Chapter 9: Taking a Different Path (1)

"Stop!"

Miguel instantly crossed the training ground and lunged at the masked figure.

Fortunately, the masked figure seemed to prioritize Miguel over me.

Miguel's hand moved swiftly. At the same moment, the masked figure's arm swung around as he turned his body.

Clang!

The sound of swords clashing echoed.

"Ugh."

Miguel's groan was heard.

The masked figure remained standing, but Miguel, who had lunged forward, was already pushed back.

Miguel held a long sword of the Peacock Family's knights, while the masked figure wielded a short dagger.

A long sword and a dagger. Miguel, who had lunged forward, and the masked figure, who had defended on the spot.

But the one who groaned and was pushed back was Miguel.

'Damn, even a knight's training is no help?'

The assassin was too strong.

"They'll be here soon."

"You're weak. We have plenty of time."

With those words, the masked figure lunged at Miguel this time.

The speed was too fast for Miguel, who was in armor, to avoid.

Miguel swung his sword to block, but the masked figure was nowhere to be seen where he had swung.

The masked figure appeared behind Miguel.

To me, it looked as if he had teleported. Miguel was no different. He had lost sight of the masked figure for a moment, and in the next instant—

Swish.

Miguel's head soared into the sky.

'Oh my God!'

Miguel falling so easily.

I was left stunned by the absurd scene.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to be surprised.

It was my turn now.

"Ugh, ugh."

The masked figure approached me, emitting painful groans. He stared at me intently and swung his sword again.

A shout came from a distance at the last moment, but it was already too late.

Darkness enveloped me.

* * *

My vision brightened again.

I felt no pain.

I was standing inside the family tomb, not the training ground. The duke stood in front of me, looking surprised.

'Have I returned?'

Right back to the day of my awakening.

Perhaps due to the pain just now, my brow furrowed involuntarily.

The duke, who had been looking at me with a puzzled expression, spoke.

"You've awakened."

Just like before, the duke immediately announced my awakening.

"Huh."

"It can't be."

I heard groans from people I hadn't heard before. I looked around again.

The people's appearances were no different from before.

People were surprised, angry, admiring, and envious.

But my heart was different.

'You were too reckless.'

With someone trying to kill me, I got carried away with my abilities. I had promised to be more careful after awakening.

I wanted to find the culprit immediately, but my young age and lack of skills held me back.

For now, I needed to be more reserved and hidden.

"So, what ability did you inherit?"

I thought for a moment at the duke's question. I couldn't give the same answer as before.

I had to avoid the duke's gaze.

"Seems to be an ability that makes my body stronger, but I'm not sure."

The duke's frown deepened.

My naive answer clearly didn't please him.

"Is it a physical type? I remember a similar ability among Sir Carlos the Hero's powers."

"Well, we'll know once it's confirmed."

Perhaps because of my different answer, the duke's reaction was different from before.

The awakening ceremony ended amidst the ridicule of others, and the next day, I found myself in the training ground with Sir Miguel.

It wasn't the same as before, with Sir Alex the captain of the knights present, nor was it the training ground in the forest behind the mansion.

I was being tested by Sir Miguel in a corner of the large training ground used by the knights.

The knights and their squires who were training in the training ground glanced at me.

"I plan to test the young master as per the captain's instructions. Please do your best."

Sir Alex wasn't there, but the test was no different from before.

Continuous running until I collapsed, followed by sword swinging.

At first, people were watching my training, but as time passed, they gradually lost interest.

Perhaps because the young master, known for his intelligence, didn't live up to the hype.

He seemed to be working hard for his age, but they had done the same when they were young.

I was covered in dust and sweat, breathing heavily.

'Sigh, if I stop before leveling up, I'll be about this level.'

It wasn't easy to control the training speed to avoid leveling up.

If I had a stronger or bigger body, I would have leveled up before getting tired.

"Your endurance and growth rate don't seem to be distinctly different. You seem to be quite good for your age, but..."

Sir Miguel looked a bit disappointed. I was worried, but it seemed no one noticed.

"By the way, have you learned swordsmanship elsewhere? Your sword movements are quite clean."

But my practiced sword skills were revealed.

The training I received for a month was still fresh in my mind.

But now was the time to test the ability I inherited on the day of my awakening. Sir Miguel didn't ask any more about my swordsmanship.

"You've done well. I'll report to the captain, so go back and rest."

After saying that, Sir Miguel turned around.

Neither the captain nor the duke was there, and Sir Miguel looked disappointed, so I thought I could escape the duke's attention this time.

If I could, I might be able to avoid the threat of assassination.

I stopped Flora from approaching and swung my sword a bit more.

Overhead and horizontal swings.

After swinging the sword a dozen times with all my might, I felt a surge of energy through my limbs.

The feeling of my body strengthening and growing. It was leveling up.

The power coursing through my body now. The same power I felt just before dying at the hands of the masked figure.

I channeled that power into my sword.

Hum.

I could feel an invisible barrier enveloping the sword.

Swish.

When I drew a line on the ground, a deep crack appeared, along with sand and dust.

The crack extended longer than the range of my sword swing. It was the work of the barrier around the sword.

"Is this mana...?"

I examined the wooden sword.

Is it mana? My inherited ability was supposed to be one that didn't use mana...

But, as far as I know, only mana can do this.

What secret does my inherited ability hold?

The duke's eyes from the previous chapter came to mind. The eyes of a predator eyeing its prey.

* * *

As Sir Miguel's disappointed expression suggested, I was no longer in the duke's attention.

Not only the captain but also Sir Miguel didn't visit, and there was no excessive training.

I returned to the life of an ordinary 6-year-old.

Well, it was ambiguous to call me an ordinary child, given my reputation as a genius.

I received lessons from secretaries twice a week and spent the rest of the time reading books in the vast library. I finally had some peaceful time.

I tried to be as quiet as possible. After the test, I didn't receive sword training, and I didn't practice the mana I felt before dying.

Thanks to the memory of the training, I was strangely itchy, but I endured and only went between the library and my room, participating only in the lessons from the secretaries.

As I kept a low profile, the people who were surprised by my awakening returned to their normal selves.

My older brother ignored me as before, and the second young master started teasing me.

And when I met my sister in the hallway—

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She worried about me with a cute expression.

A 7-year-old little lady tilting her head in concern was a sight I would only see in TV commercials in my past life.

"Why? Did someone say I was hurt?"

"Other people were talking about it."

"Elena!"

The maid who came with her quickly called her name.

"Oh, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have said that. I'll get in trouble."

Noble daughters also have many rules to follow. Of course, I wasn't ignored like a bastard.

"Are you not physically hurt? Then are you emotionally hurt?"

She took a step closer and placed her hand on my head.

"I'll heal your emotional pain."

Before I could say it wasn't that, Elena's hand began to glow softly.

It was her inherited ability.

"Get better quickly. Don't be in pain. Scary ghosts should go away, and your heart should be filled with beauty!"

With words that sounded like an exorcism from my past life, a warm energy seeped into my mind.

Her ability, different from the clerics' holy magic, was 'Cure.'

An ability to heal people with emotional issues, mental breakdowns, or those brainwashed by enemies. It was an ability inherited from her mother's family.

While it couldn't yet resolve brainwashing, it was enough to soothe the mind and warm the heart.

Unlike my other siblings, my relationship with Elena wasn't bad, partly because of her kind heart, but also because her inherited ability wasn't as significant.

"Are you okay now?"

"...Yes."

It was hard to say that I was fine even before she used her ability.

"Good. That's great. Yes, I used my ability, so Alex should show his ability too. Mother wants to see it, so come play soon."

She spoke as if we could go together right away, but it was impossible now.

"It's too late. The teacher is waiting."

"Hmm. Can't I skip today? Dancing practice is hard."

"No, you can't."

At 7 years old, already practicing dancing. Was it to increase the value of the duke's daughter with the 'Cure' ability?

That thought crossed my mind, but I had important matters today, so I said goodbye and left.

Today was the one-month anniversary of my awakening. The day I died in my previous life at the hands of the masked figure.

The time of my death was approaching.

I sat in my room, waiting for a message to appear in front of me.

A message indicating that the crisis had passed and the game had auto-saved.

But even as the afternoon turned to evening, no message appeared.

I continued to wait. Late into the night, and even the next day.

But no message appeared.

'So, the crisis hasn't passed?'

It seemed the message wouldn't appear unless the assassin couldn't kill me.

A sigh escaped me. I had tried to keep a low profile, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

As I sighed, a soft voice came from right in front of me.

"Alex, why are you sighing?"

I came to my senses to find a beautiful noblewoman looking at me.

Maria de Grecia. The duke's second wife. My official stepmother. Of course, I wouldn't call her mother.

"Alex, you're really strange. You're sighing like an adult even now."

Elena, who was sitting next to Maria, took the opportunity to criticize me.

If it were a more mature woman, I might have been angry, but with a young girl who couldn't even touch the ground with her feet, I