22. 3 years ago (5)

At the words of Count Leon Benning, the medical officer rebelled.

“Count, no matter how count you are, you would step aside while taking care of the patient…”

“Does that sound like a request to me?”

The medic froze at the answer Leon Benning gave back. The bald instructor glared at the escort knight and the monocle-wearing man standing behind Leon Benning with fierce eyes.

“Count, those words…”

“Don’t make me say it twice, medic.”

Leon Benning’s voice suddenly froze.

“I told you to set up a place to talk to Maxim Appart for a while. If we don’t treat him right away, will he die?”

The medical officer shook his head heavily.

“No, Count.”

“I understand, so that’s all right. Please clear the seat with the instructor. It won’t take long.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Those words came from the bald instructor. Leon Benning looked at the bald instructor with a soft look.

“You know, Instructor. That’s not the instructor’s job. You seem to be worried that I might harm Maxim Appart, aren’t you?”

The bald instructor couldn’t answer and just stayed still. Leon Benning, who was looking at the instructor like that, spat out a laugh and waved his hands.

“done. Come on, both of you. I won’t do anything to harm that cadet.”

The Count’s escort knight approached and forced them both out of the hospital room, almost forcibly kicking them out. The escort driver who bit the medical officer and the instructor did not return to the hospital room again. The door to the hospital room was firmly shut, and the escort driver, who was not going to enter, stood in front of him and seemed to be trying to control entry and exit.

“You’re gone.”

Leon Benning muttered as he looked at the closed door.

Maxim wrapped his arms around the scar and was lost in all sorts of thoughts. Why the hell is the count at the academy, who should be in the villa now? How did you come to know that you were here? Why did you find yourself at this moment? What do you want to see for yourself?

Maxim’s fingertips trembled. What the hell was about to happen to him, Maxim could not even imagine. The Count was sitting in the medical officer’s seat with his legs crossed arrogantly. He looked at Maxim for a long time without speaking, then opened his mouth in a dry voice.

“Maxim Appart.”

As soon as his name came out of his mouth, Maxim suddenly felt as if he was choking. Leon Benning was tapping his temples with his fingers.

“From the 3rd son of an apartheid baron family. Although he is a collateral of a prestigious family, he split from the main family a long time ago and has virtually no ties… He is just a small-time aristocrat living self-sufficiently, serving as a local judge with the estate given away by the main family.”

Know. This man knows everything.

Maxim’s eyes went cold.

“However, he himself is a genius who learned swordsmanship from a wandering swordsman and passed the academy with swordsmanship that was not formalized. But they say that mana is not very good?”

All the senses in his body were telling him to be wary of Leon Benning. Maxim tensed his nerves and tensed his muscles.

“Are there any more left? Oh, and…”

The corners of Leon Benning’s mouth lifted and went up.

“My daughter, the lover of Theodora Benning. Isn’t it?”

Maxim did not answer. Leon Benning saw Maxim’s demeanor and shrugged.

“Well, that probably doesn’t matter to you right now.”

“How did this happen?”

Maxim was the first to speak. Leon Benning untied his legs and pulled a chair closer to Maxim’s bed.

“Well, would you like to say something? what happened?”

Léon Benning looked down at the wound that Maxim had clutched.

“Why is it inconvenient to circulate mana, why can’t I activate Aura, why are the guardians at the bottom of the dungeon so strong? Why was it set to target Theodora, and what was the mist that spewed out before entering the last room of the dungeon?”

I mean.

A cold wind seemed to blow into the room.

Maxim breathed life. The color of his golden eyes had lost their luster and was dead. The man with the monocle, who was caught by Maxim’s murder, stepped back with a frightened expression on his face, but Leon Benning was calm and took Maxim’s murder.

Kudang.

I heard the man in the monocle fall. Leon Benning glanced at him, then looked at Maxim again.

“In that state, you breathe life well.”

Leon Benning rubbed his hands together.

“You did a good job cutting it in the bud.”

Leon Benning leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.

“The Mage Tower and our family… We’ve had a close relationship for quite some time. I also have a pretty big influence on the academy. So… For example, it is possible to be involved to some extent in the tests of the academy that the Mage Tower cooperated with.”

Leon Benning sighed.

“Thanks to you, our family property has been destroyed quite a bit. Money to manufacture living armor, money needed to build dungeons, money to lobby the academy… I never thought that Theodora would open her heart to anyone… You were a person who exceeded my expectations.”

Looking at such Leon Benning, Maxim’s face became even more stern.

“That potion, too. In fact, that potion was the second most expensive after Living Armor.”

“…What does it mean.”

Maxim’s life grew stronger. A sharp storm of anticipation that tore through space erupted from Maxim. Leon Benning pulled Mum back for a moment. In those emotionless eyes, for the first time, there was a little bit of surprise.

“You know best.”

“What have you done to my mana?”

The door burst open. It was the count’s escort knight. He drew his sword and charged at Maxim, who was breathing life. Maxim ignored the article and continued to stare at Leon Benning. The knight thrust the knife into Maxim’s uvula. The tip of the knife tore Maxim’s skin, letting fresh blood flow.

“Count!”

“Arthur. It’s nothing.”

The Count gestured to the escort knight.

“Count, but!”

“I told you to go out and guard the door, but you can’t even do that.”

The Count’s voice was cold. The escort knight, pressed by the voice, put the sword back into the scabbard.

“scram.”

“sorry.”

As the escort driver left the hospital room, the Count met Maxim.

“Okay, back to the main topic. The potion sprayed on your wounds is cursed.”

The Count spoke in a nonchalant tone, flatly.

“That curse responds to mana. Even if you leave it alone, it will eat away at your body little by little. you can live If you save yourself as much as possible.”

The shadow was gradually eating away at Maxim’s face.

“However, if you use the Aura Blade, you won’t be able to guarantee your life. If you’re lucky, you’ll become a half asshole, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll die.”

Maxim’s wounds and scars began to throb.

“Shouldn’t Theodora know?”

The clenched fists turned white.

“Are you saying that a person now worth a count did all this because of my relationship with Theodora?”

Leon Benning laughed at Maxim’s words.

“’Barely’! Wow… you know how to make people laugh. How did you raise a child It would be a shame to send it to you.”

“Shouldn’t you have come and threatened me long ago instead of doing things like this? He’s like a dog.”

Leon Benning laughed again. It was quite frightening to see the smile in the eyes, which contained no emotion.

“Maxim, more than I thought, I am a person who knows how to see the other person properly. I research and find out that much… If I had visited you and politely told you to break up with my daughter, would you have broken up with a quick understanding? Would I have separated from my daughter if I gave her tens of thousands of gold? Would he have said he would know if he said he would put him in the best knights in the palace? much less,”

The eyes sparkle. Maxim’s murderous intent collided with Leon Benning’s momentum.

“If I had drawn my sword and thrust it into your neck, if I had mobilized knights to threaten you, would you have run away with your tail curled up? No, no. You are well aware of that, Maxime Appard. If I had done that, you would have started to be wary of me. On top of that, it’s unnecessarily strong, so I can’t get rid of you knowingly or unknowingly.”

Leon Benning nervously tapped his fingers.

“As for me, I hate it the most when things don’t go as planned. You, and all along, have unknowingly interfered with my plans. I can tell you now.”

Maxim did not want to hear what Leon Benning said next.

“Separate Theodora, Maxim. In the worst possible form.”

“I can only laugh when someone who knows me so well says that.”

“How far do you want me to go, you? If you don’t want to see more dirt, you’d better not prolong the conversation.”

Leon Benning called out to the man with the monocle who was standing still in the corner.

“Emile, come here.”

The man with the monocle, Emile Bordain, walked next to Leon Benning.

“Emile is a branch of the Bening family, the head of the Baron Borden family and a court aristocrat. He is also an important person in the secretariat.”

Leon Benning said, looking alternately between Emile Bordain and Maxime.

“I will arrange an engagement with Emil’s second daughter. Isn’t this a bad suggestion for your family?”

Emile Bordain looked at Maxim and said. Blue eyes touched Maxim like those of reptiles.

“Well, that’s it, please take good care of me, ‘son-in-law’.”

Maxim’s expression contorted like that of a demon. Emile Bordain took a backward step at the murderous intent that spewed out again, and that was directed at Emile Bordain himself.

“The way you guys think is really worse than an asshole.”

“Let me know that you agree.”

Leon Benning gave a fishy smile.

“I will give you time to clear your mind. The deadline is until graduation. Inform her unilaterally, and incur unilateral hatred.”

“What the hell do you want from Theodora? What are you guys trying to do while doing this?”

Maxim’s voice trembled with hatred. Leon Benning shrugged.

“Shouldn’t at least the match with Theodora be at the level of a member of the royal family? But if Theodora doesn’t intend to give up on you, and you don’t intend to give up on Theodora, shouldn’t you force her to do so?”

royal household. Friendship with the Magic Tower. The head of a branch family who has infiltrated deep within the royal family.

Maxim inevitably gnashed his teeth.

“You’re going to swallow this kingdom using Theodora, this dog.”

“I’m sorry. Even though there is an expression that it will find a better mate and send it to you.”

Insight is appreciated. But even if you know everything anyway, isn’t there anything you can change?

“Cook,” said Leon Bening, laughing.

“Maxim, don’t forget that my eyes are always watching you. Don’t even think about quitting the article and running away.”

Leon Benning rose from his seat.

“Then, since I’ve told you all the stories I want to tell you, let’s go. There will be an invitation from Baron Borden soon, so let’s talk about the engagement separately with him.”

“I will kill you.”

he said quietly.

“If you want to make Theodora even more miserable, so be it.”

Leon Benning said as he opened the door to the hospital room.

”To see her ex and her father having sex, and to think that the cause lies with herself. You will love it.”

—

The months leading up to their separation were a series of pains for both Maxim and Theodora. Maxim kept pushing Theodora away, and Theodora kept coming even though she knew Maxim was pushing her away. Maxim delayed. I kept putting off and putting off speaking until the graduation ceremony approached.

Reduced mixing of swords. Because you might be suspicious.

He didn’t even respond well. I didn’t go out and find her first.

When I said I love you, I evaded the answer. didn’t hug

The end was approaching.

“Theodora.”

It was a snowy day. Maxim stopped while exchanging swords with Theodora in the gymnasium.

“Do not say.”

Theodora interrupted Maxim. Tears welled up in those cloud-like eyes.

“Don’t tell me, please.”

“Let’s break up.”

“I hate to hear it, Maxi. For now, let’s finish here for today.”

I had to catch it.

I had to catch her, and throw her away miserably.

“A few months ago, I got a fiancée.”

Theodora’s steps stand tall. Stopped.

“no.”

“The Borden family. He is the son of a court aristocrat.”

“Stop talking.”

“They said they would revive my family and me. Knight, he says he will make it easy for you to live as a court aristocrat without having to do anything like that.”

“Because I want you to stop.”

Big tears fell from Theodora’s eyes.

“Why…why are you doing this, Maxi? why…”

“I became a knight in order to succeed in the first place.”

Maxim himself was surprised by his own dry voice. Theodora was crying, crying in pain right in front of her, and what she had to do was drive a nail into the wound.

“…then can’t you just come to me? It was a joke at the time, but you can really stay at my house as a son-in-law. My house, it’s not a family that goes anywhere, and we have a lot of money.”

Theodora’s words became a sword and stabbed Maxim in the chest. I couldn’t express myself. I couldn’t even express myself.

“Me too… I will try harder. I will become a knight who can create your success.”

“…Sorry.”

The head jerked back.

Theodora’s palm hit Maxim’s cheek. It didn’t hurt. The emotions in those hands were even more painful.

“You…you changed me like this.”

Tears fell incessantly from Theodora’s eyes.

“Let them know that you care for someone, that you love someone. They made it so that they could only look at themselves, and they told them to only look at themselves…”

Theodora’s words slurred as she went to the end.

“Even though I said I could be loved…”

Theodora cried. I kept crying.

If I could speak, I wish I could ignore the threat. I wish I could hug her, saying it was a lie.

It was snowing. It was the cold weather that Theodora hated, and the snow that Theodora liked.

—

Maxim opened his closed eyes. Painful memories have passed for a long time, but they still come to mind clearly.

“F*ck.”

Did you just think

Maxim bit his bitter, sore mouth.

How has it been since then? I was assigned to the periphery and was accused of being a knight who couldn’t use an aura.

The time when he gave up everything was when he was first assigned to the Jackdaw Knights. The helpless years took away his desire for the sword and his hatred for the Count, leaving behind only vague thoughts of Theodora.

And…

smart,

A knock was heard at the door. Maxim got up from his seat and went towards the door.

“What are you doing in the middle of the night?”

When Maxim opened the door, in front of him,

“can not sleep.”

A junior in pajamas stood there with her dark, bright blond hair hanging down and smiling with green eyes.

“Can I come in for a minute?”