The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37

Beneath the evening sky painted in violet hues, Martha stood with her lips pressed firmly shut.

She had remained motionless as a statue until darkness swallowed her vision, but now she slowly lifted her head.

“I shouldn’t have lost.”

Martha clenched her fists. She gripped so hard that the veins in her hands flushed crimson.

“Not until I find Mother. I shouldn’t have lost to anyone….”

I had sworn never to taste defeat until my goal was achieved, yet I had lost. And in such a shameful manner.

All my efforts to suppress my emotions, to curse under my breath, to distance myself from others—all of it had been for nothing. I had been utterly crushed.

“Damn it!”

My adoptive father, Denier Zigheart, had taken me into the Zigheart Family after witnessing my talent.

But now that I had lost to Raon Zigheart—a Branch Family member who was only a year younger than me—I couldn’t predict what Father might do.

Denier was a gentle man, but there was a possibility that it was all an act. I had to prepare myself for the worst: being cast out.

‘That can’t happen. It absolutely cannot.’

If that occurred, my last hope of finding Mother would vanish. I would have to cling to him, even if it meant grasping at his clothes.

“Sigh….”
“Miss.”

Consumed by extreme tension, Martha didn’t turn around even when the butler Camel called out to her.

“A letter from Denier.”

Only upon hearing that Denier Zigheart had sent a letter did Martha’s head turn. Her dark eyes rippled like waves.

“I’m here.”

Martha swallowed hard and unfolded the letter.

[Martha. Congratulations on your first defeat. A single loss doesn’t brand your name with the mark of a loser, so don’t dwell on it too much. But think endlessly about why you lost and how you lost. That reflection will become the foundation for your growth in the future. I wish I could visit you in person to offer comfort, but this mission is taking longer than expected. I’m sorry I cannot come.]

There was no reproach, no mockery. It was a letter sent by a father genuinely concerned for his daughter.

[I continue to search for traces of your biological mother. Since I have not given up, neither should you.]

Martha folded the letter with trembling hands and placed it in her pocket. She pressed firmly against the pocket as if confirming the presence of a precious treasure.

“Sigh…”

The letter was like gathering the shattered pieces of her heart back together. Especially because of those final words, the melancholy and anxiety that had weighed upon her shoulders completely lifted.

“Tell Father that I will keep his words in mind. Truly. And that I’m truly grateful.”
“Understood.”

Camel nodded with a faint smile.

“But Miss.”
“Yes?”
“If the matter of obedience from the wager with Young Master Raon troubles you, there are ways to pressure the Annex Building. If we use the direct line’s influence, we could handle it quietly….”
“No. Don’t.”

Martha shook her head firmly. Her eyes, dark as black pearls, now shone with a clarity they hadn’t possessed before.

“A loss is a loss. And I lost miserably at that.”

I understood more clearly than anyone why I had been defeated by Raon.

‘It wasn’t carelessness. I simply lost.’

Raon had used that crimson aura to shatter my blade. A swordmaster without a sword—the match had truly ended there.

But he had discarded his own blade just the same and given me a second chance with his fists.

If I were to show shame before someone who had fought me with such honor, Father would surely be even more disappointed.

“Even if I made a foolish promise, keeping it is what it means to be a Zigheart. Father would say the same.”
“Of course. Denier would certainly have said so.”
“I cannot disgrace him as his daughter.”
“Indeed.”

Camel laughed, his lips curving upward with evident pride.

“Camel. Do you have a sword?”
“I do. But why….”
“Give it to me.”
“Here it is.”

Martha gazed at the thin dagger Camel offered for a long moment before drawing it from its sheath.

Snick!

With resolve settling in her expression, she nodded and decisively severed the middle section of her ebony-dark hair.

“Ah, Miss!”
“It’s fine. I’m simply letting go of a foolish and sordid past.”

Martha released the severed strands into the wind and smiled. Her laughter glimmered like snowflakes.

“Hah….”

Camel exhaled softly, as if he had never anticipated such a scene.

“Cancel the direct family training tomorrow morning.”
“Pardon? Cancellation isn’t difficult, but what do you intend to do….”
“I have somewhere to go.”

Martha spoke thus and entered the mansion.

Camel watched her retreating figure disappear into the mansion and nodded benevolently.

*

*

*

Martha completed her final dawn training of her vacation and left the mansion immediately.

Ignoring Camel and the handmaidens who asked where she was going without even eating breakfast, she headed alone toward the Western Annex.

Though the distance was considerable, the path was well-maintained, making it easy to locate the Annex Building.

As I continued walking westward, a modest house surrounded by a small Garden came into view.

‘So he lives there.’

Martha’s eyes narrowed. It was incomparably smaller and more shabby than the Main Mansion.

However, the house she had lived in before her adoption was far smaller than this Annex Building, so it didn’t strike her as particularly noteworthy. She simply accepted it and walked toward the Garden.

‘Someone’s here.’

A blonde boy was crouched in a flower bed, digging soil and planting flowers.

‘Huh?’

Martha’s eyes widened.

‘Raon Zigheart?’

She had thought he was a servant, but she was wrong. The one planting flowers was Raon Zigheart himself—the one who had dealt her first defeat.

Raon noticed her as well and brushed the dirt from his hands before standing.

“What brings you here?”
“….”

Martha didn’t answer. Instead, she stood before the flower bed Raon had cultivated. The flowers looked healthy and vibrant, likely from having just been watered.

‘Does he have such a hobby?’

She had thought him unchildlike, but this was decidedly childish—it caught her off guard.

‘What should I do?’

The reason Martha had sought out Raon today was simple.

A rematch.
After hearing Father’s words, I had reflected on the defeat, but I couldn’t remember how I had lost.

Without knowing that, I couldn’t determine the extent of the skill gap, nor could I find a way to bridge it.
In other words, I couldn’t reflect on my mistakes.

That was why a rematch was necessary.
I wanted to fight Raon with a clear head and understand the difference in our abilities.

“Sigh….”

Martha exhaled heavily and lifted her head. Looking into Raon’s calm eyes—serene as a lake—she spoke carefully.

“I want to fight you again.”
“You still won’t admit defeat? That’s rather unsightly.”
“No. I’m not denying that I lost. I simply don’t know how I lost. I came here because I want to understand that.”
“….”

Raon’s eyes gleamed briefly. He seemed to find this unexpected.

“What’s the wager, then?”
“What?”
“When the loser challenges the victor, shouldn’t they bring something to the table?”
“Damn it! You don’t need a wager just to fight!”
“I do.”
“Ugh….”

Martha let out a stifled groan.

‘It’s this about him.’

Because of this trait—never accepting a loss—Raon didn’t feel like a child at all.

“You don’t have anything? That’s inconvenient.”

Raon crossed his arms, as if he had lost all interest in fighting.

“Hmm….”

What should I do? Martha bit her lip as she looked at Raon, then noticed the flowers beneath him.

‘Should I step on them just a little?’

The fact that he was tending to the flower bed at this hour made it clear he cared for the flowers. If I provoked him even slightly, he might lash out.

“How unusual—you actually like flowers.”

Martha subtly shifted her foot toward the flower bed.

“Not really.”

Contrary to her expectations, Raon tapped his small spade and shook his head.

“What?”
“I don’t like flowers. I don’t even understand why I’m doing this. I only tended to them because of my mother.”
“….”

Martha froze, her foot suspended above the flower bed.

“What? Not going to step on them?”

Raon smiled faintly, as if he had seen through her intentions, and nodded.

“Damn it.”

Martha cursed under her breath and withdrew her foot. The moment she heard he had tended the flowers for his mother’s sake, her resolve to trample them vanished.

“Hell.”

As she clicked her tongue and turned to leave, the door to the Annex Building swung open, and a beautiful woman with long golden hair tied back rushed out.

“Raon!”
“Huh?”

Confusion flickered across Raon’s eyes, which had been as cold and composed as ice.

“Oh, Mother.”
“You said you couldn’t see it, yet you’ve been tending to the Garden. But who is this young lady?”

Curiosity gleamed in the woman’s gaze.

‘Is this Sylvia Zigheart?’

The family’s shame and disgrace—a woman called worthless who had abandoned the family to chase after a man she loved, only to return to save her child’s life.

Perhaps because I had experienced something similar.
To me, she was not worthless at all, but a mother who had found the courage to act for the sake of her beloved child.

“W-well, she’s not a friend or anything. She’s nobody. I’ll take care of it, so please go inside.”

Raon stammered—a rare occurrence.

“This girl is lovely too. Black hair and black eyes? Ah! You must be Martha!”

Sylvia clapped her hands together and broke into a radiant smile.

“….”

I bowed my head silently.

“I heard you sparred with Raon. Are you hurt anywhere?”

I could tell because her eyes held the same warmth as my beloved mother’s. Sylvia’s rose-tinted eyes were genuinely concerned about my wellbeing.

“I’m fine.”
“I was worried, so I’m relieved.”

Sylvia smiled softly.

“I heard from Uncle Denier that he brought a child with exceptional talent, but it seems there’s more to it than that.”

She examined me from head to toe, telling me repeatedly how beautiful I was, how truly beautiful.

“But what’s going on here?”
“I just came to pass along a message. Now that I’ve delivered it, I should be going.”

Martha was about to turn and leave when it happened.

Grrrrowl.

The price of skipping breakfast after dawn training had come due.

“Ah….”

Martha’s face flushed crimson. As she spun around to flee, something warm grasped her wrist.

It was Sylvia. She smiled and nodded.

“Have a meal before you go.”

For reasons Martha couldn’t explain, she couldn’t bring herself to shake off that slender hand.

*

*

*

What is this?

I narrowed my eyes as I observed Martha sitting across from me at the dining table.

‘I can’t make sense of this.’

I could understand Sylvia inviting Martha to eat after her stomach had growled so loudly. She was simply that kind-hearted.

But the sight of that wild woman being led to the table by Sylvia and now sitting demurely, waiting for food—that was something I never could have imagined.

After cutting her hair, it seemed her temperament had been trimmed away as well.

“Raon loves beef stew. That’s why we always have one on our table.”
“Ah, yes.”

Sylvia beamed with delight, while Martha lowered her head in embarrassment, offering only brief replies.

—What is she doing right now? That’s not her usual temperament, is it?
‘I have no idea what’s happening either.’

Since my birth into the Zigheart Family, I had never witnessed such an unexpected turn of events.

Soon the meal arrived—a stew, roasted beef, vegetables, and warm bread.

“You’re a year older than Raon, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you find training difficult?”
“Not particularly.”

Sylvia engaged Martha in conversation while eating, and Martha answered her questions readily between bites.

‘Hmm….’

I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Why is she acting like this?’

Martha was the type to curse the moment someone spoke to her. I never imagined seeing her display such courtesy.

“Mm….”

I swallowed the stew without even noticing whether it entered my mouth or my nose.

“Our cooking here is quite good, though the meat quality is inferior to what we have at the Main Mansion. Chew carefully so you don’t get indigestion.”
“….”

Martha’s hand trembled slightly as she gripped her fork at Sylvia’s advice.

I prepared to intervene in case she had a fit, but she simply lowered her head deeply and resumed eating her meat.

Though I understood little of human emotion, I sensed something—a melancholy and longing—emanating from her hands.

“Thank you for the meal.”

That awkward meal finally came to an end, and Martha rose from her seat.

“How was the taste?”
“It was delicious.”
“I’m glad. From now on, I hope you’ll get along well with Raon.”

Sylvia waved her hand to Martha from the doorway.

“Yes.”

Martha gave a surprisingly normal response and left the Annex Building.

‘What on earth was that?’

She had clearly come looking for a fight, yet I couldn’t fathom why she had suddenly changed her attitude.

-Did she eat something bad?
‘Perhaps.’

Human emotions truly are a difficult thing to comprehend.

*

*

*

The moment Martha stepped out of the Annex Building, she bit down hard on her lip. Any softer, and tears would have spilled forth.

She resembled her.
Though her face, hair color, clothing, and voice were all different, she bore such a striking resemblance to her mother—the one with rose-colored eyes who had vanished.
That was why she couldn’t pull away when that woman had grasped her wrist.

Raon must have thought I’d lost my mind.
I’d never seen his eyes waver like that before.

I had considered leaving early, but I was glad I stayed for the meal. Sylvia’s gentle gaze and voice, and—
when I heard that nagging about chewing food thoroughly, the very same complaint Mother used to make most often, it truly felt as though I were with Mother again.

That was precisely why I wanted to find my mother even more desperately.

‘White Blood Cult. These damned bastards.’

The ones who had abducted my mother were the White Blood Cult, one of the major organizations. I would slaughter every last one of those fanatics if it meant finding my mother.

Martha made the vow again and again as she returned to the Main Mansion.

“Miss, where have you been? Oh? Have you perhaps been crying?”

Camel, who had been sweeping in front of the door, widened his eyes.

“What are you talking about! Who’s crying!”

Martha wiped her eyes and shook her head. She started to open the door quickly and enter the mansion, then poked her head back out.

“Camel. Can you get me some high-quality beef?”
“Beef? Of course, that’s no problem at all. But what do you need it for?”
“I have my reasons. Get it and leave it in front of my room!”

Martha closed the door immediately after answering and rushed up to her room.

A soft chuckle escaped Camel’s lips.

Camel smiled gently as he watched her go.

“I wonder if she realizes how much better she looks like this.”

*

*

*

The next day.

As soon as I finished my dawn cultivation, I headed to the Training Ground. As usual, no one had arrived yet.

Martha’s unexpected visit yesterday had left my mind in turmoil, but I decided to dismiss it as nothing more than a strange dream.

After warming up lightly, I began practicing with the Resonance Blade. As the sun rose, the trainees filed into the Training Ground one by one.

While swinging my sword and listening to the idle chatter of the trainees, all sound suddenly cut out.

I turned my head to see Martha walking through the wide-open Training Ground entrance.

The trainees’ jaws dropped at the sight of her, likely because of her short-cropped hair.

“Raon Zigheart.”

Martha stopped before me.

“Words once spoken cannot be taken back. I won’t brush aside the provocations you’ve thrown at me with some half-hearted apology.”

Her gaze was even more serene than yesterday—like gazing upon a still lake.

“But I keep my promises.”
“Promises?”
“The promise we made before the duel—that the loser would obey the victor’s words.”

With that, she turned and walked away. From her eyes, I could see she had completely accepted her defeat.

‘She’s changed more than I expected….’

To transform in such a short time—she was no ordinary vessel. Though I still couldn’t fathom why she’d eaten with me yesterday.

“Why are you blocking the way? Get moving!”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Martha kicked Dorian, who was standing awkwardly in her path.

“Ow! I-I’m sorry!”
“Tsk.”

She clicked her tongue and returned to her usual spot.

I let out a quiet laugh. It seemed her change in attitude applied only to me.

‘Everyone here really is peculiar.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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