I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

21 – Teacher’s Heart 1

“People pursue freedom.

However,

Their lives…

Freedom was not allowed from the moment they were born.

“You must not defy the will of the family.”

This was the first word that remained in their minds, spoken by their parents.

And his words…

Until this moment today,

They have become strong chains that bind their entire lives.

Those who defied the will of the family suffered pain.

They were whipped, deprived of meals, and forced to memorize the great history of the family until late at night, unable to even sleep.

Their rebellious spirit eventually broke,

And she ended up living as a puppet, moving according to the will of the family.

According to the family’s will, she learned magic and became a witch,

She learned archery and became a ranger,

She learned faith and became a priestess,

She learned dark arts and became an assassin.

According to the family’s will, they became adventurers.

According to the family’s will, they carried out various tasks.

They didn’t know what it meant or why they had to do it.

But they had no choice but to live like that.

The desire to break free often crossed their minds.

But such thoughts were merely confined to nightmares of the past; they couldn’t make any attempts to escape.

So until today, they have lived merely as puppets.

They tried to fulfill their duties as puppets.

Although the result ended in failure for the first time…

*

“So, what you’re saying is, your intention was to kill us according to the family’s will. Is that correct?”

“…Yes. Your family, the four noble houses, are controlling the Valhalla Adventurers Guild. Within the family, they don’t want Ovelin’s influence, which is already seen as thorns in their eyes, to grow any further. That’s why they ordered us to eliminate all of you who have the potential to become her subordinates.”

Rosemary calmly responded to her master’s words.

Through her, we were able to grasp the overall situation.

Seated here are the four adventurers from the Valkyrie team, who have literally been cornered like dogs.

And we, three of us, sat in front of them.

Honestly, I never expected Master to win so decisively against Bernie. But through her words claiming it was just luck and the silent positive reaction from Brunhilde, I understood that it was just a coincidence.

“Now, what should we do, Master?”

“For now… we should take care of those guys from the Four Great Families. Since they’ve gone this far to provoke us, we can’t just let it slide because we’re good people.”

Master immediately sought revenge. I nodded my head with the thought that this was obviously the right thing to do.

“Is… is that alright? From what I heard, those guys seem incredibly strong… Even the four of them posed quite a challenge for us.”

Bernie expressed her concerns.

From her point of view, where she mostly won by sheer luck unlike us, Master’s words might have seemed reckless.

However, regarding this matter,

Master spoke to her in a calm voice.

“If we rely solely on traditional methods, you would be right. But Bernie, you should know that there are often certain tricks up one’s sleeve when it comes to dealing with worldly affairs.”

“Ho… how do you plan to handle it?”

Looking at Bernie expressing both curiosity and doubt,

A serene smile started to form on Master’s lips.

“Well, just watch and see. After all, this too is part of your education.”

*

The atmosphere grew heavy in the mansion.

Located in the center of Carmel, it evoked images of splendor. Today, the leaders of the Four Great Families gathered in one place.

“How did it go?”

“It seems it ended well. The Adventurer Guild will handle the aftermath, but for now, they have returned here to report.”

“Hehe, I expected nothing less. Since he used to be a former Grand Master Adventurer, there was nothing we could do anyway.”

“With this, even that woman, Ovelin, will lose momentum. Anyway, that nuisance who became the Guild Master and made our lives miserable…”

“Don’t worry, soon enough there will surely be an opportunity to get rid of her as well.”

The leaders smiled with satisfaction at the successful news, not disappointing their expectations.

At that moment…

“The young ladies have returned.”

“Oh, already? Ask them to come in.”

Four people walked into the room right after I allowed them in.

The head, Freya, and the other three entering the room without any greeting, the leaders spoke in a cold voice.

“I heard that the mission was completed.”

“…. Yes.”

There was no word of praise or any kind of compliment in the dry and lifeless response. Freya just answered with a stiff voice, as always.

“What about the items? Their leader’s head.”

“… Here it is.”

Freya handed over the box she was holding.

And…

The man who took it.

Freya’s father, the actual leader of the fourth generation family.

Moyrnil spoke in an emotionless voice, as always.

“That’s enough. You may leave now.”

But Fraya and her companions, as always, did not leave and remained in their place.

“What are you doing? Go back now. Do you have anything else to say?”

“…Compliment…”

“…What?”

“Compliment… Can’t you give me a compliment?”

“What are you talking about?”

Fraya’s trembling voice.

But Moyrnil just looked down at her with a cold expression.

“This… this mission… was very difficult. I almost died… I worked hard for the family… I risked my life. That’s why… that’s why…”

– Bam!

“!!”

Before she could finish her sentence, a sharp dagger was thrown at her.

It pierced Freya’s knee and made her bleed.

“Le… Leader!”

“Ugh…”

Three people hastily supported Freya for a moment.

However, facing them, the representatives of the Four Great Houses maintained an attitude of disbelief and said:

“Why are you talking so much today, of all days?”

“I’m sorry, it seems something is broken. We’ll fix it later.”

“Praise? Ha. It’s ridiculous that they’re making such a fuss over such a small matter. They are weak and foolish.”

“It’s unbelievable that my blood flows for such scoundrels. No wonder those who come from the lineage of the mother are nothing special.”

People murmured in distinct voices.

In their attitude, there was still no sense of family affection.

Tools,

They discussed matters as if discussing whether to discard a broken object.

Upon hearing this, Freya felt as if something had snapped in her mind.

Yet, it still remained within her heart.

A glimmer of hope she held even in this situation.

The hope that someday her efforts would be recognized, and she would be treated as a family member.

But…

At this moment today, she had no choice but to accept the fact that her expectations were completely in vain.

For the first time since becoming an adult, she gathered the courage to make a plea.

With desperation embedded in her request, they ultimately rejected it.

And in this situation,

She finally made up her mind.

“As expected… Your words… were right, Lady Rosemary.”

With those words, Freya began to emit magic power from her entire body.

Faced with this sudden and unsettling atmosphere, the representatives of the Four Great Houses could only stiffen their expressions.

“What… What is this?”

“You, you brat! Have you truly lost your mind?”

“Guards! Guards! Drag this woman out right now…!”

At that moment,

Before they could even lay a hand on her, a scene appeared.

It was the sight of two people slowly ascending along the magic circle created by Freya.

“Ah… No… You?”

“W-What! I clearly had them in my hands just now…”

“I wonder what happened?”

A woman spoke calmly with a sense of confusion towards the leaders expressing their bewilderment.

Rosemary.

In this situation, where they were being stared down by someone who was reported to be dead but wore a cold smile,

The leaders finally realized that they had been deceived.

“How dare these dogs do such a thing to us?”

“They even dared without knowing the favors we’ve granted.”

“These ungrateful wretches! If they want to die so badly, let’s kill them right here!”

The leaders poured out insults and anger towards the children whose blood runs in their veins.

While observing their behavior,

Rosemary wore a smile and calmly said in a composed tone.

“So, what do you think? Was I right?”

“…Yes… You’re right.”

“It… was the correct answer. Unfortunately.”

“…Hahaha… That’s right. I still expected… at least a slightly different outcome. I never thought it would actually be real…”

Four people responded with a depressed voice.

Leaving them behind, Rosemary casually swung her cane and spoke to Edward.

“They’re nothing more than tools considering blood relations. We don’t need mercy, so kill them all.”

“Yes, Master.”