I Pulled Out the Excalibur

It was the story of her seventh birthday.

The daughter of a harlot, the abandoned child, the filthy blood, whispers of the servants, and the ridicule of her siblings echoed in her ears. At the dinner table where no one came, she ate the cold food, no different from always.

It’s the story of her eighth birthday.

The harassment by the servants. The lies of her brother. The testimonies of her sisters. Locked in a room for something she didn’t even do. She spent the day looking at the setting sun beyond the window.

The story of her eleventh birthday.

No one.

Twelve.

Came.

Thirteen.

Slander, lies, things she didn’t do, harassment, cold food, ridicule, mockery, the daughter of a harlot. The abandoned child. A day filled only with mockery.

Fourteen.

In solitary confinement, Dieta faced the mirror and smiled.

Fourteen.

The mask was complete. Even in front of mother’s grave, her eyes no longer wavered. She was certain she could just laugh everything off.

And so, on her fifteenth birthday.

Dieta left the household.
Swearing an oath to return one day and swallow them all.

In a dark solitary cell where not a sliver of sunlight entered,

Hugging her knees, Dieta curled up.
Her ankles hurt. Due to lack of proper sleep for the past three days, her eyes kept closing, but the throbbing in her ankles woke her up.

Lack of sleep, pain, and hunger.

Meals reeking of drugs. Murky water handed over without any attempt to hide its contents. Not daring to touch easily, not knowing what was mixed in or what had been done to it. Everything in the villa was suspicious.

There were no allies here.
Everyone was an enemy and everything was a trap.

The sharply heightened nerves brought fatigue. But there was no way for Dieta to relieve that fatigue now. The mind worn down over the past three days began to reveal its bottom. The mask wavered, and muddled thoughts messed up her head.

‘Plan. A way out. Any means available.’

The usual her might have found a way. But even in this moment, pushed to the limit, it wasn’t possible. Thoughts didn’t connect properly, as if her mind was clouded.

Eventually, Dieta reached her limit.
Finally, the mask hiding her face was stripped away.

The Snake that Swallows Gold, the young merchant who wrote a success story in the City of Opportunities, a genius in investment, a prodigy among prodigies with the qualities of a target……

The splendid adornments that decorated Dieta Arbenia began to strip away one by one. The mask, the merchant’s uniform, the expensive accessories, everything she had built up to increase her value, all fell away.

And what remained after everything was stripped bare.

Not the Snake that Swallows Gold.
Not the abandoned child of Arbenia.
Not even Dieta Arbenia.

What remained was just a girl, huddled up. A girl adorned and made glamorous to hide her wounds, her brokenness, her decay.

Dieta curled up a little more.
Hugging her knees, she buried her head.

Her lips quivered, and her eyes twitched. Soon, tears flowed down her cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she cried, but once the tears started, they didn’t stop.

The emotions suppressed by the mask poured out. Laughing off, ignoring, pretending as if nothing mattered. Such trivial things had found their moment and overflowed. Shaking slightly, Dieta clenched her teeth.

The mask had been stripped off.
A new mask was needed.

A stronger, more intricate mask that would never be stripped off again. Cornered, Dieta began to break down. This was Osman’s intention in planning this situation… but there was one thing Osman misunderstood.

A broken person doesn’t necessarily give up.
Dieta is the toughest of the tough.
She can be broken down, but not broken.

Gritting her teeth, Dieta monologued.

I won’t trust anyone anymore.
If tonight, after shaking off all remaining emotions, I wear a new mask… I will never take off this mask again.

Planning to sell me off in a political marriage? To extract value from me till the very end? Go ahead. Try all you want.

I’ll sell everything that can be sold. I’ll use every means available. Even if it means throwing myself into a pit of fire, I promise the next. I will definitely return here and swallow you all.

…In hardship, trials, and pain, children become adults. Black flames rose from Dieta’s yellow eyes.

Once again, let me say.

Dieta Arbenia is a genius.

It is not yet at its complete stage, but her talent in controlling the flow of money and grasping the value, clutching gold coins, is unparalleled. Given enough time, she possesses the qualities of a target to rise to the highest position, holding the reins of commerce, and the traits of a power broker to influence people.

But what she couldn’t let go of, for completion…

Was humanity. The existence of Dieta behind the mask.

A genius who has experienced failure learns from that failure.
There’s a saying that the pain that doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Contrary to her knight’s worries, Dieta does not choose the foolish option of ending her own life here or crumbling in despair.

She will become more thorough.
More perfect.
More tenacious.

But that also means… the death of ‘Dieta’ as herself. After tonight, the girl named Dieta will be nowhere to be found. Only the Snake that Swallows Gold will remain in her place.

‘But still, one night should be okay.’

The night that came to the solitary cell where the flow of time was imperceptible was long and drawn out. The snake, yet to shed its old skin, decided to spend its last day as Dieta, pouring out its emotions.

Crying miserably, trembling, burying her head in her knees, releasing blocked breaths.

Then…

Drip-drop.

Wooden chips fell onto Dieta’s head.
Slowly, Dieta lifted her head. In the solitary cell where not a single light leaked in, there was a twinkling white light on the ceiling.

And then, screech.

The light moved. Along with the light tracing a square trajectory, a part of the ceiling was torn off. Only then did Dieta realize that the shining thing was Sword Aura.

Thump.

Someone came into the room through the hole in the ceiling. The figure landed softly on the floor, their face unseen due to the darkness. Only their presence was felt. Dieta gasped in fright at that moment.

Whoosh.

The unidentified figure pulled out a lamp from within. The twilight-colored ore dimly lit the room. In the dim light, Dieta’s eyes met with the intruder’s.

“…Ivan?”

Gray hair and twilight-colored eyes.
An unexpected figure stood before her.

Dieta blinked blankly.
Was she seeing a hallucination?
Why was that person here? There was no reason for him to come here, no way he could.

“Your knight, Pasion, asked me.”

Najin spoke to Dieta, who was still blinking. He placed the ore lamp in front of Dieta and kneeled down to meet her eyes.

“He asked if you could become a communication tool, to allow you to communicate with the outside. I came to fulfill that role, but…”

Najin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Dieta.
The sight of her emaciated appearance and the severed tendons in her ankle caught his attention. After a long breath, Najin continued.

“Is there something you would like to request?”
“How could…”

Dieta murmured in a trembling voice.

The man who suddenly appeared before her.
Dieta was considerably startled by the appearance of Najin. Pasion’s request? To become a communication tool? Dieta blinked as she chewed over the words Najin had uttered.

Her mind wasn’t working properly.

Sitting here right now was just Dieta, not the Snake that Swallows Gold. The girl couldn’t keep up with the sudden situation. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have missed such a golden opportunity that had come her way…

“Why…”

The girl muttered suddenly.

“Why did you take on the request?”

Was it because she had a fondness for the man before her,

Or because he was the only one she could comfortably interact with, or perhaps because the time she spent with him in Cambria was genuinely enjoyable.

Or was it all of the above?

Dieta asked with a trembling voice.

“There’s no benefit for you… It’s dangerous. You’d be risking your life if you get involved with a ducal family.”

It was inevitable.
For a moment, she felt joy that he had come for her, but then she thought he shouldn’t get involved with her.

“Why…?”

Dieta knew.
She knew the price one had to pay for this. It was a direct confrontation with the Arbenia ducal family, and it might even cost him his life.

Not as a merchant who never misses an opportunity.
But just as Dieta, a human being.

She thought she shouldn’t drag this man into this situation. Because if he got involved with her, he too would fall. Dieta didn’t want to see the man, who was similar yet walking a different path, to fall.

Above all, it was unfamiliar.

She had never experienced such kindness, such good fortune, the kind of stories that only appeared in fairy tales. That’s why Dieta still asked the question in such a situation.

Why did you do it?
She had to ask for the reason.

“Why do you ask?”

And to that question, Najin replied as if it was obvious.

“There was a promise last time, remember?”
“A promise?”
“I said I’d help you once without asking any questions. We made that promise, remember?”

There was such a time.
A promise not written in a contract, not left with any trace, only remembered through a conversation while watching the sunset.

Just for that… one thing?
To fulfill a promise that nobody would blame him for breaking, a promise that was just a few words?

Unable to comprehend, Dieta blinked, and Najin continued.

“So,”

“Just say it without worrying about the before and after. Why, how… we can talk about the complicated stuff later.”

Ask for help.
If you say so.

“Then, I’ll help you.”

Regardless of compensation, risks, dangers, the Arbenia ducal family, I’ll help because I decided to. You just have to say the word.

It was too straightforward.
Too convenient.

But the moment Dieta’s eyes met Najin’s, who was looking straight at her, her lips moved. With a face marred by tear streaks, Dieta murmured as if letting out her true feelings.

“Get me out…”

Dieta said.

“Please, get me out of here.”

Her voice was small, as if crawling into itself. The moment Najin heard that voice, he nodded briskly. He didn’t ask if she had a plan, what she would do once out, or if there was a method. Najin simply replied.

“Let’s do that.”

Najin stood up.
He turned off the ore lamp with a click and tucked it away, plunging the room back into darkness. Dieta blinked in the suddenly darkened solitary cell.

Boom!

The wall shook.
Dieta flinched and slowly opened her eyes. Through the rising dust, she saw it. The moonlight, or perhaps starlight, leaking into the dark solitary cell.

Najin had kicked the wooden boards nailed to the window and shattered them. Stunned by such a refreshingly bold action, Dieta blinked blankly.

The leaking moonlight, or starlight. The platinum-colored light made Najin’s gray hair sparkle.

“Let’s decide on the destination slowly.”

“Let’s go.”
Saying so, Najin approached Dieta.

Thump, thump, thump.

The commotion Najin caused seemed to stir the footsteps in the corridor. Probably, the knights were coming. But Najin seemed not to care as he bent down and picked up Dieta.

Carefully, so as not to touch her ankles.
But firmly enough not to let go.

Najin, holding Dieta, leaped out of the window. Amidst the shaky scenery, Dieta looked up at Najin’s face. His face wasn’t clearly visible because of the deeply hooded robe, but his eyes were visible.

Twilight-colored eyes.

Dieta, as if enchanted, stared blankly at Najin’s eyes.

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

Griffin, the commander of the Arbenia ducal family’s knights.
He slammed the table after gathering all the knights sent to the villa and receiving a report on the incident that happened the previous night.

“Not only did someone break into the villa, but they also carved out the ceiling and shattered the window to escape, and you’re telling me no one saw him? Do you think that makes any sense?”

The servants could be excused.
The villa was in chaos due to the sudden fire, and it’s understandable that servants wouldn’t notice a highly skilled warrior sneaking in if they were determined to hide.

But, the knights are different.

It was absurd to say that trained knights didn’t notice the intrusion.

“I asked if it makes sense that not a single one of the seven knights who were guarding saw the intruder.”

Seven. Seven well-trained knights.
Could it really be plausible that they all missed a kidnapper openly abducting a confined noblewoman right under their noses and ears? Griffin stood up, rubbing his face.

“Move. I’ll check it out myself.”

He sighed and started walking.
The situation had twisted oddly. It was an unexpected variable, and Osman’s eyes widened the moment he received the report. After all, something unimaginable had happened.

Breaking into the ducal family’s villa to kidnap a noblewoman.

How absurd that one sentence was, how much turmoil it would bring, was hard to predict. It was a major incident directly related to the reputation of the Arbenia ducal family, a story that must not leak out.

The issue had to be resolved before it escalated.

Griffin, clutching his throbbing head, verified the remnants left in the villa. He narrowed his eyes upon confirming the path the intruder seemed to have taken.

‘Seven Sword Experts.’

To bypass seven experts without making a sound and kidnap the noblewoman was no easy feat even for Griffin, a Sword Seeker. It would be much simpler to just barge in and wreak havoc.

‘A Ranger?’

The first plausible suspect was a ranger.
Did Dieta Arbenia have a ranger she could command? Certainly, there are a few skilled rangers in Cambria.

The first name that comes to mind is Kapman Theosis.

Kapman Theosis, a ranger from Techo Mountain, considered on par with a Sword Seeker. If he had cooperated with Dieta, surely tracking them would be impossible. However, it didn’t seem like that man would get involved in such a matter.

‘What kind of lunatic…’

Griffin sighed deeply.

The plan had gone awry, and the situation had overturned.

In such a situation, quick judgment and action were needed more than ever. Griffin, having roughly gauged the severity of the situation, made a decision. He called one of the knights following him.

“Tell Duke Osman.”

He said.

“I will organize a pursuit team to chase down the scoundrel who infiltrated the ducal family.”

And.

“I will lead the pursuit team.”

He declared.