Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

The weapon Elaine was holding was just a cheap sword she had bought from an unnamed blacksmith shop on the way to Killiard. She had little money so there was no other option.

Even when passing through the monsters’ nest, she had defeated dozens, if not hundreds of monsters with only this sword. It was surprising it had lasted even this long without breaking. However, it appeared that this sword too had reached its limit.

The cheap sword was too weak to block Ash’s continuous attacks, every time the swords collided with each other, it shook as if it would break any second. Then, it finally did just that. Before the time limit was up, it indeed cracked. Elaine quickly adjusted her flow of mana into the sword at that moment and infused it with the cheap sword.

Those who were watching from afar weren’t able to notice, but Ash, who was clashing swords with Elaine once again, had noticed exactly what had happened. Ash’s expression changed as he noticed the change in her sword.

The ability to simply overlay mana on an object and the ability to increase the strength of an object were on completely different levels. Of course, the latter was much more difficult. There were only a few people in the kingdom who were able to use these skills. Even though she had used a large amount of manna to strengthen her sword, she showed no signs of faltering.

Meanwhile, Elaine realized something after clashing swords with Ash. The first seemingly simple strike was to determine the extent of the opponent’s strength and the current attacks were intended to test one’s ability to make split-second judgements.

It may seem like he’s just pushing the opponents hard and being cruel, but every one of Ash’s attacks were intended to gauge the applicant’s skills.

The next moment, Ash, who was close to Elaine, muttered lowly.

“It doesn’t seem like just a fly.”

“…!”

After making that statement, he suddenly relented and moved back. Then slashing a diagonal line with his sword, he targeted her left leg, it was the strongest and fastest attack so far.

If you lacked experience, this attack would most likely have caught you off guard and your leg would be cut while trying to defend clumsily. If you back away to avoid the attack, you would then leave the circle.

It was an attack that came with only 3 seconds left on the clock. Failure to prevent this would result in disqualification.

On the other hand, if you were able to block it, you would probably pass.

It was the last test Ash was giving her.

Elaine didn’t even look behind her, she just roughly estimated the distance. The boundary line would be a step or two behind her. Considering the angle and the speed of the sword, it was impossible to avoid it by talking a step back. She swung her sword in the direction where Ash’s sword was coming, then, instead of falling back, she took a step forward. At the same time, she lifter her left foot, she raised her sword. Her sword clashed loudly with Ash’s.

Clang!

The cracked blade split into two.

There was a moment of silence following the sharp sound of the metal clashing. The moment that the blade that was cutting through the air hit the ground, the silence was broken and shouts broke out.

“Oh my god!”

“She was able to block that?!”

“The sword broke, did she make the time limit? Did she pass?”

The supervisor checked his pocket watch and looked up. His voice rang out amongst the commotion.

“Congratulations Elaine, you have passed.”

The time limit had passes just moments before her sword had broken. When she was notified of her success, she smiled brightly at Ash as she threw down the broken sword onto the ground.”

“Thank you!”

***

A few days have passed since the final exam had ended. Notifications of acceptance were made on the spot, so only those who passed remained. The knighting ceremony was held jointly for the regular knights and the Knights of Philres.

Elaine, dressed in the black uniform she was issued, entered the ceremony hall. Cezanne who has arrived first, spotted her right away, and welcomed her with a wave.

“You’re finally here?”

Aquilegia flowers were embroidered on Cezanne’s chest with silver thread. In the language of flowers, it symbolized an oath of victory. It was the emblem of the Knights of Philres.

And there were seven others beside him standing in a row. All of them had also passed the exam to join the Knights of Philres.

“Elaine! It’s going to start soon!”

As she quickly followed Cezanne’s lead and stood in the row, a trumpet sounded. Soon after, Ash appeared on the stage.

Even from afar, he was striking. With his hair neatly slicked back and dressed in his ceremonial uniform, he was breathtakingly handsome. Just saying that he was handsome, wasn’t enough. He looked more beautiful than the statue of the goddess of beauty that a craftsman had painstakingly carved for decades. His lips, jawline, everything was unreal as if he was created to be the symbol of beauty.

His flawless face left the people in awe.

‘Indeed, he wasn’t just handsome for nothing.’

Elaine was impressed inside and made a proud face. He was always handsome, but he looked even better when he was dressed up. When she saw the surprise on peoples faces when they saw Ash, her shoulders straightened for no reason.

While she was admiring Ash’s handsome appearance, Cezanne tapped her on the shoulder when he saw her not paying attention.

“Aren’t you going to go up? We’re the first ones in line.”

“Oh, right! I’m going now!”

She followed Cezanne’s movements as he walked forward. The line of soon to be Philres Knights stood horizontally in front of the podium. After that, those who had passed the general knights exam lined up behind.

Starting from the far left, the people went up to the stage one by one, swearing loyalty to their Lord, and receiving their swords. After the others in the order had gone up, it was then Elaine’s turn. She stepped onto the platform as Ash looked down at her.

She then knelt on one knee in front of him and bowed her head. Ash’s voice sounded above her head as one of her shoulders became heavy. Ash, with his sword on her shoulder recited the words of the oath.

“With this oath, you swear to sacrifice and devote your heart to the people as well as for Killiard’s future. According to this noble oath, whether in life or death, you will become a light to guide others down the right path. Will you swear your undying loyalty and allegiance to me?”

“I swear.”

Elaine answered without a moment of hesitation. This was the reason she had traveled all the way here. She would have sworn again and again if necessary.

***