Part 10: Orc Subjugation (5)

Brian stood with his arms crossed, glaring at a young man.

From earlier, Lady Marie, the lord’s daughter, hadn’t taken her eyes off that youth.

The young man’s skin was pale and clear.

His features were sharply defined, perfectly proportioned, as if sculpted from marble.

A mysterious aura seemed to flow from his rare silver hair.

If looks could determine class,

the young man would belong to royalty.

“You’ve been standing in the training grounds too long in this heat, my lady. Let’s go inside.”

“But the residents are still out here training. It feels wrong for me to just leave them behind.”

“Lady Marie, your heart is as kind as your face is beautiful.”

“You flatter me… What do you think of our territory’s forces, Young Master?”

“They’re complete trash… I mean, they’re fine. For what they are.”

Marie continued to chatter away, asking one question after another.

Brian answered as politely as he could, but he knew full well.

Her interest wasn’t in him at all.

She was asking those pointless questions just to have an excuse to keep looking at that young man.

Brian’s insides boiled.

So what if someone had a handsome face?

That man was just a lowborn commoner, and his swordsmanship couldn’t even be worth mentioning.

“Since we’re already at the training grounds, why don’t I demonstrate some swordsmanship for the residents?”

“Oh, that would be an honor!”

“Let’s go, then.”

Brian strode toward the group of trainees.

He stopped right in front of his prey.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Aiden.”

The devastatingly handsome commoner’s name was Aiden. Up close, he looked even more striking.

“I’ll personally give you a sword lesson. How does that sound?”

“If you’re willing to teach me, I’d be honored.”

“How about teaching someone else instead? Perhaps someone more experienced in swordsmanship? That would make for a more effective lesson, don’t you think?”

Marie suddenly joined in, pointing at Victor.

It was an obvious attempt to protect Aiden.

Brian shook his head.

His goal was to crush Aiden and restore his pride in front of Marie.

“Opportunities like this don’t come often. Consider it an honor.”

Brian smirked.

Soon, he and Aiden stood facing each other at a set distance.

Training came to a halt, and everyone nearby formed a circle around them.

A human colosseum was born.

* * *

Aiden looked calmly at Brian standing across from him.

He already understood why Brian was acting like this.

Marie had fallen for a commoner, and it had twisted his pride. So now he was trying to recover it through force.

“Aiden, just let him win. Don’t make this a big deal.”

Victor whispered into his ear.

Aiden didn’t respond.

He understood Victor’s point.

A commoner defeating a noble was unthinkable.

It would cause a huge stir.

Even if he won, it would still be a problem.

Retaliation could follow later.

(Of course, Brian wouldn’t be capable of retaliating against Aiden anyway.)

‘It’s probably best if I lose.’

Aiden made up his mind and nodded.

“You go first. I’ll give you ten moves.”

“Then I’ll begin.”

Aiden charged toward Brian.

His first strike was straightforward, a clean vertical slash aimed at the crown of Brian’s head.

Brian raised his sword horizontally to block.

Clang!

Steel clashed against steel.

A sharp metallic ring scattered sparks into the air.

Brian’s shoulders tensed.

His trapezius muscles bulged as he poured strength into his arms.

Without using the swordsmanship he had learned from “that man” whose skill he’d absorbed through Death Qi, Aiden fought using only the basic sword techniques he had learned in the barracks.

His movements were simple—vertical cuts, horizontal swings, thrusts.

Yet even with such simplicity, Aiden drove Brian back like a raging storm.

Brian barely managed to defend himself.

His eyes shook, his stance faltered, and his footwork became clumsy.

From the start of the match, Brian had been retreating step after step.

‘If he can’t even handle this, how am I supposed to pretend to lose? Should I start holding the sword with my feet?’

Aiden frowned slightly.

But surprisingly, the only ones taking this seriously were Aiden and Brian.

“The young master’s really holding back. I wish he’d give me a lesson too.”

“I think I could do as well as Aiden, honestly.”

“They’ll probably wrap this up soon.”

The residents—and even the sword instructors—were completely mistaken.

They all thought Brian was going easy on Aiden.

Because Aiden was using the basic barracks swordsmanship, his movements looked predictable to the untrained eye.

‘Idiots. They don’t have the slightest clue.’

Brian bit his lip hard.

For some reason, Aiden’s swordsmanship felt like an unbreakable fortress. He couldn’t find a single opening.

He glanced at Marie from the corner of his eye.

She was watching Aiden with clasped hands and sparkling eyes.

The dormant volcano inside him erupted.

‘Enough of this.’

Brian’s eyes sharpened.

He abandoned standard swordsmanship and chose his family’s technique instead.

The core energy condensed in his abdomen exploded outward, filling his whole body with power.

A streak of lightning gathered around his blade.

Thunder Swordsmanship, First Form—Rush Lightning!

Brian’s sword flared with a white halo of energy as he lunged at Aiden with blinding speed.

Rumble!

A flash of lightning streaked toward Aiden.

The pressure was immense.

Sparks of yellow electricity crackled all over Brian’s body.

His golden hair stood on end as he turned into a human thunderbolt.

Of course, he didn’t intend to kill Aiden.

The strike looked powerful, but he was only aiming to knock Aiden’s sword away.

Defeating a commoner’s weapon with a noble’s technique—

What could be more elegantly aristocratic?

But things didn’t go as he planned.

“Whoa!”

Aiden twisted his body aside and avoided Rush Lightning effortlessly.

Brian’s balance shattered.

His upper body lurched forward, leaving him wide open.

Aiden hooked his leg behind Brian’s.

And the young master fell face-first.

Thud!

The sight of a noble sprawling in the dirt silenced the crowd.

No one could find the words to speak.

‘Even losing on purpose takes effort.’

Aiden scratched the back of his head.

He hadn’t lost a fight since he was twenty.

Even if his mind tried to throw a match, his body refused to obey.

“I just got lucky. I flinched and stepped back in fear, and my leg happened to catch his.”

He tried to smooth things over, but the situation had already spun out of control.

Brian, who had just stood back up, had fury burning in his eyes.

Crackling yellow lightning sparked once more along his blade.

“You’re dead.”

* * *

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

On his way back to his quarters, Brian cursed under his breath nonstop.

He had tried to show off in front of Marie and ended up humiliating himself.

There was no greater disgrace.

“Please calm down, Young Master.”

Osward followed behind him.

“Do I look like I can calm down? I made a fool of myself in front of the townsfolk, losing to some filthy commoner.”

Brian stomped his foot.

The corridor echoed loudly.

“No one thinks you’re weaker than that young man.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better!”

Brian’s voice rose.

If Osward hadn’t intervened mid-fight, he would have finished off that annoyingly handsome bastard.

“If you had gone all out against a commoner, that would have been embarrassing in its own way too, wouldn’t it?”

“……”

“From what I saw, the boy was just lucky. You were unlucky. Let’s let it go.”

“If you say so, Sir Osward, I’ll let it slide for now. But in the orc subjugation, that man dies by my hand. I won’t compromise on that.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll rest alone now. Leave me.”

Brian went inside and slammed the door.

Osward stared at the closed door for a long moment.

“There’s no way that was luck. A commoner can’t possibly dodge Thunder Swordsmanship.”

His muttered words were the complete opposite of what he had just told Brian.

“Aiden… he might really be a problem for our plans.”

* * *

Sword training for the orc subjugation continued for two more days.

Contrary to expectation, Brian stayed quiet. He didn’t show up again at training.

Aiden’s days now fell into four routines.

Work at the tavern.

Sword training.

Playing the lute.

And teaching Kevin.

He devoted most of his focus to Kevin’s lessons.

Pomoa.

The boy who never gave up.

Kevin lived up to that nickname.

Despite his young, untrained body, he stubbornly kept up with the training.

One day, during a break after practice, Kevin asked,

“Aiden, did you read the book I gave you?”

A few days earlier, Kevin had given Aiden a storybook titled Great Hero Kravat.

“I did.”

“What did you think? Kravat’s amazing, right?”

Aiden just nodded indifferently.

Great Hero Kravat was a typical hero’s tale—a Sword Master defeating the Demon King alongside his companions.

There was no need to tell Kevin that real heroes weren’t as noble as in fairy tales.

Nor that three of those so-called “heroes” had already died by his own hand.

“Do you still want to become a Sword Master?”

“Yes! I want to be strong and righteous, just like Kravat.”

‘That’s impossible.’

Aiden said the words only in his mind.

After the day’s training ended, Aiden visited Kevin’s house.

Kevin had invited him to dinner to thank him for teaching him.

As expected from a family that ran a grocery shop, the table was full of food.

With Mac gone, Aiden filled the empty seat perfectly.

“Kevin, didn’t I tell you not to chew so loudly?”

“But it’s so good!”

“And don’t talk while you’re eating. People can see your food.”

“Ugh. I can’t even eat in peace.”

The three of them bickered playfully.

Aiden thought, So this is what a normal family looks like.

If his parents hadn’t died,

he might have lived like this too—

listening to their nagging,

reading storybooks, dreaming of becoming a Sword Master or Archmage.

The life of the continent’s greatest assassin, or the life of a son with living parents.

Lately,

Aiden found himself drawn to the latter.

It felt warmer.

“Ugh… my stomach hurts. I need to use the bathroom.”

Kevin jumped up and ran off.

“Thank you, Aiden. Kevin’s been so full of life lately. He was so gloomy after his father passed.”

Judy gave a grateful smile.

“It’s all thanks to you, Aiden. You’re the best.”

Dana gave him a thumbs-up.

“All I’ve done is teach him some swordsmanship.”

“Still, giving someone your time isn’t a small thing.”

Judy smiled gently.

“I’m sorry to ask, but could you keep looking after him a little longer? I’ll give you a big discount on groceries.”

“I’m doing it because I want to. No payment needed.”

At first, he hadn’t wanted to teach Kevin. But as time went on, he realized he was learning a lot himself.

Talking about Kevin’s father had helped him recall memories of his own.

It let him play Father’s Old Clock with genuine emotion.

And most of all, he no longer disliked children.

He used to hate them—

selfish, impulsive, and detached from reality.

Now, he understood those traits as innocence.

“Someone’s here.”

Just as he finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door.

“Wow, really? I’ll get it!”

Dana jumped up and opened the door.

Standing there were two of the territory’s soldiers.

“What brings you here in the evening?”

“Well… we’ve got some urgent news. We really didn’t want to say this, but it’s the lord’s order. Don’t worry too much, though. You’ll be in the rear lines.”

The pudgy soldier stammered awkwardly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Actually…”

The thinner soldier couldn’t even look Dana in the eye as he spoke.

“Kevin’s been conscripted for the upcoming orc subjugation.”
 

To be continued