Chapter 3 – Part 3

“How important it is…”

Marsden mumbled as if he were chewing over Olivia’s words. Various thoughts seemed to cross his mind.

Olivia scrutinized every inch of Marsden’s face. His clear eyes, symbolizing integrity, a smoothly drawn nose, and lips. There was nothing out of place.

It’s understandable why someone might like him. Olivia bitterly mocked herself.

“Alright.”

Marsden spoke as if he had made a resolution. As Olivia was about to feel relieved, thinking it was as expected, Marsden suddenly picked up a wooden sword.

“Then, shall we spar like we used to?”

“Suddenly?”

Olivia was momentarily taken aback by the abrupt conversation. Marsden casually placed his outer garment where the wooden swords were hung.

“Didn’t you plan to spar with Sir Miles anyway? Since he’s gone to clean up the mess, you can spar with me instead.”

Sparring with Marsden? She had never imagined crossing swords with him, even with wooden ones, so she was even more perplexed. What if she accidentally broke a bone while swinging the sword?

Seeing her hesitation, Marsden burst into laughter, as if he understood her feelings.

“Buddy, don’t worry. I might be worse than you, but I’m not that bad.”

Marsden playfully tapped Olivia’s wooden sword with his. Olivia knew it too. Marsden was one of the best swordsmen in the empire. That’s why he was at the forefront of the war when Olivia was young.

“Besides, we used to spar quite often. That was when you cherished me.”

Even though he wasn’t complaining, Olivia felt a heaviness in her heart. To lighten the mood, Marsden assumed a stance.

“Pick up your sword, Buddy. If you let your guard down, I’ll win.”

That can’t happen. Reluctantly, Olivia picked up her sword, and Marsden’s smile deepened.

The swords clashed.

***

‘You crazy Troy Marsden!’

Out of frustration, Olivia dunked her face into a basin. Everyone nearby was astonished, except for Marsden, who remained calm.

‘I’m so annoyed.’

Olivia was openly furious, but Marsden seemed to enjoy her anger.

“What’s wrong, Buddy?”

‘What’s wrong!’ Olivia glared at Marsden with wide eyes. The reason she was trembling wasn’t anything else.

Because she lost? Absolutely not. The reason she was mad was…

“It took me 50 minutes to knock down a single person!”

“Buddy, you didn’t knock me down; you won the sword fight.”

Marsden corrected Olivia’s words with a smile. As he said, Olivia had won the spar with Marsden.

The problem was that it took a whopping 50 minutes. It took her 5 minutes to take down a royal guard, but with Marsden, it took 50 minutes. Fifty minutes! Does that even make sense?

“You get upset after winning, just like old times.”

Marsden handed a new cloth to Olivia.

“Hurry and dry off. You’ll catch a cold.”

At times like this, Marsden definitely showed signs of being a mentor. That maturity was somehow annoying. Olivia took the cloth from him.

“Anyway, thank you for sparring with me. After dealing with weaklings, it feels refreshing to have a match with you, Your Grace.”

When Olivia gave a crude compliment, Marsden’s eyes curved into a beautiful arc.

“Call me anytime you need, Buddy. I’ll come running.”

Olivia’s movements stopped as she was wiping off sweat. She wasn’t the only one startled by the weight of his words; the nearby servants also held their breath.

Olivia felt somehow embarrassed. It wasn’t like she had received a proposal, yet there was an overreaction.

“So, what should we talk about first? We have a lot to discuss today….”

“‘We’… yes, we do have a lot to discuss.”

Don’t blush again.

Olivia shook her head. What she said about his maturity, she completely took it back.

“Can we talk alone?”

“Of course. Everyone, disperse!”

Olivia clapped her hands twice as if to shoo them away. The servants, seemingly used to her behavior by now, quickly left.

Olivia opened a water bottle and drank some cool water. She never got used to being alone with this man.

“Buddy, do you remember this place?”

“The pond?”

Olivia looked at the small pond, following Marsden’s gaze. Little fish were swimming in clusters there.

“You liked places with water even though you couldn’t swim. Everyone used to say you were fearless.”

“So that’s why I used to visit Mr. Fore’s estate often.”

“Yeah, because the lake there is really beautiful.”

Marsden’s gaze landed on Olivia. A subtle heat rose in her cheeks.

“Anyway, your love for water led someone to create this pond. Do you remember who it was?”

“No, I don’t remember.”

Olivia answered honestly, though embarrassed. Marsden didn’t seem particularly surprised.

“It was Knight Illehan. He was a vassal of the Charbert family who was awarded a seal and knighthood for his great service in the border war thirty years ago.”

“Illehan…”

“And he was your father’s mentor, who cherished you like his own granddaughter, a ‘true’ knight.”

Father.

Olivia’s eyes sparkled brightly, like all the starlight combined. The sight made Marsden’s heart flutter.

“I found Illehan. He’s still in good health.”

“…”

Even though she didn’t remember his face, Olivia couldn’t calm her strangely stirred emotions. This overwhelming feeling was surely longing.

“Is he… doing well? He doesn’t resent me, does he?”

Olivia guessed that her own incompetence was the reason why such a loyal person had to leave the family. She was also doubtful if he would return.

“He asked if you were doing well.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, it seems he had heard about you.”

Those four words pierced Olivia’s heart deeply.

“He said that hiding himself for future battles after being severely injured was the worst move he could have made. He’s coming now to see you.”

Olivia couldn’t ignore the excitement. It felt like she finally had true allies, friends, and companions.

“Illehan loved you like family, and you considered him a precious family m*mber too.”

Olivia silently listened to Marsden. Somehow, she felt he was about to tell her something she had been longing to hear.

“It was after you had your debutante ball. Illehan swore that he would find you a wonderful husband. Upon hearing that, you…”

In the bright sunlight, Marsden’s eyes seemed to glint with a hint of redness. Olivia had an inkling of what he would say next.

The person young Olivia had wanted to proudly bring before Illehan.

“You linked arms with me, who was standing idly by, and said you wanted to marry this man.”

‘You loved me that much.’

Marsden seemed to be saying so.

***

Illehan was a good person. Especially to Olivia. That’s why Marsden protected Illehan whenever he was in danger of being expelled. Protecting him was the best way to protect Olivia.

If only it weren’t for the damn title of Duke. If he hadn’t been bound by ridiculous responsibilities and duties, Marsden could have continued to protect Illehan and Olivia.

‘You fool. You wretch.’

Marsden had left for a long time to eliminate the curse and returned to find everything changed.

“Knight Illehan was seriously injured in the Battle of Flatd and was driven out. It seems that Harry Palmer and his gang colluded, as they didn’t even properly treat his injuries.”

In the battle near the inner city of Flatd, Illehan lost an arm. It seemed likely that his subordinate was right about them deliberately casting him out after his severe injury. Perhaps even the enemy soldier who injured Illehan was affiliated with Harry Palmer.

The last remaining loyal vassal of the Charbert family. With his departure, the Charbert family fell into disarray, and something was clearly wrong, which Marsden couldn’t help but notice.

“Gael? Ah…”

The teacher.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have called their long-lost reunion so strange. Plus, he mentioned the name of that vile pest.

Marsden didn’t mind if Olivia no longer held him dear. Even though he wanted to stay by her side, he was willing to die if she commanded. But that man, Gael Abyss…

“Mas?”

“…!”

‘Mas’. The name brought him back to reality.

“It seems the 50 minutes were quite exhausting for you too. Why are you so zoned out?”

Olivia waved her hand playfully in front of Marsden’s eyes, but her gaze was filled with concern.

‘If you regain your memories, will you drift away from me again and harbor Gael Abyss in your heart?’

He realized how foolish it had been to keep his distance out of fear of putting her in danger. It wasn’t enough to blame himself repeatedly, but he couldn’t afford to lose her through his own self-loathing and negligence.

“Buddy.”

“Yes?”

“So, what did Harry Palmer say?”

Marsden decided to make the most of the opportunity he had finally regained. He would no longer keep his distance under the guise of consideration and protection.

Had his resolution shown outwardly? Olivia’s eyes seemed to say, ‘What’s gotten into him again?’

Marsden tried to look as kind and dependable as possible.

So he was trying so hard to appear incredibly attractive to Olivia.