TVRP 10

Chapter 10

I headed toward the training grounds while carefully cradling Rossi in my arms.

The modification had gone quite well.

Of course, Rossi still couldn’t perform anything particularly impressive.

‘At best, it might be able to function like a mechanical arm… but even that is better than having nothing.’

No matter what I brought with me, there was no way I could beat the monstrous Edward in my current state.

I didn’t even know what the test would involve, but if it was some sort of battle, I would rather forfeit than have one of my bones broken trying to fight him.

Pride wasn’t going to feed me.

Thinking that, I arrived at the training grounds, only to be greeted by a sight I never could have expected.

“Father, what is this…?”

A gigantic boulder had been placed in the middle of the training grounds.

It was so enormous that I couldn’t even imagine where they had brought it from. It looked like even several knights carrying it on their shoulders would have had trouble moving it.

And stuck into the top of the boulder was the hilt of a sword.

“The object embedded in that boulder is a silver sword, a treasure said to have been personally blessed by the High Priest. It is especially effective against monsters.”

The head butler began explaining in Father’s place.

“It was lost a long time ago, but it seems the monsters had sealed it inside this boulder. This time, the head of the family brought back the entire boulder containing the silver sword.”

I glanced at Father with a stunned expression, wondering how he had managed to carry that enormous boulder away with nothing but his human body.

‘But what does that have to do with the test?’

Along with my question came an ominous feeling.

Surely not…?

Just as I thought that, Father gave a crooked smile.

“Pull it out. Any one of you.”

‘Is this Excalibur, Father?’

So it turned out I had possessed the body of a character in the legend of King Arthur.

Of course, the protagonist, King Arthur, would be Edward standing crookedly over there, while I would probably be Extra No. 3, who tried to pull out the sword only to be sent flying in humiliation.

The boulder was enormous, and even though only the hilt of the sword was visible, the hilt itself was almost as large as my head.

I stared at the boulder with a horrified expression.

‘There’s no way I can do this, right?’

Nope. Definitely not.

I quickly gave up after looking back and forth between the enormous silver sword and my slender arms.

Sometimes, knowing when to give up cleanly was the wiser choice.

This wasn’t something I could overcome through sheer enthusiasm. It was purely a contest of physical strength.

I glanced at my brothers.

Lawrence was glaring at the boulder with his brows furrowed.

Although Lawrence was exceptionally talented compared to others his age, apparently even he wasn’t confident that he could pull the greatsword out of the depths of the boulder.

And Edward was smiling.

As if he had discovered an interesting new toy.

“Is all I have to do pull it out, Father?”

Shing.

Edward drew the sword from the scabbard at his waist.

“In any way?”

He looked ready to swing his sword energy at the boulder and cut it apart on the spot.

That crazy guy really did let his fists—or sword, in this case—speak before his words.

I instinctively stepped backward. It looked like fragments of rock were about to fly everywhere at any moment.

“You may not break the boulder. Pull it out using pure strength.”

“……How boring.”

Edward said that with a bored expression.

Apparently, the fact that this was nothing more than a pure test of physical strength, without any bloodshed, had killed his interest.

Seeing that, Lawrence bit his lip and clenched his fist.

“I’ll go first, Father.”

There was only one sword embedded in the boulder.

In other words, there was only one chance to pull it out and leave an impression on Father.

Edward merely sneered and did nothing to stop Lawrence.

Lawrence strode toward the boulder.

His expression was completely devoid of humor, and there was a solemn determination in his eyes.

‘Can he do it?’

No matter how talented he was, Lawrence was only thirteen. His body hadn’t fully matured yet.

Lawrence tightly gripped the sword hilt without saying a word.

The veins on the back of his hand bulged, but the sword hilt didn’t move an inch.

Gritting his teeth, Lawrence grabbed the sword with both hands.

This time, the veins rose not only on the backs of his hands but all the way up his forearms.

A moment later, my eyes widened.

Crack.

With a chilling sound, cracks slowly began spreading across the boulder.

‘What? Is he actually going to succeed?’

If so, that would be an incredible development.

I turned toward Edward and saw him watching Lawrence with folded arms and bored eyes.

There was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

That was a mocking smile.

Just as I thought that, Lawrence let out a roar.

“Haaah!”

His battle cry was powerful enough to reverberate throughout the entire training grounds.

I hurriedly turned my attention back to the boulder.

The sword had not come out.

The cracks in the boulder had not widened either.

Lawrence, who had been exerting all his strength, eventually lost his grip on the sword hilt and staggered backward.

As expected, this task was still too much for Lawrence.

And Edward had apparently foreseen this entire situation.

The sneer that had been resting crookedly on his face was proof enough.

‘He’s seriously annoying, but….’

There was no denying it.

Edward was several levels above Lawrence.

“Come back.”

At Father’s command, Lawrence straightened his posture.

“I can try again.”

“Wasting your strength on something hopeless is foolish. Come back.”

Father’s voice was firm and cold.

There would be no more chances for Lawrence this year.

Lawrence’s face twisted with despair, and I could tell that he understood that just as painfully as I did.

The despair in that expression was too heavy a burden for a thirteen-year-old to bear.

Maybe it was because I had regained the memories of my previous life.

At that moment, he didn’t look like the annoying kid who constantly picked fights with me.

He simply looked like what he really was—a boy in his early teens who was still far too young.

Perhaps that was why I spoke without realizing it as Lawrence passed by me.

“You worked hard.”

For an instant, Lawrence’s eyes widened.

I could feel him looking back at me.

But instead of meeting his gaze, I simply walked past him as though I hadn’t said anything.

I wanted to tell him that he had done his best, and that was enough for today, but well.

Honestly, comforting each other when we were both losers would only make us look pathetic.

As I walked forward, Father raised one eyebrow, apparently surprised.

“Are you going to pull it out, Lilyan?”

“No, Father.”

I politely shook my head.

“Please let Edward go first. I couldn’t possibly take up the precious time of someone like him.”

“…….”

“…….”

The training grounds fell into silence.

Several people stared at me with their mouths hanging open.

It was understandable.

Lilyan Sergegnev had never once used the word ‘brother’—let alone addressed Edward as such.

Honestly, even now, I felt like hives were breaking out on my lips.

“I merely came to give him this.”

I took a handkerchief from my pocket and held it out to Edward.

“Please wipe your palms, Edward. It would be terrible if your hands slipped and you injured yourself.”

“…….”

“Of course, something like that could never happen to someone as strong as you.”

From the memories of my previous life, I had realized one thing with absolute clarity.

‘What matters more than ability is knowing how to ride the right connections.’

There was a sturdy lifeline right in front of me. There was no harm in grabbing onto it.

Edward stared at me silently for a moment.

He was probably wondering what the hell I was up to.

“What kind of nonsense are you pulling?”

He had practically hit the nail on the head.

Perhaps he thought I was making fun of him, because a faint killing intent appeared in Edward’s eyes.

I didn’t want to provoke him any further, so I simply lowered my head.

Edward walked straight past me.

He didn’t even glance at the handkerchief I had offered him.

“Good luck, Edward.”

I delivered one final line to his retreating back.

Edward’s footsteps seemed to pause for the slightest moment.

He probably wasn’t moved by his adorable little sister’s affection.

Despite showing him as much goodwill as possible, it seemed none of it had reached the heart of that psychopath.

‘You can’t expect to fill your stomach with your first bite.’

After all, it was only natural that it would be difficult to immediately leave a positive impression on an eldest brother who had probably never felt anything resembling sibling affection.

‘But if I can slowly build some affection between us….’

Edward Sergegnev was unquestionably the second-in-command of this castle, right after Father.

Furthermore, there was a very high probability that he would become the future head of the family.

There was no harm in making a good impression on someone that important.

“……It’s starting.”

I heard Lawrence’s tense voice.

When I turned around, I saw Edward gripping the sword hilt with his right hand.

He had clearly seen Lawrence fail even after using both hands, yet Edward used only one as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Soon, vicious veins rose along his pale arm, completely at odds with his otherwise smooth skin.

And then, a moment later.