༺ Start ༻
There were few ways for someone of common birth to seize the word ‘success,’ especially for women.
Becoming an outstanding merchant, a steward for a household of at least the rank of Earl, entering into a contract of engagement as a maid to a young lord, or becoming the top courtesan in the kingdom’s greatest place of pleasure.
Success was a distant and narrow path due to one’s humble origins.
And that path unfolded for Rachel, born in a small village in the western part of the Elferion Kingdom.
“Dad, buy me a sword.”
In the year she turned thirteen, Rachel, who had been helping her father, a tenant farmer, with farm work, suddenly made this request.
“What? A sword, all of a sudden?”
“Yeah!”
“Why?”
“To make dad happy, I need to earn a lot of money, right?”
“…Hahaha. My daughter, your dad is already happy.”
“People say you should dream big. I’ll become a personal bodyguard to a noble. It’s safe and pays well!”
“……Hmm. Rachel. Listen well. Nobles do not entrust their protection to women.”
“Why not?”
“Umm… Because they are inherently weak.”
Weak.
It wasn’t until she was seventeen that Rachel realized it wasn’t just because of inherent weakness.
She realized it four years into her stubbornly begun swordsmanship training.
It was due to the male superiority pervasive in noble society.
To them, women were just property.
To them, a commoner woman was just a ‘sex slave.’
They did not entrust women with the grave duty of protecting them with valor and loyalty.
It was unfair.
She was confident she could do well, and she had shown exceptional talent in swordsmanship, but the chance was not given.
“I refuse! I will definitely become a personal bodyguard!”
Stubbornness and obstinacy.
Rachel did not let go of her sword, and at the age of nineteen, after her father passed away in an accident, she began to spill blood.
It was an explosion of anger towards the world.
She wanted to overcome it.
She wanted to cut through all the injustices.
She voluntarily plunged into the rough path.
It was during this period.
She headed to the Winterfell Northern Command, embroiled in the chaos of war.
She cut down anyone in her way, trampling over everything.
And as a result, she earned the moniker [The Purple Knightess].
However.
She repeatedly failed.
In the personal bodyguard recruitment exams.
Bitter about the path she had taken, she applied to recruitment exams held by households of at least the rank of Earl and always scored well, but she had to drink from the bitter cup of failure.
She did not give up.
And at the end, she finally became a bodyguard to an Earl’s household.
[Rapellion Earl’s Household]
Her persistence to succeed shone through, and she finally fulfilled the promise she made to her father.
Of course, there was a vulgar underside to a lady knight becoming a personal bodyguard to the Earl’s son.
“Hehe. It was I who spoke out against my father’s opposition and passed you.”
“Thank you. I will guard the young lord with my life.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Pardon?”
“Just take off all your clothes, and I’ll give you double the promised salary.”
“……..”
Rachel gripped the hilt of the sword in its sheath.
On her first day as a bodyguard.
Rachel almost ended up decapitating the Earl’s son.
Fortunately.
“…Hey, you don’t have to strip if you’re willing to accept the promised salary.”
Faced with Rachel’s overwhelming murderous intent, the Earl’s son withdrew his vulgar proposal, and a disaster was averted.
Of course, his efforts to take advantage of her body did not cease.
However, Rachel did not quit because, apart from the money, it was too convenient.
Elden Rapellion.
He did not rely on others when he felt threatened.
He wanted to personally step up and punish the threatener, not minding getting his hands dirty as a combat fanatic.
Moreover, he was quite skilled in fighting.
He could handle most opponents on his own, so there was rarely anything for her to do.
Of course, in Rachel’s eyes, it was nothing but a brawl, but unlike other noble sons, he was skilled enough to defend himself, so she didn’t need to bother dealing with the riff-raff.
A bodyguard employed but not needed by her master, idling away became her daily routine.
She considered it a reward for the fierce and unfair fate she had lived, a compensation for pioneering and rising against her destiny.
If she just ignored the lewd jokes he constantly made, it was the sweetest job imaginable.
So five years passed.
“To go to the brothel, you must head to West 18th Street.”
Even if there was nothing to do, Rachel always accompanied Elden on his outings.
Whenever they arrived in a new domain, he always visited the brothel first.
Afterward, he would go to a tavern, drink himself silly, and become a troublemaker; that was the order.
However,
“Let’s go to a restaurant. Somewhere filled with romance.”
The order had changed.
It was strange, but drawing on past experiences, they visited a restaurant.
And.
‘This is strange.’
Setting aside the approval of dining together, the one who asked her to become a ‘master’ was too strange.
Furthermore, he hadn’t uttered a single lewd joke, which was habitual for him.
Moreover, the man who had lived his life as a drunkard didn’t touch a drop of alcohol.
‘…What?’
Even more, when leaving the restaurant, he left a tip that was twenty times the cost of the meal.
Rachel had never seen him ‘pay’ in the streets of the commoners, whether it was a tavern or a brothel, as those places were nothing more than free playgrounds for him.
Though he usually never initiated conversation, her curiosity got the best of her, and she asked.
“Aren’t you going to drink today?”
“The sun is high in the sky, why would I drink now?”
“…”
When did he not drink?
Swallowing that retort, she posed another question.
“What do you mean by becoming a master?”
“Just as I said. You’ve been watching me for five years, so you must know where I’m lacking. Prepare yourself; we start tomorrow.”
At his answer, Rachel thought.
‘…Is he planning to seriously fight?’
**
Tweet, tweet, tweet.
Waking up to the chirping of birds is truly a pleasant experience.
Especially when bright light enters through the window on a late morning.
For Lee Junwoo, who used to wake up at 6 am to the sound of garbage trucks and prepare for work, this was a luxury.
He welcomed the refreshing morning, got up, completed a peaceful bath, and dressed with the help of maids.
“Shall we depart, then?”
“Yes.”
Following Rendler, he headed to the main castle where the final evaluation would begin.
The first general assembly featuring Lermion would take place in the great hall of the main castle.
Similar to the Great Hall but more solemn and sacred, the hall was exclusively for ‘family members and the extremely poor,’ a place where entrance was strictly controlled.
Thus.
“I will wait outside.”
“Alright.”
Rendler couldn’t enter the hall.
Except for the extremely poor, no one else was allowed entry.
And even the extremely poor had to be searched by the guards before they could enter.
After passing through strict security to enter the hall, the trio of regretful characters sitting at a large round table was visible.
If the Great Hall had a luxurious atmosphere, the hall was stiff and solemn.
“Eh? You…?”
As I walked down the red carpet towards the round table, the trio of regretful characters greeted me with faces as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.
Ignoring their blatant stares, I took my seat.
And decided to strike first.
“I haven’t received a definitive answer about the declaration of withdrawal. I’m only here for that. Don’t worry; I haven’t withdrawn my intent to withdraw.”
I struck first to avoid tedious chit-chat.
At that, Blund awkwardly smiled and responded.
“Haha. Worry? We were just surprised to see you again.”
“I didn’t know either.”
Deron commented with a look of discomfort.
“Not receiving a definitive answer about withdrawal… Perhaps your declaration of withdrawal was a strategy to attract attention.”
“Well, that could be the case. Prince Deron, your insight is exceptional.”
“Haha. Really? Then you’ve played a big game. I didn’t know you were that clever.”
…Even striking first, the annoying chit-chat couldn’t be avoided.
The thought of possibly having to participate in this meaningless evaluation for another 15 days made me sigh.
I wanted to retort to their attempts to discredit my pure desire to escape, but knowing it would only lead to more tedious debates, I responded with silence.
It’s just a waste of breath.
Let them speculate and slander as they please.
That’s their specialty, after all, so shouldn’t a kind-hearted possessor like me understand them with a broad mind?
All I wished for was for this pointless evaluation to begin soon.
Fortunately.
“Third Grand Duchess, Lermion Winterfell, enters.”
The doors of the hall opened, signaling the start.
The beginning of a tearful mess.
Of course, for me, it was the start of executing Plan B.
I sprang up like a spring, following the trio of regretful characters as they stood.
My gaze turned to the opening door.
And then.
Click-clack, click-clack.
I saw a woman approaching the round table of the hall.
In a white dress, with a white fox mask, white hair, an angel-like woman all in white.
“Nice to meet you all.”
The woman stood at the head of the round table and greeted us.
“I’m Lermion Winterfell.”
Her blue eyes behind the mask began to scan the male protagonists, hinting at what was to come.
‘……’
When her gaze landed on me, I felt a strange expression.
With a smile, she offered a personal greeting.
“Ho ho. ‘Again,’ we meet? Prince Elden Rapellion.”
