SWS CH 11

Chapter 11

“…So you were that serious.”

But Francesca’s reaction was the complete opposite of what I expected.

“Everything I said today was sincere.”

I really meant it. I meant that I wanted to leave under a new identity. I meant that I wanted her to let me go.

“I see. Then all the more reason to bring you into the family.”

Why does she look more satisfied the more I answer?

Something is going very wrong.

“No. I’m not going.”

“The day you enter the family will be one week from now. I’ll send a carriage, so tidy up your life here in the meantime. You won’t be bringing this household with you anyway.”

“Wait a moment.”

“There’s no need to worry. We’ll hold the wedding later, depending on the situation.”

Francesca spoke as if she couldn’t hear me at all.

***

Red hair gleamed darkly beneath the night sky.

“Hah…”

Docep forced his unsteady body upright.

The frayed hem of his worn shirt dragged through the dust.

When he focused all his concentration, a single star flickered before his eyes.

Proof that he was a one-star knight.

“Nothing’s changed.”

Nothing at all.

The poorly trained muscles.

The sword he clutched, whether it poured rain or snow, froze solid.

His family’s contempt.

Even that insignificant lone star that followed him.

“Then why is that woman the only thing that’s different?”

The words slipped out with his ragged breath as his gaze shifted to a small house at the foot of the hill.

A modest house with smoke rising from the chimney all evening.

Halara Seheb’s home.

“Everything’s the same. So why is just one thing different?”

Not long ago, Docep had regressed.

After conquering the world, he stood at its farthest edge, where only peace remained.

His comrades returned to their families and became heads of their houses.

Instead of rebuilding Bloodymary, Docep ascended the throne as emperor, as the people wished.

High status. Vast power. Endless wealth.

And always, smiling people at his side.

He thought he had no regrets left.

He had everything.

Yet he slowly grew sick.

He didn’t know why until just before his regression, when he looked at an old, faded family photograph.

Regret. Longing. Grief.

What Docep needed was family.

He missed them.

Even those who had hated him resented him.

Whenever he looked at the people he had saved, the faces of the family he couldn’t save resurfaced, making his body shudder.

In agony, he returned.

Back to the past.

Before his journey began.

Everything was the same.

His family’s cold gazes.

The Bloodymary castle, steeped in blood.

He moved quickly. Preventing the family’s destruction was more urgent than reuniting with them.

For that, he needed strength.

At one star, he couldn’t even serve as a proper shield.

That was why he came down to the village to search for a usable sword—and met Halara.

“That apple.”

The moment he saw her face, old memories resurfaced.

In the past, ignorant and desperate, he had searched recklessly for a way to reach two stars.

A desolate plain at night.

A run-down tavern where a sword master was said to reside.

The hideout of a wanted swordsman.

Even a ruined monastery.

He hid himself, humbled himself, and knelt without hesitation.

The final door he knocked on belonged to a retired old swordsman living in seclusion.

There, for the first time, someone told him:

“The sword does not accept you.”

The old man said that to break through his sword energy, he would need the power of a woman born with demonic energy in the north.

Utter nonsense.

But Docep had no choice. He had to awaken sword energy.

Born into the sword family Bloodymary, he alone couldn’t wield the sword properly.

With a worn-down heart, he sought out the woman known as a temptress.

If contact with her could open his blocked energy, maybe he too could awaken sword energy.

Grasping at straws.

But it didn’t feel like this back then.

The Halara he met again after regressing looked innocent and pure.

Without heavy makeup, dressed in rough clothing, she seemed like a completely different person.

She treated Docep like a stranger.

“Is this another trick? A strategy?”

Frowning, he replayed the past again and again.

Halara had later used that one night as leverage, claiming she was pregnant, and went to the family.

That was the starting point of Bloodymary’s downfall, leaving only Docep behind.

Now that she was different, he couldn’t act rashly.

Yet despite being suspicious beyond measure, she showed no suspicious behavior at all.

Frustrated, Docep looked up at the sky where the full moon hung.

And then—

“Found you, Young Master Docep. You’re here.”

The family knights sent by his mother arrived.

“The Duchess is urgently looking for you.”

“For what?”

Even as he asked, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Halara’s house.

Smoke was still rising from the chimney.

It’s probably not about her, he thought, turning his head.

Then—

“The Duchess is preparing your marriage.”

Once again, something different from the past happened.

“Marriage? You mean I’m getting married?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

In the past—

“A woman claiming to be carrying your child has come. The ducal house is in chaos. You must come immediately.”

That was what the knight said as five of them seized him and dragged him away.

This time was different.

“My mother said that?”

Something had changed—changed decisively.

The knight nodded vaguely instead of answering.

Docep’s once light voice grew heavy. Even his tone was different.

The knight quickly scanned him.

The filthy clothes were no different than usual, but the expressionless face felt unfamiliar.

“…What?”

An unexplainable pressure made the knight hesitate.

“I asked you.”

“Ah—yes.”

“My mother is pushing my marriage. Did I hear wrong?”

“No, no. That’s correct.”

“Who’s the other party?”

“That, I don’t know. We were just told to persuade you and bring you back. If you refuse, we were told to take you by force…”

Tap.

Docep placed a hand on the knight’s shoulder.

“I’ll go on my own. Just follow.”

He had no intention of running.

More than anyone, he wanted to know what had changed—and why.

***

After sending knights to retrieve Docep, Francesca’s sigh deepened.

“He’ll probably return around dawn.”

Docep only grew faster at running away.

She’d wondered what he’d been doing wandering the territory—never imagining he’d gotten a woman pregnant and been visiting her home.

I was careless. I softened when I heard he’d been beaten by Nikolai and Helvern.

Guilt over failing to raise Docep into a proper knight made her neglect him.

Even when reports came that he returned drunk night after night, she pretended not to see.

Better that than a major incident.

But that neglect had backfired.

“At this point, it can’t be helped. We must save the baby first.”

Halara’s old house lingered in her mind.

There was no way she could give birth there.

And judging by the sign out front, men came and went frequently.

There was no way she could properly care for herself in such conditions.

Whatever the duke might say when he returned from war, bringing her in was the best choice.

Docep wouldn’t leave with the child… would he?

That was the real problem.

Halara herself had refused to enter the family.

She could disappear with the child at any moment.

“Chief Butler. Place surveillance on that girl’s house as well. If she tries to flee, report immediately.”

“Yes, my lady. I’ll discreetly assign knights.”

“Thank you. And no word from Docep yet?”

“My lady, it’s only been about an hour since they went to find him. You know the young master well—at least…”

He was about to say half a day.

Bang.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Docep?!”

Docep entered the duchess’s office.

Usually dragged in by knights—this time, he walked in on his own.

“Why so surprised? You called for me.”

Francesca steadied her pounding heart and rose to her feet, stunned by how early he had arrived.