He turned his steps.
Heading toward his destination, he thought about Lucia.
"I can't figure her out."
She acts light and casual now, but in reality, he doesn't treat everyone like that.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Yet, whenever he sees Lucia, he ends up acting lightly...
"She seems so vulnerable that I become cautious, I guess."
So small and frail, it's hard to believe she's 10 years old.
"Even Cherish isn't this small."
His adopted daughter, who is fighting illness, would look healthier standing next to Lucia.
But unlike her frail appearance, Lucia's inner self is strong and firm.
Seeing her not intimidated at all in front of him, the commander of the Magic Knights Order, and even skillfully negotiating, Aen felt a strange sensation.
The person in front of him is clearly only 10 years old, but it feels like he's dealing with an adult.
And that adult is...
"Not someone you can ignore."
Yes, definitely.
"That's the feeling I had when I first faced the Duke."
Like a top predator capable of swallowing his opponent at any moment, relaxed and leisurely, yet with a clear direction.
But...
"She's similar, yet completely different."
Unlike the Duke, who seems to crush everything ruthlessly, Lucia is...
"Seemed like she was dying."
Resolute, yet desperately trying to survive.
Like a small animal struggling to escape from a swamp, Aen couldn't help but take her hand.
"Well, it's also true that the <Tome of Ayla> is my purpose, as the young lady said."
The <Tome of Ayla> isn't the only reason he took Lucia's hand.
"And she's so forthright in her expressions."
Seemingly hiding something, mysterious, yet bold in her expressions toward him.
"Kind...and stuff."
Usually, people are too shy to say such things, aren't they?
How can she say such embarrassing things without even changing her facial expression?
He never dreamed he would hear the word "kind" from a young lady.
And the expression with which she said it was so sincere that it didn't even leave room for thinking it was empty flattery.
"It certainly seems like she trusts me a lot."
He couldn't figure out where that trust originated.
What's certain is that Lucia doesn't see him as just a business partner.
So...
"I have to live up to that."
Abruptly.
Aen's feet stopped.
He raised his head and looked at the door blocking his way.
A door engraved with the Rodbel crest. The Duke's office.
"I never thought I'd be here on my own business."
He became the commander of Rodbel's knights to save his daughter, but Aen didn't have a very good opinion of Duke Ego Rodbel.
He didn't like the way he looked down on people.
"Well, maybe it's just my inferiority complex."
The end of the Rodbel lineage.
The Rixus barony was such a humble family that it was embarrassing to even call them nobles.
"We must not forget that the root of our family is Rodbel. We are also members of Rodbel!"
The late baron, a drunkard, shouted that every time he got drunk.
Aen was always dissatisfied with such a baron – his father.
When he was young, he thought his father was right.
Even though they had no decent territory and were tasked with guarding the castle of another nobleman, even when they abandoned their house because they had no firewood for the winter and lived by clinging to the noble's warehouse, even when they were eventually kicked out of there and ended up living in a shack.
"We are also Rodbel."
He believed his father's words.
"Aen, you're good with a sword, so become a knight of Rodbel. And spread the fact that we are also Rodbel."
"...Yes, Father."
Not long after, his father died after being hit by a passing carriage while drunk.
...It was too miserable and pathetic a death for someone who claimed to be Rodbel.
Aen, who had lost his family and home, took a sword and went straight to the capital where the Rodbel ducal family resided.
He immediately expressed his intention to join the Knights, but...
"This is not a place where just anyone can join. If you really want to swing a sword, go join some mercenary band!"
He was blocked by a knight and couldn't even set foot inside, let alone see the Duke.
"I am also a member of Rodbel! Let me see His Grace the Duke!"
"...A member of Rodbel?"
"Yes! Our Rixus barony is..."
"What, the Rixus barony? Hahaha!"
The knight suddenly burst out laughing.
Aen stared at him blankly.
"Ahem. I'll report to His Grace the Duke first, so wait here."
His tone changed, but the look of contempt remained.
Aen felt like he was going out of his mind with humiliation, but...
"If only I could see His Grace somehow."
Then he would recognize him.
The Rixus barony, which shares the same roots...!
However, the reality that returned after waiting shattered his illusion.
"His Grace says he doesn't know such a family."
"...What? There must be some mistake. If you tell him again... No, I'll go myself...!"
"You beggar, where do you think you're going!"
The knight struck Aen's leg with his scabbard as he tried to enter the Duke's residence.
"Ugh!"
"If you don't get out of here, I'll make sure you can never hold a sword again!"
As if to show he wasn't bluffing, the knight drew his sword.
But he didn't even notice it.
What caught Aen's eye was...
"Lord, the carriage is ready."
A man with white hair passing behind the knight. Duke Ego Rodbel...
At that moment, only one thought dominated Aen's mind.
He had to catch that man now.
He had to let him know who he was...!
"Wait a minute!! Your Grace the Duke! Please listen to me! My father is Baron Eric Rixus, and I am Aen Rixus! I hope to become a knight of Rodbel! Please listen to me..."
"..."
The Duke clearly heard his desperate cry.
The two men's eyes met, separated by the knight.
At that moment, Aen smiled.
He thought the Duke had finally recognized him, but the moment he thought that...
"Get him out of here."
"Yes!"
With those short words, he passed by.
That day, Aen was beaten to a pulp and thrown into the street.
That's when he realized.
He, his father, the Rixus barony, were not even related to Rodbel.
"No, I already knew."
How poor the Rixus barony was. But the reason he couldn't let go of Rodbel was just because he was denying reality and escaping into fantasy.
"After that, I joined a mercenary band."
That's where he met Cherish.
He had a new goal and did his best, and eventually became the commander of Rodbel's knights.
But the memory of being rejected was so strong that Aen rarely sought out the Duke first.
He avoided him as much as possible.
"Haa. What's so important about my student."
For a moment, he wondered if he really had to go this far, but...
"Thank you."
"Because Aen is a kind person."
"I have to."
Not disappointing Lucia, his only student, was more important than his petty trauma.
After a brief hesitation, Aen raised his hand.
Knock knock...
The sound of knocking echoed softly in the empty hallway.
"...Lord, it's Aen Rixus."
"Come in."
Permission was granted immediately.
"Hoo."
After taking a short deep breath, Aen opened the door to the office.
Aen, a core figure in Rodbel, was granted access to the office without magic through a ceremony on the day he was appointed commander.
As soon as he entered, the man's figure, reminiscent of a snowy field, filled his vision.
"A snowy field. That's a fitting expression."
Covered in pure white snow, beautiful but vast and desolate, a land of solitude that cannot hold anything.
That was exactly the kind of person Aen Rixus thought Duke Ego Rodbel was.
What would it feel like to be buried in snow?
The cold air blocked his breathing.
"Commander Aen Rixus."
Then he snapped out of it when he heard his name called.
The Duke was staring at him.
He noticed belatedly that Ligrin was also by his side.
It seemed like he was in the middle of giving a report.
Aen bowed his head.
"It's been a while, Lord."
"What is it?"
Ego Rodbel asked with interest.
It was rare for Aen Rixus to come to him.
For a moment, Aen wondered what to say first.
Please approve the young lady learning swordsmanship?
I will teach the young lady?
He had never been in this situation before, so he didn't know what to say first.
Then he accidentally...
"Commander Aen Rixus."
"Please give me the young lady...!"
"..."
"Ah."
I wish I could turn the night mode off.
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