Chapter 125: Weak Convictions Are Meaningless (4)
“I wish I was born as a noble.”
Most commoners, whether young or old, have thought this at one point: if they could be born again, they would want to be born into a noble family. They envied the ability to eat whatever they wanted without ever feeling hunger, go on vacations no matter the season or hour, stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and live a safe life away from bandits or monsters.
Even being born as the child of a lower noble allowed one to enjoy such luxuries—so what would it be like to be born as the child of a lord, one of only four in this entire country? Of course, nobles had the duty of noblesse oblige to uphold, but such a rule did not apply to Eslow.
Eslow granted absolute freedom to his children. He did not impose any obligations or responsibilities as the child of one of the Four Lords upon them. The public speculated that Eslow’s actions—disregarding noblesse oblige—were a means of flaunting his authority.
Regardless, Eslow’s children lived successful lives from the moment they were born. They indulged in pleasure without responsibility.
However, there was one exception: Henya, Eslow’s third child. From the moment she learned to speak and think, she began to question her own existence. She led a life without any deficiencies. Anything she was curious about, she could learn. Everyone in the palace worshiped her like a god.
At first, Henya accepted this as natural. But soon, she realized that because she had everything, she possessed nothing. The gold and honor in her hands had already been given to her. She felt that her life was meaningless. She experienced this emptiness at the tender age of seven.
From that moment on, she began learning swordsmanship. It was not because she feared for her safety, nor because she wanted to become stronger. She was simply sick of it all—the perfection of her life, the way reality bent to her every whim.
Eslow’s order of knights included not just Masters, but even Grandmasters. Beyond them, the nation’s most distinguished swordsmen volunteered to be her teachers. But Henya refused them all.
“Stop trying to give me anything more. Don’t take away my enjoyment.”
She filled her hollow life with grueling training and swordsmanship practice, until, one day, she hit a wall. It was not a limit to her growth, but a sense of overwhelming boredom. So she put down her sword and began attending social gatherings, meeting various people.