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Chapter 10
People always have a way of hiding the truth.
Right now, I was doing exactly that.
“Huwoooop…!”
Blood kept welling up at the corner of my mouth. I almost spewed it all over Jayvolg, who had nearly fainted.
Ugh, damn… when’s the last time I felt pain like this?
Since I first started being called the Shadow Lord, no opponent had been able to so much as brush my collar. Now? I was a mess.
Clinging to consciousness, I quickly covered the blood with dirt—erasing the evidence.
The sky spun above me…
Was it because I had pushed my body far past its limits?
With such a short period of cultivation, my body simply couldn’t withstand these techniques.
Damn it. To think I’m panting from using just one basic technique I used to perform like breathing.
Is this how a rooster that can’t crow in the morning must feel?
Before Jayvolg came to, I needed to get myself together.
Leaving him behind, I staggered deeper into the forest.
My legs were trembling so badly that it was almost worse than the decrepit body I’d had right before dying in my past life.
“Huhhhhk…!”
My knees buckled, and I nearly collapsed face-first, but I forced myself to stay upright.
I couldn’t show such a pitiful sight.
Everything needed to end cleanly.
Still, I couldn’t stop my breath from growing ragged.
The backlash of the Seven Autumn Forbidden Bell technique was starting to hit my body.
“Haa… haa…”
The aftershock of a forbidden art was truly something.
It wasn’t called a forbidden art for nothing.
Thanks to it, I had won—but the side effects would likely linger for days.
I sat cross-legged at once and began circulating my qi to regulate my breathing.
Better do it quickly—after finally winning, I couldn’t let Jayvolg see me in this pathetic state.
Once my body recovered enough, I spat out the clotted blood to avoid further internal damage and rose to my feet.
My legs were still weak, but I tensed every muscle and forced myself to walk.
Damn it… still trembling.
In the end, I decided I’d just use Jayvolg’s stomach as a chair.
“…”
Not bad.
Thanks to his trained physique, it wasn’t uncomfortable in the least.
“Ggghhhk…”
I heard Jayvolg’s voice.
Faster than I expected.
Most people wouldn’t come to their senses for half a day after that.
Guess he hasn’t been neglecting his training.
“You’re awake.”
“…”
Jayvolg blinked blankly.
Once he took in the situation, he let out a long sigh.
“Haa… So I lost.”
“At least you’re quick to grasp the situation. That’s good.”
“I’m not that much of an idiot, Young Master.”
“Mhm.”
Not an idiot, huh?
I had plenty to say, but decided to keep my mouth shut.
Then Jayvolg spoke.
“Young Master.”
“Why? Don’t tell me you’re going to say, ‘The wager doesn’t count,’ now. I get that you’re frustrated, but the fact you didn’t draw your sword is your own fault.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then?”
“I understand that you’ve been training in things other than the sword… But, Young Master, there’s something I truly can’t understand.”
“You’re not about to spout something weird again, are you?”
“No. It’s just… your talent is beyond comprehension. Honestly, even at the Knight Academy, I’ve never seen such aptitude. If we’re talking about talent alone… there’s Ed—the man they call the continent’s greatest genius. I’ve never met him myself, but I’m certain you would be his equal.”
That’s because I’ve lived twice.
“But there’s something even harder to understand than your talent.”
“And what’s that?”
“With ability like this, why did you never show it in front of Padors? You must know what some of the knights there—and even people outside—call you.”
“Mmm…”
Being honest here was forbidden.
If I said I’d lived not once but twice, who in their right mind would believe me?
“I told you before—everyone has something they’re suited for. For me, it just wasn’t the sword. That’s why I was training in secret.”
“Then… you’re saying you have no talent at all with the sword?”
I lifted myself off his stomach and picked up the branch he’d been holding.
I wanted to lean on it like a staff, but I forced myself to focus. This was the time to give Jayvolg some advice.
“Hoo…”
Calming my breath, I began to perform the sword forms of Padors that I still remembered.
I even added my own interpretations here and there. When I finished the sequence, Jayvolg—forgetting all about his injuries—sprang to his feet.
“Y-you’re good with a sword, aren’t you?!”
“Of course. It’s not that I can’t use one.”
“Th-then…”
“But it’s not like I’m that good at it either. Better than most, sure… but I’m more suited to short blades than longswords, and more to hidden blade techniques than archery. That’s just how it is.”
Jayvolg started to argue, but his eyes drifted down to his battered body.
“…Very well. I admit it.”
“Really?”
Was he quicker to accept things than I thought?
This might go better than I—
“The sword is supreme! It was simply my own effort that was lacking!”
“…Huh?”
Something about that didn’t sound right.
After all the trouble I went through to teach him…!
How did “the sword is supreme” come out of this?
A headache pounded behind my eyes. Sword fanatics were hopeless—whether in the martial world or here in Eneris, they were all the same.
I gave him a treasure’s worth of guidance, and he came back with garbage philosophy.
Well… no matter what, he’s bound to change from how he was before.
“Do as you like…”
That wasn’t the important part.
“Whatever you do, you haven’t forgotten the wager, right? From now on, I will decide the sword training schedule. We’ll tell the main house that I’m training in swordsmanship, but in reality, I’ll train however I want.”
“…Understood.”
Jayvolg’s expression was less than enthusiastic. Still, he was the sort who was stubborn to the point of frustration, so he’d never break his word.
So that’s settled, then?
I’d managed to turn a troublesome guy into an ally, which meant I could train without having to watch my back.
The spies in the clan who kept a gloomy eye on me would just report that I was practicing swordsmanship.
More importantly… I needed to get to bed.
My body had been screaming for a while now. A mere week of training was nowhere near enough to build the vessel my body needed.
Just as my eyes were about to close of their own accord…
Shrrng!
All of a sudden, Jayvolg drew his sword.
“…Huh?”
Then he dropped to his left knee.
“You wagered something, did you not? A knight’s oath.”
“Ah…?”
That had only been a provocation to get under his skin.
Was he seriously going to go through with it?
“Enough. I know very well that a knight’s oath isn’t something to be made in jest.”
But there wasn’t a trace of humor on Jayvolg’s face.
“This isn’t a joke. A knight must acknowledge defeat. For me, this is how I accept my loss.”
“I refuse.”
Shouldn’t a knight be off on his knightly pilgrimage rather than staying here because of an oath?
Unlike before, now that he had tasted a broader world, Jayvolg would surely reach a higher level of martial skill.
But he was a man who only knew how to charge straight ahead.
“I shall swear before the Knight King. So long as it does not go against the spirit of knighthood, I will henceforth serve Deyan Pador as my lord.”
“I said no.”
“I’ve already sworn.”
Jayvolg gave me that dogged, obstinate stare of his and smiled.
It seemed I’d stepped into something troublesome.
“I look forward to serving you, my lord.”
“Do as you like—just don’t let anyone else know you’ve made a knight’s oath to me.”
“…Why not?”
“Just… consider it a favor. Don’t.”
Jayvolg straightened up, looking pleased.
“If that is your command, understood!”
“Sigh… One more thing—mind if I speak informally to you?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“…Haah.”
I’d tried to shake off this leech, but he’d only latched on tighter.
How had I reached this age without learning to keep my mouth shut?
.
.
.
“Today’s special is water buffalo meat, brought in fresh from the northern provinces.”
The chef introduced the dish and then withdrew.
Nerlin swallowed audibly as she looked at the water buffalo steak, served on a silver plate and drizzled with an orange-based sauce.
“Do you want some?”
“Ah—no, sir?”
“If you eat this, you’ll get an upset stomach.”
“…Yes?”
Nerlin blinked in surprise, then leaned toward Marianne and muttered,
—’You heard that, right? He’s just trying to keep it all for himself. The Young Master’s been getting strange hobbies lately.’
Did she think I couldn’t hear her?
I could hear her just fine—loud and clear.
Tsk. I’d told her because eating it really would give her an upset stomach.
This meat was poisoned. At this point, I wasn’t sure whether the problem lay with the chef preparing the food or with the ingredients themselves.
But looking into it was something I needed to delay as long as possible.
For me, this was a tonic.
Cutting off such a supply early would be like losing an entire nation just to gain a single house—an utterly foolish move.
For now, I just had to quietly accept the food they offered.
Thanks to that… my internal energy had been building up in my body at an absurd rate.
The snake within me, sensing the poison in the meat, opened its maw so as not to miss even a trace of toxin, greedily gathering it within.
Good. Very good.
Eat it all—leave nothing behind.
At a normal pace, this level of cultivation would take at least three years of focused training. I’d built it up in less than three months.
This was the reason I had chosen the Myriad Poisons Heavenly Monarch Art.
So long as I could properly ingest poison, my internal energy would not only grow explosively, but also be of exceptional quality.
“Another excellent meal.”
I wiped my mouth clean, having scraped up every last bit of sauce.
Nerlin’s lips jutted out in a pout. I said,
“If you get greedy with food, you’ll turn into a pig.”
“Th-that’ll never happen!”
Nerlin, embarrassed, covered her stomach.
But to my surprise, I found myself embarrassed at having made the joke.
What kind of pointless joke was that?
As Tang Cheol-woo, I would never have said something like it… Perhaps this was the influence of being the young boy Deyan?
I could feel it—the way the aged mind of Tang Cheol-woo and the immature mind of Deyan were beginning to blend, like two currents slowly merging into one.
As one example—
“Dessert is coming, right?”
“It will be served immediately.”
See that?
Back when I was Tang Cheol-woo, I couldn’t stand sweet food, but living again as Deyan… now I couldn’t get enough of it.
Even my palate was shifting to match this younger age.
A short while later, after finishing the dessert that Marianne personally brought out, I finally rose from my seat.
I was just about to head to the training grounds where Jayvolg was probably waiting—
“The Madam has arrived…!”
The servants all began bustling about in a flurry. The same was happening outside, where everyone hurried into formation.
Looking out the window, I saw… a single carriage pulling up to the front of the estate.
Given the sheer size of the Padors grounds, using a carriage to travel within the manor’s gardens wasn’t unusual.
But when I saw the middle-aged woman stepping down from that carriage, my heart nearly dropped out of my chest.
My mother… the mother I had longed to see so desperately in my previous life.
She had always been frail and had been recuperating in the temple…
And yet, here she was, forcing her ailing body to come just to see me.
“Mother…”
As she slowly approached the manor, I was at a loss for what to do.
What should I do?
I had deliberately avoided visiting her. Truthfully, the moment I returned here, I had wanted to pay my respects immediately, but I didn’t.
If I saw her amid all the chaos, I feared I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions or my behavior and would embarrass myself.
But now, she had come to me first.
“Young Master, Young Master…!”
“Huh?”
Marianne urged my dazed self forward.
“You should go greet her!”
“Ah… right…”
The doors of the manor opened slowly. All of us—myself included—bowed deeply in formal greeting. Through the gap, I saw the lower half of my mother’s figure.
“Deyan, you look healthier than when I last saw you.”
A small but firm voice.
The voice I had yearned for, again and again.
How desperately I had wanted to hear it once more…
“Raise your head, Deyan. Why are you like this?”
Her hand rested on my shoulder. Even with the best care Padors could offer, it was still thin. My own trembling hand closed around hers.
“Mother…”
I lifted my head to look at her.
And the moment I did—
“Ah…”
I couldn’t control my expression.
I had trained endlessly in the Tang Clan to keep my emotions hidden, and as the Shadow Lord, I had acted with the cunning of a fox.
But standing before my mother, all of that was meaningless.
It was as if I’d been caught in the rain alone.
The emotions welling up from my chest were completely beyond my control.
“Deyan? What’s wrong?”
My mother, looking concerned, gently stroked my hair.
“N-no… It’s nothing…”
Pathetic.
Why… why am I crying?
Even after living so many years, I still couldn’t steady my emotions in front of her.
Seeing me in such a shameful state, my mother gazed intently into my face.
“Are you alright, Deyan? Did something happen?”
Yes… my mother had always worried about me—even though she herself had been the one whose body had given out first.
She was someone who had always put caring for her child before herself.
Calm yourself…
I steadied my energy, letting the mana spread through my body in an effort to quiet my heart.
It had been such a long time since our last meeting.
I had to show her the right image… a dignified image…
But the longing that churned through me kept stripping me back into the boy Deyan once was.
“Mother…”
“Yes, Deyan. Have you been struggling?”
My mother gathered me into her arms.
Was this what it meant to be unworthy of one’s age? I should restrain myself… I should.
But I had waited for this day far too long.
What does age matter in the face of such yearning?
At least for today… I could only return to being the young boy Deyan.
“I’ve missed you, Mother.”
“My dear Deyan… I see.”
My mother bent her knees so that her eyes met mine. A few of the servants flinched at the sight.
The mistress of Padors was by no means of low standing.
In the entire Empire, she belonged to one of the top ten most powerful houses, and for the lady of such a family to act this way—even toward her son—could easily be criticized as lacking decorum.
But my mother was not someone who would uphold appearances at the expense of her child.
Looking at me gently, she said,
“If you’re feeling burdened because you think you’re slower than others, don’t carry that weight, Deyan.”
“…”
She only reached out and softly stroked my hair.
“As long as you grow up well, that alone makes me happy.”
Mother… no.
The world… if you simply live, you will be left behind.
But despite my true thoughts, before my mother, I only answered like the obedient son she deserved.
“Yes…”
“That’s my good boy.”
I could not let her worry for me any longer.
Straightening my posture as if nothing had happened, I gave her my brightest smile.
“Mother, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
Most children’s words to their mothers were laced with a bit of exaggeration… but mine were not.
Truly, there would be nothing for her to worry about from now on.
Because I would make it so.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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