Leave a comment

……

Many years ago.

The Overlord of Yunyang’s mansion was extraordinary, with an imposing air to it, and that was directly related to how financially capable Yunyang Territory was. It was so much that each son of the Overlord of Yunyang had their own personal band of guards. The identity of these guards were clean and basically consisted of family servants loyal to the Overlord or homeless talented elites.

What’s going to be described next is a bit more complex. See, people who have real strength usually don’t sell their lives, but rather serve as a ‘Guest Official’ over at the Overlord’s mansion. On the other hand, those who don’t have any power and nowhere to go are usually the ones picked to become guards. On the surface they all serve the Overlord, but it’s vastly different in reality. Guest officials are ‘visitors’ while guards are servants.

On a snowy night, a female housekeeper from the Overlord’s Mansion picked up a little girl from the wastelands.

She looked very young, malnourished, and was covered in all sorts of wounds.

“My god, who did such a horrible thing……to cut such a young baby into this appearance……”

That day, the little lass was brought back to the Overlord’s Mansion.

As a commoner lower than a servant.

The female housekeeper said, ‘The Overlord’s Mansion doesn’t lack servants. If you want to stay here, you will have to assiduously practice and strive to become a guard.’

The little lass clumsily held a sword, swinging it downwards over and over, practicing day after day.

But on the day that the Overlord’s children came to select their personal guards, the skinny lass stood in an unremarkable corner, clenching her sword. From the beginning until the end, she was of no interest to anyone.

She wanted to show the calluses on her hands to those passing by, she wanted to tell them how hard she practiced every day, how she would someday become of use to them.

Moreover, how she could wash clothes, cook food, and chop firewood to start a fire.

That she wasn’t a useless child.

But nobody wanted to understand her, nobody wanted to hear her words.

She tried pulling on the hem of a big brother much bigger than her to get his attention and hesitatingly said:

“Uhm, I……”

What she received from that person was unbridled laughter.

She remembered the Overlord’s son stooping down, lifting her chin up, and carefully sizing her up.

At that time, the lass was short, panda-eyed, had disheveled hair, and smelled like vegetables due to malnourishment and assiduous practice. That son released his hand, snorted, and kicked her onto the ground.

“It’s fine if you don’t know swordsmanship, but for you to also be so ugly……you don’t even have the qualifications to become my plaything. Get lost! Roll out of our Overlord’s Mansion, trash……remember this well, don’t bother me again, I, Li Yi, will never raise such an appetite-spoiling thing like you.”

The lass held her stomach that the boy had kicked into a spectacular mess, trying her hardest to not shed out a single tear.

All because the female housekeeper said that a girl’s crying isn’t good to look at.

But it’s so painful, really……painful……

It felt as if someone had grasped her heart and every breath she took was accompanied with extreme suffering.

She sat in a muddy corner watching everyone on the exercise stage, full of vigor and high spirits.

Those who had been selected as a guard member walked past her eyes with contented expressions.

Those who jeered at her simply didn’t hold anything back.

“Look……I knew it……”

“She’s nothing more than a ******* that was picked up, did she really think she could snatch our livelihood?”

“Now that you’ve seen reality, get the hell out. Hahaha……you were scolded into this appearance by that Overlord’s son, I wonder how you still have the cheek to stay here!!”

“Yo, little thing, how come you’re not practicing your swordplay today? Are you even able to split a wooden stake into two? Hahahaha——”

Everyone was laughing.

Everyone wore smiling faces.

Everyone was looking at her with a pair of mocking eyes.

Even the housekeeper that originally brought her back was slowly retreating upon seeing this scene.

What a joke……you’ve already dirtied that sir Li Yi’s eyes, do you think you will really be able to continue living in Yunyang’s Overlord’s Mansion?

Who doesn’t know that the eldest son Li Yi will be Yunyang’s future Overlord……

The lass tightly held the sword in her bosom and curled into a small ball, her tears pitter-pattering onto the mud.

Who cares if it’s ugly to look at, nobody likes me in any case.

Then cry. I’ll feel better after crying for a bit……

Suddenly, she seemed to feel the background noises gradually die down.

In the silence, the lass opened her tear-filled eyes and looked in front of her.

One of the guards that had just been talking about her had been kicked onto the ground by a boy around her age.

The surrounding people didn’t dare to even breathe.

She watched as that boy walked towards her and heard some barely audible comments to the side.

“Fourth son……”

“What does sir fourth son want to do?”

The lass timidly looked at him and saw that the boy was walking towards her. She shrunk her body, very afraid that she would suffer another kick.

But that luxuriously clothed boy squatted down with a dandy-ish smile and seemed casual as he asked:

“Want to follow me?”

She remembered that at that time, the people in the surroundings started protesting.

“Fourth son, she’s merely a waste! It’s highly inappropriate for someone like her to serve as your guard!”

“That’s right fourth son, which one of us isn’t stronger than her?!”

“I volunteer to be your guard, please…….”

The lass’ mood suddenly declined again.

That’s right, I’m just a……

The boy turned his head and gently said with a warm smile:

“I, Li De, don’t need you to teach me how to do things.”

He draped his precious coat onto the lass’ filthy body.

A strand of warmth seeped into the lass’ back.

He grinned and stretched out his hand to the battered and exhausted lass before his eyes.

“From today onwards, you are my, Li De’s, sole guard. Hold your sword steady, since from today onwards, I confer you the title ‘knight’! ……The only thing requested of you is your loyalty and that you will carry it out until the final moment.”

After he finished speaking, he stood up, turned around and waited a bit.

The lass stood up swaying, then quickly followed him.

That day, she closely held that fourth son’s clothes as she walked down a very long road.

That day, she told a stranger her name for the very first time.

Her name was……Aleya.

Many years later, Aleya became the most beautiful girl in the Overlord’s Mansion. Apart from her lacking chest, her facial features and stature crushed the harems that the Overlord father and son had. Her sword skills also became increasingly concise and perfect, with a faint profundity emerging. Anyone could see that with this rate of growth, she would definitely become the most outstanding youth swordsman in Yunyang Territory. On the other hand, the one who had selected her oh-so-many years ago, Li De, was living a lavish life every day and public opinion of him was gradually deteriorating.

Everyone was saying ‘this dandy youngster doesn’t deserve to possess such a good guard’.

Li De’s big brother, the eldest son, Li Yi, agreed with this sentiment.

Thus, the eldest son called Aleya into his room one night, smiling as he offered her all sorts of benefits and issued all kinds of guarantees.

“It’s impossible for that little brother of mine to inherit the seat of Overlord, but I can. If you follow me, then you’ll be the mistress of Yunyang and possess an endless amount of money as well as innumerable treasures. No longer will you need to risk your life, no longer will you need to work as if your life depends on it……I mean look, what is my little brother thinking, to let such a beautiful woman act as an insignificant guard! Aleya, this noble son guarantees you that from now on, I will definitely——”

As he spoke, he stretched his hand towards Aleya’s shoulder.

Aleya’s hand greeted his face.

This would be her first time she would be cursing in her life as she awkwardly copied her young master’s appearance and replied to Li Yi:

“Go **** your mother.”