DMHS 107

It was a longsword he had received to celebrate his appointment as Captain of the Knights.

The handle had once been gilded and adorned with jewels, but to overcome their family’s hardship, they had sold the gold and jewels little by little, and now it had become plain and dull.

Only the royal emblem engraved along the blade remained to represent its once-glorious past.

“Thank you, Father. You’ll come to watch my match later, right?”

Kian accepted the sword with both hands. His father avoided his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Yan. That won’t be possible. Though many years have passed, His Majesty’s order is absolute. It’s already wrong for me to let you go out, and I can’t leave the forest myself.”

“This tournament is my first and maybe my last chance to show my swordsmanship. I really want you to come, Father.”

“……”

His father remained silent for a long time.

His profile, solid like a heavy stone, caught Kian’s eyes.

It was a face he saw every day. But not everything was the same as in Kian’s memory.

Among the hair that had once been black as ebony, strands of white had begun to appear. The corners of his eyes had deepened, and wrinkles had spread across his knuckles.

It was still too early to call him old, but his father would keep aging. Without achieving anything, just like now.

Kian would follow the same path his father had walked.

Something long buried inside Kian suddenly exploded.

“Does His Majesty’s order even matter anymore? Father, you already know. His Majesty has forgotten you. He doesn’t care whether you’re alive or dead.”

“Yan.”

“Since things are already like this, can I speak honestly? I doubt His Majesty ever trusted or depended on you. He probably promoted a worthless commoner to a high position for political reasons, then discarded him as soon as it was convenient. Why are you still waiting for someone like that?”

“……”

“We should have left this forest long ago. What kind of exile has no guards? You should think about our family too. How long will Mother, my sister, and I have to live in that isolated cabin? It’s enough that you’ve ruined your own life. I won’t stay here any longer.”

With those words, Kian left the cabin.

At the tournament that followed, Kian spotted his father at the edge of the spectator stands. He wore a poorly made mask and a robe far too large for his body to hide his build, but his presence couldn’t be concealed.

Though he had said he couldn’t come, his father must have been worried.

Kian was pleased that his father had come.

‘If I achieve an overwhelming victory in this tournament, Father will understand my resolve.’

Kian – no, Yan – finally reached the final match.

His opponent was a mercenary known as ‘Red Blade.’ Even with a mask on, people could recognize him by his skill.

When he was young, he had served in a knight order, but he refused to follow the greedy orders of his lord and left to form his own mercenary band, a story that was well known.

‘I heard that his temper is fiery, but when he holds a sword, he becomes cold as ice.’

Before the match began, Yan raised his sword and measured his opponent.

Unlike other participants who had underestimated him for his small build, Red Blade calmly observed the boy.

A whistle rang out to announce the start of the match.

Both of them held longswords.

The longsword was the standard weapon of knights in those days.

Knights used its long reach to press the enemy with wide, light cuts.

But what Kian had learned from his father was different.

‘A longsword has strong parts and weak parts. The part where you can put the most strength is near the hilt. So you must stay close to your opponent and push with the back of the blade.’

Kian closed the distance at once. He slipped inside and pushed his sword up from below.

Red Blade blocked it with strength, without any sign of surprise.

Kian stepped back and parried the sword that came to strike his neck.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Their figures met and separated. Soon their strength clashed through the blades. The sound of metal reverberated through the air.

No one knew how many moves they exchanged in that short moment.

Red Blade pressed forward with his tall build and solid power, while Yan used his small, agile body to deflect the force and counterattack.

Neither could easily gain the upper hand. This match was on an entirely different level from all the previous ones.

The spectators focused on their fight. The local lord who hosted the tournament and his noble guests leaned forward, scrutinizing each of their movements.

“Haah, haah.”

Under the scorching midday sun, sweat ran down Yan’s temples.

His breath had already reached his throat. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, his heart might jumped out of his chest.

He could taste blood in his mouth. He couldn’t predict from which side the next attack would come.

‘If this keeps up, I might lose.’

Yan could get stabbed by the sword and be wounded. He might even be injured so badly that he would never hold a sword again.

Even so…

‘I feel so happy I could go insane.’

All the blood in his body boiled. He was glad that it felt as if only his opponent and himself remained in the world. If he could keep swinging his sword until he died, there would be nothing more to wish for.

Yan smiled under his mask. This time he advanced with a proper slashing motion.

Clang. Clang. Clang, clang.

After several exchanges, Yan slipped perfectly inside Red Blade’s guard.

When he pushed the hilt forward, the opponent let go of one hand from the sword and grabbed Yan’s arm, trying to overpower him and make him drop his weapon.

But that was exactly the moment Yan had been waiting for.

‘Good.’

Yan pressed the thrust even harder without caring about his opponent’s restraint. It became a battle of who would endure or be pushed back.

A look of confusion filled the man’s eyes. He had thought he could win through strength, but the boy’s power surpassed his own.

Clang!

The sword dropped from Red Blade’s hand. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the sword that flew and landed five steps away from them.

“The final match… victory goes to the boy swordsman!”

As soon as the voice rang out through the magic stone, the spectators cheered.

“Waaaaah!”

“That was an amazing match!”

“Excellent!”

Flowers and coins flew from the stands.

Yan checked the southern seats first. His father was standing and passionately applauding.

“Whoaa!”

“He defeated Red Blade, incredible!”

“Boy swordsman! Boy swordsman! Boy swordsman!”

Yan slowly looked at the stands. Under the clear sky without a single cloud, the cheers and blessings from the crowd filled his chest with emotion.

His heart felt as if it would explode again, but for a different reason this time. Yan felt vividly that he was alive.

It was the happiest moment of his entire life.

“That was a fine match.”

Red Blade, who had retrieved his sword, offered a handshake. Yan gripped his hand tightly and then released it.

“I learned something from you as well.”

“That’s only possible because of your age. A few years from now, there will be no one in the kingdom who can face you. Come to think of it, it seems you were taught by a true knight. Who is your master?”

“That’s…”

Yan bit his lower lip and then released it.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“My mistake. In this world where false knights are everywhere, the true ones have gone into hiding. I wish you success.”

“Thank you.”

The lord, who sat among the nobles, descended into the arena with his attendants. He came personally to praise the champion.

Yan placed his sword on the ground and knelt on one knee.

“Young swordsman, your skill is truly impressive. Especially in the final match, I couldn’t take my eyes off you for even a moment.”

Through the sound-amplifying magic stone, the lord’s voice reached all the spectators.

“Your words are too generous.”

“No. But as I watched the match, a question came to mind. Where did you get that sword?”

Before Yan could answer, one of the lord’s men snatched his sword away.

The lord narrowed his eyes and murmured as he examined it.

“At first glance it looks plain, but you can’t fool my eyes. The emblem engraved on the blade is clearly of the royal family. This is a treasured sword bestowed at least to a member of the royal knights. A young boy like you can’t belong to them…”

A restless atmosphere spread through the stands.

Yan’s mind turned blank.

He couldn’t understand how things had turned so suddenly.

“As it happens, I know someone connected to the royal knights. A man of common birth who rose to the rank of knight captain, but was exiled for daring to covet His Majesty’s throne. Didn’t that man have black hair and black eyes?”

While he was frozen in shock, one of the lord’s attendants tore off Yan’s mask.

The sudden act made Yan feel as if his clothes had been stripped off instead of his mask.

Countless eyes were looking at his face.

But unlike before, those gazes were no longer filled with favor. They were full of suspicion, distrust, and even curiosity.

Yan swallowed. He knew he had to say something, but his lips wouldn’t move.

“But that man was ordered never to leave the forest. Because he’s dangerous, he was cut off from the world. If that criminal has left the place he was confined to and come here, then killing him on the spot would not be a problem.”