Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 76: Lugan Village (7)

Woooosh-!

All of a sudden, a White Storm swallowed the village.

The wind howling outside the windows created an eerie atmosphere, as the only thing visible was the ever-expanding white world.

Yet, inside the lodge, warmth prevailed.

Because the buildings of this village were designed to withstand the ravages of a White Storm.

However, even amid this comforting warmth, a brewing anxiety could be found within certain individuals.

“Ah...A White Storm now of all times...B-But surely, they must be safe...somewhere...”

“......”

Rendler and Rachel.

While Rendler was worried about their well-being since they had gone to seek the Hermit,

Rachel was concerned about their whereabouts. Their supposed state of ‘isolation’.

And the ‘activities’ they might be partaking in, in such a secluded place.

Such a thing had never happened before.

During their six-month journey, this was the first time both Elden and Ariel had been separated from the party.

Even when they were forced to split, Elden would always go with Rendler...And Ariel with Rachel.

That’s why, this scenario troubled the stalwart Knight, as emotions she had never felt before and worries she never knew existed, bubbled within her heart.

‘......’

And of course, such feelings and woes were new things for someone who lived a life as harsh as Rachel had.

If she desired something, she would fight for it.

If something troubled her, she would face it head-on.

However, the current situation was not something she could ‘fight’ or ‘face’.

And because of this, Rachel herself couldn’t figure out a way to resolve this.

Moreover,

Due to these emotions, Rachel understood how she had been viewing her student and Lord, Elden Raphelion all along.

She could confidently say why she had donned that red dress.

It was because she saw ‘potential’ in him.

Also, Rachel was able to understand ‘where’ her sudden desire to ‘settle down’ and experience a ‘woman’s life’ came from.

Rachel’s life had been a story of battle.

Battle against this world’s injustice,

And battle against her own weakness.

During it all, she had been relentless, as her single-minded goal had been either survival or growing stronger.

Swords,

Magic,

Battlefields,

Blood.

During her harsh life, Rachel never had the leisure of nurturing feelings for a man.

And now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she, as a commoner, achieved the highest standing one could dream of, by being a noble’s personal guard.

The salary received was something unimaginable for a mere farmer’s daughter.

Enough for her to live the rest of her life comfortably with the money she had saved.

After all of this time, she had fulfilled her promise to her father when she said - ‘Dad! I’ll earn a lot of money!’.

People had always criticized her for wasting her ‘beauty’ on the goal of becoming a noble’s personal guard. Advising her that with such looks, she could easily become a maid and seduce a young noble.

However, to Rachel, the existence of a ‘man’ was something to overcome, a hurdle to be conquered.

She never once considered seducing a man as a method for achieving her goal.

Of course, with this mentality, she had never harbored romantic feelings towards a man, nor did she fully understand what such feelings were.

But if asked, then Rachel would vaguely answer that her ideal man should be someone ‘stronger than her’.

Ironically, she had no idea how to act or what to do when she actually found ‘the one’.

Rachel may have been skilled with a sword.

And while she grew to hate fighting after her harsh life,

The idea of dealing with a man felt as awkward as her first attempts to wield a sword.

At the same time,

She was just as clumsy when dealing with her own emotions.

Like the reckless way, she had brandished a sword in her youth to master it.

But now,

After six months of observing his growth...

As much as she saw his ‘potential’, as much as she ‘hoped’, he had grown too rapidly and now there was nothing more she could teach him.

Elden’s innate talent played a huge part in this, but her careful guidance over these six months was also an undeniable factor.

Perhaps that’s why.

She did not want to feel her efforts in fostering his growth into a stronger man go to waste.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

She didn’t wish for her ‘investment’ to become another woman’s profit.

Her contributions, however minor, helped Elden go from a Wastrel to a formidable warrior.

And as his Teacher, Rachel believed it was only right to exercise her claim.

Thus, a vague resolve formed within her.

Just as a farmer doesn’t wish for the winter to claim the crops cultivated from their own sweat, as his Teacher, Rachel vowed that she wouldn’t lose the claim on her prized student.

Of course, this might be an excessive wariness on her part, or perhaps a delusion.

But the moment Lumia Winterfell appeared, Rachel felt that such worries weren’t baseless.

Moreover, Rendler also said that Ariel had ‘followed’ Elden.

A similar thing happened in the Lundgren Duchy.

When the time of parting came, hadn’t Ariel said ‘I want to write a book about you, Elden!’ and then continued to travel with them?

Thus, that they ended up isolated together in a sudden White Storm, spending time together, seemed less a circumstance wrought by chance and more a situation molded by intention.

However, since Rachel had a personal policy of not jumping to hasty conclusions until she confirmed matters herself, the anxious Knight confronted both Elden and Ariel when they arrived the following afternoon.

“Hm. Nothing untoward happened, I presume?”

“No? Nothing happened.”

“...Is that so? Regardless. Prepare yourself.”

“Ah? For what?”

“I found a clearing not too far from here. It’s been a while since we last trained, so let’s have a barehanded spar.”

Bare-handed sparring.

This was the method chosen by the stoic Knight to directly assess the truth of the claim that nothing had happened, as she led her student to the clearing.

And also,

She wanted to vent(?) her frustrations for a bit.

**

“I see...Fortunately, you found a place to take shelter.”

“We found a cave nearby, so we stayed there until the White Storm passed, and that happened to be the Hermit’s residence too. We were rather lucky.”

“Is that so? So, the three of you were there?”

“No? We met the Hermit this morning.”

“......So you spent all that time alone with Lady Ariel...”

As they moved towards the clearing, Rachel made a series of subtle(?) inquiries, which Elden cheerfully answered, interpreting those questions as curt but warm worries of his teacher.

“Yes. Why? Is there something wrong?”

“......Nevermind.”

Since last night, Rachel had been feeling conflicted and anxious.

A sudden White Storm endured in an isolated cave in the mountain.

It wouldn’t have been easy to find enough fuel to feed a fire in these conditions.

Besides, the cold had a way of ‘solidifying’ things.

And what ‘solidifies’ tends to ‘unify’.

‘......’

As her thoughts reached this point, once again shameful fantasies popped into her mind.

But as they arrived at the clearing, Rachel forcefully dismissed them.

After all, if something indeed happened with Ariel, there was no reason to hide it from her.

If both nobles nurtured affection for each other, what right did she, as a commoner, have to intervene?

Shouldn’t she congratulate them while chastising her foolish ambitions?

It was her fault for trying to reach something beyond her standing, wasn’t it?

Yet, Rachel couldn’t find in herself the resolve to accept this scenario.

It was as if her effort and zeal in fostering Elden’s growth would be unrewarded.

And she just didn’t want that.

If Ariel truly harbored feelings for Elden, then Rachel refused to just stand by.

For this reason, she called him to this spar.

To confirm her own desires, and to formally approach her new desire to live a woman’s life.

“Let’s begin. The one who falls first loses.”

“Alright. Bring it on, Teacher.”

As such, the spar began.

Several blows were traded, as both fighters were evenly matched for the moment.

That was only possible because Rachel still didn’t put in her full effort.

It was to be expected.

Even with Elden’s monstrous talent, the experience gained from fighting for her life for 10 years couldn’t be bridged in a mere six months.

But of course, this didn’t mean Rachel was slacking off.

After all, in a spar or a real battle, a single opening could spell defeat.

Even more so when her opponent was as talented as Elden.

Whoosh!

Thump!

Shwick!

Bam!

The spar continued.

As the fervor rose, Rachel feigned an opening and exposed her left leg, which Elden didn’t miss, kicking her calf.

Crack-!

Rachel’s left leg was kicked as she lost her footing.

In that moment, Elden relaxed, confident in his victory.

Seizing that opportunity, Rachel forcefully grabbed his shirt.

And ripped it.

Fiercely.

As though she was merely trying to keep herself from failing.

“Uh?”

Thump-!

She fell down.

Her buttocks crashed into the ground.

And in doing so, she pulled Elden by his clothes with her.

Their bodies overlapped.

As if this was the natural progression of events.

Elden’s face, nearly touching hers, was also something completely natural.

Indeed.

All according to Rachel’s plan.

“......”

“...”

Moreover,

Their position was perfect for Rachel to inhale in his scent.

And she quickly realized that her fears might not be baseless.

Also,

“......”

It was fortunate that she remembered to remove her chest bindings beforehand.

Those overgrown lumps had always been in the way, sometimes Rachel even considered cutting them off because their size and weight hindered her swordsmanship.

But today, for the first time,

Rachel acknowledged their valor.

Now she knew that these ‘lumps’ while detrimental to a ‘Knight’ could be excellent weapons for a ‘woman’.

The flustered warmth on Elden’s face was clearly stemming from her chest pressing against his body.

“R-Rachel.........?”

However,

His scent,

Was also mixed with Ariel’s.

And it was decidedly strong.

“......You said nothing special happened, My Lord...But it seems something indeed happened, no?”