Chapter 22
“Do You Remember That Day?”
‘What is he saying right now?’
Royce is a fairly rational person, so his words couldn’t just be some kind of madness.
I thought about it carefully.
Yes, maybe what he means by “liking” could be friendship or respect.
Serdin: “Are you talking about liking me as a friend?”
Royce: “That’s part of it, but…”
Royce’s face turned red as he spoke.
Royce: “I’m talking about love.”
He trailed off a little at the end.
Serdin: “You mean me, right?”
Royce: “Yeah.”
Royce responded, looking at me as if the question was obvious.
Serdin: “You mean you like me?”
Royce: “Yes.”
Serdin: “No, that’s not right.”
Royce: “Why not, Serdin?”
He gently grabbed my arm.
The confident smile that had been on his face turned into one that seemed a bit unsure.
Royce: “You like me, don’t you?”
Serdin: “Oh, what are you talking about?”
Royce’s joke was funny, so I laughed out loud.
Serdin: “…”
But somehow, it felt like I was the only one laughing.
Isn’t it supposed to be a social agreement to laugh together after a joke?
For a moment, the quiet sound of the stream filled the air with silence.
Just then, I noticed some people coming from the other side, walking along the stream.
People: “Wow, this is so nice!”
Other Person: “Right? I love it!”
I looked at the people and then turned back to Royce.
Royce’s expression was slowly turning pale, as if he was about to collapse.
Serdin: “Senior?”
Royce: “…Let’s go for now.”
He stood up, and I took his hand and stood up as well.
The next day, we had the scheduled visit to the Elche Knight Order.
Lizzie Brown, the knight who trained me during the strength training camp, was giving the tour with a bright smile.
While listening to her, my gaze kept drifting to the person behind her.
It was Royce Velkirente, wearing a stern, cold expression that looked quite intimidating.
Yesterday, his face had been so pale, like it was about to collapse with just a light push. I had wondered if he was feeling sick.
‘I’m glad it doesn’t seem like that now…’
But right now, he looked like he could knock someone down with just a tap.
Standing with perfect posture, he was radiating a terrifying aura.
Royce’s usual expression when standing still is not one of a friendly, smiling person.
Normally, even if you’re not particularly friendly, you would at least put on a forced smile when interacting with others.
‘He’s definitely the main character.’
Main characters can act like that and still go down a smooth path, after all.
Lizzie: “So, Serdin Vivi, what do you think of visiting the Elche Knight Order?”
But since I wasn’t the main character, I needed to be somewhat socially aware.
Serdin: “It’s really great!”
Lizzie: “Right? Elche is truly great!”
Even though I wasn’t going to join Elche, it wouldn’t hurt to leave a good impression in front of the royal knights.
As I said “great,” yesterday’s incident came back to me.
‘You like me, don’t you?’
The way Royce had said it, there had been a strong conviction in his eyes.
‘Did he really think I like him?’
I couldn’t understand how he could have come to such a conclusion.
Lizzie: “Now, since we’re visiting Elche, we can’t just watch each other’s skills, right?”
Lizzie addressed the cadets as she spoke.
Lizzie: “Let’s have a sparring match. The winner will get extra points when joining Elche.”
Her words were met with cheers from everyone.
I wouldn’t be joining Elche, so the extra points wouldn’t matter, but I cheered along with everyone.
Lizzie: “Anyone who wants to spar, come here.”
Elche’s sparring partner was still the person radiating a black aura—Royce.
Lizzie: “Be reasonable with them, Royce.”
Lizzie smiled as she tapped him on the shoulder.
But Royce seemed like he wasn’t about to engage in any social niceties.
All the cadets who joined the sparring were knocked out within five seconds.
When Royce slowly lowered his sword, he coldly spoke with a terrifying gaze.
Royce: “What are you waiting for?”
Lizzie: “R-Royce. You’re full of energy today, huh? Haha.”
Lizzie awkwardly laughed and pulled him away.
‘Is he being targeted now?’
No matter how much Royce ignores everyone around him, he seemed to be ignoring too much this time.
In the original story, he was portrayed as a good leader, but I guess that would come later.
Anyway, the sparring with dozens of people ended in less than a minute.
My fellow cadets, who were standing next to me, couldn’t contain their admiration.
Fellow Cadets: “Royce, the knight, is truly amazing… the best knight… he turned the training ground upside down.”
Other Cadet: “Look at his confident gaze and proud expression!”
They were speaking as if they were genuine fans.
‘Confidence…’
I glanced at Royce, thinking about the words.
Then I finally understood why he might have gotten the wrong idea.
Of course! It was because Royce was so perfect!
‘When you’re this confident, you can easily make such a mistake.’
Royce Velkirente was the most perfect person in the world.
Naturally, he would be accustomed to admiration from others.
Thinking back, whether it was training or a ball, there were always people looking at Royce with admiration.
I had seen it over the course of almost a year.
So it wasn’t abnormal for him to have such a misconception.
‘But still, to think that I would feel that way…’
Now that I thought about it, sometimes Royce treated me even better than a junior knight he was training.
Could it be that he thought I liked him, just like how he might show mercy to a fish in his own pond?
I continued thinking, watching Royce, who still exuded a scary aura.
After the tour, there was a follow-up gathering.
The knights of Elche were all heavy drinkers, almost as if alcohol was ingrained in their genes.
Elche Knight Order was also the main setting of the original novel “A Kiss to Your Sword.”
‘Though it’s still a few years before the story begins.’
Still, I recognized some characters from the novel.
‘Lizzie Brown, whom I met during the strength training camp… Ah, Deneb has now been here for a year.’
Curious about this, I actively engaged in conversations and clinked glasses with others.
Fellow Knight: “You look like a promising tree! What’s your name?”
Serdin: “Serdin Vivi.”
Before I knew it, I had been nicknamed “The Promising Tree.”
As the night wore on, many had already gone home, and some were sleeping in their chairs.
At a distance, I noticed someone sitting alone in the corner.
Serdin: “Lizzie, about that fortune cookie from back then…”
The knights of Elche excitedly began talking about the fortune cookie.
I quietly slipped out from the group.
Lizzie lightly poked Terian in the side.
She pointed at Roitz, who was sitting across the room, glaring at someone with a deathly look.
Lizzie: “What’s up with Roitz?”
Terian: “Hmm, I think…”
Terian shook his head.
Terian: “It seems like he got dumped.”
Lizzie: “Dumped? By whom? He had a lover?”
Terian: “Yeah.”
Lizzie: “How do you know, Terian?”
Terian: “He came to me for advice once.”
Lizzie: “When?”
Terian: “About half a year ago.”
From the fact that there hadn’t been much talk in the last six months, it seemed like the crisis had passed, but it didn’t seem like things had worked out well since then.
The two of them, whispering in conversation, had only mentioned the keyword “fortune cookie,” which caught the attention of Knight Anna, who then started talking about it.
Anna: “Lizzie, what about that fortune cookie from back then…”
Lizzie gave a brief reply to Anna and turned back to Terian.
Lizzie, in a quiet voice, asked:
Lizzie: “So, what did he say during that advice session?”
Terian shook his head, looking at Roitz with pity as he answered:
Terian: “I told him not to rush things… but it seems like the timing just didn’t match.”
“Senior.”
I walked towards Roitz, who was sitting inside, and called his name.
He still didn’t look like he was in a good mood.
Looking at the bottles piled up in front of him, it seemed like he had drunk quite a lot.
Roitz, who had been sitting silently with his arms crossed, lifted his head.
“Serdin.”
Roitz called my name and then stayed silent for a while.
He reached out and pulled me toward him.
I sat next to him, but Roitz still didn’t let go of his arm.
I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking as he looked at me.
There were times like this usually, but today it was especially hard to read him.
“What are you thinking?”
Roitz quietly studied me before speaking.
“Your hair tie… I was just thinking how well it suits you.”
A hair tie? What was I wearing today?
I reached up to check, and it was the red hair tie that Roitz had given me almost six months ago.
Roitz stretched out his hand and gently played with my loose hair.
The soft, rose-colored curls wrapped around his fingers.
Roitz stared at my hair, and I watched him as well.
After a while, Roitz finally looked up.
“Serdin, let me ask you something.”
“You can ask me two things.”
Roitz, his deep eyes full of some unknown emotion, asked.
“Do you remember that day?”
That day? Which day was he referring to?
Since it wasn’t just one or two days I’d spent with Roitz, I couldn’t quite pin it down.
“When?”
“You can’t recall?”
“When is it?”
“That day… the Bennet family’s masquerade party.”
The Bennet family’s masquerade party…
That was the party during the spring semester.
And it was the first—and last—time my memory went blank.
I had never drunk that much of so many different kinds of alcohol at once before, and I really struggled that night.
“Did we meet that day?”
“…Ha, yes.”
The Bennet family’s masquerade party happened before the Survival Training for Knights had even started.
I thought the first time I met Roitz was the day of that duel a week before the training began, but apparently, we had crossed paths during the masquerade party as well.
“What did I say that day?”
Roitz stared at me silently for a moment before finally smiling a lonely smile and speaking.
poor Royce 🥲