The knight's relaxed eyebrows twitched.
Judging by his expression, his pride had been wounded.
Struggling to maintain a smile, the knight shrugged his shoulders.
"Haha, you certainly have a sense of humor. I am Hendrik, the one who personally guided your posture back then, Third Young Master."
"Is that so? I don't really remember."
At those sincere words, the knight, Hendrik, saw his face contort in an instant.
It seemed he hadn't expected Lucian to actually have forgotten him.
To be precise, it wasn't that he'd forgotten; they had simply never met in the first place.
"Ahem. Anyway, what brings you here?"
"Are the training grounds a place one needs a specific reason to visit?"
"It's not that, but I asked out of curiosity. It's only been a year since the Second Young Master gave you a piece of his mind, so I didn't expect you to return."
Lucian's brow furrowed at the tone, which held not a shred of respect.
What on earth happened a year ago that a mere knight would act this way?
Since he didn't know the details, he had no choice but to poke and prod for information.
"I wouldn't say it's only been a year; I'd say a whole year has passed. It would be ridiculous to avoid the training grounds just because of something that happened in the past. I plan to visit often from now on, if only to learn a swordsmanship style."
"A swordsmanship style? You, Third Young Master?"
"Well, I've been negligent in my training until now, but I'm only sixteen. It's not too late, is it?"
The 'Path of Mana' in the body typically closes completely around the age of twenty-five.
Before then, one could learn a swordsmanship style and be reborn as a knight at any time.
The only issue was that starting late meant the path had narrowed, making the process far more arduous.
Even though Lucian had stated a fundamental truth, Hendrik burst into an exaggeratedly loud laugh.
"Haha, you really are a joker! At your age, it's already too late! To think you'd start learning a swordsmanship style now!"
"Too late? At sixteen?"
"That is correct. Swordsmanship must basically be started before fifteen to be effective. If you start at sixteen, you'll only gain a slightly sturdier body at best."
"That's strange. From what I know, the Path of Mana doesn't close completely until twenty-five."
Hendrik flinched for a split second, but it was gone in a flash.
He quickly regained his smile and spoke with feigned innocence.
"It is true that the Path of Mana closes after twenty-five, but by sixteen, it has already narrowed as much as it's going to. Saying you can start before then is nothing more than the fleeting hope of those who are already too late to master the sword."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
Bullshit.
Lucian swallowed the curse that rose to his throat.
Twenty-five is too late to learn a swordsmanship style?
Then what did that make him in his past life?
He had swept through battlefields filled with knights using a swordsmanship style he hadn't mastered until he was over twenty.
There was no need to even bring up his past life's experiences.
History was full of knights who learned their craft late in life and left their names in the records.
If he was still spouting that sixteen was too old, there were only two possibilities.
Either this knight hadn't even learned the most basic common sense, or he was intentionally lying.
'Unless he's someone who hasn't even learned the basics of swordsmanship, it can't be the former. So, it's the latter.'
The question was why he was telling such a lie.
Commoners might not know better, but among knights, this was common knowledge.
Even if he managed to deceive Lucian for a moment, he would be found out soon enough.
And yet, he was playing it cool and taking such a reckless gamble.
"It seems the knowledge you and I possess is quite different, Sir Knight."
"What do you mean? This is something everyone knows. If you don't believe me, why don't you ask the Second Young Master?"
"The Second... no, my brother?"
The Second Young Master of the House of Valdek, Jordi Valdek.
In his past life, he was the man who had fought a fierce succession battle against his older brother, the First Young Master.
Lucian hadn't seen him often, but his way of handling things had always been underhanded and cunning.
'He frequently hired people from the outside, used them for all they were worth, and then refused to pay them.'
During his days in the guard, one of Lucian's jobs had been to physically block the charges of those who had been discarded like that.
They had done everything they were told, but instead of a reward, they were told to get lost—it was only natural for them to lose their minds, noble or not.
Back then, Jordi would just watch from behind and laugh, but for Lucian, who had to stand in their way, it was hell.
Especially since, occasionally, there were experts among them who were stronger than average knights.
"Indeed. Surely you aren't planning to say the Second Young Master is wrong?"
When Lucian didn't respond, Hendrik, thinking he was intimidated, let a sneer form at the corners of his mouth.
Only then did Lucian realize what was going on.
'They were planning to make a fool out of me.'
Intentionally plant false knowledge to make him a laughingstock to others.
If that didn't work, bring up the brother he supposedly feared to prevent him from arguing.
And if his name was ever mentioned, he would just play dumb and say he never said such a thing.
Then, all that would be left was the "Foolish Third Young Master" who didn't even know basic common sense.
'Unbelievable.'
The petty method was laughable, but what was even more absurd was that the target was Lucian.
To pull this kind of stunt on the son of the lord he served.
It was clear he had a strong backing or was acting on someone's orders.
But either way, it didn't matter much to Lucian.
"If what you say is true, then that is shocking. Does that mean my brother doesn't even know a fact that even a child would know? Was my brother truly such an idiot?"
To the world-weary Lucian, this kind of bullying was so cliché it almost made him yawn.
"...."
"...."
At Lucian's words, a heavy silence fell over the training grounds.
Even the knights who had been engrossed in their training widened their eyes.
Hendrik stared blankly at Lucian, wondering if he had misheard.
"W-what did you just say?"
"I asked if my brother is truly a moron who doesn't even know common sense. Sixteen is too late to learn a swordsmanship style? Is that something that should come out of a noble's mouth?"
"Are you denying the Second Young Master's words?"
Hendrik glared, but Lucian didn't even blink.
Instead, he covered his face with his hands in an exaggerated gesture of lamentation.
"I can't believe it. Then it means my brother truly said such a thing. Oh, what is to be done? To think the seed of Valdek is so stupid! It is truly a disgrace to the family!"
As his tone grew more severe, Hendrik's mouth hung open.
He never imagined Lucian would openly insult Jordi, so he didn't know what to say.
After pretending to cry for a while, Lucian looked at Hendrik as if he had suddenly realized something.
"Wait, on second thought, something is strange. Sir Knight, could it be that you are plotting something?"
"P-plotting?"
"I'm asking if you are slandering the seed of the House of Valdek by claiming he doesn't even know basic common sense. Surely you aren't using my brother's name under the orders of another family, are you?"
"What kind of...!"
It was preposterous.
Why drag other families into something like this?
"Stop talking nonsense, Third Young Master! Are you insulting me right now?!"
"Insulting you? You're the one who needs to be clear! Who said such a moronic thing? Was it my brother? Or was it a lie you cooked up? Which one is it?!"
Thump! Lucian slammed his cane onto the ground.
Hendrik was driven to the brink of madness.
If he kept insisting, the Second Young Master would become a moron; if he agreed, he himself would become a spy.
But if he said he was just joking, he would be branded as a knight who mocked his lord's child.
'This is insane. Why is this coward, who used to tremble at the mere mention of the Second Young Master's name, suddenly acting so aggressive?'
Cornered, Hendrik's eyes darted around the air.
Just as Lucian was about to shout again since there was no answer—
"What is going on here?"
"S-Second Young Master!"
Hendrik quickly bowed his head toward the newcomer.
His attitude was incomparably polite compared to how he treated Lucian.
'Jordi Valdek.'
Twenty years old this year, he was the second brother, four years older than Lucian.
He was a handsome man who fit the description of a young noble, but his upward-slanting eyes made his impression look particularly fierce.
He was also the person among the sons of the House of Valdek whom Lucian had seen the most in his past life.
Most of those reasons were unpleasant, so he had no affection for him whatsoever.
Jordi scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes before fixing his gaze on Lucian.
"Is it you again? Lucian."
Again?
As Lucian tilted his head, Jordi's mouth twisted into a sneer.
"You have some nerve, considering you ran away from the training grounds a year ago because you couldn't handle my teaching. Just how thick is your skin that you're loitering here again?"
At the mention of "teaching," Lucian narrowed his eyes slightly.
He could guess roughly what had happened at the training grounds.
'He used training as an excuse to humiliate him. Or he just flat-out beat him.'
If he had gone through something like that, it was understandable why he wouldn't want to set foot in the training grounds.
Of course, to the current Lucian, it didn't matter.
"In the first place, someone like you being a Valdek—"
"You've come at the perfect time. I had something to check, and you arrived just in time."
Lucian cut Jordi off before he could spout any more nonsense.
There was no reason to get caught up in the other person's pace.
Interrupted, Jordi furrowed his brow in displeasure.
"Where did you learn the habit of cutting people off? You really are a piece of work!"
"That's not what's important right now. We need to first confirm whether or not you are a disgrace to the Valdek name."
"What kind of bullshit is...!"
"I'll ask you one thing. Did you really say that it's impossible to learn a swordsmanship style after the age of fifteen?"
As Lucian got straight to the point, Jordi shut his mouth.
After a moment, Jordi glared at Lucian with a murderous gaze.
"And what if I did?"
He probably did it as a threat, but it was just laughable.
What was a brat who had never risked his life on a battlefield going to do by glaring?
Lucian let out a smirk and tilted his head.
"What else? I'll have to ask Father to send you to a monastery."
"What?"
"It would be one thing if you were someone who had never learned swordsmanship, but for someone who has studied it for years to not know the most basic of basics? That means you don't just lack talent; it means there's something wrong with your brain."
"...!"
"Right now, it might just be a bit of forgetfulness, but what if the symptoms get worse and you end up soiling your pants? This could become a weakness for the family, so you must go to a monastery. From now on, you'll have to live quietly so as not to catch anyone's eye."
As soon as Lucian finished speaking, the training grounds became so silent you could have heard a feather drop.