Chapter 53

It has been decided to be published as a book! It is scheduled to be released in December. This is all thanks to everyone. Thank you.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Clanel was shouting from his bed in the hospital room.

He had lost. He had lost completely.

He had lost to Soji, the master of Annelotta.

After losing all his blessings, he had broken his ribs, which had not healed and continued to cause pain.

Every time he spoke, intense pain shot through him.

Still, he could not help but shout. Otherwise, he would go mad.

"Why! Why do I always, at the most important moments—"

When he was young, he had carried the hopes of the Feilarte family on his back in the imperial trials, yet he had lost to Annelotta, who was two years younger.

This time, he should not have lost, but he had lost to a commoner of Rank 1. He had disgraced the Feilarte name. By now, his father would have been informed of his disgraceful defeat.

"The fact that I disgraced the Feilarte name is less shocking than the fact that I couldn't get Annelotta. Ha, ha ha ha ha, I, I, I liked Annelotta, I liked 'Anne.'"

He had disgraced the Feilarte name, but he was more disappointed that he couldn't get Annelotta.

He had noticed the way Annelotta looked at that commoner in the audience.

It was not the look of respect one gives to a master. No, it was more than that. It was the look of a woman in love.

When he saw that look, he felt a shock as if the world had ended. He was jealous of that commoner, who had received such a look from Annelotta.

Then he realized. He hated Annelotta. But he liked her even more. He didn't want to give her to anyone. Therefore, he had to win, he had to win and take her, but he had lost disgracefully.

He could make any number of excuses, but the result would not change.

"If this continues, I might lose to Annelotta again. If that happens, it will really be over."

He would be bedridden for a month.

Since he couldn't heal with blessings, he had to rehabilitate himself. He had to regain his peak strength and instincts, and get used to his new sword. It was impossible.

To begin with, he didn't understand why he had lost. The final blow, there was no guarantee that Annelotta couldn't use it. That mysterious man had been with her for two months. It was impossible to imagine how strong Annelotta would become.

Scary, scary, scary.

He would lose. He would lose again. If he lost again, what would become of him?

If he lost to Annelotta in the capital, the honor of the Feilarte family would be ruined. Everyone would say that the Feilarte family could never defeat Oclaire.

And most importantly, the connection with Annelotta would be completely severed. There would be nothing left to connect him to Annelotta. If he won and obtained the Quval Bestia, it would become an unbreakable bond.

He wanted to win. He wanted to win by any means necessary.

"Wow, what a mess. Hey, boy. Your savior has come to visit. Oh, you're skeptical? It's true that Soji didn't kill you, but if I hadn't helped, you would have lost your right hand and died as a swordsman."

A girl with brown hair stood beside his bed.

His spine froze.

Even though he was a first-class swordsman, he hadn't noticed her standing right next to him.

"What, you look like a pigeon that's been shot. Here, a beautiful girl like me has come to visit, and you react like that? It's a shock."

The girl giggled.

Her mannerisms were like a cat in front of its prey, which heightened his vigilance.

"Oh, you're silent? Wow, you really are a coward."

"Who are you?"

"I'm your senior. Yurii from the second year. Nice to meet you? I've come to bring you some good news today."

"Good news?"

It was unbelievably suspicious. He decided to dismiss her casually.

"Hey, Linga! Hanama!"

He called the names of his guards and the elite of the Feilarte family who supported his hunting in the underground labyrinth. Both were Rank 3. They would easily chase away such a girl.

"Ah, sorry. They won't come. I wanted to talk to you alone, so I put them to sleep."

"What!?"

He focused on the girl in front of him. However, she appeared to be only Rank 1. He couldn't imagine how she could deal with those two.

"As long as I have these eyes, I'm Rank 1, so it's no use looking at me. Rather, don't you want to hear the good news? Let me tell you. You want to win, right? I'll make you win."

"I want to win. But I don't need your power. I'll win with my own strength."

"That's strange. You said, 'I want to win. I want to win by any means necessary.' That's what you shouted in your heart."

"Why, how do you know that?"

Clanel was speechless. The girl had perfectly overlapped his words.

"Still, I don't need your power. If I don't choose my means, anything is possible."

"Hmm, maybe you're thinking of using the Feilarte family's elite, those Rank 3 guys, to ambush and kill that commoner in the underground labyrinth?"

"What, how do you know that?"

The girl had mentioned his last resort.

Using the Feilarte family's elite, three Rank 3 users, to slaughter that commoner in the underground labyrinth, where the law did not apply. He had thought it would ensure his victory.

"You're being watched. Probably by the king. He can't directly support you, but he's thinking about preventing any unfairness in the duel. You and your followers are under surveillance. If you try to ambush and kill, they'll be happy to take action with a just cause."

The king and Duke Oclaire were close, and it was common knowledge among the upper nobility that the duke thought of Annelotta as his own daughter. Even if Duke Oclaire were executed, that would not change.

He had underestimated the situation. The king had allowed the duel between Annelotta and himself because Annelotta had a chance of winning. That chance was that commoner. If he lost the public duel, he would never be able to obtain the Quval Bestia. That's why the king had approved the duel.

"If that's the case, I just need to win the duel. I'll get my body in shape before the duel. If I do, I can win. I should be able to win."

He had been anxious until just a moment ago, but upon careful consideration, it was nothing.

He had seen the other side's trump card in this battle. If he anticipated it, he should be able to deal with it. After all, he and Annelotta were on completely different levels. There was no way he could lose.

That man was a high-ranking Rank 1, but he had heard that Annelotta had not raised her rank at all since entering the school. Even if that man was abnormal, the best he could do was reach mid-Rank 1.

"Hmm, I see. You only have a slight sense of crisis, thinking you might lose."

The girl laughed, clutching her stomach. She was even tearing up from how funny it was.

"What's so funny!"

"Well, it's just too ridiculous. I have a little more mysterious power than most people. I'll tell you. If you continue like this, you will definitely lose to Annelotta. By the next battle, Annelotta will reach Rank 2, and her sword skills will surpass yours thanks to Soji's teaching. You won't stand a chance after your rehabilitation."

"There's no way that could happen!"

"It can happen. In fact, Annelotta reached high-Rank 1 in just four days of diving into the underground labyrinth, thanks to Soji's power. Why do you think someone who can do that can't reach Rank 2 in two months? Her sword skills will improve just as much. Soji is a genius at teaching. Annelotta is growing at a terrifying rate. Of course, she has talent too."

Normally, he would laugh at such an impossible claim.

But Clanel couldn't laugh. He had met that man named Soji.

Reaching high-Rank 1 in four days was so impossible it was laughable. He had taken over a year to reach high-Rank 1 after entering the knight school and diving into the dungeon.

"Am I, am I going to lose?"

As soon as he said it, his uncertainty turned into certainty.

"Yes, definitely. And I'll tell you what happens next. Annelotta, who was weakened by the threat of you, will naturally fall in love with Soji, who saved her. She will give her body and soul to him. Ah, it's so dirty! In other words, you will be a stepping stone. You will be a mere stepping stone for Soji, the protagonist, to shine."

"My, my 'Anne' will be defiled."

His whole body froze. The ground beneath his feet crumbled. In his mind, he saw the image of that commoner embracing a naked Annelotta from behind, with a thin smile on his face.

"Is that okay with you?"

Those words were the devil's whisper. He knew intuitively that accepting them would lead to destruction.

Still, he couldn't stop himself.

"There's no way I can allow that. I can't allow it. Because 'Anne' is mine!"

No one else could have her. Annelotta had to be his and his alone.

"Right. Then, here's a gift for you. Take it. When you can move, take 'this' and hunt on the same floor as Soji. The surveillance won't act if you do only that. After that, they will die on their own. It's a toy that causes artificial disasters. A riot. You've heard of it, right? Be careful not to get caught up in it."

The girl laughed as she handed him a sinister black orb.

"With this, I can protect my Anne."

"Yes, you can. Take back the princess from the evil wizard. From today, you will be the protagonist."

The moment he took the black orb, his heart beat loudly.

It was an incredibly sweet sensation.

The girl looked at Clanel and continued to laugh, speaking in a voice so low he couldn't hear it.

"Clanel, you are indeed the protagonist. Of a ridiculous comedy. Hmm, this will make the difficulty level better. It was too easy before. So, Soji, will you, or rather, will you all become stronger again because of this?"

Clanel raised his head after a while. No one was there.