Chapter 2: Became the royal sandbag (2)

Defeat Swordsmanship.

As the name suggested, it was a swordsmanship style designed for defeat. However, contrary to its name, the techniques it contained were so ingenious that even renowned swordsmanship styles on the continent paled in comparison.

This was only natural. It was a style created by the most skilled swordsmen in the Leon Kingdom, a nation famed for its knights. They had to contend with the martial arts-focused royal family’s swordsmanship, which occasionally produced the kingdom’s strongest swordsman among its royalty. The philosophy was that before claiming to be royalty, one must first become a knight! Therefore, learning Defeat Swordsmanship was several times more difficult than learning any family’s swordsmanship.

“Truly a once-in-a-millennium talent!”

However, in the end, Defeat Swordsmanship was still about defeat. It was incredibly flashy and powerful, but its ultimate goal was to lose. So, the talent required for Defeat Swordsmanship wasn’t about skill alone.

“You’ve already surpassed me.”

One of the top five swordsmen in the Leon Kingdom, a close friend of the current King, and my instructor, gave me the highest praise a swordsman could receive. Unfortunately, it wasn’t praise for my swordsmanship.

“Such acting… even I can’t tell if it’s real or fake…”

That’s right. The key to mastering Defeat Swordsmanship wasn’t swordsmanship, but acting. Swordsmanship was relative, after all.

All that mattered was that my skills were satisfactory to His Highness, the Fifth Prince, whom I was to serve. So, I had to learn to act. To build up the process of a truly regrettable defeat, exchange a soul-stirring final blow, and then convey to the royal the burning will to overcome the next time – that was the true completion of Defeat Swordsmanship! And I achieved it. Perfectly! Even a Sword Master, the pinnacle of swordsmanship, acknowledged it.

“The other instructors should see and learn from this.”

The number of Royal Instructors in the Knights Order was equal to the number of royals. Sometimes, instructors lost their positions because they couldn’t keep up with the royals’ level, but in such cases, pre-selected reserves would replace them. Since several instructors had already been dispatched to the princes and princesses older than the Fifth Prince, this meant there were at least seven seniors above me – four princes and three princesses.

“Aren’t the seniors also fulfilling their duties admirably?”

“I thought so too, but you keep raising the bar.”

The Commander laughed heartily, ruffling my hair roughly, but then his expression hardened.

“Which is why I’m saying this…”

The Commander often acted goofy and unbecoming of his rank, but he was one of the representative swordsmen of the Kingdom of Knights and the head of the Royal Instructors. He often showed this serious expression when handling official matters. So, I could roughly guess what he was about to say.

“Are we starting the ‘operation‘ soon?”

“Huh? Operation?”

“You know, the one where you ‘accidentally,’ ‘fatefully’ encounter His Highness, the Fifth Prince?”

“Haha.”

The Commander nodded in satisfaction at my wording.

“Yes, I think it’s time to begin the operation.”

A few weeks later, I was told that preparations for the operation were complete.

“The scenario is simple.”

“Indeed.”

As befitting a nation known as the Kingdom of Knights, the Leon Kingdom valued its knights highly. Their knights were on par with, if not superior to, those of the Empire, considered the center of the continent. They were also perpetually at odds with the Dale Kingdom, known as the Kingdom of Mages, despite being geographically distant and having no reason for conflict. Given these characteristics, arranging an encounter with the Fifth Prince was quite easy.

“You’ll be practicing your swordsmanship, and a pre-deployed instructor will arrange a duel between you and the Fifth Prince. It’s a perfect scenario!”

True to its nickname, the Leon Kingdom actively promoted knight training at the national level. They often summoned talented children to the Royal Palace for swordsmanship training. My role was to blend in among these trainees, practicing my swordsmanship, and then engage in a duel with a royal who visited the training grounds for inspection!

“Hmm…?”

But something felt off.

“Take your stance.”

Red hair, a symbol of Leon Kingdom royalty, fluttered in the wind. As I stared blankly, black eyes, also a symbol of our kingdom’s royalty, glared back at me. A duel with a royal to initiate contact. It perfectly matched the objective. The problem was that it wasn’t the Fifth Prince.

“Referee!”

“We will now commence the duel between Her Highness Princess Hestia and Adam Smith.”

At the princess’s voice, the knight acting as referee approved the duel with a bewildered expression. I could only grit my teeth and glare at the Commander. He said it was a perfect scenario!

****

A little while earlier… The Leon Kingdom took great pride in its title as the Kingdom of Knights. Therefore, learning swordsmanship was considered a natural part of life, even for the royal family. It was a long-standing royal tradition to give wooden swords as birthday gifts to all children, both male and female, at the age of five, and real swords at the age of ten. Thus, it was not uncommon for the kingdom’s strongest swordsman to emerge from the royal lineage. In fact, several kings had held this title, sending chills down the spines of their subjects who knew the king would be at the forefront of any war. In such a nation, the royal family maintained close relationships with skilled swordsmen throughout generations. Conversely, this meant that even those with powerful backgrounds could face discrimination if their skills were lacking.

“Ha.”

“Y-Your Highness.”

And unfortunately, Hestia, the second princess of the Leon Kingdom, was severely lacking in this regard.

“Not even ten exchanges.”

Hestia’s black eyes darkened like the abyss. As a descendant of the royal family that established the knightly nation, her talent was unparalleled among her peers. Her primal instinct for the sword was even stronger than her already exceptional talent. She regularly sparred with the kingdom’s future talents, but she was never satisfied. It was unfortunate, but also unavoidable.

Hestia possessed a talent recognized even within the royal family. From a very young age, she received various elixirs and treatments to enhance her magical circuits. Not only that, but with her innate talent and privileged background, one might expect her to lack effort. Unfortunately, unlike other children her age, Hestia, a natural-born swordswoman, preferred wielding a sword to anything else. She would skip meals, but never skip sword practice. Innate talent, a privileged background, and the diligence to further enhance those gifts.

It was no exaggeration to say Hestia was born to be a swordswoman. It was unreasonable to expect others her age to match her level.

“Sigh.”

After defeating a prospective knight three years her senior, someone recognized for his talent nationwide, Hestia was still dissatisfied.

‘The skill gap is too wide.’

A mere knight trainee was all she could find. However, she wasn’t ready to fight a true knight yet. A newly appointed knight might be willing to fight with all their might. Unfortunately, the title “Second Princess” preceded Hestia’s name.

‘I’d rather fight a trainee.’

Asking a newly appointed knight to fight a princess was too much of a burden. Winning was a problem, losing was a problem, and if they accidentally injured the princess, there was no telling what would happen. Of course, neither Hestia nor the royal family would raise an issue over such a thing. One must become a knight before being royalty. Would the royal family, known for such a motto, persecute a knight for a mere injury sustained during a duel?

However, contrary to the intentions of those in high positions… those below had their own problems.

Even if the king and princess said, “Well, it’s only natural to get injured during sword practice,” among the knights, one could become a traitor for shedding royal blood. Therefore, most new knights tried to lose in an obvious manner. Such theatrics benefited neither themselves nor their opponents. It was better to just practice with a scarecrow. Despite this, Hestia couldn’t resist seeking out new recruits for a worthy opponent.

“I should have just waited for Lucia.”

Hestia sighed softly, thinking of her frail friend, the only one who could fight her on somewhat equal footing. It was a shame that Lucia frequently returned to her hometown to recover due to her weak constitution. Hestia resolved to prepare some tonic for her. It was for her friend, but also for the kingdom. It was a national loss for such a skilled swordswoman to be hindered by her frail health! Unaware that Lucia, supposedly resting in her hometown, was actually at the Royal Instructor’s quarters, writing her fourteenth resignation letter while crying to her superior, Hestia was about to leave after her third victim.

“S-Sister!”

However, she stopped at the sight of her younger brother arriving with a group of people.

‘Has that time come already?’

One of the royal family’s traditional events. Receiving a wooden sword at five, a real sword at ten, and at twelve, a person. A talented individual of the same age, chosen from those who arrived at the royal palace, would be assigned directly to a member of the royalty.

A lifelong friend, rival, right-hand man, and most trusted subject. This was a long-standing tradition of the Leon royal family, and the choice made here could change one’s life. Hadn’t Hestia herself received Lucia just two years ago? Unaware that her lifelong friend, rival, right-hand man, and subject was currently crying and having her fourteenth resignation letter torn up by her superior, Hestia resolved to find someone as excellent as Lucia for her cute younger brother.

“Princess Hestia?”

Unfortunately, her good intentions were a disaster for those who had meticulously prepared everything.

“What did you just say?”

“I said I’ll be the one to test them!”

Her assertive declaration was still cute for her age, but its content was anything but. In fact, for the Commander and the other officials, it was pure horror.

“But, according to royal regulations…”

“There’s no such regulation, is there?”

“…”

They tried to dissuade her with plausible excuses, but they failed. Because there really wasn’t such a regulation.

‘How does she know that?’

Even the officials in charge of the procedures didn’t know every single rule. So, it was common practice to simply accept whatever plausible regulation a superior mentioned.

“Traditionally, they choose their own partner after personally evaluating them, but that’s just tradition. Historically, there have been cases where other royals conducted the test, haven’t there?”

Was it just a lucky guess? The Commander, who initially thought so, was forced to shut his mouth as she followed up with a precise explanation.

“So, it’s fine, right?”

Thus, he had no choice but to nod in agreement with Hestia’s words.

‘I wonder how skilled they are?’

Hestia’s assertive behavior wasn’t solely driven by affection for her brother. Commander Calyx of the Royal Knights, who served as the King’s instructor, was a close figure to Hestia, like an uncle. Moreover, he was a renowned swordsman recognized not only within the kingdom but also across the continent. And this was a talent he praised endlessly. To a certain extent, this individual was already unofficially designated as her brother’s partner.