I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

Camellia couldn’t believe her eyes when she first saw Lancelot, or Raven, in the sewers. She had accepted that he was dead and was ready to let him go, but to see him again was something she could not accept. After all, not everything in life is predictable. But… she couldn’t believe that her father, who was so just and strong, was a member of the same organization that had hurt Werner.

Even while Werner was away in the royal capital to hold the leader accountable, Camellia was in her room, denying reality. How could her father, who valued peace and order so much, be a part of such an organization? No matter how many times she denied it, the face she saw in the sewers was her father’s. No matter how many times she denied it, that voice was his.

“Father…”

Camellia tried to retrieve the memories she had forced into the swamp of oblivion.

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In a fragrant bamboo forest, a young girl and a man were practicing swordsmanship in an oriental style.

The wooden sword cut through the air with a swish, striking the straw target with a dull thud.

The half-elf girl with black hair, Camellia, looked at her father with expectant eyes. She was sure she had succeeded, believing that her father would praise her for mastering the technique in just a week.

However, Raven, her father, spoke with a coldness that chilled her to the bone.

“Your shoulders are too tense. Start over.”

With that, Raven slammed his wooden sword into the ground, making a sound that made Camellia shrink back. She had no choice but to continue repeating the sword techniques her father had taught her.

“Your balance is off. Start over.”

She repeated the movement.

“You’re too slow, and your wrists are weak. Start over.”

She repeated it again.

“This is a complete mess. You’re slow, your posture is off, and your side is exposed. Start over.”

She repeated it again and again.

“Didn’t I tell you to focus your gaze? Start over.”

Camellia was now exhausted, her arms barely able to move. Swinging the wooden sword with iron rods from dawn to noon was a grueling training for a 10-year-old child. Learning Raven’s sword techniques, which were as fierce as the wind, as graceful as water, and as solid as the earth, was not an easy task.

“If you don’t want to do this, you can give up. After all, it was you who begged me to teach you the sword in the first place.”

Raven looked at Camellia with a dissatisfied expression. He had never wanted to teach his daughter the sword, and he was only doing so because she had thrown a tantrum.

“I… can do it…”

Camellia struggled to stand up, using her wooden sword as a cane. Her body felt heavy, and her limbs were trembling after swinging the sword for over six hours without rest. Since she wasn’t gifted in magic, swordsmanship was her only option. But the training her father, who had reached the pinnacle of sword mastery, put her through was not easy.

She forced herself to strike the straw target again. Raven sighed, and Camellia flinched, afraid that he would tell her to start over again.

“That should be enough. Good job.”

Hearing those words, Camellia lay down on the ground as if it were her bed. Her training clothes were soaked in sweat, and her body felt weak.

“Haa… Haa… Did I succeed, right…?”

“Don’t be overconfident. You’ve only just learned the basic technique.”

“Yes…”

Camellia spoke in a small voice, hoping for more praise from her father. But all she heard was “good job,” and nothing else. She had been scolded for two weeks, and she had hoped for some praise, but Raven was cold.

“This is the second technique.”

Raven swung his wooden sword lightly. Although it was a wooden sword, the straw target tied with rope was cut into five pieces and fell to the ground.

“Repeat this 100 times, and there will be no rest before that.”

Camellia knew that saying she was tired or that it was difficult wouldn’t work, so she forced her body to move. Just before her wooden sword struck the straw target, a gentle voice spoke.

“Stop it, both of you.”

Camellia and Raven’s eyes locked onto a blonde woman.

“Mother!”

“What are you doing here…?”

“You two went out at the crack of dawn, and it’s already noon. You haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.”

The blonde woman, with her hands on her hips, scolded them. In her arms, she carried a basket filled with food.

“Mother, I’m still training…”

“Training or not, you can’t starve a child.”

“Haa… but…”

Camellia’s mother, Isabel, was a strong woman. Even if her husband was strong, she was not the type to kneel and submit.

“Light, explode and rebuke!”

Raven was almost swept away by a pillar of light that appeared out of nowhere. If it weren’t for his wooden sword, he would have been slammed into the wall.

“Alright, let’s eat… I mean, have lunch.”

“Haa… Alright.”

Camellia sat quietly and bit into a sandwich her mother had made. The sandwich, filled with cheese, ham, lettuce, and tomatoes, was enough to fill a hungry child’s stomach.

“My daughter, you’ve been working hard learning the sword.”

“No, Mother. I don’t have the magical talent that you and my brother have, so I have to work hard at swordsmanship.”

Isabel was once a renowned mage, but she had given up all her glory and lived as a housewife on a distant continent after falling in love with Raven.

At Camellia’s words about working hard at swordsmanship, Isabel smacked her on the head.

“Swordsmanship isn’t a substitute for not being able to use magic, my dear.”

Camellia rubbed her head and replied.

“Yes, Mother…”

Isabel asked Raven a question.

“So, is our Camellia keeping up with her lessons?”

Camellia’s heart sank. She was afraid that her mother would be disappointed if she told her that it took her a week to learn just the basics.

“She learned the basics in a week.”

“Hmm.”

Camellia put down her sandwich. She didn’t want to feel her parents’ disappointed gaze.

“She has some talent, I’d say.”

“That’s good. One of my previous disciples took half a year to learn the basics.”

“That disciple also had some talent, which was the problem.”

“It’s good that our daughter is a genius. She’s a genius at this rate.”

Camellia was dumbfounded. She had never received any praise before. She had expected her parents to be disappointed, but instead, they were praising her.

“Am I a genius…?”

“Haa… I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to become arrogant, but Isabel, it’s all over now.”

“It’s not that bad… and our daughter isn’t the type to become arrogant just from some praise.”

Isabel hugged Camellia tightly in defense. Raven scratched his head and eventually sat down in front of Camellia, picking up a piece of sandwich.

“I won’t use the word genius. I don’t want to insult your achievement of training non-stop for a week by calling it talent.”

Camellia was dumbfounded. Her stoic father was praising her talent.

“But if you continue with today’s posture, you might become a better swordsman than me.”

“Is that so…?”

“And when that day comes, I will pass on my sword to you.”

Camellia looked at the sword that Raven always wore on his waist. It was a famous sword made to eradicate evil and protect the weak.

“So, keep up the effort.”

Even though Raven’s words were as stoic as ever, Camellia could respond with a cheerful laugh for the first time in a long time.

“Yes! I’ll do my best, Father!”

It was a very short break, but the memory of that day remained in Camellia’s mind for life.

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Camellia looked at the sword she had inherited from her father and carefully drew it out. She couldn’t believe that her father, who had spent his life eradicating evil and protecting the weak, had joined that organization. Her reunion with her father, whom she had searched for all her life, was cruel.

“Father… if you… if you want to harm him, I…”

[I have nothing to say to you.]

The changed figure of her father and the image of Werner, which had grown so much within her.

Camellia was still conflicted. She didn’t know what to do.