you again, Senior El.”

“Just call me El. It’s fine. Aren’t you my sword?”

Sword… her heart twinged a little at the word.

“El… what do you think of me? In your eyes, what am I?”

What did he think? El pondered the question seriously.

She was the protagonist of the script. Most of the people around El played roles in that script.

Vitta was very charming. In the story, she had emotional entanglements with many people.

Even with someone like Aurelia, the ice-cold beauty, she could “shamelessly” bend and win her over with her own means.

But was that really Vitta? She was just a pure little white rabbit.

El wondered—why in different story branches did Vitta’s personality, even her talent and achievements, differ so greatly?

It was as if… that wasn’t the real Vitta, but someone different was manipulating her behind the scenes.

So then, what was she to him? The protagonist who would kill him in the script? No, of course not…

He recalled that afternoon when Vitta resolutely said to him, “I want to become Senior El’s sword.”

El suddenly realized he’d been too arrogant. He’d assumed Vitta simply didn’t know any better, just called him “senior,” and he—self-importantly—really put himself in the role of an adult.

But thinking about it, Vitta grew up in the church orphanage. How could she not know what she was doing?

He had never taken Vitta’s vow seriously—what a bastard he’d been, El thought.

Luckily, it wasn’t too late to fix things.

“In my eyes, Vitta is my adorable junior. When I first met you, you were still immature and weak. But now, you’ve grown so much that sometimes I feel I can’t keep up with you.”

A smile appeared on El’s face as he continued, “Today, I lost to you. Your sword broke through my magic like chopping radishes, and gave me a pressure even Gold-rank knights couldn’t.”

“You once said you wanted to entrust your dream of magic to me. But on this path, I’ll face many challenges. I want to ask you to forgive me for neglecting you before. Will you continue to be my ‘sword’? I need your help.”

Vitta covered her mouth with her hand, and the tears she’d just stopped started flowing again, her clear blue eyes shimmering:

“El, woo—”

“Don’t cry, I thought I said it pretty well…”

He hurriedly handed the handkerchief to Vitta.

With Vitta’s explanation, he finally understood what had happened.

Of course, she hid the fact that she wanted to pursue El.

“Karen really did something unnecessary…”

El knew his good brother still cared about him a lot.

“I think, my feelings for… for El, can’t be summed up in a few words like he said, but I didn’t know how to argue back. I’ve been bothered by this for days.”

“Actually, he’s not wrong. You really don’t know me, not even I can claim to know myself. And just because I stood up for you that one time, to entrust your life to me so easily… what if I was a bad person?”

“Eh?”

Vitta blinked. Why did El’s words sound so different from what she’d expected?

Seeing Vitta about to break down again, El quickly continued, “But understanding always deepens slowly. At first, I didn’t know Vitta either, but as time went on, I gradually came to realize how wonderful you are. As long as we keep being together, someday we’ll fully understand each other.”

As he said this, El suddenly thought of Cielsa.

“As for that matter… I totally understand you. Even if others think it’s trivial, it’s completely different to the person involved.”

He recalled his first meeting with Cielsa—she’d chased off two noble children bullying him.

“Often, people attach deep meaning to these moments. Saying they influence one’s whole life is not an exaggeration at all.”

Maybe he hadn’t become the “villainous young master” from the script precisely because Cielsa always nurtured his growth.

“Feelings can’t be explained in just a few words. But anyway, since Vitta is willing to bet her life on me, I won’t let you down.” El said.

“I want to know more about El.”

Vitta said seriously.

“Alright. This time, no matter what you want to know, I’ll tell you everything.”

Not only the things that troubled El, but also Aurelia—she wanted to know, what exactly happened between El and that woman?

Vitta had a special ability since childhood. She could easily distinguish between the malice and goodwill others directed at her.

Later, Wald took out a Teylan Stone and tested Vitta’s inherent talent.

“Luminous Sword Heart.” She was born with a transcendent talent for swordsmanship, and any control effect on her would be resisted according to her level of sword mastery.

But such an ability was too cruel for a child.

After Grandma Aisha died, the new nun was young and didn’t like Vitta, often scolding her for every little thing.

Vitta could sense the mixed goodwill and malice from the nun, but even so, her life at the orphanage wasn’t easy.

As she grew older, her looks became more and more outstanding. But with it came more malice from others.

The girls she played with envied her. Men who came to adopt children at the welfare home coveted her beauty. The nun’s malice towards her accumulated day by day.

Aurelia had the backing to protect her own beauty, but Vitta did not. In her case, beauty was an original sin.

Vitta started growing her hair long to cover her face. She learned to live independently until she left the orphanage.

The outside world was even more dangerous. Vitta worked in different places, having to protect herself like a hedgehog.

By chance, she saw a novel called Knight of Thorns and Princess of Roses. It was the tragic story of a couple from the Leon Empire four hundred years ago.

In the future, what would my own knight be like? she wondered.

Oh Vitta, as if any knight would look at you—don’t flatter yourself, she mocked herself again.

Life was tough, but she had a dream: to learn “magic.”

Since Sage Anthony reformed magic education, more and more people in the Empire had access to magic, though in most people’s eyes, it was still a word reserved for noble lords.

She happened to have aptitude for mental energy, and with her daily hard work, she succeeded in being admitted to the Royal Academy.

Everything was new and exciting. The floor tiles at the academy were gleaming white, spotless. The buildings were luxurious yet tasteful. For the first time, she was treated as a “noble.”

Her dream had come true.

But soon, she fell into another low point.

At the freshman ball, she accidentally bumped into Camilla.

Her gray hair was soaked with red wine, and the dress she’d borrowed from Melis was ruined. Listening to Camilla endlessly insult her nonexistent parents, Vitta felt utterly crushed.

The inky malice surrounded her, her pride trampled mercilessly by Camilla. She felt she would never lift her head again.

Just then, a blond noble youth stepped forward. He gently dried her hair, rebuked the bullies, and led her into the ballroom.

Later, she learned from her roommate that his name was El Regis, a famous figure at the academy.

So warm… she hadn’t felt such pure kindness for a long time, not since Grandma Aisha.

If only he could be my knight…

But reality told Vitta that there could never be anything between them. Their worlds were too far apart.

Until the sword spirit, Mukhade, appeared and inspired Vitta.

Do you want to keep being timid, or will you take the initiative?

Vitta knew well—if she stuck to learning magic, with her status, she’d never have a chance with El.

But what about swordsmanship? If she could become the next Sword Saint, would she finally be qualified to stand by his side?

As she thought, “Princess” was never meant for her. She’d known that long ago.

But she could choose “knight.”

Fate should be held in her own hands.