### Chapter 54: Undercurrents
“Let me hold you…”
She spoke those words so nonchalantly, yet it made my head drop in a jiffy, while my fists tightened under the chair. My heart raced with panic; I was too afraid to agree at once, but I didn’t want to refuse either, leaving my mind in utter chaos.
“Why…”
The words slipped out before I even realized it, my voice so soft I could barely hear it myself.
But Victoria heard it loud and clear.
“Why?” She shot back, her tone turning steely. “I just want to hold you. Do I need another reason?”
I dared not look up, my eyes glued to the floor. I heard her shifting in her seat. “You made a promise back then, saying hugs were fine.”
Ah…
Did I say that?
I think I did… or maybe I didn’t…
“Come sit over here.”
Looks like she’s not changing her mind…
Alright then, let’s just go for it…
I stood up, still keeping my head down, shuffling over: “Just a hug, you can’t… Ah!”
Victoria yanked my hand, pulling me into her embrace as I plopped down on her lap, held snugly.
In that moment, my heartstrings tightened. My little waist went rigid, my fists clenched, afraid to lean back, scared to move, and terrified to even glance at her. My brain was blank.
After a moment of silence, I suddenly heard her say, “Honestly, Grandma Bersa would teach you swordsmanship. I’m not even surprised.”
Huh?
What’s she talking about now…
“Lady Bersa… she understood long ago. She knew her time was limited, and years ago she started making plans. Many of her thoughts and actions, I’ve actually noticed.”
Victoria continued, gently stroking my back.
Oh, so she wanted to talk about that…
“I know she contemplated a lot. One time she came to me, talking about the teacher’s swordsmanship, saying it should be passed down to more young people… but she hesitated. Because the teacher’s style is, at its core, a deadly art of killing—I’m sure you can see that too. If such deadly techniques fall into the hands of those who lack self-control or are wicked-minded, who knows what havoc they might wreak? The prospect is beyond anyone’s prediction. But unfortunately, there are far too many who lack self-control, making her ideas incredibly difficult to implement…”
Thinking about it…
That makes sense.
It’s like if you could create an AK-47—you could hand it to anyone, but who knows what those people would do with it once they have it? Would they be the righteous heroes or rampant murderers? Good luck guaranteeing that!
The Sword Saint’s techniques are way scarier than AK-47s for this world.
So, caution is needed.
“She originally hoped I could carry on the legacy. She said that if one day she’s gone, and the teacher is gone, I should continue teaching the sword to more people with a sense of justice… but I really can’t. I can’t grasp the essence of the teacher’s swordmanship.”
“Why?”
I shifted uncomfortably in her arms, slowly relaxing back against her as my waist protested.
Can’t help it, this is exhausting…
“Because I was born into royalty, and now I’m a ruler. This identity means I can’t dedicate myself fully to swordsmanship or say I enjoy it. I even had some resistance to it in the past.”
Victoria’s arms tightened around my waist, her hand resting on my abdomen, applying a slow, soothing rub.
…Why is she rubbing my belly while talking?
I lightly tapped her hand away.
But she continued to rub: “You see, martial arts, swordsmanship—they ultimately serve one purpose: killing. And the teacher’s form is the fiercest of all. Many say it’s the purest, almost artful way to k*ll. The thing is, the teacher’s style is so precise and ruthless that to master it requires a killer’s resolve without hesitation.”
As she rubbed, she found my belly button and prodded at it with her finger.
“Don’t poke…”
I raised my hand to swat at her.
Yet she kept poking.
So I swatted again and then held her hand in place.
Victoria continued, her breath warm against my neck: “In that split second when an enemy shows weakness, you mustn’t hesitate or doubt. You must strike accurately to take them down… This cold, decisive intent may sound simple, but most ordinary, good-hearted people can’t do it… and those who can, quite often, are ruthless evildoers.”
“Goodness, integrity, justice, and a heart full of compassion. When they gain great power, they also know how to restrain themselves. When they strike, it’s quick, and when they withdraw, it’s decisive. Only those kinds of people are worthy to inherit the teacher’s sword… That’s why I guessed long ago that Lady Bersa would pass the sword on to you.”
Huh…
Is she complimenting me?
I’m feeling a bit pleased…
“But you lack that killer instinct and that sort of realization. You’re too kind; perhaps in the end, you won’t grasp the essence of it…”
Victoria settled back for a moment but then got restless again, prying my hands away and rubbing my sides and abdomen as if I were her beloved toy. She pressed her head against my shoulder, her chin resting there, lightly nudging.
“Well, you, Pepé… I just love you like this.”
“…You, oh my…”
After such a long roundabout, she ends up saying this…
I’m utterly embarrassed…
How can she be so shameless…
I felt myself melting, my cheeks on fire, like I had turned to jelly in the tranquil moonlight of the garden, lying in Victoria’s embrace.
Even my overly anxious heart had somehow, at some point, entered a state of relaxation—I didn’t even want to move, and my eyelids were slowly getting heavier. I was thinking about how Victoria kept rubbing my belly, it felt nice… nice enough to make me sleepy… I felt a bit drowsy…
Hey…
I suddenly jolted awake, quickly closing my legs and grabbing her infamous wandering hand that was headed toward my lower abdomen, yelling in panic, “What are you doing?! Where are you touching?!”
“What’s wrong? I’m giving you a belly rub.”
“I—I don’t want you to rub anymore…”
“Uncomfortable?”
“Comfortable… no—not that! You’re just… a sly scoundrel…”
“So?”
“……”
“I just really like you.”
“……”
“I want to massage you into my body…”
She hugged me tighter, making me short of breath.
“If only I could hold you like this forever…”
“In a garden like this, doing nothing but hugging you, and just trimming flowers and pulling weeds every day…”
“…You, stop talking…” I covered my blushing face, “What’s gotten into you today…”
She didn’t even drink that much…
Victoria leaned her face closer.
“Pepé.”
“Mm…”
I was feeling fuzzy-headed, my thoughts swirling.
“From now on, make me dinner again.”
“Mm…”
“Tomorrow morning, accompany me to see Lady Bersa.”
“Mm…”
“I’m sleeping with you tonight.”
“Mm… Ah! No way…”
“I’m all sweaty; I need a bath.”
“Then wash at your place…”
“The bath was torn down by Sharman for repairs.”
“……”
That night.
The moon was hidden behind clouds.
…………
The next morning, Victoria and I visited Grandma Bersa’s gravesite, praying in front of her memorial and offering a bouquet of flowers.
Grandma’s memorial was placed in the chapel of the Royal Academy, and I arrived there riding in Victoria’s war chariot—she was now different than before, every outing was escorted by soldiers. Coupled with this unique, lavish carriage from the Royal City and her privilege to enter the academy freely, wherever we went, students would gawk in awe and quickly guess who was inside. Many followed us to the chapel just to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty the Queen.
Although Grandma Bersa’s funeral wasn’t elaborate, student interest surged after news of her passing spread, and people flocked to the chapel day after day. To ensure safety, the soldiers kindly tried to clear the area, but they couldn’t stop the wave of onlookers. Ultimately, the scene of Victoria and me stepping out of the carriage caught the eyes of several students.
Probably in a few days, rumors will start flying around, getting wilder and wilder.
But that’s fine; I didn’t mind much anymore.
After paying my respects, Victoria, burdened with duty, left the academy, and I returned to my tower, continuing my laid-back campus life.
After being absent for a day and a half, I missed a depth class, but Sarah helped me catch up with notes. They weren’t particularly important, but she took it very seriously. She was afraid I’d overlook something that might lead to trouble in a future battle. After all, while she just listened to the depth class, I would actually face those monsters. She understood that, and her little face turned serious and anxious; she lectured me earnestly until she felt she had explained everything clearly before she was satisfied.
Due to Teacher Melville becoming the new principal, they swapped out the administrator in the tower by Ceylan Lake.
It was a middle-aged woman on the verge of becoming a senior, all smiles and seemingly agreeable, but while she appeared easy to talk to, she was very disciplined. Rumor had it she used to be a formidable warrior. Once, when I was in a hurry to get to the cafeteria and leaped off the third-floor landing, she caught me and didn’t just scold me but made me write a reflection. I ended up getting chewed out for ages before I could leave, wasting my entire mealtime, which angered me. I didn’t really like her.
But I didn’t despise her either.
Sophia had become busy again recently.
She said her father had officially started making her work. This year, the Jiaslin family was on the rise, and after earning her father’s recognition, she began to get involved in the core affairs and resources of the family. Her father even intended to expose her to the public eye, intending to groom her as the family’s future heir.
So now she frequently took leaves to attend formal events and participate in core family meetings. What she dealt with was no longer small-scale noble circles like before.
Yet, despite all this, Sophia had not faltered in her classes. Sometimes, when I’d wake up in the middle of the night to pee, I’d find her still hunched over at her desk, studying under a lamp. Occasionally, when she’d nod off from exhaustion, I would cover her with a blanket.
Reflecting on Sophia’s hard work, I couldn’t help but compare it to Sarah’s recent efforts. After that night of the Festival of Five Buddhas, she did make some efforts for about a month—then she started slacking off, searching for all sorts of excuses to skip sword practice.
Sometimes, watching those two, I would think… the gap between people is often less about intelligence than it is about effort.
Nobility manages to maintain its status, especially those that thrive through generations; other than being lucky or correctly aligning with powerful patrons or suddenly striking it rich, the discernible differences between them and common folk could sometimes be very obvious.
Much of the reason why certain noble families and even royal lines have gradually declined in history lies in the fact that their next generations no longer had industrious individuals like Sophia, but had turned into her brothers instead—Sophia mentioned that her brother’s first action upon returning to the Royal City was to scold her for not leaving with them back then, nearly dragging the whole family into trouble; after that, he went off to chase after women for some fun.
She said all this while laughing, as if teasing.
Sometimes, when I saw Sophia thriving like that, I felt motivated too. Where I had planned to practice for three hours, maybe I’d think, why not extend it for another half hour or even an hour… as long as I wasn’t starving by then.
Having such a friend around really felt wonderful.
Of course, I wasn’t saying Sarah was bad.
Sarah was a genuinely good girl. Though she could be a bit lazy, she was kind-hearted, brave, eager to help others, and a great friend. If she could become a knight in the future, she would undoubtedly be an excellent one.
Everyone has their own way of dealing with life.
It’s just that, in my eyes, those who work hard to better themselves are more appealing.
As for Daisy, the other girl in the dorm…
She was always the same—unless it was class time, she spent most of her days lounging in the dorm, with nothing much to do. She rarely had any ideas, simply tagging along with us wherever we went, not fond of talking, wanting very little, having no goals or aspirations, and not many desires. Still, perhaps she was the happiest and most carefree among us.
Maybe that would continue into the future.
For some people, as long as they live without disaster, have a partner to grow old with, and a harmonious family, they can be happy and blissful—something that many people find envy of, the best attitude.
Daisy might very well become a good wife in the future.
Regardless, the three girls from 1504 will always remain my friends.
Days continued to flip by.
In recent days, I hadn’t seen Beiyard much.
As far as I could remember, it seemed since early July, he had become quite scarce, and then it felt like he evaporated entirely. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but I noticed Beiyard was missing when, one morning during theology class, I had a sudden craving for donuts from Curry Street, thinking I’d ask him to skip class to buy me some, but couldn’t find him anywhere. When I asked Sarah, I found out he’d already taken leave from the academy.
No one seemed to know what he had been busy with.
Maybe he had something important going on…
After all, I heard that his grandfather, Cardinal Saint George, had also left the Royal City not long ago.
As for the conflicts in the Valen Empire, subsequent news reports mentioned Count Lafael taking three northern cities without any losses—The commanders and soldiers in those cities had long since lost their fighting spirit amid countless hindrances and even had started infighting. By the time the terrifying Shanter Army arrived, they didn’t even have the courage to resist.
I felt elated about this.
It seemed things were indeed moving in a good direction.
And this peaceful and pleasant life at the academy would continue on, endlessly, until the year-end break when I could go home.
I thought I could just keep living like this.
