Episode 11
Rahitz Milli.
He was a vassal knight of House Schnelden and the swordsmanship instructor of the family.
His duty was to teach the sword to Theo Schnelden, the eldest son of the house.
But as he spent his days cleaning up after a young master who caused nothing but accidents, he began to wonder if he was a swordsmanship instructor at all, or rather a butler or a nanny.
'I thought he would come to his senses as he grew older.'
When Theo was young, Rahitz had thought the boy might feel burdened by the great expectations of the house and stray off course for a while.
Yet as time passed, nothing improved.
Out of nowhere, Theo had demanded to be sent abroad to study at another house, and when that did not work, he had become a complete delinquent.
He went down to the city every day to drink and carouse with women, and before long, he had even started brawling.
At least when he had been unable to leave the main estate, the family could handle matters quietly in-house.
Now, running amok in the city, he had clashed with unsavory characters.
Already busy dealing with Theo's affairs, Rahitz was faced with yet another headache.
'Why would the lord entrust the second young master to me as well?'
In truth, it was not the first time he had taught both young masters together.
Ever since the second young master had reached the age to hold a sword, Rahitz had taught Theo and Luke side by side.
There had been no special intention behind it.
At the time, Theo was the recipient of such great expectations from the family that Luke had merely been made to train alongside him, hoping he might benefit from the positive influence.
But it was around then that Theo had begun to go astray.
"I will definitely become the Greatest Swordsman on the Continent and revive our family!"
The bright young master who had made such a vow had ultimately been unable to overcome the burden placed upon him.
And the target of that frustration had been none other than Luke.
The timid second young master became Theo's punching bag, and it was then that Luke put down the sword.
And yet, those two were being put together again.
'What could the lord be thinking?'
No matter how much he pondered, Rahitz could not find an answer.
All he could do was hope that the past would not repeat itself.
'Just in case, I should give the young master a warning beforehand.'
He doubted Theo would heed it, but it was better than saying nothing at all.
He hurriedly made his way to Cheongsanggwan.
"Welcome, Sir Rahitz."
A maid of Cheongsanggwan greeted him.
"Is the young master inside?"
"No."
Rahitz pressed a hand to his forehead in anxiety.
Theo not being here meant he was undoubtedly causing trouble elsewhere.
"He could not sit still and has gone out again."
"A short while ago, the young master said he was going to see the second young master."
"What?"
The worst-case scenario had come to pass.
What else could it mean but that an incident was sure to occur?
"Where did the young master say he was going?"
"He said Baengeungwan."
"Hah."
Of all places, it was a secluded spot.
With no one there to stop or scold him, it was the perfect place for Theo to do as he pleased.
"I shall go myself."
Without even fully closing the door, Rahitz ran toward Baengeungwan.
Even as he ran, he prayed that no major accident would come of this.
"Kuaaaah."
At some point, a man's painful groans began to ring out.
The sound grew louder as he drew closer to Baengeungwan.
It was clear that Theo was tormenting the second young master.
"Young master, just how long do you intend to—!"
Rahitz pushed through the bushes and called out to Theo.
But he could not finish his sentence, frozen in place.
Before him unfolded a sight he could never have imagined.
"What in the world…?"
Theo was straining with all his might to stand, a large iron bar resting behind his neck.
"I told you it hurts more if you stop. Squat!"
"Kuaaaah…"
"If you don't perform it within three seconds, the set is cancelled."
"Kuaaaaaah…!"
What Rahitz witnessed that day was a scene straight from hell.
* * *
A knight was not a profession solely honorable and noble, as the world believed.
They were, at the end of the day, a military force bound to a house or nation.
They sometimes had to stain themselves with dirty blood for their liege.
Even deeds commonly deemed unbecoming of a knight or dishonorable, such as assassination or torture.
Rahitz, too, was a man who had often been stained with so-called 'dirty blood.'
When he had become a vassal knight here, he had been at a stage in life where he would stop at nothing to raise his station.
Even to him, the sight before him now was akin to torture.
"Ten more to go. Squat!"
"Kuaaaack!"
It was not so different from the screams of victims he had heard countless times while carrying out torture.
The problem was that the one screaming was Theo.
Because Theo was facing away, his face was not clearly visible, but the voice was unmistakably his.
'But does this even make sense?'
Rahitz could not accept what he was seeing.
He knew better than anyone what kind of man Theo was.
Demonic talent. A delinquent whom even his parents had abandoned. A problem child who would have been expelled long ago if not for that talent.
These were the very words used to describe Theo.
That such a man was undergoing disciplinary training akin to torture was unbelievable.
But no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the scene before him remained real.
'Who the hell is that?'
Rahitz looked at the man standing beside the young master, shouting "Squat!" over and over.
His attire was nothing special.
A modest but neat tailcoat.
The black hair characteristic of House Schnelden.
He looked exactly like a blood member of the Schnelden family.
'Did he say blood member?'
Looking again, it was the second young master, Luke.
His eyes and expression seemed slightly different, but it was unmistakably Luke Schnelden.
But what younger brother in the world could treat his older brother so roughly, and Theo Schnelden at that?
Instinctively, Rahitz stepped forward but then paused.
'Should I watch a little longer?'
That Luke was giving such cruel orders with such a vicious voice.
That Theo looked like death itself.
It was all an incredibly fascinating sight.
"Huh? When you squat, if you lift with your back, you'll ruin your back. For the sake of your proper exercise habits, I'll subtract this one from the count."
"Ku… Kuaaack."
"Hold on. Hold on. Just try putting that bar down."
"Kuaaack!"
Rahitz watched Theo sitting and standing with all his might.
He himself had undergone various trainings to become a knight.
Yet even to him, what Theo was doing was an unfamiliar training method.
But more surprising than that was the fact that Theo was following such high-intensity training.
No matter how good a training method was, it could not be applied to just anyone.
If it could, the masters of House Schnelden would have succeeded in awakening Theo's potential long ago.
Countless instructors, Rahitz included, had failed from the very first step of bringing Theo to the training grounds.
But Luke was different.
Not only was he making Theo train, but he was pushing him to his limits.
He looked exactly like a skilled instructor.
'So the rumors that the second young master had changed were true?'
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he could not believe it.
Just how much, and in what way, must a person change to bring Theo to such a state?
However, Rahitz did not think Theo's current state would last long.
Anyone who knew Theo even a little would likely think the same.
There had been times when Theo trained with grim determination like this.
But what had been the result?
As could be seen from his current self, nothing had changed in the end.
Rather, the instructors had given up on him in disgust.
It would be no different this time.
Probably, he would throw in the towel within a day at the shortest, a week at the longest.
Simply seeing Theo in such a state after so long was satisfying enough.
But he did not believe this would become a catalyst for a dramatic change.
'But how did the second young master manage to rein in the first young master, even for a moment?'
While Rahitz was lost in such thoughts, Theo's training ended.
Thud!
With a look of utter relief, Theo put down the lump of iron.
He staggered as though his legs had given out, unable to walk properly.
Rahitz quickly approached and supported him.
"Young master, are you alright?"
"Rahitz!"
Joy welled up in Theo's eyes at the sight of him.
Rahitz could say with certainty that he had never seen Theo welcome him in such a manner.
Scram. Shut up. Get lost.
Having heard only such words every time, this sudden reaction felt strange.
It must have meant the training was truly grueling.
"It is Sir Rahitz. You are the one who will teach me swordsmanship from now on, correct?"
Luke approached from behind.
"I—I am Rahitz Milli, vassal knight of House Schnelden."
Rahitz quickly saluted and inquired about the situation.
"What in the world is going on? How did the first young master end up in such a state?"
"It is nothing. Just brothers exercising together."
"The first young master, exercising? How could that be?"
"Is it so surprising? I merely followed because my brother said he wanted to exercise."
That Theo would want to exercise of his own accord.
It was preposterous.
Luke must know that as well.
And yet, he uttered such nonsense with complete composure.
The intention was clear.
'Do not interfere with what I am doing.'
That was what Luke was saying to him now.
From every angle, this was not the Luke he had known.
The young master who had been so frustratingly docile and weak was nowhere to be seen.
What stood before him now was the dignified young head of a prestigious family.
Intrigued by that change, Rahitz boldly decided to press the young master further.
"It is good that both of you are exercising. But if you overexert yourselves like this, you will not be able to properly undergo swordsmanship training when the time comes."
"Well, I do not know how it was until now, but this time will be different."
Luke's gaze shifted briefly toward Theo.
Rahitz also saw Theo flinch in surprise.
He grew curious as to how the hopeless delinquent of a young master had been turned into such an obedient lamb.
The method that everyone in House Schnelden had agonized over but failed to find.
Luke possessed it.
'What method did he use?'
He did not think for a moment that Luke had subdued Theo by force.
Even if Theo's growth had stalled, Luke was someone who had put down the sword since childhood.
Such a Luke could not have threatened Theo with strength.
'I shall observe a while longer and find out.'
Still, seeing the two of them now put him somewhat at ease.
Putting them together did not seem to be as grave a problem as he had feared.
"Since you speak so firmly, young master, I understand. But if problems arise during swordsmanship training, may I intervene then?"
"Of course."
Luke smiled faintly and looked at Theo again.
"Then shall we finish our exercise?"
"Finish…? There's still more?"
"If you do not like it, there is another method. For example, sparring…"
"No. Let us just exercise. I think I like exercising."
Theo cried out in alarm and followed Luke.
'No matter how I look at it, it is an unfamiliar sight.'
Rahitz watched them with an intrigued gaze.