Chapter 97
“Let’s replace greetings with a sparring match. Step forward, one by one.”
Sparring with the commander of the knights? The knights who had witnessed Maya’s overwhelming skills the day before could not bring themselves to step out.
Their trembling with fear was almost pitiful.
“Let’s start from the far left.”
But Maya wasn’t the kind to go easy on them.
She began with the knight who had ostracized her in the past, then went on to beat down those who had ignored or dismissed her one by one.
Well then, how could this even be called revenge?
This was special training—training given by the commander of the knights to prepare knights who might one day face monsters.
“Oh, bending your knees here is no good.”
Where else could you find a commander who personally sparred with each knight, corrected their form, and gave them direct lessons like this?
One knight screamed.
“Aagh! Captain—”
Maya cut him off mid-sentence with another strike of her wooden sword.
“Say it properly—commander. You’re not looking down on me just because I’m a woman, are you?”
She smiled as she threw their past words back at them.
They might not have said it aloud, but the truth was they had belittled her because of her gender. Now, as Maya strode down the line of knights, she looked like the grim reaper come to collect lives.
‘I’m going to die.’
Their faces turned pale. In unison, they shouted:
“We would never dare harbor such disrespectful thoughts!”
“It’s just a joke.”
Maya smiled sweetly and clapped the knight’s shoulder who had shouted in unison.
“Urgh!”
“Just because we’re talking doesn’t mean you can lose your focus.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
The knight, whose shoulder bone had cracked, was carried away moaning in pain.
Maya brushed her hands.
She had thought the sparring would be easy, but their state was far worse than expected.
“Your discipline is in shambles. I’ll raise the intensity of training fivefold before I leave.”
She announced this to the pale-faced knights still waiting their turn.
Her revenge was complete.
She had no desire to dwell too much on the past—and the time she had was too short anyway.
‘There’s no time.’
She needed to make sure these knights were ready to face monsters.
The monsters would keep increasing and eventually strike the capital again.
She had to minimize casualties.
“Training begins now. Anyone who’s sparred with me today, grab your swords and keep swinging.”
One small consolation was that no matter how harshly she trained them, the imperial knights would never catch up to the northern knights.
The northerners, though few, were strong from their brutal training. By comparison, the imperial knights were barely holding to an average standard.
(Truthfully, by normal standards the imperial knights were “decent,” but Maya’s standards were sky-high.)
“If I come back and your skills haven’t changed, you’ll die by my hand instead of a monster’s.”
She tapped her wooden sword against her palm, her warning deadly serious.
“This time it’s no joke. Remember that.”
Not a single knight thought her words were said in jest.
‘It would be more merciful to die at the hands of monsters.’
That was the unanimous thought among them.
And indeed, it was the truth.
Maya sparred the entire day and left work in high spirits.
“Shame I couldn’t finish them all. They’re no match for monsters, of course.”
White Dragon was delighted to have had the rare chance to watch Maya freely display Pendragon swordsmanship.
“You really embody Pendragon’s swordplay perfectly! Are you sure this is your first life?”
Hearing the repeated praise, Maya scratched her head, embarrassed.
Just then—
“Hel… help me—”
Her nerves, sharpened from training, picked up a faint, familiar voice.
Had she been her usual indifferent self, she might have missed it. It was so faint it seemed to come from far away.
‘That’s Elize’s voice.’
Her blood mother’s voice was weak.
Had their last meeting been at the banquet? Maya recalled seeing them dragged away then.
‘Risherfield must have taken them.’
He wouldn’t waste a tool—so he must have taken them alive, planning to use them later.
A voice that faint… they must be in the underground dungeons. And Elize surely wasn’t alone.
Maya stopped and listened more carefully.
“Shout louder! You’re going to give up here?”
“Ugh, I haven’t eaten a thing—I can’t even make a sound! Who’s even going to hear us! McGuire, hurry and call for help!”
“What strength do I have left to do that?”
“Pathetic, a grown man can’t even yell properly! And you call yourself a Pendragon?”
Elize, Otto, and McGuire—who had once been united over gambling—turned on each other in the face of death.
‘So they split apart this easily.’
She had thought their bond unbreakable for life. The realization was hollow…
And a little pitiful—that she had once longed for recognition from such people.
Sending quiet consolation to her past self, Maya resumed walking.
“You’re not going to save them? They share your blood.”
White Dragon, who had been silently watching, asked.
“They won’t be killed easily. There’s no need to save them.”
Someday, Risherfield would push the Pendragons back at Maya.
The fact that they were still alive proved it.
It was just an attempt to trigger guilt—forcing her to face dying family.
But it wouldn’t work on Maya.
She had long since forgotten they even existed.
They say the opposite of love is indifference.
Indeed, Maya couldn’t care less whether they lived or died.
If anything, it was a relief they were locked away, unable to taint her time as commander.
Her precious memories of this life weren’t stained by them.
The same went for her wedding.
…Still, it would be better to at least confirm their whereabouts.
Just in case.
‘I’ll take care of it when I visit the imperial library later.’
Until then, they could rot in prison.
Revenge without even lifting her own hand—perfect.
Maya returned to the Bearden estate in good spirits.
“Did you sleep well, Maya?”
“Yes. Did you, Tristan?”
Waking up in each other’s arms, Maya and Tristan exchanged looks and chuckled.
“I slept well.”
In truth, Tristan had been plagued by vague nightmares, but he hid it.
Maya unconsciously squeezed his hand tightly, then flinched and pulled back.
‘Lately, I’m afraid I’ll get caught having too many impure thoughts…’
Clinging closer in sleep, hugging him tighter—it was all because she wanted to.
‘Naive Tristan probably thinks it’s all part of lifting the curse…’
Just like Kendrick before, Maya now had blinders on for Tristan too.
Quickly withdrawing her hand, she tried to compose herself.
But Tristan, pretending to still be drowsy, frowned slightly.
Her touch soothed him—he wanted more of it.
“Maya, you may touch me more.”
Tristan took her hand and gently placed it over his chest.
He wanted her to feel just how fast his heart raced for her.
‘His heart always seems to beat so fast.’
Apparently, even his heart worked as diligently as he did.
And beneath her touch, his muscles were softer than expected—pleasantly so.
‘…No. I should restrain myself today.’
Maya scolded herself and got out of bed.
On the sofa lay the daily newspaper Tristan always read each morning.
Catching sight of a familiar face, Maya picked it up—something she usually didn’t do.
“That was quick…”
The front page exposed Count Baker’s hidden corruption and murders in bold headlines.
The evidence had come from Elize Baker, who had turned her back on him, declaring he was no longer family.
Only a few days after Maya Bearden publicly declared her support for Seren, this scandal broke—it was sensational news.
‘Impressive.’
Even if Maya had been around in this life, the courage to denounce one’s father so publicly deserved praise.
Seren Baker was strong.
Looking at it this way, everyone had their own kind of strength—it was simply in different fields.
As Maya thought so, her eyes widened at the name splashed across another page.
[Kendrick Akicia. Crowned youngest ever Tower Master. Reportedly still undergoing trials…]
She had always known he would accomplish it someday, but his growth was still remarkable.
‘I’ll have to congratulate him when I see him at the wedding.’
She had been curious how Kendrick’s life would unfold now that he had lived instead of died.
Seeing him paving his way so boldly filled her with pride.
It was the privilege of being alive.
Maya felt once more grateful for the life she’d been given.
Having finished the newspaper, she stood.
She needed to train, to steady her heart for the day’s tasks.
“Heading for morning practice?”
“Yes. Will you join me, Tristan?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Tristan rose.
There was no way he would refuse to accompany Maya.
