Chapter 8

(08)

The mana, extending from my heart to my fingertips and toes, quickly enveloped my muscle fibers.

Sir Bonnel’s sword fell accurately, targeting my shoulder.

Kaaang!

I thrust upward, deflecting the sword that had been lowered with a speed unattainable by mere flesh.

Sir Bonnel’s eyes widened.

He muttered to himself.

I adjusted my grip on the great sword, which I had been holding with both hands, to one hand.

The weight of the sword strained my arm, and my upper body leaned slightly to the right.

I needed to show something even more astonishing than my previous movement.

“You can hold that heavy sword with one hand.”

“You rely solely on your bloodline and run wild. A bandit with no skills, just overflowing with strength.”

“You have the instincts of a predator. If trained well, you could become an excellent knight, but you were born in this reign.”

“Don’t say that. He would have lost control eventually, unable to overcome his own nature. A fool like him could never reach true mastery.”

I swung the sword with one hand.

Whoosh!

The sword, tracing a large arc, brushed against Sir Bonnel’s shoulder.

“Sir Bonnel, why are you flinching? Did you not say you would never lose!”

Flames sparked in his eyes.

“You honorless wretch!”

The outline of his body appeared faintly.

It was the extreme of counter-attacks.

I didn’t know if my still untrained body could withstand it.

In the end, I had to give it my all.

“Ha-hahahaha!”

I laughed loudly, attempting to hide my tension, while the knights of the royal guard tsked.

“To use the extreme against such an opponent… Sir Bonnel seems to be quite excited.”

“Well, it’s a duel, so there’s no helping it. If you get hit too much, you lose. What can you do when a tall guy with long arms swings from afar?”

“He wouldn’t want to be embarrassed in front of his seniors. Besides, isn’t the opponent also a factor? I would have used the extreme against such a fool too.”

Sir Bonnel became a gale rushing toward me.

The distance of more than ten steps diminished in an instant.

The sword swung through a trajectory that seemed impossible to block, moving with incredible speed.

I stepped back and conjured my extreme.

Just a little bit more.

The sensation of my vision turning white flickered for a moment, then the mana, which had been spread throughout my body like metal wires, swelled up like a balloon.

Time felt infinitely slow.

If I could use this power, I could go head-to-head.

But that meant accepting defeat in a duel.

That couldn’t happen.

Sir Bonnel’s sword struck mine down.

I pretended to drop my sword, feigning that I couldn’t win.

A victorious smile spread across Sir Bonnel’s lips.

I was knocked backward, as though pushed.

Simultaneously, I slowly turned my eyes to look at the Emperor and the royal guards.

“Indeed, the extreme is the extreme.”

“I saw Sir Bonnel’s skills.”

“Hmph. If he had just controlled his emotions, he would have won already. They are both useless.”

The indistinct voices coming from far away did not call my integrity into doubt.

“The Goddess of Justice, La Eustatia, watches this duel.”

Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.

Goddess of Justice, you don’t need to forgive me.

“Ha.”

With the momentum of falling back, I kicked upwards.

The mana within me supported my muscles, enhancing my strength.

My toes traced a crescent-shaped arc as they shot up between Sir Bonnel’s legs.

In the final moment, I smiled, and Sir Bonnel’s face twisted in shock and disbelief.

Thwack.

“Uggg!”

With a horrific scream, Sir Bonnel collapsed.

“What have you done now?!”

Senior Knight Kaliel rushed over.

“How could you do something so disgraceful!”

The knights sitting around the training ground could hardly find words to express their shock.

“………”

Even Empress Jeilliris stared at me with wide, blank eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders in the middle of the training ground.

“It seems I’ve won.”

Sir Bonnel was dragged out of the training ground with the support of his comrades.

His legs went limp, like tentacles of a squid.

“I told you not to aim below the waist, didn’t I?”

“I’ll check the regulations again. ‘You can’t aim with swords.’ But grappling a leg in sword wrestling is no problem, is it?”

“Still, there’s such a thing as common sense and honor!”

“Is it common and honorable for a royal who has not even properly learned swordsmanship to use the extreme against a knight?”

Sir Kaliel fell silent.

A maid rushed over and called for me.

“The Emperor is calling for you.”

Here it comes.

I headed to the dais, feeling like I was being led to the slaughterhouse.

The dais, overlooking the spacious training ground, was higher than I had expected.

A cool breeze blew, cooling the sweat I had shed during the duel.

“Valenciaunos greets the great Emperor.”

I bowed politely.

The Emperor, looking down at the training ground, gestured without even glancing in my direction.

The maid nodded and whispered for me to come closer.

I advanced to within twenty steps, yet the Emperor did not gesture for me to stop.

Closer still?

I passed the royal guards who had been ten steps away.

Still?

I walked right up next to the throne the Emperor was seated upon.

Only then did Jeilliris lift her hand as if satisfied.

Suddenly, I noticed how long and thin her fingers were.

They looked perfect for playing the piano.

But instead of celestial melodies, she played a symphony of screams and death with those fingers.

“I enjoyed the duel.”

She said this without giving me a single glance.

“I am deeply grateful for you to have watched my inadequate movements.”

“The way you twisted your toes aiming for the inside of the thigh as it went down to the groin was exceptional. That was quite considerate. When did you learn such a skill?”

Insane.

Did she actually see that?

It had to have been obscured by Sir Bonnel’s body.

“Did I do that? I can’t remember due to the chaos.”

“………”

Let’s deny it for now.

“It seems the goddess of fortune struck down the Goddess of Justice’s scales.”

“………”

Silence ensued. I felt my blood run cold.

Finally, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Secrets do not beautify a man. Still, since you’ve provided such an entertaining show, I shall reward you. Do you wish for something?”

Many thoughts raced through my mind.

I raised my eyes to glance at the Emperor’s lips.

They were curving, just a tiny bit upwards.

She had a habit of slightly raising her lips when contemplating whether to execute someone.

Oh my God.

“Could you perhaps give me one more vial of the Tears of the Wasteland?”

I tried to speak without trembling.

I wanted to appear like a man without ambitions, just enjoying today.

“Very well. I shall send it to you. Do you not wish for more?”

“Actually, I would like to visit the pleasure district. Could you grant me permission to go out?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the maid and the royal guards frowned.

“What kind of nonsense is this before the Emperor!”

“Duke Valen, mind your manners.”

“Wait a moment.”

The Emperor spoke in an emotionless voice.

“If you go to the pleasure district, what do you wish to do?”

“I want to drink, gamble, and meet people. I’m bored to death only seeing roses every day. Please allow me.”

The maid shot a look that seemed to say, “Do you want to die?”

Nevertheless, I smiled nonchalantly.

“How wonderful.”

She spoke as if she were satisfied.

The maid stumbled over her words, her face full of surprise.

“Your Majesty?! How could you allow the Duke’s entry into such a lowly place?”

I knew she would grant it.

How amazing would it be for a still figure to fall into gambling, severing ties with power and martial arts?

“I said to speak of what you wish from my mouth. Are you trying to lie to the Emperor?”

I turned around, inwardly cheering.

I obtained a sword under the pretext of the duel and the right to go out under the pretext of pleasure.

Now I could train outside without looking around.

It would also be easier to stop conspiracies at an appropriate level.

There were some I needed to pull in from there.

* * *

“Lord Valen. Now that you’ve obtained a long-term leave of absence, where do you want to go? I know many good restaurants in the capital.”

The cheerful Rudi pulled out summer clothes from my wardrobe.

“Or would you like to go buy a magic tool? There are plenty of nice magic tool shops near the Ivory Tower.”

I felt too guilty to ruin her excitement.

But I had to say it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and spoke.

“Rudi. Put the clothes back. I can’t go buy magic tools.”

“Why not? You just got a leave of absence. It’s signed by the Emperor, essentially indefinite.”

“I don’t have money.”

“What?!”

Her green eyes trembled.

I scribbled a few numbers on the paper.

“This is the maintenance fee we originally received. It’s not an outrageous sum, right?”

“You’re right. That’s unexpectedly little.”

“The previous Emperor was quite fond of women. He changed empresses three times and had a total of thirteen empresses. There were three-digit concubines.”

“There were too many people to receive it. Oh, then… shouldn’t it start increasing again?”

As Rudi said that, her head drooped.

I focused back on the numbers to shift the heavy atmosphere.

“Do you remember the five royals who committed suicide last time? One of them hired four elite assassins. Where do you think the military funds came from?”

They used the Emperor’s money to target the Emperor’s life.

As the one who gave the money, she was obviously enraged.

“Did they get penalized for that?”

“Yeah. So, the money we were supposed to receive was reduced by this much.”

I erased a number from the paper and changed another.

“Now, the difference from my salary is starting to become negligible.”

“True. This is the amount for my one month’s maintenance fees.”

“That’s far from enough to buy magic tools and have fun.”

Rudi sighed heavily.

I couldn’t bring myself to say that it might decrease even more in the future.

“So, I have a favor to ask.”

I handed Rudi a vial of the ‘Tears of the Wasteland’ that I had just received.

Rudi blinked as she accepted it.

“A commoner can’t become a maid in the imperial palace. You’re of low nobility from the capital, right?”

“Yes. Being the youngest, I won’t receive anything, though.”

“Well, that’s good. Sell this to a somewhat wealthy relative. I don’t know the current market prices, but you can get at least five gold coins. Keep three for yourself and give me two.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You’ve gone through a lot being responsible for a royal like me. I want to reward your loyalty.”

“You don’t need to do this. It’s only natural as a maid. I find such a large sum burdensome.”

Rudi’s shoulders slumped.

“That means I’ll make you work harder. From now on, there will be more rumors to add, right?”

I said in a theatrically bright voice.

Rudi seemed as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m expecting nicknames like ‘gambling bastard’, ‘bandit prince’, ‘relative killer’, and ‘the Emperor’s dog’.”

I smiled broadly with golden eyes.

“There’s a chance I could end up in history as the last maid left by the bandit prince. So, take the three gold coins lightly.”

If everything goes well, there will eventually be nobles bringing boxes of gold coins to you.

I swallowed those words back and smiled once more.

“Then, I’ll rely on you, Rudi.”

* * *

Four days later, Rudi came with a large leather pouch.

“Lord Valen. Here.”

When she opened the pouch, silver coins poured out like a river.

It looked like nine coins even if converted to gold.

Even if it was high-grade wine, it was an astonishing price.

“R-Rudi. How much did you sell a bottle of wine for?”

“There were so many buyers that I gathered a few and auctioned them. Naturally, the price went up due to the competition.”

“So, how much did you sell it for?”

“Twelve gold coins.”

As expected, being a noble has its advantages.

Buying a bottle of wine for as much as a skilled worker’s annual salary.

“So how much is this in silver coins?”

“Ninety silver coins. As you said, I brought you seven silver coins with the three gold coins.”

I pocketed thirty silver coins and handed the remaining sixty back to Rudi.

“No, I can’t accept this.”

She shook her head with sparkling green eyes.

“Take it quickly. I didn’t sell the wine out of necessity for money.”

I also shook my head.

“I just needed enough to get in and set the mood. If this goes well, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.”

“Where do you plan to go in?”

Rudi asked doubtfully, tilting her head.

“The casino.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Rudi shot back sharply.

“I already told you.”

I replied without changing my expression.

“I’m going to be known in history as the maid of the gambling prince.”

She seemed like she wanted to say something but exhaled a sigh instead.

“You’ve thought this through, right?”

“I’ll think about it when I throw the wine glass to the floor and splash the wine. It’s the same exact thing.”

“I’ll interpret that as your answer.”

I nodded in gratitude.

“Good. Then shall we have a drink?”

“What?”

“Don’t you wonder what the taste of wine sold for twelve gold coins is like?”

I held up the first Tears of the Wasteland I had received as a reward for stopping an attempted poisoning.

With a look of ecstasy, Rudi took out a glass from the cupboard.

“I’ve always wanted to try it just once in my life.”

I poured the deep red, clear, yet thick liquid into two glasses.

“Lord Valen, this is really delicious.”

“It’s indescribable. It feels like drinking fire and stars.”

Now I understand why they grant this wine to generals before battle.

It was remarkably refreshing.

I felt as though I could do anything.

Thinking about it, I have to go out to battle tomorrow, practically.

I need to return victorious.