Chapter 1422: Side Story 31
Chapter 1422 - Side Story 31
From time immemorial, the Eivelis Empire was hailed as the Sword Empire. All of the emperors who ruled over the empire were praised as the Sword Emperor and had always struck fear in the hearts of all the people on the continent.
Inside the Eivelis Empire’s training room, a girl with flaming red hair could be seen training. The girl had been training all night to the point where her palms had already grown chapped. At that moment, Ellie’s father, Algerson de Roegadyn, entered.
A woman had never been born to the Roegadyn House before. To the public, it seemed like the long line of Sword Emperors was finally being cut off. There have even been rumors circulating all over the continent about how the Eivelis Empire would finally lose its pride and glory.
Algerson said, “You cannot complete my Vergason Swordsmanship. This swordsmanship is not something that a woman’s body can endure and handle.”
The Vergason Swordsmanship was the swordsmanship that had been passed down in the Roegadyn House from one generation to another. Only those who carried the blood of the emperor could train and use this swordsmanship. Every single one of the people who have mastered this swordsmanship was able to make a name for themselves.
In the end, Ellie was forced to stop training after realizing that her palms were already dripping with blood.
Her father stared at her as she breathed raggedly and spoke coldly, “Ellie, there is a limit to what you can do with a woman’s body. I love you, but…”
‘You’re not a candidate to become the Sword Emperor.’ Algerson bit back the words that threatened to spill from his mouth. At the same time, a flash of regret dyed the eyes of her father, who had spat cold and unfeeling words toward her.
‘She possesses an innate talent. Unfortunately, she’s a woman.’ This bloody path was arduous for a woman to walk.
Ellie remained silent. It was not just her father who said such words to her. Everyone had told her that she could not become a master of the sword, let alone the Sword Emperor. Despite working harder and having greater talent than others, everyone denied her. They even criticized her for what she was doing.
‘I will never collapse!’
Ellie gripped the hilt of her sword tighter. At that moment, a man appeared behind her father.
“Sword Saint Rojan. You must have heard of his name, right?”
Of course, Ellie had heard the story of Sword Saint Rojan. The lively and cheerful young man seemed to be only around nineteen years old. He was born poor and lived in the slums. However, Rojan persevered. He started as a soldier and quickly rose in ranks until he became a count.
From his humble roots, he quickly rose to fame and became one of the nobles. His rise was so quick that he caught the eye of the Roegadyn House.
“From this day on, he will be your swordsmanship instructor,” Algerson said, turning away from his daughter after leaving those words.
“Hello. I’m Rojan, and I will be teaching you swordsmanship from now on.”
That was the day they first met.
***
Rojan stayed by Ellie’s side every single day. Even when Ellie trained much longer than the rest, he did not leave and continued to stay by her side.
“Do it concisely and efficiently. Put weight into it.”
Ellie’s proficiency in her swordsmanship had grown by leaps and bounds. Nevertheless, she still carried jealousy toward Rojan.
‘He’s someone who possesses great talent.’
Ellie truly envied Rojan. The man was so gifted that she could not even dare to imagine herself surpassing him.
“That’s not how you swing it,” Rojan said.
Ellie raised an eyebrow. “It seems like you’re speaking quite rudely in front of me, instructor?”
Regardless of what anyone said, Ellie was the woman who was bound to become the next emperor.
“Are we going to do it like this? What? If I speak rudely in front of you, will you have my head and hang it on the walls of the empire?”
“...”
As mentioned before, Rojan was a lively and cheerful young man. He smiled cheekily as he pretended to slash his neck with his hands. Of course, Ellie would not do that. Even if he spoke without any honorifics, there was no way that the empire’s Sword Saint’s head would be cut off and hung on the walls.
“Instructor, why are you always sticking by my side?”
“I’m bored.”
Rojan’s work hours always ended at six o'clock. Nonetheless, he still stayed by Ellie’s side even after his working hours. As for the reason? Of course, it was not because he was bored. Rojan smiled awkwardly. He wanted to say, ‘It’s because you look lonely.’ But he swallowed those words down.
Anyone who saw Ellie could see how lonely she was. The people in the imperial palace had looked down on her and had only ever given her stinging glares. Due to her cold personality, she ended up having no friends. And even if she wanted to make friends, they would ignore her, because Ellie was a woman.
Of course, Ellie did not just sit back and allow herself to be ignored by the people around her. The person who had ignored her before? She had already left him behind, sulking in a corner and nursing his own bruised ego.
One day, Ellie threw her sword on the ground and snapped, “At this rate, I won’t be able to inherit the swordsmanship…”
The Vergason Swordsmanship was not only a swordsmanship that those with the Roegadyn House’s pure bloodline could wield, but also something that only those who were firmly standing in the realm of geniuses could grasp.
Ellie ticked both checkboxes. The problem was that the swordsmanship required too much strength and power. Ellie lacked the strength and power to learn and execute the moves of the swordsmanship. It was just like her father, Algerson, had said. She was already reaching the limits of her own body.
Ellie grabbed her head in frustration.
“If you lack the strength and the power, then shouldn’t you just go and find another way? Why don’t you try to find a way where you can execute far stronger moves even with just a small amount of force?”
“I have already thought about that before.”
Rojan placed his thick and calloused hands on the shoulders of the frustrated Ellie. He asked, “Did your ancestors firmly believe that only men would be born to the Roegadyn House for all eternity?”
“Perhaps they were lucky. Only boys had been born before me.”
“I did not say this to imply that you were unlucky because you were born a girl. In my opinion, you can show great power with your flexibility. Instead of obsessing over this one, make your own swordsmanship. I know that you can do it.” Rojan grinned. “I believe in you, Ellie.”
In this palace where everyone turned a blind eye to her hard work, this was the first time that someone had told Ellie that they believed her. And it made her will and determination burn even brighter.
She did not necessarily need to be tough and strong. She could make full use of her flexibility and softness. If she could not stop it, then she could just let it go, no? If she could not cut it once, then just cut it twice or even three times.
Just like that, Ellie began to dance with her sword. One day, two… three days passed by. In a blink, the four seasons came and went. The training ground was now covered with snow.
With every swing of Ellie’s sword, snowflakes would be sucked into her sword’s orbit. Whenever she would slash her sword, the snowflakes would disappear and be replaced by a powerful explosion.
Rojan’s eyes grew wide, his pupils shaking from shock. ‘This has gone beyond having just the blood of the Sword Emperor in her veins…’
The swordsmanship that Ellie was displaying right now was far superior to the Vergason Swordsmanship, the swordsmanship that all the previous generation Sword Emperors had mastered.
‘It’s also faster.’
The fact that Ellie had already learned Vergason Swordsmanship before she was nineteen was proof that she was a true genius.
“I… I succeeded…!” Ellie was overjoyed.
She and Rojan did it! Ellie, with her eyes sparkling with joy, stared at Rojan.
“You did it!” Rojan raised an arm and rejoiced alongside her. He celebrated her success as if it were his own.
Ellie rushed toward Rojan and leapt into his arms. She said, “I… did it! I made something better than others!”
Ellie, who was so happy, paused when she realized that she had just leapt into Rojan’s arms. She stammered, “Ahem. Sir Rojan, I’ll pretend that you did not do this. This is probably because you’re young and full of vitality.”
“You’re the one who hugged me…?”
“Please don’t do this again next time.”
“You’re acting ridiculous?”
Ellie’s face turned a bright shade of red.
***
Up until this point, Ellie’s feelings for Rojan were strictly a student’s appreciation and respect for her instructor. But when she leapt into his arms and felt the warmth of his embrace, she realized that her heart was pounding wildly in her chest.
That night, Ellie was walking around the imperial palace. When she passed by the conference room, she heard voices inside.
“Your Majesty, you and I both know that it’s tough for a woman to become the Sword Emperor.”
It was the voice of Duke Vardin. Duke Vardin had always looked at Ellie with disgust and contempt whenever they crossed paths.
“Please let go of any expectations. Wouldn’t it be better just to marry her to Ardo Empire’s Crown Prince Consteinus?”
“The Ardo Empire is the largest and strongest nation in the entire continent.”
She also heard the voices of the other dukes chiming in.
Marriage? What did it mean for someone in Ellie’s position? To put it nicely, it was to support their empire and obtain the help of the other nation. But to put it in other words… she was being sold.
At that moment, a very familiar voice rang out and said, “Why do you think that she won’t be able to do it?”
It was the voice of her instructor, Rojan.
“From what I have seen, Ellie will become the greatest Sword Emperor that the world will ever see.”
“Sir Rojan, you should know that your words have an impact on the future of the empire, no? Can you take responsibility for your own words?” Duke Vardin snorted.
“Yes. I will take responsibility for my own words. I will put my name as the Sword Saint and my name as an instructor on the line.”
A bright blush appeared on Ellie’s face. In this palace filled with people who were against her, this man was the only one who stood firmly by her side. He was the only one who could bet everything on her. At that moment, Ellie realized that she had fallen in love with him.
The next day.
Ellie performed a sword dance in front of her father and the dukes.
He made the basic movements of this swordsmanship with her. He taught her how to confront someone with far more overwhelming power and strength than her. The two of them had worked together to create the best swordsmanship. They made a swordsmanship that had reached a higher level than the swordsmanship that could only be inherited and mastered by men.
For the first time, her father, a gruff man of few words, said, “I’m proud of you, Ellie.”
As she walked back, Ellie’s gaze landed on the dukes who had ignored her and denied her achievements and talents. She had seen how the dukes’ eyes shook when they saw her sword dance.
‘How old is she…’
‘She has great talent.’
Ellie smirked at the shaken dukes. Then, she turned to her father and said, “I will participate in the Great War of Swords.”
The Great War of Swords was an under-seventeen event where the continent’s most outstanding young swordsmen could compete. This was a place where all of the empires of the Eivelis Empire had made a name for themselves. All of the emperors of the past only participated in this event at the age of sixteen.
Ellie finally stepped out. She went to meet Rojan and informed him of her decision.
Rojan, who was standing on the walls of the empire, nodded as he listened to her story.
“You’ll win. I believe in you.”
His eyes reflected his trust and faith in her. Then, Rojan turned to look at the slums beneath them and asked, “Ellie, what kind of emperor do you want to become?”
Ellie pondered deeply after listening to his question.
‘What kind of emperor do I want to become?’
In a way, the question was very easy to answer. Ellie wanted to create the strongest empire, an empire that no other nation could ever dare to ignore. She also wanted to show the world who she was and become the greatest emperor on the continent. After thinking for a long time, Ellie realized that those answers weren’t truly what she wanted.
“An emperor for the people.”
She looked at the entirety of the Eivelis Empire.
“For the people and by the people. An emperor who lives for the sake of her people. That’s the emperor whom I want to become.”
That was the reason why she wanted to become the greatest and strongest emperor.
Rojan turned to look at her, shock evident on his face. He stared at her for a long time. Then, he burst out laughing. “Uhm… Pfft… That’s… cringy…”
“Hiiik…!”
Rojan’s laughter was filled with mirth as he turned to look at the slums beneath them.
“Can you see those colorful and fancy lights?”
She could see it. Those lights filled the capital.
“And can you see that?”
She also saw it. A place that was covered in darkness. A place that was completely different from the shimmering and sparkling lights of the rest of the capital.
Ellie had never gone past the walls of the imperial palace. Thus, she had not been able to see the rest of the world.
“Do you know where I came from?”
Of course, she knew. Ellie was well aware of the fact that the man in front of her came from the slums.
“You know, that place is still filled with hungry and dying people.”
“...?”
Ellie looked at him in disbelief. This was the first time she had heard about something like this.
“The Eivelis Empire is a powerhouse. It’s one of the greatest empires on the continent…”
“That’s correct. The empire is a powerhouse. Unfortunately, we have never focused on that part of the empire.”
That was why Rojan chose to swing his sword and become the Sword Saint. It was so there would be someone who would look at them over there.
“So, I will look at that place on behalf of everyone else,” Rojan said, his eyes never straying away from the slums. After that, he remained silent.
Ellie stared at the silent Rojan and made a vow to herself. She thought, ‘Once I return from the Great War of Swords, I will confess to him.’
The day after that, Ellie set out for the place where the Great War of Swords would be held.
***
Duke Vardin denied the reality in front of him.
“How can we reclaim the empire?”
The Eivelis Empire’s Emperor Algerson was getting weaker by the day. If he died, then Ellie, who was still just fourteen years old, would take on the throne and become the empress.
“We cannot allow her to become the emperor!”
Algerson only had one child, who was Ellie. If Ellie died, then Duke Vardin would naturally take the throne. He had been using the pretext that Ellie was a woman and she was not fit to become emperor, but the reality was that he was just greedy for the throne.
“Everyone, prepare to set out.”
The knights led by Duke Vardin pulled up masks that covered half of their faces.
Duke Vardin smiled darkly and said, “It’s a pity, but suspicious attackers will attack Ellie on her way back after participating in the Great War of Swords.”