Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 56

Hatching (2)

The dark, narrow space was filled with the chill of winter. Even though the Winter’s Farewell Party had ended, and it was only a matter of time before the cold gradually receded, the warmth didn’t return overnight.

I shut myself away in a makeshift room, relying on a dim lamp as I continued to write on paper.

I kept writing a single sentence over and over again.

“...”

Click. The small hatch opened, and food and water were pushed in. I ate, relieved myself, and washed my face.

Then I sat back down and wrote again. Bit by bit, my mind wore away. I wasn't a writer.

I didn’t know how to pass the time joyfully for days with nothing but paper and a pen in an empty room. I wasn’t used to it, either.

“Ugh.”

But I kept repeating it. With a pen, I just kept writing the same sentence again and again on the paper.

[To those who helped me, I will not be the first to cause harm.]

The place where the short sentence was engraved wasn’t the paper. At first, it had merely been written in ink.

But in this space, where even the passage of time was impossible to track, the sentence I etched with all my focus slowly began to inscribe itself somewhere other than the paper.

It was carved beyond consciousness, into the unconscious.

No matter the time or the action, I would come to judge for myself whether I was violating this one sentence that had been seared into my mind.

‘Not yet.’

I couldn’t tell how many meals I’d eaten, how much time had passed, how many sheets I had written on, or how many vials of ink I had gone through.

The meaning of the phrase began to blur. The letters forming those words became more vivid.

The one writing the words, myself, this room, the passage of time, the changes in temperature, hunger, starvation, even sleep—all returned to meaninglessness, the body so weightless it felt nothing, black ink swirling white and drifting through my mind—

Just when thinking itself became unbearable.

With a pop, like a floating bubble bursting, a sudden clarity jolted me awake. I raised my hand and gripped the battle gear hanging from the ceiling.

“I can do it.”

That thought struck me. I stood and grasped the battle gear. The sensation in my hand was like a lump of iron being slammed.

It connected. The single sentence engraved deep within my conscious and unconscious mind.

At the very least, from the moment I had carved that sentence into myself until now, I hadn’t done anything that went against that vow.

The moment judgment concluded in the unconscious, a sharp certainty surged forth and cleared my mind. The firm conviction that I had kept my rule turned into the conviction that I had the right to wield the battle gear.

“Open...”

I didn’t know how much time had passed. I swung the battle gear. Like a bird breaking out of its shell with its beak from within the egg.

A smile had already appeared on my lips. The moment I thought, my body moved. Kairus’s promise had been fulfilled.

I struck the thick metal door repeatedly with the battle gear. The hinges of the steel door, which had been enduring the impact, jolted and creaked.

With a crunching sound, the blade wedged itself into the gap in the steel door. Applying force as if using a lever, I pushed, and with a grinding noise, the hinges finally tore off completely.

“...”

The first thing that struck my face was sunlight—something I felt I hadn’t seen in ages.

I had come this far. Gripping my sword once again, I knew for certain that my body was different from before.

“No more time lag.”

“Obviously.”

Kairus replied simply, as if it was nothing, then raised his sword.

“You said you wanted to learn.”

“I did, but I didn’t expect you to know Swift Blade.”

At that moment, Kairus’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“It’s not like only a handful of people learned Swift Blade. Why act surprised?”

But I didn’t notice the change in his expression and continued speaking.

“You’re right. It’s a famous style, and a lot of people have learned it.”

Kairus didn’t respond to my words. He just raised his sword and slashed the air a few times.

The sword stirred the air, manipulated the moving wind, and accelerated it.

“It’s Peerless Wind. You’ve heard the name, right?”

“Even if the Republic bastards haven’t, there’s not a knight in the Empire who doesn’t know Peerless Wind.”

Swift Blade—Featherwing’s swordsmanship and the art of crafting wind. This was its beginning. As high as the House Featherwing’s name had risen, so too had the reputation of Swift Blade.

“I’ve completed it, but it’s not perfect.”

Completion and perfection were different concepts. Still, for someone Kairus’s age to have completed Swift Blade was unheard of. It wasn’t a technique easily mastered.

As Kairus swung his sword a few more times, a gust of wind surged with direction, crashing toward me.

“Are you saying you’ll teach me, or are you going to beat me up with Swift Blade?”

“Who knows.”

Kairus gave a bland reply and then sheathed the sword with the stained glass piece.

“I already got your father’s permission. You said you could take a decent break from the Order, right? If you want to learn Swift Blade, come with me.”

Kairus couldn’t stay at this estate any longer. If I wanted to learn more from him, I had to leave with him.

“Where are you planning to go?”

“My base is in Bennett City.”

“Huh? Bennett City?”

I looked at Kairus with my mouth wide open in disbelief.

“That filthy, disgusting city crawling with criminals?”

“Yeah. You seem to know it well despite never having been there.”

“That’s your base?”

Kairus smiled bitterly and answered.

“Life just rolled that way. But don’t worry. We’re heading to Rezantin City first.”

At Kairus’s words, I went “Hmm, mm,” as if thinking for a moment, then spoke up.

“That’s where our knight captain is exiled right now!”

“Exiled? Isn’t he just assigned there to guard the city?”

I laughed, “With the captain’s personality, that’s not an assignment—it’s exile.”

“Most of the Scarlet Leaf Order is performing standard duties from their original base, right?”

I nodded at Kairus’s question.

“And I’ll need a little help. You didn’t seriously think I’d accept a sword style like Swift Blade for free, did you?”

I let out a cheerful laugh at his words.

“Want me to send a recommendation letter to the Order for you?”

At that, Kairus nearly drew his sword and pointed it at me.

Become the Emperor’s sword? Was I out of my mind?

‘Let it go. Overreacting to something said out of ignorance would just make me a fool.’

There’s no way I could’ve known Kairus’s situation. Besides, a situation where Kairus should actually draw his sword wasn’t over something like this—something said unknowingly.

Unless I were to discover his true identity. And honestly, the possibility was fairly high. I wasn’t from just any lesser house—I was a daughter of House Kellogg.

Heirs who must carry on their houses focus on memorizing the names of heirs from other houses. That’s why it was normal that Jerry or Simid didn’t know Kairus’s name—he wasn’t an heir.

‘But I’m not like them.’

As the only daughter of House Kellogg, had I not become a knight, I certainly would have been married off. Naturally, the people I had to memorize from other houses weren’t just heirs.

I had to be familiar with the names of eligible bachelors who could be advantageous to House Kellogg. And there’s no way the House Featherwing wouldn’t have been on that list.

‘My name must’ve been...’

Kairus had probably been on that list too.

It’s just that after I succeeded in becoming a knight, that list became irrelevant. And over time, Kairus’s name faded from memory.

‘Even if she remembers, she can’t harm me.’

The vow I engraved into my unconscious guaranteed Kairus’s safety.

If I wanted to live as a knight, I couldn’t cause Kairus harm—directly or indirectly.

Unless Kairus struck first. As he followed this train of thought, he belatedly noticed I was still waiting for an answer.

“Let’s head to Rezantin City first and talk things through there.”

While I had been learning to use the battle gear in the small room, Kairus had already finished a rough investigation of Rezantin City.

“Alright, sounds good.”

Irena answered cheerfully without much hesitation.

“Bennett City, huh. I heard there’s never a shortage of fights big or small. Might be a good place to get some real combat experience.”

Kairus clicked his tongue at my words.

“What are you, a brawler?”

“There’s something you just can’t get from practice alone.”

It wasn’t wrong. Kairus agreed. Practice and real experience were different. He had learned that during his studies in the Featherwing tradition.

“No matter how much of an apprentice you are, you’ve killed someone before, right?”

I nodded at Kairus’s question. A soldier was someone whose job turned killing from a crime into a duty.

You weren’t punished for killing, and even if you died, the killer wouldn’t be blamed. Knights were soldiers too, and we grew used to killing.

“Then you won’t be easily taken down in Bennett City.”

“Come on, I’m your student. As my teacher, shouldn’t you protect me a little?”

“Bullshit.”

Honestly, calling what we had a teacher-student relationship felt off. It’s not like I was treating him with any particular reverence either.

Naturally, Kairus didn’t expect that kind of treatment. His knowledge wasn’t deep enough to act superior just because he was teaching something.

“Then should I try to get you in good with the knight captain once we’re in Rezantin City? It wouldn’t hurt for you to make that connection.”

This proposal piqued Kairus’s interest. To see someone he always assumed would be an enemy in a friendly context?

Meeting the knight captain and walking away alive—without a fight? That kind of chance was rare.

“See? This is why it’s good to have connections. But can an apprentice knight even meet the captain?”

At Kairus’s question, I crossed my arms and replied.

“What do you mean ‘an apprentice knight’? The captain even said I had good potential and seemed interested! Besides, he’s not the kind of person who treats people differently over something like that!”

“So he discriminates over something else, then?”

I nodded at Kairus’s question.

“Our captain really hates ugly people.”

“Wow, so he judges people by their looks.”

I nodded again.

“He said trying to assess a stranger by anything other than their appearance is even more foolish.”

“Even if someone’s ugly, they could still have a good personality.”

“He said that’s unnecessary. He prefers to interact with people who have both good looks and a good personality.”

There were plenty of people in the world, and among them, surely some had both looks and character.

“The Scarlet Leaf Order’s captain sounds like someone with overwhelming greed and no room for compromise.”

“Exactly. That’s why she blew up a mountain that was in her way.”

I nodded slightly at Irena’s words.

There was a story about the Red Comet, Dana Watson, who shattered a mountain by spending an entire day firing sword strikes at it because it was obstructing a mission.

As a result, they eliminated a mountain that would’ve taken over a week to get past, and managed to ambush the enemy much faster than anticipated.

Dana Watson was the kind of person who, when given two options, beat up the person offering them and took both.

She didn’t compromise, didn’t yield, and took everything she wanted. She didn’t bother weighing pros and cons—she just claimed everything.

That kind of personality had brought her honor and fame, and it was what made her who she was today.