That night, Delphine had a nightmare.
It was a chaotic and confused dream. The memories of the day when old man Hansen was executed and the day she was defeated by Ian weighed heavily on Delphine’s heart.
The image of herself pleading.
The bl**d-red eyes of her father looking down at her, and the golden eyes of a man.
Old man Hansen collapsing while spewing bl**d, and her own body covered in bl**d and screams.
Suddenly, the feeling of helplessness surged back.
The guilt of not being able to save old man Hansen just before d*ath pushed Delphine to the edge as she gasped for breath. Fumbling, she reached for her kn*fe.
She needed to be punished.
She might have to face the mage tomorrow. Her participation was essential. Yet, what if she saw Ian’s handaxe again and stupidly sank to the ground?
What if she failed once more?
No, she couldn’t afford to fail. Absolutely must not be defeated.
Delphine dragged her kn*fe across her arm, as Ian had done. bl**d flowed down. Still, her anxiety wouldn’t dissipate.
She felt restless.
So, Delphine immediately donned her coat and went to find Ian. He was meditating in the clearing.
It was customary not to disturb a swordsman who was meditating. But in her desperation, Delphine had no time to consider such politeness.
Hadn’t it already been proven?
Defeat was miserable.
She lost old man Hansen, had to kneel and beg for her life, and kissed the man’s feet, realizing that even d*ath was a luxury.
She didn’t want to lose.
So, she wanted to lose even more.
Delphine couldn’t comprehend the nature of this contradictory emotion. She was already not in her right mind. She had a fleeting thought that she perhaps just wished for a slightly kinder victor.
Ian was a gentle winner.
There was value in defeat. It felt better. Being defeated by Ian, facing his punishment, gave her a sense of comfort.
The joy of being punished not for someone precious, but for herself.
If she were to be punished again, she was confident she wouldn’t tremble tomorrow. Thus, she pleaded with Ian, who wore a puzzled expression.
“Punish me… please.”
The man’s face hardened upon hearing those words. He looked at Delphine thoughtfully, then sighed and shook his head.
“Senior Delphine, what are you saying…?”
“Punish me!”
But Delphine was more desperate than Ian could have expected. Kneeling, she looked at him with imploring eyes.
“Ah, no… please, give me a punishment. Is this how it’s supposed to be? Huh? I need it for tomorrow… it has to be usable! So please, punish me…”
At Delphine’s pleading, Ian furrowed his brow with a serious expression. A flicker of anguish crossed his face as he slightly looked away.
Delphine was now trying to press her head into the ground. It was then that Ian stood up with a sigh.
And the next moment.
A swift kick from the man struck Delphine’s solar plexus. The powerful blow took her breath away.
And before long, Delphine’s body was rolling on the ground.
In the midst of that intense pain, Delphine instinctively curled up and gasped for breath. It was even more excruciating because she hadn’t used magic to protect herself.
Seeing this, Ian rushed over and tapped Delphine’s cheeks.
“…Senior Delphine, are you back to your senses now? I tried using shock therapy…”
“I’m… I’m okay…”
With a somewhat dazed look, Delphine managed to reply.
The suffocating pain slowly faded, and her mind began to clear. It felt refreshing. The pain from her solar plexus felt like a drop of life found in a dry desert.
It felt good. A subtle sense of relaxation eased her tense muscles.
Delphine regained her senses several minutes later.
Once she was back to reality, her face was flushed as she avoided eye contact. Ian merely looked at her with a baffled expression.
Clearing her throat, Delphine made an effort to regain her composure.
“…Why did you do that?”
“F-forget it.”
Delphine said this, trying her best to act nonchalant. But she couldn’t hide her trembling voice.
Ian’s suppressed laughter revealed his emotions. Embarrassment washed over Delphine, making her bow her head more.
Her face was already bright red. She had rarely blushed in her life, but right now, she could have easily been steaming from her forehead.
To plead for punishment from a junior—it stirred an emotion in Delphine’s heart that went beyond shame.
Then, Ian’s question was thrown once more.
“…Why are you so obsessed with victory and defeat?”
For a moment, Delphine’s breath caught in her throat.
It was a question that required her to share the nightmare she had that day, and she found herself unable to say anything.
She was already too grown up to bring up the memories of that day. The heir of the Yuridina Clan could not show weakness.
Although she felt as though she had already shown her frailty enough, this was still her last bastion.
Delphine chose to remain silent.
Assuming it was as he expected, Ian sighed and spoke.
“If you’re really anxious, let’s make a wager.”
“…A wager?”
It was an unexpected suggestion. However, since Delphine had been the one to come unexpectedly, she waited for Ian’s proposal without hesitation.
“Yes, just follow my words exactly once. Then I will help you win.”
“…Unconditionally?”
“Unconditionally, immediately.”
Delphine fell silent for a moment. To be honest, she thought it was an unreasonable wager.
If she followed Ian’s words and won, it would be just as if she lost the wager. It was a wager where defeat was inevitable, regardless of the outcome.
Yet, whether he would threaten her with a handaxe or issue commands under the pretense of a wager, she felt it would be the same anyway. Delphine’s mouth remained sealed for a while as she pondered.
It was a bit longer before Delphine finally spoke.
“…Fine. But how do we differentiate that command from any other instructions? And what’s the price of the wager?”
“I’ll call you ‘Delphine Yuridina’ instead of ‘Senior Delphine’ at that time. And if I win, you’ll listen to me from now on.”
That was the end of it. Ian shut his mouth, as if he hadn’t even considered defeat, only speaking of what would happen if he won.
That aspect was rather amusing. Delphine chuckled at the absurdity but thought inwardly.
He might be somewhat reliable after all.
This felt different from how she dealt with her subordinates or peers. Delphine still did not know the nature of that feeling. But it was clear that something had shifted in her perception of Ian at this very moment.
In a more positive direction.
As Delphine reconsidered her perception of Ian, he opened his mouth as if he had just thought of something.
“By the way, do you have a healing potion?”
Delphine’s puzzled gaze turned to him. Ian smiled and said,
“Just one. The one I took last time seems to be defective.”
After a moment of silence, Delphine broke the ice with a mildly admonishing tone, laced with a sigh.
“Lord Handaxe, you seem to not know that defective healing potions cannot exist…”
“There’s plenty anyway.”
Delphine fell silent. Her disoriented gaze was fixed on Ian.
He was still smiling.
In the end, Delphine could resist no longer. She eventually had to pull out a healing potion and offer it to him.
As Ian took Delphine’s potion, he grumbled.
Those who were wealthy enough to carry healing potions in bulk use containers with space-expanding magic to store large quantities of potions. When needed, they pour them into individual vials.
However, since Ian left his potion vial in the forest last time, he lost his extra vials and had no choice but to use a small bottle he had temporarily obtained.
Potion vials fortified to withstand battles were surprisingly expensive. Moreover, since they were cumbersome to carry in large quantities, even those who held many potions typically had only a few vials.
Ian knew this situation all too well, and he continued to pick at Delphine’s nerves.
“At this rate, if it touches the ground at all, it’ll break… this is serious, really serious.”
Delphine already felt anger brewing due to the healing potion being taken from her, and she trembled subtly, but that was all the protest she could manage.
She contemplated glaring at Ian, but every time she met his golden eyes, Delphine quickly felt deflated.
In those moments, Delphine painfully realized she could no longer resist or oppose this man.
Thus, she would never understand for her lifetime.
In fact, Ian’s demeanor was an expression of his consideration for Delphine.
After several pokes and jabs, it was a shallow calculation that if Ian showed even a hint of bending, Delphine might regain her former pride.
Of course, it was an unachievable plan, as the premise itself was that Delphine could not oppose Ian.
Yet, that night, unbeknownst to Delphine, there was a proposition engraved in her heart.
Being punished felt good. Especially, by Ian.
It was a significant turning point in Delphine’s life.
*
The next day, I stood at the entrance of a clearing in the forest, accompanied by our party.
In front of us loomed a mysterious cave.
