Becoming the seventh Sword Saint of Jinas didn't change Riezel's life much.
He was only awarded a medal, not a title of nobility, so aside from gaining the honor and the title of 'Sword Saint', nothing else in his life really changed.
After the award ceremony finished, Riezel immediately returned to the Frenzel residence, continuing to accept challenges from many swordsmen as always.
Naturally, the arena outside the Frenzel residence remained as lively as ever, with crowds gathering daily.
However, the only difference was that, from this day forward, there was no longer a young swordswoman challenging Riezel daily.
Lizbeth no longer arrived early every morning to challenge Riezel but stayed by his side, following him wherever he went.
Seeing this, the other swordsmen quickly noticed.
Watching Lizbeth, who now stayed close to Riezel, never leaving his side and patiently waiting while he accepted challenges in the arena without stepping up to fight herself, they exchanged confused looks.
Soon after, they learned a shocking piece of news from one of the Frenzel family's knights.
Lizbeth had become Riezel's attendant after forming an attendant contract with him, which meant she would no longer challenge him in the arena.
"No, Miss Lizbeth! Why?!"
"Y-Y-You... Why did you become someone else's attendant?!"
"If she's not gonna challenge anymore, does that mean we won't get to see Miss Lizbeth's awesome performances in the arena again?"
"DAMN IT! MY YOUTH IS OVER—!!!"
Several male swordsmen, upon hearing the news, wailed on the spot, with some even bursting into tears.
After all, their dream girl was not only no longer stepping into the arena to showcase her 'skills' but had also become someone else's attendant. To make things worse, this 'someone else' was a young, handsome, and powerful man.
Did that mean he could make her do whatever he wanted, any way he wanted?
A group of male swordsmen immediately felt as though their dreams were shattered, their souls crushed, causing them to drop to their knees, unable to get up, looking like devoted fans who had just discovered their favorite idol was married.
Of course, some swordsmen, whether male or female, reacted differently. After learning the news, they looked at Lizbeth with envy and jealousy.
Becoming the attendant of a Sword Saint?
It was an opportunity most swordsmen would kill for!
It couldn't be helped.
Becoming a Sword Saint's attendant was only possible with Riezel, after all.
Other Sword Saints were, in the end, just swordsmen, not magicians, so they couldn't use the magic required for an attendant contract.
Riezel, on the other hand, was both a Sword Saint and a Tactical-Class Magician, so he could easily perform the attendant contract—something other Sword Saints couldn't do.
Given this, Lizbeth becoming Riezel's attendant meant she had a Sword Saint to guide her whenever she needed it.
Wasn't that the kind of opportunity any swordsman would dream of?
At least, many of the more serious swordsmen present couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy and jealousy, causing their minds to race.
'If Miss Lizbeth can become Sir Riezel's attendant, do we stand a chance too?'
Such a thought eventually crept into the minds of several swordsmen.
From their perspective, Lizbeth had likely earned Riezel's attention by challenging him persistently every day and showing exceptional skill and willpower, which led him to choose her as his attendant.
If that was the case, then didn't it mean that if they also continued to challenge Riezel with determination and impressive performances every day, they might have a chance at becoming his attendant and receiving his guidance at any time?
With such a thought, the swordsmen's hearts began to burn with excitement.
As a result, Riezel's arena became even more crowded and lively than before.
—As long as you perform well enough, there's a chance to become the Lightning Sword Saint's attendant.
Such news spread quickly, attracting more and more swordsmen to the Frenzel residence to challenge Riezel.
Riezel was, of course, more than happy with this outcome since the more challengers there were, the better it was for him. He was already looking forward to it, curious about how much his status would improve after battling thousands of challengers daily for more than half a month.
Lizbeth, on the other hand, felt bad as she looked at the male swordsmen kneeling on the ground, crying their eyes out, seemingly heartbroken.
'Everyone is expecting me to fight, but I let them down... I feel so bad...' Lizbeth thought, feeling guilty.
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it.
Marilyn had already told her that, as an attendant, the biggest taboo was going against their master's sword, especially in public. Drawing their sword against their own master would be a great disrespect, something that would damage their master's dignity—an absolute no-go.
In the end, she had to muster the courage to face the crowd of heartbroken swordsmen.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you all!"
Lizbeth bowed deeply, a graceful motion that caused the sobbing to stop suddenly.
At this moment, all the men's eyes almost instinctively landed on her chest as she apologized.
"Actually, there are some things I can't do with my master during the day, so I have to save them for the night... I'm really sorry! Please forgive me!" Lizbeth explained and apologized again.
What she said wasn't wrong.
During the day, Riezel had to accept challenges from others in front of everyone, and as his attendant, she couldn't draw her sword against him at that time.
Fortunately, once the challenges were over and night fell, Riezel would give her guidance in swordsmanship. At that point, they could spar a bit, which was why Lizbeth had said something like that.
However, upon hearing her words, the male swordsmen froze on the spot, seemingly misunderstanding something.
"...Things you can't do during the day?"
"...Save them for the night?"
Muttering these words with dumbfounded expressions, the male swordsmen glanced at each other before suddenly bursting into tears again. Even worse, their cries were louder and more heart-wrenching than before, scaring Lizbeth.
"C-Could you please stop crying?" Lizbeth said with a panicked tone. "I know you're really upset, but there's nothing I can do about it right now! I promise I'll do my best tonight! I won't let you down!"
As soon as she said this, the male swordsmen cried even louder.
Seeing this, Lizbeth was completely at a loss, not knowing what to do, so she shot a pleading look at Ian, who was standing nearby.
"Just ignore them."
Ian spoke coldly and quickly dragged Lizbeth away, leaving the heartbroken men behind.
However, ever since then, Riezel noticed that among the swordsmen who came to challenge him each day, some of them, for some reason, would give him hateful glares as soon as they stepped into the arena.
Some would even say absurd things.
"Hey, Lord Sword Saint, could you go easy on Miss Lizbeth?"
"She's still young and doesn't really get a lot of things! Don't make her deal with stuff she shouldn't!"
"Yeah, Miss Lizbeth is still young... I mean, she might look big in some areas, but that doesn't mean she's ready for everything! So, please, don't make her do weird stuff!"
"Seriously, I'm asking you, Lord Sword Saint!"
They would say these nonsensical things to Riezel, completely out of nowhere.
'What the heck are they talking about?'
Riezel could only stand in place, utterly confused.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
At the arena outside the Frenzel residence, this scene played out from time to time, always accompanied by laughter.
===
Night quietly fell.
In one of the hallways of the Frenzel residence, Riezel and Lizbeth, having finished the day's challenges, were heading in the direction of their rooms.
Riezel was empty-handed, while Lizbeth held a small box full of items in her arms.
"By the way, what's that?"
While walking, Riezel glanced at the box in Lizbeth's arms and asked curiously.
He knew the box was something that hadn't been there before, and he had no idea where Lizbeth had gotten it.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like anything weird or dangerous.
"Um, this was sent over from the palace..."
Lizbeth, still hugging the box tightly, took small steps by Riezel's side and replied obediently.
"It's the personal items I left behind at the palace. Fath—His Majesty had someone pack them up for me and send them over here. I just picked them up from the servant."
"I see..." Riezel nodded in understanding. "Still, you sure don't have a lot of stuff, huh?"
Such a small box couldn't possibly hold more than a few pieces of clothing, yet Lizbeth clutched it as if it contained something incredibly precious.
"Well... these are things I had before I was taken to the palace... They're all from Grandma Mia..." Lizbeth said softly, a small smile forming on her face. "Other than these, nothing else really matters to me."
In fact, along with the box, the royal palace had also sent over many valuable clothes and jewelry—luxurious items she had accumulated during her time as a princess.
However, those things didn't hold much significance to her.
Compared to the fancy dresses that screamed high-end, she preferred the casual clothes she was wearing now.
As for the priceless jewelry, she felt no attachment to it at all.
Only the box, filled with her personal items from before she was taken to the royal palace at the age of seven, held any true value in her heart.
"..."
Riezel was quiet for a moment, then smiled at Lizbeth.
"Well, let me help you organize everything."
Since Lizbeth was now living in the Frenzel residence as Riezel's attendant, her room was right next to his.
However, since her room was still a bit disorganized, even though it was suitable for living, it needed some tidying up if she wanted to unpack and set up her personal items.
For this reason, Riezel offered to help.
"N-No, that's okay! I'll be alright by myself!" Lizbeth hurriedly refused.
'Never let your master handle chores' was a rule Marilyn, her mentor, had taught her as an attendant. Nevertheless, even without Marilyn's teachings, she was someone who didn't like to trouble anyone, especially not the person she served.
Unfortunately for her, Riezel wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Alright, there's no need to be so strict with the rules here." Riezel said lightly. "Besides, you've been carrying that sword and now this box—it's gotta be hard to handle them both, right? Let me give you a hand."
Without waiting for Lizbeth to protest further, Riezel took the box from her.
*Pa!*
Just then, a scroll slipped out of the box and rolled to Riezel's feet.