Alert!: this chapter has been translated by Mangademon / demonicscans.org, this is a premium translation, not mtl
Early the next morning.
Knock knock-
While reading a book in his room, he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Clatter-
The door opened, and in came Celia, dressed in the modest maid uniform worn by the maids of the Plov Family.
"I am Celia, assigned as Young Master Leo's maid for the week. Please take care of me."
Leo looked up from his book, seeing Celia greet him with dead fish-like eyes.
"Quite formal, huh?"
"One must take responsibility for their words. It is one of the family mottos."
Despite her lifeless eyes, her posture was impeccable.
She had the ideal appearance of a maid.
Her natural style made the dark blue fabric with white frills of the maid uniform suit her very well.
Her black hair gleamed as it reflected the sunlight.
As Leo gazed at her absentmindedly, Celia spoke.
"I understand if you are admiring my beauty, but if you’re looking at me with lecherous eyes, I’ll knock you out."
"If I offended you, I apologize."
Leo clicked his tongue.
"I had a friend who called himself an artist. He excessively praised beauty, and I guess I got influenced by him without realizing it."
‘Beauty is always supreme. It’s eternal and immortal. When peace comes to the world, I plan to dedicate my life to spreading beauty!’
That friend was Dveno, now hailed as the [God’s Blacksmith], a great hero among the dwarves.
He seemed much happier crafting works of art than forging weapons.
Even while on the journey to defeat Erebus, he never stopped creating.
"What a great friend, able to sincerely admire beauty."
As someone born into the Zerdinger Family, one needed the qualities to lead others.
Charisma was one of those qualities.
Seeing Celia puff up with pride at the compliment, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
‘He was so sincere it was almost deranged. He even asked Lisinas and Luna to model nude for inspiration.’
Memories of the past naturally surfaced.
‘Lisinas, Luna. Your personalities may be filthy, but your forms are unmatched. Please, be nude models for the sake of art.’
Of course, neither Lisinas nor Luna agreed to such a request.
‘Even a pervert like that is revered as a great hero. What does that make me?’
Leo let out a hollow laugh as he looked out the window.
Meanwhile, Celia carefully observed Leo.
She had clearly lost yesterday.
‘If I hadn’t let my guard down, I would’ve won... but that’s a foolish thought.’
Her loss the previous night was the result of her own inexperience.
If word got out to the main family that she served as a maid for a week, she would surely be mocked.
‘But it’s something I must endure.’
Avoiding it would only lead to greater shame.
‘Besides, I’m curious about something.’
She wondered how Leo could imbue such power into a sword without mastering Aura.
"You read books in the morning? I thought you’d be training in swordsmanship."
Celia had been hoping to watch his training methods.
‘Could that book be a special training manual?’
"Mornings should be spent leisurely."
With that, he closed the book.
Seeing the book’s title, Celia looked puzzled.
‘It’s a fairy tale about great heroes.’
She glanced at Leo’s bookshelf.
‘All the books are related to the great heroes.’
Not just fairy tales.
There were history books, research materials, and more.
"You seem very interested in the great heroes. Well, it’s fitting."
Celia herself was quite interested in the great heroes.
"May I take a look at your bookshelf?"
"Sure."
Standing before the bookshelf, Celia admired it.
"Impressive. Most scholars researching the great heroes couldn’t hold a candle to this."
Research on the great heroes remains one of the most active fields of study even now.
"You have a lot of books about Kyle."
"Reference materials."
"Well, there are quite a few opinions that Kyle’s deeds are real, even if his existence isn’t confirmed."
"Do you think so too?"
"Of course."
Many of the achievements attributed to the great heroes, but whose ownership is unclear, are believed to be Kyle’s.
‘Even if I disappeared from history, I wasn’t completely forgotten.’
He felt a sense of pride.
"Perhaps some fraudsters in later generations tried to steal the vague accomplishments of the great heroes."
Leo’s eyes twitched.
"Are you saying Kyle was a fraud?"
"It’s quite likely."
Celia shrugged.
This was the general view of academia.
"I see. So that’s what you think."
"Pardon?"
"Shall we have breakfast and then train?"
Celia’s eyes sparkled.
"If you allow it, may I train with you?"
Celia was curious about the secret of Leo’s strength.
"My training might be too hard for you."
"Hmph, I’ve endured Zerdinger training just fine."
Seeing her confident expression, Leo gave a twisted smile.
"Oh, really?"
Later, she would think back and regret.
She should have run away at that moment.
***
Whoosh-!
Thwack-!
"Ugh?"
"Your reaction is too slow."
Leo’s wooden sword struck Celia’s wooden sword.
Celia hurriedly tried to regain her broken stance.
But Leo’s movements were faster.
Whoosh-
Thud-
"Ack-!"
"This is why you shouldn’t leave your back exposed."
Struck on the shoulder from behind, Celia collapsed to the ground in pain.
After breakfast, Leo’s training continued relentlessly.
As the pain subsided, Celia protested angrily.
"Young Master Leo! Does this even count as training?"
To Celia, Leo’s training seemed less like discipline and more like abuse.
He constantly pushed her beyond her limits, forcing her to keep moving.
Of course, the use of Aura was not allowed during the training.
This kind of training method was unheard of.
Seeing Celia protesting, Leo muttered.
"Kids these days are so weak."
"What did you say!"
"I told you, my training is tough. Well, if it's too hard, how about giving up now?"
"Don’t be ridiculous! I can handle this kind of training just fine!"
Feeling humiliated, Celia snapped back.
"Oh, really? Then shall we start again?"
"Fine!"
‘Wait, what? This isn’t right.’
Acting tough for no reason, Celia found herself restarting the training, only to get hit with the wooden sword and fall to the ground again shortly after.
The difference in their skills without using Aura was immense.
‘Why! Why can’t I beat him!’
She couldn’t win with strength, nor could she with swordsmanship.
Yesterday and today.
Her pride was thoroughly crushed.
‘Compared to 5,000 years ago, Aura training methods have definitely advanced a lot.’
Looking down at Celia, who was panting on the ground, Leo marveled.
The techniques for handling Aura had clearly developed significantly compared to 5,000 years ago.
Thanks to this, the average skill level of knights was much higher now.
But the standard for absolute strength hadn’t changed much.
‘If anything, 5,000 years ago seems stronger.’
In this era, with the advancement of Aura training, physical training had been neglected.
Aura was a power that maximized the body's strength.
In the end, strengthening the body also enhanced Aura.
‘The advancement of Aura techniques has created these issues too.’
"Still, you’re impressive. I didn’t expect you to keep up this much."
"Don’t underestimate me."
"Shall we call it a day for the afternoon training, then? Let’s resume in the evening."
Having reached her limit, Celia clenched her teeth.
‘Even if I lose in strength, I won’t lose in swordsmanship! I’ll win no matter what!’
***
"Don’t underestimate me, you damn silver-haired guy."
After the evening training ended.
Celia dragged her trembling arms and legs back to the mansion.
Leo had already returned to his room.
‘Ugh... Is that guy a monster?’
Recalling Leo, who swung his sword tirelessly without showing any exhaustion, Celia shuddered.
With this kind of constant movement, it seemed natural that his body was so well-trained.
‘Still... at least I didn’t lose in swordsmanship during the evening training!’
Using every skill she had, she managed not to be overwhelmed during the evening training.
‘If I keep training like this, will I be able to become like him?’
But she couldn’t bring herself to imagine it.
She had thrown up five times just today.
‘Come to think of it, this is incredibly embarrassing!’
Her face flushed red as she fumed, then sighed.
‘I just want to wash up and sleep.’
But before that, she had to prepare Leo’s bed.
After all, her current role was that of Leo’s maid.
‘Let’s just spread the bedding and get this over with.’
Standing in front of Leo’s room, Celia took a deep breath.
She calmed her trembling limbs and feigned composure.
It was out of defiance against showing any weakness.
Knock knock-
"Come in."
Clatter-
"You look surprisingly fine."
"Hmph- This is nothing to me."
Wearing a confident expression, Celia responded.
"Didn’t you throw up five times?"
"I’ll tidy up your bed."
Ignoring Leo’s remark, Celia started organizing the bed.
"Then, Young Master, I’ll see you tomorrow morning."
"Wait, come here. I have a gift for you."
‘A gift?’
At Leo’s sudden words, Celia approached him.
"Thanks for your hard work today."
With a smile, Leo handed her a gift box.
‘He’s actually grateful.’
Celia felt the knot in her chest loosen a bit.
‘Well, he should appreciate someone like me, the daughter of the Zerdinger Family head, serving him.’
Feeling triumphant, Celia opened the box.
Inside was a simple silver bracelet in the form of a chain.
She felt an ominous energy emanating from the magic within the bracelet.
"It’s a bracelet enchanted with a weight spell. Wear it during training starting tomorrow."
Leo smiled.
Snap- Celia’s face stiffened.
"I’m fine without it."
"A maid refusing her master’s gift isn’t very polite, is it?"
"Hey! You’re just trying to torment me, aren’t you? Admit it! If I wear this and move like today, that’s not training—it’s torture!"
Finally, Celia exploded with a strong reaction of rejection.
"So weak."
Celia’s face burned with frustration.
"Who are you calling weak!"
"I used to train while wearing it too. But if you really can’t, I guess there’s no helping it."
"Who said I can’t! I’ll wear this thing as much as you want!"
Provoked again, Celia declared as much and stormed out of Leo’s room.
Then, standing outside his door, she clutched her head and cursed her own foolishness.
‘So simple-minded.’
Leo smirked.
‘Who did she call a fraud?’
Leo had been holding onto Celia’s earlier remark about Kyle being a fraud.
Not quite fitting the image of a hero who saved the world, he harbored a petty grudge.
But, of course, Leo felt no shame about his feelings.
‘If it were the others, they’d have made her life even worse than I did.’
His friends had far worse personalities than his own.
‘I’ll make it a week of pain.’
Thinking about the torment Celia would endure over the next week, Leo grinned menacingly.
End Of Chapter
