How did I get out of that place?
I devoured them all.
***
“Did you also receive the curse of the Divine Tree?”
The black-haired man I met at the training ground asked that.
“I hear you’re a child of the World Tree as well.”
I looked into his golden eyes.
I knew his name. Of course I did. He was the infamous young warrior of the nomads who had knelt at the Emperor’s feet a few months ago. He’d tried to take his own life but was stopped by the enemy commander and his own tribesmen, then, without hiding the hatred burning in his eyes, accepted a knighthood and kissed the Emperor’s ring.
They said that within the Order, he’d been treated as a “lowborn conquered barbarian,” but overturned it with overwhelming skill.
Looking at Kyle, I slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Speak comfortably. I’m just a common knight too.”
Kyle replied easily.
“And it hasn’t been long since you became one. You joined during the last exam, right?”
“That’s right.”
He told me to speak casually, so I did.
That alone was enough to earn a disciplinary punishment. Normally, one would say, ‘How could I dare,’ receive a glass of well-aged wine at a banquet, ask politely, ‘May I call you brother?’, and even after being permitted, continue addressing the senior knight with full respect.
Most senior knights would have frowned at my response and reached for their cudgel.
But Kyle didn’t mind.
In fact, he looked pleased.
“Which unit are you in?”
At his question, I thought for a moment.
“The western one.”
“Oh.”
Kyle met my eyes with a broad smile.
“I knew it.”
I stared at him blankly.
He must’ve seen the curiosity in my gaze, because he smiled again, offering a background explanation.
“The noble sons and the ones born under lucky stars all get assigned to the southern units.”
So the south of the Empire is peaceful, huh.
“The east is for the knights who graduated from the Empire’s old, prestigious academies. Not nobles, but sons of wealthy families who could afford such schools.”
“I see. What about the north?”
“Commoners with barely any skill.”
That part didn’t make sense at first.
Kyle smiled as if he understood my confusion.
“It’s barren up there. Nothing ever grows.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
“But the west is a mess.”
The man’s golden eyes narrowed with a faint grin.
“People like you and me are always sent west. I heard you cut off Kishis’s hair during the entrance exam?”
“I didn’t think that would become such a big deal.”
Only after the exam did I learn that Kishis was a famous Swordmaster across the continent — and the Emperor’s illegitimate son.
Famed for his beauty, his skill, his arrogance, and his scandalous private life. Out of boredom, he’d attended the exam as a spectator and, on a whim, decided to join. Later, rumors spread that he’d taken great interest in the rookie knight who’d cut his hair.
I hadn’t meant to draw attention.
But the water was already spilled.
When I told him that, Kyle threw his head back and laughed.
“I really like you.”
Why.
“I hate that kind of bastard too. Let’s get along, Hildebert Taleb.”
“Call me Hilde.”
“Alright, Hilde. I’m Kyle. No surname.”
His curly black hair fluttered in the wind.
I looked at that ebony hair and the pale skin that contrasted with it.
A warrior of a fallen nation...
“I abandoned my surname when I kissed that blood-red ring.”
I remember thinking — the hatred burning in his eyes was unmistakable.
***
“I asked to be transferred west.”
I looked up from my plate at Ray’s words.
We were gnawing at some unidentifiable tough meat in the ragged mess tent. Even back in the capital, the western unit’s food had been worse than the south’s.
It wasn’t the food that surprised me.
It was Ray’s declaration.
“Why?”
I lifted the nameless piece of meat up to his eye level.
“Don’t you see this?”
“Fine redhorn meat.”
“What’s the problem?”
Staring at Ray’s overly practiced smile, I made a dumb sound.
Seriously.
“You don’t like the southern unit? All the famous knights are there!”
“Hey!”
Ray slammed his fist on the table.
Cracked plates and utensils clattered into the air. For a moment, all attention turned to us. Knights, their faces half-buried in sand-dusted plates, frowned and glared in annoyance.
But no one dared to touch me — the one dubbed “the newcomer favored by Kishis.”
And even less so Ray, the third son of an earl.
He glared at me with blazing eyes, as if I’d betrayed him.
“Is that all our friendship means to you?”
“What?”
What the hell.
“What nonsense is that supposed to be?”
“A friend wants to be in the same unit and you’re not even happy? Is that all our friendship’s worth? Huh?”
“It’s because you’re making an absurd choice.”
I raised both hands skyward in exasperation.
“Why refuse such a good opportunity!”
Ray frowned deeply.
Finally, I saw his true feelings. He’d never been good at hiding them anyway. If I said what I was thinking, he’d probably hit me, but he had that aristocratic stubbornness that made him predictable.
He muttered, staring at the table.
“I didn’t become a knight to stay comfortable and rot.”
Oh, for god’s sake.
“Not to rot, but to rise, my ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) friend. Most famous knights came from the southern unit!”
“Kishis is in the west.”
“Ah.”
The Emperor’s bastard.
The continent’s renowned Swordmaster. I hadn’t even known he existed before the exam, but lately, I’d been hearing his name far too often.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at my friend across the table.
“So he’s your idol too?”
“Is there a knight who doesn’t idolize him?”
Ray shot back.
I looked at his genuinely puzzled face and replied indifferently.
Having crossed swords with him once, I knew exactly how skilled he was, but—
“Not really.”
“That hurts.”
The voice came from behind me, and I flinched.
Ray’s eyes went wide like a startled rabbit, staring over my shoulder. Seeing his expression, I immediately understood what had happened.
Ah...
After rolling my eyes several times, I reluctantly turned my head.
“Sir Kishis.”
For reference, saying something like ‘Your Highness’ to this man would get you beheaded.
With half-lowered eyes, I bowed my head.
A laugh fell.
“Raise your head. We’re both knights.”
He said it so easily.
Still, I did as he said.
His near-white platinum hair caught the light. His eyes were a bright violet — people couldn’t stop praising them. They said once you looked into them, you couldn’t look away.
I wouldn’t disagree.
Still, that didn’t mean I wanted anything to do with him.
“Welcome to the western unit.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re the third son of the Lrenuir family, right?”
Ray’s expression turned awkward as he stood up.
He seemed pleased that Kishis knew him, but not so much that he mentioned his family name.
Kishis ignored his discomfort.
After a polite handshake, he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Keep the evening of the sixth day open.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll finish our duel.”
Kishis bent slightly to meet my eyes and smiled.
“We didn’t get to finish it that day, did we?”
His eyes were half-crazed.
I couldn’t help but wonder if that evening would be the end of my life. He’d gone into a frenzy when the entrance exam duel had been stopped midway. He’d yelled before the Treasurer, the Knight Commander, the Archbishop, and countless nobles.
He eventually backed down then—
But this time, he wouldn’t.
The problem was, I still wasn’t strong enough to beat him. And once the fight began, he couldn’t control himself.
I’d better prepare to lose at least one limb.
Suppressing a sigh, I nodded just as someone approached.
“Hilde!”
Every knight in the hall turned their heads.
Kyle, his curly hair loosely tied, was walking toward me.
The knights nearby reacted immediately. Ray and Kyle were strangers, but Kyle and Kishis... they definitely knew each other.
“Kyle.”
“Ah, Sir Kyle.”
Indeed, as soon as I replied, Kishis spoke leisurely.
Kyle, smiling brightly at first, froze as soon as he noticed Ray and Kishis.
That easy smile turned cold as ice.
So obvious.
Kyle kept a smile on his lips but not in his eyes.
“Sir Kishis. What brings such a busy man to a shabby place like this?”
“Don’t pretend. And what do you mean, ‘what brings me’? You act like you forget I’m a western knight too.”
“How could I ever forget?”
Kyle’s fake smile stayed in place as he stopped opposite me.
His features were handsome enough that even a fake smile looked good, but—
Even a fool could tell there was bad blood between Kyle and Kishis.
“If you’re finished talking, I’ll be taking Sir Hildebert now. He’s due to receive his assignment.”
“No need. I’ll give him one right now.”
“...Pardon?”
I’m literally eating right now?
“Do you know what a Moonlight Garnet is?”
I’d rather not.
But my opinion didn’t matter. Kishis went on grinning and talking. He said it was a gem located on some cliff in a forest in the west, and our mission was to retrieve it.
Do knights do that kind of thing?
Apparently, it was so dangerous that there had been numerous casualties. And because of its value, the Imperial family didn’t trust noble houses with the task.
After a long-winded explanation, Kishis even assigned the team himself.
He pointed his chin at Ray, Kyle, and me.
“The three of you should be perfect.”
The Swordmaster cheerfully ignored the way Kyle’s brow twitched.
“You’re all skilled common knights, aren’t you?”
Didn’t he just tell me to keep the sixth evening open? Now this?
I rolled my eyes but didn’t voice my complaints. I’d heard of his fickleness before.
Ignoring the other knights smirking at us, I quietly finished my meal. Ignored the beautiful woman who came to fetch Kishis. Ignored Kyle and Ray exchanging awkward introductions.
I should be grateful my limbs were still attached.
I chewed the stubborn, uncuttable meat with determination.
***
“Alright, look.”
I broke up what must’ve been their fifth round of bickering.
“You both hate the same person anyway.”
We were heading toward the designated forest.
It was far — annoyingly far. We’d crossed a misty swamp, a spider-infested forest, and a ruined village crawling with bandits. Now we were walking through a canyon said to echo with the song of an enchanting flute.
And Kyle and Ray were arguing for what felt like the hundredth time.
I’d expected it.
Kyle hated all Imperial nobles and thought Ray’s choice to join the western unit was ridiculous. Ray, on the other hand, couldn’t understand how Kyle, who had already kissed the Emperor’s ring, still burned with such hostility.
Mediating every time was getting exhausting.
“Just complain about the count’s household together over dinner.”
When I said that half-heartedly, both of them gave me the same are you serious look.
I shamelessly ignored it.
“Who’s on dinner duty tonight?”
“You are,” they both said at once.
“Already me? That doesn’t sound right...”
“Can we stop eating dried redhorn meat? I think my teeth are cracking.”
“We’ve got nothing else. We won’t reach any village tonight anyway. I don’t mind redhorn meat. If you hate it so much, you can take my turn.”
“No chance.”
“We still need to gather more food. Once we get out of this canyon, there should be a forest— we can hunt—”
Kyle, who’d been speaking sensibly, suddenly trailed off.
At the same time, Ray — who’d been giving me a look that said trying to pass your duty, huh — and I both turned our heads.
Because we heard it.
A flute.
Mournful, beautiful — a melody that struck straight into the listener’s heart.
