The sparring session ended, and Sir Albert and I came to my room together to study.
The method of instruction was simple.
After all, the purpose of this training was not to teach Sir Albert speech and writing for their own sake, but solely to enable him to confess his feelings to Amin.
I had already experienced a case involving the Duke of Helpion.
So I started with confidence, but……………….
“The world is so unfair.”
“You have to add the particle ‘은’ after the word ‘world’ in that sentence.”
“The world is disgustingly unfair.”
“Of course, you can use it that way too. But how about we take it step by step with ‘은’ first?”
“Do you know how hard it was for me to get to the top rank? I’ve been training with a sword since I was young, no breaks. I owe you a debt of gratitude, Sir. Thank you. But you’re teasing me. You trickster.”
It was totally unexpected that Sir Albert was this sulky and easily offended.
“Sir Albert, what’s important now isn’t that I’ve reached an epiphany but that you confess your feelings to Lady Amin, right?”
“Amin, your growth has already amazed me. You only have eyes for her. Damn it.”
Ugh, seriously.
How is someone this petty supposed to appeal to Amin as a man?
Huh, relax, relax.
If I’m going to solve the series of problems happening in the Squaret Duchy, I have to teach this guy well and make him an ally.
Though I can’t say he’s not on my side already………….
“Sir Albert.”
“Yes?”
“You’re pretty annoyed with me right now, aren’t you?”
Sir Albert avoided eye contact without replying.
He must have been embarrassed to admit he was jealous and sulking.
“Lady Amin was there at that moment too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then how about building some empathy by sharing that feeling first?”
Sir Albert looked reluctant.
“Will that even work? There’s plenty of impressive things about me. Showing a petty side is just bad.”
“You know it’s petty, then.”
“Ahem, hmm.”
“But isn’t that just like you, Sir Albert? It’s not wrong to show a good side, but pretending to be a stoic while completely suppressing who you are isn’t the best choice either.”
“Hmm.”
Sir Albert’s expression was somewhere between understanding and confusion.
I handed him stationery and a pen.
“Let’s try writing once.”
Fortunately, Sir Albert started scribbling without further complaint.
The letter he began writing was surprisingly good.
How to put it?
He didn’t bother with any fancy tricks; he just wrote exactly what I taught him.
[Train hard, Amin. Your form draws much attention. Keep your balance well. You have talent. Always do your best. Don’t be lazy. I will always watch over you.]
Compared to the Duke of Helpion’s letter about swords and daily training, this felt much more heartfelt.
I went through the sentences with him one by one, teaching how to use particles and polish sentence endings, and Sir Albert eagerly accepted the lessons and revised his writing.
About thirty minutes later.
It was only one page, but the letter was neatly refined, and Sir Albert’s expression holding it showed deep emotion.
“How is it?”
“Amazing. Hearing and seeing the words, I get it. But it’s the first time I’ve been told why it’s written this way.”
“All grammar has reasons. Once you learn, it becomes easy.”
“To learn… yes. When you learn, you know everything. I just never learned. Thank you.”
I just smiled and firmly held both of Sir Albert’s hands once.
“What should we do with this now?”
“Deliver it.”
“Hmm…….”
“Just hand it over naturally. We meet every evening at the training ground, right? I’ll be a little late tomorrow, so please go ahead and sneak the letter to her first.”
“I’ll try.”
With the expression of a knight heading to the battlefield, Sir Albert walked out of the room.
By the way, after receiving the letter, Amin came to me quietly with a small concern.
“I think the captain is bothering me.”
“Bothering… what?”
“He keeps watching me train. Maybe he doesn’t like how I swing my sword. He says nice things, but I don’t think he’s happy with me. It’s definitely a warning to do better.”
Hahaha.
What can I do?
It seems Sir Albert’s unrequited love won’t be resolved easily.
Sir Albert, fighting.
Targeting Sir Albert to change the perception of the military faction was a pretty good choice.
As expected, Sir Albert’s crush was a secret known to everyone except the two involved.
Thanks to that, less than a week after the lessons began, word spread across the estate that Sir Albert had handed Amin a letter and that the letter’s phrasing was quite decent.
The fact that I was the one reviewing the sentence structure and leading the study also started spreading quietly throughout the territory.
Of course, not everything was positive.
Among the bureaucrats, I was seen as a merchant who had succumbed to the military faction, simplifying and repackaging difficult and profound knowledge for easy sale.
Sometimes when I met them in the corridors of the manor, they would snicker among themselves or give me contemptuous looks………….
At first, such jokes and glares were just silly and almost cute, but now they only irritated me.
Resolving the conflict between the military and the civil officials would ultimately solve the problems of the Squaret Duchy.
Sigh. Maybe I’m getting too invested in this place.
On top of that, there was one more thing that multiplied my irritation.
“Sage, are you here?”
“Stop calling me Sage.”
“But aren’t you the Sage?”
From novice knight apprentices to seasoned knights, everyone had started calling me Sage.
As the story of Sir Albert and Amin spread, so did news of Sir Albert’s awakening and the midnight training sessions.
Thanks to that, it was like this.
“If I lower my hand like this, then swing it, will I be able to see a wolf?”
“Wolf? Do you think you’re Captain Albert? Sage, could you take a look at this? This part here makes my legs uncomfortable. It seems to disrupt the flow of mana.”
“That’s because you’ve gotten fat, you idiot! Lose some weight if you don’t want uncomfortable feet! Sage, in this part of the swordsmanship, it feels like the flow breaks, like something’s stuck. Is that normal?”
The number of people asking me to teach swordsmanship exploded.
About twenty knights were currently at the training ground.
That’s roughly a third of all the knights in the Squaret Duchy.
If it were before I saw the soul form, I probably would have been overwhelmed by the numbers………
But now it was different.
I could start to vaguely understand what they were saying.
“If you want swordsmanship like Captain Albert, try moving your left arm more flamboyantly before swinging the sword.”
“Hah, it’s the body, not swordsmanship that’s important!”
“For mana circulation, it’s better to take two wider steps. Like this.”
“Oh! Is this true footwork? My feet feel refreshed! The mana flows better!”
“When swinging the sword………….”
“Ah, Sage as expected!”
No, I don’t think I even said anything yet.
Being able to guide your swordsmanship and martial arts isn’t the same as being a Sage.
Anyway, good is good.
Aside from feeling proud, I couldn’t help but feel like Amin’s following had grown to dozens. That must be my imagination.
As I was helping with swordsmanship, Sir Albert approached me with an apologetic look.
“I’m causing you trouble.”
“It’s fine. I feel proud if it’s helping.”
“There’s a bad rumor going around.”
“Haha, you heard?”
Sir Albert frowned uncharacteristically.
“There’s a rookie magician stirring things up. I complained to the magicians, but they didn’t react much.”
Was it Chechil?
That guy had given a terrible first impression and it seemed to be the same now.
“Aren’t magicians part of the combat branch? They should be closer to the military faction than the bureaucrats.”
“The Delphi Academy has a Magical Department. Since they’ve been connected since school, they consider themselves closer to the civil officials. They actually go to the library more often than physical training.”
True.
One of the reasons I was discriminated against at Delphi Academy was because I couldn’t handle mana and was just a bookworm.
“Besides, that rookie seems amazing.”
“Amazing, you say?”
Sir Albert nodded.
“He’s a genius who awakened the 2nd Circle after just one year of learning magic. The magicians surround him. The whole world coveted him, but the Duke specially scouted him.”
Huh?
I felt something was off just now.
What was it?
I hurriedly pressed Sir Albert.
“The whole world coveted him?”
“Yes. The Consultant General knows. Many talented people from the Empire and many countries come to study at Delphi Academy. So rumors spread quickly.”
Gradually, the information in my head started to fall into place.
“You said Sir Albert came here 13 years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know someone named Giselle Amepalos? She looks a bit frail and lives in the library…………….”
At my words, Sir Albert looked puzzled.
“I’ve never heard of her. Giselle, Giselle… I don’t think I know anyone by that name.”
His reaction was like a bucket of cold water poured over me.
“You mentioned a few days ago there was a rumor you collapsed?”
“Yes. I collapsed in the library.”
“Do you know how that rumor spread? Tell me everything, no exaggeration!”
Sir Albert hesitated but then spoke.
“The Consultant General, who was trying to flatter the knights, overworked himself and eventually collapsed. An angelic bureaucrat saw it and asked for help, so he was moved to the library.”
Damn!
I grabbed Sir Albert’s shoulders and shouted.
“Sir Albert, you must take all available personnel—yes, all the knights here—and go to the library immediately!”
“What?”
“I’ll explain later! You have to send all combat-ready personnel to the library! Issue an urgent emergency order to the Magician Corps, contact the First Order of Knights, and notify the lady as well! If you tell Lumpen Hound the purpose, he’ll understand!”
I said no more and sprinted off.
Why had I realized this so late?
Being a criminal of the Empire didn’t mean someone who committed a crime in the Empire and fled.
Giselle, who was famous as a genius senior.
She was a talent the whole world coveted, and the Duke of Squaret brought her here to protect her.
Yet, after questioning many people, no one spoke about her.
If no one knew of her existence…
The pieces of what the senior had told me began to fit together.
“It’s strange. It’s my first time meeting a guest here. Didn’t the magic activate?”
“Yeah. Normally, we’d have security set up to keep you out, but she let you in. Next time, we’ll try kicking them out.”
I naturally thought the senior had been visiting the library too.
But maybe not.
Perhaps a magical device was activated in the library.
It must have been a protective device for Giselle.
The third floor where I met her.
I now understood why the entrance was so complicated.
But maybe it broke down at some point.
Or maybe when I entered the library and the Akashic Record activated, it caused a problem.
I hoped all this was just my imagination, but………….
A flash of light was followed by a massive explosion shaking the manor.
It was like thunder and lightning striking right in front of me.
A grim, grayish light repeatedly covered the dark night sky, and with every flash, the sound of something collapsing echoed incessantly.
It was the library side.
Damn it, jeezzaaaang!
I cursed endlessly in my mind as I dashed at full speed.