Ch.90Let’s go to the Rose Hall

Three days later in the morning, a carriage arrived in front of the lodging.

It was an ordinary carriage with nothing particularly special about it.

Except that the interior was completely concealed.

Leonore, is it? I suppose she’s trying to avoid drawing attention. That’s thoughtful of me.

I smiled slightly as I looked down at the carriage through the window.

Having rejected Isabella’s invitation, I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that this might be a trap…

But Leonore wasn’t the type to pull such tricks, and even if it really was a trap, it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

If they want to try something, let them do their worst.

I tossed aside the toy I had been kneading in one hand.

The dagger, crumpled like clay, rolled across the floor.

—-

Dressed in armor and a black iron longsword, I headed toward the carriage with Nigel.

The coachman opened the door.

Though disguised as an ordinary servant, he couldn’t completely hide the strange dignity that permeated his appearance. His exposed skin was also immaculate.

Probably one of Leonore’s close aides.

“Then, I’ll go to the driver’s seat—”

“No. Both of you should come inside.”

The man blocked Nigel as he tried to head for the driver’s seat.

Of course. They went to the trouble of disguising themselves to avoid attention, so what would be the point if a female knight was sitting conspicuously on the driver’s seat?

Nigel and I entered the carriage.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Though your appearance has changed quite a bit.”

“This should be considered my true form. Back then, I had the appearance of a sick person.”

Princess Leonore grinned.

Like last time, she was still dressed in something similar to riding attire.

Her eyes sparkled with welcome, as if she was quite looking forward to today’s match.

“Eternal glory to the Wittelsbach. Knight of Landenburg, Nigel, pays her respects. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

Nigel saluted her respectfully.

“So this is the sword of the Margrave I’ve only heard about. There were many rumors in the imperial court. Everyone was wondering what you planned to do with ten Masters. Please, have a seat.”

“Excuse me.”

I sat down on the seat opposite the princess, along with Nigel. The cushion was quite soft.

The carriage door closed, and it soon began to move with a slight shake.

Heading toward Princess Leonore’s private villa.

—-

“So, have you fully recovered? Your energy seems completely different.”

“I suppose you could say that. The usual feeling of exhaustion has completely disappeared.”

My muscles had proper strength, my senses were fine, and when I tested earlier, even my Karma activation was working without issue.

Though not quite at the level when I fought Natalya.

That power was probably not just my own strength, but also Durandal’s assistance.

A weapon that enhances its owner’s abilities beyond their limits.

Honestly, considering the reputation of names like the Sword of Oath or Durandal, such effects would be expected.

“That’s good. I thought it would be difficult to meet like this after the banquet. I heard you declined my mother’s invitation.”

“Well…”

I let my words trail off slightly.

After all, I had essentially declared myself an enemy of her family.

Perhaps interpreting my response as an expression of awkwardness, Leonore grinned.

As if to say she had no intention of criticizing me for that.

“A wise choice. It would have been truly disgusting to see a knightly opponent I finally met reduced to a whore.”

Oh? So she knew about that too?

My eyes widened in surprise.

That must be one of Isabella’s critical secrets.

“I’m not sure… what you mean by that. Are you saying there would have been serious problems for me if I had accepted the invitation?”

“Yes. You would probably have become a toy for the nobles to play with until they got bored. A ‘gift to strengthen Ernst’s faction,’ so to speak. And willingly, without complaint. I don’t know how, but my mother specializes in such things.”

Leonore shook her head as if it was utterly revolting.

Right. That’s why I didn’t respond to the invitation.

Because Isabella is that kind of woman.

She invites those who are beautiful and have value but are too unstable to keep as allies… and breaks them.

Noble daughters, young female knights, sometimes even academy students.

She incapacitates them with drugs, soaks them in aphrodisiacs, and twists their egos and crushes their minds with narcotics.

Afterward, she casts mind control magic to turn them into obedient dolls, then holds secret orgies where they serve as entertainers for her subordinate nobles.

And she herself enjoys watching the spectacle.

It was one of the taboos and well-hidden secrets of Ernst’s faction.

I’m surprised Leonore even knows about it.

…Did the woman who had already broken so many others spare her own child?

“It’s an unpleasant topic, but are you sure you should be telling me this so freely? It sounds like you’re suggesting I should run straight to Prince Leopold.”

Yes. Is it really okay for her to speak so openly about her mother’s evil deeds?

Any noblewoman who heard this would immediately defect to Leopold’s faction.

If Ernst and Isabella were to fall, Leonore wouldn’t be safe either.

Either she hasn’t thought that far…

Or she understands her position but dislikes her mother’s actions even more.

“What does it matter? There are no ears to hear us besides our own, right? Who would believe such things even if you spread rumors? Mother would simply dismiss it as slander. Besides, you seem to have already made up your mind.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Without evidence, there’s no point in telling me this story as it won’t change how I act.

“……”

Nigel maintained her silence.

Though her brow was furrowed with intense disgust, she showed no other reaction.

That’s natural. She’s not the Margrave himself but his knight, and expressing her own opinion in such a conversation could potentially burden her lord.

Regardless of her personal feelings, keeping her mouth shut was the wise course of action.

“I should thank you anyway. It’s a chilling story even to imagine.”

“Good. Then let’s end this nauseating topic here and talk about our match. The venue will be my villa in the suburbs.”

Leonore smiled again.

“It’s originally a training place for my people, but… most of them are off duty today, so it’s almost empty. There won’t be any eyes watching except my close aides, so we can fight to our heart’s content. Though news of our match will eventually spread.”

Her voice overflowed with energy as we returned to the topic of the match.

She’s like a puppy jumping into snow.

Though her appearance and name are more feline than canine.

“What about the rules? Things like equipment or victory conditions?”

“Armor is fine, but we’ll have to use wooden swords. It’s unfortunate, but necessary. If either of us gets seriously injured, it could cause problems later.”

I’m not disappointed at all.

Right. Of course we should use wooden swords for a match. It was Nigel who was strange for immediately drawing a real sword.

As for armor… I probably don’t need it. I can take it off for the match.

“As for victory conditions, well, I probably can’t win anyway, and since this is more like training, would it be alright if we continue until I get tired?”

“That’s fine with me. You gave me good advice, after all.”

Even though I already knew the content, she showed me this much goodwill, so I should properly return the favor.

It’s not a difficult thing to do.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Leonore giggled.

I smiled as well.

—-

The carriage stopped about forty minutes later.

“We have arrived, Your Highness.”

The man serving as the coachman knocked on the carriage wall.

“Good. Thank you for your hard work, Fel. Now, let’s go.”

The door opened, and the coachman called Fel greeted the princess as she exited the carriage.

“So. This is my villa, known as the Rose Hall. What do you think?”

Leonore proudly pointed to the building behind her.

Honestly, it sounds like the name of a brothel.

…But I can’t say that out loud.

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

“Well, knights need this much space to train.”

It was a place that should be called a training facility or barracks rather than a villa.

Between two buildings facing each other was a vast parade ground.

One building, presumably for the female knights, was a simple rectangular two-story structure.

Though not luxurious, its design appeared refined precisely because of its simplicity.

The windows lined up on one wall were also of a plain design without any special decoration.

In contrast, the mansion across from it was quite splendid, likely for Princess Leonore.

The marble walls were painted rose-colored, and the spires on the roof and arch-shaped pillars displayed sculptural beauty.

Next to it was even a small garden where roses bloomed profusely.

As Leonore had promised, there were hardly any people around.

Two female knights saluting from a distance, the man called Fel, and… four presences inside the mansion. Probably servants.

Following the man’s guidance, we headed into the mansion.

“Would it be alright to have our match in the private training room inside the mansion?”

“If it’s a small place, things might get broken.”

Stone walls would crumble with a single blow, after all.

“Hmm. That should be fine. When building the villa, I had the entire basement excavated to make a training room.”

“That size should be adequate.”

A single-floor basement.

So the building was constructed by digging deep into the ground from the foundation.

In that case, this villa could be considered a semi-basement.

Probably the most expensive semi-basement building in the Empire?

—-

The training room was surprisingly pleasant.

I expected the damp air or musty smell typical of basements. Magic is truly useful.

A space that seemed to be about a hundred meters wide.

The walls and ceiling all around were covered with what looked like granite, with black patterns dotted on the white stone.

This should be enough to alleviate concerns about damage.

Only I, Nigel, and Leonore had entered this place.

At Leonore’s command, the man called Fel had returned, and she had forbidden entry to others as well.

Nigel was there to prepare for any unforeseen incidents.

“Shall we start right away?”

Leonore unfastened her sword and leaned it against the wall, then picked up two wooden longswords.

She remained in her riding attire, apparently not planning to wear armor.

I also removed my sword and armor against the wall. Even my gloves and greaves.

Everything except my cloth top and leather pants.

It would be ridiculous for me to be wrapped in armor when she’s in plain clothes.

“Yes. I’m ready.”

I took the wooden sword handed to me by Leonore and brought it up to my face.

Like Nigel did that time.

This is the knight’s salute, isn’t it?

“Haschal Median Aishan-Gioro, master of House Median.”

Yes. I wanted to try it at least once. Honestly, it was cool.

It’s like, what do you call it, a man’s romance.

Leonore responded with the same salute.

“Knight Commander of the Rose Cross Knights. Leonore Wittelsbach. I look forward to our match!”

As she finished speaking, Leonore charged like a wild beast.