I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander

Cold sweat beaded on Hamilten’s forehead as he stepped back.

A shiver had crept over him without his realizing. He rubbed his neck and opened his mouth.

“...Have we met before?”

“Is that really what matters right now.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable question.

After an awkward pause, Hamilten frowned with one eyebrow.

“Look. I don’t know who you are, but I’m here under the Count’s orders to teach the Young Lady swordsmanship. So if you don’t mind, how about stepping aside instead of interfering?”

“Swordsmanship, you say.”

Daniel let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“You’re calling it swordsmanship—beating on a ten-year-old child. If you’re proud enough to call that education, you must’ve been raised the same way.”

The smirk vanished from Hamilten’s face.

“...I don’t know what kind of gutter you crawled out of, but you’d better watch your mouth. If you’re not careful, I might end up teaching you some swordsmanship.”

“I appreciate that. I’ve actually been feeling the urge to beat you senseless.”

“Oh? I thought you were just gutsy, but you’re actually out of your mind. You really want to go up against me?”

Daniel nodded and turned to look behind him.

“Young Lady. Please hand me a practice sword.”

But Lucy shook her head.

She knew.

She knew just how cruel the man called Hamilten really was.

If Daniel lost, he might get beaten to the brink of death.

She couldn’t allow that.

“No. If something happens to you, I...”

“Won’t you trust me?”

Daniel’s voice was warm. Lucy flinched and raised her head.

He gave her a gentle smile.

“I won’t betray your trust.”

The way he said it made it hard not to believe him.

After a moment of hesitation, Lucy finally held out the wooden sword.

Daniel accepted it, bowed his head slightly in thanks, and turned around.

Hamilten looked at him with a mix of disbelief and disdain.

“You seriously want to fight me? You’re just a servant.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“You’re out of your damn mind. Well, whatever.”

Hamilten rolled his shoulders and took a few steps back.

“You’re the one who picked this fight. I’m sure the Count will understand. I’m about to turn you into a cripple—so don’t hold a grudge.”

He planted his back foot.

He meant to lunge forward in one explosive burst, throwing the weight of his body behind the strike.

Daniel, who knew Hamilten from their past fight, took a deep breath and gripped the wooden sword tightly.

Hamilten knows how to control physical enhancement freely. If this drags on, I’ll be at a disadvantage. That means...

It had to be over quickly.

The moment Hamilten sprang off the ground, Daniel activated neural acceleration.

Within the slowed world, he could see Hamilten suspended in the air.

He could clearly trace the path of the wooden sword as it began to swing down.

I could stop him right now, but...

If he did, they might accuse him of using something other than swordsmanship—of relying on his neural acceleration.

I need to make it look like a clean win, using only technique.

As soon as that thought finished, Daniel released the acceleration.

The sword came down.

But—

Whoosh—

Daniel, who had already seen the path of the strike, dodged easily and moved into position.

“...!”

Hamilten’s eyes darted in confusion.

Wham—!

Daniel struck him hard in the side, exploiting the opening.

Hamilten staggered.

He blocked my attack? How...?

Before he could finish the thought, Daniel’s next strike followed.

Gritting his teeth, Hamilten raised his sword to defend himself.

Crack!

The wooden swords collided with a dull thud.

Unbalanced, Hamilten tried to force Daniel back with sheer strength.

...What?

Daniel spun smoothly, his blade angling toward Hamilten’s neck.

Hamilten jerked backward to avoid being hit, but lost his balance in the process.

Daniel didn’t miss the moment. He swept his leg under Hamilten’s feet.

Thud!

Hamilten hit the ground hard, dropping his sword.

“Gh...!”

Groaning, he lifted his head—and gasped.

Daniel stood over him, calm and composed, looking down as if from a great height.

“You talk about swordsmanship with this level of skill?”

“I...”

“Get lost. Unless you do want to end up a cripple.”

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Hamilten pushed himself to his feet.

He glared at Daniel, unable to accept losing to a mere servant—but he didn’t come at him again.

He’d realized the difference in skill.

Eventually, Hamilten turned and left the sparring ground. The servants who had been watching nearby hesitated, then followed after him.

Left alone with Lucy, Daniel let out a low breath.

That was close.

If Hamilten had pressed the fight, Daniel couldn’t have guaranteed victory.

Still, he was relieved things had gone well—until Lucy suddenly shouted.

“You idiot!”

Idiot? He turned, stunned.

Lucy was standing there, teeth clenched tight.

“...You’re an idiot, aren’t you? A real, total idiot. What are you even going to do now?”

“What are you referring to, ma’am?”

“Are you seriously asking? If the Count hears what just happened, you could be in danger!”

Her words were harsh, but Lucy was worried about him.

Daniel wasn’t unaware of what exactly she was concerned about—but it didn’t matter.

It wasn’t as if he’d acted without a plan.

“Young Lady. If it suits his goals, the Count would use a monkey as an instructor. So don’t worry. Once he hears about what happened today, I’ll be more likely to be hired as your swordsmanship teacher than dismissed.”

Daniel’s calm reasoning left Lucy uncertain, her expression somewhere between doubt and hope.

Looking down at her, Daniel’s face shifted into something a little colder.

“And the fool here isn’t me—it’s you, Young Lady. That bastard Hamilten was beating you. Why didn’t you ask anyone for help?”

It wasn’t until he saw Hamilten strike her with his own eyes that Daniel understood—

Why Lucy insisted on wearing long sleeves and ankle-length skirts even in the height of summer.

She didn’t want me to see the bruises.

She’d been trying not to worry him. That was why she wore those clothes.

To Daniel, it was simply unbearable.

“You could have at least told one of the servants. If you’d just said that Hamilten was using violence—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

He remembered the way the servants had passively watched Hamilten’s so-called “lessons” earlier that day.

“...Don’t tell me—no one...”

What followed was a low, sickened realization. And then: pity.

“No one ever acknowledged your pain, did they?”

Lucy kept her eyes down, silent.

She had probably cried out when the lessons first began. Had probably begged them not to hit her. To stop.

But all she’d ever seen were servants with cold, indifferent faces.

No matter how much she pleaded, all she got in return was apathy. Silence. Neglect.

So Lucy had given up.

She had come to accept that this world was built on «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» pain.

Daniel, who understood that now, dropped to one knee.

“Young Lady. Others might ignore your voice, but I never will. So if anything troubles you in the future, please come to me.”

Lucy gave a faint nod—then suddenly stepped forward.

And hugged him.

Daniel didn’t ask what the gesture meant.

He could feel her small shoulders trembling.

So he raised a hand and gently stroked her back.

As if to soothe the wounds she’d carried until now—if only a little.

****

As expected, once Count Khaledra heard what had happened at the training ground, he appointed Daniel as Lucy’s new swordsmanship instructor.

Now both her attendant and her teacher, Daniel carried out his role faithfully.

He looked after Lucy closely, guiding her with care—not violence.

And slowly, day by day, Lucy began to smile more.

Daniel didn’t know when she would regain her memories—but he was content.

He hoped, more than anything, that she could let go of the pain in her heart.

But life always has a way of sending trouble when least expected.

“You’re seriously reporting that she still hasn’t awakened any new abilities? And you think that’s worth saying out loud?”

It had been about six months since Daniel had become Lucy’s instructor.

He overheard Count Khaledra speaking in the garden with one of his subordinates.

Curious, Daniel hid behind a pillar in the corridor, straining to hear.

“...Then there’s no helping it. I can’t allow any trace of the human experimentation to remain. At dawn tomorrow, dispose of Lucy Emilia.”

And in that moment, Daniel understood.

The timeline of this world had changed.