episode_0018

“Practice duel…?”

Irina looked at Leia with a suspicious gaze.

In response, the First Princess casually lifted her teacup, saying she had no particular intentions.

“Well, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see the skills of your knights.”

Soon, the tea bag in the cup rose to the surface.

Leia picked it up and absentmindedly dropped it onto the saucer.

“You’re not planning on excluding yourself in front of everyone, are you?”

Lydia also chimed in.

She, too, seemed to agree with Leia’s opinion, showing an odd expression.

“…”

Irina did not readily accept their proposal.

Instead, she earnestly gazed at her own guard.

Allen Mitrov.

A black sheep from a viscount family skilled in dual wielding swords.

Though his abilities were exceptional, his unsavory personality made him unwelcome in any group.

Even Leia, who valued competence above all else, was on the verge of giving up on him.

“Allen, what do you want to do?”

Irina did not force her subordinate.

Winning would be a great opportunity to showcase her own knights, but…

Losing would completely ruin the image of the knight order she had painstakingly built.

“If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. We are just guests today.”

Allen adjusted his bangs arrogantly by flicking them aside.

Then, he looked at the First Princess with a haughty expression.

“There’s nothing I can’t handle. Besides, we have many esteemed guests here today.”

A cold look towards Leia.

However, she did not even spare a glance for Allen.

As if she were ignoring a discarded toy.

Seeing this, Allen clenched his lips.

He seemed eager to retaliate against her disregard, as if he wanted to step down to the stage immediately.

“Just a moment, Allen.”

Irina held him back.

And advised him with a serious look.

“Do not push yourself too hard. Withdraw immediately if you feel like you might get hurt.”

Green eyes filled with concern for him.

The knight furrowed his brows at her gaze.

“Do you think I will lose even to the Second Princess?”

“That’s not the issue. Whether you win or lose, you’re the only one who will get hurt. There will be no rewards.”

The black sheep of the viscount family nonchalantly brushed Irina’s hand aside.

And firmly stated as he descended the stairs.

“I have my reasons.”

Allen passed through the guest seats and headed towards the stage.

I silently watched his actions.

—

Allen’s military boots crushed the snowflakes beneath them.

Eventually, the two knights stood side by side on the stage.

“What are you doing here?”

“Your sparring partner.”

Allen roughly brushed his bangs aside as he spoke.

Batshu frowned at his arrogant demeanor.

“A sparring partner…?”

“Yeah, the princesses weren’t satisfied with your maids’ dance-like combat skills.”

In a manner typical of a black sheep, he lightly taunted his opponent.

Soon, he drew his dual swords from the scabbard and eyed Batshu.

“So, I’m here to provide some entertainment.”

Batshu looked up at the imperial box on the second floor.

His gaze met Lydia’s eyes.

The youngest princess smiled mischievously, gesturing for him to give it a go.

In response to her smile, Batshu gave a light bow.

“What, a sparring match?”

The guests, who were captivated by the swordplay, were ecstatic.

They all turned their attention to the stage.

An unusual sight of two renowned figures facing off.

Captivated by this scene, the guests wore expressions of intrigue.

“It seems like a practice duel, Elder.”

Jaesang nodded in satisfaction at the exciting lineup.

“This way, we’ll truly see how much the princesses’ knight order has grown.”

The empire’s top elder.

The emperor’s closest confidant.

Such a sudden practice duel unfolding before his eyes…

‘This is definitely someone’s doing.’

I briefly raised my head to look at the imperial box.

But suddenly, my gaze stopped in front of the First Princess.

It seemed like she was analyzing the duel between the two.

Furthermore, the surrounding knights were heavily armed, ready to protect.

‘Is she the First Princess?’

Batshu and Allen represented the full power of the two princesses.

When they grew weary and fell, the plan was for others to step in immediately.

‘It seems they intend to ransack the empty house.’

I casually turned my head away.

For now, all I could do was watch.

—

The grand sound of trumpets echoed.

In the midst of my brief contemplation, the duel had already begun.

A height difference of nearly a head.

However, Allen, true to his reckless nature, showed no signs of fear.

Instead, he readily faced off against Bautz, who appeared smug and arrogant.

“Allow me to make the first move. Swing at will.”

Yet, Bautz did not even flinch at his words.

He simply glared at Allen with a fierce gaze.

“You call yourself the sacred warrior of the East, yet you’re just an arrogant fool?”

Seemingly bored, the fool twirled his sword with one hand.

“I don’t fight for pleasure like you do.”

A dark shadow loomed under Bautz’s eyes.

Within that shadow, his black pupils stared intensely at Allen.

“I fight solely for my princess.”

Fighting for the princess.

Those words pierced Allen’s ears.

Especially since he had been abandoned by Leia.

To fight for the princess in front of such a fool.

Perhaps the real challenge was…

“Damn it.”

It might have been Bautz, not Allen, who said that.

The moment his words ended,

Like a madman, the fool rushed towards Bautz with swift movements.

Allen, so close that it was difficult to wield his spear, lunged towards Bautz.

He thrust both his swords towards Bautz’s thick neck.

Clang!

However, Bautz defended with an iron rod, overwhelming the force of Allen’s dual blades.

“Gah…!”

The swordsman staggered.

As the distance widened, a spear descended straight towards his head.

“That seems quite dangerous.”

Kwaaang!

Hazy smoke rose from the ground.

As the smoke cleared, the fallen figure of Allen was revealed.

Ridiculously, he barely avoided the spear that fell towards him by spreading his legs wide.

The guests, who were watching tensely, burst into laughter.

“He dodges quite comically.”

“Indeed, what a fool.”

Yet, amidst their sea of laughter, I remained stoic.

Allen’s falling figure was clear enough.

No, rather, it was quite clever.

Although it may seem pathetic, there was no other way but to fall to avoid that blow.

Excellent reflexes.

And even a sense of survival.

At first glance, he may have seemed foolish, but now I somewhat understood why he was chosen.

“Hah… Yes, this is how it should have been from the start.”

Allen staggered to his feet.

Even in this unfavorable situation, he maintained his arrogance.

“Instead of always pretending to be high and mighty for the princess…”

He began to swing his dual swords again.

“Isn’t it much more fun to fight properly like this?”

His pupils dilated like a beast.

He charged towards Bautz, thrusting his pupils towards him.

“Foolish brat…”

Bautz firmly grasped his spear once again.

He aimed for Allen’s legs, who recklessly charged towards him.

Like catching a nimble fish, he raised his spear high.

And like splitting a trench, he swung it down forcefully.

However, fueled by anger, Allen did not evade.

With thoughts of revenge filling his mind, he instinctively leaped over Bautz’s spear.

And as he landed, he aimed for the opponent’s neck.

The blade of death approaching.

The spearman roared while focusing all his mana into his arms.

Clang!

And he barely intercepted Allen’s dual swords.

However…

As if expecting all of this, Allen smirked.

And as their weapons clashed, he effortlessly slid his swords along the shaft.

With a harsh sound, the swords descended through the shaft towards Bautz’s hand.

Towards the hand holding the shaft.

The spearman noticed his intention.

But by the time he realized, it was already too late.

A thin cut appeared on the back of his hand.

“This damn fool…!”

Confident of victory, Allen tried to pull his hand away from Bautz.

However, even amidst the torrent of pain, the spearman did not release the spear.

Instead, with almost superhuman focus, he pressed the shaft down on the man’s body.

Kwaaang!

Rising hazy smoke.

As the smoke dissipated, the sight of Allen sprawled on the ground became apparent to everyone.

“Yes, Bautz! That’s it!”

Lydia exclaimed confidently, clenching her hands.

However, Irina showed no sign of confusion at the fallen Allen.

Instead, she gazed at him with a confident look in her eyes.

“Sigh… Quite something, isn’t it? I thought you’d be flustered at the sight of blood…”

But Allen stood up once again.

A vagabond clad in tattered rags from head to toe.

Yet, his smirk remained intact.

“Think you can fight more with that hand?”

He chuckled as he looked at the torn sleeve of Baksu.

“Enough with the princess talk. How about taking care of yourself first?”

Despite being battered, the provocation continued.

However, Baksu didn’t even acknowledge the taunts.

Instead, he responded with a smile just like Allen’s.

“Worried about a forsaken bastard like me?”

Soon, the swordsman tore his cloak.

And firmly gripped his own arm.

“No need for that.”

Baksu’s eyes burned with intensity.

He spoke along with those fiery eyes.

“I’m different from you.”

‘A forsaken dog.’

Clearly a term referring to himself.

Allen’s lower lip trembled at the words.

And once again, he brandished his twin swords.

There’s no turning back now.

Without any pretense, he charged towards the sacred grounds of the East.

“This time, I’ll rip that damn mouth of yours apart!”

Baksu didn’t retreat either.

Gripping his bleeding hand tightly, he faced the vagabond head-on.

The mana of the two surged to the point where it could be felt even at the banquet hall.

“Aaargh!”

Mana shards flew, piercing through the ladies’ table.

The table began to tear apart in all directions.

Thanks to this, the banquet hall soon turned into chaos with fleeing guests.

‘What… about the soldiers? Is no one going to intervene?’

I calmly surveyed the surroundings.

However, there was not a single soldier to stop the overheated duo.

They simply watched with bewildered expressions.

After all, the two knights were sacred figures of the empire.

Beyond what the guards could handle.

‘Damn it…’

The situation was getting increasingly difficult.

Usually, major incidents beyond the soldiers’ control are dealt with by defense knights.

Even though I came as a guest, I am one of them.

If the upper class gets hurt in this heated situation…

Responsibility will inevitably fall on the senior who allowed the duel and on me.

Allen and Baksu will be covered by the princesses.

I glanced towards Miya, another defense knight.

She was rising from her seat, instructing the guards for support.

However, the position of the Su Bangsa is in the northern capital.

It would take quite some time to reach the Eastern Palace.

‘I should have gone to the border instead of the capital defense.’

I sighed deeply and took off my formal jacket.

Then I rose from my seat and headed towards the stage.

Kwaaaang――!!

A powerful explosion struck the stage.

Along with the explosion, billowing smoke shot up.

Thanks to it, the figures of the two knights completely disappeared into the smoke.

The whole world became so blurry that it was hard to see ahead.

Within the mist, the two knights continued to face each other.

However, they soon ceased their fight.

Someone slowly walked through the hazy dust.

“There, let’s end it here.”

With a stern expression, Kallok spoke up.

Then he approached the two guards and gestured slowly.

“You both went too far with the duel.”

The mad vagabond with his bloodstained twin swords.

The grandeur of the Eastern Sacred Grounds.

In the midst of it all, I pulled out the defense knight handbook.

And presented them with citations for violating the law.

“This is a violation of the law. You could be arrested.”

Damaging royal property.

Threatening civilians.

Reckless mana discharge in a public place.

The violations were densely written on the paper.

“Violation of the law…?”

They stared blankly at the citation.

To those who had grown up sheltered within the palace walls, the concept of law was foreign.