Chapter 54

Part 4: Skill Confirmation (2)

Well, if it's hard to get close, I can just attack from a distance.

Yah!

After infusing the sword with mana, I threw it at Manuel with all my might.

"Ah!"

Seeing the sword flying towards him, Manuel hastily stretched out his hand.

Crack!

Electricity shot out from Manuel's hand, wrapping around the flying sword.

To my astonishment, the sword, now enveloped in electricity, gradually slowed down and stopped right in front of Manuel's nose.

He blocked it? It was a sword filled with mana? And I threw it with the strength of a knight or better.

"Ah! Did you think my ability was just about creating lightning? I can also stop and move metal objects!"

Oh, so his ability could also create electromagnets? It was a surprisingly versatile ability.

I was inwardly impressed, but unfortunately, my admiration ended there.

To block the flying sword, he had directed all the electricity that was surrounding his body towards the sword.

I had thrown the sword and immediately approached him from the side.

Even though I had thrown the sword and no longer had a weapon, that didn't mean I couldn't attack.

I clenched my fist.

And swung it with all my might.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

I aimed for his chin, just in case, and he spun through the air, landing flat on the ground.

Fortunately, he didn't immediately pass out.

"Ugh, what, what is this!"

However, the electricity he had been emitting from his hands was no longer visible, and it seemed he was struggling even to stand up, let alone generate more electricity.

"Ugh! Cheater!"

No, you shouldn't say that.

Moreover, knights are trained in hand-to-hand combat in case they lose their swords. What can you do if you don't know that, coming from another world?

I helped Manuel, who was having trouble getting up, to his feet and said to him,

"Surrender."

In a gentle voice, like a younger brother concerned about his older brother's well-being.

"Ah! I won't surrender!"

Indeed, as I expected, my words seemed to have touched his pride as a noble.

"You should surrender."

I took a step back from him, who had just managed to stand up, and said this time with a slight taunt.

"Absolutely not! Ah! You won't make me surrender!"

He tried to generate electricity again, but there wasn't even a spark visible on his hand.

After all, abilities start from the brain. With a brain that was half-concussed from the hit to the chin, it was difficult to manifest his ability.

It didn't seem like he would surrender easily.

In that case, I would just have to keep hitting him until he did.

I was controlling my strength to avoid serious injuries, so the head of the knights wouldn't intervene until he surrendered.

This was exactly what I wanted.

Thud!

"I surrender!"

Thud!

"I'll let you pass out if you want."

Thud!

"Or you can raise your hands."

I happily beat up my second older brother after that.

Fortunately, Manuel was quite resilient.

Thanks to that, I was able to fully experience the satisfaction of hitting someone, something I hadn't felt in this life.

I could also physically persuade him to the point where he wouldn't be able to ignore me when I got to the capital.

Indeed, a fist is a good means of communication.

* * *

Time passed after the sparring session.

A year had passed, and I was now 15. It was finally time to leave for the capital.

Many things happened during that time, but only a few stood out in my memory.

The only things that remained in my memory were the duchess calling me separately after the sparring session and the visit of Lady Adriana, Simon's fiancée.

Flora, who was like a mother to me, had been packing my luggage with tears in her eyes since the day before.

"You're going to study in the capital. They say it's a very dangerous place. How will a young master like you manage there?"

She continued to pack my luggage while saying things that didn't make me feel good.

Well, what she said wasn't wrong. Even though I had awakened, I was only half-awakened, and there was no way people would recognize me. The duke certainly wouldn't protect me.

Frankly, if I were an ordinary illegitimate child, I might have thrown a tantrum out of fear and refused to go.

"You are my child, but you are a truly difficult one to understand."

My mother, who had been watching me pack, sighed at my unchanged expression.

"I was grateful that you grew up so well beyond my expectations, but now I feel a bit disappointed."

She seemed to have many thoughts about me leaving for the capital.

After all, she would be left alone, so she might feel lonely.

However, my mother was getting along well with the duke, and the second wife, who could cause trouble, had been sent far away by me, so there didn't seem to be much to worry about.

The first duchess was still around, but that wasn't a problem.

I hugged my worried mother. I wasn't tall enough to reach her, but I could still hug her.

My mother was surprised by my unexpected action but soon hugged me back and sighed.

"Well, you're a child who will do well wherever you go. It won't do me any good to worry too much. I trust you and will wait for you here."

Indeed, my mother. She was more concerned about me than herself.

She was completely different from that cold duke, my father.

The luggage was taken out by the maids, and I headed to the main gate with my mother.

As we walked down the corridor, the servants stepped aside and greeted us.

Some still hesitated to greet or hurriedly moved out of the way, but it was a world apart from when I was a child.

As we stepped out in front of the main gate, the morning sunlight was blinding.

The sky was exceptionally clear, as if blessing my departure.

In front of the main gate, the family carriage with the duke's crest, the carriage for the servants, and the luggage cart were lined up.

And there were soldiers on horseback.

Among them, I saw Juan, whom I knew very well.

The entire duke's family was out today, probably because of Manuel's departure for the capital.

The duke, the duchess, the eldest son Simon, and his fiancée, Lady Iero.

She smiled at me, but didn't act too familiar due to the surroundings.

It was quite regrettable to recall how close we had become before my death in my previous life, but I was satisfied that she had survived.

I bowed my head slightly to her.

After all the luggage was loaded, it was time for the final goodbyes.

As usual, I stepped aside, and Manuel came forward to greet the duke and duchess and the others present.

"I will do my best not to disgrace the name of the Grecia dukedom in the capital."

Manuel delivered a splendid farewell speech in a clear voice, giving the impression of a child from a high-ranking noble family.

A completely different appearance from the sparring session a while ago. Indeed, he was a noble child who had been educated almost like brainwashed.

After him, I bowed politely. I couldn't afford to make a bad impression and cause trouble for my mother.

After Manuel's speech, the duke said,

"Do your best. It's a place where competitors and enemies coexist, so always be cautious."

Indeed, a typical statement from a duke. He was the same even in front of his legitimate son.

After speaking to Manuel, he turned his gaze to me.

He didn't seem to want to say anything, so I bowed my head again.

The duke didn't call me after the sparring session with Manuel.

I didn't know if he was uninterested or if he had expected it, but it was both convenient and a bit disappointing that he didn't call me.

"Stay in touch when you get to the capital, and if you have any difficulties, ask your maternal relatives for help. And..."

After the duke finished speaking, the duchess approached Manuel, caressed him, and started talking to him.

It was an uncharacteristic sight, but understandable for a mother sending her son away.

Was it because he was the youngest? Maybe it was because Manuel was still immature compared to Simon, who had grown up properly as a noble.

I caught the duchess's eye as she was talking to Manuel.

Her face stiffened when she saw me.

Seeing her stiffened face, I recalled the duchess I met in her parlor the day after the sparring session.

She was much colder and more distant than usual.

The duke didn't call me after the sparring session, but the duchess was different.

Perhaps she was unhappy with Manuel's defeat, and she was glaring at me as I entered the parlor.

When I bowed my head, she waved her hand.

"The greeting is done. Sit in front of me."

Even in a situation where she clearly didn't want to see me, she maintained her noble dignity.

After I sat down, she closed her eyes for a moment and sipped her cold tea.

After a while, she spoke.

"I've heard many times that you are not your age. And indeed, the things you've done so far have proven that."

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to survive, given Maria's character. But instead, Maria and her daughter Elena were expelled from the mansion."

"You showed skills that surprised even the knights at a young age, despite having a not-so-impressive inheritance ability."

"I don't know how you convinced your father, but you went to the count's family and performed quite well, didn't you?"

"Moreover, you even defeated my son in the duel with Manuel."

"You might indeed be a genius. It's rare to see such abilities even with a non-awakened mother."

Her calm voice continued, sounding like both praise and a taunt.

"Despite all the talk, to be honest, you were outside my interest. After all, a half-awakened person like you couldn't possibly inherit the Grecia dukedom, and you would just be one of the somewhat useful illegitimate children from other families."

She raised her teacup, but then frowned, realizing it was empty.

A maid quietly approached from behind and refilled her cup, and she continued.

"But now that you're leaving for the capital with Manuel and have defeated him, I can no longer ignore you."

Indeed, I had a feeling this would happen. I didn't regret defeating Manuel, but it seemed I would have to deal with some annoying issues as expected.

I hoped it wouldn't come to a point where we had to kill each other.

After that thought, I realized the duchess was looking at me with a strange expression.

"You are a strange child. Your face looks scared, but your eyes don't match that expression at all. If I only looked at your eyes, you'd seem incredibly bored."

Oops, did I relax? No, that wasn't the case.

I quickly bowed my head.

"Well, it's surprising, but it doesn't seem like the right time to talk about that now."