I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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I polished my sword with deft movements. The blade gleamed silver, reflecting my face.

I beamed at the spotless sword and sheathed it with satisfaction.

“If I don’t hurry, I’ll cry.”

Looking at the sword and Aria, both of whom were staring at me with bright eyes, I couldn’t help but smile. With careful hands, I adorned the sword with red and sky-blue decorations.

“Looks great.”

The faces of both brightened instantly.

The two of them, having handed me a symbol from the swordsmanship tournament, seemed to have come to a prior agreement this time, likely motivated by the fight they had during the hunting tournament when they tried to give me a symbol. Aria, beaming with pride, hugged my waist tightly.

“Do well in the finals. I’ll be cheering for you the whole time.”

“Yeah. I’ll win and come back.”

I gently ruffled Aria’s hair. Her short, soft strands tickled my fingers.

“Are you planning to use Aura in the swordsmanship tournament? If you do, your identity as Mir will be revealed right away. It’s okay if you want to reveal it whenever you want, of course.”

Caesar, leaning on his chin, tilted his head. Dressed in a crisp black shirt and a light red vest, he looked casually relaxed. Though he wouldn’t directly voice it due to his blunt nature, his whole body screamed that he found this moment comfortable and pleasant.

“I plan to reveal it at some point, but not immediately. I don’t think I’ll have any problem winning without using Aura.”

I replied nonchalantly.

Winning in the swordsmanship tournament without using Aura shouldn’t be difficult. Revealing my Aura could wait a little longer.

The three of them looked puzzled, but the only response I could provide was a smile.

‘Not yet, I can’t say it yet.’

I swallowed the bitter saliva collecting in my mouth. I didn’t want to hide anything more, but it was unavoidable.

‘This is the last time.’

I consoled myself with that thought and forced a bright smile.

“I hoped you wouldn’t reveal your identity as Mir until the very end.”

Cal, who had been fiddling with the teacup handle with a slightly downcast expression, murmured. I looked at him with a bewildered expression, causing him to meet my gaze.

Legendary figures often come with a story. The ruby, with its chilling beauty that may hold a dreadful legend of causing its owner’s demise, sparkled ominously.

“You probably don’t know that Mir is revered among knights.”

“Really?”

I blinked my widened eyes. I knew the name ‘Mir’ was famous, but I didn’t think it was revered to that extent. I hadn’t picked up a sword to become famous, nor did I have the time to care about such things.

I narrowed my eyes, suspecting Cal might be exaggerating, but he was serious.

“I only wished to know what Mir does in regular life, what truly makes her happy at times. I wanted to monopolize the true form of Mir.”

Cal’s voice was low, as if scraping against the depths of the ocean.

The faint madness in his crimson eyes reminded me of the past Cal, or perhaps the original Cal, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a sense of tension.

“Cal, I have a question. May I ask?”

“Anything.”

One afternoon, alone with Cal, a sudden question popped into my head.

“Do you remember the second time we met, in the snow-covered Duke’s garden?”

“How could I forget? Wasn’t my sister hanging from a tree, swaying about?”

“Could you please forget about that…”

Seeing me bury my face in my hands from embarrassment, Cal broke into a hearty laugh, a face I never would have imagined seeing when we first met.

I realized how much he had changed as I had, and vice versa.

“Back then, didn’t I mention that I saved you long before the monster subjugation?”

‘You saved me.’

‘That’s just what anyone should do…’

‘You saved me long before the monster hunt, not just then.’

Cal’s statement about having been saved long before we met during the monster subjugation confused me.

“……That was true.”

“What did you mean by that?”

His deep red eyes, which seemed to recall the past, rolled quietly over to me. Their hue always evoked images of blood, but at that moment, they reminded me of the warm red of a setting sun.

“I first met you as Kashmir during that time.”

“I see.”

“But I had met you as Mir several times before.”

“Eh?”

He still spoke incomprehensibly. As I shot him a questioning look, he offered a faint smile.

“I can’t go into detail because I think you’d find it disturbing. Please understand.”

“What…?”

“All I want is to convey that I knew you before you knew me. You breathed life into my world before you even knew my name.”

Cal spoke softly. His voice was as refreshing and gentle as snowflakes lightly falling on my cheeks. His sharp eyes softened.

“Mir taught me about life. She showed me what it truly means to live, reminding me of this continually as I had forgotten what life was. I endured the time without you thanks to her.”

“I’m truly grateful to have met Mir. Without her, I might not have been able to hold on until meeting Kashmir. That would have been such a waste.”

Having spent quite some time with Cal, I was already well aware. He had suffered from a life of suffocating boredom and emptiness.

Though Cal was reluctant to speak about a past he considered a dark era, many knew of him before.

“I’m so glad the lady appeared. If it weren’t for you… I might have lost my master long before and ended up unemployed.”

An old servant who had long served Cal once told me something like that. Many in the mansion would often speak unwittingly about how I had saved Cal.

While they didn’t elaborate, possibly silenced by Cal, I understood the gist.

“If Mir taught me about life, then Kashmir taught me about happiness. Just seeing you brings joy, and the mere fact you exist makes me grateful to whatever being resides in the skies.”

Cal’s long, white hands brushed my cheek. Although his fingertips felt like the cold skin of a reptile, the gaze directed at me held the fervor of someone deeply in love.

Did I drift into a daze for a moment? Cal’s eyes deepened.

“In fact, I still sometimes fall into despair, cursing the gods. Why was I born into this world? Why can’t I live normally? Why do I breathe emptiness in every inhale and doubts with every exhale? I’ve resented it countless times.”

The tragedy that began with birth affected not only me. Each person bore their unique scars, that mark created the moment umbilical cords were cut.

“However, sometimes when I reflect on this life, my mind clears.”

With his eyes closed, Cal gently held the back of my head and pressed our foreheads together. Our hair, of the same color but differing lengths and curls, intertwined between us. His forehead felt slightly warm.

“That resentful god created this lovable thing as well.”

I felt I would never forget the moment I watched him slowly open his eyes.

I wasn’t certain of the details, but I was sure that Cal had significant affection for ‘Mir.’ I cautiously observed the fierce aura radiating off him.

“Do you dislike revealing that I’m Mir?”

“Yes. I do.”

Cal’s reply was quick and decisive. I felt extremely awkward. Though I hadn’t looked in a mirror, my pupils were surely trembling. Cal let out a long sigh, exhaling like a breath of frustration while gazing into my eyes.

“But your feelings are more important than mine. Your purpose, your opinion, is what truly matters.”

Cal tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. An unavoidable smile lingered around his lips.

“So act according to your will. Whatever it is, I’ll support you.”

I bit my lip. I thought I was getting a little accustomed to this kindness, but the overwhelming tenderness was something I just couldn’t handle.

I slowly closed my eyes and leaned my head against Cal’s hand. His large hand froze briefly but quickly supported my head expertly.

“I won’t disappoint you. I promise.”

I didn’t want to let these kind people down.

‘This is a bit nerve-wracking.’

I took a short deep breath and gazed up at the building before me.

A huge and open structure reminiscent of Rome’s Colosseum. This was the venue for the swordsmanship tournament finals.

Since it was still quite early before the finals began, the surroundings were quiet. Participants were slowly trickling in.

‘It’s a bit funny to feel this nervous.’

Realizing my body had unwittingly shrunk back, I chuckled softly.

I was a Sword Master. Unless it was Caesar or Noah, there was no way I could lose. To put it bluntly, it was like a math Olympian nervously holding a pencil in an elementary school-level math contest.

‘I just need to be careful about unintentionally leaking Aura.’

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. In truth, the emotion I felt was more excitement than nervousness.

The sword was my soul. I truly felt alive when I wielded a sword.

For a swordsman, dueling was the most joyous experience. Learning another’s spirit while crossing swords and adopting differing styles was exhilarating. A swordsman inevitably craved to duel with another swordsman.

“You bastard! Today, I’ll cut off your air supply!”

“That’s laughable. Go ahead and try.”

In my childhood, I satisfied my craving for dueling with bouts against Zigmund. Our swords differed completely, making it hard to face him, but that only meant there was much to learn and it was fun.

However, after completely missing Zigmund, I had no one to satiate my desire for dueling. Though I swung my sword countless times to hunt monsters, it was an entirely different realm than dueling against another swordsman.

After joining the Crisis, I occasionally had duels with Caesar, but after he inflicted a wound on me in our first match, he never fought seriously again. A non-serious duel couldn’t quell the overflowing combat spirit of a Sword Master.

“I desperately want to clash with someone for real.”

Clenching my tingling fingers, a smile crept onto my lips.

It was unlikely I’d meet another swordsman on par with my skills. I wouldn’t need to use my full power, nor would I wish to. Even if they lacked skills, I wanted to cross blades with someone who would genuinely engage me.

Without a doubt, anyone observing me now would think I was crazy, smiling like this.

As the refreshing morning air mingled with a familiar scent, a warm and upright energy stood out clearly amidst the jumbled aura in the square. It felt like the sunlight bursting above.

“Oh.”

I let out a small gasp at the approaching footsteps. My body felt warm all of a sudden.

Though slightly embarrassed, the feeling of longing overwhelmed me. Slowly, but not too slowly, I turned my body.

And then our eyes met.

“Kashmir.”

That spine-chillingly pleasant low voice called my name. I tilted my head slightly to meet his gaze. The left side of my mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Silver-gray hair and golden eyes. A gaze unyielding and straight as an arrow.

“Reiner.”

It was the first time I’d seen Reiner Einhart since the festival.