“There must be a lot more. Protruding eyebrow bones, high nose bridge, a nice jawline….”

As Blake prattled on about Axel’s excellent features one by one, Velita shouted at them.

“That’s not it! There’s chaos outside, what the hell were you doing in here? Ah, you said you were sick. Then it makes sense again. Right, Sir Leon said no one should enter so you could rest well….”

“Velita. Shouldn’t you explain first? I have no idea what answer you want.”

I haven’t been awake for long. As Jade grumbled like that, Velita approached the bed and spoke quietly but rapidly like a machine gun.

“A knight who can draw out sword energy!”

Jade and Blake widened their eyes and exclaimed simultaneously.

“Who?”

“What?”

Velita looked like she was frustrated to death.

“Sir Leon! Leon Weintz. Jade, your temporary pair!”

My mouth fell open on its own.

Velita chattered on for a long time without rest.

So, this whole story began from the mouth of a young knight.

That knight had apparently talked about Jade and Axel’s pair for an entire hour. Having seen up close how they took down the biggest monster with little damage, he couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘It was really amazing! To think such a sight could come from a temporary pair. That light at the end was incredible too. It split everything in a straight line in an instant!’

This part was the problem. A mage who heard the story tilted his head.

‘Light? Splitting things in a straight line?’

The mage had observed Jade for a long time and clearly knew that Jade’s main specialty was solely fire, with a very small amount of wind, so he was curious about the unknown light. He wondered if Jade had developed a new spell, a new magic.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t we see that light on the first day she set foot in the Jisen Kingdom too?’

‘Ah, that’s right! When killing that swamp-like monster! When Lady Jade was in danger.’

Everyone tilted their heads and discussed the identity of that light. As the chattering people gathered and gathered, eventually forming a large crowd, a knight smiled and said,

‘The more I hear, the more it feels like sword energy. Haha!’

That knight clearly meant it as a joke.

It was natural. What is sword energy? It was a power rare enough to be counted on one hand on the continent.

Knights described as having the body of a god could not utilize mana externally. They could only use mana to maintain their bodies more strongly. That’s why pairing with a mage was considered important for dealing with monsters.

But very rarely, there were those who could utilize mana without a mage. Although they couldn’t transform that power into various forms like mages, they could draw out mana through their swords.

People called that sword energy.

Although not versatile, it was the purest power.

The moment sword energy was imbued, destructive power and sharpness increased drastically, the attack range widened, and a mage’s help was hardly needed to deal with monsters. Because even the toughest hide could be easily pierced through.

Is that all? Knights who could use that power were few even on the continent, so they were welcomed in any country.

However, it required a very long effort to be able to use sword energy. Feeling the mana flowing inside the body was not the end. One had to know how to draw it out, materialize it, and be able to imbue it into the sword.

But as skilled and decent knights gradually took pairing with mages for granted, those who made such efforts were diminishing noticeably.

Since the mage will imbue a different power into the sword anyway, why bother doing such a thing?

‘Haha, surely it can’t be sword energy?’

‘Right. Sir Leon is still too young. Even among the few knights who use sword energy on the continent, most are well over forty years old.’

The problem was that Jennerson was nearby, and while he was tight-lipped, he had a really terrible skill at lying.

Everyone focused their gaze on Jennerson, who surely had a long-standing acquaintance with Sir Leon.

‘It’s not, right, Sir Jennerson?’

In the first place, it was a statement that came out like a joke, so a single sentence of ‘Absolutely not.’ would have ended it. But Jennerson suddenly coughed like crazy and began mumbling some excuses.

‘That, well. No, this is….’

Then he stumbled over a stone, staggered, and ran away in a fluster, showing his back. It was a suspicious sight to anyone who saw it.

Those who saw that sight opened their mouths dumbly.

Just like Jade and Blake now, listening to Velita’s story.

“…So is that really true?”

“Sir Leon didn’t answer, but someone who had seen a knight using sword energy in the Alsio Kingdom before said that the light and the feeling of it extending in a straight line were exactly the same. Of course, they did say the form and intensity were different though.”

“If that’s true, he would be the youngest on the continent. Well, I don’t really know Sir Leon’s age though.”

Blake said, tugging on his curly hair.

“Right. So, Jade Broen.”

Velita, who had told the long story without catching a proper breath, flashed her eyes.

Jade hadn’t even properly digested the story she heard, so the gaze thoroughly examining her whole body was so burdensome that she unknowingly picked up the last blanket lying on the floor and put it over her head.

“Uh….”

“Such a defense won’t work. You know my area of research, right? About the properties of mana adding or combining together! As for magic, well, I’m somehow managing, but if I could study sword energy too, it would be perfect. So….”

Velita even clasped her hands together and asked if Jade had any personal acquaintance to ask Axel a favor.

Jade shook her head with an awkward look.

“It would be a lie to say I have no acquaintance, but to ask him to use sword energy for your research, even though I’m not sure if it’s true, seems difficult….”

“Ha, I guess so. It would be a very rude thing to do. Then did you not feel anything different?”

“Not particularly.”

I suddenly became very tired.

“I didn’t notice anything.”

Blake, who quickly noticed Jade’s dampened mood, grabbed Velita’s shoulder and pulled.

“Come out, come out.”

“Ah, why!”

“Jade is still recovering! Or do you want to catch a cold and groan for a long time too?”

“No, I can’t do that. My body is precious.”

Velita, realizing she wouldn’t get anything, stood up, said goodbye, then lowered her body as if bowing and left.

She must have been worried about getting caught since Axel had made a strict recommendation that no one should enter while Jade was recovering.

“Jade.”

“Velita suddenly came in and the conversation became a mess. What were we talking about before?”

Seeing Jade’s stiff smile, Blake brought over several blankets that had been thrown into the corner, patted them off, and snuggled into Jade’s arms. Then he spoke casually.

“We were talking about how we are good friends. Don’t think about anything else and rest well, Jade. Drink a sip of the boiled medicine whenever you wake up.”

Leaving a smile, Blake left. The door closed with a thud.

Left alone, Jade lay back on the bed, feeling the steam filling the surroundings from the brazier used to boil the medicine.

Unfolding the blanket bundled up on her chest, layer by layer, there was no gap for the wind to enter.

Nevertheless, her insides strangely felt cold. In the end, she sat up again and took out a magic stone hidden in a small pocket. It contained a spell that provided warmth.

The transparency in the middle of the ore remained unchanged despite multiple uses, showing how much effort was put into engraving it.

She fiddled with the surface with her fingertips. Although it was still bumpy, it was smoother in some places compared to the beginning.

It didn’t seem cold enough to use this.

After hesitating, Jade finally put the lazulite on the pillow and lay down next to it. Even in the faint light, the blue sparkle embedded in the ore was beautiful.

Jade sometimes thought she also discovered such a blue light in Axel’s eyes. A blue hue only she knew, in those clear gray eyes. She thought that was what made his eyes even more like stars.

“It’s funny, really.”

The giggling sound echoed emptily in the room.

Just how many conversations had passed in those few hours after waking up from a deep sleep? How many things had she come to realize!

It was also funny that the subject of all conversations was Axel, who wasn’t here.

Axel. Leon Weintz.

In the conversation with Blake, she newly realized that she kept feeling meaningless flutters towards Axel.

Yes, this was all a short-lived episode that would soon end and had no meaning. Of course, she knew that herself too.

But when she sorted out those thoughts and spat them out, everything became very clear and she couldn’t ignore it, and her body felt the cold from the reality she faced.

The promise with Mabel Broen was very simple and clear. Jade had to find a mate that old woman would be proud of. So she had to inherit everything that woman had and make it her own.

That was the most comfortable path given to Jade. With the things gained that way, Jade would attack Mabel and Felix.

But she kept forgetting that. Why?

“It’s because of you.”

She tapped the lazulite with her finger.

For Jade, the word Atanase Forest could be converted to Axel. Axel was the Atanase Forest, and the Atanase Forest was Axel.

And the Atanase Forest was a place that freed Jade from all pressures, so she kept forgetting reality beside Axel. As if she too had a choice.

A bitter smile came out.