Chapter 72
I took a moment to think and answered slowly.
“It’s true that I was sick. Maybe not as bad as the rumors said, but enough that many people in the Rohia mansion believed I was really unwell.”
Oscar visibly looked relieved at my answer.
I wondered, ‘Why does he look relieved that I was actually sick?’ But his next words made things more complicated.
“I would’ve been really upset if Joseph had lied and said you were sick when you weren’t. I’m glad that’s not the case.”
As he said that, Oscar watched me closely, as if he wanted to make sure I was telling the truth.
‘Wow, I didn’t expect Oscar and Joseph to be this close.’
Thinking that made me pause.
From what I remembered, in the original story, Oscar didn’t appear much after his duel with Boris. That was odd, considering he was the heir of the Tradie family and close to Joseph. You’d think he would’ve played a bigger role.
Not to mention, he was a rising swordmaster—a future star everyone in the Western Empire had their eyes on.
But somewhere along the way, he just disappeared from the story so naturally that I had even forgotten about him.
Now, it all felt strangely unnatural.
Shrugging my shoulders to shake the thought, I smiled brightly to answer his question.
“Joseph really did think I was sick. So don’t worry about that.”
Oscar nodded and said, “I also heard that His Majesty suddenly showed up at the Rohia mansion.”
Then he pointed to my wrist.
There was still a faint bruise left by Yudis. It seemed the nobles had already spread rumors about it far and wide.
“…Honestly, I think it’s a good thing you became His Majesty’s goddaughter. If you had stayed in that house any longer…”
Oscar trailed off, and his tone made me glance at his side profile.
He was staring straight ahead, but I could feel a strange, heavy energy coming off him. That same intense aura from earlier was returning to his eyes.
“You really think that badly of the Rohia family?”
“…Not until I found out what you went through. But I already knew one thing for sure.”
Oscar frowned.
“There’s a devil living in that house.”
“A devil?”
Honestly, you could call everyone in that mansion a devil.
But since I knew the original story, only one name came to mind right away—Joseph.
Still, since Oscar clearly thought of Joseph as a friend, he probably didn’t mean him.
Then there was only one other possibility.
“You mean Boris?”
Oscar didn’t answer. He just bit his lip.
For a moment, a flash of cold killing intent passed through his eyes like a blade.
“I’m glad you also feel something off about that guy.”
Something off?
“Be careful. Try not to ever be alone with him. He’s dangerous.”
I didn’t know what to say in response, but Oscar’s words echoed in my ears.
Something off…?
I knew Boris was someone to watch out for. But I had never thought of him as “creepy.”
He was just obviously evil and a bit of a muscle-head—simple and loud.
I fell into deep thought, and because Oscar suddenly went quiet too, we ended up walking in silence.
“…”
“…”
It really was… an awkward kind of silence.
As soon as we stepped into the training grounds, the smell of sweat hit my nose, followed by loud grunts and the sight of shirtless knights swinging their swords around.
My senses were overwhelmed by the chaos, and I looked around quickly, hoping to spot the emperor soon.
Luckily, Oscar, who was taller than me, spotted him first.
“There he is! Whoa, he’s sparring with Lord Lad right now!”
“Is Lord Lad a big deal?”
“He’s one of only seven swordmasters in the Western Empire. He’s also His Majesty’s sword teacher—and mine too!”
Oscar’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
I could tell he really wanted to go watch the duel. I nodded, giving him permission to go.
The duel area was surrounded by a crowd of shirtless knights, making it hard for someone short like me to see anything—even standing on tiptoe.
Even Oscar, though taller than me, wasn’t tall enough to see past all the adult knights.
“Oscar, I’m fine. You can go in and watch.”
“I can’t do that. I’m escorting you to make up for earlier, remember?”
But while saying that, he couldn’t stop peeking over the shoulders of the knights.
To help him out, I shrugged and pretended to be bored.
“I don’t really understand sword fighting. And His Majesty seems busy, so maybe I’ll just ask for an audience later. I’ll head back for now. You can stay and enjoy.”
“But…”
“Really, it’s okay.”
Even though I meant it sincerely, Oscar looked conflicted, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“…Then how about this?”
He turned to me and tapped his shoulder.
“I’ll give you a piggyback ride. From up there, you can tell me what’s happening inside the circle. I can’t see anything either.”
Right then, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.
The knights were stomping and shouting wildly—it looked kind of fun.
Seeing me hesitate, Oscar knelt down in front of me.
“I can’t break through this crowd either. Without your help, I won’t know what’s going on in there.”
“Well… if that’s the case…”
Pretending to give in, I turned around and walked back.
A moment later—
“Whoa, you’re so light! I guess I understand why His Majesty wants to fatten you up now.”
Thanks to Oscar’s shoulders, I was finally high enough to breathe in the open air.
From this height, I could see over the knights and just barely glimpse the duel area.
“I see them!”
One man with streaks of grey hair was facing away from me. And directly opposite him, looking right at me… was my godfather, the emperor.
“How’s it going?” Oscar asked.
I clenched my fists and replied.
“It looks like His Majesty is getting hurt…”
“Well, Lord Lad is his teacher, so that’s normal. What about Lord Lad?”
“I can’t see him well, but… his clothes are too clean!”
The emperor had cuts on his clothes and a few bloodstains. But Lord Lad looked way too clean.
Wait, no. Now that I looked again, he was sweaty and his clothes were a bit messy too.
Still…
Even I, who knew nothing about sword fighting, could tell the emperor was losing slightly.
“Oh, then maybe this isn’t a duel but just training—”
“Go, go, Your Majesty!!!”
“Wait, Izana?!”
No. Why is the emperor losing?! What’s with those scratches!?
If he gets hurt out here, how can I just watch!?
“Win, win, Your Majestyyyyyyy!”
Before I knew it, I was pumping my fist in the air and yelling at the top of my lungs.
“You can do it, Your Majesty~ We’re right behind you~ Daddy—oops, I mean, Your Majesty! You got this~!”
All the other knights were also shouting, so I figured I could blend in.
“First strike wins, Your Majestyyy! Go, go, Your Majestyyy! You’re the besttttt!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and cheered loudly.
But then… I realized something was wrong. My voice felt way too loud.
Cough cough!
The coughing sound wasn’t me.
I opened my eyes—just in time to see Lord Lad sending a terrifying red slash toward the emperor.
The emperor looked up—and made direct eye contact with me.
He raised an eyebrow like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing… then quickly turned his body and dodged the deadly strike like it was nothing.
The problem was… that powerful strike hit someone else behind the emperor.
Thud.
“…Cough. Urgh.”
I watched a knight get knocked out, foaming at the mouth. I gasped and covered my mouth with both hands.
But no one else seemed surprised.
Instead of helping the fallen man, the other knights calmly grabbed his arms and legs and dragged him away like they were used to it.
“…Oscar, let me down.”
I muttered as I saw the emperor walking toward me fast.
But before Oscar could move, the crowd of knights parted like the Red Sea, and the emperor stood right in front of us.
Which meant… Oscar and I ended up greeting His Majesty while I was still awkwardly sitting on his shoulders.
Awkward.
Very, very awkward.
