Chapter 3
Harm Steelwell was the swordsmanship instructor of the Nontel Duchy. Since childhood, he had been a fairly renowned prodigy in swordsmanship, for he was the youngest Aurora user in all of Belusa.
The Aurora he manifested at a young age was faint, but that did not tarnish his fame. Aurora users were that rare.
Many expected the youngest Aurora user to become the strongest swordsman. Some even went so far as to boast that he would become a swordsman who would go down in the history books of Belusa.
However, his talent made him conceited, and his fame made him arrogant.
Harm certainly had talent. But that small talent ironically hindered his growth.
“I’m thinking of challenging the capital’s knighthood. I’ve always wanted to live in the capital at least once.”
“I’m going to the Svaba Mountains. I’ll become a soldier protecting my homeland.”
While his friends each set off on their own paths, Harm remained standing still. His teacher, pitying him, recommended the position of a swordsmanship instructor.
Surprisingly, there were many who wanted Harm. Even if he was now a humble swordsman, the fact that he was the youngest person in Belusa to manifest Aurora remained unchanged.
Any parent of a child with swordsmanship talent would wish for their own child to become an Aurora user.
Of course, becoming an Aurora user was not something one could learn from anyone, but parents filled with love for their children wanted to raise even that slightest possibility.
The instructor position suited Harm better than expected. Adults were blinded by the title of youngest Aurora user, and Harm had a tongue smoother than any blade.
Thanks to that, he quickly became a famous swordsmanship instructor among parents. Then, an event occurred that sent his nose skyrocketing to the heavens.
The Grand Duke of Velum had offered him the position of swordsmanship instructor.
On the day he stood before the main gate of the Grand Ducal house, adorned with the imposing emblem of the Black Lion Knights, Harm recalled a friend he once had, Beiter.
“Harm, I’m going to join the Black Lion Knights.”
“The Black Lion Knights? You?”
“Yes. I’m weak now, but I plan to try harder.”
Beiter was a friend who had learned swordsmanship alongside him since childhood. But he lacked both skill and talent compared to Harm. While Harm was sporting the title of youngest Aurora user, Beiter was still practicing basic diagonal cuts.
But while Harm had remained stagnant, Beiter had somehow joined the Black Lion Knights. Harm could never forget the sight of Beiter visiting him, clad in gleaming black armor.
“A guy like that, a Black Lion Knightā¦”
Anyone born in Belusa who had held a sword dreamed of the Black Lion Knights. It was synonymous with being the best knight in Belusa.
Though he never told his friend, Harm himself had taken the Black Lion Knights’ entrance exam several times. The result, however, was failure.
But now, standing before the main gate of the Velum house, Harm could finally smile. A mere Black Lion Knight? He would be teaching the child who would become the master of the Black Lion Knights.
And so, the young ladyās lessons began.
“Please take good care of me, Instructor.”
Unlike the Grand Duke, whose mere presence was intimidating, the child was exceedingly gentle.
“Young lady! You cannot use the sword like that. Didn’t you say you wanted to become skilled quickly?”
“S-sorry, Instructor.”
“Are you already tired? The Grand Duke would be disappointed to see this.”
“Please don’t tell Grandfather, I beg you.”
The child was timid and weak. No matter what Harm said, Diasta would bow her head and agree. She would apologize for her mistakes. The more she did, the better Harm felt.
“The young lady is my most beloved disciple. No one cares for her as much as I do. Others only offer sweet talk, don’t they? Just as bitter medicine is good for the body, I am giving her honest advice. You understand, don’t you?”
āā¦Yes.ā
Harm slowly gnawed away at Diasta under the pretext of lessons. As the childās self-esteem eroded, a vile pleasure piled up deep within Harm. It was a truly base enjoyment.
Everywhere he looked, the Grand Ducal house was overwhelming in its majesty. And the child who would one day become the owner of all this cowered and trembled before him.
“She jumps at my every word, doesn’t she? If she grows up like this, she might even grant me a title. No, maybe not. Maybe I, Harm, will become the real power in Belusa.”
While his vain delusions swelled, Harm never even taught Diasta proper swordsmanship. The majority of their lesson time was spent praising Harm himself.
“You probably don’t know how great a swordsman I am, young lady. The record for youngest Aurora user remains unbroken to this day. The Black Lion Knights, said to be the strongest in Belusa? I could join if I wanted to, but that position means nothing to me.”
“You want to learn how to fight monsters? If you can use Aurora, what does any monster matter? A thick shell can be cut through with Aurora. That is why an Aurora user like me is so highly valued.”
It was truly easy. The Grand Duke of Velum was too busy to spare time for the child, and Diasta was as timid as could be.
Even if there were complaints, Harm would simply blame everything on Diasta. The young lady is too fearful, she hates swordsmanship, she doesnāt like to sweatā¦
Harmās future was brilliant. If he could manipulate Diasta like this, if things continued as they were, perhaps he would become the true master of Belusa.
But then, one day.
“Your time as an instructor at the Grand Ducal house will soon come to an end, Master Harm.”
As Harmās arrogance grew day by day, a servant recently dropped a thunderous statement. When Harm asked what that nonsense meant, the servants only shrugged. Eventually, Harm spent his own money to generously ply them with drink.
āā¦So, the young lady is being abandoned?ā
“That’s the rumor going around. Some say she’ll be sent to a monastery.”
Harmās face turned ashen.
“But isn’t the young lady the Grand Duke’s only blood relative?”
“That’s true. That’s why some say distant relatives will be brought in instead.”
Harmās complexion worsened further. He had thought the Grand Duke would never give up on Diasta because she was his only blood relativeā¦
“This canāt be.”
Recalling what the servant had told him the previous day, Harm clutched his throbbing, hungover head. The wealthy Grand Ducal family had even provided Harm with a small annex.
It was a luxurious annex built for honored guests, where Harm had lived a leisurely life. Servants working solely for him, meals always ready, and a generous allowance.
Looking around, Harm realized that no matter where he worked, he would never receive such treatment again. In the end, Harm gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Damn it! Now theyāre casting out the successor? What am I supposed to do?”
Throwing objects and swinging his sword did nothing to quell his rage. Harm was a parasite. For a parasite to survive, its host must live. Gritting his teeth, Harm called a young servant.
“Tell the young lady that weāre having a lesson.”
“But… isn’t she still unwell?”
“This is the time when we mustnāt stay still. You know what rumors are circulating in the Grand Ducal house, don’t you?”
Harm sweet-talked the young servant.
“That’s exactly why she needs to continue her lessons. It’s the only way to establish her position.”
At that, the young servant nodded and soon returned with the young ladyās reply. It would take some time for her to prepare.
That was understandable. Harm needed time to prepare as well. At the training ground he rarely visited anymore, Harm properly prepared for the lesson.
He took out wooden swords and real swords that had been shoved in storage, along with protective gear and practice dummies. Perhaps from using his body after so long, by the time he finished preparing, Harm was already drenched in sweat.
“Good. Let’s have a proper lesson.”
But despite his diligent preparations, Diasta did not come, even after a long time.
Diasta was a timid, weak child. That was why, even though she hated swordsmanship, she always attended her lessons diligently.
“How long does it take to prepare?”
Just as Harm was tapping his foot impatiently, Diasta appeared with a leisurely gait.
“Young Lady! Why are you so late?”
“Oh, I’m not feeling very well.”
“Even so, the fact that you made it here means you can train, doesn’t it? Pick up this wooden sword, quickly.”
While Harm fussed unusually, Diasta brushed the dust off her training clothes, looked around, and then plopped down on the ground.
“Young Lady, what are you doing?”
Diasta sighed lightly and said,
“I’m a bit tired. I’m going to rest a while before we start.”
Diasta, not content with just sitting, leaned against a practice dummy lying in the training ground and half-lay down. Finally, Harm’s patience snapped.
“Young Lady! Haven’t I always told you? You have no talent! Even with two or three times the effort of others, it would barely be enough, and you’re acting like this now?”
At those words, Diasta smiled faintly. Yes, this was the kind of person he was. If this had been the Diasta of the past, she would have frozen at just one of Harm’s words.
But the Diasta now was not the innocent child of her previous life. When she had opened her eyes here and resolved not to let this opportunity slip away, one of the first people who came to mind was Harm.
‘He was the worst teacher. I didn’t know it then.’
Diasta stared intently at Harm.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Instructor.”
“What did you say?”
Diasta lifted the body she had been leaning.
“Why? Have your thoughts changed a little now that I’m being driven out of the succession? You always told me I had no talent. That it was pointless for me to even hold a sword. Oh, I think you also said that if it weren’t for you, I would have been kicked out of the Grand Ducal house long ago.”
“What are youā”
“But what shall we do? It seems you might be the one to get kicked out first, not me.”
Cold sweat ran down Harm’s forehead. Unconsciously, Harm stared blankly at Diasta.
He had heard she suffered a life-threatening injury. He had also heard that the child had changed a little after waking.
But he hadn’t thought much of it. He assumed that however much that weak child changed, it couldn’t be much.
The Black Lion of the North? He had mocked her, saying she wasn’t even a kitten, let alone a Black Lion. He had sneered that the great bloodline of the Velum family had reached its limit.
“Wh-what nonsense are you talking! Why would I get kicked out? I heard you were sick and got up… Have you gone mad?”
Even while thinking something was different, Harm fell back on his usual shouting. He had watched this child for years. Changed? Surely, one shout would make her tremble in fear and apologize
