Chapter 237
Chapter 237: Please Refrain From Malicious Experience Farming
Gwen heard Leah's question and froze on the spot.
Her fiancé?
Hold on.
It was as though something had suddenly clicked into place—a strange, inexplicable thought surfaced in her mind.
Her betrothed?
Who was it?
Countless fragments of memory flashed through Gwen's mind. She did still remember that she had a Marriage Engagement with the Clavena Family.
And furthermore, it was an engagement that had been set since she was a child.
The other party of the engagement was the head of the Clavena Family.
But...
If that were the case.
Then wouldn't her fiancé be...
"Leah?"
"?"
On the other end of the crystal, Leah heard Gwen's single bewildered utterance and went suddenly still.
Before she could say anything else, Gwen shut her eyes, and even her words came out stumbling:
"H-h-how—how could that be! That's absolutely impossible!"
Leah's voice drifted out from the crystal:
"Gwen, what are you talking about?"
Gwen shook her head sharply, flinging the flush from her cheeks, and while she was at it, threw out all those stray thoughts completely.
"It's nothing...Leah, what did you need?"
There was a brief silence from the other end of the crystal, and then the questioning voice resumed:
"Right now, I need to know something from you."
Leah's tone was unusually solemn.
Hearing that, Gwen couldn't help but grow serious as well.
She sat up straight and brought the crystal closer to her ear.
Leah's voice came through the crystal.
"Forgive me for being so forward, Gwen."
"How did you come to inherit the title of head of household?"
Gwen was mildly puzzled once more.
Because she had already told Leah about this long ago.
And her father had passed away only about a month ago, give or take.
This was something known among the nobility.
Though confused, since it was Leah asking, she answered regardless.
"You know this—my older brother killed my father, so I became the 1st in line of succession."
Kavra was not a Knight and could not inherit the title of head of household.
Otherwise, it would never have fallen to the youngest—Gwen.
The voice from the other end of the crystal continued to pour into Gwen's ears:
"Then I have 1 question."
"Why did you return to the Northern Frontier in the first place?"
Gwen had anticipated that Leah would ask this. She opened her mouth, ready to explain:
"It was..."
And then she stopped dead.
The reason was...what, exactly?
She still remembered that she had gone back to the Delin Family's estate far away in the Northern Frontier for someone very important.
Who was that person?
Was it her older sister?
No, that wasn't right...
The harder Gwen thought, the more her head began to throb.
She pressed a hand to her temple. Before she could say anything further, she heard Leah continue:
"Do you remember who celebrated your last birthday with you?"
"My...birthday?"
Gwen turned her head toward the red longsword lying nearby.
It rested quietly on the floor, its warm red glow flickering softly through the darkness.
Not far from the bed sat a set of solid bone-plate armor, its light drifting freely even in the dark.
Yet Gwen had forgotten where any of it had come from.
"That can't be right..."
They clearly had an origin.
Through the crystal, Leah's voice broke into her thoughts:
"Do you know why you became the Princess's teacher?"
Gwen jolted hard.
That single question from Leah magnified every doubt swirling inside her.
She stared blankly into the darkness ahead, at a loss.
She still remembered that she had been able to become the Princess's swordsmanship instructor because she had resigned from her position as Grand Knight Commander of the Royal Knight Company.
After that, Emperor Aubrey had invited her to become the Princess's swordsmanship instructor.
But...why?
Why had the Emperor specifically invited her to become the Princess's teacher?
Surely there were countless others who could teach the Princess swordsmanship.
Sword masters, for instance—compared to herself, they were objectively the far superior choice.
Gwen was a Knight, and a very young one at that.
She was barely 9 years older than the Princess.
Gwen found it deeply strange.
"One last question."
"The Princess—what is she doing right now?"
This one, Gwen could still answer:
"The Princess has swordsmanship lessons once every 2 days, and between sessions she's also studying Magic."
"Lately, she's been preparing for the Royal Magic Academy's entrance examinations..."
Suddenly, Gwen's head snapped up, a bright light flashing in her eyes.
Why was the Princess preparing for the Royal Magic Academy's examinations?
"Because...she has another teacher?"
"And I...know who that teacher is..."
The restless rise and fall of Leah's voice settled briefly into calm.
Through it came a gentle sound, warm and carrying just a trace of a smile.
"That's right, Gwen."
"Go and bring him back for me."
"Bring back that answer."
Gwen rose to her feet.
Before her, only the blue crystal remained, still flickering without pause.
***
A white horse burst forth into the open air and charged through the Royal Capital at full gallop.
Hooves splashing through scattered puddles, flying over the crisp-ringing cobblestone roads.
The roaring wind screamed past the horse's ears in a constant howl, like a rousing fanfare driving it to run harder and harder.
Before long, the white horse arrived outside the Imperial Palace.
The guards at the gate quickly stepped forward and crossed their spears, blocking the charging horse from going any further.
Gwen pulled the reins sharply; the horse reared up on its hind legs with a whinny.
Seated in the saddle, Gwen's expression was icy as she looked at the 2 guards:
"I have business with Her Highness the Princess."
The guards recognized Gwen and quickly parted to either side, allowing her to ride through.
Gwen snapped the reins, gave a light squeeze of her legs against the horse's flanks, and urged the horse forward at speed—charging straight into the Imperial Palace's garden.
Once inside, she quickly reined the horse to a halt, swung down from the saddle, and ran into the garden.
The instant she stepped in, she froze.
A familiar figure had walked right into her line of sight.
Emperor Aubrey was seated leisurely on a garden bench, watching Gwen burst in with a frantic look on her face.
Their eyes met. Gwen blinked, then quickly dropped to one knee before Aubrey.
"Your Majesty! I have barged into the Imperial Palace without leave—please forgive me!"
Aubrey looked at her with a good-natured smile and stroked his beard:
"Never mind that."
"Let me guess—you've come to find Auréliane because you want to ask her something."
Gwen raised her head and looked at Emperor Aubrey, her gaze utterly resolute as she gave a single nod.
Aubrey pressed both hands against his knees and stood, beginning to pace through the garden.
When he reached Gwen, his palm lifted slightly.
A gust of air swept out with the motion of his hand, lifting Gwen's body upright.
Under that force, Gwen's body rose to her feet without her meaning to:
Magic?
No...
She could feel it.
This was nothing but pure force.
This was the wind produced by the Emperor's own palm—sheer, unadorned strength fanning outward—gently lifting her to her feet.
Aubrey looked at Gwen standing now before him, gave a nod, and turned away.
"This isn't Morning Court inside the palace."
"You are the Princess's teacher. There's no need to kneel."
Gwen stared at Aubrey blankly, then heard the Emperor's voice rise softly:
"Don't you already have a suspicion?"
"Then go and find him."
Aubrey walked back to the bench, turned his head, and gave Gwen a long, meaningful look:
"As a Knight—never, ever doubt yourself."
At those words, Gwen raised her head once more, and in her eyes, a quiet resolve had kindled.
"Understood."
She turned, swung back into the saddle, and rode.
Watching Gwen gallop out of the Imperial Palace on her white horse, the Emperor returned to his seat on the bench.
After a short while, Auréliane came walking out from the garden with a Maidservant at her side.
In her hands, she cradled a wreath of flowers.
"Imperial Father!"
Auréliane was beaming. She reached out and placed the flower wreath on Aubrey's head.
Aubrey gazed at her with eyes full of doting affection, and laughed with warm delight.
Then Auréliane tilted her head in mild curiosity:
"Imperial Father, did someone just come by?"
She had spotted the flattened impression left on the grass from being stepped on and quickly pieced it together.
Aubrey nodded and replied:
"Mm, your teacher came by just now."
Auréliane's curiosity piqued:
"Was it Teacher Gwen?"
"But today isn't her lesson day."
Aubrey smiled:
"Well then, tell me."
"Whose lesson day should it be today?"
The next second, Auréliane went blank, brow furrowing, but no matter how she turned it over in her mind, she couldn't work it out.
"Imperial Father."
"I think I've forgotten someone very important."
At that, Aubrey smiled—warmly, with something like relief:
"Child."
"The moment you realized that..."
"...it means that person has already become irreplaceable in your heart."
Auréliane looked at Aubrey with a somewhat lost expression:
"Imperial Father, do you remember who that person is?"
"Of course."
Aubrey reached out and patted Auréliane on the head.
"No one has ever managed to make me forget anything."
***
Inside the mirror, the world all around lay in utter silence.
Dust swirled with the howling gale across the vast, boundless earth, spiraling upward toward a dark and overcast sky.
Shattered weapons of every kind jutted from the ground—each one a picture of desolation.
Yet Viktor's expression remained exactly as calm as ever. His whole bearing was unhurried, with room to spare.
Not even a speck of dust had settled on his Coat.
Everywhere around him lay fallen bodies, pierced through by various weapons, piled on top of one another in disarray.
The Mirror Demon's eyes trembled as they fixed on Viktor:
"Monster..."
"You must be a monster!"
How much time had passed, none could say. No one knew how many enemies Viktor had already cut down.
Endless. Unceasing.
The Mirror Demon had copied every single person it had ever encountered across hundreds of years and sent them all forth.
Yet against Viktor, each and every one of them had only 1 road to walk—death.
Not 1 had managed to hold out more than 10 seconds in front of him.
He was, in every sense of the word, a living monster.
At the same moment, Viktor lowered his gaze slightly.
He watched the Experience Bar for his LV45 nearly brimming full, on the verge of breaking through to the next level.
Then he slowly raised his head toward the enormous mirror before him, and smiled, light and easy:
"Shall we continue?"
"I could keep going with you for a full day."