Can an Enemy Become Salvation? - Chapter 34

After parting with Shuher, Ibnel was on her way to the training ground along a now familiar path when she happened to run into Demil.

“Good morning, Sir Demil. Are you heading to training now?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Ah, should I come back later then?”

When she asked, not wanting to disturb the knights’ training, Demil hesitated slightly before shaking his head.

“It’s fine. And for archery practice, it would be better if you were there…”

He trailed off, but Ibnel immediately caught on to what he wanted to say.

“It seems my advice has been somewhat helpful.”

As Demil cleared his throat in embarrassment, a pleased smile spread across her face. It seemed that due to their frequent encounters at the archery range, she had unintentionally been offering advice from time to time.

Correcting improper postures or pointing out areas for improvement.

Since everyone had seen with their own eyes that her skills in archery were exceptional, the knights pretended not to be interested on the surface but secretly paid attention.

While she greeted them cheerfully, her demeanor changed completely once training began. All traces of a smile disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.

“These days, I enjoy exchanging greetings the most.”

Since returning from Ferti territory, she felt proud that the distance between them had narrowed, if only a little. It felt like they were seeing the real her, not just the name Aodin.

“Ah, but I’m not presuming we’ve become close. For now, I’m content with this.”

In truth, Ibnel felt that an invisible thick wall still stood between her and them.

Every time she saw them training together and chatting with smiles, she wanted to join that inner circle, but she never dared to voice that desire out loud.

She knew that was too much to hope for.

‘She doesn’t realize that she’s keeping the same distance herself.’

But from Demil’s perspective, she was just as much putting up walls as the knights. At times, it seemed almost like she was being cautious. Sometimes excessively so.

Even her words just now suggested that she herself thought they shouldn’t get too close.

“Ah, if it’s alright, could I borrow a gun? I noticed you had some extras last time. I’ve asked His Majesty several times, but there’s still no news.”

“Feel free to use one. I’ll speak to His Majesty about it separately.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

As the two conversed, they arrived at the training ground, where there were some unfamiliar faces besides the knights.

Judging by their uniforms decorated with blue emblems on a white background, they appeared to be from another knightly order of the imperial palace.

“Who are those people?”

“They’re the First Order of Knights. They’re in charge of guarding the imperial palace.”

For reference, the knightly order led by Demil was directly under the Emperor’s command, focusing mainly on handling magical beasts and carrying out only Shuher’s orders.

Ibnel was intrigued, as she had no contact with other knightly orders despite being in the palace. She wondered how they might differ from the Emperor’s knights.

Just as she was about to step into the training ground, a name from their lips made her stop in her tracks.

“Raul, I hear you’ve been getting close with that lady from Aodin lately?”

“We use the same training ground.”

“Aren’t you ashamed as a knight of Caries? To even exchange words with such a woman. No matter how capable she might be, she’s still from Aodin. Our enemy who should be killed. If it were me, I’d have chased her out of the training ground immediately.”

From their conversation, it seemed they were unaware of Ibnel’s duel.

As the boastful voice echoed across the training ground, Demil’s gaze turned to Ibnel beside him. Despite his look, she merely shrugged her shoulders.

‘Well, that’s nothing new.’

In the short time she’d been in Caries, she’d heard every insult imaginable, so this was almost cute in comparison.

“That’s enough, Hakin. We need to start training soon.”

The one raising his voice from the First Order seemed to be named Hakin.

“No, tell me. Honestly, she didn’t do anything in the subjugation, right? She’s been strutting around with just that ability, and now these ridiculous rumors are spreading. Her achievements? That’s nonsense.”

From Ibnel’s perspective, it seemed they had come all this way to verify the rumors. But judging by the atmosphere, they were already convinced it was false gossip.

“You guys are just forced to be with her because of His Majesty’s orders, right? Isn’t that so?”

“Well, that’s…”

“The truth is, you hate it too, don’t you? And think about what people who don’t know might think if they see you with someone like that. They might criticize your entire knightly order too, right? Calling it a disgrace to Caries.”

As he issued a stern warning about associating closely with someone from Aodin, no one present dared to respond easily.

Worried they might hear such concerns as Hakin suggested, Shan hastily raised his voice.

“Isn’t that obvious? It’s just because of His Majesty’s orders. Just being in the same space is… h-horrible.”

“That’s what I thought. I was worried you might have been swayed by her abilities.”

“That’s impossible. We’re knights of Caries. How could we trust someone like that?”

As others chimed in agreement, Demil, unable to bear the situation any longer, was about to step in. But a hand stopped him.

Following the hand on his arm, he turned his head to see Ibnel also staring at the training ground. Of course, she too had heard the entire conversation.

“I…”

As Demil tried to say something, she abruptly let go of the hand she was holding.

“I guess I can’t train now. I’ll come back later.”

With a faint smile, Ibnel left that comment and walked away from the training ground alone. He could only watch as she distanced herself.

Only after completely leaving that place did her steps gradually slow down before coming to a complete stop.

“I already knew, didn’t I? How they think of me.”

She knew that the knights harbored more ill feelings towards her than other people. So while hearing them speak ill of her wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t deeply saddening or as shocking as being hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

But being human, Ibnel couldn’t help feeling hurt. She had thought they had gotten a little closer.

‘Horrible, they said…’

Hearing those words directly felt completely different. She had never once thought of herself that way, but now she found herself questioning if she really was such a horrible person.

At the same time, she felt empty, dejected, and resentful.

“Honestly, what did I do wrong? It happened long before I was born, and I’m not even from here. Strictly speaking, I’m a victim too. Should I go confront them now?”

But Ibnel’s feet remained rooted to the spot, refusing to move.

“Even if I did, they’d just say it’s because I’m from Aodin again.”

No matter what she said, no one would listen, and it would just be a powerless cry. Knowing this, she had quietly left earlier as well.

‘Right. I’m not the main character, just an unnamed extra. What am I expecting?’

Not in the mood to train anymore, Ibnel returned directly to the palace. Seeing her return earlier than expected, Lia looked puzzled.

“You’re back already? I thought you said you were going to train.”

“I’m going to rest today. Lia, are you alright these days? Is anyone bothering you?”

At that question, she nodded without hesitation.

“Yes, thanks to Head Maid Emily. Although people still look at me unfavorably, there haven’t been any incidents like before.”

“I’m glad at least you’re doing well.”

“Pardon?”

Ibnel shook her head as if it were nothing. After all, wasn’t it for Lia’s sake that she had decided to live?

“Yeah, nothing else matters. I just need Lia.”

“Why are you suddenly saying such things? Well then, rest well.”

“Alright.”

Left alone, Ibnel flopped onto the bed.

‘Let’s rest and think.’

And feeling like nothing was within her grasp, she remained motionless on the bed for a while.

As morning arrived and Shuher was having his meal, he felt an unusual silence. His gaze soon fell on the seat where Ibnel had sat yesterday.

He could almost hear her chattering voice that never stopped.

In the end, she didn’t show up throughout his meal.

As Shuher was about to leave the palace, he spotted Lia coming down from upstairs, and upon seeing him, she hastily bowed her head.

He was about to pass by, but eventually stopped in his tracks.

“Has the young lady not woken up yet?”

“Ah, no.”

“I thought this would be about the time she goes to train.”

He already knew Ibnel’s schedule by heart. And that she had never skipped training until now.

“That’s right. But she seems different from usual.”

“Different from usual?”

“How should I put it… She seems to lack energy? She returned to the palace early yesterday too. It doesn’t seem like she trained either.”

Shuher found it rather incomprehensible. After all, she hadn’t shown any such signs when they parted ways exchanging greetings yesterday.

“Do you have any particular message for the young lady?”

“No.”

Shuher glanced briefly at the floor where she would be before leaving the palace.

About an hour later, Ibnel, who had woken up later than usual, had her meal and only came out of her room in the afternoon. She was holding a book in her hand.

“Let’s go to the library.”

As she walked out of the palace, she suddenly realized she was avoiding the knights and felt a surge of emotion. Why was she acting like a criminal when she hadn’t done anything wrong?

“Right, why am I avoiding them? I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Ibnel was determined to go to the training ground today as she hurried her steps, when she heard a familiar voice not far away.

“Ah, really. Showing off just because they have His Majesty’s trust.”

‘Those people are definitely…’

She could tell right away that they were the knights of the First Order who had come to the training ground yesterday. Among them was Hakin, who had been at the forefront of insulting her.

Not wanting to see their faces even by chance, Ibnel was about to continue on her way, but the content of the conversation that followed made her stop in her tracks once again.

“I know, right? To think that such lowlifes are His Majesty’s knightly order. Originally, they were just common folk who couldn’t even make eye contact with us.”

Yesterday they had pretended to be so friendly, but behind their backs, they spoke so carelessly, causing her to frown involuntarily.

“Look at how they’ve been getting close to that woman lately. Such guys don’t deserve to be knights. They’re just putting on airs, I really can’t stand it.”

It seemed like they were trying to find any ridiculous excuse to belittle them. They were too busy chattering away to notice that Ibnel was listening.

“Come to think of it, aren’t they a well-matched combination?”

“I guess so. Ah, maybe we should have just let them get close. This could make them fall completely out of favor.”

“What was His Majesty thinking, choosing only such people? Especially Sir Demil. Look at that scar on his eye. He must have done something bad in the past. If the captain is like that, the members must be the same.”

Now that she thought about it, she seemed to have heard something similar. That the knights chosen by the Emperor were selected solely based on ability.

Unlike other knightly orders, social status wasn’t prioritized, which inevitably meant there were many commoners. But their skills were overwhelmingly superior.

‘They’re truly pathetic.’

What the First Order was doing was nothing but unreasonable nitpicking. They were picking fights based on external factors rather than their skills as knights.

Did they really not realize they were spitting in their own faces?

As she watched them snickering and walking away, she also started moving towards her original destination. After all, it had nothing to do with her.

If anything, she should feel vindicated after hearing such words yesterday.

“Serves them right. They were badmouthing me behind my back. I should just pretend I didn’t hear anything. It’s not my business, and getting involved would just be unnecessary meddling.”

Although she tried to deny it with these words, her steps were gradually slowing down.

‘Ah, really…’

Finally coming to a stop, Ibnel squeezed her eyes shut, then recalled the words the First Order had been excitedly spouting, and opened her eyes again.

Even though she clearly knew in her head that she wouldn’t hear any kind words if she intervened, her feet were already heading in the direction where they had disappeared.