NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
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I had never taught anyone before.
Not in this life, nor in my previous one. It wasn’t just because I wasn’t a teacher by profession, but because I had hardly ever explained anything to others in the first place.
Sure, I had given directions to people who asked for them while passing by, but that wasn’t really the same as teaching someone.
“So that’s why you’re groaning at your desk since morning?”
Amelia spoke with a look that seemed ready to burst into laughter at any moment.
“I’m being serious here.”
It wasn’t like explaining a skill tree in a game; I had promised to train someone who sincerely wanted to learn swordsmanship.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But looking back, Adele had likely already received proper swordsmanship training. Her previous teacher probably taught her the basics.
Meanwhile, I… all of my previous mentors had left me before long.
Swinging a sword and releasing sword aura was something most people couldn’t do to begin with. Even after swinging a sword for decades, one might reach the level of mastering swordsmanship, but reaching the fantastical realm of sword aura was nearly impossible.
Only Swordmasters, at the peak of their craft, could wield that kind of aura. And if becoming a Swordmaster were something an ordinary person could achieve through training, it wouldn’t be such an exclusive title.
So the reason my instructors left so quickly probably wasn’t because I couldn’t release sword aura. It was likely because my skills were hopelessly bad.
After my last instructor left, I had been self-studying in my own way, but if I had been skilled enough to create my own sword techniques through self-study, my instructors wouldn’t have left in the first place.
“Wow, it’s in Korean.”
Amelia peered at my desk with a look of genuine curiosity.
“It’s just that I’m more comfortable with Hangul.”
Since I had retained all my memories from childhood in this world, using the local language always felt a bit unnatural. It wasn’t an automatic translation ability that I had—I was simply using what I’d learned. Still, the only issue was that it felt a bit foreign, like using a second language.
“…Hmm.”
“What is it?”
Amelia paused for a moment, staring at the Hangul I had written.
Did I write something strange? I thought I’d done my best to describe how I swung my sword, but it seemed the words weren’t conveying it well.
Should I try drawing a picture instead? The best I could manage were stick figures and circles, but that might be easier to understand than words.
“Elsie.”
“Yeah?”
“Have we ever spoken to each other in Korean before?”
“Huh?”
…We hadn’t, had we?
Not when Amelia and I were out doing activities, nor when we were alone together. We had never spoken in Korean.
“…”
Amelia seemed to have the same thought, as she turned silently and walked away.
She then plopped down onto her bed.
“Elsie, where do you think your hometown is?”
“My hometown? My hometown is—”
I was about to say Delkis but stopped, feeling that Amelia’s question might be about something else.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? I often feel the same way. I think of Grattanmount as my homeland, but at the same time, I vividly remember my past life. Even though I consider Grattanmount my home, a part of me feels like Seoul is also my homeland.”
“…”
“Have you ever felt that way?”
Amelia looked at me with a curious expression.
I…
“Of course, I have. Don’t you remember the dishes I tried making after we met?”
Most of them ended up failing, but there were a few variations I managed to get right. Recreating the foods I craved using the ingredients available around me was surprisingly enjoyable, and it also brought back memories of my previous life.
“To be honest, I still think about wanting to eat tteokbokki.”
I turned in my chair to face Amelia.
“Not the super spicy kind, but the ones sold at neighborhood snack shops. You know, the ones drenched in syrup so they’re as sweet as they are spicy.”
“Ah…”
“And, truthfully, there were so many places I wanted to visit too. I always wanted to travel abroad, but I never got the chance before coming here.”
As I said that with a slight smile, Amelia also smiled faintly.
“I see.”
“Yeah, exactly. After all, I spent so much of my life there.”
“…”
Amelia fell into thought for a moment, then said,
“Elsie. I have something I’d like to suggest.”
“Go ahead.”
“How about we speak in Korean when it’s just the two of us?”
It was a proposal I’d never considered before.
“It’s not just for sentimental reasons. In this world, the only people who can properly use Korean are you and me, right? We could use it to hide really important conversations from others and especially for discussing secrets in front of people without them understanding.”
“But… what if someone overhears us?”
“Would it matter? We could just say it’s a secret code we made up.”
Well, that would be one extremely elaborate and comprehensive “code.”
I found Amelia’s suggestion quite convincing.
In a world without telephones or communication-related magic, impersonating either of us was incredibly difficult. That didn’t mean it was impossible, though. For instance, someone could forge a letter by mimicking handwriting.
Didn’t the original story mention Diane sending a fake invitation to deceive Adele?
Precisely because the options were so limited, if someone wanted to drive a wedge between us, they could easily choose that route.
If we had a solid and systematic secret that only the two of us knew, we could prevent such things from happening.
Even though we were almost always together, there would inevitably come a time when we had to be apart.
Even if we parted ways someday, as long as there was evidence of the time we spent together, I would be content with that.
“All right, then.”
I answered her in the language of my former homeland. Hearing my response, Amelia smiled brightly, and it was a pleasant sight.
“It feels a bit strange. I’ve been hearing your voice for the past ten years, but now it’s speaking in words different from what I’m used to.”
Her words, too, were in Korean.
And I felt exactly the same way.
But—
“Still, it’s nice. Like an oddly familiar sound. It’s comforting.”
“Well, it’s the same voice from the same person, after all.”
The two of us laughed.
*
The only issue was—
We got so carried away with speaking Korean that we completely forgot I was supposed to be making something like a training manual for Adele.
Actually, it wasn’t “we” who forgot. Amelia didn’t think such a thing was necessary in the first place.
“Just trust yourself. You can split a dining table in half with your forehead, after all.”
“Hey, is that really the kind of thing to say right now?”
This time, we decided not to walk to Adele’s house. Last time, we didn’t use a carriage because we didn’t know the way, but once we figured it out, continuing to walk wasn’t a great look for nobles.
They said wandering the streets aimlessly was something only idle commoners did, and it wasn’t dignified for nobles.
That logic was absurd when you considered who truly had the most free time in this world, but we had to manage appearances for now. Our antics at the ball last time had drawn plenty of attention already.
To be honest, being friendly with Adele already put us at odds with Diane’s group. But then again, a count couldn’t compare to a grand duke, so for now, it wasn’t a major problem.
They would probably try to drive a wedge between us and Adele in the future.
But that wasn’t a problem. We now had an unbreakable code—impossible to decipher by this world’s standards.
“And if it were other members of my family, they wouldn’t stop at splitting the table. There would probably be a dent in the floor shaped like their foreheads. Compared to the rest of my family, my skills don’t even come close.”
“…I don’t think being the weakest in your family makes you weak compared to others,” Amelia muttered under her breath but didn’t press further.
“Haah.”
Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal if Adele ended up disappointed. It was inevitable.
But the embarrassment I’d feel in the process… No, I shouldn’t think about that now. The more I dwelled on it, the more nervous I would get.
How had I ended up agreeing to demonstrate my swordsmanship in front of the heroine?
…On second thought, it was entirely my fault, so I couldn’t even blame anyone else. Damn it.