The Marquis Is Only Kind to Her

“Ten applicants of the 200th unit please enter.”

‘Finally, it’s my turn.’

Arhin placed her hand on her pounding chest and rose quietly from her seat. After passing the first test, she moved on to take the second test. Her body trembled with tension.

My mother’s embroidery, Deborah’s teacup, and my father’s mustache. Arhin recalled the calming things around her and then took a deep breath.

Now, let’s think calmly. If you are nervous, you will make mistakes even in the things you do well.

As she followed the person in front of her into the test room, a large space with a wide ceiling caught her eye.

There are three people who seem to be examiners. Sunlight streamed in from the window behind them.

As Arhin blinked and adjusted to the light, she heard someone’s kind voice.

“Do anything with a sword. You can do a sword dance, or just stab with it.”

Sitting next to Ruby is Samuel, the secretary general of the Berth Knights.

Arhin put a confident smile on her face. Her teacher always emphasized the importance of the fundamentals.

How many months did she do the same stabbing and same cutting? Solid fundamentals do not betray.

I think my teacher once said something like that.

He started to draw a longsword. It was a longsword that was difficult for women to hold.

Arhin is taller than the average woman. She is slightly shorter than the average man, but the men who would become knights are much taller than the average man. That means Arhin is the shortest among the applicants.

There are many tall and handsome men around Arhin now. The appearance of her drawing a longsword made her look weak and fragile.

However, the tip of the sword that was aiming at the floor lifted and stood in front of Arhin, and the feeling was completely different.

It doesn’t seem to match at all, but there’s no sense of incongruity.

Arhin carefully swung the sword into the air. The longsword, which had been moving slowly, quickly began cutting through the wind.

Following her movement, her cloak fluttered. The sword that had cut through the air changed position and swiftly stabbed forward.

Watching her honest and disciplined movements, Ruby crossed his arms with a look of interest.

The movement of number 209 was extremely simple, but not just honest. It was as elegant as a sword dance but clean and sharp without any unnecessary substance. It looked like a swordsmanship specimen itself.

Samuel whispered quietly, “Captain. Number 209 is pretty good.”

Ruby nodded his head too.

Making the final move, Arhin raised her sword high and slammed it swiftly onto the floor.

With that momentum, the cloak covering her face fluttered in the wind, revealing her vivid green eyes that had been hidden.

In an instant, Ruby’s chair moved with a rattling sound.

“The candidates who passed are No. 209, 250, and 252. We would like to thank all the applicants who applied for the Berth Knights, and we have prepared a small gift for those who failed, so please stop by the desk before you leave.”

The manager at the entrance of the exam hall guided the passed candidates to their seats.

‘I passed!’

Arhin felt half anxious and half excited.

‘If I pass the 3rd test, I can become a knight. My dream will come true.’

Without her noticing, four or five candidates were already sitting next to him. Is it because of tension? Nobody said anything.

Immediately, she could feel a presence at the entrance of the test site. Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

“All the candidates who pass the second test have been decided. There will be a 3rd test soon, so please take a seat and wait. Leaving your seat is prohibited.”

The air in the room quickly became heavy with tension thanks to the hardened faces of the men. A little later, the third test begins.

“Please enter now.”

The curtains at the entrance began to open with a heavy sound.

Arhin clenched her fists. All went through the entrance without making a sound, as if they were nervous.

Soon, the candidates lined up and looked straight ahead after adjusting their posture. Three men were sitting in front of the window looking at the applicants. They were Ruby in the center, and Secretary-General Samuel on both sides, and Rodri Military Administrator.

Soon, the candidates in a row adjusted their posture and looked straight ahead.

Three men were sitting by the window, looking at the candidates. Ruby is in the center, and on either side are General Secretary Samuel and Military Administrator Rodri.

In contrast to Ruby who had sharp eyes, Samuel and Rodri looked at the candidates with relaxed smiles.

Before long, Ruby rose from his seat. Starting with that, Samuel and Rodri also stood up and looked around at the candidates.

“I am Ludwig Berth, the commander of the Berth Knights.”

One candidate gulped. Ruby quietly looked around at the candidates and continued,

“As you know, the 3rd test is sparring. You may use a sword or martial arts, but cowardly behavior is prohibited.”

After briefly speaking, Ruby sat down and gestured toward the person in charge standing at the entrance.

A table on wheels immediately entered. On top of it is a small box covered with a cloth, and the candidates put their hands into the box and take out balls one by one.

‘I am number 3.’

Arhin held the ball tightly. She felt a silent gaze from before, so her body became stiffer.

‘Is it an illusion?’

She slightly raised her head and looked around. She couldn’t see very well because she was wearing a cloak, but strangely, she felt as if the commander was staring at her.

‘What is it?’

Arhin slightly lifted the cloak that covered her face. As she raised her head, the vision in front of her soon became clear.

Arhin took a step back after grasping the identity of the stare.

‘Ugh.’

She barely held back her scream.

‘Why, why is he here?!’

Her heart started beating wildly.

He is the person she can’t forget even in her dreams. The sweet face she had met on the terrace at the party was staring at her with an infinitely cold gaze.

‘Did he recognize me? Did he even notice that I am a woman?’ 

In this place, where the candidates who picked number 2 were fighting for a long time, the sound of metal friction echoed over and over again. However, Arhin could not concentrate on the sparring at all.

Was his expression that cold? He used to smile kindly and talk kindly on the terrace back then, but now he was looking at her with a sharp expression.

The man sitting there emitting a dangerous aura was the man whose lips she had stolen. It was something that Arhin could not have expected at all.

“Candidates who picked number 3, please gather in the center.”

Now it’s her turn.

‘Let’s calm down.’

She tried to calm her beating heart, thinking of her mother’s embroidery, Deborah’s teacup, and her father’s mustache again

He said nothing. He probably doesn’t even know who am I.

First of all, let’s think about it after passing this sparring well. There’s no need to spoil the present by fearing something that didn’t happen.

Arhin walked to the right of the center. When she slightly bowed to the other person standing opposite her, he smirked.

The reason is, Arhin, who has a small stature for a knight test participant, looks quite easy to beat.

Disregard and derision were evident in the man’s expression, his eyes saying, ‘Consider yourself lucky to have made it this far.’

Arhin also smirked.

The thought of Ruby in front of her flew away before she realized it.

Arhin slowly stepped toward her opponent. The man, who was looking at her fine jawline, jumped into the air suddenly, as if wanting to overpower her with force at once.

The sword, shining in the reflection of the sunlight, fell mercilessly toward Arhin’s head. Others watching expected Arhin to avoid or barely block it.

However, Arhin leisurely faced the blade and parried it, making a clanging sound.

Unexpectedly, a confrontation of strength broke. It was a force that could not be imagined to come from a small physique.

Arhin relaxed the strength of her hand holding the sword and slightly dodged to the right. The man staggered in an instant 

as he focused all his energy on hitting her.

Arhin didn’t miss the opportunity and lowered her center of gravity to strike the opponent’s waist up. It was an attack using the back of the sword, not the blade, so as not to get hurt.

As the opponent twisted and sprained his waist, Arhin swung her sword strongly at his waist, and the round kick followed. The opponent fell with a thud.

The room became noisy.

Arhin stood still, lowering the tip of her sword to the floor. She was looking at the supervisors to see if she could attack the fallen one, but soon the opponent raised his body again with a terrifying expression.

‘Looks like it’s not over yet.’

Arhin raised her sword again.

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