I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

“Everyone, sit down.”
As father entered through the door, my two older brothers and I, who had stood up, sat down again upon hearing his words.
Soon, Lady Cordelia’s figure gradually appeared from behind father’s enormous frame.
Lady Cordelia, the mother of Andrew and Adrian, whispered something to the servants before taking her seat.
Swish
For a moment.
It was truly just a moment, but her contemptuous gaze accurately reached me.
‘It’s fierce, so fierce… Will I be able to swallow my food…?’
I, who had already resigned myself to having an upset stomach from the morning, quietly muttered to the servant bringing food in front of me, just loud enough for her to hear.
“Please make my portions a bit smaller.”
Glare
Was it such a difficult request?
Or was it just the fact that I spoke to her that was unpleasant?
Despite my quiet request, the servant just gave me a sidelong glance and finished the setting as she was doing before returning to the kitchen.
It seemed she had no intention of granting my request.
‘Really, it’s uncomfortable, too uncomfortable.’
Although it wasn’t something new, it was still an unfamiliarity I couldn’t get used to.
The contempt I received for not being the child of the legal wife.
However, I had a reason to endure this contempt and maintain the Castillo name.

“Eden, is it difficult to show your face? Even without the head of the family’s order, why don’t you attend family meals more often?”
It was Lady Cordelia’s voice that woke me from my reverie.
Attend family meals more often? When you don’t even consider me family?
To utter such empty words without even a grain of sincerity with such a brazen expression…
“I apologize for not showing my face often.”
Although I tried to answer politely, Lady Cordelia had long since withdrawn her brief glance at me while sipping her tea.

“I understand that Eden is busy focusing on sword training, mother.”
For some reason, Adrian’s cold voice seemed to be defending me.
However, it didn’t take long to realize that his introduction was not the kind to protect me.

“That’s right, mother! Eden is dedicating himself to sword training every day. I heard he often trains with an apprentice knight named Raymond or something in the knight order.”
It was Andrew’s frivolous addition.

“Eden, I know you’ve been focusing on sword training for quite a while now, can you tell us what level of achievement you’ve reached?”
“Ah, brother Adrian! Why ask such a thing. To someone who was beaten with a scabbard by Lady Alice’s bodyguard just yesterday evening!”

Ha…
They’re not a comedy duo, were they?
Was this the setup for all this?
I felt my vision going dark and started to break out in a cold sweat.
As I tried to maintain a calm expression and picked up my teacup,
Father, who had been silent all this time, began to speak.

“Alice? Do you mean that Alice from the Count Adela family? Why did that child’s bodyguard beat you up?”

Thump
I felt my heart sink.
Unable to even bring the teacup I had picked up near my mouth, I put it down and answered father’s question quite calmly.

“It was just a simple incident. Nothing to worry about.”

“He threw a tantrum wanting to see Lady Alice’s face, and when the bodyguard stopped him, he recklessly charged at him without knowing his place. No matter how much sword training he’s done, how strong could that talentless body have become? Not even up to the level of an apprentice knight…”

“Andrew! Refrain from such frivolous remarks?”
Lady Cordelia tried to stop Andrew’s mouth, if only formally,
but everything that was going to come out had already been said.
The comedy duo brothers and their mother seemed to get along quite well.

“You’re still chasing after Alice? I knew there was a small connection between you when you were young about 7-8 years ago… but how can a man chase after a woman who doesn’t want him for years? And tarnishing the Castillo family name day after day. Beaten up by a bodyguard? Are you in your right mind?”
Father’s fiery scolding poured out.
Seeing father, who had been showing solemnity all along, raise his voice after a long time,
it seemed clear that I had properly disappointed him.

“I have no excuse.”

“Tell me, what level have you achieved in swordsmanship?”

“Brother Andrew’s words are not wrong. Apprentice knight level. That’s all I can say for now.”

I couldn’t lie.
The fact that I had no talent with the sword was something everyone couldn’t help but know, even without anyone gossiping about it.
I don’t neglect my training.
Every day, I grab the sword, swing it, and sweat profusely.
However,
my swordsmanship never improved.
Amazingly, my growth was too slow.
As if something was blocking my growth.
In fact, when humans put in effort, there’s usually some expected reward.
Even for someone without talent, if they diligently swung a sword for years, shouldn’t they become at least half
no, even a quarter as strong as someone who put in the same effort?
Actually, this was the part of my situation that I found most unfair and infuriating.
Growth not corresponding to effort
Yes, I was truly a person with no talent for the sword.

“If the teachings from our family’s knight order don’t suit you, why don’t you try going to the academy? I’ll pull some strings to get you admitted to the academy.”

“Father!”
“Father!”
Andrew and Adrian jumped up simultaneously.

“Wh-why should he go to the academy before us-”
“Father! That bastard doesn’t have the capacity for the academy. Why should he receive such an opportunity!”

Father suppressed the two fuming brothers with his gaze.
As if nothing had happened, they couldn’t make a peep and had to sit down properly again, closing their mouths and waiting for father’s next words.

“You two need to lend your strength to border defense with the family’s knight order. You’ll have to delay entering the academy for a year or two. No, if you achieve merits at the border, you might be able to enter the imperial knight order directly without going through the academy and receive a new title.”

“What? Isn’t the border our family manages not that heavily invaded by foreign forces? What merits…”

“Our family, as the Marquis of the border, has been too complacent with reality. Yes, as you say, it’s true that our territory isn’t that heavily invaded by foreign forces. But that doesn’t mean we can just sit here forever without achieving any merits in the outside world. Eckart… that Baron… thanks to his son, he’s now a Viscount, not a Baron anymore, I can’t stand to see him acting so arrogant anymore. I plan to double the troops of the knight order and procure the latest weapons. Our family will also expand our power more aggressively now.”

“F-Father, excuse me for interrupting. Expanding our family’s power… that’s a very good thing. Of course, both Andrew and I are ready to fight at the forefront. But… but I know that our family’s financial situation isn’t very good. Where are we going to get the money to increase the knight order and procure the latest weapons-”

“Eden will be engaged to the daughter of the merchant Wydro.”

“What?!”
I, who had been quietly observing the situation and nibbling on the dry bread that the servant had brought in abundance, shouted in surprise, spitting out the bread I was chewing.
What is this about?
Sending me to the academy, was there such a condition? Marriage to a merchant’s daughter?
Isn’t this about selling me off to raise money?

“F-Father, I already have a woman in my heart-”

“If you’re talking about the young lady from the Adela family, don’t ever mention it again. Did I say I was giving you a choice? You just need to get engaged to Wydro’s daughter, enter the academy, quietly study and train, and then find your own way.”

“N-No, Father, I-”

“Your mother. You’re still waiting for your mother to return, aren’t you? But if our family falls behind like this, we can’t even guarantee that this family will still be here even if your mother does come back. Do you know what this is?”

Father stopped talking and opened the long box he had brought in earlier.
Inside was a sword in a rather stylish scabbard.

Whoosh
Thud

Father suddenly threw the sword, scabbard and all, towards me. Andrew, Adrian, and even the servants standing behind,
everyone was surprised and focused their attention on me.
The sword father threw.
I picked up the sword.

“This is what that damned Eckart sent me as soon as he became a Viscount. It’s an unpleasant thing where the blade is where the back should be, and the back is where the blade should be. Don’t you know what that means? That sword that can’t harm others and is only a threat to oneself is——”

At some point, I could no longer hear father’s voice, full of anger and spewing heated words.
My mind was too busy processing the strange information flooding in to respond to other external stimuli.

[Reverse-edged sword]
Ching

As I drew the sword and looked at its elegant and brilliant blade, just as the synchronization of memories was somewhat completed,

“Damn… I was a stubborn concept character, now I remember… That’s why my swordsmanship wasn’t improving”

“Eden, what did you just say?”

Only then did I start to become aware of the surrounding situation again.