Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: A Perfect Strike
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Carlyle was baffled by the sudden compliment.
Yes, it was an undeniable fact that Carlyle van Sigmund was handsome.
But what of it?
“Do you think I’m doing this because I want to praise your appearance?”
Helen said in a cold voice.
“I know better than anyone what a scoundrel you are, how rotten your character is. But separate from that, there’s no denying you’re an exceptionally handsome man.”
“Yes, well… thank you?”
Carlyle, unsure how to react, answered tentatively.
It was a compliment, after all.
“I didn’t say it to make you feel good. I simply want you to keep your distance from the female soldiers.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Do you have to ask? Your looks are bound to cause problems.”
“Oh?”
“This is a battlefield. We’re essentially in a state of war. If your presence unsettles the female soldiers in the unit, it becomes a very difficult situation for me as a commander.”
“Is that… possible?”
Carlyle found Helen’s words frankly a bit absurd and couldn’t quite relate.
The very idea that he could unsettle the female soldiers in the unit was completely, utterly incomprehensible to him.
“Are you going to play dumb until the end? You’ve made hundreds of women cry, at the very least.”
“Th-that’s.”
“You must know it yourself. There are few women you can’t seduce if you put your mind to it.”
“...”
Carlyle couldn’t answer.
Why?
Because Helen was telling the truth.
Carlyle van Sigmund knew all too well that he was the most handsome man in the North, and he was cunning enough to use it to his advantage.
Seducing women, satisfying his desires, and then ruthlessly discarding them—wasn’t that Carlyle van Sigmund’s specialty?
The only reason the current Carlyle hadn’t realized this was because he didn’t think of this beautiful face as his own.
He was, after all, someone possessing the body of the real Carlyle van Sigmund.
“It would also be troublesome for you if you got close to the female soldiers and your old habits resurfaced.”
“That won’t happen.”
“I can appreciate that your willpower is so strong, but there’s always a chance. And I have no intention of turning a blind eye to your debauchery. If any unsavory incidents occur, I intend to punish you severely according to military law.”
“Haaah.”
Carlyle sighed in frustration.
It was bad enough being a lowly private, but to be treated like this…
“Of course, this is merely a recommendation, not an official order. There’s nothing about this in the military code.”
“Oh?”
“So I expect you to conduct yourself properly from now on to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings or trouble.”
“Very well.”
Carlyle readily accepted Helen’s recommendation.
He wasn’t some guy obsessed with women, and it was better to keep his distance as Helen suggested than to invite pointless misunderstandings.
* * *
When Carlyle returned to the reconnaissance team’s barracks, he was, as expected, met with sharp glares.
“Hey, rookie. Heard you caused some trouble.”
“Looks like it wasn’t anything serious, seeing as you made it back alive.”
The senior members of the reconnaissance team threw remarks at Carlyle as they passed by.
It seemed the rumor had already spread throughout the barracks.
It had spread so far that even Begman, the team leader, approached him to ask about it directly.
“I heard you were harassing a female soldier and earned the ire of the combat engineers. Is that true?”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Isn’t it?”
“If it were true, do you think Dame Helen would have let me go?”
Carlyle retorted, as if the mere thought was unpleasant.
“True. That’s a good point.”
Begman nodded with an expression that said, *That makes sense*.
“Must have been a misunderstanding.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Good to hear. But let me give you a piece of advice, just in case. Don’t go thinking you can fool around with your lower half just because you have a pretty face. This is a battlefield. Pull a stunt like that, and you might lose the ability to have fun for the rest of your life.”
Begman warned, glancing at a certain part of Carlyle’s anatomy.
“Fine.”
Carlyle replied with a cold smile.
He was only human, and being repeatedly misunderstood and treated like trash was starting to get on his nerves.
“What’s with that tone? Sounds like you’re talking back. What, you feel like committing insubordination?”
“No.”
“Look at this bastard.”
Begman’s eyebrows shot up.
“A lowly recruit dares to…”
Just then.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, sir.”
Kudo stepped in to hold Begman back.
“The rookie must be upset about the misunderstanding. Why are you adding to it, Team Leader?”
“What do you mean, ‘why am I adding to it?’ Do you not know what kind of man he is?”
“I know. I know very well.”
Kudo said, as if there was no question about it.
“But he’s been trying his best to adapt to military life and has been staying quiet, hasn’t he?”
“But…”
“Love him or hate him, he’s the youngest in our team. If we don’t look out for him, who will?”
“Hmm.”
Begman seemed to soften slightly at Kudo’s words emphasizing camaraderie.
Though the reconnaissance team wasn’t a knightly order, it was an elite unit with a strong sense of pride and an exceptionally tight bond of comradeship.
“And…”
Kudo whispered in Begman’s ear.
“No matter how much of an outcast he is, he’s still the Grand Duke’s second son. Don’t do something you’ll regret. Just let it go this time. You never know what might happen.”
“...”
After listening to Kudo, Begman stared intently at Carlyle before finally speaking as if he’d made up his mind.
“Watch yourself from now on, rookie.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Carlyle also took a step back.
He needed to pass the [Noble Proof], and being on bad terms with Begman, the team leader, would do him no good.
“Phew!”
Kudo turned to Carlyle with a sigh of relief.
“I was on pins and needles, thinking something was about to happen. Haha.”
“Thank you for your help.”
Carlyle gave Kudo a slight nod.
It was a good thing Kudo had intervened when he did. Otherwise, Carlyle would have lost his temper and caused trouble.
“Ah, no need to thank me. I just didn’t want things to get noisy. Hehe. But from now on, try not to speak to the team leader like that. I know you must have felt wronged, of course.”
“I’ll try.”
“That sounds like you’re planning to do it again.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Carlyle had no intention of caring what anyone whispered about him behind his back.
But if someone openly harassed or provoked him to his face, he wouldn’t stand for it.
Especially now, when he was in a position of weakness.
“Well, it’s a relief, anyway. If it had been Wilson, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”
“Wilson… Ah, the bald g—”
“Yes?”
“The sword. When should I show you?”
Carlyle hastily changed the subject.
“Now isn’t a good time. How about we meet at the training grounds tonight? It looks like the moonlight will be bright this evening.”
“Let’s do that.”
Carlyle was annoyed about losing sleep, but he decided to accept the minor inconvenience, given the goodwill Kudo had shown him.
* * *
That night.
“You’re going to do some extra training?”
“Yes, well. I was thinking of teaching him a thing or two.”
“Do what you want.”
Begman waved a dismissive hand at Kudo.
“Since you’re the one asking, I’m sure you’ll handle it fine.”
“Haha. Thank you.”
Kudo easily obtained Begman’s permission for the night training session with Carlyle.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Late at night.
The reconnaissance team’s private training ground, located in the fortress’s backyard, was completely deserted.
Just as Kudo had said, the moonlight was so bright that despite the late hour, the training ground was as well-lit as if it were daytime.
“Should I show you right away?”
Carlyle planned to quickly show Kudo what he wanted to see and then go back to bed.
“Yes, if you could show me right away, that would be great.”
“Alright.”
As if it were nothing, Carlyle drew Grimungandr.
“Then…”
Carlyle swung Grimungandr.
*Swish!*
From left to right.
First Light.
The culmination of a hero’s lifelong dedication, a strike honed to near perfection, traced a black arc through the air.
“Did you see it?”
“...”
Kudo didn’t answer.
“Senior Private Kudo?”
“...”
“Hello?”
Kudo stood perfectly still, as if time itself had frozen.
“That just now…”
Kudo began to speak, his voice trembling.
“What in the world was that?”
“Pardon?”
“How can someone like you execute such a perfect strike?”
*What does he mean, ‘someone like you’...?*
Carlyle felt a little offended, but he answered Kudo’s question sincerely.
“As I said, I just inherited the swordsmanship of an old ancestor. I don’t know the details.”
“That’s impossible.”
Kudo strongly denied it.
“Inheriting a sword style and actually executing it are two completely different things. That strike you just showed me… it’s not something that can be perfected in a day or two.”
“But I did learn it in a day…”
“...Pardon?”
Kudo looked dumbfounded.
“Is such a method even possible? To master a near-perfect strike in a single day?”
“It was for me.”
“...”
Kudo was left speechless by Carlyle’s nonchalant reply.
Of course, Carlyle wasn’t lying.
He really had learned [First Light] in a single day.
To be precise, it had only taken about five minutes to absorb the Lingering Will.
“So, in the end, a Sigmund is still a Sigmund?”
“Hmm?”
“They say those with Sigmund blood are born with a sword in their hand. Just how much grueling training have you endured?”
*What is this guy talking about...?*
“I’ve never done that.”
“Then is it innate genius?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. There’s no need to make excuses.”
“...”
Carlyle finally realized that Kudo had gravely misunderstood something.
Since Kudo didn’t know about the Soul Soother Sword, he was bound to interpret his words however he wanted.
‘Wait a minute.’
Carlyle suddenly noticed something odd and furrowed his brow.
‘Why is this man so obsessed with my swordsmanship? He’s just a regular soldier on the recon team, not a knight.’
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
No matter how much combat experience he had, a soldier was still a soldier.
A regular soldier shouldn’t have been able to recognize the quality of the swordsmanship Carlyle used…
“May I ask for a spar?”
Curiosity glinted in Kudo’s long, narrow eyes.
“A light one, sure. I despise anything too intense.”
“Excellent.”
Kudo smiled and was about to fetch a wooden sword from the side of the training ground.
*Vmm, vmmm!*
Carlyle’s sword, Grimungandr, began to vibrate faintly.
‘This is a problem.’
Carlyle’s expression turned weary.
[Notification: has detected savage bloodlust!]
“It seems a spar might be difficult.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve grown tired of the idea?”
Kudo looked slightly disappointed.
“No. It just seems it’s time for a real fight, not a spar.”
“Ah.”
Kudo looked at Grimungandr with an expression of understanding.
He remembered how Grimungandr had previously warned them of an enemy’s approach.
“A surprise attack when the moonlight is this bright? Those savages must be pretty thoughtless…”
“No, I don’t think it’s a surprise attack.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can feel them.”
Carlyle said, closing his eyes as if to concentrate.
“How many of them there are. At least a hundred, I’d say.”