The Age Of Arrogance

꧁༺A MEMORY ༻꧂

 

“How does it feel to see it again?”

 

Carlyle asked as he approached Asha.

 

They had come to see the ‘Necklace of the Death’ stored in the Imperial Relic Museum after visiting Pervaz.

 

Asha tilted her head.

 

“It was like this…”

 

The war with the Lure tribe was something Asha had experienced from birth until she was twenty-two. It had only been a little over four years since it ended. However, it strangely felt like a very long time ago.

 

“Of course, you wouldn’t have been in the mood to appreciate it then.”

 

“That’s true, but… Even so, all my memories of that time are blurry.”

 

“Are they memories you want to erase?”

 

Carlyle looked at Asha with concern.

 

“No, not at all. They were painful and awful memories, but I don’t want to forget them. Because they are the memories of how we protected Pervaz.”

 

Many people died, suffered from cold and hunger, and there was no hope.

 

But Amir Pervaz and his children finally drove out the Lure tribe and protected Pervaz.

 

It wasn’t considered glorious, but for the people of Pervaz, it was the happiest day of their lives.

 

She didn’t want to forget such a thing.

 

“The more I hear the stories, the more I wonder what kind of people Amir Pervaz and your brothers were.”

 

“We weren’t that close, but… I guess we loved each other.”

 

A small smile formed on Asha’s lips.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, you little brat! What are you doing, trying to hold a sword like that?”

 

“Get lost.”

 

“I know you have a temper, but you can’t just swing it around however you want! You’re going to get hurt, you little monkey!”

 

“If you’re not going to leave, then teach me how to do it properly!”

 

When Asha decided to pick up the sword, her entire family opposed her.

 

After all, they wanted their youngest daughter, who was only four years younger than their youngest son Vincent, to grow up to be a beautiful young lady.

 

However, even at the young age of ten, Asha already knew.

 

‘You can’t grow up to be a beautiful lady in Pervaz.’

 

How could she leisurely embroider and practice dancing when she didn’t know when the barbarians would invade?

 

From that day on, Asha fought with her mother and practiced the sword.

 

When her older brothers all refused to teach her the sword, she took up a wooden sword and watched the warriors train, imitating their movements.

 

Surprisingly, it was her youngest brother Vincent who first noticed her extraordinary talent.

 

“Brother……. Am I not talented with the sword?”

 

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

 

“I think Asha is better than me…….”

 

“What?”

 

Dominic, the eldest, and Noah, the second eldest, thought that Vincent had finally reached puberty.

 

However, after watching Asha secretly at Vincent’s urging, they realized that it wasn’t that Vincent was untalented, but that Asha was a genius.

 

“Brother, what should we do with her?”

 

“My head hurts, my head hurts…”

 

Their mother, who was upset that she couldn’t make her daughter wear a dress, and Asha, who ran away from her mother and secretly swung a wooden sword in the corner, were watched by the three brothers with mixed feelings.

 

“You boys! Are you just going to let your sister go around like that? If you find Asha, bring her to me immediately.”

 

When their mother was unable to catch Asha herself, she ordered her sons to catch Asha for her.

 

However, no one who had seen Asha’s genius talent could dare to do so.

 

“Hey, you little puppy.”

 

“What?”

 

“You have to draw a straight line! You’re wobbling when you swing the sword!”

 

“……I see? I don’t really know.”

 

“Sigh……. Try it again.”

 

Vincent was the first to betray his mother.

 

Rather than being jealous of Asha, who was growing faster than him even though she was training alone, he decided to help her grow.

 

Every day was like a candle in the wind for them, so jealousy was a luxury for them.

 

“It’s much better than before.”

 

“I think I’m getting the hang of it too. Thank you, brother.”

 

“… Don’t tell Mom or I’ll never teach you again.”

 

“Yes!”

 

The next one to reach out was the second child, Noah.

 

“Asha, swordsmanship is important, but more importantly, physical strength and physique are important. If you really want to be good at swordsmanship, you need to build your physique and train your physical strength before that.”

 

“How do you train your physical strength?”

 

“You just have to do it. Run, roll, lift heavy things… Have you seen the warriors training?”

 

Asha nodded.

 

In fact, Noah’s suggestion to train her physical strength was half because he wanted her to become really strong, and half because he wanted her to give up swordsmanship because she was tired of the hard training.

 

And his only sister went through the training program he created without fail every day.

 

“How is it, brother? Am I a little better than last time?”

 

Noah sighed as he watched Asha wield her sword much more fiercely than a month ago.

 

“You can’t tell Mom that I helped you.”

 

“Of course!”

 

The last one to reach out was the eldest, Dominic.

 

All he did was watch Asha’s swordsmanship and tap her here and there with his own sword.

 

However, it was often those ‘taps’ that would break through Asha’s frustration.

 

“This makes it much easier to use my strength!”

 

“Sigh… I helped you…”

 

“I won’t tell Mom.”

 

“… Okay.”

 

And then, when Asha was twelve years old, she had a falling out with her mother.

 

“Asha! Look at this! This is a dress made of Leafield silk. It was hard work, but expensive things are really good.”

 

She had spent all the money she had saved up to make a dress for her daughter. She was planning to take Asha to a banquet at her maiden home, the Rington Barony, after a while.

 

“From today on, wear this dress and practice your etiquette. You’re not a child anymore.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

“Asha! Are you going to disobey your mother’s words now?”

 

Asha exploded in front of her desperate mother, as if she was possessed by something.

 

“Mother, please stop it! Wearing such fancy clothes in Pervaz is like being a well-dressed corpse!”

 

“I’m doing this so you don’t become that corpse! You must grow up beautifully and marry into a good family. You are the only one who can escape this hell!”

 

Her mother cried out.

 

During the seemingly hopeless war against the barbarians, the only child who could be sent out of Pervaz without disturbing the emperor’s nerves was her daughter, Asha.

 

That’s why she had tried so hard to make her daughter a lady, but her daughter didn’t appreciate her sincerity at all.

 

“I’m not going to run away from here! My father and brothers are here, so how can I live in luxury alone?”

 

“Asha! You don’t know anything because you’re young. There’s nothing you can do here!”

 

“If I run away from Pervaz, that’s when I’ll have nothing to do! And I have no intention of doing that.”

 

Asha snatched the dress from her mother’s hand and threw it on the floor, stomping on it.

 

The slippery feeling of silk was strange.

 

As Asha stomped on the dress, despair was evident in her mother’s eyes, but Asha hardened her heart and never comforted her mother.

 

“I… will become a warrior of Pervaz.”

 

Her mother said nothing and quietly picked up the dress that was strewn on the floor.

 

Asha also knew that she loved her. She was anxious to save her youngest daughter, who she had had at a late age.

 

However, the way they loved their family was too different.

 

After that day, her mother never forced her to wear dresses or learn etiquette. Her smile also disappeared.

 

“Asha.”

 

“Father…….”

 

Her father, who had heard all of that, didn’t say a word about it.

 

He simply handed Asha a blunt training sword.

 

“Come to the training grounds from tomorrow.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Asha began training with the warriors, and everyone came to know that she was a genius. The following year, her mother declared a divorce and returned to her parents’ home.

 

Her father sincerely thought it was a blessing to have divorced her mother.

 

“It’s really fortunate that the imperial family didn’t stop even that…….”

 

“But… are you really okay, Father?”

 

“I’m grateful. Don’t hate your mother either. Your mother did her best.”

 

Asha nodded.

 

Every time the Lure tribe raided, her mother, trembling with fear, prayed with tears, fearing she might be raped if the castle fell, always carrying poison for suicide in case it was captured, and yet, she still tried to beautify the old, crumbling castle…

 

Asha knew well that her mother, who had been a typical noble lady, endured nineteen years in this bleak place solely out of love for her father and children.

 

“Mother probably lost affection for this place because of me.”

 

“Then I should thank you. Thank you for saving your mother.”

 

“…I’ll save you too, Father.”

 

“What? Ahahaha! Alright, I’ll be waiting for that.”

 

And then, a year later, one of the Lure tribe invaders who raided Pervaz rushed to kill Asha.

 

At that time, Asha was only fourteen years old, still a girl who hadn’t shed her childishness.

 

But instead of fleeing from the Lure tribe, she crouched down, then leaped forward with all her strength, fiercely stabbing the chest of the Lure warrior.

 

“How dare you!”

 

As blood splattered when she withdrew the sword piercing his heart, Asha didn’t even blink.

 

“There are Lure scum around! Stop them from getting into the castle!”

 

The fourteen-year-old lovely girl of Pervaz commanded a few warriors and defended the castle, and from that day on, Asha became part of the Pervaz warriors.

 

* * *

 

“Even though my father and brothers couldn’t save me… it was fortunate that I was able to protect Pervaz.”

 

Asha looked at the necklace with a regretful face.

 

“The more I hear about it, the more curious I get.”

 

Carlyle sighed, imagining Asha’s past.

 

“Amir must have also wanted his child to live, so what kind of heart did he have to raise you as a warrior?”

 

“…How dare you guess something like that.”

 

Carlyle wrapped his arms around the complicated-looking Asha and kissed her forehead.

 

“I am your family now. I will love you for Amir and your brothers.”

 

Asha smiled faintly, wrapping her arms around his back.

 

“I will give you all the love you never received.”

 

The two people, who had found a complete family, smiled as they kissed again.

* * * *

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