She had been born with talent for the sword.
She realized it when she was ten.
As usual, she was doing minor chores when her half-brother approached and tossed her a wooden sword.
— Hey, let’s play duels. You’re half-noble too, right? Shouldn’t you at least know how to handle a sword?
It was ridiculous.
It was the same brother who called her a bastard every day and wouldn’t even acknowledge they shared blood.
He had never let her touch a sword, not even sit at the same table, and now he wanted to “play duels”?
It was blatant abuse, but Felicia had no right to refuse.
— I’ll attack first! Stop me if you can!
With that excited voice, a one-sided humiliation began.
He would fake lowering his sword, and as soon as her posture shifted slightly, the wooden blade would come flying.
Every time it struck her thigh or shoulder, the pain was so intense that the screams escaped on their own.
To avoid the pain, Felicia had no choice but to become desperately serious.
And then something strange happened.
‘I can see it.’
Inexplicably, the sword coming at her became absurdly clear.
More precisely, she could see the movement of his muscles and feet with complete clarity.
It didn’t take long before Felicia began to block every strike flying at her.
And even between the occasional openings, she began to counterattack.
— S-stop it! Quit! Agh!
Her brother, who had been learning swordsmanship for years, ended up being soundly defeated.
And when she became aware of it, she realized her father had been watching the scene.
Felicia’s heart began pounding at a talent even she hadn’t known she had.
For a moment, she even hoped her father would praise her.
But that hope was shattered immediately.
— Damn it… A girl whose very birth is a stain, and she dares to steal the talent that should have passed from my blood to my son. There’s nothing I like about you.
— S-sir! This is a gift from the heavens!
— And what am I supposed to do with that? What good is it if a useless girl has talent? I’m sick just looking at you—send her to help in the stables!
— Sir!
It felt like her world was crumbling.
Her father had enthusiastically celebrated the insignificant talent of her half-brother, who lay on the ground.
But no matter how great Felicia’s talent was, he didn’t spare her a single glance.
That day, when even her last hope disappeared, Felicia cried until her eyes were swollen.
Even so, no matter how unjust or painful it was, she never let go of the wooden sword.
Because the feeling of moving freely as she wished was too wonderful.
When she wielded the wooden sword, she felt like she was in another world.
Her brothers and the servants under her sneered at her.
— No matter how well you handle a sword, your fate is to die serving others.
It was mockery born of jealousy and inferiority, but it wasn’t entirely untrue.
‘After all, I’m just a lowly maid.’
Who would acknowledge Felicia—a girl, not even a noble—as a swordswoman?
A talent capable of splitting the sky, in a man’s hands but in a maid’s hands, it wasn’t worth even a rotten fruit.
That’s why she told herself it was nothing more than a servant’s hobby.
That she did it because she liked it, so there was no reason to feel wronged.
“He may have seen something else, but I only see a swordswoman blessed by the gods. A peerless genius bound by the chains of status and gender, with the potential to cut the sky and divide the sea, unable even to breathe freely.”
The dam in her heart, which had held everything back all this time, broke with those words.
Yes, in truth, it had all been a lie.
She didn’t want to live and die as a maid—she wanted to be a knight.
She wanted to wield a sword on the battlefield and carve the name “Felicia” for all to know.
She wanted to shout to the world that she was here.
She had only given up because she believed it was impossible.
“Now, there may be many who, like your father, won’t understand me. They might mock me behind my back, saying I’ve done something foolish. But one day, those jeers will turn into admiration. They’ll say it was Lucian Valdeck who discovered the next Swordmaster, someone who was nearly lost to history.”
The man standing before her was speaking of that dream she had abandoned.
He was saying her name could go down in history.
That she could even aspire to become the next Swordmaster.
It sounded like a dream.
To be honest, she still couldn’t completely believe it.
But regardless of her doubts, the sincerity in this man’s words was real.
The tears that began to well up from receiving this trust for the first time wouldn’t stop.
‘If I really can become a knight.’
She had never thought of choosing someone to be loyal to.
From the beginning, she couldn’t even be a knight, so there had been nothing to choose.
But if, by some remote chance, she really could become one…
‘I want to be loyal to this person.’
***
“You still have quite the silver tongue.”
The grand duke cut off Lucian’s words with a cold expression, as if saying nothing held value unless it could be proven with actions.
“Very well, let’s see. Let’s see what kind of result your decision brings.”
With a sharp turn, Sigmund, the grand duke, turned his back.
But Lucian saw it clearly in the instant he turned away.
The corner of his lips curved slightly.
‘Seriously, he’s never honest.’
He could’ve just said that his third son was doing well, but he went out of his way to knock him down first so that Lucian would raise himself up afterward.
In his own way, that too was a performance.
“I know your worth, even if you yourselves don’t see it. So be grateful you’ve found a good master and be loyal.”
It was a long road, but not a bad one.
Thanks to that, Lucian could show his sincerity to the others as well.
‘Thank you, Father.’
With genuine gratitude, Lucian gave a slight bow toward the grand duke’s back.
No matter how cold he pretended to be, Lucian could clearly feel the care hidden in his actions.
“Haha, so not only is the third young master here, but his grace has come as well.”
At that moment, Eisen’s voice rang out from within the training grounds.
They hadn’t even turned the corner yet, but it seemed he had sensed them just by their presence.
“Isn’t this about recommending someone as a disciple to the Swordmaster? Even if I weren’t the head of the Valdeck family, I wouldn’t be able to contain my curiosity as a knight.”
“A disciple, you say…? It’s true the third young master mentioned something like that.”
Eisen stroked his beard with a curious expression.
He still seemed unsure about Lucian’s words.
Lucian then pushed Felicia directly in front of Eisen.
“Sir Eisen, I’ve come to fulfill my promise. This is the person I told you about.”
“Hm.”
Eisen’s gaze ran over Felicia from head to toe.
Under the Swordmaster’s inspection, Felicia greeted stiffly, body tense.
“My name is Felicia. Before the Swordmaster…”
“No need.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t need your name. I’m not even interested. Come and take a wooden sword.”
Eisen forcefully drove a wooden sword into the ground of the training yard and tilted his head.
Felicia hesitated for a moment, then walked toward where it was embedded.
It had been stabbed in so hard, it was sunk two palms deep into the stone floor.
When Felicia pulled it out with strength, Eisen’s brow furrowed.
“Where did you learn to handle mana in such a mediocre way?”
“E-Eh?”
“The mana. You don’t even have the basics. Who is your teacher?”
At the tone filled with disappointment and reproach, Felicia didn’t know what to say.
Unable to endure his icy gaze, she answered awkwardly.
“N-no one.”
“What?”
“I don’t have a teacher. I just… watched others from afar and imitated them, sort of…”
“And you’re telling me you learned circulation on your own and even use mana without anyone teaching you? Does that sound reasonable?”
“What is circulation?”
When Felicia returned the question, this time it was the Swordmaster who was left speechless.
She could use mana, but didn’t know what circulation was?
“It’s the process of making mana flow through the body and then gathering it again.”
“I-I’m not really sure about that. I’ve never seen anyone do it.”
“Ha! This is getting more ridiculous. Then try imitating this.”
With a grotesque twist to his face, Eisen stood completely still in place.
The others didn’t understand his behavior and tilted their heads.
Imitate what, if he wasn’t doing anything?
But Felicia looked at him once and responded clumsily.
“Like this?”
“…!”
Eisen’s eyes flew wide open.
To everyone else, nothing seemed to have changed, but between the two of them, something had definitely occurred.
“And you can imitate this too?”
Shortly after, Eisen spoke in a trembling voice.
Again, no visible change was seen, but Felicia nodded.
“Is this right?”
“Hah… haha!”
The hollow laugh that escaped Eisen came with a different gaze.
If before he had looked at her like a pebble on the roadside, now he observed her as if evaluating the purity of gold.
“Raise the wooden sword! Now!”
“Eh? Kgh!”
Clang!
Surprised by the sudden shout, Felicia reflexively raised the wooden sword.
Eisen had already rushed her and struck.
Seeing that Felicia barely reacted in time, Eisen unleashed a flurry of consecutive slashes.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed loudly.
Lucian and the others watched in silence.
Although Eisen adjusted his speed to Felicia’s level, the complexity of the techniques more than made up for it.
Neck, thigh, lower leg, inner thigh, from ankle to hip.
These were strikes even veteran knights would lose track of in an instant.
And yet, Felicia caught and deflected every single one of them.
“Can you block this too!?”
Claaang!
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped Felicia’s lips from Eisen’s strike.
The mana-empowered blow seemed far beyond a simple wooden sword clash.
Gritting her teeth, Felicia immediately changed how she moved.
Clang! Screech!
“Oh!”
exclaimed Grand Duke Sigmund, watching from the side.
Felicia pushed her sword forward before the impact point to minimize the force, and at the moment of contact, let the strike slide off.
Easy to say, but in the middle of a slash coming straight at her face, executing that was an incredibly difficult technique.
Just as Felicia found a way to respond, Eisen changed his attack pattern again.
Despite increasingly complex movements, Felicia managed to keep up.
Three minutes passed.
“Haa… haa…”
Dry breath escaped Felicia’s lips.
Her body was already trembling, as if her muscles were at their limit.
Even so, when she tried once more to respond to the next strike, Eisen finally stopped his offense.
He remained silent until her breathing stabilized, then turned his gaze to the grand duke.
“Your grace, what did you think?”
“Why ask me? You’re the one who decides your disciple.”
“I’ve already reached a conclusion. I just wish to hear your view.”
“Hmm.”
The grand duke stroked his chin thoughtfully before replying.
“I’ve only used that technique twice in real combat.”
“Twice?”
“What that girl just did. Pushing the sword forward before the opponent’s point of impact and letting the strike slide. Sounds easy in theory, right?”
When one swings a sword, they aim for the point where they can apply the most force.
If you push your blade ahead of that point, naturally the strike loses power.
It’s a simple principle anyone who’s fought a bit can understand.
“But in real combat, it’s extremely difficult. If you fail to block, you’re basically offering your body to the enemy’s blade. Even if you block it, a small mistake can cost you your fingers. I still carry the scar from my second attempt.”
“A wooden sword doesn’t have an edge, unlike a real one.”
“In exchange, wouldn’t the bones in your fingers shatter? For someone without money or means to treat it, that’s a death sentence. You’d have to give up the sword forever.”
And yet, Felicia had attempted it without hesitation—and succeeded.
Every time the attacks changed, she quickly thought of a similar method and executed it.
Even knowing that, though it was a simple duel, a failed defense could leave a lasting injury.
“On the battlefield, a decision made in less than a second separates life from death. In that regard, at least, she’s outstanding. Maybe not as a knight, but as a swordswoman, her talent is exceptional.”
“I fully agree. That was the part that impressed me most.”
“Then please tell us, Sir Eisen. What has the Swordmaster seen?”
At the grand duke’s question, Eisen’s gaze returned to Felicia.
She wore a dazed expression, as if she hadn’t even realized she was being praised.
“I’ll ask you just one question.”
“I-I’m listening.”
“Can you see mana?”
Felicia hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“If you mean that bluish glow used when swinging a sword—yes, I can see it.”
“Heh…”
A laugh escaped Eisen’s lips.
It was like releasing decades’ worth of pent-up frustration.
After staring at the sky for a moment, Eisen suddenly knelt before Lucian.
“Young master, I beg your forgiveness for having doubted you, even for an instant.”
____
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