Didn't Plan to Become a Companion (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
Ricardo swung his sword once more with his left hand, wearing an enigmatic smile. A chill breeze ran down my spine.
“What—what the heck? You’re left-handed?”
“No.”
Ricardo kept his eyes fixed on me while extending his sword straight toward Harold. Harold flinched, swallowing hard as he stepped back—the blade had stopped precisely before his throat.
“I’m ambidextrous.”
“Why…?”
“Do I need a reason to be ambidextrous?”
As if to prove his words, he adjusted his stance. Was it just my imagination, or did he look even more flawless now than when he held the sword in his right hand?
“You were trying to break my wrist so I couldn’t draw anymore, weren’t you?”
“I—I wasn’t trying to break it!”
Ricardo laughed out loud. The unexpectedly clear sound tightened my throat instantly. But I rubbed my face hard, shaking off the daze he’d cast over me. In just two days, Count Fennel and Justin would return to the mansion.
“If I lose and can’t use either hand, you’ll be the one taking care of me.”
Ricardo smiled brightly and pointed his sword again at Harold. Harold, who had been staring dumbfoundedly at the two of us this whole time, finally snapped out of his confusion and assumed an offensive stance.
“Although, of course, I won’t lose.”
This time, Ricardo was completely different from before. It was as if he’d already memorized Harold’s entire swordsmanship in those brief moments—his movements now were far swifter and more precise.
“Argh!”
Harold was sent sprawling onto his backside by Ricardo’s strike. When I shot him a glare, he hurriedly offered an excuse.
“I’ve never fought someone who uses a sword with their left hand before!”
If you’re going to talk, at least make it coherent. Weren’t you the one just scolding me for doing such a thing to a child?
To be honest, even I had to admit Ricardo’s swordsmanship was extraordinary. But that didn’t mean I’d back down just because his skill surpassed his master’s in a single bout. I walked over to where the wooden practice swords lay and picked the one made of the darkest-colored wood.
“Huh? That one…!”
Harold seemed to shout something, but I heard nothing.
Closing my eyes tightly, I began swinging my sword recklessly. Ricardo stopped attacking and only defended.
“Ugh! You already know my intention anyway—why not just let me hit you?”
“But I don’t want to.”
He smirked, lifting just one corner of his lips wickedly. Did I ever imagine Ricardo could smile like that?
Shaking my head to dispel distracting thoughts, I focused solely on my sword hand. Just then, Harold’s voice rang out from the side.
“Please handle it gently! That sword’s made from Black Forest wood!”
“So what?”
“It’s extremely expensive!”
Oh? Then it must be incredibly strong. I took three steps backward and charged straight at Ricardo. I saw him sneer, but there was nowhere for me to retreat. Somehow, I was certain he’d let my strike land on him this time.
But then—
“Huh?!”
My foot caught on something. Damn it. The moment I realized I’d tripped over my own feet, my body lurched forward. Instantly, Ricardo dropped his sword and reached out to catch me.
“Whack!”
The full momentum of my fall slammed heavily onto something with enough force to strain my wrist. I opened my eyes wide—my wooden sword had struck him squarely on the forehead.
Our eyes met straight on—his deep black gaze locking with mine.
“It wasn’t… on purpose.”
The moment I tried to explain, a blinding flash of pure white light flooded the entire world, searing my vision. After that, utter darkness swallowed everything.
‘What… is this?’
“Rica? Where are you?”
When I reached out to find him, a scorching heat spread through my body as if I were engulfed in flames.
‘It’s… so hot.’
As fear surged within me, another flash exploded before my eyes. Only then did I fully comprehend, with every sense, what was happening.
Ah… so this is it.
Manifestation.
The first display of the power possessed exclusively by the imperial bloodline of the Dermayer Empire and the three great ducal houses.
At that exact moment, words from a dream I’d had years ago echoed once more in my ears.
〈So the illiterate girl from the Eastern Kingdom has finally undergone the Divine Conflagration.〉
Whoosh—the instant those words ended, Ricardo’s entire body burst into brilliant flames. Not the red glow of a hearth fire, but a blinding white light radiating from the heavens.
Only Ricardo and the space around him became a single beam of light in an otherwise pitch-black world. Far in the distance, the sun, previously hidden behind the moon, began to reemerge.
〈It is a grave sin for a witch to presume to take the Saintess’s place.〉
Gazing at the sun reclaiming the earth beneath a sky now clear of even the storm clouds, another realization struck me.
Ah, I’m ruined. Completely ruined.
That was my final thought before the overwhelming force crushed my consciousness.
[This is the timeline separator]Heirs of the other ducal houses, excluding Rochester, suddenly manifest their power one day. Thereafter, following their ancestors’ instructions, they awaken this power and eventually become the heads of their houses.
However, both the imperial family and all ducal houses must always pay a corresponding price to wield their abilities.
The power naturally passes to only one blood descendant in childhood, and as time goes on, they learn to control it freely.
But Rochester was different.
Rochester’s manifestation and awakening can only occur through the Saintess.
The Saintess of Rochester—and his destined partner. It felt somehow sacrilegious to call the woman destined to become mistress of a ducal house, rather than an empress, “Saintess,” yet there was no other name for her.
Though some future empresses were chosen by divine oracle, it wasn’t always so.
Only Rochester’s destined partner was chosen by the gods from birth.
I didn’t regain consciousness after Ricardo’s manifestation.
It was fortunate I hadn’t died, considering I’d faced the full force of his unleashed power head-on. While unconscious, I dreamed an impossibly long and tedious dream.
A strange and sorrowful dream of meeting Ricardo, parting, meeting again, and parting once more.
Even in that dream, I loved Ricardo—as though I’d been born solely to love him.
“Lienne?”
The first voice I heard as I slowly came to was Sabrina’s. I nodded in response to her call.
“Are you awake?”
“Yeah.”
My quiet reply was met with a sigh of relief.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About fifteen days.”
Though only half a month had passed, it felt as if I’d lived through an entire lifetime. I sat up on the edge of the bed—my body felt surprisingly light.
“What exactly happened? The physician says there’s nothing wrong with you, yet you wouldn’t wake up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Who asked for an apology? I was just worried. Everyone said sleeping this long makes no sense—you might as well be dead already. Do you know… how scared I was?”
Tears shimmered in Sabrina’s eyes.
“I know. I know you and Jonathan were worried. That’s why I’m sorry—for making you worry.”
Sabrina and Jonathan alone had stayed by my side for those fifteen days; she must have felt terribly frightened and helpless without any adult support.
“What… happened to him?”
Though I didn’t name him, Sabrina instantly knew I was asking about Ricardo.
“You already knew the East Wing boy was Rochester, didn’t you?”
“…No.”
“Hah.”
Sabrina let out a long breath and began explaining everything: how Ricardo was actually the sole heir of the Gardarelli Rochester family, how news of his manifestation had immediately reached the duchy’s palace, and how the ducal household had come to take him away shortly afterward.
Perhaps even the Empire had sensed his manifestation instantly—the entire sky had turned pitch black, after all.
“I saw the East Wing boy yesterday, and he really didn’t recognize me at all.”
Though I’d expected this, my throat tightened so much I couldn’t speak. Why had his memories faded so quickly? Had I already forgotten everything too?
“I’d heard Rochester heirs gradually lose their memories after manifestation, but seeing it happen actually felt… strange.”
Nobles in the Resotia Duchy—essentially a vassal state of the Empire—were required from childhood to study Imperial history.
Both Imperials and Duchy citizens knew the ducal houses possessed special powers, though none knew exactly what those powers entailed.
“When did he leave?”
“He hasn’t yet—he said he’d be leaving soon.”
“What?”
Only after hearing Ricardo was still in the mansion did I notice the commotion outside. Sabrina opened the window, though the view from the East Wing couldn’t possibly show the main courtyard.
I immediately got out of bed.
“Don’t get up just yet.”
The moment those words left her mouth, dizziness swirled in my head—but I couldn’t stop.
“I need to see him. I have to see him before he leaves.”
“The whole mansion’s surrounded by Rochester knights—it’s not calm out there.”
“Just once. One last look at his face.”
Because Sabrina and Jonathan were still children, they could move somewhat freely inside the mansion. As a child myself, if I avoided the knights’ notice, I might catch sight of his carriage passing behind the mansion.
“Fine. The knights probably won’t pay much attention to the East Wing anyway.”
Bending low, I slipped out through the rear garden and climbed the path leading to the gentle hill. In the far distance, the ducal carriage was already leaving the estate.
It was a rare, perfectly clear day—unsuited for the desert’s rainy season.
The black double-horse carriage, drawn by black steeds, gleamed under the sunlight. The Rochester family crest seemed like a living beast glaring straight at me. The carriage carrying Ricardo looked terribly cold and immense.
As the carriage turned fully right, his face came into view. The distance wasn’t so great that I couldn’t recognize him.
‘Did his hair grow a bit in these fifteen days?’
While this random thought crossed my mind, our eyes met—or so I thought. He gave no sign of recognition; his eyes held not a single trace of having seen someone familiar.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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