“Guest, if you’re feeling bored, I can spar with you to practice your swordsmanship…”
Sang was stunned the moment he heard those words.
Was this for real!?
Having a Diamond-Rank Knight spar with him was truly an honor beyond measure.
“In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony. Please guide me,” Sang replied. He saw no reason to be shy. Training under a master’s guidance was far better than practicing alone in frustration, so he agreed without hesitation.
Over the next hour…
It was less a spar between Sang and Hesos Hill and more Sang getting toyed with single-handedly. Even using just one percent of his strength, a Diamond-Rank Knight could utterly dominate a Silver Lad.
Hesos Hill was like an impassable iceberg.
For a full hour, Sang couldn’t even touch the hem of his opponent’s clothes. It felt like he’d returned to the Heavenly Key, facing the True Ancestor all over again.
In the end, Sang collapsed exhausted onto the snow, panting heavily. “My god, you siblings are ridiculous. How can there be such unreasonable existences…? No more, no more. What the hell, I’m beat.”
Hesos Hill remained standing in place, his expression blank as he stared down at the boy on the ground. “You… are the unreasonable existence…”
Yeah.
He was right.
In fact, as a human—and an Abandoned Child to boot—Sang himself was an entity far beyond reason… though he clearly hadn’t realized his own uniqueness.
“This is so discouraging. No matter how hard I try, it feels like I can’t even touch it…”
Those were Sang’s honest thoughts. Back in that world of science and civilization, if someone dedicated time to mastering something, they would at least achieve proficiency from a human perspective.
But in this world of bloodlines, innate talent, and even superpowers, some barriers were inborn. No amount of lifetime effort seemed able to breach them.
Yet unexpectedly…
The next second, Hesos Hill turned his gaze, looking at Sang with an enigmatic expression. “An existence impossible to surpass, no matter the effort…? I feel that deeply…”
“Huh…? What do you mean by that?”
However…
Before Hesos Hill could respond to Sang’s question, a knight from the Rose Knight Order rushed over and stopped in front of him and Sang. He first saluted with a knight’s gesture, then reported urgently, “Captain, the werewolves are on the move!!!”
“Mm… I understand…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hesos Hill ignored Sang. He donned the cape exclusive to the Rose Knight Order Captain and hurried back to the Knight Order Headquarters.
Sang stood there thinking for a moment before following along. They headed together to the Rose Knight Order Headquarters behind the mansion. Though he’d repeatedly emphasized he didn’t want to interfere in the Northern Region’s affairs, understanding the situation would help him make better judgments… Just in case the north truly fell, he’d grab Aisha Hodhua and make a run for it.
Yeah.
He meant it.
If the Northern Region really fell… However, when Sang arrived at the Rose Knight Order Headquarters, he found no signs of battle preparations. Everything was calm and steady.
Even Hesos Hill seemed unclear on the situation. Weren’t the werewolves making a move? Why was everyone so relaxed!?
He immediately summoned his adjutant and asked. The answer he got was—Lady Snow Hill… the Vice Captain had set out immediately… She’d just sent word back that she’d single-handedly annihilated a werewolf detachment of several hundred.
The revelation caused an uproar at the scene.
At that moment, Sang finally realized how naive his thinking had been. As long as that person was there, the north could never fall. It would always remain impregnable.
Just then…
An icy blue figure on a black horse approached slowly from the snowy distance. Who else could it be but Snow Hill? The blood of her enemies had dyed her snow-white knight’s uniform red, yet even stained with gore, it remained pristine and untainted.
The same twenty-meter distance as always—an eternal, unbridgeable gap.
Sang stood among the crowd, staring up dumbly at the Ice Princess atop her horse. He wasn’t alone; every knight present gazed at the Ice Princess with eyes full of awe and reverence.
However…
Suddenly, a towering deep-blue figure stepped forward. Like Sang, Hesos Hill looked up at Snow Hill, though his height brought him closer. His tone was as emotionless as ever, but the anger in his words was unmistakable.
“Vice Captain, why did you act without my orders?”
“Because there wasn’t time… And handling it alone is more efficient…” Snow Hill replied with her usual poker face.
“You don’t respect me as Captain…”
“That’s not the case…”
Did it look like the siblings were arguing?
No, no!
It was just two poker-faced individuals exchanging words without a flicker of emotion. Even with the content laced with tension, their flat delivery somehow made it oddly endearing.
“You can’t act on your own again…” Hesos Hill said sternly.
Snow Hill responded coolly, “Sigh~ There are always things someone has to do… You’re the Captain of the Rose Knight Order. You have to hold down the fort at headquarters… Who else is suitable besides me?”
With that, Snow Hill urged her black horse—Buta—toward the mansion.
Hesos Hill simply stood in place, facing the graceful figure on horseback, silent. Sang thought for a moment, then followed Snow Hill.
The woman rode ahead on her horse, the boy trailing behind. He struck up a conversation. “Things are pretty tense between you two~”
“Not tense… We just can’t understand each other…” Snow Hill was always polite. Whether as the savior of her father or as a True Ancestor Blood Servant, she felt obliged to respond to Sang. She continued, “Do you know? In this world, there are always people whose hands must be stained with blood…”
Sang sensed that this woman was talking more today. Normally, she was terse, answering only in short bursts. Today, though, she was volunteering quite a bit.
The next moment, as they walked, Snow Hill drew the ice-blue knight’s sword from her waist. Its hilt was shaped like a rose. She stared at it expressionlessly and murmured, “This knight’s sword is a replica of the Hill Family’s heirloom soul weapon, passed down through generations… Or perhaps not a mere replica. It looks identical to the soul weapon and was forged alongside it thousands of years ago… But it wasn’t chosen to become the First Generation House Head’s soul-bound weapon… Do you know why?”
The implication was clear.
Thousands of years ago, two identical knight’s swords were forged. Only one could be enchanted into a soul weapon… This was the one that hadn’t been selected.
“Why?” Sang asked.
“Because… this sword appeared a few days late… So it wasn’t chosen.”
Sang felt he understood—Snow Hill was alluding to the primogeniture inheritance system… So this woman wanted to become the Family Head…
As she spoke, a rare beam of sunlight filtered down, softly illuminating Snow Hill’s face. She was a superior being, mounted on her black horse, yet her eyelids drooped as she gazed at the sword in her hand.
Even her eyelashes were ice-blue.
In the morning light, they fluttered delicately.
Suddenly, the boy’s heart stirred…
