Chapter 3
Three Years Ago
Three years ago, Olivia was not in a very rational state after having her heart broken.
The Marquis and Marchioness Kysier tried their best to comfort her, but at the time, she wasn’t listening to anyone.
In truth, it was understandable.
Aiden Oblivion.
Olivia’s first love.
The childhood friend of the Kysier siblings.
And the man who had just become Olivia’s fiancé.
He had broken off their engagement and disappeared only three days after it began.
“You want to know where Sir Aiden Oblivion is?”
“Yes. I’m his fiancée, so I believe I have the right to know where he is.”
“Well, information regarding dispatched knights is confidential.”
And that was exactly why Olivia had come to the Lux Knights in broad daylight.
Eugene, the commander of the Lux Knights, had been watching his knights train when Olivia approached him.
Looking bored, he replied,
“You should go home. There’s nothing I can do for you.”
“You can’t even deliver a letter?”
“It’s not official business.”
“But—”
“Shh.”
Eugene signaled for her to lower her voice and pointed toward the training grounds.
Silence followed.
Olivia bit her lip as she looked at what Eugene was watching.
Then she spoke again.
“Listen, Sir Eugene. You’re a knight, so you should understand. Battles aren’t usually decided by flashy techniques. They’re decided by habits that become part of your body.”
“A noble lady is making quite an interesting comparison.”
“Look over there. That knight tenses his shoulders too much before swinging his sword. That’s why his movements are slow.”
“…What?”
Olivia needed to persuade Eugene.
She had simply chosen an example she thought he would understand best.
But Eugene stared at her with obvious surprise.
Olivia calmly continued.
“Aiden has a very bad habit. He runs away from problems. I know him very well. This assignment is probably another example of that habit—Sir Eugene? Are you listening?”
Eugene was looking at her very differently now.
“What do you think of that one?”
“What do you mean? His habits?”
“Hurry up.”
“…He has a habit of dragging his rear foot slightly when he should be stepping forward. I think he’s applying his strength incorrectly. But wait—why am I explaining this to you?”
Eugene ignored her question entirely.
“Can you imitate the movements of knights?”
“Well… I’ve never tried. But I think I understand how they should move. The Kysier family is a martial family, after all.”
Aiden had often trained with Cesare in the Kysier family’s training grounds.
Watching them had been one of Olivia’s greatest joys.
Because training had never been allowed for her.
You must behave like a proper noble lady. That’s how you avoid bringing shame to the family.
Olivia had always been trapped by those words from the Marchioness.
She felt she had to obey.
She didn’t want to disappoint her parents the way her older sister had.
So Olivia lived like a proper noble lady.
She buried countless wishes and desires deep inside her heart and told herself that someday she would forget them.
Perhaps that was why she became so determined to hold on to anything that was “allowed” to her, no matter how small it was.
“…You can really do it?”
“If I had the muscles to support those movements. Right now it’s impossible. As you can see, I’m very weak.”
As a noble lady, Olivia wasn’t allowed to wield a sword.
But she could act like a proper noble lady by bringing water and towels for her brother and watching his training sessions.
So that was what she did.
The movement of muscles.
The techniques being used.
Even tiny habits.
After watching for so long, she memorized everything.
Then she naturally began analyzing it.
Because she was curious.
And eventually, she developed a sharp eye for it.
Though honestly—
Wasn’t that something anyone could do if they focused on one thing long enough?
Olivia didn’t understand why Eugene seemed so interested.
“You pass.”
“…Excuse me?”
Suddenly, Eugene said something completely unexpected.
“What was your name again? Olion?”
“It’s Olivia! Olivia Kysier!”
“Right, right. You’ve passed.”
Can I really trust this man?
Did I come to the wrong person?
As doubt filled Olivia’s mind, Eugene dangled a tempting bait before her.
“You said you wanted to know where Sir Aiden is. Well, there may be a way.”
“What is it?”
It was an incredibly tempting offer.
“Would you like to join the Lux Knights?”
“…Have you gone crazy?”
“Then I’ll make sure Sir Aiden stands before you. Within three years.”
It sounded completely insane.
But that was also the reason Olivia chose to transfer departments.
Remembering that day, Olivia smiled.
To join the Lux Knights, she had transferred to the Department of Knight Studies.
And she had suffered through three years of training that could hardly be described without tears.
But in the end, Eugene had kept his promise.
Aiden was standing right in front of her now.
Thinking that, Olivia looked toward the stage again.
Aiden was still there.
The fact that he was glaring directly at her didn’t matter.
The important thing was that they were finally in the same place.
“Olivia, doesn’t that assistant instructor seem to be staring at you? Or am I imagining it?”
“You think so too?”
“Yeah. What if you’ve already gotten on his bad side on the first day?”
As if.
And even if she had, it wouldn’t matter.
This was exactly the situation Olivia had been hoping for.
The fiancé whose location she hadn’t even known for years was finally in front of her.
And on top of that, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
It was thrilling.
Smiling brightly, Olivia answered Bennett.
“No. I don’t mind being singled out.”
“…What?”
“It’s exciting. I wonder how much attention he’ll give me from now on.”
“Uh… I see. Exciting…”
Bennett immediately fell silent.
He even took a step away from Olivia, as if he wanted nothing to do with her.
Then he muttered quietly enough that she couldn’t hear.
“I heard there’s no cure for that kind of illness… Hope it isn’t contagious.”
Most of the time, Olivia was calm and composed.
But occasionally, she completely lost it like this.
When that happened, the best thing to do was leave her alone.
Nothing anyone said would get through to her anyway.
Just as Bennett expected, Olivia was completely absorbed in her own world and had no idea what kind of look he was giving her.
Three years.
A full three years.
Three years spent worrying, longing, and waiting to see Aiden again.
To Olivia, this moment felt like a dream.
At last, she would be able to have a proper conversation with him.
The waiting was finally coming to an end.
The waiting she had endured after being abandoned without even knowing the reason.
Joy filled Olivia’s eyes.
But beneath it lurked a faint anger as well.
* * *
Professor Seton, Veritas Academy’s swordsmanship instructor, was happily chatting with a former student who had come to visit him.
“Eugene, have you spotted any promising students?”
“All of them seem talented. Since they’re students you’ve personally trained, Professor, I expected nothing less.”
“Haha! Look at you. Your flattery has improved quite a bit! Still, there must be one student who stands out. Isn’t there?”
Eugene answered with a mysterious smile.
“Well, I suppose I’ll discover that gradually. Though whether they’ll choose to join the Lux Knights is another matter.”
“Don’t lie to me. You called for Miss Olivia the moment you arrived at the academy.”
“Miss Olivia is an exception. I’ve had my eye on her for three years. Don’t get greedy, Professor.”
“Haha. That depends on Olivia’s choice. So—”
BANG!
The office door suddenly flew open with a loud crash.
“W-What is it? An intruder?”
“Calm down, Professor. I don’t think it’s an intruder.”
“Then what is it?! Who dares kick open a professor’s office door like that—”
Seton jumped to his feet in outrage.
“Professor! I knew you’d be here!”
A very familiar voice came from behind the door, which was slowly swinging shut again.
The moment Seton heard it, he became surprisingly calm.
The fact that the statement had sounded almost like a threat didn’t bother him in the slightest.
The speaker had always been like that.
“Ah, so it’s you. I thought age and entering society might have made you more mature, but apparently that was wishful thinking.”
Such an unbelievably rude entrance.
And only one person would have the nerve to kick open a professor’s office door like that.
No need to think any further.
“Aiden, is that you? Or should I call you Sir Oblivion now?”
The infamous troublemaker of the Lux Knights—
Aiden Oblivion burst into Seton’s office with all the force and noise of a storm.
