“Ah… Uh… Ugh…?”
A stabbing pain in her chest.
A head that felt like it might shatter.
And a throat that stung as if it had been burned.
Young Sylvia opened her eyes amidst the overwhelming pain enveloping her entire body.
When she came to her senses, she realized her legs were moving on their own.
She glanced behind her to see an endless trail of footprints.
Apparently, her body had been walking while she was unconscious.
“Ugh? Eh? My body isn’t listening…!”
As young Sylvia tried to change direction, a strange pain radiated from her neck, and her legs continued to move on their own.
What on earth was happening?
She was about to panic when faint memories began to resurface in her mind.
‘I engraved a mark on your body. From now on, you must obey my commands. Disobey, and you’ll experience such excruciating pain you’ll beg for death instead.’
A suspicious man wearing clothes bearing the Vermont crest…!
Yes, she had been subdued by him and subjected to some sort of sinister act.
An engraving?
Such a thing required either the other party’s consent to form a contract or a forced contract made by touching the other party’s heart…
But this man—he had done something unprecedented.
A chilling feeling crept through Sylvia as she groped around her chest.
When she realized the anomaly, her breath caught in her throat.
Her mana… her mana wasn’t regenerating.
“You… you bastard!”
A dirty and unsightly mark had been branded on her neck.
She had lost the means to replenish her mana.
And now, she was in a state where she had no choice but to obey commands against her will.
The last command she was given was: “Go straight to the Vermont territory and secure a position as a knight.”
“I don’t know who you are, but someday, I’ll definitely get my revenge…”
With legs moving southward against her will, young Sylvia gritted her teeth.
She was now utterly defeated, reduced to the status of a sl*ve.
But one day, she vowed to find that Vermont man and the Sword Master who put her in this position.
Repeating this determination in her heart, Sylvia managed to momentarily forget the pain wracking her body.
***
“Hold on tight, Sylvia!”
“Yes!”
After drinking the potion of engraving, I looked back to see the fissure shrinking to a size barely big enough for one person to pass through.
Grabbing Sylvia’s hand, I leaped into the rift with her.
I couldn’t help but worry that Sylvia’s unnecessarily large hips might get stuck and prevent us from getting through, but we barely made it in the nick of time.
‘This might be… no, this is definitely our last chance.’
Sylvia’s sword wasn’t some convenient time machine capable of precisely setting time coordinates for travel.
It was an unstable artifact that responded unpredictably to her desires and mental state.
One moment, it would send us ten years into the past; the next, it would leap to seven years ago, or it might not open a portal at all.
In such unpredictable circumstances, the appearance of a passage back to the present was nothing short of a miracle.
If we missed this opportunity, there was no telling when we’d return to our time.
We had no choice but to seize it.
Passing through the fissure felt unusually long this time.
Every hair on my body stood on end as a wave of chills surged through me.
Finally, light flooded my vision, revealing a familiar scene.
“Ugh!”
“Ah, Mister?!”
“Sylvia is here too!”
“Aslan, Count!”
Thud.
As soon as we emerged from the fissure, something heavy and unpleasant pressed against my face.
A startled Sylvia quickly scrambled off me, her face red.
Just as irritation began to boil within me, the voices of children reached my ears, lifting my spirits.
“Ahhh! We were so worried, Mister!!!”
“I-I was… a little worried too… really.”
“Ahem. I’m glad you both returned safely. Nothing happened at the mansion, so don’t worry.”
Charlotte ran over and hugged me right away.
Charlotte came running at full speed, throwing herself into my arms.
Julia approached shyly, hesitating for a moment before lightly hugging my waist.
Even Yuri, who initially seemed reluctant, suddenly dashed toward me but froze in her tracks, straightening up and adopting a serious tone.
“What about me?!”
Sylvia stood nearby, arms outstretched, but the children only embraced me.
Tears welled in Sylvia’s eyes as she watched.
A strange sense of superiority swelled within me, and my shoulders couldn’t help but lift with pride.
That said, the children’s voices carried an unmistakable moisture.
Charlotte buried her face in my chest, sniffling.
How much time had passed since we left?
Come to think of it, they all seemed slightly taller.
A sinking feeling hit my chest.
“How many days has it been since we left?”
“Huh? How many days…?”
“S-Surely it wasn’t months?”
“Eh? How long? Uh… about an hour and… 30 minutes?”
“…”
Julia awkwardly retracted her arms.
Charlotte hastily wiped away her tears, pretending not to have been crying.
Their reactions were akin to a reunion after years of separation—but it had only been an hour and a half.
‘Thank goodness, Irene didn’t get the will.’
Relief washed over me.
At least the farewell letter I left for Irene hadn’t been delivered.
I didn’t want to see her crying or despairing again.
“By the way, seeing Knight Sister return to her original state, could it be…!”
“Yes, that’s right. I became a Sword Master.”
“Wow! Then show me the little flame! The little flame!”
“You mean Aura? Like this?”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Light comes out of your bare hands! For me, the little flame only comes out when I’m holding the Super Super Strong Sword! You’re incredible…”
When Sylvia drew a crimson gleam from her hand and shaped it into the form of a sword, Charlotte jumped up and down in excitement, filled with awe.
Charlotte could only manifest Aura while wielding the Super Super Strong Sword, so calling her a Sword Master was a stretch.
But now, the Vermont family finally had an official Sword Master.
“Ah!? My Lord! The sword!”
“…?”
At that moment, a radiant white glow began to seep out of my chest.
This was the same light that appeared when Sylvia’s sword returned to my body.
But now it was flowing out in reverse, gathering in mid-air and taking the form of a long sword.
Sylvia desperately leaped to grab it, and Charlotte also jumped up to catch it, but neither could stop it.
The light rose endlessly into the sky and soon dispersed into the air.
Sylvia, as if suspecting something, grabbed the dagger Charlotte had been wearing.
“It’s… it’s completely gone now…”
The dagger fit snugly in Sylvia’s hand without any resistance.
Until now, Sylvia had been unable to hold any other weapon.
But with the disappearance of the metal lump buried in my chest, that limitation vanished as well.
“Jacob said it would be the perfect sword to make you stronger. It seems it succeeded in advancing you to the next stage.”
“Yes… Though I never imagined it would take this form…”
At first, I thought the sword’s powerful abilities were its primary feature.
I never expected it to awaken Sylvia as a Sword Master.
I was beginning to fear Jacob’s talent.
Before he crafts a weapon on par with a Holy Sword, I’ll need to make sure he gets my approval.
If weapons that defy the laws of time and space become rampant, the Empire will descend into chaos.
“Congratulations, Sylvia. You’ve achieved what you long desired.”
“Yes… Becoming a Sword Master has been a long-standing wish. But honestly, I had an even greater desire.”
“What? What is it?”
“I’ve lived to find and take revenge on the enemy who destroyed my heart and tied me to the Vermont family. But to think the culprits were myself and you, Master, was beyond my imagination.”
“Well, it couldn’t be helped.”
“Yes, it couldn’t be helped.”
Swoosh.
Sylvia drew closer, pressing against me.
The unspoken tension made me back away until I hit the wall, leaving me no escape.
“To survive, I had no choice but to destroy my own heart and dedicate myself as a sl*ve to the Vermont family. The revenge that fueled my life has nowhere to go anymore.”
“…”
“So from now on, I will live not for myself but for you, my Lord. My body and mind are yours. Use me as you see fit.”
Thud.
With that, Sylvia knelt on one knee and bowed her head to me.
This was the same Sylvia who had always been suspicious of me, who scorned me at every opportunity.
For Sylvia to trust me completely now was overwhelming.
At that moment, a voice full of mischief echoed from behind.
“To make such a vulgar confession in broad daylight… Your knight seems to have no shame.”
“Wha—!? Your Majesty? C-Confession!?”
“Is it not a confession when a grown woman pledges her body and heart to a man? Ah, unless you’re referring to a loveless, purely physical relationship…”
“Y-Your Majesty! The children are listening!”
The Empress appeared, twirling her hair, her expression one of amusement.
Sylvia’s face turned as red as a beet, and she lost all composure.
But what was the Empress doing here?
“Your Majesty, I didn’t realize you were present. I’ve just returned myself. Would you care for some tea…?”
“Don’t change the subject. I saw you falling from the sky.”
“…”
Damn, I’ve been caught.
As I clicked my tongue in annoyance, the Empress approached me, seizing my wrist in an instant.
It happened so fast I didn’t have time to react.
“I once asked you for a favor. A bold man teased me long ago—find his name, I said.”
“You described him as someone who helped, not someone who teased…”
“Silence. Do you know how long I’ve been searching for that person? Hmm.”
“…”
Slyly.
She lifted my torn sleeve, pulling out a worn button from her pocket.
She compared it against my sleeve, and it fit perfectly.
…I’m doomed.
“Hahaha. You wretched little scoundrel. To mock me in my youth… Are you prepared to pay the price?”
“…”
The Empress grabbed me by the collar, her sinister smile sending shivers down my spine.
Though the situation seemed menacing, the warmth in her eyes told a different story—she was genuinely glad to see me.
