Chapter 111 - North Korean rabbit

Chapter 111

Hilia’s jaw dropped.

There was no need to even ask a question to confirm it.

Arpad’s expression told her he was utterly certain.

His eyes gleaming, he pressed a light kiss to the back of his wife’s hand.

“More pleasing than a victor’s laurel wreath.”

‘What? Teasing me?’

“…….”

So utterly absurd, Hilia lost even the will to say anything.

‘To think I’d be taken in so completely!’

The only consolation was that she had gotten her revenge by adorning Arpad’s chest with a cute pink ribbon.

Soon, however, Hilia realized that was no revenge at all.

For punishment or revenge to have meaning, the subject must feel at least a little ashamed.

Arpad, on the contrary, was puffing out his chest as if proudly displaying the shawl Hilia had tied on him.

When a servant brought the overcoat he had taken off and offered it, he waved it away.

‘Why, how is it… that every time, the embarrassment is mine alone?’

It had been the same with the squirrel incident last time. Hilia felt it was unfair that she had to endure this feeling so often.

* * *

It had been a tremendous sparring match. The kind any knight would wish to witness, even in their dreams.

But what left the deepest impression on the spectators was not the two men’s level of swordsmanship or their dazzling martial prowess.

‘His chest…….’

‘Both were incredible.’

‘The buttons, the buttons…!’

Most of the ladies present understood perfectly why Hilia had rushed out the moment the match ended.

‘Yes. I would have done the same.’

‘I wouldn’t want him seen before other women’s eyes either.’

‘Right. Right.’

It was the Duchess who restored order to the atmosphere.

“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. For personally instructing my lacking son.”

The Duchess of Müzen neatly folded away any regret over her son’s perfect defeat.

After all, losing to a member of the Imperial Family could not be considered a disgrace.

Rather, it was likely that no one but her own son could have held his own to this extent.

‘He even used his aura at the end.’

It must mean her son was so strong that he couldn’t be defeated otherwise.

The Duchess of Müzen decided to think of it that way.

What actually happened wasn’t important. What mattered was how it looked to others.

She framed the sparring match, which had erupted due to her son’s impulsive action, as evidence of the close relationship between House Müzen and the Crown Prince and Princess.

As this was also what Hilia and Arpad desired, she encountered no interference.

Handing Arpad the cold tea a maid had brought, Hilia whispered,

“That was originally for me to drink. You should accept it gratefully.”

“I shall drink it with gratitude.”

Arpad chuckled softly.

This was a little different from when Hilia had reacted without thinking and run to him earlier.

Giving him the drink now was an act to show off ‘we’re on good terms’ to those around them.

Even knowing that, it pleased him that Hilia was looking after him.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been like this from the start.’

Her actions always had the pretext of acting out the part of a harmonious couple.

Even knowing that was her reason, it felt strangely delightful and enjoyable.

Ultimately, that was also why he had acted as if teasing Hilia.

It was then.

He saw Hilia heading toward Aaron Müzen.

He decided to behave a little more meekly. Being in a good mood, he could afford to be generous.

‘After all, House Müzen is the guest of honor in the current situation…’

And it was largely because he had gained a bit of confidence.

The ease granted by the pink lace ribbon dangling on his chest.

Had he known what was about to happen shortly, he probably wouldn’t have been so at ease.

* * *

I handed Aaron the towel I had received from Ani.

“Most impressive for one so young, Lord Müzen.”

In my memory, he was a knight who would be called a Sword Master within three years.

It was beneficial to make as good an impression as possible.

And also because I remembered something related to him.

I had once overheard a conversation between Evangeline and Aaron.

“Aaron, you really are amazing. Achieving a realm others can’t even dream of at such a young age.”

“To be honest, I once hit a great wall. Right before the realm of Sword Master, I felt a wall for the first time and was quite frustrated.”

“Oh, really? Then please tell me how you overcame that crisis. It would be such a great help to knights.”

As Evangeline said, the knights showed great interest. Their eyes sparkling, they crowded around, straining to listen.

Thinking that hearing this advice would allow them to immediately ascend to a higher realm.

“Well, it’s not that remarkable a story. To use a metaphor, the problem was that I was only looking for a way to jump over the wall because it was too high in front of me.”

Shattering everyone’s expectations, Aaron said something unexpected.

“To put it another way, I tried everything, and when nothing worked, I even thought of making a ladder or a long pole to find a way to jump over it, but it was useless. Then one day, I thought of changing my perspective.”

“What kind of creative idea was it?”

“I thought, if the wall is too high to jump over, I could just break it down.”

“…Pardon?”

“The result of removing the wall is ultimately the same.”

Evangeline wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand what he meant.

“Once I realized it, I saw that I had been stuck for years worrying about something truly foolish. The day I realized that, I became able to handle my aura.”

After Aaron finished speaking, the knights’ eyes, which had been shining with anticipation, turned as dull as dead fish eyes.

No one understood Aaron’s words.

But no one showed it at all.

Polite, perfunctory replies poured forth: ‘I’ve heard excellent advice’ or ‘Thank you for your wonderful words.’

Of course, no knight thereafter ascended to a higher realm based on Aaron’s advice.

Instead, some began to gossip that he was a genius with great ambition who deliberately withheld his enlightenment.

The Aaron Müzen I had seen through three regressions was not that complex a person.

‘Rather… he’s an excessively simple and clear person.’

So, what he said back then must have been a straightforward expression of his own enlightenment.

Come to think of it, around this time, Aaron Müzen had come up to the Imperial Capital with his mother and caused quite a stir.

Mainly by suddenly approaching outstanding knights and requesting sparring matches or duels.

Among them were Ludwig and Arpad.

‘Though a sparring match with an Imperial Family member never actually took place.’

This was the first time.

In the past three lives, Arpad had ignored all of Aaron’s sparring requests.

Ludwig always avoided sparring, afraid he might lose.

I don’t know what wind blew this time, but…

I could understand why Aaron had insisted on sparring with Arpad, even pushing himself.

‘Right now must be exactly when he hit that wall and was wandering.’

I didn’t know if simply repeating his own words back to him would be of great help.

Even if he did nothing, he was someone destined to become a Sword Master in a few years.

‘But there’s no harm in trying, is there?’

For me, and for Aaron himself.

Wiping his sweat, Aaron smiled a refreshing smile.

“I am ashamed, Your Highness. Lately, I’ve been feeling my limits keenly, and I ended up being unreasonable with His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Aaron, to trouble His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince for such a reason……”

The Duchess of Müzen called out to her son as if scolding him.

“I apologize, Mother.”

“This child has no interest in anything but the sword, it’s a great worry.”

“He is a model for knights.”

Even while conversing with the Duchess of Müzen, I was recalling what Aaron had just said.

‘So, this is indeed the time when he encountered that wall.’

I could be sure. So, I cautiously broached the subject.

“But for a knight as outstanding as Lord Müzen to feel his limits… It must feel like you’ve encountered an incredibly high wall?”

Aaron’s eyes widened.

“Yes! That’s right. That’s exactly how it feels. It feels like there’s a wall in front of me that I can’t jump over no matter what.”

“Hmm. Perhaps this is something I can say precisely because I know nothing about swords…”

Pretending complete ignorance, I brightly continued.

“If the wall is so high you can’t possibly get over it, perhaps you don’t have to insist on going straight over it?”

“…Pardon?”

Aaron’s jaw dropped as if he had never imagined such a thing.

“There could be a way to go completely around the wall, or you could dig under the ground to get past it.”

The enlightenment I heard from Aaron before the regression could roughly be summarized as ‘the path isn’t limited to just one predetermined way.’

‘Similar to Columbus’s egg, or cutting a knot that won’t come undone.’

It means not insisting on going straight ahead, but trying to change your perspective.

The others looked bewildered by my words.

Aaron was different. Perhaps because it was about what he had been pondering, he asked back seriously.

“…Wouldn’t that be hard to consider as properly overcoming the wall?”

“What’s important is getting to the other side of the wall. Not the act of climbing over the wall itself.”

“But, that’s… no, is it not?”

Aaron shook his head a few times, then soon fell deep in thought.

A reaction as if he had grasped some clue.

‘Hmm. Is this enough?’

It was then. Aaron’s deep blue eyes began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.

Simultaneously, I could feel Arpad and the outstanding knights tensing.

Even an outsider like me could tell something strange was happening to Aaron.

Because a hazy light began to seep from Aaron’s body, which seemed to have frozen stiffly.

“!”

Arpad embraced me as if to protect me from him.