Eren and Goo moved through the crowded market streets.
Just a short while ago, they had stopped at a small herb shop and bought a few medicinal herbs along with some elixirs. The small pouch in Eren's pocket still carried a faint chill against his palm.
Goo walked a step ahead, then glanced back at Eren. There was curiosity in his voice, but respect too.
"Young Master… why did you buy those?"
"The herbs… they didn't seem ordinary."
Eren stayed silent for a moment. His gaze drifted over the moving crowd ahead, as if his thoughts were somewhere far away. Then he spoke softly, almost to himself.
"Goo… they're for something important. You'll find out soon enough."
Goo nodded quietly.
They continued walking.
Sometimes they stopped in front of shops selling wooden utensils. Eren would touch an item briefly, examine it, then move on without a word. At weapon shops, he lingered longer, staring at the gleam of swords for a few seconds, yet never buying anything.
The heat of the market, people's voices, dust rising from the narrow streets—everything swirled around them. But Eren's mind was elsewhere.
Nearly an hour passed.
Then Eren's gaze stopped.
At the entrance of a narrow alley, three or four boys were standing together. Between them was a girl, barely visible. The boys were laughing. One of them held her arm, another said something crude and burst into laughter.
The girl tried to step back again and again.
There was nowhere to go.
Eren's pace quickened on its own.
Something in his eyes changed.
A cold, sharp anger surfaced.
But Goo moved instantly, stepping in front of him. One palm pressed lightly against Eren's chest.
"Young Master… stop."
Eren frowned. "What is it?"
Goo lowered his voice. It was calm, but serious.
"One of them… I can feel it. He's about as strong as you."
"…He's an Enerister."
Eren paused. He looked at Goo carefully.
"Oh?"
"And how can you tell?"
Goo took a breath. His voice trembled slightly, as if an old memory had resurfaced.
"Young Master… I formed a Sword Heart."
Eren's eyes widened.
"What?"
"You formed a Sword Heart? When?"
Goo lowered his gaze, then looked straight into Eren's eyes.
"Master… I completed half of my Sword Heart the day before yesterday. But I couldn't inject aura into it. Every time I tried, it just… slipped away."
He clenched his fist.
"But this morning… during that fight… I don't know how it happened. Suddenly, I felt the aura flowing into my Sword Heart."
"Like a blockage broke."
Eren fell silent.
His expression was serious, but there was a faint light in his eyes—pride, mixed with surprise.
"…I see,"
he said slowly.
"So now you can feel others' energy."
He took one step forward, his gaze returning to the alley.
"Then that confirms it."
Eren's voice dropped, calm and cold.
"We're not walking away from this."
The market noise continued behind them.
But ahead—
Something was about to break.
Goo nodded.
"Yes, Young Master. I can now."
Eren took a deep breath. Then he smiled faintly.
"Good. Then let's go."
They started walking again.
Not toward the girl.
Not toward the boys.
They stayed on the main market road, blending back into the crowd as if nothing had happened.
But they had barely gone a few steps—
When a voice came from behind.
Sharp.
Mocking.
Carrying a cold laugh.
"Are you a girl?"
"Because to me, you look like a boy."
"Or maybe a boy pretending to be a girl?"
Eren and Goo stopped at the same time.
Both turned around.
A young man stood there. Around twenty or twenty-two. He wore expensive silk robes, bright and embroidered with golden thread. On his chest was a crest.
The Ardent family crest.
Eren's eyes narrowed.
"…He's from my family."
Goo answered immediately, anger slipping into his voice.
"Yes, Young Master. He's one of ours. But I think he's from a minor branch too. Just like that filthy girl."
Eren asked quietly, as if confirming something.
"Who? …Merry Ardent?"
Goo nodded, his eyes still fixed on the young man.
"Yes, Young Master. Her."
The air in the alley suddenly grew heavy.
The crowd still moved around them, voices and footsteps flowing past—but for Eren and Goo, only that voice and that crest existed now.
After a moment, they began walking toward the alley.
Slowly.
No rush.
The market continued as usual around them, but for the two of them, only the narrow passage and the voices inside it mattered.
Then that same sharp voice rang out again—this time harsher.
"I am a girl!"
The voice was deep, almost masculine, but there was a tremor buried beneath it.
After a brief pause, it came again, louder.
"And I'm from your family too!"
That mocking laughter followed.
"What? From my family?"
The voice dripped with open ridicule.
"Doesn't look like it."
"With those clothes? That condition?"
"Even a stray dog would look more impressive."
Eren's steps halted for a fraction of a second.
His brows drew together.
That voice…
Why does it feel familiar?
Could it be—
Merry Ardent?
No.
No way.
Why would she leave the family and come here?
Then the young man spoke again, lower this time. Crueler.
"Boys, she's disgracing our family."
"Take her inside."
"Do whatever you want once you're in."
"You won't face any trouble. I'll cover for it."
"Alright,"
another voice agreed.
There was movement.
The girl was dragged forward.
Her feet scraped against the ground.
"Help! Help!"
Her voice broke into screams.
She flung her arms outward desperately, as if trying to grab onto someone—anyone.
At that moment, a mark on her right palm glowed.
Small.
But unmistakable.
Eren's breath caught.
…That mark.
Didn't I have that engraved on Merry's hand?
Could this be—
Goo saw it too.
His eyes widened.
"Master… look," he whispered.
"That girl… that filthy girl…"
Eren nodded slowly.
His voice was low. Certain.
"…Yes. That's Merry."
Everything clicked into place.
Like the final piece of a puzzle settling exactly where it belonged.
So this is it.
This is why Merry became the Ardent family's greatest rival.
I had written it casually.
Just one line in the book—
"An insult changed her."
But now…
Now I could see it clearly.
This was the insult.
This moment.
This day.
Eren's fists clenched.
The anger in his eyes didn't burn wildly.
It hardened.
Cold.
Clear.
"…Now we move,"
he said to Goo.
His voice was calm.
But it carried the weight of steel.
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