Chapter 230: Epilogue of Lord of Happiness [2]

Chapter 229

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Episode 58 - Epilogue of Lord of Happiness [2]

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It was about twenty years ago.

Raon gazed at the gravestone where his late master rested—the man he had followed since childhood, the one who had taught him everything he knew.

— —’Master, why did you become a Knight?’

— —’Because it was my dream ever since I was a child. I still remember the day an Order of Knights saved my village from a massacre.’

— —’So you admire Knights, and that’s why you wanted to become one.’

— —’You’re sharp, aren’t you, Raon?... But that’s not the whole story.’

— —’Huh, why not?’

— —’My dream of becoming a Knight was born from the words the Knight who saved me said. In this era, children have rarely known what happiness is, Raon. That Knight kept me from clinging to death just because I had lost my family.’

Over the years, Raon remembered every word and every piece of advice his master had given him.

Ever since he had walked beside him as his Squire and disciple.

As time passed, Raon gradually came to understand why his master admired and respected Knights so deeply.

And it had all begun with just a few words from the Knight who had saved his life.

His master kept moving forward without clinging to the past.

In time, he became a great Knight—the one Raon laughed and joked with every day.

Now, standing before his grave, tears streamed down Raon’s face as memories of the past filled his mind.

"I’ll stay true to your words, Master."

Raon treasured every word his master had ever spoken to him.

That was why he refused to let grief over his loss—or his attachment to the days when they laughed together every morning—hold him back.

Clinging to the past was never what his master would have wanted.

Raon rose from the ground, gave his master’s gravestone one last look, and then turned away.

A bright smile rested on his face, because his master had always told him that even in life’s darkest moments, he should wear a smile instead of a gloomy expression.

***

To Raon, fate was deeply ironic.

"Your name is Williams, right?"

"Y-yes... Sir."

"You can call me Sir Raon. I’ll become a great Knight someday."

"O-okay... Sir Raon."

"Hahaha, good. Now let’s get out of here, and don’t look back."

"Mhm..."

He still remembered the day his master had rescued him.

Ironically, his master had once been saved by a Knight. Then he became a Knight himself... and later saved him.

And even though Raon wasn’t a Knight back then, he had still saved a child.

It was the very image of a Knight saving a child who had lost his family.

It was strangely ironic, and perhaps it was simply fate.

Maybe the boy named Williams would one day become a Knight and, in turn, save another child who had lost their family.

And the story would repeat itself again and again.

Until someday, a hero or heroine managed to stop it before another child ever had to suffer the pain of losing their family.

A hero or heroine who protected those families because their own past had not been so different.

Raon believed that this cycle of saving a child, becoming a Knight, and then saving another child would one day come to an end.

Perhaps tomorrow... or perhaps decades, even centuries, from now.

"S-Sir Raon... where are Mom and Dad?"

"They’ve... gone to a better place, Williams. And don’t worry. They’ll be watching over you wherever they are."

"But I can promise you this—they’ll be happier than anything if you don’t cling to the past. So come with me... and give me your biggest smile."

Raon gently ruffled Williams’ hair as the boy walked forward without looking back.

There was admiration in his eyes... and gratitude as well.

They were the same eyes Raon remembered having when his master had rescued him all those years ago.

’The story never really changes, does it?’

A bittersweet smile spread across his face.

***

"Congratulations, Knight of Honor."

"Sir Raon, congratulations on becoming a Knight. You were the one who saved my daughter, and I truly hope you’ll find happiness."

"Sir Raon, congratulations..."

"May your life be filled with honor and virtue, and may you remain as kind as the day you saved so many families. Congratulations, Sir Raon, on becoming such a great Knight."

Raon didn’t know when people had started calling him the Knight of Honor.

But he couldn’t deny that he loved the title.

Any Knight would feel proud knowing that the people they had saved had given them such an honorable name.

Raon smiled as he greeted everyone he had rescued since the day he began chasing his dream.

Many years had passed since his master’s death.

Behind him, riding on horseback, was his new Squire—Williams.

Before earning the title of Knight, Raon couldn’t truly say he had a Squire. But now, standing before so many people with his title officially recognized, he could proudly declare that the boy behind him was his Squire.

Raon couldn’t deny the overwhelming happiness he felt as he drew closer and closer to his dream.

Although his master’s dream had been to become a Knight, Raon’s dream was to become a Guardian Knight.

A Knight whose duty was to protect the heir of a noble house.

A Guardian Knight was a title filled with achievement, virtue, and honor—something every Knight chasing a dream longed to attain.

Then, that very night, a noble family asked him to become the Guardian Knight of their daughter.

A little girl full of smiles and joy. She was the only daughter of the noble family that had reached out to him.

Raon, of course, had no reason to refuse.

The noble family he now served was kind. They weren’t arrogant, ill-tempered, or despicable like so many other nobles.

The little girl now under his protection as a Guardian Knight was adorable and full of innocence.

Every single day, she wore a bright smile that naturally made the corners of Raon’s lips curl upward as well.

Becoming a Guardian Knight was the greatest happiness of Raon’s life. But nothing in life was ever made of happiness alone.

***

Wars between kingdoms during the Dark Era were nothing unusual.

If anything, they were the norm.

The world was overrun by monsters from another realm.

The countries and the vast lands that had once been covered in vibrant green had withered away.

The skies, once a beautiful blue filled with drifting clouds, had turned completely black, blanketed by endless rain and dark storms.

And every battlefield was stained a deep crimson.

Raon experienced the loss of countless people.

His body constantly carried the scent of blood, and his expression grew darker with each passing day.

Even so, he always tried to wear a genuine smile whenever he could.

And whenever he returned to the little girl he protected as her Guardian Knight, that smile was no longer just to reassure the Knights he had led through countless bloody wars.

It was also meant to reassure her.

But he knew that smile was nothing more than a mask.

The Kingdom had betrayed him.

The way the nobles looked at him had changed.

They called him a traitor, a criminal, a villain—a man hiding behind the title of Knight.

Even after they left the Kingdom, merchants still looked at him with contempt.

And not only him, but Williams and Vilenia as well.

Because in everyone’s eyes, that noble girl still had a traitor serving as her Guardian Knight.

That was what they all believed.

Yet that little girl never cared about what anyone else had to say.

And Raon always held his head high, even when people insulted him or shouted curses at him.

When the King decided to kill the people he had sworn to protect, Raon vowed to take his revenge.

He would leave the Kingdom, but everything they had done to him would remain etched into his heart.

Even three years after leaving the Kingdom, the hardships never came to an end.

Then the Psychopathic Knight appeared—the man responsible for everything Raon had suffered.

Even though Raon couldn’t do anything against him.

Even though the man looked down on him right to his face without making the slightest effort to hide it.

Raon continued to remember his master’s words.

He looked around and saw the people who still stood beside him.

So when the Psychopathic Knight challenged him to a Sacred Duel, Raon knew it was nothing more than an excuse to kill him.

But even though his body could no longer endure, and despite being a sickly Knight, he accepted anyway.

Yet fate had always been strange.

When Williams took his place and defeated the Psychopathic Knight, restoring his honor, his achievements, and the image of the great Knight he had once been...

Raon remembered his master’s words.

The words he had forgotten.

— —’Don’t let your emotions control you. If someone—or even the whole world—wrongs you while you’re innocent, then fate will bring them karma, and they’ll pay a heavy price for what they’ve done.’

’How could I have forgotten those words?’

He had let his emotions consume him, desperate to fulfill his revenge before dying.

But when Williams won the Sacred Duel and those words came back to him, Raon was finally able to find peace.

Now, leaning against the only tree with green leaves he had seen in the past three years...

Raon looked straight ahead.

His eyelids felt heavy, his body had reached its limit, and he simply sat there, quietly taking in the scenery before him.

There was serenity on his face.

An expression of happiness.

A warm smile as he reflected on the life he had lived.

"It’s my turn to rest now... isn’t it, Master?"

Now he finally understood why his master had spoken those very same words in the final moments of his life.

Because the rest of a great Knight was the reward for living the life he had always wanted.

Raon closed his eyes.

A smile rested on his face. A warm smile. A joyful smile. The smile of someone finally at peace.

And a smile of happiness...

End of the Training Arc.

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Yes, I could have called this arc the <Lord of Happiness Arc>. However, I’d like to remind everyone that this arc was mainly focused on advancing to the Five-Star stage and on Adel’s training.

Even so, I enjoyed writing Raon’s story so much that I wanted to give him a proper ending. That’s why the Training Arc ended up being longer than I originally planned.