Civil Servant Marigold

6.

“Lancel Dante.”

Count Lunter’s face turned cold. A subtle spirit surged, causing the surrounding soil and sand to tremble.

The wise ones might have suspected the Count was possessed, but Lancel knew. He was perfectly fine.

He could feel the calluses thick on his palms and the subtly rising Magic Power. An elderly knight who had lived his life never putting down his sword, even at his age—that was the reality of Count Lunter that Lancel witnessed.

An average greenhorn would lose strength in their legs just from facing him. Even the guards were unconsciously taking steps back.

“Do you know what the meaning of your actions is?”

“I am also a knight, Your Excellency.”

Lancel met his gaze with clear eyes and replied,

“Why wouldn’t I know the meaning of a duel to the death?”

“Considering you are still a naive child, I will give you one chance to take it back. Pick up the sword you threw down.”

Count Lunter’s half-closed eyes were as cold as ice.

“You’d better think carefully, you Dante Family’s young fool. If you back down now, though it will be dishonorable, you won’t regret that choice for the rest of your life. Pick it up now. I, too, have children. I don’t want to have to send unnecessary condolences to Viscount Dante.”

Die, or run away.

He was being told to choose one of the two.

Lancel’s answer was already decided.

“You know well that a knight does not get a second chance.”

“…Indeed.”

Count Lunter turned around.

The knights guarding him looked as if their eyes were burning. They seemed desperate to punish the young squire who had insulted their lord right away.

“Who will step forward?”

“Lord, I…”

“All of you.”

The moment Lancel’s voice fell, the flow of air stopped instantly. Frost seemed to form, and the night air instantly dropped several degrees.

“I will defeat every knight in this place. Count Lunter.”

“….”

Tilting his head slightly, Lancel continued,

“The honor of Mary, the archivist, and the knighthood of Lancel Dante. If the value of both ends with just one knight, it will only invite ridicule.”

“Ugh…”

“I told you not to cause trouble.”

“But, still…”

“Still what? Look at this mess. It’s like you’re a prisoner.”

Marigold shuddered at the wind blowing through the gaping window.

Imprisoned in the Lunter castle’s spire, she was already writhing in frustration, and with Pina’s constant nagging on top of that, her self-esteem had truly plummeted to the ground.

At her feet, a bowl filled with a lump of Oatmeal sat soggily, seeming to fan the flames of her misery.

“Let’s just admit we were wrong and beg for forgiveness now. They said they’d just let us go if we did. Why do you keep insisting?”

“…My performance as an administrator…”

“Are you going to be trapped here for the rest of your life? I don’t know anymore.”

“Ugh!”

Marigold clutched her head and screamed.

“Ugh… Huh?”

Just then, she heard a commotion. It was noise coming from outside the spire’s window.

A commotion seemed to have broken out, with many people running around busily.

“Count Lunter! Lancel Dante of the Dante Family has come to prove his knighthood!”

The familiar voice rang in her ears the next moment.

“Ah, what are you doing so dangerously.”

Pina cried out urgently. Marigold had leaned her body far out of the spire.

The open space of the lord’s castle came into her view. Even a man with familiar features.

“Lancel?”

7.

“Henry Hawkwood. Understand if I can’t control my strength.”

A tall man walked out, holding a Bastard Sword. He was a head taller than Lancel.

It was a duel of knighthood that did not use Magic Power at all. The two stood facing each other with only the blade of metal.

“I’ll concede the first move. Come at me first.”

“Really?”

He didn’t refuse.

Lancel took a big step forward. The scenery beneath his feet rushed past as if sliding.

“I see him!”

The knight stared at Lancel, who was charging in low, with wide eyes.

He raised his blade high and brought it down as it was. He was poised to leave a wound on Lancel’s shoulder in one go.

“I’ve won!”

The moment he was sure of his victory, Lancel’s body cleverly slipped past the blade. The sudden change in movement completely threw off the knight’s timing.

“…!”

The Pommel attached to the end of the sword filled the knight’s vision.

A dull impact struck. Just as he thought his vision was shaking, his ears went numb. It was only then that he realized he had fallen to the ground.

“You’ll be able to walk if you lie down for a day.”

Lancel was wiping the blood off the Pommel with a handkerchief.

“Next.”

The atmosphere changed.

The eyes of the knights looking at Lancel had changed. Everyone must have felt that he was at least not just a loudmouth.

“Walter Bailey.”

The next opponent walked out in front of Lancel. He was still a young man.

There was no excess in the motion of raising his Longsword. “He’s got the stance down,” Lancel murmured, stroking his chin.

“Everyone here is a good knight, Your Excellency. If my father saw that such men were pledging their loyalty, he would be very envious.”

“You seem to still have room to praise your opponent.”

“Shouldn’t Your Excellency also have some room to spare?”

Perhaps he felt Lancel’s words as an insult. The young knight in front of him narrowed his eyes.

“Here I come, Sir Lancel.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

The young knight, who had been slowly approaching, suddenly disappeared from sight.

“Ha!”

He had lowered his stance all the way to below his waist in an instant. His figure, as if licking the ground, was reminiscent of a carnivore.

Swoosh-!

The tip of his sword soared up from knee height. It accurately aimed for the center of Lancel’s body.

“A good sword, but.”

Lancel, with a smile, twisted his body. Just as the blade narrowly missed him, he rammed his shoulder into the young knight’s torso.

As he broke his balance, the knight’s body rotated halfway. He fell to the ground back first. There was no chance to regain his posture. The blade was already aimed at his neck.

“You still lack experience. You don’t seem to have done many duels without using Magic Power.”

“…I lost.”

“Polish it. If you practice more, you’ll become a good knight.”

“….”

Two knights had lost.

The time taken was less than 10 minutes.

Moreover, the fight just now was not a duel. It was much closer to a guided sparring session. The difference in skill between the two was at least that of a master and a disciple.

The expressions of the knights gathered in the lord’s castle became even more serious.

“Jeffrey Lancaster. I won’t go easy on you.”

“Come on. I want to finish this before sunrise.”

He fell after exchanging three blows.

“Gilbert. Show me what you’ve got.”

“Come at me first.”

The sword collided twice before flying out of his grasp. The palm of the knight who identified himself as Gilbert was soaked with blood.

“Arnold Duncan.”

“You’ve got a damn big body. Let’s see if your sword lives up to its size.”

He rushed in with a tremendous shout, only to be knocked out with a single strike.

“William Ford.”

Knocked unconscious after being hit on the temple with the side of the blade.

“Rayner Maximilian.”

Tripped him up and subdued him to end it.

“Ragnar.”

Cut.

“Leopold Edgar! I’ll finish this!”

Cut cut.

“Arthurway Doria!”

Cut cut cut.

.

.

.

“No!”

Marigold cried out, covering her face.

Her heart was pounding as she watched the ongoing fight in the lord’s castle’s open space.

“Ugh! No!”

One person.

Two people.

“No…?”

Three people.

Four people.

“……?”

“He’s winning them all?”

Marigold stared in bewilderment at the knights who were falling helplessly before him.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure how skilled he was as a knight. She only thought that he would be stronger than a Mercenary since he was a knight.

But beyond five, beyond ten.

Beyond ten, twenty knights were falling before him.

And when the twenty-first opponent finally appeared before Lancel.

Clang-!

The atmosphere of the fight changed.

.

.

.

“Let’s see how many are left.”

Lancel counted the people remaining in the lord’s castle one by one with his fingers. The number of people, which had been dozens at first, had now been reduced to less than half.

Most of them had either fallen and gone to receive treatment, or were sitting down, trying to shake off the aftereffects of the battle.

“Seventeen left.”

Lancel loosened his arms.

Only a few drops of sweat were on his face, and he showed no signs of panting or exhaustion. He looked as if he had just finished his warm-up.

“Who’s next? Time’s running out, so come out quickly and let’s finish this. The guards need to go to sleep, too.”

“Please, I’ll take you on. Chester…”

“That’s enough.”

Just as the next knight was about to step forward, Count Lunter opened his mouth.

After maintaining silence for a moment, he spoke again.

“Adelhart.”

“Yes, Father.”

A man who had been behind the knights strode forward. Lancel slyly raised one corner of his mouth.

‘He’s finally coming out.’

He felt a surge of joy at seeing the familiar face.

‘Adelhart Edric Lunter… Knight of the Stars.’

If one were to express this period of the Empire in a single phrase, what would it be?

The era of the Imperial Court and romance?

The last heyday of the Empire?

The eve of the storm before the Warring States period?

The peak of the dissolute and licentious Imperial Capital nobles?

No.

Lancel believed that if a history book were to record this era in the distant future, its title would surely be ‘The Era of the Emergence of Heroes.’

An era when numerous geniuses who would later become heroes were just coming of age, breaking out of their shells and hatching. An era when promising individuals were learning swordsmanship and magic and beginning to make their names known to the world.

Adelhart was one of them. He was one of the heroes who would be active in the near future war era.

Although his sword would be directed at the Empire, and he would be named a traitor. From someone’s point of view, he was a man who deserved to be called a hero. There was a reason why he was called the ‘Knight of the Stars.’

There was a reason why such praise followed the traitor. He was a great knight who could even captivate the enemy.

From the 0th to the 3rd playthrough, where he had lived his life stuck on the battlefield, Lancel was more than familiar with his face.

“You step forward.”

“Leave it to me, Father.”

Adelhart’s eyes flashed sharply. They truly seemed to contain the starlight of the night sky.

“Sir Lancel. I am well aware that you are an excellent knight.”

Adelhart drew a sword that gleamed with silver. It was a long and thick longsword.

Extending his long arm, he pointed the tip of his sword at Lancel.

“Still, I don’t think I’ll lose.”

“Confidence is a good thing. Come at me.”

“Then.”

The Knight of the Stars took a step.

“Here I come.”

Bang, the condensed power exploded from the tip of his foot that slammed into the ground.

His arm, shoulder, waist, and heel rotated simultaneously, and the blade flew horizontally in a straight line.

The problem was the speed.

The blade was swung with a force that far exceeded human standards. It was as if it would simply cut Lancel’s upper body in half.

Bang-!

The sound of the blade tearing through the air.

Adelhart’s strike struck Lancel’s sword hilt as it was.

Clang!

A roar rang in his ears.

Sparks flew up, illuminating the night air.

‘As expected, he’s a genius!’

Lancel smiled. He was feeling a sense of joy at the presence of a genuine knight he had met in a long time.