CHAPTER 83

"Shall we wrap things up now?"

Oksana poured some oil into her hands and rubbed them together, gesturing for the boy to come closer.

"You need to come closer."

"....Yes."

Oksana's living room is quiet, but everyone is busy.

While the maids were busy polishing the boy's armor and ironing his clothes and cloak, only Oksana and Vlad remained still in the silence.

"I knew a day like this would come eventually. It's sooner than I expected, though."

Oksana smiled warmly as she tidied Vlad's hair.

Strands of hair slipped through her fingers, gleaming in the sunlight, making Vlad's blond hair look quite impressive to Oksana.

"It must have been tough."

"..."

Instead of replying to Oksana, Vlad closed his eyes, feeling her touch as she smoothed his hair.

Though it was burdensome to be looked at by Oksana with such deep understanding, he wanted to focus on the sensation he hadn't felt in a long time.

Despite his claim that he couldn't remember anything in front of the red-haired girl, Vlad cherished the few memories he had with his mother.

Among them, the most cherished memory was of his mother brushing his hair with a fine-toothed comb.

"You look great with blonde hair. You should be grateful to your parents for passing it on to you."

'Even though I can't remember much about them, I'm grateful for inheriting their blond hair.'

As Oksana's words brought back old memories with his mother, Vlad inadvertently placed his hand on the handle of the sword he was wearing.

'Oh.'

Where there had always been a simple, comforting sword, now sat an unfamiliar and awkward one.

The beings who would have been nice to have by his side in this moment were no longer in this world.

The boy felt a twinge of regret about it.

It would have been really nice to have them here with him now.

"Done."

With Oksana's words, Vlad opened his eyes.

The afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window was as dazzling as her green eyes.

"This should suffice, no matter where it's displayed."

Oksana looked proudly at the creation she had made.

Vlad smiled only when he saw her smiling.

"Thank you."

With those words, Vlad looked around Oksana's living room quietly, taking it all in.

From the sounds to the scents, and even the feeling of the air flowing around, Vlad memorized everything in Oksana's living room before closing his eyes again.

Just as the boy would move forward to reach the stars, the beings he left behind would only move farther away.

But there was no need to lament that fact.

Whenever he missed them, he could simply unfold the memories he had carefully tucked away in his mind.

Just like the memories he had just engraved.

※※※※

"Are you nervous?"

"Not particularly."

Zayar merely raised an eyebrow at Vlad's attempt to appear nonchalant.

"Save the tough act for the enemies, kiddo."

"...I really mean it, though."

With those words, Vlad glanced at the door behind Zayar.

The massive door.

He had seen it when he brought the corpse of the Deathworm, but on that day, the boy didn't have the right to step inside.

"You may enter now."

"Understood."

As the attendant standing beside him signaled, Zayar stood in front of the door leading to the knights' hall.

Today, the door would open solely for Vlad.

The only person who could open that door for him was Zayar, the knight who had taught him and given him everything he had.

"Vlad, squire of the Bayezid family, stands before the knights' door at the command of the Count!"

Zayar shouted louder than ever before for his squire.

"Please grant entry!"

Zayar's shout is loud because he is more confident than anyone else, and is trembling because he is prouder than anyone else.

"Enter."

Carried by the voice was a faint aura of authority.

The world of knights had permitted the boy's entry.

Kiiiing-

As the permission was granted, the door began to open from Zayar's fingertips.

When the door that had been blocking the boy's path due to qualifications was opened, the cut red carpet began to show the boy's path.

"······."

Vlad couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him.

Everything sparkled in the space.

The knights standing on either side.

The sunlight streaming through the windows brilliantly reflected off the armor they wore.

"······."

Vlad briefly glanced back at the glittering spectacle before him.

There stood the man who had always watched over and pushed him forward.

A person who cannot even stand in front of the door because he cannot wield a sword.

The man with deep shadows beneath his eyes stood with crossed arms, smiling.

"Go on."

Josef had thought it was a line he would never cross in his lifetime.

However, today Josef succeeded in pushing one of his swords into it, even if it was not himself.

The young man who hadn't given up would surely have earned the right to smile more than anyone else.

"Congratulations."

As Vlad made his way towards the knights' hall, Zayar's voice echoed softly from behind him.

Hearing Zayar's voice, which was different from usual, made Vlad feel something rising from deep in his heart, but he tried to suppress it.

"Vlad, the squire of the Bayezid family, steps forward before me."

Vlad lifted his head in the direction of the voice.

Finally, the world of knights, as the door opened, gestured for the boy to approach.

With the same look in his eyes as he did that day when he was watching the boy under the moonlight.

"Yes."

The red path is the path of honor.

Step by step, the boy began to move forward, passing through the knights surrounding the path.

Towards the place he had always dreamed of.

"You've come this far, well done."

Vlad had always dreamt of stars.

Even though his feet were sinking into the gutter of reality, his eyes were always looking at the stars floating in the sky.

And now, he has reached that star.

"Take the unchanging discipline of the Swordmaster in your left hand."

Golden parchment.

Vlad carefully accepted the parchment containing the oath of the Swordmaster.

Vlad finally held the shining star he had only dreamed of in his hands and clenched his teeth without realizing it.

"Kneel and swear. Squire of the Bayezid family."

The cold blade of Peter's sword descended upon the boy's shoulder as he knelt.

The chill and sharpness of the blade settling served to sharpen Vlad's mind.

"A knight must always embrace a potential. That is the first discipline of the Swordmaster."

Vlad of Shoara.

There were knights who had created that name.

Though they had met as enemies, they had decided to protect the potential the boy held.

For it was their rightful duty as knights.

"A knight must always listen to his conscience. That is the second discipline of the Swordmaster."

In the mist-shrouded village, Knight Gregory had set himself ablaze, fully prepared for everything.

Do not hesitate when you find yourself where you should be, at the moment you should be there.

The only standard that determines it is your own conscience.

"A knight must always pursue the path of honor. That is the final discipline set by the Swordmaster."

A knight must always be honorable, and to be honorable he must always look upward and move forward.

Without any shame, only for fair compensation.

"Swear before my sword and the discipline of knighthood. Vlad of Shoara."

The boy had always looked at the potential of an unadorned sword.

The red-haired girl who was standing in the mud with him will testify to that.

Even though it was a life in the mud of the back alleys, the boy kept the things he had to do to avoid getting caught up in it.

The knight of prostitutes who protected Rose's Smiles will testify to the conscience of the boy who always strived to uphold the line.

"I swear."

And so, because he had looked to the stars, the boy had looked up and moved forward to grasp it.

Relentlessly, even crawling if necessary.

Though it was a discipline he hadn't known, Vlad had been the one to uphold it to the best of his ability.

"I pledge to uphold the disciplines of the Swordmaster with all my strength."

And the final discipline of the Swordmaster, which the boy had unknowingly upheld, would be testified by the unadorned sword that struggled alongside him all this time.

"I, Peter Bayezid, Bayezid family's head, command."

With the boy's oath, the rightful owner of this place declared loudly.

"When the boy named Vlad knelt, he was but a humble squire. But when he rose again..."

A new star was born under his sword.

"He shall rise as the proud knight, Vlad."

The knight of Lady Alicia.

The protector of the breaths of children blessed by San Rogino.

The dragon slayer is called out by Lindworm's blue blood.

And now Vlad of Shoara, a knight recognized by the Bayezid family.

He was standing tall with confident steps.

[Well done.]

The voice that had watched over Vlad closer than anyone else acknowledged him.

With the oath of the Swordmaster held in his left hand.

The rootless boy had today forged his own roots with his own will.

Under the name Vlad of Shoara, not as someone's son or descendant.

All the stars present here testified to those roots.

※※※※

In a candlelit office somewhere, a middle-aged man frowned as if displeased with something.

"The dwarves in the back are quite annoying."

His body appeared bulky, with a somewhat gruff demeanor, but anyone who knew the man even a little would know that beneath his thick frame, he hid sturdy muscles.

"So this time, I've decided to move differently, unlike other noble folks."

The man, holding a walnut in his hand, casually crushed them as he spoke.

"It seems the Baroness Alicia, the only Hanial, still has no husband."

"That's correct."

Despite being of noble descent, the man spoke without restraint, displaying a pioneering and conquering spirit that paid no heed to anything.

"Well, then. I suppose it's time to act. It's tough for a woman to survive alone in this harsh world."

To him, always hungry for more, another opportunity presented itself.

"So, you need to use some strength this time."

"Please, tell me what to do, my lord."

Count Sigmund Gaidar.

A man who had become a new conqueror in the Western Frontier.

The man outside the candlelight bowed his head at Sigmund's command.

"Go to Deomar with my son. Bring back a rightful justification from there."

Understanding Sigmund's intention to expand not through violence and war but through legitimacy, the knight nodded.

With his son, who carried Gaidar blood, at least a small pretext could be secured.

"I believe you will not disappoint me as always. Godin."

Raising his head at Sigmund's words, the knight replied, "I will do my best, sir."

Godin, the knight of Gaidar.

The blue moonlight outside was casting its glow upon him.