Chapter 85: |
“My former apprentices, Sirs Leticia and Eberhard, decided to take over your education in their spare time. Since you decided to start today, make sure to study hard. Honestly, Sirs Leticia and Eberhard did more than half of my assigned work. Not because I asked them to do it in particular, but because we have a close relationship. I have high hopes for Hessa as well.”
She obviously couldn’t handle her job, but she still proudly encouraged him to study hard so she could entrust him with everything. However, Hessa didn’t mind her carelessness.
[I have high hopes for Hessa as well.]
‘She said she has high hopes!’ He didn’t know how incredible the apprentice knights were, but it was he who was with Rosaline now. ‘I will be such a perfect apprentice that no one can ever compare!’
So, in the afternoon, Hessa met with Eberhard, one of Rosaline’s former apprentice knights. As soon as Eberhard saw him, he giggled and reached his hand over to Hessa’s head. Hessa stiffened, and his eyes blew wide open. The approaching hand looked as if it was going to hurt him, but…
Eberhard just gently ruffled his hair. Eberhard was so excited that he did not notice the boy’s reaction— Hessa had temporarily stiffened because of the contact. Eberhard was too busy stroking and petting the little boy’s head. Hessa’s expression darkened.
“Hey kid, I’m Lesser Knight Eberhard! Feel free to call me Big Brother!”
‘So this is Eberhard…’ Hessa’s eyes filled with venom. Eberhard, unaware of the fact, only hummed and laughed.
Hessa rolled his eyes.
***
“That damn kid!”
Eberhard appeared in a huff. Leticia continued her push-ups with a bored expression. ‘Perhaps Hessa Roots, the new apprentice knight under Rosaline, has something to do with Eberhard’s mood.’ In any case, she wasn’t curious.
[Ummm. Hessa is… very cute. Like a newborn cat.] That’s all Rosaline said about him.
But looking at Eberhard’s reaction, it’s hard to be sure if the two Hessas were related.
“Argh! That cocky bastard!”
Eberhard couldn’t calm down and kept huffing and puffing. Leticia sighed and got up slowly from her position. Even amid his anger, Eberhard still brought a dry towel and handed it to her.
“We both came from Roots and are both men, so I was hoping we could get along well, but he was so… condescending!”
Leticia chuckled and wiped her sweat with the towel. Eberhard was next to her and continued talking about Hessa’s atrocities.
He said that Hessa suddenly requested a duel under the pretense of asking for pointers. He’d asked for it so politely, and Eberhard, who had been thinking about nurturing the growing sprout… was defeated.
The kid barely won the battle, but he grabbed Eberhard’s chin as the lesser knight was moaning on the ground. What does it mean when an apprentice looks down at his superior like that?
“Even the look one gives to a bug they found in the food they just ate is softer than that! What a rat-like thing! Scold him, Leticia!”
Eberhard was this kind of guy, and for him to play with a child at the same childish level… Leticia, who had to control not only Hessa but Eberhard as well, was in trouble. She buried her face in the towel and… let out a sigh that emerged from deep inside her.
Eberhard might be fidgety and a bit stupid, but he wasn’t weak. Even if he’d caught Eberhard off guard, the new apprentice knight must also have a decent amount of skill.
“Then, when Sir Rosaline arrived, he changed his expression and wagged his tail like a dog on fire! He must have a double personality! Avenge me, Leticia!”
Leticia kicked Eberhard’s ass. ‘I’m still busy, but this kid isn’t going to be of any help. Who told you to fight? I told you to teach him how to work.’
After completing their duties, Leticia and Eberhard went to see the apprentice knight in question. Eberhard had his back straight, his nose up, and his shoulders soaring high into the sky, like a little kid who brings their big brother after losing a fight.
“Take care of those ugly shoulders before I take care of them for you.”
Eberhard’s shoulders dropped at Leticia’s cold threat.
“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon.”
It was a small boy. A boy with red hair mixed with strands of pink looked up at Leticia curiously. He didn’t seem like someone who would be hostile at a first meeting. Leticia had a gut feeling that idiot Eberhard must have lit some fuses.
“Glory of Idelavhim to you, Apprentice Hessa. I’m Leticia Frosthornfal, a lesser knight under Sir Rosaline.”
“I’m Hessa.”
He was polite, but his eyes were disrespectful. Leticia could feel Eberhard shivering with rage from behind her. They must not send that man-child to war. He’s too simple. Leticia was sure that any little provocation would be enough to trigger Eberhard. She was clear about this.
“Apprentice knights work together in accordance with the routine of their superiors. Apprentices are the limbs of superiors, so you need to know when Sir Rosaline wakes up, when you should do your assignments, and when you should do everything else you need to do. As for daily routines…”
Hessa raised his hand quietly. Leticia permitted him to speak with a jut of her chin.
“May I ask for a match?”
Eberhard ran around behind her and whined. ‘That! That! That guy did that to me too! Leticiaaa!’ She could hear all his unspoken grievances.
Leticia glanced at the boy again, ignoring Eberhard. ‘His arms are slender. Although he’s training, he’s still in his growing phase. His body is underdeveloped. He looks far too short to be able to bring Eberhard down.’
‘So it’s not that he’s strong.’
If so, doesn’t he have only one advantage?
‘He’s a mage.’
She thought it was strange how Sir Rosaline accepted him, but if the boy was a mage, then it made sense. Leticia looked down at him and opened her mouth.
“Did you not hear me? I said you’re learning what an apprentice knight is supposed to do today.”
When she didn’t fall for his provocation, Hessa bit his lip. Meanwhile, the monkey at her back also… felt a bit embarrassed.
“…Are you avoiding the fight?”
Eberhard pretended to collapse while holding his head, but Leticia just looked down at the boy. It wasn’t even funny because it was too obvious.
“Do you know the motto of Frosthornfal, Apprentice?”
Hessa raised his eyebrows and looked up at her.
“It’s a small estate in a remote rural area, so you probably don’t know. Our motto is, ‘Frosthornfal women never lose.’ What do you think this is talking about?”
“Doesn’t that mean they’re strong?”
“There is no one in the world who never loses. If it’s Sir Rosaline, then I can’t say… No, wait, if Sir Rosaline plays chess against me… she will also lose sometimes.”
Hessa’s eyebrows furrowed. Until now, he had hidden it quite well, but one could still easily see his childish feelings.
“It means I don’t care about winning or losing one small fight. I’ll just laugh at one win or cry over one loss. Now, Apprentice, what if I win, and what if I lose? Even if I lose, it will become a foundation for me to become stronger in the future. My defeat is not important at all.”
‘You’re only saying that because it sounds good…’ He tried to say something, but Leticia was quicker.
“The Frosthornfal have another saying: ‘Don’t back down when the time to fight has come.’ That’s the way to victory. So don’t waste your strength unnecessarily. My job is to assist Sir Rosaline, and today is my time to prepare you for it. But now, Apprentice is wasting the time you need to learn. It’s like going to war without a general. No matter how greatly you fought the battle, you’ll suffer a defeat. You must know what kind of fight you’re entering and when to fight it.”
Hessa’s face flushed red. The boy clenched his fist, avoiding Leticia’s gaze. Leticia’s smile was like a spring breeze.
‘How much hardship must this native of Roots have endured in the Imperial city that he can’t even lay down his thorns? But I must correct this cheeky attitude of forgetting one’s duty and fighting with magic instead of honing one’s strength. At least he shows signs of reflecting. He doesn’t seem like a bad boy.’
Leticia put her hands on her knees and lowered her body, bringing her to eye level with Hessa. He looked at her with a boyish blush. After she grinned at him, she tapped the boy on the shoulder.
“You’ve got guts. I like it. Don’t back down from the fight you must win, Sir Hessa.”
Hessa shook his head as he fiddled with the calluses of his hands.
“I’m sorry.”
From behind, Eberhard watched the scene with his mouth wide open.
After that, Hessa was still sharp towards others but was docile only to Rosaline, Leticia, and Raymond. His brain is not bad, and he is hard-working, so he learns his tasks quickly. Leticia was satisfied with the result.
While learning on the job, as usual, Hessa asked a question out of the blue.
“… So, do the men of Frosthornfal ever lose?”
Hessa wondered if that motto only applied to the women of the Frosthornfal. Leticia smiled slightly.
“Frosthornfal takes in son-in-laws from generation to generation. But those men do not influence the estate. They’re idiots who’d get worked up over a rock-paper-scissors game. They normally have a good time just wandering around. Does this satisfy your curiosity?”
He didn’t know what exactly he found so funny, but Hessa sat down on the table and laughed until he ran out of breath. The sound of his young laughter was as clear as glass.
Later, Leticia and Rosaline chatted and talked about Hessa as ‘cute’ or ‘sweet and kind,’ and Eberhard was the only one who couldn’t agree with them.
T/N: So Frosthornfal is your typical Northern, viking-like realm, but matriarchal. You won’t lose if you never care about losing in the first place. Brain expaaaand. Leticia is so cool though :^) and I still ship her with Eberhard. He’d fit in with the losers of Frosthornfal men so well. XD