Hyeon-seong was an ordinary young man.
Although his parents had died in a traffic accident when he was young and he had lived a difficult life, he had never thought of himself as unfortunate.
Losing his parents at far too young an age had remained a deep wound, but he had accepted it, thinking it was an unavoidable fate.
The reason he could think this way was that there were many people around him who were worse off than he was.
At the orphanage he entered after losing his parents, most of the children did not even know their parents’ faces.
Compared to children who had been abandoned by their parents as soon as they were born and had never received even a handful of love, he was an extremely lucky and happy person.
His parents had been very good people, and while they were alive, they had loved him deeply and abundantly.
Those memories were like a sturdy support for his heart.
They allowed him to endure without collapsing, no matter what difficulties came his way.
Thanks to that, Hyeon-seong lived diligently without giving in to all kinds of temptations and hardships.
Because he believed his parents would want him to live happily and well, and that showing them such a life was both his duty and his filial piety.
Time passed that way, and when he came of age, Hyeon-seong left the orphanage.
After leaving the orphanage, Hyeon-seong did nothing but work in silence.
Because he thought that for someone like him, who had nothing, building a foundation was more important than anything else.
Life in society without a single place to lean on was not easy, but through hard work, he even managed to buy himself a small house on the outskirts.
On the first night he spent after running without rest and buying that house, Hyeon-seong cried so much.
Because joy, sorrow, and all sorts of emotions welled up inside him.
‘I really have lived hard. It’s a little late, but from now on, let’s live with a bit more ease. Let’s have hobbies like other people and date someone too.’
After making that resolution, the first gift Hyeon-seong gave himself for all his suffering was an Arcadia game capsule.
Arcadia was an AI-based game causing a sensation all over the world.
Unlike games until now, it was said to give the sensation of entering the game through a capsule and playing it directly.
It was a revolutionary next-generation game that stood on an entirely different track from existing games.
After waiting three months, the game capsule was installed in his home, and the moment he logged into the game with an excited heart.
That was the last of Hyeon-seong’s memories.
And when he opened his eyes, he had become Lawrence.
‘Now that I think about it calmly, I’m not that attached to Hyeon-seong’s life, am I?’
In truth, the happiest moments he had experienced while living as Hyeon-seong were only the days of his childhood spent with his parents.
After that, it had merely been one struggle after another to survive. It was not the life he had wanted.
Because he had been an orphan without a single place to lean on, he had endured all kinds of sorrow, and he had needed to work and work again to build a foundation for his life.
He had lived fiercely that way, and what remained was a single small house on the outskirts.
‘Come to think of it, my life was really simple.’
Aside from the house, there was nothing left for him to be attached to.
But here, the love of the parents Hyeon-seong had missed so much was alive and breathing.
That alone was enough to fill every emptiness in his heart.
He had thought he would never be able to feel it again as long as he lived…….
The second life he had obtained unintentionally was like a miracle to him.
And Hyeon-seong came to have one goal he needed to accomplish.
It was Lawrence’s intense wish.
No, now it had become his own, a dream he wanted to fulfill here.
The dream of rising from his sickbed and ‘soaring freely.’
The dream of becoming a hero and being admired by people.
The dream of becoming a child his parents could be proud of.
The dream of raising the collapsing House of Count Romanov back up again.
They were all modest, yet desperate dreams.
Perhaps because Lawrence had spent so much time in bed, the dreams he had dreamed were endlessly innocent, like those of a child.
And all of these became dreams Hyeon-seong needed to fulfill.
And he resolved to live for them from now on.
The count’s house, which had been as silent as a tomb, finally regained its vitality.
The heir of the count’s house, whom everyone had thought would die, had survived, so nothing could have been more joyful.
Singing came from the kitchen, which had always been quiet.
“La la la la la la.”
Adela was personally cooking porridge for her son.
“Madam, please go back inside. I will do the rest.”
Helena fidgeted anxiously beside her and kept reaching out, but Adela did not hand over the ladle.
“It’s all right, Helena. My only son has survived. Cooking porridge is nothing. I thought I would gladly offer my own life if only Lawrence’s illness could be cured. Instead, I’m so happy that I can cook porridge for my son like this.”
Her face was full of happiness as she said that.
Ignoring even the heat, Adela diligently stirred the ladle so the porridge would not burn.
Thanks to Adela’s devotion, Hyeon-seong quickly regained his health.
“Mother, thank you for the meal.”
Hyeon-seong—no, Lawrence now—spoke warmly to Adela.
“Yes, eat plenty.”
Anyone who saw the two of them talking would think they were a tender mother and son.
Because Lawrence had always yearned for his parents’ love, he felt great happiness in Adela’s vast and deep love.
That was why it did not seem bad to simply live here happily with his parents, without bothering to return to reality.
But before he could do that, there was one thing that bothered him.
He knew to some extent that the family’s circumstances were not good.
Just because he had spent a long time confined to his room did not mean he knew nothing of the outside situation.
But the territory was in a far more serious situation than Lawrence had thought.
This was the Arendel Region, located at the southernmost end of the Kingdom of Lumiere.
It bordered the Monster Forest, and it was one of the territories evaluated as having the worst conditions in the kingdom.
The House of Count Romanov had ruled this region as its lord and had blocked monsters for several generations already.
But support from the kingdom had long since been cut off, so blocking the monsters was gradually becoming more than they could handle.
The one fortunate thing was that a massive river ran across the edge of the Monster Forest, which bordered the territory.
This river served as a shield, blocking the monsters’ incursions.
If the river had not existed, the territory would have fallen to the monsters long ago.
As such, martial power was essential to live here.
Naturally, Lawrence’s father, Jason, was also a knight of outstanding skill.
The reason this territory had been maintained at all was entirely thanks to Jason’s outstanding performance.
He always took the lead in battles against monsters, and through his example, the people of the territory had united as one and blocked the monsters.
But as they said, misfortune came in layers. Five years ago, Jason suffered a serious wound to his mana circuit because of an absurd mistake by the knight order under his command.
From then on, the territory rapidly grew more difficult, and the count’s house began walking the road to ruin.
Several days had passed since Lawrence rose from his sickbed.
For the first time in more than ten years, the family shared a cozy meal together.
Adela had prepared delicious food for her son, who had suffered all this time.
On the dining table were steaming soup, fresh salad, golden-brown steak, and bread.
Her care could be felt in every single dish.
Jason tried to eat without showing it as much as possible, but he could not hide the emotions welling up inside him.
Seeing that, Adela felt grateful that after Lawrence had fallen ill, she was now able to see the delighted expression of a man who had shown only the strong and stern face of a knight.
“How is it, son? Does the food suit your taste?”
“Yes, Mother. It’s delicious. If I had known food was this good, I should have gotten up sooner.”
“Hohoho, you. Even if those are empty words, I truly appreciate them.”
Adela laughed pleasantly at Lawrence’s joke.
She was already grateful enough that her son had become healthy, but his thoughtfulness toward his mother was so lovely.
Truthfully, she would have no regrets even if she died right now.
“Father, there is something I would like to tell you.”
As the meal was nearing its end, Lawrence called to Jason in a serious voice.
“Yes, Lawrence. Speak.”
At his son’s solemn air, which was different from before, Jason set down the teacup he had been drinking from and met Lawrence’s eyes.
“Now that my body seems to be mostly all right, I would like to begin swordsmanship training too.”
At Lawrence’s unexpected words, Jason’s eyes widened slightly.
And then pride surged through him.
‘As expected, he’s of Romanov blood.’
But just as much as that, he was worried about his son’s health.
While Jason agonized over what answer he should give, Adela waved her hands as if troubled and spoke.
“Lawrence. You still need to rest more. You’ve only just reached the point where you can get up and walk. If you overdo it for no reason, the body that recovered with such difficulty might grow worse again.”
“Yes, Lawrence. For now, it would be best to listen to your mother. I understand how you feel, but it is still too much for you to undergo such difficult training.”
Jason had also judged that training was still too much for him.
Besides, the time for him to begin training had long since passed, so there was no need to rush.
In general, training to become a knight had to begin by the early teens at the latest.
That was how difficult it was to become a knight.
A knight was not someone who merely honed swordsmanship.
What was more important was accumulating mana in the body and operating it.
Mana was the root of a knight’s power.
The ability to produce strength beyond the body’s limits was all because of mana.
But for Lawrence, who was over twenty years old, it was already too late to accumulate and operate mana.
Jason was disappointed that Lawrence could not become a knight who would succeed him, but he was satisfied enough simply with the fact that Lawrence had survived instead of dying.
Because he knew very well that wishing for more than this would be a very great greed.
And through all his experiences, he knew very well that greed beyond one’s station always invited great disaster.
“Father, would you not like to drink some cool water?”
“Hm? Cool water? What are you suddenly talking about?”
At Lawrence’s sudden and odd words, Jason asked with his eyes rounded.
Before answering Jason’s question, Lawrence stretched out his arm and picked up a cup of water.
Then Lawrence seemed to mutter something, and soon the water inside the cup trembled lightly.
A moment later, Lawrence withdrew his hand and held the cup out in front of Jason.
“Could this be?”
With an incredulous expression, Jason looked back and forth between his son’s face and the cup.
The cup, which had held nothing but ordinary water until just a moment ago, now had droplets forming on it.
He slowly took the cup with trembling hands.
And at the coolness he felt, his face filled with shock.
“D-Did you make a contract with a spirit?”
His voice, which had remained composed no matter how difficult the battle or what monster he faced, trembled.
There was no way Lawrence, who had only lain in bed, could have learned magic, which required much study. That left only spirits.
“Yes. What you said is correct, Father. A few days ago, I received a spirit’s blessing.”
Three days earlier, Lawrence had an unusual experience while trying to drink water.
Because he had seen the water inside the glass ripple on its own.
Wondering if he had perhaps seen it wrong, he stared quietly into the cup.
And a short while later, ripples rose across the surface of the water once again.
He thought, ‘Could the wind have blown?’ but this was a room closed on all sides.
He checked to see whether the window might have been open, but the window was firmly shut.
Even so, the water had rippled on its own, and no matter how he thought about it, that was strange.
It was a situation frightening enough to be afraid of, but Lawrence was not afraid.
No, strangely, strong curiosity blossomed inside him.
“What is happening?”
Lawrence could not take his eyes off the cup.
As if responding to his interest, the rippling of the water grew stronger and stronger, and soon the water left the cup and floated up.
The sight of a round droplet of water bobbing in the air was extremely mysterious.
Lawrence had his gaze completely stolen by this astonishing sight.
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
The droplet of water moved little by little and slowly began to take a single shape.
Before long, the completed shape of water had taken the form of a human.
It was about ten centimeters tall, with an adorable appearance like a doll made of transparent glass.
It was so mysterious, beautiful, and cute.
Before Lawrence knew it, he reached out and carefully touched the droplet of water.
The doll of water was soft as silk.
And when Lawrence’s fingertip touched it, a small ripple spread out from the place of contact.
The doll of water smiled brightly and made a pleased expression.
At that sight, Lawrence’s mood brightened along with it.
‘I really want to become friends with this doll.’
They had not conversed, but for some reason, he felt as though he and the doll of water shared something.
With an inexplicable sense of familiarity, Lawrence spoke to the doll of water.
“Who are you?”
“I’m a water spirit.”
“A water spirit?”
Lawrence was amazed.
Because he had thought spirits existed only in the imagination.
He had often heard that they existed, but there were only a very few people who had actually seen one.
But to think he would see such a spirit now, right before his eyes.