PFDMWYL 07

Chapter 7

Eila held her breath.

“What is it?”

“…She’s learning far too quickly. Just yesterday, she wasn’t this capable. It can only be called natural talent. Especially her swordsmanship—it’s far beyond what you’d expect from a twelve-year-old girl.”

Damn.

She swallowed hard.

She had made a mistake.

Fortunately, the sound was quiet enough that neither of them noticed her.

Should I have pretended to be even worse?

But how could she have done that? She had already done everything she could to hide her real ability.

“…Ha. So she really is Roderick Weisshafen’s daughter. It seems the only thing worth inheriting from that father of hers was his swordsmanship. Well, I suppose that isn’t a bad thing. I hope she improves quickly and buries a blade in her own father’s back.”

Luckily, both Byron and Cloud seemed to believe her skill was nothing more than natural talent.

But it wasn’t.

She had earned it through endless effort.

When she had truly been twelve years old, she had never handled a dagger this well. Time after time, she had watched disappointment fill Byron’s face because she wasn’t improving fast enough. Every time, she had begged desperately for forgiveness.

And she had always worked harder.

For the man she believed was her entire world.

For her father’s revenge.

For her father’s love.

Whenever Laura locked her inside her room, Eila would practice swordsmanship in the darkness, swinging a wooden stick over and over.

Even after lying down to sleep, she would close her eyes and endlessly replay everything Cloud had taught her that day.

Until the moment she finally fell asleep.

That was how she had gained her skill.

Looking back now, it all felt painfully meaningless.

“Then I’ll continue leaving the girl in your hands. Raise her into a useful assassin.”

“Yes, my lord. I will carry out your orders.”

“Anything else to report?”

Since they seemed finished discussing her, Eila quietly let out a sigh of relief.

But she couldn’t relax.

The conversation from this point on might contain the information she truly needed.

“The knights of Weisshafen have appeared in the village beyond the forest. They’ve been asking whether there are any abandoned forts, caves, or bandit hideouts hidden inside these woods.”

“…They’ve already tracked us here again? Hah. They’re unbelievably persistent.”

Byron cursed bitterly.

So that was why they had kept moving from place to place.

Father…

Roderick…

Just knowing that her father had never given up searching for the daughter Byron had kidnapped—that he had continued sending knights to find her all this time—made her chest tighten painfully.

“What shall we do, my lord?”

“What else? We leave.”

“Understood. I’ll find another suitable location as quickly as possible.”

From the sound of it, they would be abandoning this fortress soon.

…I finally found the secret passages, and we’re leaving already?

She clicked her tongue inwardly.

She had only gotten to use them for a single day.

Still, they would be useful until they left.

“If you’re finished reporting, then leave. Tell them to prepare my bath and a massage on your way out. I overworked myself today. I’m tired.”

“Yes, my lord. Rest well.”

The meeting appeared to be over.

If Byron was asking for his bath, there was nothing more for her to learn tonight.

As always, after bathing, he would drink until he fell asleep.

Eila quietly closed the door she had left slightly open and hid once more inside the crack in the wall.

A moment later, Cloud stepped out of the room.

She remained perfectly still until he disappeared down the hallway before returning to her own room through the secret passage.

Fortunately, Eila’s secret nighttime excursions were never discovered.

Perhaps that was only natural.

No one would ever imagine that escaping from a room surrounded by solid stone walls was even possible.

Thanks to that, she was able to freely explore the fortress every night for several days before they moved.

She searched through the secret passages, but found little of value.

Most hidden corridors had become unusable because people had unknowingly placed furniture over their entrances.

She did find several weapons hidden inside, but they were so badly rusted from years of neglect that they were useless.

They looked to be well over a hundred years old.

Still, she managed to secretly hide one of her freshly washed training uniforms inside the passage, making it much easier to move around at night.

She planned to wear it every evening, then secretly return it to the laundry just before they left the fortress.

The most disappointing part was watching Byron.

She had no idea what he did during the day because she was always training.

She had hoped that spying on him at night would reveal at least some clue about his plans.

Instead, he stayed inside his room every night, endlessly reading and writing letters.

If only she could sneak inside and steal them.

Unfortunately, he almost never left his room at night.

He only stepped out briefly to wash before bed, and whenever he did, he locked his bedroom door securely behind him.

She had even considered entering through the window.

But Byron’s room faced south, with no trees nearby, and the window overlooked the open courtyard.

Trying to sneak in that way was simply too dangerous.

It seemed she wouldn’t learn anything more until they relocated.

Several days later—

“Miss, we’re leaving the fortress tomorrow morning, so please go to bed early.”

Laura tucked Eila into bed while it was still early evening.

“Don’t fool around. Go straight to sleep. We’ll be camping for several days, so you’ll need your strength.”

“Okay.”

Knowing Laura would keep staring at her until she answered, Eila obediently replied.

Apparently satisfied, Laura cleared her throat and locked the bedroom door from the outside once again.

Eila sighed deeply.

Just thinking about sleeping on the forest floor beside a campfire for several days made her sigh.

Sleeping in a bedroll wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was that Laura always slept right beside her.

Since she couldn’t lock Eila inside a room outdoors, that was how she kept watch over her.

…This isn’t the time to think about that. I need to return the training uniform.

Since they were leaving tomorrow, everyone’s luggage had probably already been packed.

The laundry, however, would still be collected separately at the last minute.

This was her only chance to return the uniform.

She could have simply left it hidden in the passage.

But if one training uniform disappeared every time they moved, someone would eventually become suspicious.

After waiting until nightfall, she slipped out through the underground passage as usual.

She headed toward the room where the laundry and cleaning supplies were kept.

Just as she was about to sneak inside, she sensed people in the room.

Someone’s in there.

Two people… No. Three.

This was bad.

She needed to put the uniform back before it was collected.

Why were several people gathered in a place like this while everyone was busy preparing to leave?

The situation itself was suspicious.

Let’s hear what they’re talking about.

After making sure no one else was nearby, she pressed herself against the door and listened.

“Sister-in-law… I…”

It was Cloud’s voice.

Sister-in-law?

Eila had never even known Cloud had an older brother, much less a sister-in-law.

She focused intently on the voices inside.

“Not this again, Cloud. Don’t you want to avenge your brother?”

A sharp female voice challenged him.

It sounded familiar, yet she couldn’t quite remember where she’d heard it before.

“That’s not it. It’s just… I can’t help feeling guilty about deceiving such a young child.”

“Uncle, what are you saying? Have you forgotten what that girl’s father did? Our father died by his hand!”

A young girl’s angry voice interrupted.

This one Eila recognized immediately.

Laura.

Her own maid.

Apparently, the “young child” and the “girl” they were talking about was Eila herself.

“…I know, Laura. I know. But…”

What crime has a child like her committed?

Cloud muttered quietly.

“And Laura, you were only eight years old when it happened. You don’t even remember exactly what happened to your father.”

Cloud tried to calm her gently.

But Laura only became even angrier.

“Stop treating me like a child! At that age, you remember plenty! Especially something as horrible as watching your father die and our whole family being forced to flee like criminals!”

Her voice trembled with resentment.

“If our lord’s plan fails, we’ll spend the rest of our lives running as criminals. I can’t let Laura live like that forever! My husband—your brother—must not remain a criminal!”

The woman Cloud had called sister-in-law spoke quietly, but her voice burned with anger.

Laura immediately agreed.

“That’s right! Father deserves to be remembered as a knight who died honorably while protecting our lord. If serving the daughter of our enemy will make that happen, then I’ll do it for a hundred years… even a thousand!”