Chapter 2

In the original text, the version of Maylin had completely fallen for Joel’s honeyed words and continuous onslaught of gifts, harboring grand dreams of one day becoming the ‘Countess.’ Joel, however, had absolutely no intention of making her his wife; he merely viewed her as a plaything to keep as his mistress. To make matters worse, because Maylin had boasted to the other maids that she would soon be marrying Joel, the rumors eventually drifted straight into the ears of the Count and Countess.

The Count and Countess, who were actively pushing for a strategic marriage between their son and the young lady of another noble house, flew into a towering rage. They promptly murdered Maylin and dumped her corpse into the river. From their loftily detached perspective, brushing away a contracted maid who was no better than a slave meant absolutely nothing.

Raking through the depths of my memory, a sudden coat of goosebumps broke out across my arms, causing me to shudder.

So, is this body genuinely destined to be murdered by the Count and Countess anytime soon? I only just died from an arrow to the chest, and now I have to die all over again?

“…No, not yet,” I muttered under my breath.

Fortunately, Maylin had not yet formed any sort of relationship with Joel Kotner. From what I had gathered by picking up the loose gossip of the maids, Joel Kotner was currently residing at the academy dormitories. He would inevitably return once the school vacation arrived, though.

Then wouldn’t it be fine if I simply fled the Count’s territory before that happens? One might naturally ask such a question, but executing an escape at this current juncture was an utter impossibility.

The reason was simple: Maylin was a maid bound to the Count’s family through a magically enforced contract of subordination.

Indeed, magic actually existed within this world. Magic, Sword Masters, dragons, and the like… The casual manner in which the people here spoke of and accepted these concepts was precisely the definitive proof that forced me to accept that I was trapped inside a book.

A ‘Magical Subordination Contract’ was a tool primarily utilized by those of high status when they wished to shackle someone beneath them. A contracted servant could not leave the designated area until the physical document itself was utterly destroyed. In my case, the boundaries were set to this specific earldom. If I were to mindlessly wander away from the territory, the system would flag me as a runaway, and the magical force would slowly strangle me to death.

Naturally, this contract could not be undone unless one possessed an exceptionally advanced tier of magic or a power akin to aura.

Under such dire circumstances, the absolute best I could do, lacking even a shred of talent in magic or swordsmanship, boiled down to two paths.

First: Do not fall for Joel Kotner.

Second: Find a way to sever the contract or escape the territory as quickly as possible.

Of course, there remained a miniscule probability that this place wasn’t actually the world of The Adventures of the Sword God.

While a Maylin and a Count Kotner certainly existed, wasn’t it possible that this was merely a different universe that happened to share the same names? If that were the case, I could at least stop fretting over the prospect of being murdered.

However, because of the rumors regarding the ‘Red-Haired Knight’ that began circulating shortly thereafter, I was ultimately forced to firmly accept that I was indeed inside the novel.

“The Sir Knight with the red hair managed to slay all the monsters again!”

“The swordsman who challenged the red-haired knight got thoroughly thrashed again.”

“Is that red-haired knight really that strong? Surely he can’t hold a candle to our Knight Commander, right?”

“From what I hear, he used to be a secret weapon for a noble family in the capital, but he caused some sort of incident and got exiled.”

He was one of the major central figures within the novel. And the rumors perfectly mirrored everything I already knew.

With this, the grim future wherein the supporting character Maylin meets her demise was practically set in stone. Yet, it was still far too early to fall into utter despair. What I chose to focus on instead was the very existence of that knight.

The Red-Haired Knight.

Perhaps I had just stumbled upon a method to shatter this subordination contract.

***

Clang! Clang!

The sharp, violent collision of iron echoed through the air. Breaths came ragged and uneven. The atmosphere hung heavy and fishy with the scent of sweat.

I was currently concealed behind the trunk of a tree, stealing glances at several dozen knights as they ran through their drills on the training grounds. Needless to say, I hadn’t come all this way just to squander my hard-earned break time.

“Hey, watch out! Where are you looking?”

“Ah, my apologies. But still…”

The harsh shouting of the knights drifted over, suggesting someone had made a blunder during a sparring match.

The ‘Red-Haired Knight’—the sole objective of my venture here—remained thoroughly immersed in his duel despite the chaotic commotion surrounding him.

The figure anchored at the edge of my vision was the exact same ponytail-bearing knight I had encountered in the hallway a few days ago. Judging by how he continually swapped opponents only to defeat every single one of them, he was undeniably a man of formidable skill.

The protagonist of The Adventures of the Sword God happens to pass through a village, hears rumors that the ‘Red-Haired Knight’ of the lord’s castle possesses staggering swordsmanship, and visits the castle out of pure curiosity to challenge him, only to suffer a crushing defeat. This is because his opponent is, in truth, a closeted Sword Master.

The utterly devastated protagonist sets off on another journey to hone his skills, only seeking out the red-haired knight once more after he himself manages to ascend to the rank of Sword Master.

In this manner, the ‘Red-Haired Knight’ served as one of the critical catalysts meant to awaken the protagonist’s potential within the novel.

For me, he was also the only person capable of physically obliterating the magical contract.

From what I understood, a Sword Master was an individual capable of manipulating mana to forge sword ki—a title denoting the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship within this worldview. There was no earthly reason why a man of that caliber wouldn’t be able to do something about a mere magical contract. It was downright frustrating to think that I hadn’t recalled his existence sooner simply because I had been so hyper-focused on the immediate plight of the original Maylin.

Ah, if I had known things would turn out like this, I would have tried to strike up a longer conversation back then…

“Do you have business here?” a voice rumbled.

“Ah!”

Startled by the abrupt sound, I whirled around to find a large, heavily built man with a starkly blunt expression staring down at me. His gaze seemed to ask why on earth I was so surprised.

“I am Randale Fermock, Commander of the First Knight Order,” he stated.

The man, sports a closely cropped head of ash-gray hair, exuded a stern, rigid authority that perfectly befitted the title of Knight Commander. Since he had gone out of his way to state his name, I offered an awkward introduction of my own.

“I am Maylin… a maid of the castle,” I murmured.

“I see,” Randale grunted, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you lingering here?”

“I—I was simply watching…”

“The training of the knights is not a spectacle for amusement.”

I had been scolded. Feeling somewhat bewildered, I quickly offered an apology.

“I am sorry.”

As I spoke, I instinctively glanced back toward the field, only to lock eyes with several knights who had been openly peeking in our direction. Startled, they rapidly averted their gazes, feigning absolute focus as they dove back into their drills.

Yet, the red-haired knight alone could not seem to wrench his eyes away from me, wearing a thoroughly blank, dazed expression. It was a complete and utter contrast to the deadly serious visage he had maintained while swinging his blade a mere moment ago.

My initial plan for today had been to merely observe from the shadows, but seeing as I had already been caught red-handed, I wondered if I ought to push things a step further.

Turning my head back toward the Commander, I spoke to Randale.

“To tell you the truth, I came here to meet the red-haired knight.”

Befriending a Sword Master. To me, it felt like an incredibly daunting mission. Truthfully, even if he hadn’t been a Sword Master, I still would have found the prospect entirely perplexing. Whatever the original Maylin might have been like—though I recalled she wasn’t particularly social either—I was a person who had spent her entire life without a single friend.

At my words, a bizarre, subtle shift passed over Randale’s blunt features. After a brief pause, he finally opened his mouth.

“Which one?”

“Pardon?”

“There are two red-haired knights,” Randale clarified flatly. “Which one are you referring to?”

For a single, agonizing moment, I was so utterly thrown off balance that I lost my voice entirely.

***

“The Sir Knight with the red hair managed to slay all the monsters again!”

“The swordsman who challenged the red-haired knight got thoroughly thrashed again.”

“Is that red-haired knight really that strong? Surely he can’t hold a candle to our Knight Commander, right?”

“From what I hear, he used to be a secret weapon for a noble family in the capital, but he caused some sort of incident and got exiled.”

Whether I was in the middle of cleaning or taking a quick bite of a snack, the servants routinely chattered about the red-haired knight. Granted, the moment I drew close in hopes of catching a bit more information, they would invariably shut their mouths as if nothing had happened and scatter.

…But not a single one of them ever mentioned that there were two red-haired knights!

I couldn’t recall reading any such detail in the book either, which naturally led me to seriously question the integrity of my own memory.

Still, the silver lining was that I possessed a few distinct clues to help me deduce his identity.

The red-haired knight who served as one of the protagonist’s rivals was not a native of this region, and he had entered Count Kotner’s castle a few months prior to Maylin signing her subordination contract. Currently, he resided within the estate under the guise of a wandering knight. While he actively concealed the fact that he was a Sword Master, the sheer brilliance of his swordsmanship couldn’t help but bleed through, prompting the Count’s family to expend immense effort trying to recruit him into their official order.

Therefore, I simply needed to verify these specific facts…

First and foremost, however, I felt an urgent need to verify the identity of this other red-haired knight whom I had yet to meet.

“Where exactly is he supposed to be?” I muttered to myself.

I had climbed the rolling hill situated directly behind the manor just as Knight Commander Randale had instructed, but the red-haired knight was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah.”

Then, I spotted him. Sprawled comfortably beneath the lush, green canopy of a massive oak tree was a man fast asleep.

The moment my eyes caught the vibrant shade of red hair that remained starkly brilliant even within the deep shade, I knew instantly that he was the person I had been searching for.

The man was asleep in an entirely careless posture, his arms and legs tossed out loosely. Despite the haphazard position, the sight of him momentarily triggered the illusion that I was staring directly at a masterpiece painting.

His long, sweeping eyelashes and delicate, finely sculpted features forced my eyes to linger, tracing the contours of his face for a long time. Staring at that profoundly peaceful, beautiful countenance, the distant chirping of the birds suddenly felt like the sweet herald of angelic trumpets.

I had never encountered anyone so breathtakingly beautiful in my entire life. My original intention had been to merely confirm his identity, but I found myself unconsciously taking several paces closer. The man’s eyes remained firmly closed, and I remained entirely preoccupied with my observation.

It was right then.

“Freeze right there.”

A frigid, razor-sharp warning instantly locked my joints in place.

The man slowly opened his eyes. The irises, which I had assumed would be a vibrant crimson to match his hair, were unexpectedly much closer to a dark, deep wine color. Upon closer inspection, even his eyelashes were pitch-black.

The icy expression settling over the man’s face carried absolute zero traces of lingering sleep. Had he been awake from the very beginning?

“Stop creeping around like a little rat and state your business.”

A rat…

Harsh, venomous words spilled casually from lips that looked as though they should only ever utter elegant, beautiful things.

He slowly pushed his upper body off the grass, leaning his back against the rough trunk of the oak tree. Sensing the atmosphere turning progressively more hostile, I hurriedly forced my mouth open.

“I am Maylin.”

Though I harbored absolutely no inkling of how to socialize with people, I had managed to pick up a few subtle cues from watching the other maids during my brief stint in this world.

I tugged at the corners of my mouth, forcing a smile. I desperately hoped it came across as a completely natural, pleasant expression.

“What is your—your name, Sir Knight?”

If only I had managed to commit the red-haired knight’s actual name to memory, I could have drastically cut down on this investigation time. Regrettably, within the original text, he was far more frequently referred to by his alias rather than his true name.

What if he completely ignores me? Just as the anxious thought crossed my mind, the man mirrored my gesture, pulling his lips upward into a faint smirk. When that slight smile graced his angelic, beautiful features, a wave of sheer entrancement washed over me.

“I believe I explicitly told you to state your business. Rat.”

Yet, the words drifting from that mouth remained utterly bloodcurdling.

“I am not a rat,” I shot back automatically.

I clamped my palm over my lips a second too late; the retort had already slipped out.

“Ah.”

He let out a soft sound, continuing in a highly artificial tone as though he had suddenly achieved some grand realization.

“So you had an entirely different objective in mind? My apologies for failing to recognize it sooner.”

I couldn’t say a word.

“If you don’t mind the outdoors, I suppose I can accommodate you.”

With those words, he lightly tapped his own thigh a few times.

What on earth was he talking about?