The Extra Wants To Live

Bilford, who had been concentrating all his attention on the mana swirling around his body, let out a heavy breath when the mana suddenly retreated and he fell to his knees.

Even though it wasn't his own, the empty space left by the mana that had filled his body felt so large that he was overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.

"Try it yourself," Catherine's stern voice broke through his thoughts.

Bilford, ignoring the sweat pouring down his face, straightened his posture and focused on the mana again.

It had been late last year when Bilford first began to feel mana. This was thanks to Catherine infusing mana into his body every day. However, even after a year had passed, he still couldn't control it.

This was the cruel and unyielding wall that determined the limits of most knights.

One year? It wasn't even funny.

There were many knights who were frustrated because they couldn't handle mana even after devoting their entire lives!

So it might seem hasty for Bilford to be pushing himself so harshly recently. If this continued, his body would be ruined before he could handle mana.

'How long will I remain helpless?' However, Bilford was pounding on the wall of limits so passionately that even Catherine advised him to stick to his limit.

Although Bilford had done a great job in the last assassination attempt, that was because Carl first warned him of the assassination and told him the location.

If it had been an unexpected surprise attack, he wouldn't have been able to protect Carl even if he had protected himself.

During the battle with the gnolls, Bilford painfully realized his limitations. In the first battle, he had run out of stamina and was almost killed by an ordinary gnoll.

He had also been unable to kill the giant gnoll quickly, putting Carl in danger.

Bilford was still young and had a lot of room to grow. But that future possibility was of no help to Carl, who needed strength right away.

So Bilford desperately wanted mana.

If he had mana, he would be able to overcome the limits of a body that had not yet fully grown.

And Carl trusted Bilford so much.

No one would even jokingly suggest that someone could become a master before the age of 20, but Carl had spoken sincerely.

Maybe it was a young mind, but Bilford wanted to live up to Carl's expectations.

At 15 years old, Bilford had never been so trusted by someone in his life.

"Stop."

Catherine tightly grabbed Bilford's shoulder and pulled him back, stopping him from continuing to manipulate the mana even though he had already reached his limit and lost concentration.

Bilford gasped and fell limp.

"This is all for today."

"But... Ladt Catherine..."

"If you do this any longer and your body gets damaged, you will never be able to handle mana in the future."

"… … ."

Bilford bit his lip.

People from noble families were trained to sense mana from a very young age, so if they were talented, they would be able to manipulate mana before they became adults.

But for Bilford, a commoner, it was too late. Maybe he would never be able to handle mana.

"Don't be impatient. That doesn't mean you can go any faster."

"…Yes, Lady Catherine."

Bilford spoke gloomily and staggered to his feet. His sweat-soaked back was full of nervousness.

'Frustration can also be a good experience,' Catherine thought, a little relieved to see that Bilford was frustrated but had not given up.

Bilford was a very talented individual, having grown rapidly and without any obstacles from the moment he first picked up a sword.

He had been running so fast that Catherine had worried he might stumble over a very small rock and never get up again.

He had experienced frustration once in a battle with a gnoll and again due to his inability to handle mana.

It must have been a huge shock to Bilford, who believed in his overflowing talent and grew without stopping.

'Thanks to Lord Carl, he is moving in a good direction.' It could have broken him.

However, because Carl never wavered and gave endless trust, Bilford was able to get up and run vigorously without falling.

'… Well, I guess that's the same for me too,'

Catherine chuckled as she realized she was in no position to talk about Bilford.

The fallen Mold family would now control Hilfin's silver mine and gain tremendous power, and when Carl gained power, his knight Catherine would also enjoy glory.

From the moment she met that young and sickly fourth prince, everything had changed.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

'… I need to learn dual swordsmanship...'

Catherine sighed heavily and headed to the Imperial Knights' archives.

She remembered the days when she was learning as a squire.

She had craved learning back then, but it had been a while. At some point, she had stopped learning from the outside and started looking within.

That wasn't a bad thing, but it might be too arrogant for Catherine, who still had so much to learn.

***

Catherine headed to the Imperial Knights' Office late in the evening and went to the archives room, which was only accessible to the Imperial Knights.

Although she had visited the Knights' headquarters often recently, the archives felt a bit unfamiliar because it had been so long.

"Lady Catherine." As Catherine passed between the bookshelves, she heard a low voice coming from the other side.

She felt a chill down her spine, not expecting anyone else to be inside.

"Lord Gilbert." Catherine bowed her head to Commander Gilbert, who looked at her from the darkness.

"It's been a while."

"Yes."

Gilbert laughed at Catherine's still stiff attitude and waved her over.

Even though Catherine was right next to Gilbert, she couldn't feel his presence. She couldn't even feel his mana.

This was the power that should be feared by Gilbert Eville, who had held his position as the leader of the Imperial Knights for decades.

"It's been a while since anyone visited the archives after becoming a knight. What brings you here?"

Catherine felt embarrassed by his words.

Gilbert, the master, was constantly learning by reading the books in the library, but Catherine, who was just a knight, had arrogantly overlooked this valuable resource and stayed away from it.

"I came to look for information on dual swordsmanship."

"… Dual swordsmanship?" Gilbert, who had been leisurely flipping through a book, looked up at Catherine with wrinkles forming on his forehead.

It was as if a knight had told him they would learn magic and rule the world.

"… Is this for prince Carl's experience?"

"No. It is to teach Lord Carl."

"… Ho..."

Gilbert slowly rubbed his smooth, shaven chin with his rough, hard fingertips.

"Very interesting."

With a grin, Gilbert slowly got up from his seat. A knight like Catherine wouldn't immediately try to teach Carl how to use two swords just because she was curious.

'Indeed, is that so?'

Gilbert was not just a knight, nor just a knight commander. He was a powerful figure with great influence in the imperial political system, and he always listened to secret whispers with his ears wide open.

'It seems to be true that he also has talent in martial arts.'

When Gilbert met Carl, he realized that he already had mana and that he was a child of a lion who could act like a fox and whisper like a snake.

But talent for nothing?.

Gilbert walked happily and, without hesitation, picked a book from the bookshelf and held it out to Catherine.

This was something he could do because he knew everything in this archive as if he were looking into the palm of his hand.

"What is this?"

Catherine took the book and examined it. It was dark inside the archives, so the text was hard to see.

"It's a gift, Lady Catherine." Gilbert said with a bright smile, then walked leisurely back to his desk and started reading a book.

Catherine looked silently at the book in her hand, then walked over and sat down opposite Gilbert.

"… Sir, didn't you say it was a gift? Isn't it right to take it out of here?" How could I leave without checking?"

"Well, that's true. It's embarrassing."

Gilbert laughed awkwardly. Catherine turned the blank cover by the candlelight on the desk, then raised her head and looked straight at Gilbert.

"Then take it and see it, Lady Catherine, don't be embarrassed."

"Thank you, Sir Gilbert." Catherine stood up without reading any more and bowed her head politely to Gilbert to express her gratitude.

Then she went outside, holding a book written by Gilbert, the commander of the Imperial Knights.

This book was a compilation of all the records in the archives that no one had visited for decades.

Gilbert, left alone in the archives, fell into contemplation as he leisurely flipped through a book that he had already memorized, letter by letter.

'The 3rd prince, Nero, is talented, but he is shameless and therefore worthless. Even if Prince Carl's stomach explodes, he is so full of desire that he can chew and swallow it. Let's see what talent he has.'

He also thought that if someone were to become emperor, it would be nice to have someone who would support the military.

Even if the Imperial Knights were a bit distant from the military, well... Ultimately, this meant that Gilbert, at his core, was still a single warrior.