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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: A Positive Influence
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Early morning.
Knight Commander Lloyd was already out before training hours, warming up his body.
The knights of the Archducal House of Akion were not famous. They didn’t even have a special title, the kind typically bestowed upon the knights of an archduke.
In the first place, with the master of the house, the Hero Heros Akion, being hailed as the greatest Sword Master in the empire, the knights under his command rarely received any attention.
*What have they accomplished? The Hero probably did it all anyway. What’s so great about them? They’d be a disorganized mob without the Hero.*
The knights who had joined with proud aspirations to stand by the strongest Sword Master couldn't endure such ridicule, and more than half of them would quit before finishing their first year.
No one wants a life where their efforts go unrecognized. For this reason, even those who remained in the order had lost their motivation, their movements sluggish and half-hearted during training.
It was then that…
Daphne Akion appeared.
It was a well-known fact that the Archduke’s youngest daughter was ill. She looked so frail, so weak that one could easily believe the rumors that she had recently been on the verge of death. She seemed as if a single touch could make her collapse.
But that same Daphne, ran.
She circled the training grounds without a single day of rest. Even when she collapsed from exhaustion, she was back running the next day. Even when she coughed up blood, she ran. Every single day.
And as she ran, she would cry out.
“Hero…! Herooo!”
Yes.
This fragile Daphne wanted to follow in Heros’s footsteps.
Even if everyone told her she couldn't, even if they said she could never compare to Heros, she wanted to be the Hero’s successor!
The moment they witnessed that will, Lloyd and all the other knights felt an overwhelming emotion surge within them.
Why did we join the Archducal House of Akion?
To stand by Heros Akion’s side. To ensure that his noble sword could reach its full potential.
So why have we been standing still all this time? Even a child so small, a child so sick, is trying this hard!
They lifted their feet, which had been still for so long, and took a step forward.
From that moment on, the knightly order began to change.
All thanks to one child, Daphne Akion.
*I heard she stopped a black magic terror attack recently.*
Lloyd thought to himself as he stretched out his legs.
*She truly is a remarkable person. To save people twice with that body.*
To stop a terror attack on top of wiping out a band of thieves.
Daphne was a much greater person than he had judged her to be. Tenacious, passionate, unyielding, and always moving forward.
He suddenly recalled the words he had once said to Daphne.
*“Your Ladyship’s talent is already a flower in full bloom, but the vase meant to hold it is cracked, preventing it from supplying the flower with nutrients.”*
*“What a shame. You might have even been able to succeed your father.”*
If he could go back in time, he would punch the man who had said those words.
Knowing Daphne’s tenacity now, he would never say such a thing.
Instead, he would say this.
*Your Ladyship’s vase is magnificent…*
*I must train harder so she’ll be surprised when she returns.*
Lloyd stretched his back, resolving to put the knights through a grueling session today. It was at that moment.
“Oh, what’s this? You’re out here already?”
A voice, slightly hoarse but still tinged with youthfulness, reached him. Startled, Lloyd turned his head. There stood Arius, casually walking over with a wooden sword slung over his shoulder.
“You’re up early as well, Young Master!”
“Yeah, well. I couldn’t sleep.”
Arius answered, scratching the back of his head. He subtly avoided Lloyd’s gaze, afraid his unease would be discovered.
But it seemed Lloyd already understood Arius’s feelings perfectly. His eyes curved into crescent moons.
“Are you frustrated?”
“Huh? Wha-What?”
“I’m asking if you feel frustrated seeing Her Ladyship successfully thwart the recent terror attack.”
Arius felt his face flush in an instant.
“N-No! I was just thinking Daphne is the best! I was going to praise her. Why would I be jealous of her? Definitely not!”
Watching Arius still avoiding his eyes as he retorted, Lloyd let out a soft chuckle.
The Arius he saw today had come to the training grounds earlier than usual, and his eyes were burning with an unprecedented fire.
These simple facts alone were enough to tell Lloyd exactly what Arius was feeling.
*He must be confused as to why he feels weaker than Daphne, despite having trained with the sword for much longer.*
*He knows he should congratulate his younger sister on her great achievement, but he must be flustered that a strange sense of anger seeped into his heart before the feeling of celebration could.*
*He must be wondering if he’s really this petty, yet still feeling envious of Daphne…*
Lloyd knew that feeling all too well.
And so, he could give Arius the answer he needed.
“You should be jealous.”
“…Huh?”
“Because that is how you will climb higher, Young Master.”
Lloyd said, fixing a stray lock of Arius’s hair.
“Her Ladyship’s talent may seem overwhelming right now, but talent cannot defeat effort. Remember all the time you have spent training.”
“That… is.”
“Was all that effort in vain?”
“…”
Arius pressed his lips into a thin line and lowered his gaze.
Right.
He could lose to Daphne for now.
He could be less impressive than Daphne for now.
But in the future…!
*I will stand by Father’s side.*
As a proud knight!
When Arius lifted his face again, the shame was gone, replaced by a bright smile.
“Shall we run?”
“An excellent idea.”
“Once we’re warmed up, I need you to take my sword! Got it?”
“Yes.”
Arius took a step forward.
Thinking that one day, he would run past Daphne’s back.
***
“Hmm?”
Daphne tilted her head, adjusting the blanket wrapped tightly around her body.
“Hah, hah… I-I can’t run anymore…”
“The Commander is trying to kill us… Ugh, I-I think I’m gonna throw up.”
“Uggghhh.”
Why were the knights collapsed on the dirt ground like this? And drenched in sweat, no less.
Sensing that it would probably smell if she got any closer, Daphne took a small step back.
“Your Ladyship?”
Just then, Lloyd spotted Daphne and approached her.
Lloyd wasn't in as bad a state as the other knights, but he didn't look as pristine as usual, either.
“Have you come out for training? I’m sure your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
“Nay. I have come to ask something.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
“However…”
Daphne gestured toward the knights with a glance.
“Why are those fools sprawled out so stupidly like that?”
“Ah.”
Lloyd scratched his cheek with an awkward laugh.
“We tried training a bit harder than usual. After you fought so valiantly, Your Ladyship, we couldn't just stand by idly. We are training harder for the future!”
She had no idea what he was talking about.
But if these guys were putting in the effort, that was a good thing. If they became stronger, they could use their full power to crush those things called wraiths or whatever.
“I see. You are working hard.”
“We are, aren’t we?”
Lloyd’s face lit up. Unable to contain his surging emotions, he stamped his foot and pointed to a certain spot.
“You may not be able to see him well from here, but Young Master Arius is over there as well.”
“That blockhead?”
Daphne narrowed her eyes and looked at the fallen knights.
Just as Lloyd had said, she could see Arius lying among them, panting. Well, I’ll be.
“I told him he couldn't keep up with our training regimen yet, but he chased after us with fire in his eyes. It was astonishing determination.”
“Is that so.”
“If he keeps this up, he will become a tremendous swordsman within five years.”
“Right. Good for him.”
“Yes. You can look forward to it.”
Daphne, who had been listening with humming sounds, suddenly lifted her head.
“But why not offer such praise to the Hero instead of me?”
“…Pardon?”
“What good does it do telling me? What use is it?”
Lloyd blinked, momentarily stunned, before slapping his forehead in realization.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Why did I feel like I had to report this to Your Ladyship?”
He supposed that since Daphne was tutoring Arius in swordsmanship and Arius saw her as a rival, he had wanted to show her the results.
Lloyd let out a slightly embarrassed laugh.
“Well, whatever. I came because I have a question.”
“Yes, please ask.”
“Those black mages, you see.”
“Yes.”
“Where can I go to meet them?”
“…Pardon?”
Lloyd asked again, thinking he must have misheard.
“I asked where I can go to meet the black mages.”
But he hadn't misheard. Lloyd barely managed to keep his vision from going dark.
“You want to meet black mages on purpose? I-I heard you barely survived this time, so why them? Surely you don’t intend to fight them?”
“Do you think I want to meet them to become their friend?”
“You must not!”
Lloyd shouted.
“They are dangerous! You may have gotten lucky this time, but there’s no telling what might happen next…!”
“Luck?”
Daphne’s expression crumpled.
“L-Luck? You call that luck?”
This bastard had a funny way of talking. Daphne rolled up her sleeves.
“Fine. We’ll see if it was luck or skill. I’ll drive you to the very edge of death.”
“No, Your Ladyship! Wait, just a moment!”
Lloyd yelled, backing away from the charging Daphne.
But Daphne was already furious.
“I’ll show you my true skill!”
“Y-You can’t!”
“I can!”
It was at that very moment.
“Da-Da-Daphne!”
Someone called out to Daphne as if wailing.
The voice was both familiar and unfamiliar, so Daphne stopped her charge at Lloyd and turned her head.
There, she saw a small child with a hood pulled low over their face. It was Bipera.
“Wh-Why are you o-outside! A-Aren’t you supposed to be in your r-room?! A-Are you okay?!”
Bipera ran up to Daphne, breathing heavily and shouting with a flushed face.
*Hey, that's my line. Why are you here?*
“What is it?”
Arius, who had approached at some point, spoke with a frown.
“Why are you out here?”
*Right, that’s what I was going to say.*
