Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Rumors spread fast as if they had feet of their own. The story was that a senior knight, Sir Rosaline, who had just been assigned to the escort mission, had turned an assassin into a cake. A few maids cleaning up the blood on the floor and a few other knights who had taken over the assassin were the eyewitnesses. And so, her saga began to expand and spread.
Assassination attempts against Ricardis have always been frequent. However, there were only a handful of direct attacks with magic in broad daylight like this one. Moreover, the culprit even disguised himself as a person inside the castle. It could be seen that the malice surrounding Ricardis was intensifying, and the methods were becoming more sophisticated.
The risky attempt, which could have been the first and the last successful attempt, collapsed at once with one escort. Maybe it was because the expectations for a new escort knight were low, so Rosaline’s deed shone even more.
Eberhard and Leticia, Rosaline’s apprentice knights, heard the news not long after. When the five assassins tried to harm His Highness Ricardis, Sir Rosaline swung her arms, which had the power of eight arms, and caught them all. Amid poison and magic power, Rosaline was unscathed, and the blood of her enemies flowed like a river wherever she passed. The truth mixed with exaggeration turned provocative in people’s mouths.
Leticia saw Rosaline just entering the training ground and poked Eberhard in the side. Eberhard, who had unbuttoned a few buttons on his uniform and loosely wore his suit, groomed himself hastily.
“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon!”
“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon!”
Like the rumors that had spread throughout the castle, she didn’t seem to have suffered even minor injuries. Dried blood was clumped on her white uniform, so one could get a glimpse of the traces of her fierce battle. Rosaline greeted them with a carefree face.
“To you the glory of Idelavhim.”
Rosaline had her back against the red sunset sky, and a shadow fell on her face. In a mere half a day, she was called the Reaper of Moonstone Castle, and it was a look befitting her nickname. They looked at Rosaline with respectful eyes.
‘Despite the first day of the escort mission and despite the fierce battle with the assassin, she takes her precious time to come to the training ground and look at the apprentice knights!’ Leticia and Eberhard stood firm and cheered on the inside. Rosaline glanced over them. As if Leticia had been swinging her sword around intensely, sweat flowed nonstop even in the cool wind.
Rosaline had heard many things from Raymond and Calyx. There are many apprentice knights in the Knights of the White Night. However, within the Knights Order, they could not even be called a knight but only an apprentice in most cases.
So, it was their biggest goal to get promoted to lesser knights, who could formally be recognized as knights. Leticia is a woman from a fallen noble house. As both a commoner and an apprentice knight, Eberhard was desperately in need of the position. No matter how hard he tried, there was no family to support him, so there were many burdensome things in his life. Aside from the financial aspect, he didn’t even have the right environment to learn swordsmanship.
They needed hope. And for the faction that supported that hope, the most important criterion that differentiated the lesser knights from the apprentice knights was their swordsmanship skills. Leticia and Eberhard were still apprentices because they had not yet met the swordsmanship standard set between the lesser knights and the apprentice knights.
Rosaline had the task of raising them to the ranks of lesser knights. She thought about it before she went to bed yesterday. What they lack and what humans lack— Rosaline seemed to have a rough idea of what it was. However, her priority was to understand the skills of these two apprentices. She picked up a wooden sword left in the corner of the arena. She was used to the dull texture of wood. She fiddled with the surface of the wooden sword.
“Let’s see. Leticia, Eberhard.”
Leticia and Eberhard were bewildered. Meanwhile, Rosaline set the sword in front of her face. It was the posture of preparation before the battle. The two apprentice knights looked at each other and hesitated. ‘Will you do it first, or shall I do it first?’ They delayed their turns with their eyes. The figure of Nestor, who had been slapped by Rosaline not too long ago, was a dazzling sight. He still had bruises on his face even now. Rosaline, watching the two apprentice knights, opened her mouth. Her calm voice fell heavily in the arena.
“Both.”
“Yes? I mean, yes!”
“Yes!”
The two hurriedly grabbed the wooden swords. A one versus two confrontation. Rosaline raised her sword and glanced at her apprentices, who stood nervously. They looked clumsy as if they had only learned by just licking the surface of swordsmanship skills. They were full of gaps here and there. If a beast stood in front of them at this moment, they would have been eaten immediately.
Rosaline put strength in her arms. Her muscles twitched very slightly. It was a movement that could not be recognized unless you observed it closely. The two didn’t seem to notice, but there was already ominous and immense energy floating around them that contradicted the tiny movement. The energy was sharp as if it was going to cut their necks off at any moment.
“…”
Rosaline was speechless. They were like… baby deer. No, they were less capable of detecting danger than a baby deer. Even if she threatened in various directions like from the left, right, bottom, or top, their expression seemed to be asking, ‘Huh? When are you going to attack?’
Rosaline withdrew her sword, so the match ended without a single sound of wooden swords clashing. Leticia and Eberhard couldn’t hide their bewilderment. However, Rosaline had observed enough to determine their abilities.
Usually, apprentice knights also had time to learn basic swordsmanship. However, it stopped at the basics of how to wield a sword. The only time they had to fight with other people was to get used to armor and a wooden sword. Basically, they were taught how to get used to fighting rather than win an actual battle. It would be hard to feel a sense of crisis while wielding a blunt wooden sword and worrying about each other’s safety.
That was how Rosaline felt after becoming a human. They seriously lacked the threat of life, the sense of crisis, and the instinct. Humans were really a weak race. She realized what the challenges were for them.
“We’re in serious trouble.”
The figures of the two apprentices noticeably drooped.
“… In which part… is it serious…?”
“Everything is very serious.”
“Ah… I see…”
Eberhard and Leticia glanced at her. Rosaline sighed.
“From now on, I will attack you both, Eberhard and Leticia.”
“Huh?”
“Never relax from the morning until the moment you go to bed.”
‘Anytime, anywhere, I’ll be looking for you.’ Rosaline’s calm tone and content of her words were eerie. They had goosebumps on their arms.
‘What is this?’ They had not heard of such strange training methods from apprentice knights belonging to other senior knights. When the apprentices learned to wield their swords, it was only a general teaching, such as telling them what they lack to be superior knights or teaching them how to use a sword properly. Leticia hesitatingly raised her hand. Rosaline nodded her head, and Leticia asked cautiously.
“Um, Sir Rosaline, can you elaborate a little more?”
Rosaline thought a little, then dropped a handkerchief embroidered with flowers from her pocket onto the floor. It was a gift Raymond had embroidered on his own. Under the gaze of the curious apprentice knights, Rosaline bent over and reached for the handkerchief that had fallen to the floor. And before she caught it, her hand stopped right above it.
“What do you think I am doing, Leticia?”
Leticia blinked her eyes and stuttered in response.
“It looks like… you’re trying to pick up a handkerchief.”
“Correct.”
Rosaline grabbed the handkerchief and raised it. Then, she approached the bush by the training ground and grabbed a thin branch. The branch was bent as if it was about to be broken at any moment. Rosaline paused again, giving no more strength.
“What do you think I will do, Eberhard?”
“It looks like you’re trying to snap the branch.”
“Correct.”
Rosaline snapped the branch.
“Just now, when we were fighting, I tried to attack you several times.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
‘Didn’t you just stand still?’ They were both confused. ‘Obviously, she was just standing there…’
“But, you didn’t realize at all.”
“Ah… Yes…”
Eberhard only now understood what Rosaline had done and said. She, of course, did not immediately hold her handkerchief and did not snap the branch. But what Rosaline would do after was clear enough for anyone to notice. When they were fighting, it might not have been much, but she must have given the signs of an attack. With the subtle movements of the pupils, the ripples of the muscles contracting and expanding with force in her hand, the shifting of one foot holding the heavy sword, Rosaline was saying that they could not read her signs. Leticia also seemed to realize what she meant. Both of them blushed. It was evident that they were lacking in many ways.
“Read it.”
Not only the visible but also the realm of which instinct speaks.
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
Leticia and Eberhard’s voices resounded through the arena. Rosaline, now called the Reaper of Moonstone Castle, was just as awesome as the rumors. Their hearts swelled. After they saluted her, they proudly returned home to their respective dorms.
Their world changed 180 degrees, starting with being attacked by Rosaline, who fell from the sky on their way home unawares.