Chapter 6
The next day, when Arnulf opened his eyes, he was momentarily dumbfounded to see sunlight streaming through the window.
He had always been in the habit of waking up before dawn. Training from early morning was second nature to him, and especially when he was on the battlefield, he had always been alert, used to sleeping lightly and waking quickly.
Of course, there was no need for that now.
“Still, this is a bit much,” he muttered.
Sleeping in like this was unusual. It seemed to be a habit carried over from Joseph’s body.
Sighing, Arnulf got out of bed and went outside in light clothing, where Finn couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Joseph, are you going to exercise again today?”
Finn asked with a doubtful look. He had secretly worried that Joseph might still be too weak and sick to do so.
But Arnulf merely nodded as if the question were obvious, and crossed the corridor.
‘Good heavens! Joseph is exercising two mornings in a row!’
Finn scrambled after him, clutching his chest. His heart felt like it might jump out from excitement.
Arnulf ran a lap around the courtyard. It was for his body, lacking basic stamina.
It was similar to a brisk walk, but even this made Joseph’s body pant heavily.
After a short rest, he moved on to strength-building exercises. He needed to strengthen his thigh and arm muscles and focus on building his core.
From then on, after leaving the hospital, Arnulf’s life followed a disciplined routine: waking, exercising, eating, resting, reading, sleeping, and then waking early to exercise again.
The unfortunate reality was that Joseph’s body was far more fragile than Arnulf had expected.
He could barely manage ten push-ups. Even then, he had to keep his knees on the ground. His arms were already trembling.
Arnulf realized once more that this body was practically useless, aside from eating and sleeping.
Gritting his teeth, Arnulf bent over one more time, then gasped and collapsed to the ground.
This wretched body had a limit of ten push-ups.
‘Still, I’ve improved a lot.’
At first, he couldn’t even do two, collapsing flat on the floor.
Thanks to a few days of consistent exercise, he had gotten this far.
“Joseph, drink some water.”
Finn secretly smiled at the sight of Arnulf lying face-down in exhaustion. At times like this, Joseph honestly looked a little cute.
Joseph, frustrated at his own weak body!
It was something Arnulf could never have imagined back when Joseph was always irritable and edgy.
After finishing his exercise, Arnulf, now used to regular movement, finally headed to the dining hall.
Finn brought the food and set it down, speaking as Arnulf sat.
“I was told to remove all dishes containing peaches.”
“Mm, understood.”
Arnulf glanced briefly at Finn, whose eyes sparkled as if seeking praise, and smiled faintly.
“Thanks for caring.”
“Gah! No, it’s nothing! Of course I have to do it!”
Lately, Joseph’s face seemed to glow even more than before, likely from all the exercise.
His complexion had always been pale, but now it seemed smoother as well.
Seeing Joseph smile brightly, Finn’s cheeks turned rosy, unsure what to do.
Arnulf, who had only older siblings preoccupied with the throne and no close younger siblings, found Finn endearingly like a little brother.
“I’ll be heading out after breakfast.”
“Out? Where… ah, no! Yes! Go ahead!”
Finn quickly responded, asking where Arnulf was going. Previously, he would have worried Joseph might get into trouble, but not anymore.
“Ah! Could I come along…?”
Still curious about Joseph’s plans, Finn cautiously asked.
Arnulf merely nodded nonchalantly.
“Sure.”
“Ah! Okay, I’ll go get ready!”
Finn’s face brightened at Arnulf’s answer. Arnulf watched Finn leave the dining hall with a slight smile. ‘He left even before finishing his meal—he must be really excited,’ he thought briefly.
“Well, he is cute,” Arnulf muttered.
He had never seen someone like Finn before. Zigmund was quiet and rarely showed emotion, as expected after so much time on the battlefield.
For a moment, Arnulf thought of Zigmund. When he had decided to live as Joseph, Zigmund was the one who left the strongest impression. They had always been together since the academy.
Moreover, the frail appearance Zigmund had shown briefly in the hospital had likely been due to Arnulf’s supposed death, which had troubled him.
‘Better not to run into him.’
After all, Joseph (Arnulf) had killed Zigmund in another life. It would be best for both if they remained out of each other’s sight.
Yet, for some reason, Arnulf had a strange feeling that unwanted encounters were bound to happen.
‘It can’t be… can it?’
Shoving the unease aside, Arnulf left the mansion immediately after breakfast, taking Finn along.
“Where are we going?”
Finn hurried after him, asking about the destination.
“The weapons shop.”
“The weapons shop?”
“Yes. I need to start preparing a sword.”
Although his arms still trembled after just ten push-ups, he intended to get a sword for training.
He didn’t need an advanced blade—just something to practice basic cuts and thrusts and build strength.
“You’re going to practice swordsmanship too?”
“Yes.”
Arnulf’s matter-of-fact reply made Finn’s eyes widen in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine his master joking.
‘Good heavens…!’
Seeing Joseph exercise every morning was already astonishing, and now he was even going to practice swordsmanship.
Finn clutched his hands together, thinking once again how memory loss could be such a good thing—Arnulf would be baffled if he knew.
Taking Finn along, Arnulf walked briskly out of the mansion but suddenly came to a halt.
“Joseph?”
Finn, puzzled, caught up and followed his gaze.
A narrow, dim alley was crowded with a group of men.
On closer look, they were surrounding someone, shouting insults, and using violence.
A fight?
“Uh…!”
Just then, Arnulf dashed into the alley.
“Joseph!”
In a blink, he kicked the closest man in the group to the ground.
“Argh!”
“What the—!”
The sudden intrusion caused chaos. Finn realized that a group of thugs was indiscriminately attacking a child and an old man.
“J-Joseph, danger…!”
Finn tried to warn him, but stopped mid-word as he saw Arnulf punching another thug in the jaw.
The attack was so fast and precise that Finn only realized what had happened after the second thug collapsed. His eyes widened in shock.
“Gah!”
Three of the gang went down in an instant, and the remaining thugs finally looked at Arnulf warily.
“Who the hell are you?!”
The largest and meanest-looking thug shouted. Arnulf looked at him calmly. Judging by his size and appearance, he seemed to be the leader.
“That doesn’t matter,” Arnulf said dismissively, turning his attention to the trembling old man and boy.
The old man was covered in blood, full of cuts, and his clothes were torn to shreds. He probably hadn’t fared well physically either.
The boy’s lips were split, and his cheeks red, but he seemed slightly better off than the old man, likely protected by him.
“Do you want to leave quietly, or should I make you regret it?”
Arnulf looked back at the thugs, his tone calm but menacing.
“What?”
The gang leader’s expression turned incredulous. Not only had this person suddenly attacked his men, he was behaving like some avenger of justice.
“Who are you to interfere!”
One of the thugs, previously kicked by Arnulf, shouted, clenching his fists threateningly.
“Just look at yourselves—you’re bullying the weak. Anyone passing by could intervene, right?”
Arnulf didn’t flinch, speaking with the ease of someone used to one-versus-many battles. After wandering battlefields for so long, this was nothing. Especially against a gang of local brutes.
“Hah, unbelievable! Do you know who we are?!”
Another thug, who had been knocked down earlier, staggered up to shout.
“I don’t care!”
Arnulf responded indifferently again, ignoring the threat. The gang leader’s expression darkened.
“You should remember this if you don’t want to regret it later. We are fr—”
“Enough. I don’t care. If you’re not leaving, come at me.”
Arnulf cut him off. He had no need to concern himself with anyone who used people to bully the weak. Instead, he flicked a finger provocatively.
The thugs, faces twisted in rage, rushed him at once.
The fight began anew.
