Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 22: But They Were, Indeed, Quite Substantial

-Ah~ My beauty is the greatest among the female Knights. I am so majestic~

“Ah, Rachel? You’re very self-conscious of your beauty, aren’t you?”

“I...Never said that.”

Rachel denied such things with a baffled expression.

She had never, even for a single moment thought that her beauty was remarkable.

-Oh, look at this jade-like skin~ No~ Don’t strike my face~ If you mar my beauty, I might just kill you~

“Hmm, you had an...Exotic personality, didn’t you Rachel?”

“I...Was never like this.”

Rachel vehemently denied such things with a shocked face.

For her, who had always distanced herself from the concept of ‘femininity’, such lines were both absurd and shameful.

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-My Swordsmanship is heavenly! The only one who could best this beauty is me alone!

“I see. For a Knight, confidence is the key to success. Truly glorious, Rachel.”

“M-My Swordsmanship was never....Heavenly...”

Her brows furrowed.

Rachel knew all too well that confidence led to arrogance, so she had always strived to be humble.

-It’s not because I’m a woman that I’m weak! The world will kneel before me-! For I will never yield-!

“Oho, so the world will give up first, eh? That’s a really cool line, Rachel. Let me read it again.”

“No...Don’t read it again, please.”

Rachel’s stoic face reddened as she continued to hear those embarrassing lines.

For her, whose serious personality lacked any sort of fanfare, those lines were a disgrace.

Her fists clenched.

At this moment, Rachel wished to smack her Lord’s head as he recited those lines as if reading his favorite book.

Why was all of this happening?? Why was her Lord acting like this, when he had never shown interest in books before?

-With this sword, I shall split the heavens and bring light to the world. To ascend a majestic mountain, built from the hopes and dreams of all!

“That’s...quite the romantic line, Rachel. It sends shivers down my spine...I never knew you were such a...optimistic person?”

“I am not. I have never been optimistic...Or romantic.”

She couldn’t stop shuddering.

For Rachel, this world was an ugly, dirty, and dark place.

That’s why she had endured it all, surviving even amid all that filth and blood.

For her things like ‘Romance’ and ‘Optimism’ were foolishness, something worth less than trash.

Who could it be?

Who could warp her beliefs into such pathetic fantasies?

With each line Her Lord uttered, Rachel’s face only reddened further.

And then,

-Oh, this vessel of mine, sculpted by the gods themselves, is simply divine, don’t you think? Concealing such absolute perfection would be an unforgivable sin~

Glance-.

“...Don’t look at me like that.”

“Since you’re always wearing a lot of clothes, I didn’t imagine you were so confident in your figure, Rachel.”

Glance-.

“...My Lady, why are you also looking at me with such eyes?”

“Tehehe-. It’s human nature to long for what we cannot have! I’ve always been so envious of people with good figures! Ah, I would love to bathe with you someday, Knight Rachel.”

“That... That will never happen.”

Rachel’s face reached a point where one could compare it to a tomato.

She had always disliked her overly voluptuous body.

For a Knight, such a well-endowed figure was cumbersome.

Through gritted teeth, she managed to utter a question.

“Who exactly fabricated such fantasies? I wish to know the author.”

With these teeth, she would chew them out.

With these fists, she would squash their pathetic existence.

Thus, as she committed herself to her vengeance, Rachel had directed such a question toward Ariel.

“Well...I don’t think...That’s his real name.”

“His pen name shall suffice. After all, someone must know his true identity.”

“The author’s pen name is Broken 1.”

“Broken... is it?”

Having been humiliated by someone she had never met or known.

Rachel could only think of one way to calm her wrath and restore her honor.

She would find this person.

And she would kill him.

As such, Rachel found another reason to live.

**

“Thanks for having lunch with me! I loved the food, but I’m going back to the Library now, okay~!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Hm!”

After we finished eating in the Great Hall, Ariel headed back to the Library.

While I was on my way toward the training grounds, with Rachel and I, of course, I brought the [ The Path of the Purple Knight ] with me.

“That book... Are you really planning to read it to the end?”

“Why not? It’s interesting. Besides, it’s beneficial for me, your employer, to learn more about my escort’s feats.”

“...This book is nothing more than a self-indulgent work filled with falsehoods and fantasies.”

“Well...A good fanfiction needs its fantasies. And this helped me learn about your...hobbies. I was particularly pleased to learn about your childhood fascination with monster cuisine.”

In the fanfiction, when Rachel wasn’t training or fighting, she would spend her time ‘writing’ or ‘knitting’.

Since she didn’t deny these facts, they must be true.

Rachel’s rough life made her interest in such hobbies all the more surprising.

Moreover, considering these hobbies were absent in the original Elden’s memories, she must have practiced these hobbies in secret(?).

In this Medieval Era, where information was scarce, the addition of such deep details could only have come from an obsessed fan who wrote this fanfic.

Of course, that’s what fanfiction is all about - A narrative filled with the writer’s personal desires and wishes, something loaded with fanservice, hence the richness in detail.

Crossing the boundary between delusion and reality is what makes a good fanfic. And in this era, where copyright laws were nonexistent, such stalker-written fanfics could be openly displayed in places like the Grand Library of Winterfell.

Perhaps the author was familiar with Rachel’s life, and knowing how harsh it had been, he wrote a bright and cheerful character in his book, wishing that one day, Rachel might be able to cherish and love herself and her story.

As both a reader and Rachel’s employer, I believe this was a commendable sentiment.

Despite only having read the early part of the book, the vivid depiction of how fiercely Rachel had lived, how she had endured excruciating pain to overcome her inherent frailty, was clear.

Even after achieving the highest honor and receiving the moniker of [The Purple Knight], she was unable to become a royal knight or a commander in the Grand Ducal guard, merely because she was a woman and of low birth.

By her feats alone, Rachel shouldn’t have been confined to bodyguarding the scion of a declining County.

She should have been the leader of a powerful organization.

Unlike Lee Jun-Woo, who couldn’t chase his dreams since he had much to lose, ending up spending his days in his man cave, there still existed some parallels between their lives.

As such, I vowed to treat her better.

However, as soon as we arrived at the training grounds, I turned and looked at Rachel’s face.

Her expression was filled with a sadistic glee.

It was at this moment,

That my vow, my resolution,

Completely evaporated.

“My lord. Prepare yourself, we shall begin now.”

......Surely, that menacing aura emanating from her was just my imagination?

**

Thud, Thud, Thud-.

It seems it wasn’t my imagination after all.

Rachel reasoned that for her to properly teach me, she first needed to understand where my skill level currently was.

As such, we were currently engaging in a bare-handed spar.

And I was unable to escape the plight of being treated like a punching bag.

Fortunately, unlike a punching bag that would simply stay still and endure the relentless blows, I had my arms and legs to defend myself.

Moreover, this allowed me to confirm that my ability to perceive Deron’s punches as slow, wasn’t a misconception, but proof of this body’s excellent kinetic vision.

I can see it.

Rachel’s movements as well as her punches were visible to my eyes, making her next actions predictable.

Looks like Elden Raphelion enjoyed fighting not just as a way to vent his frustrations.

Even the wastrel had a ‘talent’ and capability which ended up becoming a means of expression for him.

Of course, hand-to-hand combat wasn’t Rachel’s specialty, and she could be taking it easy as this was our first spar, but if you consider the gap between a UFC champion and a street-fighter, then just defending her blows was already an achievement in itself.

Perhaps that’s why,

Rachel’s blows became heavier, and her face, which held a sadistic glee, had become serious.

In response to this, I accepted her advances with equal seriousness.

After all, the practical combat techniques of a master would be essential for my culinary journey across this world.

At the moment, this spar had become more important than the entire Betrothal Contest.

Woosh-!

Dozens of blows were exchanged in an instant, as Rachel halted her assault.

My body ached all over.

Certainly, it was hard to believe that such a woman could hold this amount of strength.

“You have excellent natural instincts. And a solid foundation too.”

As I gasped for breath after defending against her relentless blows, I had to kneel in order to stabilize my breathing.

The lack of exercise made my arms and legs tremble.

While I have certainly inherited this body’s natural talent, I lacked the endurance and strength to keep up fighting.

“Haah- Haah-. S-So, how was I?”

“Passable. However, your lack of endurance is limiting your potential, you will need to remedy this with physical exercises. Also, your blows lack strength.”

“Alright then......”

Swish-!

As I tried to straighten my body, Rachel kicked my leg, making me fall onto the ground.

Was this her way of teaching me to be prepared for surprises?

Or perhaps, was she simply taking out her frustration of that bizarre fanfic on me?

While I believe her reasons tilted towards the latter, that wasn’t important right now.

When faced with a crisis, it’s a human instinct to seek a way out.

And if there is no way out, then one would seek to minimize the possible damage.

Humans have a natural dislike for pain, and when someone was falling, it’s normal for them to reach towards something, to minimize the risk of injury.

The only problem was that when I reached out my hand, I precisely touched Rachel’s chest.

I should be grateful that while I touched them, I hadn’t grasped it.

I should be feeling relieved that I had avoided a worse crisis while trying to escape a possible injury.

I...Should be thankful that I didn’t act the cliche of a perverted disciple who squeezed his master’s breast during their spar.

Yes...It’s better that I endured this fall.

Thud-!

However, as I accidentally fell to the ground with a soft and squishy texture in my traitorous palm, it was inevitable that Rachel’s contemptuous face caught my upward gaze.

“......Was this your true purpose behind our training?”

No.

“N-No, It wasn’t...”

You’re the one who knocked me down, remember?

“I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you.”

I’m not that kind of person.

“Scum.”

...

...

...

I’m not like that.

But they were, indeed, quite substantial.

1. Broken is the pen-name of the author of this novel ur reading