The marksman stared intently at Aiden's face before whispering quietly.
"A bastard."
"......A bastard?"
"Literally, the illegitimate child of Duke Rodbel."
Aiden's eyes widened.
A bastard. He hadn't even considered it.
That's because...
"I've never heard of Duke Rodbel having a bastard child."
Aiden was the youngest son of a count's family, known as a prestigious lineage.
He wasn't very knowledgeable about worldly affairs, as he was only interested in swords, but he wasn't completely ignorant either.
As a nobleman himself, stories from this world naturally reached his ears.
But Duke Rodbel's bastard? That he had another daughter?
'I had no idea.'
But in reality, the existence of bastards wasn't that surprising.
In aristocratic society, where arranged marriages were the norm, having mistresses and producing illegitimate children was common.
Some families with particularly light lower bodies had over five bastards.
"But even if she's a bastard, to treat her like that..."
Even though he knew her identity, Aiden still couldn't understand.
Not all illegitimate children received such treatment.
"Well..."
The marksman seemed hesitant for a moment before crouching down and whispering softly.
"It's probably because of the legend passed down in Rodbel."
"Legend?"
"Yes. I don't know the details either. It's just something I heard from my grandfather a long time ago."
Even at that moment, the marksman seemed to be wondering if he should say this.
But soon, he slowly began to speak.
"As you know, the first head of Rodbel is a mythical figure in many ways."
At those words, Aiden nodded.
The first head of Rodbel, 'Lucretia Rodbel,' was the greatest archmage in the history of the continent.
She was also the person who sealed the Evil God and was, as such, a mysterious figure.
Her birthplace, her age, and even her gender were subjects of much debate.
But the most mysterious thing was...
"It's the legend related to the death of the first head of Rodbel."
"The death of the first head..."
No one knew about the death of the first head.
Not a single line of record remained about when, where, or how she died.
Various hypotheses arose regarding her death, and even far-fetched stories emerged that she was still alive somewhere.
In the meantime, Rodbel remained silent.
"Well, don't take it too seriously. It's said that the one who killed the first head was her half-sibling, that is, a bastard."
"A bastard?"
Aiden's eyes widened at the story he was hearing for the first time among countless hypotheses.
"Yes. Of course, that bastard was executed, but it's said that he cast a curse just before he died."
Having said that, the marksman took a short breath.
And he murmured quietly.
"Someday, a half-blooded person like me will destroy Rodbel."
"...So you're saying they're mistreating the child because of a legend that may or may not be true?"
"Well, it's not certain, but it must have an influence. When you think about it, it's true that there have been almost no bastards in the history of Rodbel compared to other families."
"Huh..."
Aiden was dumbfounded.
Treating a young child like that because of a story that wasn't even confirmed to be true or made up.
But as the marksman said, it was true that Rodbel's family tree was abnormally clean.
"Well, even if that's not the case, it's Rodbel's internal affairs. It's not good to get involved, so it'll be uncomfortable, but just forget about it."
In the end, Aiden turned his head instead of answering.
The marksman was right.
There was nothing he could do, even if he was angry and uncomfortable.
He could only comfort himself by saying it couldn't be helped and forget about it.
However...
Aiden turned his head and looked at the departing Rodbel mansion.
Unlike the first time when he felt it was as beautiful as a fantasy, it didn't look beautiful to him at all now.
He just wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.
Along with that, Aiden completely abandoned the desire in a corner of his heart to become a Rodbel knight.
After that, he forgot about the memory of that day.
No, he tried to forget.
Because that was the only way to erase the regret of turning away from the child.
But to go back to Rodbel again...
'Will I be able to see that child again?'
Guarding the Crown Prince's carriage side by side with Kari, who was very excited, Aiden carefully unearthed the memory of that day that he had buried.
He didn't see her face properly because it was covered by her hair, but he clearly remembered her red eyes.
Although she was a bastard, she still inherited the blood of Rodbel.
She should have enough qualifications to participate in the Rodbel qualification test.
The problem was whether Duke Rodbel would recognize that bastard as his child and allow her to take the test.
'It's impossible.'
He didn't know much about Rodbel's situation, but he was sure of that much.
If she was in a position to be recognized enough to participate in the qualification test, she wouldn't have been treated like that by the maid a year ago.
Although time had passed, it was only a year.
There was nothing she could change.
'...I feel uncomfortable.'
Looking at the approaching Rodbel mansion, Aiden tried to suppress the uncomfortable feeling that was slowly rising.
He just had to carry out the given mission of guarding the Crown Prince without any problems.
He wouldn't even run into that young bastard.
It was definitely like that...
'That's her.'
That child appeared at the test site.
Completely different from a year ago.
She passed all the tests of each gate so wonderfully.
And.
"Lady!!"
Aen Lixus shouted as if wailing.
In his arms was a slumped black-haired girl.
"Damn it! Get out of the way!!"
Aen Lixus, who was called the monarch on the battlefield and received the respect and admiration of all knights, was on horseback in a desperate and disheveled state that was hard to believe.
"Please calm down."
Rigrin Pedlan, the Duke's aide and the core of Rodbel, approached him.
"Am I in a situation to calm down now? The Lady-"
"You know better than anyone that you must be more calm in urgent situations."
"...Damn it."
"I will go ahead and prepare the healers. Please bring the Lady as safely and quickly as possible, Commander."
After saying that, Rigrin Pedlan left first.
However, Aiden could tell right away.
Contrary to his words to calm down, he was also subtly flustered.
Soon after, Aen Lixus also left the lakeside with the unconscious bastard in his arms.
Aiden stared blankly at the place where they disappeared, then came to his senses and approached the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, are you hurt..."
However, Aiden couldn't continue speaking.
The Crown Prince, staring at the direction the two had disappeared with a blank expression, felt somehow eerie.
But that was only for a moment, and the Crown Prince smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
"I'm fine. Let's go back now."
"Yes."
Suppressing the strange sense of crisis he had felt a moment ago, Aiden got on his horse.
He looked back at the lakeside full of ashes and turned his horse's head.
And he thought.
Something had changed in the past year.
He didn't know what it was.
Blink. Blink blink.
He blinked slowly.
As the hazy vision gradually cleared, the surrounding scenery came into view.
But... where is this?
"Ugh."
A groan flowed out involuntarily as he tried to get up.
It was as if each joint was misaligned.
It was too stiff.
He barely got up and looked around.
Like a pure white castle, the room was all white.
The walls were white, the ceiling was white, and the floor was white.
Even the view outside the window was white.
'Did it snow...?'
Perhaps the first snow fell while I was unconscious.
'How long have I been lying down?'
And where is this?
It was a room he had never seen before.
He was wondering if he should go out and check, when.
Knock knock...
With a soft knock, the door opened and someone came in.
I opened my eyes wide when I saw the person who came in.
At the same time, the other person also checked me and had a surprised expression.
And then.
"Lady!"
He rushed over.
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