5. (1)

A carriage arrived outside the dormitory building that had grown familiar over the summer. Leandro, who had been waiting, boarded it.

Upon hearing that he might be leaving the school, his classmates stayed by his side without taking their usual weekend outings.

“You have to come back!”

“Don’t go!”

As he listened to their farewell, Leandro leaned back against the seat. In doing so, Jaynie’s hat got crushed.

‘Ah.’

Leandro touched the brim and straightened the crumpled part. Then he held it close to his chest.

The capital estate, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, had become even more splendid with the change of seasons. Though too small to truly be called a mansion, the building boasted an artistic design. Leandro now knew who had ordered it to be built.

The person the Emperor had wished for no longer lived in this house. A beautiful young nobleman was now its master.

Leandro looked out the window. However, even until the carriage reached the estate, he never saw a horse running alongside.

Of course. There was no reason he would bump into Jaynie again, not even by chance.

The young master who had shown him kindness wasn’t the active type. Even during their journey to the capital, he had rarely shown himself outside the carriage.

Leandro found it strange that he felt disappointed.

No one came to greet him. After he got off the carriage and stood still, the coachman told him where to go.

“The butler is waiting for you.”

“Thank you.”

The coachman didn’t suspect that the man he’d brought was a slave. The man was tall and handsome, but he had no attendants with him.

‘Is he gentry?’

The coachman wondered to himself.

With the silver coin Hansen had given him, Leandro had bought new clothes and gotten a haircut. All the children at school came from wealthy families, so they told Leandro what he should wear.

Dressed neatly, Leandro looked like a different person from the one who had left the mansion. Even someone who had known him as a slave might not recognize him now.

Leandro suddenly lifted his head and looked up at the second floor. It felt like someone was watching.

A curtain fluttered from an open window.

It seemed like someone had just been leaning there. But even as he waited, no one appeared beyond the window.

* * *

“You really ran with it when I told you to escape.”

Hansen glanced at Leandro as he spoke.

“You actually came back with the top grades in your class in less than half a year. No, it didn’t even take that long.”

“Has the young master heard about me?”

It had been Jaynie’s order that he receive basic schooling before returning.

Leandro had hoped Jaynie would know he followed that command — to prove he was someone worthy of his attention.

But perhaps Jaynie had already forgotten about the slave he sent away.

“He read your letter.”

Hansen took off his glasses.

“Looks like schools these days don’t even teach how to write a proper letter. Do you have any idea how surprised I was when the young master took that thing? Letting him read a letter without proper form…”

Hansen clicked his tongue in disapproval.

‘He read my letter…’

Leandro was too shocked to reply.

When he first picked up the pen, the person who came to mind wasn’t Hansen — it was Jaynie.

He had wanted to show him that he could now write. But there’s no such thing as a slave writing a letter to their master.

Reports sent to the butler Hansen didn’t need to be lengthy. And yet, Jaynie read that letter…

“From now on, you won’t need to do any housework. You’ll be staying in the adjacent room where the knights are quartered. That’s the young master’s order. I don’t know if you’ve actually won his favor or not. What does he want from you?”

“The young master… said that once I returned from school, he’d assign a knight as my mentor.”

Leandro answered carefully.

Among servants, it was often the peers rather than the superiors who grew more resentful of someone receiving special treatment. Though Hansen was too senior and refined for petty jealousy, it would still be dangerous to fall out of his favor.

‘A status that can stand beside the young master.’

Would the young master really make him a knight?

“A mentor?”

“Yes.”

Hansen’s reaction was strange. He stood up from his seat.

“So be it. You’ll be serving under a knight. I’ll let you know who you’ll be assigned to as a squire.”

* * *

Knight Aron Dima looked Leandro up and down and said,

“So this is the squire I’m getting? He’s too big, isn’t he?”

“It’s the young master’s order. Just have him run errands — don’t bully him. The young master wants you to train this one.”

“Come now. Do I look like someone who bullies others?”

“I know exactly what kind of person you are.”

Aron smacked his lips, then turned back to Leandro.

“What house are you from?”

Before Leandro could answer, Hansen spoke up.

“He’s a servant the young master takes an interest in. Didn’t you hear me say not to harass him?”

Hansen didn’t say “slave.” Pretending a slave was a freeborn man was a serious crime. Leandro turned to look at him, but Hansen didn’t meet his eyes.

“A servant? Not the son of a knight?”

Aron let out a whistle, but only closed his mouth after catching Hansen’s stern glare. Still, once Hansen was gone, he cozied right up to Leandro.

“The young master’s got his eye on you, huh?”

His hands roamed across Leandro’s shoulders and chest. Leandro felt a wave of discomfort — but when Aron started squeezing his hands, he was simply bewildered. What on earth was he doing?

Aron pulled his hands back and commented,

“Your body’s not bad. Not something a regular servant could build. Looks like you put on muscle easily. You strong? In my village, if you couldn’t lift a boulder, you weren’t considered an adult.”

Aron was a knight. The hand he used to touch Leandro was covered in calluses — rough and hard, not like a normal person’s. It hadn’t been harassment. He’d been inspecting his build.

It finally felt real to Leandro — Jaynie had truly handed him over to a knight. His master, proud noble that he was, had kept his promise even to a slave.

“I believe I’m fairly strong. The village chief once praised me, said I could do the work of an ox.”

“Village chief? So you’re from the countryside, huh? Not a city boy. Though you look smooth enough to be a merchant’s servant. If you worked in a trading company, I bet the rich ladies would’ve taken a shine to you.”

But then the knight spouted nonsense again. Leandro stared at him, stunned. Aron jabbed him in the ribs.

“So, are you the young master’s next lover?”

“…Excuse me?”

“You’re not? Well, give it time. Anyway, starting today, you’re my squire. Until you’re recognized as a proper knight, I’ll train you thoroughly.”

Leandro wanted to ask what that last part meant. But asking questions isn’t a virtue for a subordinate. He needed to get on his teacher’s good side.

“Yes, please take care of me.”

But his mind was in a whirl.

Aron nodded, satisfied.

“Nice attitude. What’s your name?”

“Rian.”

“Cute name. Rian. Here’s your first order.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leandro cleared his head and stood up straight. His first official command as a squire — it felt like a milestone.

His heart beat a little faster.

“Go pack my things.”

“…Excuse me?”

“We’re heading to the ranch in three days. The young master wants to look at horses.”

“….”

Is this what knights do?

In any case, Leandro followed orders and headed toward Aron’s quarters.

* * *

The first thing Leandro got used to was serving the knight.

He polished armor and weapons and took care of the horse. Beyond that, his duties included various errands and being someone to talk to. He was naturally good at work, so he got the hang of it quickly.

While he was kept busy, the day of departure for the ranch arrived. Officially, the reason for going was to “have the young master inspect the knights’ training.” Because of that, every knight who had remained in the capital to guard Jaynie also had to join the trip.

Leandro helped Aron into his armor and then climbed into the luggage cart. The Duke’s ranch was located near the capital, so it wasn’t far.

None of the servants who had known the slave Rian were in the cart. The attendants who had accompanied Jaynie from the duchy had returned to the territory. At the capital estate, only the staff who had served the young Jaynie since long ago remained.

Among them, there may have been those who had seen the slave Rian before, but it was hard to associate a handsome squire with the image of a slave.

Not all servants had come along either, since someone had to stay and manage the estate.

Leandro was lucky. In any form, being close to Jaynie was a good thing.

To rise in the world…

He wasn’t some delusional fool. He had a path to success — one that only the duchy could offer.

That region was constantly at war. It always needed troops to fend off and wipe out the monsters that came down from the mountains. If you made a name for yourself, even a low birth couldn’t stop you from rising in rank.

That was why, when he first found out he’d be going to the capital, he thought it was bad luck. It meant he couldn’t stay in the duchy. The capital was a peaceful place. He might rot away there as a slave for the rest of his life.

But then Jaynie had taken notice of him.

Was it just coincidence that no one in the group knew the slave Rian? Or had Jaynie deliberately sent the duchy servants away?

Normally, no one would go to such lengths for a slave. And yet, Leandro couldn’t help recalling the image of Jaynie riding beside him, offering advice.

Nearby, the other servants stole glances at Leandro.

“Is the seat cramped? You can come this way.”

Leandro pulled in his legs to make room. The servant waved their hand, flustered.

“No, not at all. Oh dear, the carriage is plenty spacious…”

“But, who are you, exactly? Why are you coming with us?”

“Hey, are we even allowed to ask?”

They whispered among themselves, all keeping a certain distance while eyeing Leandro with curiosity.

“Feel free to speak comfortably. I also serve the young master. For now, by his orders, I’m working as Sir Aron’s squire.”

Hansen had introduced Leandro to Aron as a servant. Leandro went along with that. There was no harm in earning their goodwill.

Yet strangely, the mood only grew more awkward.

“Ah… I see,” a young maid said with a note of pity. Then everyone fell silent, staring at Leandro like he was someone marked for death. The servant who had been sitting closest even scooted away slightly.

“…?”

That strange atmosphere lasted all the way until they reached the ranch. Leandro had to endure the suffocating ride surrounded by servants who not only seemed uncomfortable with him — but also seemed afraid.

* * *

“Ahaha!”

Leandro only found out the reason after arriving at the ranch.

“Oh, that. The last ‘favored servant’ was quite something.”

“You mean Joachim, right?”

Knight Chase chuckled. He got along unusually well with Aron, which was rare considering Aron didn’t get along with most other knights.

Aron had been born a commoner. Considering how most knights were sons of nobles or other knights, his case was quite exceptional.

The fact that he was chosen as Leandro’s mentor was a stroke of luck for both of them. If any other knight had been told to train a common-born servant, they would’ve rebelled.

Did Jaynie know that when he assigned Aron? Who knows.

Still, thinking about it rationally, it was hard to believe a noble would pay that much attention to a slave’s situation.

The Duke of Blurwin’s ranch was a “ranch” in name only — it was more like a fortress-sized villa. The vast pastures and all the horses were owned by the duke.

The Dukes of Blurwin, historically renowned as excellent knights, had grown up here with horses from a young age — all except for the current duke and his son, Jaynie.

Leandro learned that, too, from Aron and Chase.

Since the villa was used to raise noble knights, it naturally included a training ground. In the backyard training arena of the estate, Leandro followed Aron’s commands, repeating downward and mid-level sword swings. Whether this was actually effective training was questionable — Aron seemed more interested in chatting than watching.

“So his name was Joachim,”

Leandro said casually, trying not to seem curious. He drank some water from a jug and poured the rest over his head.

The lukewarm water felt cold against his overheated body. The chill helped clear his mind. As he shook the water from his hair, one of the servants doing chores paused to stare at him.

“That’s what I’m saying,”

Aron pointed at Leandro like he’d caught something amusing.

“He acts all bewitching, right? The last guy was the same type as you.”

“Hey now. He’s not doing it on purpose. He just looks decent — people get spellbound on their own.”

“What, the last guy didn’t look decent? He was a looker too.”

The two laughed over their nonsense before returning to the topic. Chase twirled his finger in the air.

“That kid had also just suddenly appeared at the estate. No one knew what his relationship with the young master was, but one day, the young master told the servants to go bring him in. They found him, but the kid was so good-looking, the servants got distracted. They must’ve thought, ‘Someone like this couldn’t have done anything wrong,’ and let their guard down. So they lost him.”

“And the young master ran off, caught him himself, and only the servants who lost him got punished.”

Aron chimed in.

“Ha! That’s the best part. Even after he was caught, the kid didn’t give up — he escaped from his room! The entire capital estate was thrown into chaos.”

“And then the kid just calmly returned while the servants got worked to death.”

Aron clicked his tongue.

“The point is, more than a few servants got punished because of him. So do you think the staff wants to get involved with someone like that again?”

Chase finished the explanation. Leandro stood, bracing himself with his wooden sword. He was dumbfounded.

“So I’m being seen as similar to this servant named Joachim.”

“Not just similar — the situation is exactly the same. Back then, the young master brought him in and suddenly made him a page. Now, he’s got you working as his personal guard. And you know how capital nobles love parading around good-looking servants.”

No.

Leandro refuted it in his heart.