That night.
After returning home, I stepped out onto my room’s terrace.
I settled at the table there, draping a blanket over my shoulders, preparing for the ghoul extermination.
‘There are about thirty ghouls on the newly designated royal family burial grounds. To take the lead, I need to kill at least seven...’
As I silently reviewed the documents, Han Ji-hyuk quietly approached.
“Why not do it inside?”
“If it’s warm, I’ll get sleepy.”
“Aren’t you sleeping too little? You won’t grow if you don’t sleep enough.”
“There are less than five days until the ghoul extermination. I’ll rest after it’s over.”
I answered casually and picked up my pen again.
Han Ji-hyuk eyed me cautiously.
“Want me to bring you some tea?”
I lifted my teacup filled with brewed tea to show him.
“I have some.”
“How about snacks?”
“What? Why?”
“You look down. You barely ate dinner, too.”
Han Ji-hyuk scratched his head and spoke carefully.
“Is it because of what that guy, Isez, said?”
“Hm?”
Was I upset because of the troublemaker—Isez?
I tilted my head and said,
“It’s understandable from Isez’s perspective. He expected to be knighted and worked hard to enter the palace, but even there, only those with money get knighted.”
“That must’ve turned his stomach.”
“Yeah. But he kept enduring and waiting. Still, not only was he not knighted, but the army’s management was a mess. So, he probably always heard ‘garbage Western Army.’”
“Well...”
“Those who keep hoping eventually get tired. I understand that feeling.”
“Because you were like that in your first life?”
“Yeah.”
I had always given my all.
Thinking that someday, I’d be acknowledged.
If I worked harder.
If I got better.
If I became like Dahlia...
And after trying again and again, I realized.
‘All my efforts were meaningless.’
If I was feeling down, it was probably because my first life came to mind.
Remembering that time.
‘Will all this effort now be meaningless, too?’
I sighed and rubbed my forehead.
‘My mind is cluttered.’
Just then, Han Ji-hyuk said,
“You’re worried.”
Then he lightly nodded toward the door.
Only then did I realize the constant footsteps outside the door.
I entered and opened it slightly.
“...Dad?”
He was pacing outside the door.
He held a surprisingly cute tray in his hands.
On the tray were sandwiches cut into rabbit shapes, a drink full of strawberries, and dainty cookies... all adorable food.
“You don’t eat well.”
“...”
“I’m not trying to annoy you...”
“It’s okay if you are.”
Dad, hesitating, answered.
“Other daughters hate their father’s meddling.”
“I like it. Want to come in?”
I opened the door, and Dad came inside.
Han Ji-hyuk smiled.
“Excuse me.”
He said that and quickly left the room.
I grabbed Dad’s collar and led him to the terrace.
Dad sat across from me, quietly watching as I ate.
I chewed the sandwich and looked at Dad.
“You know, Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“How did you find your ‘people’?”
“People...”
No matter how well I did alone, there’s a limit.
In the end, you need people by your side.
And not just ordinary people — talented ones.
‘I do have some.’
Conrad, Michelan, Han Ji-hyuk, and Igritz.
But they were all people I got from ‘past information.’
‘I only know information up to age nineteen.’
Besides, I was mostly confined to the manor at the end.
So, technically, I could only use information for about six or seven more years.
‘After meeting the Western Army, I became sure.’
There are no perfect people outside the manor.
And I had never made people on my own strength, only through information.
‘But Dad is different.’
Enzo, one of the continent’s greatest generals, existed.
And Dad had gathered powerful elite soldiers.
Dad hesitated a moment, then said,
“I gave them what they wanted.”
“Not that. I want to build truly trustworthy relationships. People I can trust and rely on.”
I said with a sulky expression, and Dad smiled warmly.
“Are you someone your partner can trust and protect your back?”
“...Ah.”
“Seems not, from what I see.”
Dad stared at me with his arms crossed.
“If your partner betrays you, you’ll abandon him without looking back.”
“...”
“Even if he’s incompetent, you’ll abandon him.”
“...”
“Erilot, people are far smarter than you think. They instinctively know if someone truly trusts them.”
“That’s...”
“It’s cheap to prepare to abandon them while asking for total trust and protection in return.”
I looked at Dad with trembling eyes.
“To me, you’re the kind who won’t give your heart unless your partner proves loyalty and faithfulness.”
“That’s right.”
“If you want someone, you have to prove trust and loyalty yourself.”
I stared blankly at Dad.
‘I’ve been stuck in my first life all this time.’
Afraid of being betrayed, like then.
Unable to trust, weighing and calculating.
Is this person someone who won’t betray me?
Are they capable enough to protect my back?
‘I’m a fool.’
Conrad, Michelan, and Han Ji-hyuk know the first-life me.
So they even guess my distrust inside.
‘That’s why even if I don’t fully trust them, I waited.’
Not wanting to make an insufficient master uneasy by giving excessive trust.
Dad looked at me kindly and said,
“If you want someone, give them what they want.”
“...”
“If they want trust, give trust. If recognition, give recognition. If peace of mind, give that land.”
“...”
“All relationships require interaction.”
Dad shimmered inside my sight.
‘Why didn’t I talk to Dad about my worries?’
Why did I keep them all inside, pacing alone?
Dad was someone to listen and answer my worries.
‘I thought he was just someone to protect me.’
I didn’t trust Dad.
I bit my lips tightly.
“Dad, me...”
“Yeah?”
“Honestly, I was scared. That my efforts now might be meaningless.”
“Yeah...”
“Afraid the soldiers won’t follow, afraid you won’t become family head... afraid I might die.”
Dad nodded.
I sobbed and said,
“When I come back from the ghoul extermination, I have something to tell you.”
“...”
“You might not believe me. It sounds crazy, like a nightmare...”
“Believe me.”
I flinched and looked at Dad.
“Whatever you say, I believe you.”
“...”
“You’ve always been someone I could trust.”
“...”
“All you’ve done gave me # Nоvеlight # trust, Erilot.”
Dad stood and hugged me.
I cried hard in his arms.
‘I wasn’t wrong.’
All I’d done was not meaningless.
In the end, I got what I longed for in my first life — someone who truly trusts me.
And I will keep having that.
My efforts and deeds will become my sword, cutting through the bushes blocking my way.
“Wait for me.”
“I will.”
That night.
I completely cut the chain of emotions carried from my first life.
The next day.
I arrived proudly at the Western Army training ground.
It was before training started, so the Western Army was still scattered.
I approached Isez, lying under the shade of a large tree.
“Hello, Isez.”
“...What now?”
“I came to prove something. My sincerity!”
“Huh?”
I grabbed Isez’s wrist firmly.
“What...?”
Isez looked surprised but was pulled along.
As I walked, he protested, “Wait, no, hold on!”
The nearby captains rushed toward us.
“What’s going on, Wonhwa?”
“You all follow.”
“Yes?”
I led the soldiers inside the palace of torches.
Our destination was the office of the General commanding the Royal Army.
Just as I was about to knock—
The General and his imperial knights emerged.
“Western Army Original Knight?”
General Tantillon looked at me.
He was puzzled but soon laughed heartily.
“Good. The Central Original Knights have already complained about the Western Army. We need to verify the situation—”
“General!”
Silin’s voice echoed from the corridor’s end.
‘Has the Central Army already caught wind that funds were transferred to the Western Army?’
Whatever, it didn’t matter.
The funds came from Central General Jowick’s seal.
So responsibility lay with him.
‘The Western Army only received legitimate funds.’
Behind Silin were other Original Knights and generals.
She must have brought reinforcements, knowing one alone wouldn’t suffice.
Regardless, I said to the General,
“I’m reporting corruption in the Western Army.”
“...What?”
“...!!”
“...!”
The noisy surroundings instantly fell silent.
Several Original Knights and generals gaped.
Their thoughts were clear.
‘Reporting corruption before the ghoul extermination? Foolish.’
Losing soldiers from the accusation would leave the already weak Western Army in further crisis.
Isez stared at me with a stern face.
“What on earth are you doing...?”
He looked like he’d lost his mind.
The Western Army captains stared pale.
Even the General looked extremely shocked.
“That should be discussed after the mission is over.”
“No, I will report it.”
“The Emperor has great interest in this mission. For the sake of the Western Original Knight, think carefully.”
“The Western Army bought their knighthood. As a result, the truly skilled knights have not been knighted for years.”
The Western Army captains screamed.
“Original Knight─!!”
Isez looked at me with trembling eyes.
“Correct the corruption in the Western Army. Give true knights the chance to prove their skills for the country.”
Sebastia, Original Knight of the Eastern Army, grabbed my arm.
“Erilot, do you understand what this means?”
She glanced around and whispered.
“Knights not involved may be implicated under investigation. Your army may only send half as many soldiers.”
“I don’t care.”
Sebastia stared firmly.
Seeing my resolute eyes, she sighed deeply and stepped back.
I pulled Isez’s wrist and said,
“Speak.”
“...What to say?”
“I gave you a chance to explain.”
“That is...”
“Say that your skill is the best in this army, and that a man like you deserves to be a royal knight.”
“Do you think they’ll listen?”
Isez’s face twisted.
The guards around him looked at him.
They were also common soldiers like Isez.
Those without money, without opportunity despite skills.
All looked at us nervously.
I shouted at Isez,
“I will listen!”
“...What?”
“I will listen and believe. Now you have someone behind you, Isez.”
The Western Army captains looked pale like corpses, staring at Isez.
“Isez, think carefully about what truly benefits the Western Army.”
“Y-Yes...!”
Isez glanced at them and then at me.
Seeing my unwavering eyes, he slowly looked toward the General.
“In this year, last year, the year before, and the years before that... it was always my turn to be knighted but it never happened.”
“Isez!!”
The captain of Unit 1 shouted hoarsely.
Isez raised his voice as well.
“I came to this palace as the winner of the royal bare-knuckle fighting tournament and have fought with all my strength for years! I, above all... I, above all...”
“...”
“Deserve to be knighted.”
Isez knelt and looked at the General with a desperate expression.
“Please give me a chance to prove my skill! Let me prove I’m worthy of the young Original Knight’s trust, General!”
The captain of Unit 1 shouted.
“How arrogant! General, please listen to me. I judged that his arrogant personality is unfit for a knight, so I did not put him on the knighthood list─”
“Enough, Captain.”
“Yes, please stop now!”
Some of the Western Army captains shouted, clenching fists.
They were the knights who had been ignored by the Central Army.
“Isez is right. The knighting process was corrupted.”
“We’ve diverted skilled knights to the Southern and Northern Armies.”
“We denied training opportunities to those from weak families or without money.”
The Unit 1 captain’s face grew bluer and bluer.
He was pale like a corpse, barely opening his mouth.
Isez and the captains who reported with him lowered their bodies to the General.
“We failed to repay the young Original Knight’s sincerity.”
“Please punish the corrupt to create an army that can truly respond to the Original Knight’s sincerity!”
...Dad.
I clenched my fists tightly, eyes squeezed shut.
‘Dad was right.’
When you show sincerity first, there are people who respond in kind!