“You’re proposing just because of my hair, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then why not propose to Enrico instead?”
“What? No way, my lady. I have my preferences too.”
“But Enri and I look pretty similar, don’t we?”
“That’s true, but… um, my lady? I think I finally get why Enrico always said you were kind of weird when you were little.”
This little brat.
I glared at him, but Hector just smiled brightly.
“Still, I’m being serious about proposing. If there’s no one else you’re thinking of, please consider me as a future husband.”
How ridiculous.
I had seen Hector around Enrico for years, so I knew. It wasn’t because he liked me, or because of my status or background.
He really just liked me as a scientific subject. Because I was a direct descendant of the Lefevre family.
It felt like he loved me the way someone would love a rare test sample.
His eyes even looked a little obsessed…
Hector opened his mouth to say something more—but all that came out was a scream.
“I told you to stop collecting her hair.”
“Ahh!”
Enrico had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Hector by the collar, and shook him. Even while being shaken, Hector held tightly onto the strands of my hair with both arms, like a true madman.
After kicking Hector out, Enrico let out a deep sigh.
“Stop cutting your hair for him.”
“I was going to cut it anyway—it was getting too long. And doesn’t it help with your research? You’re not even sleeping.”
“I suddenly ran out of time.”
“Time? What do you mean?”
I looked confused.
“What kind of time?”
Enrico gave me a strange look.
“Don’t you know where your personal knight is right now?”
“…?”
****
“Sir Venus, we’re almost there.”
“Okay.”
Deep in the forest. Once they passed this road, they’d arrive at the temporary base where the Supreme Commander was. During a short break, Venus wrote a letter to send to Blandea, like always.
Just after folding the letter and putting it in his chest pocket—
Ding ding ding!
Suddenly, alarm bells rang out, followed by a knight’s scream.
“Monsters! Monsters!”
Venus jumped to his feet immediately. Since it was an official mission, he had been given a sacred sword.
Even if you cut a monster, it regenerates. The problem is—it grows back in a deformed way.
But if you use a sacred sword, the chance of that happening drops by half.
Half. Not zero.
And here’s how that looked:
“Deformed regeneration! Gamma form!”
Hundreds of arms suddenly sprouted from where one arm had been cut. It was horrifying. Many knights froze in fear and died just from the trauma.
No matter how skilled you were, your back was always vulnerable.
Venus felt a chilling presence at his back—monster arms reaching toward him.
Without hesitation, he bit his finger and smeared his blood onto the Oparts.
The moment his blood touched the Oparts, visible sparks flew from its surface.
A transparent, glowing shield appeared instantly. The forest seemed fresher, the air cooler—true to its roots in purification magic.
The monster’s hand slammed into the shield, crushing and snapping its own bones. The shield shattered too, but the opening was enough.
Just before Venus could swing his sword—
“…!”
Dozens of glowing sacred sword shapes appeared above and shot straight at the monster, slicing it to pieces.
The smell of blood was so thick it made his head spin. Rain began to fall.
“So you really are from Lefevre.”
“…”
“Not bad.”
Venus froze for a different reason this time.
“Thank you.”
He added slowly,
“Sir Schloitz Procyon.”
The incredibly young Supreme Commander, watching the rain like he was used to it, dropped the cloth he had been using to clean his sword.
“That’s the Oparts Lefebvre sent?”
“Yes, sir.”
Until now, no sacred knight had worn armor. That’s because monsters could crush any known metal or material with their absurd strength.
To resist that strength, the armor would have to be so thick, it would be like walking around wearing a castle wall.
So it was better to dodge quickly and strike with a sword.
“Why are you coughing up blood?”
Venus wiped his lips.
Oparts was still incomplete. It only activated when you smeared it with blood, and even then, it placed a heavy burden on the user. Enrico had been working nonstop trying to fix that flaw.
“I-it’s still a prototype.”
“Even so, it’s impressive. Bring me a sample.”
“Yes, sir.”
Venus tucked a strand of his long hair behind his ear. His insides felt like mush, but he could endure it.
Still…
So his eyes really didn’t work when he was young.
Blandea had dragged Venus to artists every year to have portraits done of him. He didn’t love how he looked, but he knew how people reacted when they first saw him—always stunned.
In other words, he had a face no one forgot. Schloitz clearly noticed too—his eyes narrowed a little. But it felt more like he was curious about an object, not a person.
And then even that interest vanished.
As expected, this young commander was nothing like the boy who clung to Blandea and cried back then. He was cold and distant—somewhere between boy and man.
Could he somehow recognize Blandea through monstrous instincts?
Venus slightly raised an eyebrow.
No… probably not.
****
Venus returned to the mansion a little while later.
“I want to go meet Venus!”
“You’d like that, my lady?”
“Please be careful.”
Thankfully, I found out about his return quickly because Father had summoned Sir Balock too. That meant my afternoon training got canceled, and I could go to welcome the group returning at the front gates.
Venus was reporting to Father with Balock and some other high-ranking aides when suddenly…
Suddenly, something felt off.
I had always thought I was the one who kept the world at a distance.
But now I wondered—was it actually Sir Balock who was keeping the world away from me? That felt like a valid suspicion.
Still, I started walking toward Father. The busy servants unloading supplies cleared a path for me.
“The Commander has approved the Oparts.”
Gasp.
I couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Instantly, everyone around Father turned to look at me. I straightened up under Sir Balock’s gaze.
Father smiled warmly and called my name.
“Blan, you’re here.”
“Yes. Please, go on talking.”
Even though I said that, my ears were wide open. I caught words like military, supplies, and so on.
“We’ll need to register it officially. I’ll have to visit the king.”
Father said as he gently patted my head.
“Lord Lefevre, may I ask you to check something quickly?”
One of the aides rushed over. He looked flustered—clearly urgent.
I stepped back toward Venus and asked,
“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
“I wanted to, my lady. But I didn’t have the chance to see you.”
“Right… I was kind of busy.”
“Sir Balock is a monster, after all. You’re amazing just for keeping up with him.”
Even while talking, Venus’s eyes followed Father. He probably had more to report. There was no reason to keep him here.
“Go ahead, Venus.”
“Yes, my lady. Oh—and one more thing.”
“Hmm?”
Venus looked at me and said,
“You can relax. The Commander won’t recognize you at all.”
“…Huh?”
“His eyes really were completely blind back then. Even at your debutante ball years ago, and for a while after he returned, he was nervous.”
“You could tell?”
“I’ve served you for a long time, my lady.”
Venus gave me that usual fairy-like smile and walked off. I slowly blinked.
That evening.
Since everyone was busy, I had dinner alone for the first time in a while.
I don’t really know what Schloitz is thinking.
Of course, I don’t exactly deserve to know. But still…
I thought he’d come straight to see Father once he became Commander. If an outsider wants to meet a noble retainer hidden deep in a territory, they have to go through the family head first.
But Schloitz never came. Not even once. And I didn’t know why.
Did he just… forget about me?
It had been years since my debutante ball. And now Schloitz was someone incredibly powerful—respected by the entire kingdom. Even the princesses weren’t married yet. People said the royal family was considering him as a prince consort.
They might’ve already met him in secret. I wouldn’t know—anything military-related was beyond my reach.
…Or is he planning to move against the Lefevres?
Surely not. But I felt a bit scared.
Still, it’s clear Schloitz probably hates me. And honestly, who wouldn’t?
I hurt him in every way, crushed his pride, and left.
There’s no way I could act all friendly now.
I think that would be the worst.
I could almost hear him saying, “You treated me like trash before—now that I’m a hero, you’re crawling back?”
I might already be garbage in his mind, but I didn’t want to sink as low as radioactive waste.
