I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
The searing heat and pain, once scorching like a furnace, gradually peeled away one by one… It felt as though her body was sinking endlessly into an inky black sea.
At the same time, her soul grew infinitely light—even peaceful.
Death.
Not so bad.
Just as it had been for Sydney’s father and older brother.
Now, she too wanted to let go of everything and rest.
Like surrendering herself to gentle, flowing currents, Sydney drifted deeper into slumber.
BOOM!
Thunder roared loudly, as if scolding her attempt to flee. Immediately after, someone shook her violently and shouted,
“Sydney Warden!”
Just hearing that name made something hot surge painfully in her chest.
Cloud, the Great Conqueror of Arsenal—renowned and revered—the glory he achieved was built upon his crimson army. And the knight who led that army at its forefront was none other than the founder of House Warden: ‘Sydney Warden.’
Damn that ‘Sydney Warden.’
Living under the same name as that illustrious ancestor… truly was the worst.
Every time he told that story, Sydney’s father, Hugh Warden, boasted as if he had witnessed it himself.
Nonsense.
If he truly favored that knight so deeply, would he have granted him only a count’s title? And what about that barren, worthless fief?
The honorary title “Sword of Arsenal” was little more than a shackle. Bound by that honor, House Warden never engaged in trade or business… so poverty became their everyday life.
It was a curse bestowed by Emperor Cloud. No wonder her life, cursed with that damn name, had turned out like this.
“Damn it! Why is my body so cold!”
Shut up. Sydney scowled at the loud male voice ringing sharply in her ears.
“Sydney! Sydney Warden! Are you coming to your senses? Hey, you bastard! Open your eyes!”
Walter. It was definitely Walter Asner’s voice. Simultaneously, an inexplicable sense of disappointment washed over her.
Logan Redford.
She felt pathetic for having hoped—even for a moment—that it might be him.
Damn you, Walter Asner!
This is all your fault, you bastard.
“Hey! Don’t fall asleep! Sydney! Hey! Open your eyes!”
Walter’s shouting faded into the distance. Despite his rough shaking, sleep overtook her. Immediately after, the dreadful memories of her childhood unfolded before her eyes.
[This is the timeline separator]“Sydney Warden, you must become a knight worthy of that name.”
There it was again. Young Sydney frowned at her father Hugo Warden’s nagging.
Lifting the sword high above her head and then slashing it straight down—how many times had she repeated this? Beads of sweat dotted her youthful face.
Her arms, shoulders, indeed her entire body trembled uncontrollably from exhaustion and pain. The moment her stance faltered, the sharp reek of alcohol hit her nostrils.
“Sydney! Your arm’s shaking!”
A sharp crack split the air as a thin switch struck her small forearm.
She was only eleven years old.
At that age, startled into tears by sudden blows would be perfectly understandable.
But little Sydney clenched her teeth, refusing to let out even a whimper.
“Your stance is wobbling!”
Crack! Crack! …….
The blows and shouts from Count Warden continued. Despite being too drunk himself to even stand properly… he blamed his innocent daughter.
“Damn it! Sydney Warden! Straighten your back!”
“Ugh!”
Sydney cried out and collapsed onto the ground. Crimson blood seeped through her sweat-soaked shirt at multiple spots.
“Get up!”
It was clear that faded glories from the past had blinded Hugh Warden.
Otherwise, how could he kick his young daughter with such cruelty?
“Damn it! Pick up your sword again!”
Didn’t his trembling, exhausted daughter evoke even a shred of pity?
The small child, curled up and silently enduring the kicks, finally spat out through gritted teeth,
“I won’t. So… stop hitting me.”
Her small hands clawed at the earth, forming fists. Rising unsteadily, she glared at her father with bloodshot eyes.
Resentment, anger, and contempt.
Every emotion in her eyes was directed squarely at him.
Did he finally realize what he’d done?
Hugh Warden’s cloudy eyes wavered helplessly. Little Sydney stepped forward and hissed at him,
“What does it matter if our house is already ruined! What’s so special about that damn name!”
“Eiik! How dare you insult our house!”
Hugh Warden raised his massive hand high into the air. A slap sounded—but it didn’t hurt her.
When she opened her tightly shut eyes, she saw the back of her older brother, turned away.
“Please… stop now, Father.”
Anthony Warden.
He was so frail he had to stay in bed all day. Yet that brother, Anthony, pleaded in a tear-choked voice.
Was it really for the sake of ‘Sydney Warden’? Sydney blinked, disbelief clear on her face.
Hidden behind Anthony’s back, she couldn’t see her father’s face—but she heard his weary sigh and exhausted voice.
“Go inside.”
“No. I am the eldest son of House Warden.”
“Anthony Warden.”
To Hugh Warden, Anthony—the son constantly plagued by illness—was useless.
Then came his longed-for second child, born with fiery red hair. Although a daughter, she possessed an unusual frame and robust health.
Hugh gave her the name of House Warden’s founder—’Sydney Warden’—and raised her as a boy. Grown this way, Sydney naturally believed it was her duty to carry on House Warden.
“Yes. Not Sydney—the one Father raised as a boy—but I, Anthony Warden… am the heir of House Warden.”
“With that frail body?”
“Yes. Even with this useless body that can barely swing a sword… I’ve been accepted into the Military Academy.”
“What?”
She was stunned. How could someone whose breath grew short from just a little running, whose body lacked even the strength to lift a sword…
Sydney tapped her brother’s clenched fist gently with her finger and stopped him.
“Older brother, that’s enough.”
Anthony flinched and turned to look at her.
His face, refined like their father’s, was as pale as bleached paper, and his lips held no color—like withered flower petals. Yet the hand that grasped hers was warm and steady.
“Older brother… Sydney.”
After correcting her way of address, Anthony turned back to face their father once more.
“I will take the knight examination, enlist in the Imperial Army… and become a knight House Warden can be proud of.”
For the first time ever,
she felt something about her brother’s golden hair and delicate voice appealed to her—and for the first time, his back seemed truly dependable.
“So please, let Sydney go. I beg you.”
Sydney didn’t stop him, even though she knew Anthony couldn’t bear it. Simply because her father’s harsh training and beatings—and the burden that was never hers to carry—had become too heavy.
Even after Anthony left for the Military Academy, Hugh Warden continued indulging in drink and gambling. The only change was that Sydney no longer had to force herself to wield a sword….
Two years later, war broke out.
“Sydney, war has finally come! At last, our chance to earn glory and restore our house!”
He was insane. At thirteen, Sydney felt utter disillusionment toward her father, who saw war as an opportunity.
Even his grand departure ended with him returning as a cold corpse.
After reading their father’s will, Anthony declared he too would enlist.
“Sydney, I must go to the battlefield as well.”
What did that damn house matter anyway?
Sydney thought Anthony pathetic.
“You think I’m pathetic, don’t you? Truth is, I don’t care about the house at all. You know as well as I do—I’m not capable of achieving any great feats.”
“If you know that so well… Older brother, just do something else.”
“But… you see… even someone like me… doesn’t want to run away. And I need to save dowries for you and Emilia—for my little sisters. After all, I’m your older brother.”
She was terrified. Just like their father, would Anthony also return cold and lifeless?
That’s why—to the very end, not even once—did Sydney ever call Anthony ‘older brother.’
“…Who’s this ‘older brother’? I’m not thankful to you at all.”
“Exactly. I’ll be my usual cowardly self and definitely, absolutely, come back alive.”
It was winter when Sydney turned thirteen. Like their father before him, Anthony donned his uniform and left for the front.
Though the horse—bought by scraping together every last coin from their meager household—looked ready to collapse, as did Anthony atop it…
Sydney Warden merely watched silently as Anthony departed.
If she let him go like this,
she wouldn’t see Anthony again.
She didn’t know then that he might not even return as a cold corpse.
It was just that…
Anthony’s stubbornness seemed absurd,
she still resented the burden she’d borne in his place for so long,
and her father’s near-abusive scolding and training remained painfully vivid….
She simply hated it all—the grinding poverty, the hopelessly pathetic house, and everything about their situation.
Even if it was just a dream,
even if it was far too late to matter now,
Sydney strained with all her might to speak the words she’d been unable to say back then. She forced her lips to shape the sound that wouldn’t come.
“…Don’t… go.”
As tears welled uncontrollably, she felt the weight pressing down on her body ease. Opening her mouth again, she finally spoke the name she’d so deeply missed yet resented all this time.
“Anthony…”
The moment her long-restrained tears spilled over, a familiar warmth covered her eyes. Drawing strength from that warmth, Sydney finally voiced what she’d held back.
“You damn idiot… I told you not to die….”
Where had all that sorrow been hiding? Sydney sobbed loudly, again and again.
Just the touch of a single hand over her eyes—
Yet damn it all, it brought her such overwhelming relief.
Sydney placed her hand over the one pressing against her eyes and poured out her resentment once more.
“You promised… you’d come back… cowardly but surely… alive… huhh.”
The hand over her eyes trembled slightly. And with that trembling came a low whisper…
“…It’s just a dream.”
Could it be him? That was impossible… Sydney blinked as she pushed the hand away from her eyes.
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.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Ahhhh the “I have a friend” line. How did she keep her gender hidden this long smh lol
Could it be he was the one who designed the dresses Victoria gifted her?