Chapter 890: Parallels [2]

From the start, Leon’s life had been set.

From the moment he entered the Evenus Household, he only had one mission.

Be Seth’s knight.

"Hold still."

Leon gripped the edge of the chair as Aldric pressed a damp cloth against his knee. His feet didn’t quite reach the floor, and he kept trying to pull the torn fabric of his trousers over the scrape.

"...I’m sorry."

Aldric moved the fabric aside again.

"Where was Julien?"

"In the courtyard."

"And you left him there?"

"He told me to come inside. He helped me get up, and—"

Aldric’s hand stopped.

Leon’s voice trailed off as he looked at him.

"He helped you?"

"...Yes."

For several seconds, Aldric said nothing. Then he returned his attention to the wound, cleaning the remaining dirt without easing the pressure when Leon flinched.

"You are supposed to look after him. Not the other way around."

Leon lowered his head.

"I only fell."

"And what would have happened if he had needed you?"

His fingers tightened against the chair. He wasn’t sure what to say, and Aldric continued cleaning his knee without waiting for an answer.

Outside, Julien called his name.

"Leon! Where are you... you useless bastard!"

Leon turned towards the window, but Aldric caught his chin and brought his attention back.

"Listen carefully."

Leon kept silent, his eyes shaking slightly as he met the family head’s.

"I brought you here for a purpose. You have a room, food, and people making certain you have everything you need. Do you understand why?"

"...To become his knight."

"To become his knight," Aldric repeated. "Everything you learn here is for that purpose. Wherever Julien goes, you will follow. Whatever he needs, you will provide."

He released Leon’s chin and reached for the bandage.

"Your life will be spent taking care of his. That is what is expected of you."

Leon watched his hands as he wrapped the cloth around his knee.

"What if I’m not strong enough?"

"Then you will train harder."

"But—"

"You will not make your shortcomings his responsibility."

Leon closed his mouth.

Aldric secured the bandage before looking up at him again.

"I didn’t bring you into this house so Julien would have someone else to worry about. Don’t fail me."

"...I won’t."

"What will you do?"

Leon swallowed, glancing briefly towards the window before returning his attention to Aldric.

"I’ll follow Julien. I’ll protect him."

"And?"

"...I won’t let him have to protect me."

Aldric regarded him for a moment before releasing his leg.

Leon sat straighter, careful not to move the bandage. This time, he was certain he had answered correctly.

Aldric nodded once.

"...This is how it should be."

The voice overlapped as the family head’s figure faded, replaced by Tharvek’s.

Leon’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.

There was no chair beneath him anymore. Sand pressed against his knees, working its way beneath the torn fabric of his trousers while the weight bearing down on his shoulders made it difficult to breathe.

Tharvek stood directly in front of him.

"...Still trying?"

Leon watched the hand approaching his face.

His grip shifted, and he pulled the sword from the ground, bringing its edge towards Tharvek’s wrist. He couldn’t stand, but there was still enough room to swing.

The blade passed through the arm.

Grains of sand scattered across Leon’s face before gathering again beside his sword.

He had expected that much.

Rather than trying to strike again, Leon turned the blade and brought his injured arm against its flat side, bracing it between himself and the approaching palm.

BANG!

The sword slammed against his chest.

"Ukh!"

Pain spread beneath his ribs as he bent backwards. For an instant, the sand loosened around his legs, and Leon used the movement to pull one foot free before he was thrown across the ground.

He landed on his side, keeping his injured shoulder raised as he rolled.

The sword remained in his hand.

Leon immediately dragged his knee beneath him, but the sand was already moving again. He forced his Domain closer around his body, concentrating the darkness beneath his feet rather than trying to spread it farther.

The grains slowed.

He managed to stand before they could close around his ankle.

"Haa... Haa..."

His left arm hung lower than before, and every breath pulled at something beneath his ribs. Leon kept the sword close to his body, watching the ground while Tharvek’s figure broke apart, scattering with the sand.

"⎯⎯!"

The sand stirred to his right.

Leon turned before the body had fully formed, bringing his sword across the space where Tharvek’s hand appeared.

CLANG!

Gray spread over the fingers.

The impact shook Leon’s arm, but he didn’t resist it. He let the blade move aside and stepped towards Tharvek’s other shoulder, trying to get beyond his reach before the sand could gather beneath him again.

For a moment, he thought he had managed it.

Then his rear foot sank.

Leon immediately released his weight from it, but the delay was enough.

Tharvek’s forearm struck across his side.

"Huek!"

He stumbled, his sword dipping as he tried to regain his balance. Before he could bring it back up, a hand caught his shoulder and forced him down.

His knee struck the sand.

Pain spread through the same place Aldric had once bandaged.

Tharvek leaned a little closer.

"You went through all that trouble just to end up here again."

Leon tried to turn his sword towards him.

The hand on his shoulder tightened, forcing a groan from his mouth before Tharvek pushed him away.

Leon caught himself against the ground. His palm slid over the hilt, and he felt the skin tear beneath the leather.

For several seconds, he remained bent over.

The crowd was still cheering.

He could hear them beyond the sound of his own breathing, growing louder whenever he tried to lift himself.

"Kill him!"

"Finish him!"

"Finish him!"

All wished upon his death.

"...As you can see, nobody here cares for your survival. The people you seem so desperate to help survive care nothing for you."

Tharvek’s voice reached him from somewhere ahead.

Leon stared at the blood gathering between his fingers.

He knew that.

He had always known that.

But that wasn’t the reason why he was doing all of this.

His hand shifted against the hilt, searching for a place where the torn skin wouldn’t pull when he closed his fingers.

He let the pain sink into his mind.

’Again.’

He tried to lift the sword.

"A-gain!"

"No."

Albert J. Konnedy placed the wooden sword against the bench beside him, Leon’s eyes following his every movement as his chest heaved up and down incredibly fast, sweat trickling down and adding to the pool of water that had already formed.

"I c-an still continue."

"Turn your palm."

"What? W-"

"Turn it over."

Leon lowered his head and followed the Knight Commander’s orders.

Several places along Leon’s palm had split, leaving dark patches against the leather wrapped around the handle.

Albert’s brows drew together.

"How long has it been like this, Prince?"

"It doesn’t affect my grip."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

Leon remained quiet.

With a small sigh, Albert lowered himself onto one knee and reached for the clean cloth resting beside the water basin. His armor clanked with the movement, the lion across his chest briefly catching the afternoon light.

Leon tried to withdraw his hand.

"I... can do it myself."

"Then you should have done it earlier."

The cloth pressed against his palm, drawing a faint twitch from his fingers.

Beyond the courtyard, footsteps sounded along the covered passage. Two attendants slowed when they noticed them, lowering their heads towards Leon before continuing on their way.

He still wasn’t used to that.

Albert noticed where he was looking but said nothing as he cleaned the blood from his hand.

"You’ve improved quite a bit."

"...Not enough."

"Enough for what?"

Leon looked back at him.

The question seemed strange. Albert had watched him train nearly every day. He knew how far Leon still had to go before reaching Sword Assimilation.

But the Commander continued looking at him, apparently waiting for something else.

Eventually, Leon lowered his gaze.

"I’m still falling behind."

"Behind what? You’re already far ahead of the other Prince or any of the other candidates. I dare say that no one can challenge you besides a select few."

"....."

"It’s because of him, isn’t that right?"

Leon pressed his lips together, and eventually nodded.

There had been a time when he could keep up with him. Even when Julien moved ahead, the distance had never seemed so large that Leon couldn’t imagine crossing it.

Lately, he wasn’t even certain Julien could see him when he looked back.

"I’m... supposed to be his knight."

Albert moved closer to Leon and patched his palm.

"And?"

"He keeps having to save me."

The words came out softer than Leon intended.

Albert’s hands paused before continuing.

"Has he complained?"

"No."

"Then what troubles you?"

Leon stared at the cloth.

For a while, he struggled to explain it. Julien had never told him that he was useless. He had never asked Leon to justify being there.

Somehow, that made it harder.

"...I don’t want him to regret keeping me beside him."

Albert looked up.

The courtyard had grown quieter as the other trainees began putting their weapons away. Leon could hear their voices near the entrance, discussing something about the evening meal.

"And if he no longer needed a knight?"

Leon frowned.

"I would find another way to help him."

"Suppose he didn’t need that either."

"That wouldn’t happen."

"Why not?"

"There would always be something I could do."

Albert watched him for several seconds before lowering his gaze to the bandage. He secured it carefully, testing whether Leon could still close his fingers.

"Perhaps that’s the case, but Prince.... I need you to remember something. You’re no longer a knight."

"....."

"You’re a prince."

The words thundered in Leon’s ears.

"A prince that will guide this Empire into the future. The light that will shine amidst the darkness that will soon take over this Empire... The people’s hope."

Leon held his breath, lifting his head to stare at the Commander.

"Even if you never wanted this role, you bear responsibility for every life within this Empire now. You cannot allow yourself to be bound to a single person. That is not what it means to be a Prince."

"But I never asked to be one..."

"Then did you ask to be his knight?"

Leon opened his lips, but the words never left his mouth.

That...

The Commander grabbed the practice sword and placed it away.

"...One’s path is dictated by their own choices, not the choices of others. Do not ever forget that. Rest your hand. We’ll continue tomorrow."

His tone left little room for argument.

Leon looked towards the rows of damaged training dummies.

He could already see where his earlier strikes had gone wrong, and the movements he would need to correct.

That was easier to think about.

By the time he had left the courtyard, Leon stood completely still, his sword hanging low as the silence embraced him from all directions.

Just...

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

What does my life amount to?