Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

As Marianne spoke, and I repeatedly asked her to clarify what I didn’t understand, the outline of the story slowly came together.

Edwin hated his older brother, Wesley Kiadris, so much that just hearing his name would make him angry.

Wesley Kiadris was a boy who reached the peak of his swordsmanship at the age of sixteen, becoming a Sword Expert at the highest level. Now, at the age of twenty-nine, he had achieved the title of Grand Sword Master, serving as a banner and face of the Imperial Knights, directly under the Emperor’s command.

He was also Maelo Sanson’s prized disciple. Maelo had once told me that he had a disciple who was sixteen years ahead of me, a sharp student who had trained under him. Whenever Maelo spoke of Wesley, his expression was full of warmth, and I couldn’t help but feel a little envious of their deep teacher-student bond.

Wesley and Edwin had a thirteen-year age gap, and when Wesley enrolled in the academy in the year Edwin was born, he graduated and joined the Imperial Knights, living in the palace where he was provided with shelter and meals. So, Edwin grew up without ever seeing his brother’s face.

I wondered how that could be, but then it made sense: Wesley, now a Grand Sword Master, must be extremely busy at the age of twenty-nine.

Anyway, Edwin, who had considerable talent, was overshadowed by his older brother’s reputation from the moment he was born. He grew up in the shadow of his family’s expectations. It was rumored that there were two other siblings from a different mother between Wesley and Edwin, and they might have been the cause of the tension.

Whether it was elders or peers, everyone in the family would constantly remind Edwin that Wesley was always better than him, making it inevitable that Edwin would harbor resentment.

Hearing this made me miss my own younger siblings and long for them.

Anyway, for these reasons, Edwin, unable to surpass his brother in swordsmanship or business, decided to claim magic as his own domain and assert his authority there.

I was curious about what kind of misdeeds Edwin had committed, given the way he behaved with his pale face, as if he would be carrying a fan everywhere. Some of his actions were indeed wrong, but others were puzzling, and I couldn’t quite understand why they were considered so bad.

Edwin used his family’s power to intimidate others. It wasn’t just about showing off; he made sure that anyone who refused to listen to him would have their family’s finances ruined.

When he first entered the academy as a freshman, he targeted a few of his classmates who refused to listen to him, and one of them even begged and cried, apologizing to him.

I was surprised that such a young student could act this way, so I asked why the student had apologized, and I was told that although Edwin wasn’t as intense as Wesley, he started getting involved in his family’s small businesses from the age of fifteen and had the support of his family’s name, which gave him an edge over others.

Edwin especially hated it when Swordsmanship students attended Magic Department classes. Last year, all the Swordsmanship students who had tried to attend Magic classes had to beg the professors to let them drop out.

He was said to behave slyly and arrogantly in front of the professors, and they were unaware of his actions.

Edwin wouldn’t greet or talk to anyone he disliked. Marianne seemed deeply angered by this and, when I asked if that meant I was being ignored, she blushed and pointed at me, accusing me of being the problem.

I didn’t push the issue further, as she seemed quite agitated, but I still wasn’t sure if Edwin’s actions were truly malicious.

The vicious acts in the Central Plains were of a different level; they would cut off your arm just from a brush of the sleeve. Edwin’s method, where he first gave a verbal warning and exerted pressure to get what he wanted, seemed closer to a legitimate, albeit harsh, approach.

Although touching one’s family could incite a fiery response, in Edwin’s case, it seemed he only took some money and didn’t go as far as killing or mutilating anyone. I didn’t think Edwin’s character was particularly admirable, but I also didn’t think this level of anger was warranted. After all, he hadn’t killed anyone or cut off any limbs.

Was it really necessary to be friendly with someone I disliked so much?

However, when someone in a high position behaves in such a manner, it’s the lower-ranking individuals who suffer, so I eventually pretended to agree.

Marianne said that the most malicious thing Edwin had done was the recent crystal orb incident.

“Still, before, even though he was a pain, he never actually hurt anyone. But this time, he really seems insane. He inserted his own mana into the middle of a magic formula and caused a circuit explosion inside his body—how could anyone even think of something like that?”

“Well, I’ll recover in four days.”

“It hurts! There was blood! He was vomiting like he was going to die!”

I laughed, thinking that it wasn’t such a serious injury, but Marianne’s eyes suddenly widened, and with a sharp scream, she shouted, “It hurt! It really hurt!” I nodded, signaling her to calm down, and waved my hand to stop her from yelling.

“Even after doing something like that, he didn’t even apologize to Michael, let alone acknowledge him. He probably meant ‘if you’re scared, just run away’ or something like that.”

“Ugh.”

“So, in the second class, no one could greet Michael. Michael doesn’t have to attend the Magic Department classes, but we do. How could we skip Professor Angela Sting’s class?”

“Right, that’s true.”

I nodded. Even if I were a student in the Magic Department, I wouldn’t have skipped Angela Sting’s class. It was a rare opportunity to have someone of such a high level as a teacher.

“Anyway, after that, the next week, Michael showed up perfectly fine and started looking at Edwin with such a strange, sticky, affectionate, elusive, and somewhat awkward gaze. On Wednesday that week, one of the second-year students asked Edwin if he was now close with Earnhardt Young, and Edwin slapped him. Didn’t you hear about that?”

“Uh… no, I didn’t hear about that.”

“Oh, really? The Magic Department was in chaos that day. This week, they’re even saying to ignore Michael completely when we see him! So on Monday during class, no one could even breathe properly.”

Sticky gaze… I had the image of an old friend who was long gone, thinking of his funeral. It seemed overly dramatic, and I couldn’t help but find it a bit ridiculous. Watching Marianne fume on my behalf was somewhat cute, but I didn’t blame her, as it wasn’t something that made me angry.

Moreover, the event from that week seemed trivial.

During the second class, the guy who had been glaring at me from behind suddenly didn’t do that this week, so I thought maybe he had gotten over his anger. I didn’t realize that it was actually a subtle act of ignoring me.

I couldn’t understand the concept that not looking at someone could be seen as an attack, as it was a rather soft sentiment for me.

Back in the Central Plains, when kids didn’t like their peers, they would kick them in the stomach.

If they kicked someone’s limbs, they could break them, which would prevent them from doing any work, and they’d get in trouble with the adults, so the malicious act was to make the person so upset that they couldn’t eat.

After being severely beaten, the person would be bedridden for a month.

I had never done or received such things, even though I had a distant connection to the Nanjung bloodline. However, I had remained silent during my childhood because the intimidating pressure was too much to oppose, just like Marianne now.

Listening to the story carefully, I realized that Edwin was a troublemaker, but he hadn’t done anything truly regretful yet. Moreover, since he was a direct descendant of a high noble family, he must have faced considerable pressure, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of sharp tongues his parents had raised him with.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked.

“Then why is he being so cruel to me?”

“I already told you! Ugh, this is so frustrating! Ridiculous! I’m so mad!”

“What’s so ridiculous and frustrating?”

“It’s a relief that Michael wasn’t hurt, but it’s really annoying to see him smile like that with a completely confused look on his face. I mean, Edwin Kyadris is sixteen, and Wesley Kyadris is twenty-nine, right? But Wesley entered the academy sixteen years ago!”

“Aha. So?”

“Wesley also joined the Swordsmanship Department at thirteen, just like Michael! Do you know that Michael is now being called ‘Little Kyadris’ by everyone?”

“Oh, I know. I’ve heard it a lot.”

“Then didn’t you find it strange?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Marianne let out a strange sound and shook her shoulders, almost as if she were about to cry, which was so funny and entertaining that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

As I laughed, Marianne stopped fuming and spoke in a quieter voice, almost as if she were crawling back into her shell.

“Anyway, I’ve always felt sorry for him. This is separate from the fact that Michael wasn’t hurt. Even though I’m close to Michael, I couldn’t even defend him, and I won’t be able to support him in magic classes either. It’s just so sad and unfair that he keeps getting bullied without knowing why…”

“Was I pitiful?”

“Yes! You were pitiful! But why have you been speaking casually to me since earlier?”

“Oh.”

“Your casual tone is so annoying! After I graduate from the academy, I’ll receive a title too, so I’m not just some baroness! It feels like Michael’s treating me like Edwin Kyadris does!”

“Oh… I didn’t think of that. Sorry about that.”

“Doesn’t Count Earnhardt teach etiquette in class? Like the language of fans, noble speech, proper honorifics for titles and ranks? He should be teaching that!”

“They did say something about it, but when I said I wouldn’t do it, they said it was okay.”

“No, no… Michael is really weird. Did you know that?”

“I know. I know you’re a good person, Marianne. Don’t worry. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.”

When I tried to comfort her, Marianne fumed for a while, still upset, and then finally slumped in defeat. I could see she was exhausted, and I started to worry about the way she was heading home.

At that moment, I was thankful for two things.

First, it was fortunate that we were in a private space, so it wasn’t embarrassing. Second, I was so relieved that I hadn’t brought Sheiden with me—if I had, it would’ve been twice as noisy. They would’ve teamed up and started gossiping, and it would’ve just been exhausting with no benefit.

“Really… really, is it not a big deal?”

“Yeah. It’s fine if Edwin doesn’t care about me. Even if he does, it doesn’t seem like it would be much fun to worry about.”

“Huh? What fun?”

“Well… I’ve always thought Edwin wanted to spar with me in magic, and I’ve been focused on figuring out how to properly use the purification magic formula from the crystal orb. But the idea of fighting with swords against him is ridiculous.”

“Does it make sense for him to want to fight with magic?!”

“Well, that’s the class I’m taking.”

Marianne whined again, “Michael is really strange.” I comforted her and stood up, and she insisted that she would pay for the tea because she felt responsible. Her world seemed so different from the one I knew, but it was just a part of this broad world.

By the time we left, it was getting dark.

Some men on the back streets tried to pick a fight, but I didn’t escalate things since Marianne was with me. I just showed them my aura once, and that was enough to get them to back off. I had no intention of making a scene, especially not in front of a delicate, soft-hearted kid like her.

As for Edwin, I was left wondering what he would do next. While I could take care of the ones under my wing, I wasn’t sure if I should meddle with someone else’s problem. It all felt a bit vague.