Chapter 6 Part 1. A Man With The Eyes Of A Beast

“I don’t want blood on my hands. If you give up now, it’ll be easier.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

Somehow it was quite easy to avoid, so I thought it would be okay.

From the beginning, the man did not consider me as his worthy opponent anyway.

“I won’t go easy on you any longer.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the man changed his position. He had a much more belligerent look in his eyes than before. But that meant nothing to me. I mumbled a short spell, avoiding the rushing man.

And at the same time, a thick tree trunk came flying out from the floor. The man reflexively tried to run away, but the unexpected attack caught his feet.

“What the…!”

The startled man tried to roughly rip the tree trunk, but to no avail. The engulfed tree trunk wrapped itself around him faster than he could tear it apart.

“You can’t fight this, no matter how hard you try.”

I smiled at the man, who was held tightly by the tree trunk, unable to move. After I came back to life, I also regained the powers that I had lost in Charlotte’s schemes.

“You’re a wizard?”

The man asked through clenched teeth. It would have been difficult to win if I had to fight him head-on, but fortunately this time he was off guard.

I could at least take advantage of a moment of inattention and disable him.

“I’m sorry. I must see His Highness.”

“Don’t apologize. No victor apologizes to a loser.”

“I was able to do that because you were careless. I’m not predisposed to fighting at all.”

I had basically mastered swordsmanship and physical arts in order to inherit the succession. It was just a basic level. I knew better than most that I had no talent in fighting.

“It doesn’t matter if I let my guard down or not. All that matters is that you won and I lost.”

The man relaxed his expression and let out a long sigh. I was finally relieved and removed the tree trunk that was holding him. The trunk gradually decreased in size until it seemed to disappear into the ground without a trace.

“Does that mean that I can see His Highness?”

“Yes. A promise is a promise, and I will help you to see him.”

Even though the tree trunk had disappeared, the man kept looking at the ground and furrowing his brows, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge the fact that he was defeated by a mere tree.

“Can I see His Highness right now?”

“Yes, I will report to him right away and let you meet him.”

“Good,” I sighed in relief, but I couldn’t completely relax my nerves. I had passed a mountain. Nevertheless, I still had a long way to go.

* * *

“I came to see how great the person who won the fight is, but you don’t look very strong. Hey, if you don’t mind, could you take off that hat? I would like to see who was capable of defeating the gatekeeper of Mona Chareuteu.”

“Watch your mouth. This person is a guest of His Highness.”

“You’re such a good talker, even for a subordinate who lost like an idiot and added more work to His Highness who is already tired.”

“Malaz, you have been a knight for a long time, but still haven’t given up your vulgar way of speaking?”

I looked at the two men who were arguing as if they were about to fight, and I kept my mouth shut. It was fortunate that I had an appointment with Archduke Mona Chareuteu shortly after the duel. However, I felt like I had fallen alone in an unfamiliar space, and I could not release my tension. I gulped as I looked at the tightly closed door. Not much had changed because of my nervousness. Whoever Archduke Mona was, I had to get on the same boat as him anyway. I knew it in my head, but I couldn’t help but think about it. It would be better to see him sooner rather than later anyway.

Knock, knock. That was it.

“Come in.”

It was then I heard a low voice coming from behind the tightly closed door.

“She’s here, Your Highness.”

As soon as the door opened, the man in the room with the Archduke rose from his seat and bowed to me.

I also bowed my head to honor the Archduke. I couldn’t see his face but I could feel that his eyes on me.

“Is this her? The one who beat Pezzanne.”

I swallowed hard as I heard the low voice over my head.

The somewhat tired voice was not as bad as I thought it would be.

“She said she’s a wizard.” said Pezzanne.

“….”

“Are you a fool?”

“No, sir.”

“A woman?”

The Archduke only raised his voice softly, but goosebumps broke out all over my body. It hadn’t been long since I met him, but I could tell for sure that he was a born ruler. He had the power to overwhelm the people.

“It was a woman who defeated you, Pezzanne? It can’t be. No matter how thin the person looks, women are still…,” said the other man.

“Both of you go out and stand by.”

The Archduke interrupted his men with a tone of annoyance. After the two men left the room, he spoke again. But I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“You came to see me because you had something to say?”

“Yes….”