Chapter 23

The banquet immediately fell silent.

The music stopped, and people stood frozen, staring at Shane and Marcus.

The strongest swordsman of the North, Shane, and the strongest warrior of the West, Marcus.

The fact that these two were about to fight was a spectacle you couldn’t even pay to see.

“Shane’s going to win anyway.”

“No, Marcus is a step above.”

“You just haven’t seen Shane’s swordsmanship.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Sure.”

People whispered excitedly, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

“Shane, I’ve been wanting to face you. Looks like the opportunity has come.”

“Same here, Marcus. I’ve been counting the days.”

“Will you still be able to say that when my spear pierces your heart?”

“Your head will fly off before that happens.”

“Come at me, Shane.”

“You come at me, Marcus.”

The two exchanged words but didn’t move an inch.

They were both thinking the same thing.

‘The one who moves first loses!’

Both Marcus and Shane knew it well.

That the moment they swung their weapons here, they’d face severe punishment.

Though both were brave knights who loved battle, they knew when and where to draw the line.

This was a banquet attended by high-ranking nobles.

Causing a scene here would mean unavoidable punishment, and if a noble got hurt, it could even mean execution.

The Empire’s laws weren’t as lenient as one might think.

In that sense, Marcus drawing his spear was just for show.

He couldn’t just stand by after the person he was guarding, Cobin, got hit.

Drawing his spear was the least he could do to maintain his family’s dignity.

And since Shane, who was guarding Kal, was in the same position, all that was left was for someone to intervene.

Then the two could exchange words like, “I won’t forgive you next time,” or “Consider yourself lucky,” and gracefully back off.

The role of mediator fell to Pamelia, Selly’s retainer.

“Both of you, stop. This is a sacred banquet. Drawing weapons here? Are you out of your minds?”

Pamelia, a seasoned mage, understood Shane and Marcus’s intentions.

“What if someone gets hurt? Please, stop here.”

At Pamelia’s half-hearted plea, Shane and Marcus reluctantly lowered their weapons.

Shane looked at Kal, and Marcus looked at Cobin.

It was a signal that they had done enough and it was time to make a decision.

“…Enough, Sir Shane. Since it’s a rare banquet, I’ll let Sir Marcus drawing his spear slide.”

“Understood.”

At Kal’s words, Shane stepped back and sheathed his sword.

Now it was Cobin’s turn.

“Who said you could stop?!”

Cobin shouted, trembling.

“I got hit! Sir Marcus! Pierce that Northern bastard with your spear right now! Rip his head off! Or you’re fired!”

From Cobin’s perspective, it was unfair.

He was the one who got hit, and the adults around him were trying to sweep it under the rug.

Finally, Kal stepped forward gracefully.

“Cobin, that’s enough. I’ll apologize for hitting you. If you want, I’ll let you hit me back.”

“No? I don’t want to! Hitting you won’t make up for it!”

Cobin pointed at Ariel.

“Unless that elf girl takes the hit for me!”

The crowd buzzed at his words.

Cobin’s behavior was just too ugly.

“He’s going to hit an elf girl…”

“Such a cute girl…”

“Truly, there’s no devil like him…”

But Cobin didn’t back down.

“What do you say, elf girl? Since this is your fault, take responsibility! If you think getting hit is unfair, we can duel! Yes, let’s duel!”

Cobin shouted at the top of his lungs.

*

‘A duel is better.’

Cobin thought to himself.

Hitting someone ends with one strike, but under the guise of a duel, you can beat them to death.

‘Hehe, this’ll be fun.’

Rumors had it that Kal Kastark had been rejected by an elf. Or was it a proposal?

Anyway, among nobles, such rumors were often baseless, but given Kal’s actions, this one seemed true.

When Cobin tried to pour milk on Ariel’s head, Kal had rushed in and hit him.

For Kal, who usually carried himself with the dignity of the Northern heir, it was an impulsive act.

So the rumors were likely true, and the elf in question was probably Ariel.

If Cobin beat Ariel to a pulp in a duel, how much would Kal suffer watching it?

He could teach the arrogant elf a lesson and punish the unlucky Kal at the same time. Naturally, Cobin thought a duel was the way to go.

Imagining Kal’s twisted expression, Cobin smirked maliciously.

“If that elf girl accepts the duel, I’ll let Kal Kastark hitting me slide!”

Cobin declared.

“But if she refuses, I won’t let it go!”

At this, everyone’s eyes turned to Ariel.

“…Cowardly, Cobin. Are you really out for blood?”

Kal growled.

“Challenging such a delicate girl to a duel…”

Then Shane approached Kal and whispered.

“It’ll probably be fine. You saw it earlier.”

He was referring to Ariel’s arm-wrestling feat earlier that day.

Ariel had overpowered a burly man with pure strength.

At that level, even Kal couldn’t guarantee he’d win against Ariel in hand-to-hand combat.

Of course, Cobin had probably received some swordsmanship training from his family, but it was likely half-hearted.

“It’s best to trust the elf girl for now, young master.”

“Hmm… Alright. Cobin’s a pathetic guy after all… But if Ariel’s in danger, I won’t stand by.”

“I’ll step in then too.”

Kal was convinced.

He decided to trust in Ariel’s strength, which had overwhelmed the arm-wrestling man earlier.

For the same reason, Selly was also convinced.

“Ariel, be careful. If things get dangerous, I’ll help you right away.”

*

Ariel, who had been eating chocolate cake, stood up and walked over to Cobin.

She had decided to accept Cobin’s duel.

She didn’t know or care about Cobin’s exact intentions, but she had a rough idea of what kind of person he was.

Cobin was a troublemaker who picked fights for no reason.

Normally, she’d let it slide, but this time she didn’t feel like it.

Cobin was just too unreasonable.

Ariel knew Cobin had tried to bump into her shoulder earlier.

She had dodged, causing Cobin to fall and embarrass himself, and now he was throwing a tantrum to vent his frustration.

Truly, the behavior of a troublemaker.

As Ariel stood facing him, Cobin smirked cruelly.

‘Hehe. I’m going to smash that cute face of yours.’

Cobin had no weapon, and neither did Ariel.

So the duel would be hand-to-hand.

There was no formal structure to duels.

When nobles or knights fought, it was a duel.

“Shall we begin?”

Cobin said, taking a stance.

Back at his family’s estate, Cobin had hated swordsmanship training.

Even wooden swords were heavy to swing.

So the only thing he had trained seriously was martial arts.

Martial arts, the skill of striking an opponent with bare hands!

Cobin believed that mastering martial arts could kill an opponent with bare hands.

And it was true. Though using weapons was far more efficient.

‘Finally, it’s time to use it…’

In secret, Cobin had been practicing an ancient martial art he found in his family’s library.

The name of this ancient martial art was ‘Mantis Fist.’

A martial art modeled after the movements of a mantis, characterized by rapid, overwhelming attacks to keep the opponent off balance.

As Cobin lowered his body and raised his hand, he truly looked like a mantis.

“Pfft, what’s with that weird stance?”

“Ugh, it’s ugly!”

People laughed at Cobin’s stance, but he didn’t care.

‘They’ll be surprised soon enough!’

Cobin had tested his Mantis Fist on his servants multiple times and was confident it had reached a considerable level.

After all, the servants he had attacked had been in great pain!

“Mantis Strike!”

Cobin charged at Ariel, swinging his claw-like hand sharply.

His target was Ariel’s neck.

Servants who had been struck in the neck by the Mantis Strike had temporarily lost their breath and suffered.

‘So its power is definitely proven!’

Thud!

Cobin’s Mantis Strike hit Ariel.

And immediately, a scream erupted.

“Aaaah!!”

It was Cobin’s scream.

*

“What’s that? He broke his own hand.”

“Tsk tsk, I knew something was off with that weird stance.”

“Pathetic, picking on a girl…”

“Is it really that hard to throw a punch?”

People buzzed again.

The duel had ended too anticlimactically.

Cobin had attacked Ariel with a strange move and ended up breaking his own hand in the opposite direction.

“Aaaah, my hand! My haaand!!”

Cobin drooled and wailed, while Ariel just stood there blankly.

“M-Marcus! Help me! This damn elf girl broke my hand!”

At Cobin’s cry, Marcus sighed.

Marcus’s face showed he wanted to hit Cobin himself.

‘I told you repeatedly to stop with that Mantis Fist nonsense…’

“This is a duel you requested, young master. I can’t interfere.”

Marcus said firmly, and the duel ended like that.

“Well, that’s it.”

“How boring.”

“Typical Cobin.”

People scorned Cobin and turned away.

The music started again, and Ariel turned to finish her chocolate cake.

“It’s not over yet!”

Cobin suddenly jumped up and charged at Ariel again.

Even in a duel, attacking someone who had turned their back was dishonorable.

But Cobin had no honor to begin with, and now he was beyond reason.

All that was left was a strong desire to attack Ariel no matter what.

His method of attack was even more despicable.

As Ariel sensed Cobin’s presence and turned, Cobin tried to poke her eyes with his fingers.

“Ariel!”

Selly shouted urgently, and Kal stomped the ground, but Cobin’s fingers were already inches from Ariel’s face.

“Hehe, I’ll blind you!”

Just as Cobin’s fingers were about to poke Ariel’s eyes.

Ariel swung her hand.

As if swatting a bug, lightly.

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