Harmonious and handsome facial features.
A white and smooth skin that seemed like it had never done any labour, not even once.
“This time is really… My face really did have its golden time.”
He wondered whether it really belonged to him when compared to himself at the age of 33.
That was because, once upon a time, Erun was called the most handsome man in Navarro.
As he was getting older, his handsomeness withered in such a surprisingly deteriorating way.
It was so fast that no one would ever believe that he was once called the most handsome man.
“In this lifetime, I have to do my best in taking care of my skin, my hair as well.”
At that time, he knew it well.
If he didn’t take care of his born-handsome look, it would sooner or later fall apart.
At that time.
A knock was heard alongside a maid’s voice.
“This is Ezel. May I come in?”
“E… Ezel…?”
A name that he missed.
Erun’s eyes were shaky.
“Ahem, come in.”
Ezel, Erun’s personal maid, immediately thought that something was strange as she entered the room.
A dignified way of speaking that never fit Erun.
It was a habit that came along with his past self when he was the Lord, but there was no way that she would know about it.
His voice was still sweet and hadn’t broken because of age, so it felt very awkward to her that he spoke in that kind of way.
“Ezel!”
“…”
As he looked at her full of rejoice, Ezel tilted her head.
Soon.
Her eyes widened.
Erun’s mouth corners were spreading wide.
‘Yo… Young Master is smiling?’
It was a blessing that she was able to work in the Lord’s mansion.
The work that a maiden would do if they couldn’t get inside the mansion were:
Helping with farm work under the scorching sun or being responsible for all the miscellaneous chores in the village…
Compared to that, the domestic work within the mansion was a merciful paradise.
Nevertheless, if there was one burdensome job to do, it was being in charge of Erun.
The reason why Erun was burdensome?
He was fussy and required lots of care. He also bullied them immaturely, as if he was still a child.
But there was one thing much more difficult to bear than all of that.
The look in Young Master’s eyes that was always cold like ice.
Every time he looked at her with a mixture of hatred and contempt, a doubt arose in her mind concerning her job.
However, at that time.
Ezel doubted her eyes as she saw Erun’s bright smile for the first time ever.
“Whoa, Ezel!”
Erun approached her and grabbed her shoulders while shaking them.
Looking at her closely like this, she seemed pretty young.
Ezel was indeed very young.
The Ezel in his memory had exceeded 40 years old, though.
There were no traces of age in her rosy cheek, and they even gave off fresh vibes.
“It’s really you…”
He met Ezel once more.
Erun’s body that was clinging onto her trembled violently.
He really did come back.
Even though he didn’t know the reason why.
Either way, it felt good to be back.
The most important thing was that he was given a second chance.
A sense of relief spread throughout his whole body and overwhelmed all his senses.
A thrilling sensation flowed through his spine.
This thrill and joy, did these boiling feelings get conveyed to Ezel?
It….didnot at all.
“Did something happen?”
All he heard was a dry voice.
Her eyes were filled with nothing but doubt.
“Well, something big happened… it seems like I had a nightmare.”
“Please forget about it. A dream is just a dream.”
“No. I can’t forget it easily just like that.”
A Past life? Turning back time?
Either way, all the memories of his past 17 years were more than real.
Because of that, he had realized many things.
“Thank you, Ezel.”
“…Pardon?”
When his father, brothers and everyone he’d known had given up on him, Ezel was the only one who still believed in him and supported him.
“What do you mean ‘thank you’? What have I done….”
Ezel could only get confused.
She was only doing her job, and she thought that it was an extremely obvious thing for Erun to receive a maid’s services.
Their relationship was nothing but formal and desolate.
‘Why is he acting this way?’
“There will be no one like Ezel.”
When he kept going downhill, the only support that he could lean onto was her.
But Ezel wouldn’t be able to know what she’d do in the future.
“Yo… Young Master. Is it possible that… I have done something that offended you?”
“Eh?”
Ezel released herself from Erun and kneeled on the floor.
“I’m sorry Young Master! Please tell me if I did anything wrong. I will receive the proper punishment and make sure to correct my mistakes.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Erun scratched his head.
To think that she didn’t know how to receive his gratitude and was begging instead.
‘Looks like I’ve been living my entire life in vain.’
He then ordered Ezel.
“Get up. It’s not like this is a new form of my harassment or anything.”
“…Pardon?”
“Until now, I have been treating you kinda, no, very bad, right?”
“N… no. Young Master.”
Did she take this as a test as well?
Ezel didn’t have to answer as the truth was crystal-clear in front of him.
“You are like that again. I’m right, though. I have been releasing my inferiority complex on my subordinates.”
“…?”
“When I think of it like that, I’m really pathetic. Even so, it’s not like I can resolve it easily just like that.”
Something changed in Erun.
“Why… why is Young Master suddenly…”
“What?”
“…Young Master is behaving unusually.”
“It’s not sudden.”
“Pardon?”
He couldn’t say that he came back after living for 17 years.
“Because I’m 16 years old now. I can’t keep behaving like a spoiled child, can I?”
“…”
“Well, let’s say it like that. It’s better that way.”
Ezel was speechless.
Because she didn’t have any trust in him at all, it seemed like his words didn’t get conveyed well even after saying all of that.
“Well, I’m not going to stay idle even if you don’t trust me. What can words do anyway? I will make sure to show it to you gradually.”
“Y-yes…”
“To Ezel, to other people too. It’s the first step until they accept me as someone who has changed, right?”
Ezel’s face was blank.
‘Is he really being sincere?’
Erun asked her as she fell deep in her thoughts.
“Anyhow, what brings you here?”
“Oh, actually, the Captain is looking for you. He said that the time for your training has passed for quite some time now.”
“Training?”
“You have promised that you won’t skip the training from now on. But you skipped the training yesterday too. The Captain is extremely furious.”
“Ah, that training.”
A faded memory started to get clearer.
Knight Captain Haphael.
He was the 1st class knight in this territory.
He was a talented man next to Steelguard’s father, Levadan, and he was also Erun’s sword teacher.
“Alright. I will go right away. Where did I put my sword again?”
“Pardon?”
“I said I’m going to my training. Why are you acting so surprised? Don’t you want me to go?”
“N… no… No, Sir.”
Ezel took his sword.
“Alright then, shall I head out?”
The Steelguard training grounds.
The knights were striving in their practice as sweat fell from their bodies.
There were approximately 60 to 70 Knights.
Erun’s chest was pounding hard as he looked at them.
‘So Steelguard is still alive and well.’
The Knight Order’s military strength was a definite indicator that showed the current territory’s situation.
There was no Knight Order in a broken territory.
When Erun ruled them, there were only three knights left in Steelguard.
‘If It was like my past self, I might have regarded them as sweaty and dirty old men.’
“You came fast.”
The Knight Captain, Haphael, frowned as he saw Erun, who was walking slowly.
It wasn’t enough even if he ran with panting and puffing.
‘Moreover, he smiles?’
Erun approached his side.
“Captain, I’m really sorry. I was a little late.”
“It’s not a little. You are very late.”
“Eh… Well… It’s because I didn’t get enough sleep.”
‘What makes you so tired that you wake up this late?’
Haphael spoke with a smile even though he cursed inwardly.
“You surely didn’t forget our promise, right?”
“Which one?”
“It’s no use even if you pretend not to know it. If you skip one day, your training will be doubled the next day.”
“I… is that so?”
“Yes. 50 laps around the training grounds, sword swinging 1000 times, sword stabbing 1000 times, do you get it?”
He said it like that.
But Haphael didn’t even think for the slightest bit that Erun would keep his promise.
When he was expecting what kind of creative excuses would Erun make this time…
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
“I won’t let you get away so easily this ti…”
“Huh?”
“I said I would do it. A promise is a promise.”
Erun silently started the double routine that Haphael ordered him to do.
‘…W-what….is this?’
Haphael’s eyes that were watching him were suspicious.
He ran 25 laps around the training grounds first. Then he swung a wooden sword with trembling feet.
‘Why is he suddenly acting this way?’
If it was the usual Erun, he wouldn’t even do half of what he’s ordered to do and would insist that he couldn’t do it anymore.
He had passed half of the amount of his training.
Erun’s whole body became wet.
Sweat smell and groans came out of his mouth.
Erun ran 25 more laps and continued to swing his sword before he fell down.
Haphael laughed.
‘But of course. Is this his new tactic? Anyway, this is kinda new.’
He was thinking about what his limit was this time.
Even though his head became hurt, thinking how many days would he skip the training using this excuse.
Haphael approached Erun and helped him stand.
“Let’s stop here.”
It felt like he admired Erun’s effort.
But.
“I am fine.”
Erun shook his hand and stood up.
When he grabbed the wooden sword again and continued the training, Haphael’s expression changed.
If it was Young Master Erun, he would have stopped quite a long time ago.
The determined look in his eyes that had never been seen before.
He showed his will to finish his training no matter what.
‘What is this? Really?’
As Erun finished swinging his sword, he started to stab with his sword.
100, 200…
Haphael approached him again.
His voice was serious, unlike the last time.
“Seriously, let’s end it right here. Your body will be injured like this.”
“Didn’t you say that it’s our promise?”
“No… well. The promise was for Young Master’s sake. If you exploit your body like this, you will only hurt your physique. It’s going to be bad.”
“Then there’s one more reason for me not to stop. It’s a promise for me.”
Erun shook his head and put more strength in his grip.
300, 400…
As he continued to stab his sword, Haphael’s mouth dropped more open.
He couldn’t even believe it.
That the Young Master would ever finish his training.
The training amount was hard to complete, even for ordinary knights. Moreover, since it was Erun Steelguard who was doing it, he could only be more surprised.
…499..500!
Whoosh!
As Erun finished his last stab, he threw the wooden sword and laid down.
“Haa… haa…”
He didn’t know how to stop his pants.
His whole body was covered in thick sweat as if he just took a bath.
‘Erun Steelguard who dumped all of his responsibilities no longer exists, not tomorrow and not in the future.’
Life knowledge that the past Erun hadn’t known.
That all of his mistakes would pile up and come back to stab him in the back later.
Like a boomerang.
He realized it bitterly and came back to the past.
Everything was like 17 years ago.
The people as well as the scenery.
The only thing that changed was him.
If he’ll just let everything be and won’t do anything, it was definite that the same things would happen again.
Therefore, the change could only be made by Erun himself.
As he stared up at the blue sky, he thought about what he should do next.
Lots of thoughts popped up as he did his training.
As he calmed down his breath, the overview of everything came through his mind.
His weaknesses and strengths, as well as the things that would happen in the future.
‘The chance to win is enough.’
His overflowing breath changed to an overflowing joy filling his chest.
His arms and legs trembled.
Was it because of his fatigue?
Rather, trembles that couldn’t be controlled spread throughout his whole body like a ripple.
‘In this lifetime, I won’t let the same tragedy be repeated. By all means!’
When he barely pressured the shaky feeling, all of a sudden, a strange message that filled his eyesight popped up.
[New user detected]
[Will you begin in your dimensional trading?]
Erun’s eyes widened.
‘…What is this?’