Chapter 171

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“Well, I think he had a scar on his face……and black hair….”

Luciel narrowed her browns and walked towards the Knights, recalling hazy memories.

A commoner boy from an orphanage.

In the Empire, people had a way to become famous swordsmen, even if they were commoners or slaves.

It was to win the Squire Gladiator Competition and it was that boy who won three consecutive victories in that competition making a name for himself with his sword.

He always appeared wearing a blue helmet, which earned him the title of Blue Swordsman.

“But I can’t remember his name at all….”

It’s expected because after he became famous for his swordsmanship, he was called by the title of Blue Swordsman rather than his own name.

Luciel, who had been digging through her head, stopped just before reaching the Knights Order.

It was only then that the outline of the huge wall that stretched out in the distance could be properly felt. The changed appearance of the wall was enough to make Luciel’s heart pound.

“Wow, is that the Black Barrier?”

Luciel’s crimson eyes grew bigger to capture the distant scenery.

Gallius was truly a genius architect. The spire-shaped turrets erected between the walls gave a majestic feeling at a glance, and above all, the stone decoration in the shape of a dragon was beyond impressive.

The wall, completely different from before, was a work of art.

The number of towers was too many to count and the walls were taller and made of solid stone.

The workers were seen working on the finishing touches. Unlike in the past, I was somehow relieved to see the strongly reinforced black barrier.

‘I’m really happy. Now all that remains is to deploy the shield. I should also make obsidians to help.’

Luciel vowed to do so and headed to the knight’s training center in the opposite direction. Her legs started to hurt because she had been walking for quite a bit, but Luciel had already come too far to use teleportation.

“……Hey, I think someone is coming.”

“A lady in a white dress?”

“It’s the Little Madam, isn’t it?!”

“Where, where?”

“Wow, she shines even  from afar.”

As the knights roared, they pushed each other’s bodies over the simple fence of the training field while trying to see Luciel’s face.

These knights looked innocent like that, but they were all elites of the Black Wings Order.

Each of them had a tremendous amount of power equivalent to that of a platoon of knights from another family. On the other hand, when the knights who were training in the field became noisy, Jarga, who was quietly talking with the instructors, stared at the knights and warned them.

“A slack spirit is not forgiven in this order. Everyone takes five laps around the field. Go!”

Jarga, who coldly watched the knights’ groans deepen, approached Luciel and bowed his head.

The difference in physique between him, who had a huge body, and Luciel, was less than in the past, but it was still at the level of a wolf and a rabbit.

“Little Madam, long time no see. You have grown a lot.”

“I’m glad that Captain Jarga still looks healthy.”

When Luciel smiled brightly, Jarga, who had been rigid from start to finish, slightly softened his usual knight commander expression.

“It is an honor to have you visit the Knights Order. Did you hear about Ralph’s injury? It would be better to select an escort knight as soon as possible.”

While Luciel was away, he was on vacation to his family’s orchard and hurt his leg while climbing a tree.

“Oh, tell Ralph I hope he gets well soon. I came here after hearing from Ellington that it would be better to pick my own escort knight.”

“Yes, there are a lot of good knights, so it would be better to select a couple of people you want.”

Jarga said as he glanced at the knights running laps in the field. Luciel looked at them carefully.

There were very few knights with dark hair, but none was the boy Luciel was looking for. It seemed that there was no one known as ‘Blue swordsman.

It was when Luciel looked around. In the stable behind the Knights building, she saw a young man carrying a bale of hay for the horses.

Black hair, a cut across his left cheek, sharp eyes, and agile gestures.

Luciel’s eyes widened.

‘……Is he really the Blue Swordsman? I think that’s right.’

Even if it was a coincidence, it was an amazing one. This is almost at the level of divine help.

I can’t believe Captain Jarga brought him back on his own. Perhaps, because the Cavill family, who was originally strong, became weaker in this life, his fate changed along with it.

“Commander, is that person from Michael’s Orphanage?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve brought him from there some time ago. It was a child I found in a nearby orphanage while watching the Marquis of Cavill. I liked his eyes, so I brought him.”

“I see. Well……I want to talk with that young man.”

Luciel said with her eyes twinkling and Jarga curiously asked.

“Why are you looking for that child?”

Luciel thought of a reason to quickly look around.

“Ah……that is. My old maid was also from the orphanage of Michael, and I wanted to ask if they were acquaintances.”

“Is that so. Noah, come here and be polite.”

Jarga called him. ‘Noah’ was a very common name.

“……Yes.”

Noah came up to Luciel without question and bowed his head.

“Did you call?”

Luciel carefully looked at him.

Black hair and black eyes. Noah’s eyes without double eyelids seemed to be gentle yet firm. The impression was plain but clear. Although he was wearing a light shirt, he had a strong-looking body and tendons bulging in his forearms, which were holding hay barrels.

‘……He’s too fit to be called a stable keeper. Has he been working in the stables all the time?’

In the past, Maximus’ swordsmanship teacher knew his qualities and secretly taught him the sword. Even if he had not learned the sword himself, he must have been interested in the sword.

No, even if he’s not interested, if he learns it from now on, he will be able to learn it quickly.

He will stand out with his sword because he has senses that pick up things two or three times faster than others do.

“…… Did you call me?”

Noah lowered his eyes and lowered his body. Suddenly, Luciel saw his past look overlapping.

‘You lowly orphan!’

No matter how much Maximus kicked him, he equally fell on his face, bowed his head, and lowered his body.

Despite having the skills of a swordmaster, he lived only as a slave gladiator.

‘You, like me, could only live as a slave, and you are still living like that.’

Luciel was somewhat bitter. Regret and guilty for not finding him sooner came flooding in.

“This is the daughter-in-law of the Duke.”

As if he had no idea why such a high person was calling for him, Noah quietly waited for Luciel to speak.

Luciel, conscious of Jarga, asked if he knew a woman by her name, and Noah replied that he did not.

“Did you say Noah? How old are you this year?”

“…….”

Noah’s ink-like black eyes flickered for a moment.

“Eighteen? No, I think I’m nineteen.”

Luciel circled around him. No matter how you look at it, it’s a waste to let him only work on the stable.

“……Have you ever thought about learning the sword?”

“……What?”

Noah was startled and reflexively raised his head. It was the same for Jarga.

“How did the Little Madam…….In fact, he was a child too good to be left only as a stable keeper, so I personally train him in swordsmanship.”

It was good news for Luciel, who wanted to have him as an escort knight.

‘After all, Captain Jarga has good eyes for people.’

For some reason, he looked like he had a well-trained body for a simple stable worker. Luciel asked, pretending to be surprised.

“If it’s enough to secretly teach swordsmanship…….”

“Yes, he has the perfect physical condition to hold a sword and a keen sense of dexterity. However, because of his status as a commoner, he is not training like other apprentice knights.”

Jarga muffled his speech.

Most of the Knights of Black Wings came from vassal families within the territory of Bellstein. There were some commoners, but even they came in with a higher status, such as winning a gladiator contest.

“Can I talk to Noah for a while?”

“Ah, of course.”

Jarga’s permission was granted, and Luciel headed to the shelter next to the Knights building, taking Noah, who kept blinking nonstop.

Noah, meanwhile, followed the little girl with a puzzled face not understanding what she was up to. When the sound of the stepping on grass stopped, Luciel also stopped in her tracks and turned around. Now no one could hear their conversation.

“Does Noah have any dreams?”

“……I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean…….”

Growing up in an orphanage, having a dream was unfamiliar to him. He just lived according to the flow of things and what was given to him.

Most of the children in the orphanage would become servants of the nobility, but if worse fate was to befall, they were sold as slaves.

There were rare cases where some were adopted by aristocrats, but it was only possible with special appearance or talent.

Noah once dreamed of such a miracle, but it was only a dream.

“It means what you want to become, what you want to have or where you want to go.”

He shook his head at Luciel’s question.

“I have none.”

“Really? Didn’t you dream of learning a sword and wanting to become stronger?”

At Luciel’s words, Noah clenched his fist.

“……Even if I become more powerful, there are limits to my status.”

It seemed like there was some kind of story behind it.

“No, you just have to develop your swordsmanship skills enough to go beyond that limit.”

Luciel smiled brightly and suggested.

“The Empire has an annual Squire Swordsmanship Competition. If you win consecutive times in there, people will completely forget that you are a commoner.”

Noah’s black eyebrows rose and unconsciously focused on Luciel’s words. They were heart-pounding words.

He remembered the man who put him in an orphanage long ago.

“In that case, would it be higher than the status of a Baron?”

“I think it will depend on your swordsmanship skills. If you were to become the best swordsman in the empire, why would a simple Baron matter? You might become a hero of the nation.”

At Luciel’s far-fetched and hopeful story, Noah shook his head as if it didn’t make sense to him.

“I still lack the skills to do that.”

“How long have you been learning the sword?”

“…… It’s been about three years and six months.”

Three years and six months was a shorter period than I thought. Luciel eyes glistened with joy.

“I want to see your skills.”

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