Chapter 1
‘Jan, you must never hold a blade.’
‘Uh, what about a spear or a bow?’
‘None of them! It’s a metaphor. What I mean is that you should never fight.’
Jan remembered the warning his father had always told him. While he was chopping firewood with an axe, he glanced towards the noisy castle walls. A guest of the Lord was visiting today, so it was busier than usual.
“Hey, Jan!”
The Lord’s butler waved at Jan. Jan tapped his shoulder with his axe as he looked at the Butler.
“I haven’t finished chopping the firewood yet. If you have something to do, go tell Doniel to do it. I saw him slacking in the stables.”
Jan was a servant of the Lord, meaning the butler was essentially his direct superior.
“No, no. That’s not it.”
The butler panted, as if he had sprinted all the way here. After catching his breath, he continued to talk.
“We need a sparring opponent for the young master. You’re quick on your toes. Go exchange a couple strikes with him.”
“Are we using wooden swords?”
“No, they’re real blades.”
“What? No! Of course not. I can’t! He’s a master of the blade. I’ll die for sure.”
“He won’t actually slash you for real. Come on, Jan. Have I ever begged for you to do something like this before? This is imperative. An important guest has come to observe the Young Master’s bladework.
“Even then… Urgh.”
Jan scratched the back of his head. It was hard to refuse when a man as old as the butler was begging so hard.
“Whatever, I’ll give it a go.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“You owe me one, old man.”
Jan followed the butler to the Castle Yard in the Interior Castle. It was bustling with activity today. There were some faces he had never seen before. They must’ve been the important guest the butler mentioned.
“You just need to dodge and block a couple of times. You understand? This is essentially just a demonstration.”
The butler handed Jan the blade.
“Yeah, yeah. Got it”
Jan gripped the handle of the blade. It was the first time he had ever held a proper sword, but the handle felt perfectly comfortable in his grasp. As he stepped forward, the crowd split to let him through.
At the center of the training yard, the son of the Lord was waiting. He was yawning as Jan walked up to him. The young master’s face scrunched up as he saw Jan.
“Jan? Isn’t there anyone else who actually knows how to fight?”
“It is what it is.”
“I need to demonstrate my ability, so don’t lose so fast. At least try to make it seem like you’re fighting. If your inability messes me up, I’ll beat the shit out of you later. You got it?”
“Urgh, I’ll try.”
Jan awkwardly brought his blade up and assumed a stance.
“HYAAAAH!”
The son of the lord shouted loudly as he rushed towards Jan. He raised his blade high, ready to strike Jan’s head.
‘He told me to act like I knew how to fight, so….’
Jan swung his sword loosely. The arc of the blade drew a crescent moon in the air. A fine red line formed at the tip of the young master’s neck.
Plop.
The head of the young master fell to the ground.
“Huh?”
Jan cocked his head as he looked at the blood on his blade.
……The Young Master was dead.
The decapitated head rolled and came to a rest besides Jan’s toes.