The Woman I Love, But Must Not Love

Just what is that thing before my eyes?

The moment the sparring began, Hasel opened his eyes wide, focusing all his attention on figuring out the identity of the man called Kyle Lierde.

Surely, he was nothing more than a commoner who didn’t live up to the Lierde family name, no, not even a commoner, just a nobody who couldn’t even be counted among them.

But the concentration of foreign magic power and the sharp killing intent that felt like it was peeling off his skin were definitely not those of the younger brother he knew.

,Why are you like that, hyung-nim? Go ahead. Or are you nervous?”

Kyle’s blatant words clearly treated Hasel as inferior to himself.

If it were the usual Hasel, he would have immediately grabbed his wooden sword and charged, desperately trying to smash the head of that clueless failure.

gulp.

But Hasel couldn’t bring himself to do that.

He could only clench his wooden sword until it was about to break, barely moistening his parched lips and swallowing the saliva that had long dried up in his throat.

That’s how extraordinary the aura that Kyle Lierde was showing was.

,If you don’t come, this younger brother will go first.”

“…!?”

Hasel was wondering how to continue the preemptive strike, finding no visible opening.

As if he didn’t want to waste any more time, Kyle’s figure disappeared from Hasel’s sight in an instant, along with his nonchalant words.

Peo-eok!

,Keuheok…!?”

Where did he go?

Before he could even question it, a sharp pain shot through Hasel’s right forearm.

The impact felt like he had been hit by a blunt weapon like a hammer or a polearm, not a wooden sword, and Hasel fell to the ground, rolling over.

The spectators watching this, and even the referee Dver, could only gape in astonishment at this unexpected turn of events.

,Keuk, what the…!”

But the person most shocked by this situation was none other than Hasel himself.

What on earth was that movement?

At the very least, he could follow his movements with his eyes to some extent even when sparring with Dver, the current head of the family and his father.

That was what it meant for Hasel to have a promising talent even in this prestigious martial arts family, and it was also the reason why he was able to monopolize Dver’s affection.

,I can’t even follow that bastard’s movements?”

But he couldn’t even react to the movements of his younger brother, who was only a year younger than him, not even a renowned swordsman whose name was already known throughout the empire?

,…Hmph.”

Hasel felt a great crack in his pride at Kyle’s appearance, not even landing an additional hit, but turning away with a snort as if he was bored while looking at him fallen.

How dare that clueless bastard.

A failure who only tarnishes the name of the Lierde family is so elated after landing just one hit and acts so arrogant.

,You bastard!”

Hasel is basically a man like a pot.

If you light a fire, it boils quickly, but it also cools down quickly.

There was no way that a man of that temperament would stand still and endure, having been struck by a younger brother he had always looked down on, and even provoked.

Shaking off the pressure he felt from Kyle with anger, Hasel grabbed his wooden sword and charged with all his might.

Although the underlying emotion was just anger, as expected of the Lierde family’s promising talent, his movements were flawless and amazing.

Pretending to charge from the front, he immediately tilted his body to the side, aiming for Kyle’s right arm.

It was to avenge the right arm he had just been hit on.

Tta-ak!

But the wooden sword he swung ambitiously was blocked with a dull sound.

Kyle, who was standing still, blocked Hasel’s attack with a simple action of holding the wooden sword vertically.

If you just look at that phenomenon, there’s nothing surprising, but what Hasel couldn’t help but be shocked at was something else.

He swung the sword with all his might with both hands, while Kyle was literally enduring this weight with a simple movement of holding the sword with his left hand.

Kki-geuk. Kki-gi-geuk.

,Damn it…!”

What kind of trickery is this?

No matter how hard he tries to put weight on the sword, it doesn’t budge as if he’s pushing a mountain.

Besides, because he was intoxicated with useless competitiveness, Hasel was only conscious of the wooden sword in front of him and couldn’t notice another blow.

Peo-eok!

,Keuheup…! Ugh!”

He allowed Kyle’s kick to his stomach as it was, and once again fell down, creating the spectacle of vomiting on the stage.

,The tables have turned.”

Kyle stared at Hasel, who was in pain and even drooling stomach acid, with a nonchalant look and smiled bitterly.

Only the positions were reversed from when he sparred with Hasel in this place that day, but it was the same scene.

Back then, Kyle had rushed in without thinking, already scared by the thought that he couldn’t beat his hyung-nim, and he had fallen down and vomited in the exact same state as now, allowing a kick to the stomach.

It wasn’t exactly planned, but how could it flow in the same way?

However, one difference from then is the position of each other accepting defeat.

,Keuk, is it true that even a worm can roll around? I don’t know what method you used, but you managed to learn this much magic in that short amount of time.”

Compared to Kyle, who declared his surrender and humbly accepted that he was the loser, Hasel rationalized that the current difference came from magic.

Since he was a younger brother who was born with as much magic power as others since he was young, it wouldn’t be strange if he had awakened to his magical talent through some opportunity.

In other words, he wanted to comfort himself that he was still superior as a swordsman.

,Magic? What are you talking about, hyung-nim?”

,Are you pretending not to know now? You must have asked Alpe whether you could use magic during sparring! You wouldn’t say that Alpe lied to me and father, would you?”

,How could I not remember?”

Hasel smiled bitterly as he watched Kyle shake his head and deny it.

He was sure that this would give him a chance to dig in.

,Then how about we have a fair fight again as Lierde family blood, with just a sword and our bodies? Put aside that magic for a while.”

Hasel isn’t stupid enough not to feel the difference in power.

So he decided to admit that it would be difficult to beat his younger brother, who had learned a considerable level of magic, even though he didn’t know what the opportunity was.

So, he intended to lead the sparring back to his advantage by mentioning a kind of legitimacy by mentioning the family name.

Although it may seem a little ugly to someone, it is better than losing in a sparring match where the position of the next head of the family is at stake.

He wouldn’t lose in a sword-to-sword battle, so if he properly showed the difference in class at that time, the spectators and his father would all be convinced of the result.

That was all Hasel’s plan, but there was one problem.

,Hyung-nim, aren’t you misunderstanding something?”

,Misunderstanding? What is it?”

Hasel frowned and replied as Kyle deliberately acted like a pure younger brother who didn’t know anything and tilted his head.

As if to trample on even Hasel’s slightest hope, a deep sneer was engraved on Kyle’s mouth.

,I haven’t used magic yet. I just gave you a heads-up in case I couldn’t beat hyung-nim…. I guess I caused a misunderstanding.”

,…What?”

He delivered the cold truth, and Hasel looked up at Kyle, sprawled out in an unsightly manner with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Dver, who was watching this scene most closely as a referee, simply turned his head away without saying a word.

At this point, the victory or defeat was already determined.

＊＊＊

After the one-sided assault under the name of sparring ended, it was the moment when Kyle was nonchalantly coming down from the stage.

,Young Master Lierde! The sparring was really good!”

,You were so cool! Especially the first movement, we laymen couldn’t follow it at all….”

,When did you learn so much about swordsmanship?”

The young ladies of various families, who didn’t even know where they came from, rushed to greet him.

It was such a foreign sight for Kyle, who always received only cold gazes even when he attended social gatherings out of obligation, that he froze like a stone statue for a moment.

Perhaps it’s not unreasonable.

Because he has virtually secured his position as the next head of the prestigious family called the Three Swords of the Empire.

Even if he didn’t really want to greet them, the parents who were with him would have pushed him to make eye contact somehow.

You can tell just by looking at the owners or madams of each family who are glancing at this side from behind.

,What a headache-inducing life he lives.”

Such an impression inadvertently flashed through Kyle’s mind.

On the one hand, he was also dumbfounded to think that people’s treatment of him had changed so drastically just by clashing a few wooden swords.

,Thank you for the compliments. I would like to talk more if possible, but I just finished sparring, so I’m exhausted…. I hope there will be a chance later.”

However, these people are not guilty, so Kyle issued an eviction order as euphemistically as possible.

At that moment, just as disappointment was about to pass over the faces of the young ladies surrounding him, a brave young lady raised her hand and approached him, offering him a sweet proposal.

,Then, could you visit our castle soon? I personally want to have a more intimate conversation with Young Master Lierde….”

Judging from her red cheeks, she seemed to be a young lady who had developed a rather deep feeling of admiration for Kyle through the sparring a little while ago.

She was so shy and beautiful that even a man who had no special feelings for her would be tempted, but Kyle only replied without the slightest change and turned away.

,I’m sorry. I already have a woman in my heart…. I’m sure the princess will also have a good relationship.”

Although it is a feeling that he will never be able to convey to the person in question for the rest of his life, no, he must not convey it, Kyle smiled bitterly, hoping that he would be forgiven for this moment.

Meanwhile, the young ladies who remained in the place where he left began to shout kyah kyah, discussing who the woman who stole Kyle’s heart might be.