Chapter 151

(151)

Honestly, I thought this was madness.

Lady Tenitia was not someone who should risk her life for around 200 soldiers.

To be precise, it was a dereliction of duty for Tenitia, the escort knight, to claim she would go fight while leaving me behind.

Still, I do not regret not retreating at that moment.

I believe both Tenitia and I were emotionally a bit exhilarated.

Tenitia has always been that way, and I also knew well how intoxicating the cheers of the battlefield could drive a person mad.

Knights could not forget those cheers, even in peacetime, creating jousts, and the bourgeois simplified those jousts into something known as ‘sports.’

Things like football, where you kick a ball with your foot, basketball, where you throw with your hands, and cricket, which is played with a bat.

When one showcases great skill in sports and leads their team to victory, eliciting the cheers of the fans, that feeling is overwhelming.

However, nothing compares to the stimulation and brilliance of becoming a knight and dominating the battlefield.

The cheers of sports disappear once the match ends, but the cheers of the battlefield remain forever, manifesting as status, decorations, swords, and land, singing songs that last an eternity.

I too understood the cheers that accompanied Tenitia.

Thus, I admired her, and lost my rational judgment in emotion.

It was natural for Tenitia to lose her composure.

One could not expect her to maintain her reasoning after seeing her father collapse, bleeding, right before her eyes.

“I hope you suffer painfully in death. I shall burn your souls. How does it feel when your eyeballs are boiling? Your wings burning makes you resemble a moth to the flame. Do you dare to try to soar to the heavens?”

In the middle of the forest, I laughed maniacally, hurling curses as I conjured flames of incantation.

With my scaled left arm, I deflected the black feathers thrown by the infiltrators and split their heads open with my sword, ‘Black Tear.’

The corrupted orcs blocked Tenitia’s path.

I unleashed ‘Flame Waves’ and sent it forward.

A wall of fire over 5 meters high shot out, devouring the trees as they burned down, while the infiltrators writhed and danced in flames.

Kaaak—!

Kaaak—!

Even Tenitia’s armor and cloak remained unscathed amidst those flames.

Charging towards the wicked orc shaman, clad in brilliant platinum armor with a swirling red cloak, she truly resembled a hero from legends.

The orc shaman started chanting incantations, and the dead goblins and orcs began to rise one by one, armed for battle.

Even the orc warlord Tenitia had beheaded before clutched his head under his arm and readied his glaive again.

“Do the already dead long for the world of the living? Do you truly believe there’s a place for you in this world? You shall vanish into ashes.”

I roared like a mad dragon, conjuring flames and shot forth ‘Spear of Fire.’

The orc warlord exploded, and the surrounding infiltrators became crows’ roasts.

My heart burned so fiercely that I wanted to collapse on the spot.

It felt like swallowing a hot potato, my insides were sizzling.

The towel draped around my neck was left without ash, and the ground beneath my feet was boiling.

“Lady Tenitia!”

Around the orc shaman, riding on black wings, dozens of infiltrators were gathering.

Tenitia swung ‘Hwanhan’ to cleave the neck of an infiltrator, but the infiltrators released a mental wave in unison as if singing in choir.

Kaaak—!

Kaaak—!

Kaaak—!

Even I felt a ringing in my head amidst that sound.

In an instant, Tenitia wavered and stopped.

Blood dripped down from beneath her visor, and I saw it spark up almost instantly.

I created ‘Spear of Fire’ to throw, but the orc shaman swirled black feathers like a shield to block it.

Then he cast a ‘Shock Wave’ spell towards Tenitia.

That spell, balanced between destruction and spirit arts, possessed the eerie ability to penetrate armor and attack those inside.

Translucent black energy and feathers swirled around, causing Tenitia to float and fly over 10 meters before crashing down to the ground.

* * *

Lord Valenciaunos rushed to support Tenitia, disregarding the infiltrators coming from behind.

The future Sword Master had to be careful even with a single finger.

“Are you okay, Lady?”

“Your Highness. Yes, I am fine.”

“How about we retreat at this point?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I believe we have bought enough time.”

“Alright… then…”

“Now, only the matter of pride remains.”

Tenitia raised her visor, cutting off his words.

Her crimson eyes pierced through him, and Valenciaunos felt a chilling sense of liberation in that instant.

“Your Highness, if we charge again, I believe we can break through.”

Tenitia smiled gallantly, rising again with her sword held high.

“I wish to grant that glory to Your Highness.”

She killed two charging infiltrators, causing Valenciaunos to express a look of surprise and confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Your Highness, may I ask one more time. Do you not wish to do something befitting a knight?”

He thought he needed to silence Tenitia’s mouth.

“Does the glory of rushing alone towards the enemy while everyone retreats, risking danger to behead the enemy commander not tempt you?”

Her words forced him to reconsider his prior decisions.

“I mentioned it on the ship. While you are not knightly, you possess nobility. I know too. You are not a villain to your core. You are of a status that cannot simply burn your life for personal glory, like myself.”

But.

“I wish you would understand how joyful it is to live so simply and passionately.”

He felt he understood what she wanted to say.

“Your Highness, it is just the two of us here. Please decide as you wish.”

Knowing well how joyous it could be.

He was tempted by the most loyal and knightly of knights.

Valenciaunos shouted gallantly, “Let us slay that monster!”

The noble and knight charged into the enemy ranks.

Valenciaunos disrupted the infiltrators’ mental waves with ‘Spear of Fire’ and ‘Flame Waves,’ while Tenitia forged a path in the midst of chaos.

“Now is the time! Your Highness!”

In an instant, the orc shaman became flustered, beginning to chant a lengthy spell to summon more infiltrators; Valenciaunos shouted.

“Anima!”

Wind erupted from beneath his feet, and his body soared a distance of 15 meters in a blink.

Thud, pssh!

He dashed across the heads of the infiltrating orcs like stepping stones, swinging down a burning mana blade upon the orc shaman’s neck.

Kaaan!

The shaman raised a staff adorned with skulls and antlers to block Valenciaunos’ sword.

Green mist and black feathers swirled, pushing back the mana blade and flames.

The orc shaman shouted as if thousands of mouths spoke at once.

“You! Descendant of Solletarass! You dare interfere with us once more!”

Valenciaunos understood that was not just the orc shaman speaking.

He perceived the presence of great beings watching this world, lurking beyond the red eyes of the orc shaman, as well as the infiltrators who had sold their souls to those entities.

In a moment, his mind dimmed under that overwhelming essence.

“I shall obstruct you time and again.”

A dignified voice pulled him back to reality.

Through a sea of enemies, Tenitia approached with her crimson mana blade held high.

Her platinum armor, despite numerous scratches remaining, still shone brightly.

Pooof!

‘Hwanhan’ pierced the orc shaman’s belly, causing the shaman’s thick arms to go slack.

Valenciaunos twisted his waist and unveiled the imperial swordsmanship.

Imperial swordsmanship Stage 1, All Cut Apart.

It bore the meaning of everything being agony.

In an instant, mana swelled within him, supporting each muscle fiber, and ‘Black Tear’ was swung fiercely.

Tsuukaaak!

The orc shaman’s head rolled across the ground.

“Long live Lord Valenciaunos!”

Tenitia knelt before him, presenting the shaman’s head.

Valenciaunos hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

“Your Highness.”

“Lady, we are no longer alone.”

“You must see this through to the end.”

Valenciaunos smiled faintly.

His golden eyes curved beautifully.

“I can acknowledge it. Indeed, being knightly is truly joyous. Without thinking, simply cleaving the enemy before your eyes… I too wished to live so simply and passionately.”

That was the remark he could not echo.

He brushed his wet hair back to prevent it from falling forward.

In a pleasant yet indifferent manner.

“I shall never forget the knightly experience you allowed me to have.”

Valenciaunos took the orc shaman’s head from Tenitia’s hands, raised her hand high, and declared, “Lady Tenitia has captured the orc shaman!”

Cheers erupted from all around.

Tenitia gazed at Valenciaunos’ otherworldly eyes, his pale cheeks, and pristine attire.

If that was his choice, then she had to follow it as a knight.

His lord seemed to prefer leading knights of glory rather than taking glory for himself.

What made Tenitia feel both joy and sorrow above all else was that Valenciaunos understood what knightly valor was.

Tenitia raised her hand high.

“Waaah!”

“Long live Lady Tenitia!”

“Lady Tenitia has defeated the infiltrators!”

What did it mean to deflect the applause that one could have received towards another?

What kind of emotions, loyalty, and memories made a person so detached yet poignantly affected?

That curiosity lingered, yet the fear that knowing would be wrong kept her in check.

She simply wished to stay by his side, to help him seize even a fragment of glory.

* * *

On the terrace of the red castle, Valenciaunos and the Jester conversed.

“Your daughter saved my life and the lives of 200 soldiers.”

“I don’t mean to boast, but I knew she could do at least that much.”

“Is that so?”

The Jester smiled contentedly.

“I told you so. I can no longer face more than five opponents. Moreover, to save the life of the Duke and slay infiltrators, that is truly knightly. You’re far better off than me, who fainted from a mental wave.”

Valenciaunos cautiously asked, “Doesn’t it feel empty and regretful?”

“No parent feels entirely relieved when their child leaves their hands. However, there is no greater fulfillment than having raised a child who surpasses you. One day, Your Highness, you too shall come to know this.”

The Jester collected his emotions and spoke calmly.

Valenciaunos nodded.

“So you let her go.”

Without hesitation, the Jester replied, “In this countryside, it would be difficult for her to learn beyond what I can teach. The capital’s swordsmanship academy is full of weak fools, but the Four Major Orders are different. Moreover, once she enters, she can serve the Emperor. While it’s enjoyable to look down and care for the vassals as a baron knight, it is even more rewarding to look up and serve His Majesty as a vassal knight.”

“I understand what you’re saying. Did you never intend to suggest that? You’re meant to be greater.”

The Jester chuckled softly.

“You will likely see it as an excuse, but I warned you—culminating in potential remains merely sending a fifteen-year-old child to the capital alone.”

“Were you not concerned about being resented?”

At Valenciaunos’ question, the Jester shook his head.

That was not an answer to the question but an action denying the inquiry itself.

“Every child will eventually resent their parent. When given freedom, they will feel lonely, and if kept too close, they will feel stifled. Then, around the age of forty, when they try raising their own child, they will come to realize naturally that accepting their resentment was also part of my role.”

“It’s a dangerous statement, but you are right.”

Valenciaunos did not ask further.

He directed his gaze towards the balcony below, covered in ivy.

“Lady. It seems that’s the case.”

In an instant, a spasm passed across the Jester’s face.

It was a spasm that closely resembled Tenitia’s.

“…Your Highness.”

“It must be coincidence.”

“I understand now why the people of the capital call you a bandit.”

“Do have dinner sent up to my room. Perhaps the two or three of us can chat.”

The Jester chuckled as if he had gotten one over him, and Valenciaunos hastily added, “Just so you know, don’t even think of suggesting to return the fiefdom or any of that nonsense. She is my knight.”