Varlach’s eyes trembled as he asked Gadolph again.
“This place is Daphne?”
“Yes, have you forgotten even your own family name now?”
“Did you… get the name mixed up? I’m talking about the Daphne Ducal House, one of the Empire’s Seven Great Houses.”
“I’m telling you, this is ‘that Daphne.’”
Gadolph pounded his chest with his fist as if frustrated.
“What are you saying? How could a wretched mansion like this belong to our family?”
Was he trying to deceive me on purpose for some unknown reason? Was that it?
As Varlach kept staring blankly, Gadolph shouted.
“Young Master, you clearly said it yourself! Until half a century ago, our family was one of the Seven Great Houses! Daphne! This really is Daphne!”
“No, that’s true… but this…”
Just what had happened?
Varlach pressed his fingers against his temples, trying to collect himself, when Gadolph sighed and added.
“And now it’s not a ducal house but a viscountcy. A viscountcy.”
“What? A viscountcy?”
“Yes, a viscountcy.”
“You bastard, say something that makes sense!”
Smack!
“Aaagh!”
Varlach struck Gadolph on the crown of his head with his palm and shouted.
“There’s no way our family has been reduced to some lowly viscountcy!”
“Who are you calling a liar! Just look over there!”
But Gadolph, unwilling to back down, pointed at the mansion with a voice full of resentment.
Varlach’s head slowly lifted, following the tip of Gadolph’s finger.
The walls of the mansion were crumbling here and there, but there was a blue banner with a white wave crest engraved in the middle.
The wave crest, identical to the symbol of Daphne.
……
Huh? Why was that… over there?
All at once, a chill ran down my spine, my entire body started to tremble, and my face turned pale as death.
“Insane?”
How could this be real?
Varlach’s mouth gaped open.
Just then, as if struck by lightning, one thought flashed through Varlach’s mind, and his eyes grew round.
‘C-could it be.’
Fwoosh!
He rushed back into the mansion in a panic.
Standing at the center of the first-floor lobby, he lifted his head to look upward.
There it was, the grotesque statue he had glimpsed when he stepped outside earlier.
The thing with its head cleanly severed, covered in mold and shattered in places.
As I stared at it, memories of the past flooded my mind all at once.
[Hohoho! Well done, Varlach! Don’t let today’s glory make you complacent, and strive ever onward!]
[Yes, Father!]
The “Dawn of Knights,” a grand tournament that had gathered all the most renowned knights in the Empire.
The enormous knight statue the Emperor had bestowed upon me as a reward for winning the tournament, along with the title of Sword Saint.
It had become such an eyesore I hadn’t recognized it, but this…
‘That’s… that’s the one, isn’t it?’
The very statue I received!
Which meant… which meant…
“T-this really is our family’s estate?”
“Yes, how many times must I tell you?”
“Haha… hahahaha…”
Was this even possible? Was this really our family’s estate?
My body trembled uncontrollably, and a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Thud!
My knees buckled on their own, and I grabbed my hair with both of my hands, pulling at it.
‘How in the world did it come to this?’
No, I left behind the Wave Swordsmanship… and Big Brother was still here too, wasn’t he?
Shouldn’t the family have become even more splendid and grand than in the past?
What was this place, then? What the hell was this beggar’s den?
My heart pounded, and my head grew hot.
Varlach’s vision turned completely white.
“No. No way. There’s no way this could…”
I had to check. Just once… let me check one more time.
Tatadat!
I sprinted like mad all the way to the outskirts of the hill where the fortress stood and stopped at the edge.
From there, I could see the entire estate within the walls at a glance.
“…Hah.”
The low stone walls were crumbling in places, and since they apparently couldn’t even afford to repair them properly, rough wooden palisades had been patched into the gaps.
Moreover, the villages inside the inner walls weren’t lined with the marble buildings I had seen in the Daphne Ducal House in the past. They were nothing but roughly hewn wooden structures.
“What is this backwater?”
Venetus, the largest port city in the East and the seat of Daphne’s fortress.
No matter how wide I opened my eyes, there wasn’t even a speck of the old splendor left in sight.
“Is this a situation that makes any sense?”
My legs gave out, and I collapsed on the spot. My shoulders shook as a hollow laugh burst from my chest.
Seeing this, Gadolph scratched his head, then came over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Young Master, are you sure you don’t want me to call the physician?”
“The physician… the physician… haha…”
I really wished he would call one.
Because I felt like I might truly drop dead.
“Never mind supporting me… just… guide me.”
“Guide you? Guide you where?”
“Guide me around our estate, so I can see the state of this wretched place! Right now!”
Varlach’s face was flushing bright red.
A little while later, in the middle of an alley inside the estate.
Thud!
I sank down right there on the dirt road, clutching my head as I roared.
“Why is there nothing here that’s in one damn piece, nothing at all!”
“…Please compose yourself, Young Master.”
“Do I look like I can compose myself?”
I answered, my brow deeply furrowed.
‘What in the hell happened!’
A sigh came out all on its own.
For hours, I had gone around the Daphne estate with Gadolph.
The problem was that the current state of Daphne was utterly miserable.
The granary was crawling with rats, the buildings of the estate were so decrepit they looked ready to collapse at any moment, and it was in such a wretched condition that dreaming of a grand port like in the past was utterly laughable.
‘Just what happened while I was dead for things to end up like this?’
My head spun, and my heart pounded as if it were about to explode.
If the comrades who had died, or Father, were to see this state… what on earth would they say?
“Huuuuuuu… L-let’s just go inside for now.”
“Ah, yes. Let’s do that.”
I needed to rest for a moment.
If I didn’t cool my head, I felt like I’d collapse from sheer rage.
Just as Varlach and Gadolph were about to return side by side to the mansion—
“Hyah! Hyah!”
“Hmm?”
A faint shout reached my ears, and when I turned my head, I saw one of the family’s banners standing tall in the distance.
Varlach pointed with a finger and asked.
“Gadolph, what’s that noise?”
“Oh, there? That’s probably the knights’ training, I think.”
“The knights?”
“Yes.”
At that moment, Varlach’s eyes regained a spark of life, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
“Ohoho, the knights!”
Yes, that was still left!
Fine—let’s say, for the sake of argument, that everything else had collapsed.
But as long as the knight order was intact, then…
‘I am Varlach Daphne!’
The Varlach who had raised the Grand Blue Knights to be the strongest force in the Empire with nothing but my bare hands!
If the knight order was still intact, then…
‘I can somehow restore the family.’
Yes—there was no way the knight order had fallen into ruin!
I had left behind the Wave Swordsmanship—if that had been preserved, there was no way they could have failed!
Clutching onto a sliver of hope, Varlach clenched his fist tight.
“Gadolph, take me to the knight order.”
“All of a sudden?”
“I have something I must check. Hurry!”
“…Well, very well.”
Sighing as if a bit weary, Gadolph moved ahead to lead the way.
‘The knight order… the knight order.’
Following behind him, Varlach’s face was filled with expectation.
Perhaps because of that, with every step I took, the old image of the knight order vividly replayed in my mind.
– Hyaaa! Hya!
Hundreds of knights filling the training grounds as they trained in unison.
The sense of pride and a strange, overwhelming emotion that welled up in me when I watched them—I could still feel it now.
‘Yes, there’s no such thing as a person being doomed beyond saving.’
After walking for about five minutes, an adequately sized knight order building and the wide training grounds in front of it came into view.
Gadolph opened his palm and gestured.
“We’ve arrived, Young Master. This is our knight order.”
……
In that instant, Varlach’s eyes narrowed.
“Hya! Hya!”
“Harder! Swing it harder!”
Inside the training grounds, the knights were sweating buckets as they struck at straw dummies.
Worn-out training uniforms, faces all looking exhausted, and a total headcount of about a dozen.
Compared to the training grounds of the past, it was not simply modest—it was downright pitiful.
With a look of clear displeasure, Varlach pointed at the knights and asked.
“Um, Gadolph.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“…Are those all the knights of the house?”
At that, Gadolph tilted his head and began counting them off on his fingers as he looked at the training grounds.
“Let’s see. Three, six, nine, twelve… Yes, that’s all of them.”
“You’re telling me… that the house has only twelve knights in total?”
“Yes. Is there… a problem?”
“No, it’s not that…”
…God Faeron.
A sigh escaped me on its own.
In its prime, the Grand Blue Knights had over seven hundred fully inducted members.
Counting the apprentices and trainees, their number easily surpassed a thousand. Even considering the decline of the family, to have only twelve remaining…
Who was I supposed to impress with that?
‘No, I should be grateful even for this much.’
My body felt like it was about to dissolve into a puddle, but I slapped my cheeks and forced myself back up.
‘Numbers aren’t everything.’
Skill was more important than headcount.
When I was alive, I had not only passed down the hereditary secrets but also left behind a simplified version of Wave Swordsmanship for the ordinary knights.
If it had been properly inherited, then those men would be warriors worth a hundred each, and there would still be an ember of hope left.
‘Let’s see…’
Half worried, half expectant, I folded my arms and watched the knights.
“All right! This time, deploy High Tide Form One!”
“Yes!”
Just then, a young knight with thick caterpillar eyebrows stepped forward before the others, taking his stance and shouting with vigor.
At this, Varlach’s face filled with hopeful anticipation.
‘Hmm… High Tide?’
High Tide.
The most basic form among the principles of Wave Swordsmanship I had devised—a simplified offensive sword art with five moves, from Form One to Form Five.
A thrust, a slash, a chop, a hooking cut, and a spinning slash.
It was a style that fused these basic motions with the unique rhythm and timing of the waves.
If they knew how to perform that, it would mean Wave Swordsmanship had indeed been passed down properly.
‘At least there’s still a foundation left.’
I clasped my hands together, eyes shining, and watched the knights’ training.
“Haaaa!”
The knights adopted their stances in earnest, gripping their swords before quickly thrusting them forward.
“Hmm?”
Wobbling swords.
Mana flow that didn’t match the moment of the thrust.
Footwork in utter disarray.
In an instant, my brows twisted sharply.
‘What… is that supposed to be?’
Meanwhile, the knights repeated the thrust again.
“Faster! You have to drive it in cleanly with precision!”
……
That wasn’t Wave Swordsmanship.
There was none of the distinctive rhythm, fluidity, or timing that defined Wave Swordsmanship.
Nothing even remotely resembled what I had handed down.
They called that High Tide? According to whom?
‘Ha…’
My body, which had just calmed, started trembling again.
“Huuup! Haaap!”
A worthless mockery of Wave Swordsmanship.
No, they were diligently practicing something that didn’t even deserve the “W” in Wave.
I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.
‘…This is serious.’
At that moment, the caterpillar-browed man with broad features shouted out.
“The most important thing in High Tide is to thrust your sword powerfully like a wave! Curved slashes only create inefficiency, so you must draw a blade that moves in straight lines, from one straight path to another!”
“Yes, understood!”
“Delay your thrust timing more! You’re too fast!”
“Thank you!”
He wandered around the training field, correcting each knight’s sword form one by one.
‘What? Curved slashes are inefficient? Move in straight lines to straight lines?’
Covering my face with one hand, I let out a long sigh.
‘That’s… exactly the opposite!’
The whole point was to press in relentlessly with curved, wave-like slashes to disrupt the opponent’s timing, then gather power and unleash it all in a single tidal burst when the moment came!
Who was that fool to spout nonsense like that?!
‘Good grief…’
I heaved exasperated breaths toward the sky until Gadolph looked at me, puzzled.
“What’s wrong now, Young Master?”
“G-Gadolph… What’s that bastard’s name?”
I pointed at the caterpillar eyebrows, and Gadolph answered.
“Manton, sir.”
“Manton? That bastard… is he the knight commander?”
“No, the commander is someone else… Sir Manton is the training instructor. But why do you ask?”
……
Why else?
Because I was about to give that worthless fool a proper lesson.
Biting down hard on my lower lip, I strode forward.