Chapter 4

Chapter 4

‘I’m going to go see the master.’

It was their long-awaited butter and sugar.

Along the way to Adrian’s room, she kept laughing. But there was no one in the isolated master’s room.

‘Is today the day where you practice your swordsmanship?’

Adrian practised his swordsmanship in a secluded field. Nina and Adrian tried to make do with what they had access to, but the speed of growth of the weeds there was terrifying.

Hopping happily, she paused as she heard a voice.

A string of profanities and curses paired with ominous sounds.

Unconsciously, Nina stopped kicking the ground.

The sound coming from the field became more and more clear. The swordsman teacher was swearing and unilaterally assaulting Adrian.

It was not even a wooden sword, but an iron sword.

Upon hitting a person with an iron sword, a certain sound would ring out. Nina rushed in, trying to push him away.

The swordsman whacked Nina away with the iron sword. After hitting her a few times, he let go of her and threw her aside.

“I’ll kill you first!”

As he slowly approached Nina with the iron sword gripped tightly between his hands, Adrian smacked him in the back with his wooden sword.

Thwack! The wooden sword breaks with a dull sound. The swordsman fell. Adrian grabbed Nina who was about to run away in a hurry.

“Nina, are you okay? Nina.”

“Adrian.”

“That’s a relief.”

Biting his lip as he sighed, Adrian held her tightly in his arms.

“You, you little bastards…”

The swordsman quickly tried to regain his footing and stand up. During which Nina could not help but think, “This muscle head.”

Then suddenly, the swordsman’s foot was gone. As if it just disappeared in the gathering pool of darkness.

Nina knew, at that moment, that Adrian had called up the spirit of ‘Shadow and Darkness’. But it was her first time seeing that power in front of her eyes.

“Huh? Argh! What is this? Help me! Somebody! Help me!”

He struggled as he was slowly sucked down. Adrian only stared down at him with cold eyes.

The swordsman then begged Adrian.

“Save me! This is all my fault! I just did what my lady told me to do. Help me!”

Nina thought it was breathtaking tight within his arms.

‘That’s right, my young master used to be a kind man.’

He was not simply just a friendly master who she served.

The darkness then proceeded to envelop the swordsman whole. The swordsman tried to continue screaming, but eventually, nothing came out. And no one came.

“Oh, I dropped the cookies.”

Nina whispered in his arms as Adrian replied.

“You can pick it up.”

“Are you certain you are alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Hugging her tightly once more.

Taking in the sound of Nina’s breathing and warmth, he whispered again.

“I’m really fine, Nina.”

But you…

Her words hovered at the tip of her tongue before it crossed over and down her throat.

The two then went towards the well and washed away their blood and cleaned their wounds.

Two people, who were limping and swallowing their pain, shared the snacks. It felt as if they were chewing soil, but at least it was still sweet, so Nina felt much better.

“But will it be okay?”

“What?”

Adrian questioned as Nina gestured towards the ground.

“The teacher… he has gone somewhere down here.”

Adrian gave an elegant smile as he drawled out.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

***

Adrian was wondering if Nina would really be okay with him, after all, he did show her his trump card. But… it was really fine.

No one asked for his whereabouts even though his swordsman teacher was now gone.

Nina was horrified by the calmness and silence. Although the servants were busy gossiping, they were clumsy. They seemed to think that everyone would have gone to sleep or somewhere else to drink.

‘Is it good that no one was coming here?’

She was not ready to experience the horrors of killing a person or death.

This world, where Bellac is located, is very close to death.

The relationship between Bellac and knights is inseparable. To defend the people, the knights need to defeat Bellac.

So that’s what Count Rubene did. However, the knights of Luvwayne appeared in other stories as compared to those of Bellac.

“We lost this year too.”

Nina huffed a sigh.

Her breath came out visibly as it was winter. In this cold weather, the two sat side by side at a corner of the garden. Looking up at the stars.

The weather was cold, even if you wore all that you owned. However, Nina was resistant to the cool temperatures of winter as she had signed a contract with the spirit of the Northern Wind and the spirit of Frost. Meaning that Adrian would be the one suffering more in this weather.

They had agreed to this meeting after confirming countless times that they were alright.

“Isn’t this our second loss?”

When Adrian asked back, Nina replied with a nod.

The popularity of knights was unbelievable.

Even if the people of the land have no idea what the Lord’s coat of arms was, they knew how the knight’s coat of arms looked like.

In each territory, there is a team of knights that resolve problems through duels.

They are truly the warlike aristocrats of the Empire.

The exchange meeting went as such too.

The chief of the Knights of the Duke Luvwayne and the representatives of nearby Count Rubene had gathered to confront each other.

The winner would be granted permission to use the crystal well, the largest well in the plains, so it was a very important place.

It has been 2 years since we have lost.

This will significantly increase the difficulty of farming and the raising of livestock.

“The knights of the seven kingdoms are currently in a meeting. It is said that they are planning to buy everything they can afford.”

Nina knew that Adrian would be appointed the ‘Chief of the knights of the seven kingdoms.’

So when Nina heard the phrase ‘knights of the seven kingdoms’, her ears instantly perked up. The only story that she had heard of the dark knights was a bad one.

Thanks to that, there was a possibility of them disbanding to form a new order of knights.

“Yeah…”

Adrian blurted out his answer. Nina suddenly gasped, “Ah!”

“Did you just see that meteor fall?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What a shame. The next time it falls, I’ll say my wish three times. Please let there be a cake during the New Year’s party. Cake, cake, cake.”

Adrian laughed softly upon hearing Nina’s plea.

Nina looked back at him with a lump in her throat.

“Having cake is important.”

“Yes, it’s important.”

He made a serious face.

The two looked at the stars for a while longer before getting up.

According to Nina’s judgement, she felt she would fall asleep should she stay like that longer.

***

That year, Nina’s wish was granted and a cake was served at the New Year’s party.

A slice of the luxurious cake was given to each of the servants.

Picking up the slice of cake, Nina ran to Adrian.

When Adrian saw Nina’s triumphant face, he laughed, “I should’ve made a wish as well.”

Nina popped half the cake into her mouth with a fork.

“Mm!”

The rich taste of butter and sugar.

It was chillingly delicious. When Adrian saw Nina’s flushed face and shining eyes, he took a small bite and said,

“Here, you can have more, Nina.”

“You should eat more than I do!”

With that, she cut a big piece and put it in his mouth. Forcing himself to take a bite, he smiled bitterly back at her.

“Delicious, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“But, there’s something I’m curious about. How did they manage to whisk the eggs in winter? Or is it just our slice?”

Once again, Nina cut the cake into smaller pieces and put them into her mouth. The rest was eaten by Adrian.

“So how’s it going?”

When Nina asked, Adrian turned to look at her.

Looking at Nina, Adrian’s eyes seemed to sparkle, exactly like how he would look up at the stars. She appeared shy but at the same time was very convincing.

The cake is worth it. Isn’t it?

He reached out to wipe the cream off her mouth.

“May the Great Spirit bless you this year.”

Smiling brightly, Nina greeted Adrian’s New Year greeting.

“May the Great Spirit bless you this year as well.”