Ch.29The Royal Palace Banquet #6

“A story. Good.

Duke Killinear left the banquet hall first after saying those words.

It was understandable that he was angry after picking a fight only to be rebuffed, and above all, he seemed to agree with Helena’s suggestion to settle matters.

Following that, Helena and I walked to the Duke’s room, trailing behind him.

Agnes, the root cause of all this, was excluded. At this point, her presence would serve no purpose… it was the right choice.

“Tsk. Sit down. I’m reluctant to offer a seat meant for humans to a beast… but having you stand would be even more irritating.”

The Duke offered seats with obvious reluctance.

His thorny tone and visibly contorted expression made his feelings clear.

However, Helena sat down across from the Duke as if nothing was amiss.

She probably would have pulled out a chair and sat down even if the Duke hadn’t offered one.

The lack of hesitation in her movements gave that impression.

“To cause such a commotion over a mere viscount’s son. Truly absurd…”

“Shut your mouth. The moment you speak another word belittling Jion, your head will roll on the floor.”

Helena glared sharply at the Duke while emanating subtle killing intent.

Being a nobleman who had only learned ordinary levels of exercise and swordsmanship like most aristocrats, the Duke trembled at Helena’s killing intent.

He managed to endure, but it was clear he was frightened.

“Beast of a woman.”

The Duke merely clicked his tongue lightly, seemingly aware of this fact.

I thought this because he showed no particular rebuttal and appeared to be backing down quietly.

“…Very well. Let’s get to the point. You said you wanted to request a territorial war? What do you plan to do if I refuse?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

An ominously cold smile settled on Helena’s lips. Her face showed that even if her proposal was rejected, she had no intention of giving up.

The Duke seemed to realize this as he swallowed dryly. Though his arrogant attitude remained, he appeared somewhat intimidated.

“A territorial war would cause great damage to both sides. You know that, right?”

“So what? Do you think I’m waging war just to calculate gains and losses? This is a matter of pride.”

Her pride was essentially about me, which made it quite embarrassing to hear from my position.

Despite the serious situation, I wondered if I was losing my mind for feeling happy about it.

That’s how unwavering she was.

And when pride was mentioned, the Duke nodded as if somewhat understanding.

Being the epitome of an arrogant nobleman, he was likely very sensitive to the word “pride.”

“Yes… pride. Even if you’re a mad dog, you’re still of ducal bloodline, and the fact that you’re a duchess won’t change either. Fine, I’ll acknowledge that to some extent.”

The Duke slowly began to speak, suggesting a duel instead of a territorial war.

“Looking at you, beast that you are, it seems you won’t give up until you’ve caught your prey, and yet waging a territorial war is problematic. Therefore, I wish to settle this through the traditional method of dueling. Like proper nobles.”

I agree that territorial wars are too all-encompassing and large-scale. It’s wise to avoid them if possible.

So from our perspective, this was an incredibly welcome proposal.

In a way, it seemed like Helena’s hardline stance had worked well.

“A duel. If you want to determine the winner and loser that way, that’s not bad either. Fine. Tell me the detailed conditions.”

Helena nodded and willingly accepted the Duke’s proposal. Perhaps because she didn’t care much about the method as long as she could tear the Duke apart.

Moreover, duels couldn’t be stopped by anyone as long as there was mutual agreement between the parties; once the participants reached an agreement, that was the end of it.

Territorial wars followed similar logic, though they were separate from official certification.

“Good. The duel will consist of three matches, and the side with more victories wins. Any objections?”

“I must be included in one of those three duels.”

“That’s the plan. You’re a beast who won’t be satisfied until you sink your teeth into your opponent’s neck, so including you is only natural.”

Three duels was quite peculiar. Not rock-paper-scissors best of three, but duel best of three.

But… it seemed reasonable. Even if Helena lost, the Duke could secure victory by winning the other two matches.

It seemed like a calculated proposal to offset the burden of facing Helena while increasing his chances of winning.

However, the Duke’s conditions didn’t end there.

“But the condition is that you must face one hundred Sword Expert-level fighters at once. Moreover, you can’t kill them.”

I tensed when I heard those words. Facing a hundred Experts wouldn’t be difficult, but subduing them without killing them would be extremely challenging.

Even Experts, though weaker than Masters, can draw Aura Blades.

This meant they could block Helena’s sword to some extent, and the more of them there were, the higher the chance of blocking her attacks.

And if they tried to neutralize Helena during such openings… it would inevitably be a very difficult battle.

Since Sword Masters were mostly known through rumors and their exact power levels couldn’t be accurately measured, it seemed like the Duke calculated that a hundred Experts would be enough to defeat her.

Even I, who was confident I’d seen Helena wield her sword more than anyone, had never seen her limits, so there was nothing more to say.

From this perspective, the Duke probably judged that a Master’s limits weren’t as deep as one might think. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have specified the concrete number of one hundred Experts.

Or perhaps, as I thought earlier, he calculated that even if he lost one match, he could win with the other two.

“Understood. I accept.”

Naturally, Helena accepted the proposal.

The Duke made the offer thinking it was a winnable fight, but Helena was equally pleased.

Whatever the reason, the Duke himself had stepped forward to settle matters, which was something to be grateful for.

“Then, the duel conditions are established. The remaining two will be conducted as regular one-on-one duels. Choose your representatives as you see fit. I’ll do the same.”

“Now tell me what conditions you’ll demand if you win.”

“Conditions, conditions…”

It was clear the Duke had no intention of letting things go smoothly once challenged.

So he must have already thought about what he would demand in return for the duel.

His leisurely stroking of his chin while appearing relaxed seemed to say as much.

After a moment of profound silence in the room.

The Duke finally lowered his hand from his chin and spoke with a twisted smile.

“Kuk kuk! If I win, Helena Krauser, I’ll make you a slave of our family. Of course, I’ll add magic to control you as a slave. Since you’re of Krauser blood, it would be good to have you bear the seed of our Killinear ducal family, and it would also be good to fully utilize your abilities as a Sword Master.”

Not only was his smile unbearably vile, but his condition, which showed he viewed Helena as merely a tool, was even more disturbing.

It seemed he might treat her even lower than a household pet.

But Helena nodded calmly without showing any fear.

No, rather, she smiled slightly as if pleased and spoke.

“Fine. My father is still healthy, so even if I lose, the Krauser line won’t end. Now it’s my turn to state my conditions…?”

“Yes, yes. Go ahead. What conditions will you set?”

“First, as I initially said, Agnes Killinear’s head. And you will relinquish your ducal title and all property, and be confined to a monastery until your dying breath. I will appoint the next Duke of Killinear. Of course, I exclude strangers from that range. I’ll choose from among your family members. Ah, being confined to a monastery means you’re forbidden from any political activity, you understand that much, right?”

Albus Killinear’s conditions were quite despicable, but Helena’s seemed no less severe.

Essentially, her demand to depose the current Duke and take control of the appointment of his successor meant she would have complete control over the Killinear family.

If that wasn’t the case… the fire in the Duke’s eyes that I witnessed wouldn’t have ignited.

“Damn woman… are you setting three conditions?”

“The punishment of Agnes is only natural, so it’s actually just two. And aren’t even those two lighter than treating me as your slave? What will you do? Do you accept?”

The current Helena would probably prefer to cut off Albus Killinear’s head rather than confine him, but doing so might cause the opponent who had finally agreed to negotiate to flee.

So she asked me to vent her anger in a different direction instead of beheading Albus.

As a result, it seemed Helena had compromised by deposing him instead of beheading him.

“Accept… Fine! I accept!”

The Duke growled fiercely, grinding his teeth.

The aura he had built up as a human was quite threatening.

However, far from feeling threatened, Helena snorted and nodded.

It seemed natural for her to be pleased, as she had already gained the upper hand the moment the opponent accepted the duel.

“The date will be one month from now. I’ll ask His Majesty for certification. After all, only His Majesty has the authority to certify a duke’s agreement.”

The Duke raised his voice, violently slamming the table.

The one-month period was likely the time needed to secure Sword Expert-level fighters and people capable of winning the other two matches.

This meant they would have to stand by and watch as the opponent gathered sufficient strength, but Helena accepted even that.

At first, I didn’t understand why she so readily accepted the Duke’s proposal, but later, when I heard the reason from Helena’s own lips, I nodded in agreement.

It was a plausible reason—she wanted to thoroughly crush the Duke’s smug face after he had gathered his full strength.

◎◎◎

“Ha, haha… My goodness. A duel, a duel!”

King Elvin Soter couldn’t hide his astonishment at the unexpected request for certification. It was all the more embarrassing given that the parties involved were two dukes.

Though he wanted to dissuade them as there was nothing to gain, he was intimidated by their fierce auras and agreed to provide certification.

Despite the central authority’s power, the instinctive fear he felt was a separate matter.

“Duchess Krauser. Why have you suddenly decided to duel with Duke Killinear?”

After completing the contract with the parties and the certifier, the King called Helena separately for a private audience.

He had heard the circumstances but still found it difficult to understand.

“Your Majesty, that is…”

Helena answered as honestly as she could.

She explained it was for revenge because the other party had defiled her fiancé, even if unknowingly.

But that alone wouldn’t be enough to make him accept it gladly.

Having cooled down over several days, Helena realized this and began to offer flattering words that weren’t originally planned.

She did so with the expectation that it would be more convincing since the Krauser ducal family was aligned with the royal faction.

“Additionally, it’s also to weaken the power of Killinear, the leader of the noble faction.”

“The power of Killinear…?”

By age and position, Elvin Soter was a man who could easily speak down to others.

But he respected Helena and the Krausers, so he always elevated his speech even in private.

“Yes. As you know, the noble faction’s purpose is to increase the influence of the nobility, and because of that, they continue to gradually erode the power of the royal faction, including Your Majesty.”

“I know that too. I’m well aware that the nobles under Duke Killinear are particularly greedy. It’s truly a headache.”

“Yes. It may not be my place to say this to Your Majesty, the ruler of the nation… but I believe that the royal faction having slightly more power is just the right balance. However, they crossed the line first and continue to do so. So we must also take drastic measures.”

Drastic measures.

The King nodded with a faint smile, seemingly quite pleased with those words.

“Is that why you set such reckless conditions?”

“They were the ones who set reckless conditions first. Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to act forcefully as well. And if I win the duel, it’s clear that the Killinear ducal family will be further weakened.”

“I see. If you have the right to appoint the successor, there are many ways you can use that to manipulate them.”

It might seem insignificant, but holding the right of appointment was a tremendous threat.

Moreover, the more ruthless the person holding that right, the more they could cut the opponent’s power in half.

The King knew this and felt a chill run down his spine, but at the same time, he was quite satisfied.

Of course, one couldn’t say there were no concerns. Moreover, he was merely the certifier and had no right to stop them.

If something went wrong, they might seek out another duke of equal rank.

But in the end, he concluded he had no choice but to trust her. This was because his counterpart was not only the head of the Krausers, known for their loyalty, but also a Sword Master.

While Masters were quite threatening just for being Masters, there could be nothing more reassuring than having one as a definite ally… so he judged it best to accommodate her as much as possible.