Chapter 44
To Renoa, family affection had never existed from the very beginning.
Her mother, who was a concubine, died the day she gave birth to her, and her stepmother and that woman’s daughter made tormenting her their favorite pastime.
She had never even seen the faces of her other blood relatives, but their treatment of her likely would not have been much different from Florencia’s.
The source of all this was none other than her father, Duke Pascal.
Unable to resist a fleeting burst of lust, he brought in a lowborn woman of unknown origin to bear his child.
And then simply left her there.
He was the one who locked her away in the mansion, a cage for life, and stood by while the abuse and contempt inside it went unchecked.
In a way, to Renoa the duke was less a father than an enemy.
But.
That man.
“My daughter, are you hurt anywhere? Nothing happened to you while you were away?”
He worried over Renoa in a voice that was endlessly gentle and affectionate, as if she were his precious daughter.
“Why are you so quiet? Isn’t my daughter happy to see her father?”
“Th-That is…”
Renoa was flustered by the unexpected turn of events. Her pupils darted wildly from side to side.
It was not the same as being flustered by family affection for the first time. Nor was she being overwhelmed by the duke’s authority.
Ironically, it was a visceral feeling of revulsion.
As if looking into a mirror.
The physiological rejection you feel when facing someone who looks disturbingly identical to yourself.
It was the sensation of meeting what people commonly call a doppelgänger.
Her body could not endure the alien presence before her and sounded the alarm. She took an involuntary step back.
“Hm? Why are you like that? Could something be wrong?”
“Ah, that is…”
The duke looked at her from close range, meeting her at eye level. There was nothing in his gaze that differed from that of an ordinary father worrying over his daughter.
But Renoa could not accept it in full.
Something unknown lurking beneath that gentle expression tightened around her heart.
Renoa had frozen like a log. Just as the duke, who had been staring steadily at her, was about to speak again—
“You must be terribly tired from coming such a long way.”
Florencia’s voice rang out from the dais. It was Florencia.
“So that’s why you can’t properly answer even the family head’s generous hospitality.”
On the surface, it sounded as if she were shielding Renoa.
But beneath it lay a thick displeasure, telling them to stop that grotesque family game at once before it disgraced the family.
The duke let out a little exclamation and touched his forehead.
“Oh dear, how thoughtless of me. You must be terribly tired after coming all the way here from the frontier.”
The duke clicked his tongue as if genuinely blaming himself. A gentle smile spread across his lips.
“To think I made you rush straight here without even letting you rest. I was so blinded by my desire to see my daughter that I forgot to be considerate.”
“……”
Even after the duke’s apology, Renoa’s attitude remained the same. She had no idea how she was supposed to react.
“Something has just occurred to me.”
Florencia’s voice rang out once more.
“Did you bring that slave knight who was with you the other day as well?”
“...A slave knight? What’s that?”
“Have you forgotten? That child took in a slave and made him a knight three years ago.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“How could you not know? The family was buzzing about it. You must have missed it while you were absorbed in magical research.”
The smile vanished from the duke’s face. His lowered gaze turned to Renoa.
Renoa swallowed dryly and carefully opened her mouth.
“Yes, he came with me. He’s waiting outside right now.”
“Why don’t you have him come in? For a slave, he’s quite a mysterious boy. I’m sure even you would take a liking to him, Head of House.”
“Let him in.”
The duke’s order rang out. The audience chamber door opened once more.
Dozens of pairs of eyes all turned toward the crack in the opened door.
The lowly slave taken in by an illegitimate child.
Everyone leveled sharp contempt and hostility at the unwelcome intruder who dared set foot in the sacred domain of the continent’s greatest mage house.
In that razor-thin, ice-cold atmosphere, one young man strode in.
His confident stride contained not the slightest trace of a slave’s servility, nor any hint of being cowed by noble authority.
Even amid the murderous pressure pouring in from all sides, he walked leisurely, as if he were in his own home.
Leon, who had come that far, stopped half a step behind Renoa. He knelt on one knee and paid his respects.
“Apprentice knight Leon. I greet the head of House Edelheid.”
Duke Pascal looked Leon over from head to toe.
A posture so disciplined and relaxed that the label of slave seemed meaningless. Even his appearance seemed to exude refinement.
If not for the slave restraints, he would not have been taken for a slave at all.
“What in the world is going on?”
Turning his gaze to Renoa, the duke demanded an explanation.
“I brought over the gladiator slave who had been fighting in the arena at Alderin. I thought he’d be useful if I raised him properly.”
“When did you take in this slave?”
“Three years ago.”
“Three years, huh…”
For someone who had supposedly been drifting through the arena until just a few years ago, the vigor radiating from him was far too intense.
Even while subtly letting mana flow out to pin Leon down, not even his breathing wavered.
Even under the pressure of Duke Pascal, who had reached the rank of Great Mage, it was not something that could be endured with a flimsy trick.
Deep in Pascal’s eyes, a thick wariness flickered.
This slave is no ordinary man. His instincts kept ringing alarm bells in his mind without pause.
“What do you think, Head of House? Since he came here to receive formal knighthood, why not check his skill while we’re at it?”
Duke Pascal’s green eyes curved with interest.
It was an offer impossible to refuse.
Because he would be able to probe the depths of the mysterious slave’s hidden power.
“To be granted the proud name of Edelheid, one must naturally prove oneself worthy.”
Duke Pascal’s gaze landed on the foremost rank of the guard knights lined up beneath the throne.
It was Calven, the Knight Commander of Edelheid.
“Calven.”
“Yes, Head of House.”
“Make that slave, who knows nothing of how frightening this world is, painfully learn his place.”
***
The stage was moved to the outdoor training grounds.
Under the pretext of a knighthood evaluation, a duel was arranged between Leon and Calven.
The Knight Commander of Edelheid and a slave from a frontier arena.
To watch this lopsided duel, dozens of spectators lined the three-story balcony.
“Aren’t you backing that slave, Mother?”
The eldest daughter, Idella, said as she looked down at the training grounds. She too was quite interested in Leon.
“To call it backing him would be too grand. It’s closer to curiosity.”
“Even so, to think his opponent is Sir Calven. He may be my father, but he really is cruel.”
“If a slave aims for a duke’s knight, he should overcome that sort of hurdle, shouldn’t he? Only then will everyone accept it.”
If Leon won, the family would gain a highly useful piece on the board.
If he lost, well, it would just end as an amusing spectacle.
“More importantly, what are those two talking about over there?”
“Looks like the lowborn are banding together.”
Just as Florencia’s sneering laughter scattered on the balcony breeze,
in a corner of the training grounds, Renoa and Leon were busily speaking with each other.
“Calven is the empire’s finest magic swordsman. He’s a formidable fighter with no weakness in either sword or magic.”
“I’ve heard of him.”
Knight Commander Calven.
The proud blade of House Edelheid, and at the same time the empire’s greatest magic knight, capable of wielding magic at will.
For a mere slave’s test, the choice was far too excessive—and cruel.
The intent was clear. It meant that a slave would never become a full knight.
“If you lose this duel, all the effort you’ve put in until now will be for nothing. Even if you can’t win, you absolutely must not lose.”
“When I said I wanted to become an apprentice knight, didn’t you clearly tell me to become the strongest knight in the family? But saying ‘even if you can’t win’ is strange, isn’t it?”
“I certainly did say that, but…”
A thick anxiety colored Renoa’s trailing voice.
It was true that she had said that at the time to gauge Leon’s ambition. Even now, for the sake of shoring up her own position, Leon had to win.
But demanding an unconditional victory against one of the continent’s strongest fighters was something her rational mind simply couldn’t calculate.
The gap in strength was so hopeless it might even put his life at risk.
‘If Leon dies…’
Then Renoa would have nothing left. She would be isolated in this vast domain once again.
Looking at the one fretting over him, the very person being pushed toward a dead end wore a relaxed smile.
“I went through all that trouble for the young lady’s sake, and yet the person who’s supposed to be my master doesn’t trust her subordinate. I just can’t seem to work up any energy.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Wouldn’t you at least need to give me a victory cheer? I already feel like my legs are giving out and I’m about to collapse.”
“Is there really room for jokes in this situation?”
“I’m serious.”
Renoa sucked in a breath. The tension that had been stretched taut felt as though it had suddenly gone slack.
“You... If you dare lose so disgracefully, I absolutely won’t let you off. No, if you can’t win, you’ll die by my hand. Win even if it kills you!”
“Hmm...”
Leon crossed his arms and waited for her to cheer him on or something.
Renoa’s eyes, faced with that shameless expression, flitted around helplessly, unable to settle.
She had absolutely no experience of gently encouraging anyone in her entire life. Her lips wouldn’t part easily.
But given Leon’s leisurely attitude as he looked down at her without giving even an inch, he really seemed ready to surrender without swinging his sword once if she didn’t cheer him on.
To think a slave would dare threaten his master.
If it had been any other time, she would have ripped that mouth off, but Renoa was the one in a hurry.
She clenched the hem of her skirt tightly.
“...Win and come back.”
Her voice was as tiny as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Huh? What did you just say? The wind is so loud I can’t hear you very well.”
Leon exaggeratedly tilted his head, cupping one hand to his ear.
“I... said to win and come back.”
“Huh?”
“I said you have to win no matter what...! Win and come back no matter what! If you lose, you’ll have to atone with your life!”
======
『Master’s Order』
It is time for three years of effort to bear fruit. Defeat Knight Commander Calven in the duel and become an official knight.
Reward: Random A-rank reward
======
It was closer to a rebuke than encouragement, but the tips of her ears, flushed bright red, were impossible to hide.
Though it wasn’t much of an encouragement, Leon knew very well that this was Renoa’s own best effort.
Leon lowered his head and paid his respects.
“At your command.”