Chapter 17

"Prince Baltian! Show some restraint with your rudeness!"

"Princess Winry, please step aside! This is a matter of my honor as a knight!..."

"If you truly seek honor, you should know how great the rudeness you have shown just now is!"

At her rebuttal, he gritted his teeth.

Then, shaking his head fiercely, he shouted,

"Ugh! Be quiet!"

It seemed he thought this was a last-ditch effort after being backed into a corner.

Winry, with a look of disbelief, and someone else enjoying the banquet here found the situation quite amusing.

"Princess Winry is right, I believe."

If he was willing to step in personally, it must have been significant.

The one who interrupted Baltian's angry outburst was neither Winry, nor me, nor Baris, who was walking over angrily after seeing this.

"Y-Your Highness, Princess Ilna..."

Baltian's face turned pale at the girl's voice, which sounded like rolling jade beads.

"Prince Baltian de Voltis."

"..."

"I'll ask again. Do you think you have the right to seek honor now?"

Her voice was clear and beautiful.

But it was as cold as the north wind.

Turning my gaze from him, who was trembling and retreating, I saw a small girl staring at him coldly.

The girl, with golden hair that reached her waist and shone like melted honey, was truly breathtakingly beautiful, as if she were a goddess or an angel.

However, when I saw her, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Hares?"

Hares, the sword deity.

A hero from thousands of years ago who taught me swordsmanship, and whose appearance was strikingly similar to hers.

I muttered this reflexively without realizing it.

At the same time, the girl looked up at me with surprised eyes, as if she had heard me.

I felt as if I had made a serious mistake.

This damn mouth of mine...

* * *

Hares, the sword deity.

The founder of the overbearing sword technique [Heavy Sword] and a master whose single strike could move mountains and seas.

However, the nickname he was given in the corridor was quite different from such grandeur.

Lazy old man.

He looked young but was one of the older heroes in the corridor, often treated as an old man.

The problem was that he was definitely a man.

He was quite handsome, but not a woman.

In that sense, the girl in front of me was similar to him but subtly different.

It felt as if he had become a woman and been extremely beautified.

"Just now... what did you say?"

The girl, with wide eyes, asked me with a puzzled look.

Her face showed surprise, and I felt confused, but I quickly shook my head.

"No, I must have been mistaken."

"..."

A strange look passed between us.

After staring at me suspiciously for a while, she seemed to shake off her thoughts and turned to Baltian coldly.

"I have been observing the situation. I'll ask again, Prince Baltian."

"Ugh."

"Do you think you have the right to talk about honor now?"

Because of her intervention, many people held their breath and watched the situation.

Most of the people gathered here were representatives and promising young talents from various countries.

"You not only showed rudeness to a lady who already has a partner but also insulted everyone here. Furthermore, you tried to touch a lady who refused you because she has a partner."

She must have been observing the situation quite carefully.

Baltian's face twisted with a look of defeat.

It was understandable; the people gathered here were all representatives of their countries.

But among them, the one who would be most offended would be the girl in front of me, Princess Ilna.

One of the three superpowers on the continent, the Palan Empire.

The emperor's beloved daughter.

A girl whose word could make palaces crumble and gardens grow, according to rumors.

Her influence was so great that Baltian's expression remained grim.

"Hmph, if you truly are a knight who understands honor, you should offer a sincere apology to both of them right now."

The power of group psychology is terrifying.

When some people nodded in agreement with her words, the rest of the crowd quickly followed the trend.

With a face as red as a beet and trembling, he seemed ready to run away.

"I accept a duel."

However, it couldn't just end there.

If I let it go like this, it would just be over.

"What...?"

Winry looked up at me in surprise at my words.

And Princess Ilna also looked at me with a puzzled expression.

After all her efforts, I was about to ruin her work.

Well, you could think that, but I was quite firm in my own thoughts.

"Prince Baltian, did you say you're challenging me to a duel?"

"Y-Yes!"

"I accept."

"Brother!"

"Big brother!"

Baris and Winry, as if they were twins, shouted in shock at the same time.

"Ugh... F-fine! If I win, you will kneel and apologize to me in front of everyone!"

"Hey, Prince Baltian!!"

Baris, in a rage, grabbed his collar.

"Do you realize that your ridiculous actions could escalate into a national issue?"

With a murderous look, Baris was so angry that he might have stabbed him on the spot if no one was watching.

"H... In a fair fight, what do I have to fear? H! I've heard of you, Prince Dave. They say you have a talent given by the heavens, but in the end, you can't even hold a sword properly!"

"You bastard!!"

Baris, in a fit of rage, raised his fist, but I quickly stopped him.

"Enough, Baris."

"Brother!"

Smiling, I patted his head, and he clenched his teeth and bowed his head.

"You haven't been awake for long..."

"It's fine."

I looked at Prince Baltian calmly.

"You have to judge the weight of your words yourself."

"Fine, though it's unlikely, if I lose, I'll kneel and apologize in front of everyone!"

"Alright."

My answer made his sinister smile even more pronounced. He must have been confident that he couldn't lose.

It was a natural reaction.

They were young men and women in their mid-teens, full of energy.

The people gathered here were selected as the most promising young talents from their respective countries, so they were all quite skilled.

It was indeed difficult to reach expert level in the early to mid-teens without exceptional talent.

As we walked to the center of the banquet hall, I saw my two younger siblings looking at me with worried faces.

They seemed to want to stop me but couldn't understand why I was being so stubborn.

There were also various other expressions.

Curiosity, or concern that things might get out of hand.

And one person.

A single person who was looking at me coldly but seemed lost in thought.

"Draw your sword! I'll engrave the depth of swordsmanship in you right here today!"

Prince Baltian, confidently, pointed a wooden sword at me and shouted.

I picked up the wooden sword from the ground and held it loosely, smiling calmly.

"It's been a while. This kind of thing."

* * *

The flow of the banquet, held for camaraderie and unity, seemed to quickly turn into a sparring match.

Given that they were young representatives of their countries, there must have been a lot of pride and competition among them, even in hidden places.

Moreover, for some reason, the nobles who should have prevented conflicts between countries were quietly observing the situation.

They probably wanted to avoid getting involved in a troublesome situation.

The Felicity Principality side also did not impose any significant restrictions, merely watching the sparring from a distance.

The guests soon fell silent, all eyes on the space cleared for the sparring.

"A master yields the first move to a novice!"

He shouted arrogantly, as if he had a chip on his shoulder, while I twirled the wooden sword.

Holding a sturdy bastard sword-style wooden sword, he stood arrogantly, pointing the tip at me and wiggling it.

"You insolent brat!"

Baris shouted in anger at his actions.

Not only him, but many others, though they didn't show it, had a look of annoyance.

Being energetic and being rude are different things.

Moreover, those who had observed the situation already knew who was being rude and shameless.

The one who was looking at Baltian the coldest was none other than Princess Ilna, the emperor's beloved daughter of the Palan Empire.

She glared at Baltian with a strangely irritated look and then turned to me, shaking her head as if she couldn't understand.

"You don't know how to handle this consideration."

After muttering this as if it were a joke, I looked around the thin wooden sword and then at him.

A novice.

Though a complete transformation hasn't happened yet, I have accumulated a lot during my recovery.

I have the experience of overwhelming various expert-level assassins from mid to high levels.

Now, a novice who has just entered the expert level is challenging me.

If I were to act on my temper, I would thoroughly destroy him so he could never hold a sword again, but for now, I am just a weak prince who has been out of bed for less than a year.

A good method...

exists. Just one.

A way to win while completely hiding my true strength.

Moreover, a method to completely and efficiently crush his mental state.

"Brother..."

I faintly heard Winry's worried voice.

"Then, let's see how this goes."

Muttering this lightly, I lifted the heavy wooden sword toward him.

And then, slowly, I took a step forward.

And when I reached a certain distance,

I charged at him like an angry bull.

Swoosh!!

With a heavy sound, my wooden sword lunged at him.

A light horizontal cut.

But Baltian, as if he had anticipated this, easily dodged by taking a quick step back.

"Huh?"

Thud!!

With the target lost, my wooden sword hit the ground, and the momentum threw me off balance.

"Stupid..."

Smack!!

At that moment.