Ch.77Amelia Windsor (2)

The duel between Damon and Amelia ended in a one-sided fashion.

Amelia pressed forward fiercely, and while Damon seemed to hold his ground well enough, that was all he could do.

The match concluded with Damon dropping to one knee after Amelia’s final strike.

“It was a good match, Prince Damon.”

Amelia extended her hand to the fallen Damon.

“Likewise, Windsor.”

Damon took her hand without hesitation and stood up.

Ruide was a bit surprised.

‘Damon, you’re strong.’

He was strong not just physically, but mentally as well.

During their previous fight, Damon had been so proud that he’d fainted while still standing.

Yet despite having such strong pride, he didn’t seem to mind losing this duel at all.

“That was truly an excellent sword.”

“You flatter me. I’m the one who’s surprised. To display such skill with a spear without using magic—Prince Damon, you possess considerable talent.”

Amelia gave a gentle smile. It was a kind of smile Ruide had never seen before—one she had never shown him, a smile that seemed to say she was impressed.

‘…What? She’s never looked at me like that.’

Ruide felt slightly miffed.

“However, apart from that clear swordsmanship, I see some unwelcome visitors.”

Damon looked in their direction.

“What brings the Teuton Knights here? I gave no such orders.”

“Wow, Lord Damon is so consistent. You had the same way of speaking even when you were just a little squirt.”

Judith stretched as she stood up. Amelia looked puzzled but bowed her head.

“I apologize for not welcoming you sooner. It’s an honor to meet the Teuton Knights. I am Amelia Windsor.”

“Oh? Unlike this lord over here, you’re extremely polite. I thought all Windsors were like him. It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m just a commoner.”

Judith waved her hand with a chuckle.

“Not at all. Social status is meaningless before the Empire’s finest knights.”

“You have a talent for making people feel good, my lady. My name is Judith, nice to meet you.”

“…You’re even more impressive than I thought. I’ve heard rumors of a mercenary king who conquered the eastern part of the Empire.”

“Ohhh, you know about me?”

Ruide maintained his expressionless face, but he felt slighted.

It was because she wasn’t paying any attention to him.

She must have seen him, but she hadn’t looked his way even once since earlier.

‘Someone went out of their way to accept knights they didn’t want and prepared food for them.’

He had accepted the Teuton Knights entirely because of Amelia. They couldn’t always hunt for meals, and they needed money to live in the institution.

Yet Amelia wouldn’t even look at him.

“But what brings you here…”

“We received orders from His Majesty to escort Ruide Christopher Windsor.”

Karon explained briefly.

Only then did Amelia’s gaze turn toward Ruide.

‘Hmph.’

Ruide turned his head away.

“I… see.”

“That was excellent swordsmanship.”

Amelia, who had been looking at Ruide with an uncomfortable expression, turned back to Karon.

“Thank you.”

“For an Academy student—truly, excellent swordsmanship.”

There was an edge to Karon’s words. No one present was dull enough to miss it.

‘…What?’

Ruide was the one who became confused.

Galahad scratched his head and walked forward.

“I’ve been itching to face the rumored sword princess… but this won’t do. You’re too weak, far too weak.”

Amelia’s expression hardened.

At this point, Ruide’s slightly pouty cute face turned cold.

“I agree. Truly, a pointless order.”

Karon looked at Amelia as he spoke.

“Since it was His Majesty’s order, I initially thought there must be some profound meaning to it. But now I’m certain it’s meaningless. Windsor, do you know what emotion I’m feeling right now?”

Karon’s face contorted.

“Unbearable humiliation.”

Shing!

Amelia drew her sword.

“You’ll have to take back those words.”

“Why should I? As a knight, you should understand the feeling of not being recognized by your master—ah, you’re not a knight, are you? My apologies.”

Karon also drew his sword.

“Hey, hey…”

Judith tried to intervene, but it was useless.

“Then let me ask you this. Are you angry because I insulted your sister, or because I dismissed your skills?”

Nolan felt as if there was a dragon behind him. He slowly turned his head. Ruide’s blue eyes were blazing.

“I-I’m out of this.”

Nolan backed away, sweating. He knew what the massive magic circle appearing behind Ruide meant.

“…Rival. Are you planning to erase the institution?”

Damon asked in disbelief.

“Ruide. Withdraw your magic.”

Amelia spoke more forcefully than ever before.

Ruide withdrew his magic at Amelia’s words, but he continued to glare at Karon.

“Vice-Captain Karon.”

Judith grabbed Karon’s collar with a serious expression.

“What do you think you’re doing? We’re here to escort Young Lord Windsor. You have no right to speak like that…”

Slap!

Karon knocked Judith’s arm away.

“I’ve endured enough. When His Majesty gave us the mere task of escort as his first order, when that immature lord addressed us informally without dignity, when he bluntly asked if we had money. But I cannot tolerate incompetence.”

“Young Lord, I-I’m going to get a drink. Please leave me off your hit list.”

Nolan bowed respectfully to Ruide before quickly disappearing.

“Hey, you cowardly magician!”

Judith shouted after the fleeing Nolan. She turned to Shearer, who was quietly observing.

“Shearer. Try to stop this.”

“No.”

“……”

Shearer merely watched with interested eyes. Judith sat down with an expression that said she’d given up.

Mikael, who was flustered, tried to mediate the situation, but Ruide raised his arm to stop him.

“It’s too late.”

Mikael couldn’t move a finger in the face of the overwhelming pressure emanating from the boy before him.

Ruide walked toward Karon and said:

“If you have a problem with me, you could have just told me directly.”

“I couldn’t do that.”

Karon replied with a face full of hostility.

“After all, it’s His Majesty’s order. I can’t intimidate the person I’m supposed to protect. Besides, no matter how ill-mannered, it’s not a knight’s duty to cut down a child.”

“Do you know what’s good about this child?”

“What?”

“He doesn’t have to hold back.”

BOOM!

Light exploded. Karon’s body was flung far away.

THUD!

With a heavy sound, Karon fell from the wall. He was somehow already wearing armor.

“Kugh.”

The vice-captain of the Empire’s finest knights coughed up blood.

He fell to the ground with eyes that had lost all reason.

‘That’s what you get for provoking me.’

Ruide thought it served him right and was about to turn around.

However.

SWOOSH!

Karon leaped forward. Spinning around once, he used the centrifugal force to swing his sword at Ruide.

“Ruide!”

As Ruide was calmly trying to cast a defensive spell, Amelia jumped in front of him and deflected Karon’s sword.

CLANG!

The chilling sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the training ground. Ruide was startled.

‘The barrier… didn’t work?’

Ruide had clearly cast a barrier well before Karon approached. Karon should have been repelled. Yet his sword was meeting Amelia’s.

Ruide soon realized it wasn’t that the barrier hadn’t worked. It was Dispel. As Ruide’s pupils trembled slightly…

“Stay back! Hurry!”

Amelia shouted.

‘This started because he didn’t like me. So it’s my problem.’

Ruide wanted to resolve it himself.

But at the same time, another thought occurred to him:

‘…If I step in, I’d be disrespecting Amelia.’

It was Amelia who had been insulted. Knights are courteous and polite, but they always respond to insults.

That was the code of chivalry, and Amelia valued that code. What would happen if he ended this situation on his own? Would Amelia be grateful?

No, she wouldn’t. Amelia would surely be angry.

Ruide didn’t want to see Amelia hurt.

“Ruide!”

Amelia shouted again. Ruide bit his teeth and stepped back.

He bumped into someone. It was Damon.

“A correct decision, Ruide.”

Damon said quietly.

“This time, don’t overturn the chessboard because you don’t like the move. Reviewing the game is also an important part of chess.”

But Damon’s voice didn’t reach Ruide. He was focused solely on Amelia.

Karon and Amelia clashed swords. His swordsmanship was dazzling, as if proving why the Teuton Knights were called the strongest in this world.

But Amelia didn’t back down. If anything, she was the one pressing forward. Her swordsmanship was all about charging. She continued to press forward without yielding an inch.

However, it didn’t seem to be having much effect. Whenever Karon twisted his wrist, Amelia’s sword was deflected. His swordsmanship was mystical. Even from the outside, Ruide could tell that Amelia’s formidable strength wasn’t being properly transmitted.

“So you only have strong innate magic. The Windsors are consistent. But the other Windsor was incomparably stronger. Are you really from the same bloodline?”

“—!”

Was she shaken by Karon’s words? A slight gap appeared in Amelia’s relentless attacks. Karon, an experienced knight, didn’t miss that momentary opening. He executed a powerful thrust through the gap.

Amelia tilted to the side to avoid the sword flying toward her face. But this caused her steps to tangle, and she lost her balance and staggered.

Rather than fighting against the momentum, Amelia rolled to the side. After rolling several times, she used the rebound to immediately stand up and regain her stance.

But she couldn’t escape completely unscathed. A thin scratch appeared on Amelia’s cheek.

Watching quietly, something snapped inside Ruide when he saw the blood flowing down Amelia’s cheek.

“…Ah. This won’t do.”

Ruide extended his hand. He curled it into a circle, framing Karon’s figure.

Everyone froze at the ominous flow of magic and looked at Ruide. A black void opened above Ruide’s head.

Something slowly emerged. It was a sword. Amelia knew what that blue sword was.

The Windsors receive a sword at birth. A sword that only a Windsor can use and wield.

Ruide was the only son born to this generation of Windsors. Overjoyed at Ruide’s birth, the Duke of Windsor had gifted him the most powerful of all Windsor swords.

That was—the Sword of Winter, ‘Winter.’

A legendary sword that freezes everything it touches.

Winter emerged from Ruide’s void space and pointed directly at Karon.

Ruide curled his hand with an indifferent expression.

Winter, floating in the air, fell from the sky and grew larger.

THUD!

It instantly plunged into the spot where Karon had been standing. Karon, who had been standing there, had vanished without a trace.

CRACK—

The floor froze from the cold emanating from Winter.

**

At the top of the Skyscraper.

This place, originally the nest for Principal Clifford’s familiar, was now filled with magic circles covering the walls.

In the center lay what appeared to be Dellin’s Staff, serving as a symbol.

“…This is a magic formula I’ve never seen before. A development method I’ve never seen.”

Fenicia, who had been blankly reading the structure of the magic circle for a long time, said.

“Who could have taught Young Lord Ruide magic? It’s too systematic to say he figured it out himself as a genius.”

Magical talent and formula talent are different.

Formulas are traces of those with little magic power trying desperately to compensate.

With sufficient magical talent and power, there’s no need to develop formulas.

Yet Ruide’s magic circles were excessively efficient.

“…Young Lord Ruide has no need to develop such formulas. His magical power already exceeds human levels.”

Clifford clasped his hands behind his back.

“Don’t try to know too much.”

“Pardon?”

“That rascal is that kind of person. Trying to grasp sand only makes it slip through your fingers. Leave him be. Some flowers grow better when left alone.”

“……”

As Fenicia closed her eyes and bowed her head…

“Gasp!”

She turned her head hastily with a sharp intake of breath. Clifford was already looking in that direction.

“T-that powerful magic…”

Clifford chuckled.

“It seems another fool has awakened the sleeping dragon.”