Chapter 39: The Swordsman’s Dilemma and Unspoken Bonds

“I’ve heard the story. It seems you still have no intention of letting go of the sword.”

“Yes.”

“Come to the training grounds starting tomorrow morning. If you keep swinging the sword during the break, you’ll probably change your mind.”

“Yes.”

Is this really a conversation between a father and daughter, reunited after several months?

The conversation isn’t just dry; it’s more like a desert.

But, whether they were used to it or not, neither the father nor the daughter had anything more to say. Instead, their attention turned toward me.

“So, your name is Elysia, right?”

It was a natural, condescending tone. Since he was both a friend’s father and an expert swordsman at the peak of his craft, there was no discomfort in it.

“I am Elysia Frentz, Your Grace Atilea.”

Although I had been invited, I made sure to greet him with the utmost courtesy to avoid any missteps.

Perhaps it was because of the proper manners, or perhaps it was because of his personality, but it didn’t seem like he was paying any attention to the formalities.

Instead, he walked over to the desk and came toward me and Yuri. He then extended his hand, asking for a handshake.

I was taken aback by the sudden request for a handshake but extended my hand to meet his.

Trying my best to gauge the situation, I gave an appropriate response and shook his hand.

“I can hardly believe that the kid who wouldn’t even look at a sword is the same person.”

“…I had to survive somehow.”

I wasn’t truly Elysia, but it wasn’t a lie to say I took up the sword because I had to survive.

In the Assassin Guild, my value lay solely in my swordsmanship.

If I hadn’t had that, I would have been discarded like the other expendable assassins and sent to die on some pointless mission.

“Alright. I’ll see you at the training grounds tomorrow, Elysia.”

Without hearing my opinion, he immediately made the decision. Of course, I had no reason to refuse his offer. After all, teachings from a Sword Master were priceless.

“We’ll meet later at dinner. You may leave now.”

With Craig’s dismissal, Yuri and I exited the room. Glancing at Yuri’s face, it seemed like she was used to this situation.

“Would you like to explore the mansion while you wait?”

“I’d appreciate that. I’ll be here for a few days, so it would be good to get familiar with the place so I don’t make any mistakes…”

“Sarah? You two can go around. I’ll call if needed.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Yuri dismissed the servant who had been following us and personally guided me.

The mansion was vast, with a multitude of spaces. The reception room, shared library, dining room, and even a party area—all these spaces reflected the grandeur of a noble family’s estate.

It was smaller than the Academy building, but considering it was used by only one family, it felt almost excessive in size. Managing a mansion of this scale must require a large staff.

The scale was not just inside the mansion, but the external grounds were also substantial.

The training grounds, which I would visit starting tomorrow, were expansive, and the garden was large enough for a pleasant walk. The flower beds were well-maintained and tidy.

Walking with Yuri in the garden, I was struck by the fact that she was a high-ranking noble.

At the Academy, Yuri, Anne, and Celian had all kept a low profile, making it difficult to sense their status. But now, seeing the estate firsthand, I realized they belonged to a different world from mine.

Anne and Celian’s estates were probably similar to this one.

“Would you like to see my room now?”

“By the way, where’s your room, Yuri? I didn’t ask earlier because I was distracted by other things.”

“Come on, follow me!”

With an excited smile, Yuri grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

We crossed the garden, entered the mansion, and climbed the stairs. We stopped in front of the room I had been assigned to.

When I gave Yuri a questioning look—since she said she would show me her room but led me to my own—she smiled and gently pulled me along a bit further.

“Tada! This is my room!”

She had led me to the room right next to mine.

Of course, even though it was next door, the size of the room made it feel like there was a considerable distance between us. Still, it was indeed next door.

“Don’t you usually keep some distance between guest rooms and personal rooms?”

Typically, hosts would keep some distance between their personal rooms and guest rooms, to maintain privacy for themselves and make guests feel comfortable.

This was the first time I had seen guest rooms and family rooms right next to each other.

“Well, that’s true, but whenever El came to visit, she always stayed in the room you’re in now. I moved her to the room next door so we could play together longer, and she’s been using it for over 10 years now.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know about this backstory. Since I was pretending to have no memories, I felt the need to apologize.

“It’s fine. You never know. Maybe after staying here for a few days, some old memories will come back.”

“Hmm. I’ll try my best.”

Sorry, but I don’t have any memories to recall.

“Alright, come on in.”

Yuri led me by the hand into the room. It was similar to Yuri’s room from the Academy. After all, it was the same person’s room, so it was bound to be similar.

The overall structure was very much like my own room.

Since it was next door, there was no reason for it to be very different. However, unlike my room, this one was decorated entirely in shades of pink.

The furniture, wallpaper, curtains, and even the little accessories all had a pink hue, giving the room the feeling of something a princess might use.

“Tada! This is my bedroom.”

Yuri opened one of the doors, and the first thing that caught my eye was a princess-style bed. So, this was Yuri’s taste. Next to the bed, there was a small desk with a little photo on it.

“What’s this…?”

I gently picked up the photo, and it showed three little children standing next to each other.

There was a boy sitting on the ground, pouting, and two girls standing beside him, smiling brightly.

The girl with pink hair was definitely Yuri as a child. Then, the silver-haired girl standing next to her…

“Elysia…?”

When I received my false identity along with the assassination contract, there was only a brief explanation, and I couldn’t even get a photo.

But now, seeing this picture, I understood why Yuri mistook me for the real Elysia.

Of course, with a ten-year gap, distinguishing facial features might be difficult, but the silver hair and red eyes were remarkably similar.

“This is a photo we took when we were playing together. Do you remember?”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay! You don’t need to apologize, El. This might be a painful memory, so don’t push yourself.”

I didn’t have any memories, of course, but I could still feel the longing Yuri had for her friend in the photo.

The faded colors of the picture spoke volumes. Yuri must have missed her friend for a long time.

“Alright, alright! We’ll look at more photos later, but let’s move on now.”

Seeing me standing silently, Yuri decided to change the mood and energetically dragged me to the next room.

“Tada!”
When she opened the door, we were greeted by a walk-in closet full of clothes. The clothes were neatly categorized, and even though I didn’t know much about them, they looked incredibly luxurious.

There were glamorous dresses for social events, simple everyday clothes, cute pajamas, and even surprisingly sexy underwear for Yuri…

“Gah!”

I turned my head in surprise and started coughing. It seemed like I choked on my saliva, and I couldn’t stop coughing.

“El!? Are you okay?”

Yuri quickly came over to check on me, concerned as I coughed uncontrollably. There was no real problem, I was just startled by the unexpected situation.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just swallowed wrong and got a little choked up.”

Luckily, it seemed that Yuri didn’t know what I was looking at and why I had reacted that way.

In fact, she couldn’t have known. Just as a man wouldn’t be surprised by seeing men’s underwear, it was funny for a woman to be shocked by seeing women’s underwear.

Instead, I made sure to keep my gaze as far from Yuri’s underwear as possible, carefully avoiding it.

“Would you like me to get you some water?”

“Cough… No, it’s fine. Could we move on to the next room instead?”

I figured that leaving the walk-in closet quickly would help me stop coughing, so I brought it up.

“Wait a moment.”

Yuri said that and left the walk-in closet, returning shortly with a cup of water.

While Yuri was away, I didn’t engage in any sneaky peeking, truly.

“Phew. Thanks.”

After taking a sip of water, I felt better. Now that I had calmed down, I wanted to avoid any more coughing fits, so I opened the door to the walk-in closet to leave, but Yuri stopped me.

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it true that you and I don’t have much of a height difference?”

For sure, among my friends, Yuri was the one closest in height to me. Celian was a bit shorter, and Anne was extremely short.

If I had to think about it, Presia was taller than Anne but still short for her age.

“Right?”

“You’ve always just worn the school uniform, haven’t you?”

I’ve worn gym clothes, pajamas, and recently bought some casual clothes with Celian, but… I’ve never worn them in front of Yuri.

“Maybe…? Huh? Yuri? Why are you suddenly asking? Yuri…? Stop!”

Why is she looking at me like that? And what’s with that hand?!