Chapter 801 – 801. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
“…….”
I closed my mouth. My head was a mess with the unbelievable information.
Leaving aside all my emotions, I organized only the facts.
Yuria had lost her memories and her power. From an Upper-level Aura Master to a Lower-level Aura Expert. This was like falling from a fighter jet to a bicycle.
‘What was the cause of that?’
There was only one thing I could guess.
The trial of the blue dagger relic.
‘Did Yuria give up on the trial? Or did she fail?’
I gave up on the trial and died with my heart exploding. If it was Yuria, she would have taken some measures before her heart exploded. She somehow protected her life, but as a side effect, she lost her memories and power.
‘…No. That’s me thinking too positively.’
Thinking more rationally, Yuria’s current state is likely in the middle of the trial.
Yuria has the Absolute Mind trait that I shared with her. Whether losing her memories is a mental effect is another matter, but mental attacks or interference are completely ineffective against her. Unless she allows it.
“Judging by your face, it seems like you’ve figured something out, Master.”
“……I’ll explain on the way. Where is Yuria right now?”
“She’s in the annex. The maids found her wandering around the annex blankly. They moved to report to you right away, so I haven’t grasped the details yet.”
“Which annex is it?”
Currently, my mansion has five annexes besides the main building. One for training, one for playing, one for lodging, and one for guests. There are two annexes for training, and I was planning to add another annex next month.
“It’s the first training annex. The head maid was wearing workout clothes. It seems like something happened while she was training.”
“So, Yuria’s condition is because of the relic after all….”
“Relic?”
I explained the relic to her. Melissa nodded.
“Indeed… that’s the only possible reason for the head maid’s condition.”
Soon, we arrived at the first training annex. We headed towards the place where the commotion was felt. At the end of the first-floor hallway, I found Yuria standing blankly among the maids. As Melissa had said, she was wearing black workout clothes. It was a training suit similar to yoga wear, so the lines of her body were all visible.
“Head Maid! Do you really have no memories?”
“If the head maid is gone, the mansion will collapse….”
“Actually, my salary for this month is late. Please pay it additionally!”
“Hey, this is a serious situation. Don’t joke around.”
“The Master has arrived.”
The chattering maids stepped aside like a receding tide as soon as they saw me. I strode towards Yuria. Yuria’s blue eyes looked at me. Shaking pupils and hunched shoulders. It was a completely different atmosphere from the usual Yuria.
The energy I felt was weak. As Melissa had said, it was clear that she had weakened.
“Yuria! Did you really lose your memories? Don’t you remember who I am?”
I asked, grabbing Yuria’s shoulders. Yuria flinched.
“I… I don’t know. I don’t remember anything….”
“…….”
I felt my strength draining away at her response, which sounded anxious.
Actually, I had been secretly hoping. Like last time, when we entered the story of [The Lady and the Butler], I wondered if Yuria was acting.
But the Yuria I saw was truly unable to remember me. There was no reason for her to play such a serious prank on me.
As my hands lost strength, Yuria stepped back, moving away from me. I resisted the urge to approach Yuria again and hug her.
“I’m sorry, Yuria. I was too flustered when I heard you lost your memories. Let me introduce myself calmly. I am Eugene Pruker. The master of the head maid, Yuria Grace.”
“Ah, yes…. Master… you are.”
Yuria’s voice was trembling. She lacked confidence. She seemed unsure how to react.
“Yuria. How much do you remember? Do you know who you are?”
“……I don’t have any memories that come to mind. I only just learned my name. Was I really a maid in this mansion?”
“It’s not a lie. You’ve been my exclusive maid for over ten years.”
“…I see.”
Yuria nodded in agreement. I don’t know if she really agreed.
I held out my hand to Yuria. Yuria was confused, not understanding the meaning.
“Give me your hand for a moment.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
Yuria carefully raised her right hand. I used mana to examine her physical condition. On the surface, there was nothing wrong, but there must be a problem inside. It didn’t make sense that she would weaken just because she lost her memories.
“……!!”
I was shocked.
Her meridians, or mana roads as they are called in this world, were all twisted. Some were completely closed. In this state, it was impossible to even move, let alone use mana.
But Yuria was moving. She didn’t show any signs of pain. She was looking at me, surprised by my shock while holding her hand.
‘At this level, she should be a cripple…. Why is mana circulating?’
An Aura Expert is impossible. According to my common sense, she should be at the level of an ordinary person at best. But mana was moving in her body. An impossible thing, something that defied my common sense, was happening before my eyes.
‘A small amount of mana is entering through her breathing… and mana is moving every time her heart beats…. Is her heart beating fast now to move mana?’
I belatedly remembered that Yuria’s body had evolved due to the ‘Codex of Prox’. She could accumulate mana in her body just by breathing, like a dragon. Normally, that shouldn’t be possible.
“Is there any part of your body that feels uncomfortable?”
“No. It felt like something was entering my body… perhaps… were you checking my physical condition?”
“I was just checking in case, since you lost your memories. Your body seems fine.”
I asked her various questions. Where her memories started, about language and writing, and about herself.
As a result, she had no memories of herself or others. Her knowledge was also jumbled. She had basic etiquette and information about objects, but she knew nothing about the Yeongcheon Style, Shadow Magic, or the history of the Lapelli Kingdom.
“Master. I understand that you’re flustered by this sudden situation, but the head maid looks tired. Wouldn’t it be better to let her rest for now?”
I looked at Yuria’s face again, noticing her tired expression, thanks to Melissa’s suggestion.
“…Sorry. I think I pushed you too hard.”
“Ah, no. Master.”
“Let’s just ask two important questions. You said you realized you were in the underground training room. Was there a blue dagger around you?”
“There wasn’t anything like that.”
“Do you know anything about the trial?”
“Trial? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I was doubtful, but there was nothing I could do. The underground training room that Yuria used was not equipped with CCTV, so it was difficult to find out.
As I was about to step back, I made eye contact with Yuria. After talking, it seemed that her wariness and anxiety towards me had eased to some extent.
I felt an irresistible urge. I approached Yuria, grabbed her shoulders and waist with both hands, and kissed her.
“Huuup…!”
Yuria’s eyes widened. Her body stiffened. I explored her lips and tongue as usual. My tongue entered her mouth and danced around. If it had been Yuria before she lost her memories, she wouldn’t have been flustered and would have intertwined her tongue with mine. But now, her tongue was stuck to the bottom of her mouth, not knowing what to do.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
I put strength into the hand holding her waist and ravaged Yuria’s tongue even more fiercely. Just as Yuria’s tongue was starting to move a little, she put strength into her hand and pushed my shoulder. I remembered that she had lost her memories and willingly backed away.
“I did it as usual… I’m sorry if it was unpleasant.”
“Ah, no…. It’s not that….”
Yuria mumbled, covering her mouth. I turned my head to Melissa.
“Melissa. Please take care of Yuria.”
“Hmm? Are you just going to leave the head maid like this?”
“She looks tired. I’m going to let her rest until dinner.”
“That’s strange. Do you have something else to do?”
“I was originally on my way to meet Floy.”
“I see. Did something else happen?”
“Because we’re at war.”
Even if the mansion was peaceful, the outside was chaotic. Even the residents of the territory, who were less affected by the war, were suffering due to the soaring food prices.
“Okay. I’ll take care of the head maid. It seems like you have something else in mind, Master.”
“Of course, I do. I’m going to try to help Yuria remember by looking back at old memories.”
“…I don’t really trust that….”
I left them behind and headed to my office in the main building.
Floy was sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and waiting.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Did you wait long?”
“I waited for about an hour, but I have plenty of time, so it’s fine. More importantly, I heard rumors that the head maid lost her memories and weakened?”
“What? The rumors have already spread?”
“I heard it in passing. Even after thinking about it, it was such a ridiculous story that I didn’t believe it… but seeing your reaction, it seems the rumors are true.”
“The rumors are true. But Yuria is still Yuria.”
“If it’s the head maid, she’ll return to normal soon enough. Master, now is the time to pay attention to the political situation.”
Floy looked into my eyes and set the mood. She had noticed that I had been distracted by thinking about Yuria. I scratched the back of my head and tried to erase Yuria from my mind.
“Okay. What’s going on? If it’s about the war with the Valt Kingdom, it should be going smoothly?”
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be going so smoothly. A messenger from the main army came earlier.”
“It wouldn’t be to bring words of congratulations…. What’s the order?”
“It’s a report and an order, to be exact.”
“A report?”
“It’s a report about the recent battles. To summarize, your brothers, Gent Pruker and Kyle Pruker, have failed.”
My mouth fell open. It was unexpected news.
I knew that they had received similar missions to mine. Compared to me, Gent’s army was larger. He had many well-trained elite soldiers, and at least 100 knights followed him. Recently, I’ve heard information that he’s increasing his forces even more.
Kyle Pruker’s army is smaller. But each individual is formidable. The soldiers are veterans who are beyond the word elite, and the knights who have gathered under him are all veterans.
In particular, the adventurers and mercenaries who have sworn loyalty to Kyle are not to be underestimated. Some of them, if they grow even more, could be called heroes.
“I can’t believe they both failed. Is it true?”
“Would a messenger from the main army lie? It’s true. However, saying they failed only means they failed to capture the enemy territory within the time limit set by the commander-in-chief. They neither won nor lost. They are currently in a stalemate.”
At this point, even I can guess what kind of order it will be.
“Father’s order must be that. Support.”
“That’s right. But you don’t need to support both of them. You can choose one of them to support.”
“If I don’t choose them, will they just die?”
“Of course not. The main army will move another unit.”
Floy spread a map on the desk. Red and blue circles were marked on the map.
“The red one is Gent, and the blue one is Kyle. Their opponents are Count Juliard and Baron Mavelot, respectively. The siege period is getting longer. Our mission is to go and support them within a week, assess the situation, and either help the army capture the enemy or retreat.”
I frowned.
A week.
There wasn’t much time. Looking at the distance, I would have to leave by tomorrow evening at the latest.
As I silently looked at the map, Floy calmly said,
“Count Juliard’s territory has many plains. It’s easy to ride a horse. But Count Juliard’s soldiers number about 25,000, and if you include the reserves, you have to consider 30,000. Mavelot Castle has a river flowing around it. Approaching recklessly is suicide. But the enemy army is about 10,000, so their numbers are small. Which side will you support?”
“……I don’t know. I should ask Yuria….”
I closed my mouth. Yuria was not in a position to help me right now. Having lost her memories, she knew nothing about Juliard or Mavelot.
“It’s not good to say this, but the head maid losing her memories might be a good thing for you, Master. You rely too much on the head maid. I know how amazing the head maid is, but our lord is not the head maid, but you. You should think and decide.”
