Chapter 11
A garden in full bloom with pink roses.
In front of me, the table was full of delicious-looking cakes and fragrant tea.
Meanwhile, nervous eyes were fixed on Eastern, while my free hands reached for Noah’s soft cheeks.
And just like that, we were enjoying a small tea time in the middle of the garden.
[Pleased to meet you.]
That earlier moment—Eastern had acted like it was his first time seeing me.
Why? How come?
Does he actually believe I’ve lost my memory of that day?
If so, then I suppose his behavior makes some sense.
“……”
I stared at Eastern in silence.
More precisely, I looked at the space between his brows—careful not to make eye contact.
Every time I became conscious of him, my heart threatened to leap out of my chest and my pulse sped up uncontrollably.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the things he had said.
It sounded like it was directly tied to this current situation.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to recall the memory of that day.
He had said, “You’ll forget everything anyway.”
Now that I think about it, I do feel fine—but could that be related to the fact that he’s a demon hybrid?
Keep feeling it, you’ll forget it anyway… he had said.
So that means, whenever I see Eastern, I feel the same emotions—but later forget everything?
But I remembered everything perfectly.
Even in the original story, didn’t Lucas also remember that Eastern was a demon hybrid?
He even used it to blackmail him.
Ugh, what does this all mean?
Is there some kind of anomaly inside me?
Or do I have something in common with Lucas?
But I’m nothing like Lucas, not in personality, not in appearance!
“……”
My thoughts were spiraling, and unconsciously, my hands began pinching Noah’s cheeks more intensely.
Yet Noah, ever unbothered, just calmly brought another bite of cake to his mouth with his fork.
Eastern, sitting across from us, picked up his teacup, as if matching the mood.
And with that, an oppressive awkwardness settled over the table.
Were they both planning to stay silent until I said something?
I was hoping to coax something out of Eastern through casual conversation—but at this rate, I couldn’t do anything.
They were just chatting fine earlier, so why the sudden change?
Noah’s not usually the quiet type either.
‘…Well, I’m the one who invited them to tea.’
In the end, it was my impatience that made me break the silence.
Let’s see… Eastern had acted like we’d never met before, right?
“I hope I didn’t disrupt your lesson. Is our Noah doing well in his training?”
It sounded like a typical parent-teacher meeting question, but Eastern responded with a faint smile.
Was that what they call a professional smile?
Eastern gently placed his teacup down and replied.
“He showed no awkwardness with the sword. His learning capacity is quite impressive.”
“Oh my.”
Our Noah’s that good?
As expected of a main character—even in this world, his cheat-like talent sticks with him.
Feeling proud, I grinned and patted Noah’s head. He leaned into my hand with a happy purr, like a kitten.
Then, suddenly, Noah beamed brightly and said,
“I’ll show you!”
Huh?
“If you want, noona, I’ll show you my swordsmanship!”
W-Wait, this isn’t what I had in mind…!
What began as a peaceful tea time in the garden had somehow moved to the training grounds.
I had laid the perfect trap to get a read on Eastern—but now I was reduced to being an audience member.
Still, since I was here, I might as well enjoy it.
I adjusted my sun parasol and looked for the best spot to view them.
When would I ever again get to see my favorite character practice swordsmanship?
Actually, this is amazing!
Eyes sparkling like I’d won the lottery, I quickly positioned myself for a clear view of Noah.
Annie, noticing this, guided me under the shade of a tree and handed me a chilled ice pouch.
Noah, leaving me behind, glanced briefly at Eastern and readjusted his grip on the wooden sword.
Then he struck.
Thunk.
The dull sound of wooden swords clashing echoed, along with the soft rustling of sand beneath their feet.
Noah swung his arms and stepped in at the same time—allowing him to strike again in the same time it took to swing once.
I clasped my hands to my cheeks and murmured in awe.
“Amazing!”
Our Noah is a genius!
I can’t believe I’m only witnessing this now.
The delay made the moment feel even more emotional.
Ahh… I can’t wait to see how far he’ll go.
If he keeps improving like this, he could aim for the position of Commander of the Imperial Knights, currently held by Marquess Eryz.
No—he might even surpass that.
Noah is the best! He’s the most dazzling boy in the world!
But then, cutting through my excitement came—
“Hm…”
Annie’s voice, full of curiosity.
She tilted her head and gave a faint groan of confusion.
That prompted me to look over, and she leaned closer and whispered.
“Um… My lady, is this truly young master’s first time learning swordsmanship?”
“Why?”
Was she also surprised by how good Noah was?
Well, I get it. I was shocked too!
“Our Noah is amazing, right?”
I answered brightly, but Annie hesitated before forcing a smile.
“Y-Yes, of course. But…”
She watched Noah again, tilting her head.
“Wouldn’t ‘skilled’ be more accurate than ‘good’?”
“…What?”
What’s she saying?
How could Noah, who hasn’t even been training a week, be skilled?
Wait, hold on—
“……!”
I turned back toward Noah as he swung again.
His movements were crisp, without waste.
His footwork never tangled.
There was a clear difference between someone touching a sword for the first time, and someone who’s done it many times.
Even amateurs could notice the difference.
After all, Annie and I just did.
Now that I think about it, Eastern also said—
[Surprisingly, the young master showed no awkwardness with the sword.]
He spoke as though Noah already had some familiarity.
Usually, when praising someone new, you say things like “He’s got talent,” or “He’s promising.”
But Eastern hadn’t said that.
Now, I looked at Noah with a puzzled expression, just like Annie.
This doesn’t make sense.
Noah shouldn’t have had any sword training before this.
Could this also fall under “because he’s the protagonist”?
It’s possible—but skill and talent are different things.
Maybe I should keep an eye on this.
Maybe that skill isn’t part of the original story.
But just as my thoughts grew deeper—
“Ow!”
Noah’s foot, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly misstepped. His legs tangled.
And just like that, he fell.
There was a sound that couldn’t be described with words.
“Noah!”
I was so startled, my mind blanked out, and I rushed to his side.
Sure enough, blood was trickling down his leg.
Oh no. He must’ve scraped his knee.
“I’ll fetch the physician.”
“Please do.”
Annie, already halfway up, ran off before I even had to ask.
I guess we were both wrong after all.
He’s still just a kid—of course he’s not “skilled.”
“Noah, are you alright?”
I asked with concern, and Noah looked up, teary-eyed.
“I-It was just a mistake, really! Just a mistake, noona…”
“There, there.”
Even as I gently stroked his head to comfort him, Noah clung to me and whimpered.
But then—
“……”
A white handkerchief pressed gently to Noah’s wound.
“We’ll end today’s lesson here.”
It was Eastern.
He didn’t stop pressing down on the wound as he spoke.
“He’s injured after physical exertion. He’ll need help moving.”
“I’ll carry him.”
“No. I’ll do it.”
Despite my protest, he lifted Noah into his arms without hesitation and said to me,
“Will you lead the way?”
“Ah…”
I hesitated, looking back and forth between Noah and Eastern, but eventually began walking ahead.
But I was stopped.
“Noona.”
It was Noah.
He reached out and tugged lightly at the hem of my dress.
“I’ll show him the way. You go back to the room first.”
“How could I go ahead?”
My little brother just got hurt—how could I calmly walk away?
Even if it was just a scraped knee…
I took a deep breath to show I wasn’t backing down. Noah sighed quietly in response.
Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up and he spoke.
“Tai! I left Tai in the garden. Could you go get him for me?”
Huh? That’s something the servants should do…
“Oh.”
There’s no one here.
I looked around and sighed at the empty training grounds.
Right. I’d told everyone to leave earlier because they were too distracting.
“…Alright.”
I wasn’t thrilled, but with Noah insisting, I eventually gave in.
What could possibly happen?
After Rosent left, Eastern looked at Noah and let out a deep sigh.
As if he had been holding his breath the whole time.
Noah, meanwhile, looked up at him dryly.
“Did you steal something? You seem nervous.”
He was clearly picking a fight.
Eastern furrowed his brow slightly at the change in Noah’s demeanor but answered calmly.
“What is it you want to say?”
They were alone now. Whatever Noah wanted to say, it clearly wasn’t for others to hear.
Since it had come to this, Eastern decided to be direct.
“Earlier, you were casting a spell on yourself.”
“……”
“And then your body’s flow was disrupted, which caused you to fall.”
Eastern’s voice became harder.
“Was I wrong?”
To which Noah…
“Weren’t you, young lord of Rosoterven, the one who started picking a fight first?”
…replied with a dazzling smile.
