Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: To the Cradle of Stars (5)
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Since that day, the air around the Crown Prince had changed.
The Royal Knights, already as sharp as blades, now carried an edge that seemed ready to cut someone down. If anyone so much as approached the Crown Prince, their eyes would flash open, watching intently.
It reached a point where even Navian Gaznae showed a hint of displeasure at the Royal Knights' attitude.
It was understandable she'd be displeased, with the Royal Knights acting on edge in her family's castle as if they were in enemy territory.
Of course, the rigid Royal Knights paid it no mind.
Head of the Empire's greatest family, the first Zodiac Knight—none of it mattered.
They were simply consumed with anxiety, worrying that something might happen to their master's safety.
“I must return to the palace.”
The Crown Prince, who had been delaying his return with one excuse after another, had changed his stance.
Thinking about it now, it seemed the Crown Prince had been lingering in the Gaznae family's castle because of his strained relationship with the Empress.
But now that the possibility of the Empress colluding with a sorcerer had emerged, he couldn't delay his return indefinitely.
The Royal Knights followed the hastily departing Crown Prince like shadows.
They finally looked the part of a nation's heir and his entourage.
Of course, I didn't think this alone would be enough to prevent the assassination that would occur in two years.
For now, it was enough to have instilled a sense of caution in the hearts of the Crown Prince and those around him.
Nevertheless, I couldn't be completely satisfied.
“Knight Lucas.”
So I arranged a private meeting with Lucas.
“No matter what happens, do not leave His Highness's side.”
“I am already doing so.”
“Even if His Highness orders you away, you, Knight Lucas, must remain by his side.”
“...?”
At my repeated words, Lucas's expression hardened.
“…That doesn't sound like an idle warning.”
A complex light flickered in his eyes as he looked at me.
Something between question and suspicion.
He gestured with his eyes, demanding an explanation.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could explain to him right now.
“There is someone aiming to overthrow the Empire.”
I knew the general circumstances of the Crown Prince's assassination, but even I didn't know who the true culprit was.
The Lucas of my past life would drone on about 'our prince, our prince' whenever he drank, but he was stubbornly tight-lipped about the identity of the mastermind.
Thinking back, it seemed he had been trying to protect me, in his own way, from getting entangled in something dangerous.
Indeed, Lucas, who never forgot the Crown Prince even as he became a drunkard and investigated the assassination, was eventually found as a gruesome corpse.
I didn't want the same thing to happen to him again in this life.
“Watch over His Highness's safety, and watch over it well, so that you will have no regrets in the future.”
And so, I hoped that in this life, he would not forsake his oath as a knight.
“…”
Lucas simply stared at me in silence for a while.
His gaze was so intense it felt like he was trying to see right through me.
As I was now, I couldn't tell.
Whether he would accept my sincerity as it was, or dismiss me as a fool obsessed with a wild conspiracy theory. Or worse, ostracize me as an impure element approaching the Crown Prince with ulterior motives.
I couldn't even begin to guess.
“Who taught you how to use a shield?”
Lucas, who had been watching me intently, finally spoke.
The unexpected question left me momentarily speechless.
“He couldn't sleep without alcohol and was drunk every day, but.”
After a moment's hesitation, I answered his question.
“He lived as a knight until the very moment of his death.”
I looked straight at Lucas.
The Last Royal Knight of the Empire, Lucas Kalle.
The Drunken Knight, Lucas.
Looking back now, he taught me a great many things.
Thanks to what I learned from him back then, I was able to continue my life as a squire.
“There was such a person.”
“Hmm.”
Lucas furrowed his brow.
He looked like he had many questions, but the words didn't seem to come easily.
He parted his lips a few times as if to speak, then closed them again.
“Well then.”
Leaving him lost in his own thoughts, I took my leave.
“Did I meddle unnecessarily?”
Regret washed over me.
Did I rashly bring it up, only to earn Lucas's suspicion?
It was certainly unlike me.
On the other hand, I also felt a sense of relief.
My steps were lighter than ever.
“What does it matter.”
It's enough that I've repaid my debt to him, at least in this small way.
***
“Where have you been scurrying off to?”
When I returned to the room, Gunther immediately began to chide me.
“Don't get too deeply involved in the palace's affairs.”
I wondered why, and it seemed he wasn't pleased with me getting too close to the Crown Prince.
Anyone else would have been desperate to curry favor with the Crown Prince.
Seeing him shun worldly power, he certainly seemed like a former holy knight.
After all, the teachings of most monastic orders in the world are ascetic by nature.
He probably had no idea.
That his own squire was fully intending to hand him over to the Crown Prince—the pinnacle of worldly power—without his consent.
Of course, he would find out eventually, but by then, it would be too late for him to do anything about it.
I had a plan for everything.
“Master, I'm heading out for a bit.”
“You just got back. Where are you off to again?”
“I haven't been able to train lately, so I thought I'd at least go loosen up.”
It was true. I'd been so preoccupied with one thing or another lately that I hadn't had a chance to pick up my sword.
Perhaps it was my imagination, but Roman in my nightmares seemed to torment me more viciously, as if he were rebuking me for skipping my training.
“Just try not to cause any trouble.”
“What kind of trouble could I possibly get into in someone else's castle?”
“Who knows? You might grab some poor squire from the Gaznae family and challenge them to another duel.”
“…What do you take me for?”
“I'm saying it because you have a record.”
Gunther looked me up and down distrustfully and listed my past offenses.
Iden, the prodigy from the Giftrang family.
Guillaume in Sodion.
As he asked how he could possibly rest easy when I caused trouble with squires wherever I went, I fled the room as if escaping.
Befitting the Empire's greatest martial family, the Gaznae castle had a separate training ground for guests.
Thanks to that, I was able to focus on my training alone, without running into other knights or squires.
Swish, swish.
Perhaps because I'd taken a break from training, the sword didn't feel right in my hand.
It seemed I would have to swing my sword diligently if I didn't want to be humiliated at the Cradle.
“Hoo.”
I took a moment to catch my breath.
In my mind, I pictured the opponents I had faced so far.
Iden, the bandits, the sorcerers, and Guillaume.
“No. Something's missing.”
They felt somewhat lacking as imaginary sparring partners.
I was finally training after so long; I couldn't very well face opponents I'd already defeated.
“Ingna is out, too.”
The inhuman sorceress wasn't a suitable opponent either.
In the end, I had no choice but to draw upon the memories of my past life.
First, Roman was out.
Dealing with that foul-tempered man was more than enough in my nightmares.
Besides, the man was too strong to be a suitable sparring partner.
I'd likely just end up flinching before I could even swing my sword.
Countless faces surfaced in my mind.
Those I had faced as allies or enemies in the Great War.
The first among them was a squire who served a boastful knight from a kingdom across the sea.
One of my few friends, the one who taught me how to use a sword in my left hand.
I widened my stance.
I swung the longsword in my right hand back over my shoulder and held the swordbreaker in my left hand forward at an angle.
A man with a vexing face turned to look at me.
Just as when I first met him, he held a sword in his right hand and a broken bottle in his left.
The man began to circle me.
I, too, moved clockwise, looking for an opening.
‘Tap.’
The sound of a footstep, like an auditory hallucination.
I deflected the incoming sword strike with my swordbreaker and brought my longsword down.
Swish, swish.
The sound of it cutting through the air echoed.
Countless exchanges came and went.
“Ha.”
The result was my defeat, my throat pierced by a shard of the broken bottle by a narrow margin.
I wasn't disappointed.
Even in my past life, I had never once beaten him.
After all, he was said to be better than most knights when it came to pure swordsmanship.
Even in an imaginary duel, he wasn't an opponent I could beat in this underdeveloped body.
I immediately pictured my next opponent.
This time, an enemy, not an ally.
My opponent was the knight who, casting aside his dignity, had charged at a squire, vowing to cut off Roman's limbs.
I moved my sword diligently.
This time, too, was my defeat.
Undeterred, I swung my sword, picturing one by one the people I had encountered in my past life.
“Pant, pant. How in the world did I even survive?”
The result was a string of defeats.
I was lacking in many ways to face the battle-hardened knights and squires of the Great War from my past life.
If I continued to train consistently, I should be able to beat a few of them eventually.
I looked forward to the next time.
Still, after sparring to my heart's content for the first time in a while, the awkwardness of the sword that hadn't felt right in my hand had largely disappeared.
“The movement of my left hand is definitely different than before.”
I had put considerable effort into training my left-handed swordsmanship in my past life, but that didn't mean I could wield it like my right.
At best, my right hand was for attacking, and my left was merely for support or defense.
But now, it was different.
My left hand moved with such freedom.
It felt as if I had two heads, with my left and right hands carrying out separate commands.
It was thanks to the blessing, 「No Discrimination Against the Left Hand」, bestowed by the Elegant Lefty.
“Good.”
As I was smiling in satisfaction, I suddenly sensed a presence.
“Knight Navian…?”
The Black Knight, Navian Gaznae, was staring intently at me. I didn't know when she'd arrived.
“You look quite skilled.”
It was unclear whether she was referring to my use of a left-handed sword or the way I swung my sword while picturing an imaginary opponent.
It seemed to be the latter.
“About twenty-seven, was it?”
The number of imaginary opponents I had faced came from her lips.
“Twenty-three with swords, three with spears, and one with a whip.”
To my astonishment, she had even accurately identified the weapons of the opponents I had imagined.
Goosebumps rose on my arms.
The fact that she could discern so much just from watching my movements was staggering.
“But it's quite strange.”
Navian Gaznae tilted her head.
“You couldn't possibly imagine an opponent with such specificity and clarity just from watching on the sidelines.”
She strode closer.
“And you weren't even imagining a simple duel, but a life-or-death battle.”
The usual boredom was gone from her eyes as she looked down at me.
“That's why I don't understand.”
A light flickered in her deep, dark blue eyes.
“At most, you're what, thirteen? Fourteen?”
Her question hit the mark.
“You look far too young to have had such experiences.”
To this, I answered.
That while I may look young on the outside, my inner self was not.
Of course, only in my mind.
Since I couldn't very well tell her I had died and come back.
“Boy.”
The Black Knight spoke to me as I stood there, my mouth working silently.
“Won't you raise your sword?”
As if to say she couldn't stand it unless she crossed swords with me and found out for herself.