episode_0014

14. Duel

The two brothers were moving frantically within the castle.

No, to be precise, it was only the younger brother, who carried himself like a noble gentleman, who was moving with urgency—the elder brother exuded complete leisure.

Like a grasshopper taunting an ant, Lionel, the elder brother, clicked his tongue and teased his younger brother.

“Elioad, you coward. You’re way too tense right now.”

“Speak like a noble should.”

“Honestly, I don’t understand you.”

Lionel lazily leaned against the wall, using a stack of food crates piled in the castle as a makeshift chair.

Then, he addressed his younger brother, who was busy preparing for the siege.

“Let’s just go out there together and cut that bitch Grace’s head off.”

“Brother….”

“Think about it. Would we really go through all this trouble just to take some measly little castle?

Hell, if we cut that bitch’s head off, we can exploit noble connections as a warning and profit from it.

Then, we’ll become legitimate warlords of Redmain—!”

Having reached the limit of his patience, the younger brother hurled a nearby sack at him.

Judging by its hefty weight, it was likely stuffed with fruit as it flew toward Lionel.

Of course, to someone of Lionel’s A-rank strength, it was no heavier than a handkerchief, so he effortlessly caught it mid-air—though…

His younger brother, with his refined aristocratic features, flushed with anger and spoke.

“Listen carefully… If you want to die, die alone. I want to live.”

“Damn brat… Why do you always act like you’re so smart? If you were really smart, you’d have bent the knee to House Grace long ago.”

“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”

“Oh? Didn’t think of that, did you? Winner takes the whole army. How about it?”

Just as the two brothers were about to draw their swords, a guard hurriedly rushed in.

Panting heavily, the guard reported to the siblings, who were locked in a tense atmosphere.

“House Grace’s army has arrived!”

“Are you certain it’s them?”

“Yes, my lord! Their banners bore the sigil and blue colors of House Grace!”

“An army, huh… So they didn’t just bring knights but common soldiers too.”

The brothers ceased their argument and pressed the guard for more information.

“How many were there?”

“Well… They took a brief rest in the mountains, so we couldn’t get an exact count. Roughly a thousand….”

“Only a thousand? I could slaughter them with just me and my knights.”

Lionel Penrose, with his massive frame and razor-sharp sword.

In this world, thanks to magic, the strong were extraordinarily powerful.

To someone of A-rank strength or one who could wield magic, common soldiers were nothing to fear.

“Arrived two days early, huh… Good. I’ll crush them myself.”

“Brother—!”

“Shut it, little brother. I’ll be back after I win.”

Ignoring Elioad’s protests, Lionel mounted his horse and departed.

Leading the knights under his command…

When he arrived at Penrose Plaza, soon to become a battlefield,

Lionel wrapped his vocal cords with mana and roared, taunting his enemies.

“I heard you came, you damn Grace bitch—!! Face me—Lionel Penrose, eldest son of Baron Penrose, once the Imperial Sword under the last emperor—!!”

Within less than two minutes, Vivian came galloping toward him, grinning eagerly.

Upon seeing her unusual weapon—an elongated spear—Lionel smirked, seeming to recognize her.

“Vivian Grace. I’ve heard you’re a peerless warrior and a valiant woman.”

“Flattered.”

Responding to his words, Vivian bared a fierce smile and raised her finely forged glaive.

Seeing her ready for battle without hesitation, Lionel laughed heartily and drew his sword.

“Thank you for accepting the duel. Killing you will surely crush their morale—!”

“No plans to run like a coward, huh?”

“Well, of course! As knights and warriors, if we fall in honorable combat, what death could be more glorious—?!”

“For a guy with a dick, you’re not half bad!”

Mounted on their steeds, the two warriors raised their weapons.

The knights behind Lionel stepped back, refraining from interfering in the duel.

Likewise, Vivian’s knights and roughly two thousand soldiers, who had hurried after her, stayed out of it.

The world fell eerily silent, as though only the two existed.

The heavy quiet was broken only by the sound of their horses’ hooves.

*-Clang-!!*

In an instant too fast for a normal person to follow, their weapons collided.

The metallic shrieks of Vivian’s heavy glaive and Lionel’s razor-sharp longsword filled Penrose Plaza.

“Not bad!”

“As expected… The rumors of your valor and skill weren’t bought with coin—!!”

The two warriors continued their mounted duel, their weapons clashing again and again.

After roughly eight more exchanges, Vivian spurred her horse and leapt into the air.

“How about this—?!”

With a battle cry, she imbued her glaive with a dense surge of mana.

A shimmering blue aura became visibly wrapped around the glaive’s edge, radiating menace.

Vivian swung downward from mid-air toward Lionel.

Lionel, still mounted, swung upwards with his mana-coated sword to meet her strike.

*-Kwaaaang-!!*

The moment their weapons clashed, a thunderous shockwave sent the watching knights stumbling back.

The deafening sound and the violent gale that erupted from their duel tore through the plaza like a storm.

The flagstones split apart and were flung outward from the sheer force…

Blinded by the aftermath, soldiers and knights slowly opened their eyes again.

What they saw was Vivian holding Lionel’s severed head aloft.

Hoisting his head in one hand and her glaive in the other, she roared triumphantly.

“Their general has fallen—!!”

“““WAAAAAH—!!!”””

“Ruuun—!!”

“The lord has been slain—!!”

“She’s a monster!”

The duel’s outcome inspired hope in her allies and despair in her enemies.

Lionel’s knights, broken by Vivian’s might, began to flee in panic.

“How dare you call a lady a monster?!”

“After them—!!”

Vivian carved through the fleeing knights with her glaive.

Her own knights ruthlessly pursued the routed soldiers, cutting them down.

Though six of them managed to reach the castle gates…

“Open up—!!”

…the gates remained firmly shut.

Deliberately having held back, Vivian tsked in irritation upon seeing this and finished them off.

“Tch… So you won’t open the gate? Annoying….”

She had hoped they’d open it to receive their retreating soldiers, allowing her to storm in at full speed.

But with the gates barred and the knights abandoned, her improvised plan fell apart.

Clicking her tongue in frustration, she turned her horse to return to her lord.

*(Vivian, unleashed.)*

———————————————

I was stunned.

Living in the countryside, could I have ever seen an elite warrior or adventurer before?

The only noteworthy figures I’d encountered were Lilliana Pendleton and her sisters five years ago, and that was only briefly.

Not once had I even seen them fight.

But witnessing this now…

“That was… freaking *awesome*…”

Didn’t some kind of sword wind shoot from her glaive during that last strike?

The fact that I had no magic of my own only filled me with sorrow.

Seeing my admiration and regret, Erika quietly murmured in response.

“I can do it too.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind….”

Too quiet to properly hear… What was that?

Before I could ponder further, Vivian returned, resting her glaive on her shoulder.

“Sorry, Lena. I tried thinking hard, but we’ll need a siege.”

“…Do not trouble yourself over it. Given the presence of traitors, a siege was inevitable anyway.”

Patting Vivian’s shoulder, Erika accepted Lionel’s severed head.

His pale scalp, impaled on a pole, swayed menacingly overhead.

Then, turning to her generals—each a woman—she spoke.

“We have one month’s worth of time. With rationing or additional procurement, we can stretch it to ten more days.”

Erika drove the pole bearing Lionel’s head deep into the ground.

Drawing her sword, she spoke with a majesty unbefitting her small stature.

“Bring me victory.”

In response, Vivian smirked, Adele grinned, and Luna remained stoic as ever.

All three dropped to one knee, bowing their heads.

“““We shall deliver victory, my liege.”””

No longer was she just a cousin, just another noble.

She was a warlord emerging from the collapsing empire, her ambition unshaken even as Penrose fell.

Despite her petite frame, she exuded the dignity of an emperor.

As I stood there dumbfounded, Erika pouted childishly at me.

“And you? Not bowing?”

“Ah, well, I’m a contractor, not a full-time employee…”

Honestly, I had no intention of working for anyone my whole life.

Hearing this, Erika’s imperial majesty vanished instantly as she stuck out her lips cutely.

“You sly fox….”

“Huh?”

“Nothing! Now, prepare yourselves—we take the castle at once!”

Flustered, Erika turned away.

Why had she been muttering to herself so much lately, I wondered…?