The Sword That Protects His Sister and the "Prospective Brother-in-Law's" Stubborn Resistance

As Leon dragged his nearly broken body back to the main building, staggering with every step, every muscle crying out in protest, he wanted nothing more than to turn into a puddle of sludge and collapse onto his bed. But a tall, upright figure radiating displeasure stood squarely in his way at the foot of the stairs, like an obstacle placed with pinpoint precision.

The newcomer was Victor Windsor. He wore a perfectly tailored dark blue knight's uniform that accentuated his upright bearing. The simply decorated sword at his waist gleamed faintly, silently declaring its owner's strength and status. He was two years older than Leon, taller and more powerfully built, with broad, strong shoulders honed by rigorous training. His handsome face bore the rugged air of a soldier, along with an undisguised severity reserved especially for Leon. His dark brown hair was impeccably neat, and his light brown eyes were sharp as blades as they fixed on Leon's disheveled figure, as if dissecting him from head to toe.

Leon cursed his luck. There wasn't a spot on his body that didn't hurt. Even lifting his legs felt difficult, and his brain buzzed from sheer exhaustion. He simply didn't have the energy to deal with this "prospective brother-in-law," who had always given him "special attention." Fragments of memory surfaced: Victor was upright by nature and cared deeply about the family's honor and his sister Elisa's happiness. He loathed Leon, the original owner of this body, for his disgraceful behavior and his status as Elisa's "fiancé." He had tried many times to advise and even sternly discipline Leon as an older brother, but the original Leon had always been as shameless as a slippery eel, grinning and talking back. "Elisa hasn't said anything, so why do you care?" Or, "Once I marry her, you'll be my brother-in-law. Until then, stop telling me what to do!" His outrageous remarks had often left Victor livid, yet Victor could do nothing because of Leon's special status as the son of a Hohenzollern and the nephew of Countess Margaret.

"Leon." Victor's voice was low, his displeasure obvious. His gaze swept over Leon's sweat-soaked, dust-covered state, the young man barely able to stay on his feet. "Where have you been causing trouble this time? How did you end up looking like that?" He put particular emphasis on "causing trouble," clearly convinced that Leon's sorry state couldn't have come from anything worthwhile.

"Victor... Cousin." Leon forced a smile, deliberately using the more distant form of address in an attempt to get past him. His voice was hoarse with exhaustion. "I just... finished training. I overdid it a little. I'm going upstairs to rest." He turned sideways, hoping to squeeze through the gap beside Victor.

Victor didn't budge. Instead, he took a small step forward, completely blocking the way. He gave a cold snort, his sarcasm almost tangible. "Training? With Captain Hans? Hmph. Looks like Marquis Otto has finally decided to get you under control. But with you so weak you'd topple in a breeze, and your pathetic excuse for fighting spirit, even the strictest training would probably just be a waste of time and a drain on Captain Hans's patience." He didn't believe Leon was genuinely committed to hard training. He assumed this was just another form of evasion, or something Leon had been forced into temporarily.

A flash of anger surged through Leon, but his body's utter exhaustion weighed on him like shackles, draining even the energy he needed to argue. All he could manage was a feeble retort. "Hey, Victor, whether I train or not is my business... Captain Hans hasn't said anything..."

"It's none of my business?" Victor cut him off abruptly, his voice rising as his pent-up fury erupted. "Elisa is my sister! You and she are bound by a written marriage contract! Everything you do affects her reputation and the honor of the Windsor family! Just look at you! Is this any way to behave? You spend your days either wasting away in gambling dens and taverns or getting into trouble everywhere you go! The city hall's fine for getting drunk and smashing the railing around the magic fountain in Central Square only arrived at the Windsor family's estate a few days ago! Do you have any idea what people outside are saying about Elisa? They're saying... things that are utterly vile!"

He forced himself to stop, but the humiliation and resentment on his face, born of the insults to his sister, were practically spilling over. It was easy to imagine how much gossip and how many strange looks Elisa, so cool and reserved by nature, had endured because of Leon's endless outrageous behavior.

Leon opened his mouth to explain, then realized how feeble any words would sound. Every accusation Victor had made was true of the original Leon. Now the heavy burden of his predecessor's sins had landed squarely on his shoulders. He had inherited this identity, and with it, all the consequences.

When Leon fell silent, wearing an expression rarely seen before—or one Victor might have taken for guilt—Victor assumed his words had finally had some effect. His tone softened slightly, though his lecture grew even more earnest. "Leon, you're eighteen already! You're not a child! Elisa will turn eighteen next month. According to the agreement between our families, it's time to start planning the formal engagement ceremony! Look at yourself. What about you makes you worthy of her? If you care for her even a little, if you've given any thought to your future together, you should put your wild days behind you and train seriously under Captain Hans to hone your skills—or at least settle down and read a few books, learn some proper noble etiquette! Instead of spending all your time with Fili and his pack of so-called friends, bringing shame on both our families!"

His words were sharp and painful, but beneath the anger lay a hint of "I'm only hard on you because I know you can do better." The old Leon would have jumped up to snap back at this sort of lecture, then driven Victor away by being even more obnoxious.

But Leon was so physically and mentally exhausted that he caught the deep concern for his sister hidden beneath Victor's fury. He fell silent for a moment. Rather than react according to the original Leon's usual script, he lowered his eyes and said quietly, "...I understand. I'll keep it in mind."

This unexpected, almost obedient response left Victor momentarily stunned. The string of scoldings he'd prepared got stuck in his throat. He scrutinized Leon, trying to find signs of pretense or mockery in his exhausted face. Yet all he saw was a kind of numb calm, along with the bone-deep weariness that couldn't be faked.

"You..." Victor was at a loss for words. This completely unexpected response had thrown him off.

Just then, a clear, pleasant voice came from the top of the stairs, breaking the strange standoff. "Brother?"

They both looked up and saw Elisa standing at the landing on the second floor. She seemed to have just finished meditating or reading. She was still wearing her pale blue Magic Apprentice Robe, her silver-white hair neatly tied back as always, and her violet eyes were calm and unreadable as her gaze passed briefly over the two men facing off below.

"Elisa." The severity in Victor's face melted away the moment he saw his sister, his expression softening with an almost imperceptible fondness. "I was just coming to see you." He shot Leon another warning look, then lowered his voice and said quickly, "Remember what you said! Watch yourself!" After that, he ignored Leon and hurried up the stairs to Elisa.

"What is it, Brother?" Elisa's gaze briefly swept over Leon below, looking haggard and leaning on the banister just to stay upright. She didn't linger, turning her attention to Victor instead.

Victor took a small jewelry box, neatly tied with a dark blue ribbon, from inside his coat and handed it to Elisa. His tone turned warm and light. "Your birthday is next month. I prepared this for you in advance. Take a look. Do you like it?"

Elisa accepted the box, deftly untied the ribbon, and lifted the lid. On the velvet cushion lay a finely crafted silver necklace. Its pendant was a perfectly cut, pure amethyst, crystal clear and shimmering with a lovely glow that echoed the color of Elisa's eyes.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Brother." The faintest smile appeared on Elisa's face, but it was real. Though it vanished in an instant, it was enough to soften the eyes of her tough older brother, filling them with a sense of accomplishment.

"I'm glad you like it." Victor smiled, then grew slightly more serious. "Also, Father asked me to see if there are any friends you particularly want to invite to your birthday banquet. The family will handle the arrangements, but what you want matters most."

The siblings began speaking softly on the stairs, discussing the details of the birthday banquet as if Leon below had turned completely invisible.

Leon watched them in silence. Victor's heartfelt affection and protectiveness toward Elisa, and the trust and closeness Elisa naturally showed her brother, made for a warm and harmonious scene. That was what a normal, enviable sibling relationship looked like. By comparison, in Victor's eyes, her "fiancé" was surely a stain on that perfect picture, an unstable element that needed to be removed. And the bond between him and Elisa, maintained by their engagement contract and his "need for sleep," seemed so fragile and hollow at that moment.

He said nothing. Gritting his teeth, he forced his nearly useless body to move through sheer willpower and slowly, heavily made his way up the stairs. As he passed Victor and Elisa, he could clearly feel Victor's sidelong glance, still full of warning and scrutiny. Elisa, on the other hand, gave him a fleeting look with her deep violet eyes as he passed. Her gaze was calm and unreadable, and then she returned her attention to her conversation with her brother.

Leon didn't stop or look back. He went straight to his room at the end of the corridor. He pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and leaned heavily against the cold wood. Only then did he let himself relax completely and release a long, pained breath that sounded almost like a groan. Every muscle in his body seemed to protest all at once, and a wave of soreness crashed over him.

Victor's appearance had been like a cold, clear mirror, mercilessly reflecting his awkward, even pitiful, situation. He wasn't accepted or wanted. He was seen as a burden, a nuisance, and a symbol of shame.

But...

Leon raised his slightly trembling arm and looked at the muscles along his forearm, still taut from overexertion. He felt the ache deep in his bones, as if he'd been struck with a sledgehammer.

But today, he hadn't fallen into the original Leon's usual pattern of arguing, making excuses, and running away. He had silently endured Captain Hans's brutally grueling physical training, and swallowed Victor's contemptuous accusations without protest.

He had chosen silence. He had chosen patience.

This wasn't cowardly submission, but a strategy based on reality. Before he had the strength to break through prejudice and turn the situation around, pointless conflicts and feeble explanations would only expose his weakness and bring more forceful oppression and trouble. He needed time. He needed a corner where no one would notice him, so he could quietly and desperately build up his strength.

Victor Windsor... Leon repeated the name silently. His future "brother-in-law" was like a drawn sword, gleaming brightly as he protected Elisa, while also standing like a foreboding barrier in the path Leon wanted to take to change his fate. Empty promises and cheeky grins would never win his respect or change his deep-rooted prejudice. Only strength—real, undeniable power—could smash through all the scorn and obstacles.

He struggled over to the window and pushed it open, letting the cool night air brush his burning skin. Outside, the lights of the Imperial Capital gradually came on, outlining its bustling, intricate shape. Exhaustion surged against his will again and again, but now his gaze was clearer and more determined than ever.

Elisa's birthday banquet... Next month?

Perhaps it would offer a small opportunity to observe and show what he could do. Given his current "reputation," he'd most likely still be stuck playing an unwelcome supporting role, but who could say that a soul quietly transforming might not lie beneath a clown's mask?

His top priority was to recover this body from the strain as quickly as possible. Then he could continue along the difficult, hidden path of climbing two ladders at once. Captain Hans's training was an anvil that would temper his body and lay a solid foundation. It was painful, but at this stage, it was a trial he had to endure. Magic, meanwhile, was the hidden blade he meant to sharpen in secret, the key that might let him overtake the others by taking a different route.

He had to hold tight to both the anvil and the blade, tempering himself through pain and growing in silence. The road ahead was covered in thorns, but he had no choice left. He could only move forward.