Florya (2)
Chapter 48
Alf, who was residing at Jimmy’s orphanage, had come out for a picnic and was confident in his running abilities.
As Alf overtook the other children, he looked back anxiously, wondering if anyone would catch up to him.
The mountain trail, with tree roots protruding everywhere, was extremely dangerous. Yet, already brimming with excitement, Alf relied solely on his sense of balance, shouting joyfully as he ran ahead.
At that moment, Jimmy shouted.
“Watch out in front!!”
Startled by Jimmy’s authoritative shout, Alf turned his head.
At the edge of his vision, a green wolf appeared, baring its sharp fangs.
The wolf leapt high into the air and snapped its jaws shut before Alf could even react.
“Aaaah!!”
Thinking the wolf had bitten his neck, Alf screamed and fell to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Alf touched his neck.
There was no blood.
“Huh?”
[Grrrr-]
A semi-transparent wolf that had passed right through Alf growled, showing its teeth.
Terrified by the wolf’s threat, Alf screamed again and scooted backward on his bottom.
Thud!
Before Alf could move much further, his back collided with someone’s legs.
Looking up, Alf saw Florya shading her face with a fan, exclaiming in disbelief.
“My goodness, what an impolite child! How dare you touch a noble without permission. You must be punished.”
Swish!
The guard drew his sword.
Still unable to comprehend the situation, Alf stood there with his mouth agape until the guard assumed a stance to swing his sword, prompting Alf to gulp audibly.
The sharp blade of the sword gleamed as if it were about to fall any second.
However, Lyon, Florya’s guard, had no intention of actually swinging the sword.
Florya didn’t want Lyon cutting off the boy’s limbs.
Rather, Florya enjoyed creating these ‘critical situations’ to observe the reactions of those around her.
Even now, Florya’s eyes were focused on Jimmy and Timothy, who had been chasing after the children.
How would the teachers responsible for leading the children act when faced with a child in danger?
Would they run away? Beg for mercy? Or perhaps freeze in fear?
Well, they might even lose their minds and charge forward.
With interest, Florya watched Jimmy and Timothy.
At that moment, a flash of light appeared.
Clang-!
“Huh?!”
Lyon, who had nearly dropped his sword, took a step back and regained his balance.
Looking at his own sword, Lyon’s eyes widened in shock.
A crude sword had pierced straight through the center of Lyon’s blade.
*
Jimmy had misjudged the situation.
Believing that his martial prowess surpassed that of a few teachers, he thought he could handle nearly thirty children alone—but he was mistaken.
No matter how skilled one is with a sword, there are only two hands, and managing children requires more manpower than brute force.
If Jimmy’s mere words could have made the children tremble, it would have been far easier.
But the relatively unbiased children knew well that Jimmy wasn’t the terrifying thug rumored to be.
Thus, Jimmy struggled to properly control the children, and some swift ones managed to escape his sight, running toward the memorial stone.
When Jimmy arrived at the memorial, he belatedly noticed unfamiliar figures standing there.
After quickly scanning their appearances, Jimmy shouted to Alf.
“Watch out in front!!”
Alf turned just in time and likely could have stopped, but suddenly, an unexpected wolf-shaped spirit startled him.
Rolling on the ground, Alf lost control and inadvertently came into contact with Florya’s body.
Immediately afterward, Lyon drew his sword, prompting Jimmy to reflexively draw his as well.
Swish!
It was too far to reach in time.
Having been a mercenary, Jimmy survived by mastering various grappling techniques until he learned to wield sword auras.
With his left foot striking the ground and imbuing his sword with mana, Jimmy hurled it forward.
Clang-!
The sword Jimmy threw embedded itself in the middle of the blade aimed at Alf.
‘Shit.’
Only after throwing the sword did Jimmy realize his mistake.
The attire of Florya, with her red hair tied up, clearly indicated a noblewoman, and the knight guarding her was clad in a shiny armor.
‘Noble, red hair, a wolf-emblazoned insignia on the knight’s cloak.’
It wasn’t difficult to deduce that they were from the House of Osiris.
Jimmy bit his lip.
No matter how urgent the situation, he had attacked a noble first.
He had completely crossed the line where things could be smoothed over easily.
Lyon stared disbelievingly at Jimmy’s sword piercing the center of his own blade before extending his hand to separate the two swords.
Screeeech!
In the frozen atmosphere, the sound of metal scraping echoed through the mountains.
The moment Jimmy’s gaze wavered, Florya burst out laughing.
“Haha, this was unexpected. Who would’ve thought you’d throw your sword?”
Jimmy immediately knelt down.
“I apologize.”
Florya asked.
“Are you a noble?”
“No.”
“Are you even the illegitimate child of a noble?”
“No.”
“Do you believe in something so strongly that you threw your sword? Answer me.”
Unless one were the illegitimate offspring of a noble…
Any sane person would not dare throw a sword at Florya.
She was dressed extravagantly to flaunt her noble status, and throwing a sword at her amounted to throwing away one’s life.
Jimmy pressed his forehead to the ground.
“I apologize. I got too excited.”
Florya laughed again and glanced at Alf.
“What relation do you have with this child? Are you his father?”
“I am his guardian. There is no blood relation.”
“Your boldness surpasses even that of a knight.”
Whoosh!
A gust of wind sent the sword Jimmy had thrown flying.
The sword sliced through the air and landed right in front of Jimmy.
“Originally, I should cut off your head, but I’ll give you a choice.”
Florya pointed at Alf.
“One arm of this child or one of yours. Choose one.”
“…Will you forgive me if I give up one arm?”
“Unhappy? Then why don’t you fight me? It seems like you’re confident in your skills.”
“Miss Florya!”
As Lyon gasped, Florya giggled and grabbed the broken sword with a gaping hole.
“The sword of a knight was pierced. Even if it was a surprise attack, such a feat is impossible with amateur skills.”
An expert-level knight always has mana pre-distributed to emit a sword aura whenever necessary.
Yet, the sword of an expert-level knight was pierced?
Even at the lowest estimate, it meant an equal level of skill.
“There’s still a chance, isn’t there?”
Encouraged by Florya, Jimmy gripped his sword.
Even if there was more than one knight protecting Florya, and even if Jimmy won here and buried the bodies, the aftermath would be absolutely impossible to clean up.
“Thank you for your mercy.”
With that, Jimmy placed his sword against his own arm.
Florya, holding her fan, smirked and repeated silently to herself.
‘Stop.’
The wolf-like wind spirit subtly turned to look at Florya.
Florya twitched her lips and repeated.
‘Stop.’
The spirit tilted its head slightly, as if saying, “Pray harder.”
‘Stop!’
“Stop.”
Just before the sword pierced Jimmy’s flesh, Florya spoke.
Fanning herself lightly and catching her breath, Florya complimented Jimmy.
“It was entertaining. Since you’ve amused me, I’ll forgive you this once.”
“…”
Jimmy remained kneeling with the sword against his arm.
Florya asked.
“You don’t seem to be a knight.”
If he were a knight, he would have revealed his identity by now.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Jimmy.”
“Jimmy, Jimmy… Ah, Jimmy!”
Recalling Jimmy’s name from somewhere in her memory, Florya exclaimed.
Is this the mercenary who recently received an honorary title for subduing the locusts, making him briefly a topic among nobles?
“Is it true you contributed to subduing the locusts?”
“…It wasn’t worthy of being called a contribution.”
“I almost made a grave mistake.”
This was someone who had received direct commendation from the royal family.
Being someone who couldn’t inherit a title, Florya had no authority to harm him.
Harassing him further could also cause trouble for Florya herself.
Florya glared sternly at the wind spirit beyond her fan, channeling strong intent and emotion.
Mockingly shaking its hips, the wind spirit dissolved and disappeared.
Florya sighed deeply.
Bound by an unfair contract with the spirit she unknowingly made in her youth, her suffering was immense.
She planned to visit the magicians at the royal magic tower who specialized in elemental studies, but honestly, getting the answer she wanted seemed distant.
Since a contract with a spirit was a type of ‘contract rune,’ it was impossible to modify unilaterally without mutual consent.
While unilateral termination was possible, given the highly unfair nature of the contract, it would cost her life.
‘This way, I’ll suffer forever.’
Reflecting on her predicament, Florya glanced at Jimmy again.
Apart from her issues with the spirit, she was genuinely interested in Jimmy.
Though known as a coarse mercenary, his willingness to sacrifice his own arm to save a child unrelated by blood intrigued her greatly.
Not exactly fitting his status, but it showed signs of chivalry.
“Do you live in Phillip’s County?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect timing. I’ll forgive your rudeness if you guide me.”
“To guide you means…”
“To the manor of the Phillip family. You know it well, don’t you? I’m unfamiliar with the area.”
After briefly looking at Alf, Jimmy bowed his head. He needed to cater to Florya’s mood for now.
“I understand.”
*
Sir Jenkins looked at Ray with a sour expression.
“Are you still holding a grudge against me from four years ago?”
“What are you talking about? I’m fully aware that I was stubborn back then. I hold gratitude towards both Lord Count and Sir Jenkins.”
“But why me? Aren’t you closer to Sir Didier?”
“Sir Didier is an excellent knight.”
“That’s true.”
“So while I’m away, wouldn’t he protect the orphanage well?”
Jenkins’ brows furrowed sharply.
In essence, Ray was chosen because he was the best option among the remaining knights after excluding Didier.
Ray looked at Jenkins’ reaction curiously.
“Anyway, what’s bothering you? Where else will you find someone who learns as much, is quick-witted, and strong?”
Jenkins grabbed his temples as if trying to drill into his skull.
Before Alvesia chose Ray to serve as her companion, the count instructed him to acquire an appropriate status by becoming a squire to a knight.
A squire, while not treated as a noble, wasn’t someone to be dismissed lightly anywhere.
The count gave Ray free rein to choose any knight except Mohamed, and Ray picked Jenkins.
It was essentially a random choice, but being selected by Ray left Jenkins feeling utterly defeated.
Having a new squire joining wasn’t a problem.
However, if the new squire was smarter, quicker, and stronger than himself, that was a tremendous issue.
Jenkins had his pride.
What knight would willingly endure the humiliation of being less skilled than his squire?
Jenkins pleaded.
“Ray, wouldn’t it be better to change your mind now? The count would surely agree.”
“Sir Jenkins, the decision has been made; let’s think positively. When else will you get the chance to slap my cheek?”
Knights have a tradition of slapping their squires once before officially appointing them.
Jenkins sighed.
As Ray said, this was undoubtedly the last opportunity for Jenkins to slap Ray’s cheek.
Even now, if they fought one-on-one, Jenkins would undoubtedly get beaten. When would he ever get the chance to slap Ray again?
Accepting reality, Jenkins retrieved a leather glove carefully stored in his pocket.
It was a rough glove that clung tightly to the skin.
As Ray recoiled in shock, stepping back a pace, Jenkins beckoned with his finger.
“Tsk! Aren’t you coming? Where are you running off to?”
Ray wiped cold sweat and questioned.
“Sir Jenkins, are you sure you can handle the consequences?”
“Seeing how you’re already threatening me, you’re quite the yellow-bellied squire. Let’s settle this either way—whether heaven or hell.”
So narrow-minded.
Muttering under his breath, Ray eventually closed his eyes and offered his cheek.
Not long after, the sound of tearing flesh reverberated through the manor.
Gack!!
Ray’s head snapped violently to the side.
Shaking uncontrollably, Ray spat out blood.
His torn cheek quickly swelled bright red.
After letting out a long groan, Ray beckoned to Jenkins with his finger.
“Master, how about a sparring match?”
“Forget it, you lunatic.”
As Jenkins slowly backed away, an unfamiliar face appeared at the manor gates alongside Jimmy.
Ray, who had been about to draw his sword, lowered it and looked at Jimmy, whose face had turned pale.
