Chapter 206: Noble's Entertainment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206: Noble's Entertainment
“What in the world are we supposed to do? Nothing you do is going to change the situation. No matter how you look at it, we’re the villains.”
Win or lose, Baron Allanton and I were guaranteed to be the villains. We had been completely played by Pompiné Taliang.
Indeed, the gazes of those who had come to watch the duel were stinging. One wrong move now and our reputations would be in tatters.
Baron Allanton had mentioned surrendering precisely to prevent that.
“Weren’t you prepared to become the villain from the moment you sent a matchmaker to the grieving Baron Taliang?”
“The problem is that this is far more serious than I imagined! What’s more, if you so much as lay a finger on Lady Taliang, my reputation will be ruined. So much so that I couldn’t even dream of making a comeback. We have to prevent that, don’t we?”
“Can’t you feel their stinging glares? We’re already the worst villains in the world. The situation is irreversible.”
Baron Allanton scratched his head furiously. His eyes were bloodshot, and his fingers fidgeted restlessly.
He looked like a man who thought he’d been dealt a winning hand, only to discover someone else had a better one and lost his entire fortune.
“So what are you suggesting? That since we’re already screwed, we should just go wild?”
“Of course not. I’m simply trying to point out a fact that you’ve overlooked due to these unexpected circumstances, Baron.”
“Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”
I shrugged.
“Is there any rule that says a villain can’t be popular?”
“What…?”
What Baron Allanton wanted wasn’t to be a good person. He wanted to gain popularity and play in the big leagues.
In my memories as a modern man, there were truckloads of popular villains. With so much reference material, there was no reason I couldn’t pull it off.
“Since we’re already villains, let’s become popular villains.”
“Do you really think that makes any sense?”
To Baron Allanton, who lacked my modern memories, it must have sounded like utter nonsense. I looked him straight in the eye with a serious expression.
“Is there any other way?”
If we forfeited the duel now, the reputation he had built would crumble, and his goal of playing in the big leagues would drift further away.
If there were no other options, he might accept it, but Baron Allanton wouldn’t. He was already addicted to gambling.
Do gamblers fall back into gambling because they don’t know how to earn money honestly?
“Ugh… So you’re saying there’s a way to recover from this?”
“It might be even more than that.”
Besides, from a macro perspective, wasn’t this a gamble with the baron’s reputation as the stake?
“Hah… I’ll trust you.”
And so, Baron Allanton, the gambler, couldn’t refuse.
“I will repay your trust.”
Having finally convinced Baron Allanton, I returned to the center of the stage and faced Pompiné Taliang. Her eyes, fixed on me, shone with determination.
“You could get hurt.”
“I am to become the lord of Taliang. If I were to avoid a mere duel, I would not be worthy of that position.”
Not only was she wise, but she was also ambitious. She intended to use this opportunity to display her strength and solidify her position as the heir.
“If you believe I won’t be able to attack you, you are mistaken.”
Shing.
Orin’s masterpiece slid from its scabbard. I turned my body diagonally to minimize my target area and extended my sword arm, aiming the tip at Pompiné.
Flinching slightly, Pompiné also took her stance. She spread her feet shoulder-width apart and raised her sword from her hip. It seemed she had been properly trained in swordsmanship.
Just then, the referee announced the start of the duel.
“Hah!”
Pompiné took a step forward and swung her sword simultaneously. It was a diagonal slash, from top to bottom. A heavy whoosh of air followed the blade.
Her sense of distance was precise. This meant she was no beginner, at the very least.
Let’s see what you’ve got.
Instead of retreating, I took a step forward, and Pompiné’s brow twitched. The tip of her sword wavered for a moment before accelerating.
I angled inward and shot out my left hand. My leather-padded cloth glove pushed aside the flat of Pompiné’s swinging blade.
It was a feat only possible with the eyes that see the world slowly and the skill to accurately target a goal in sync with them.
Not satisfied with that, I thrust my sword forward. Pompiné’s eyes widened as she saw it was aimed at her face, and she tried to back away.
She moved just enough to be out of my sword’s reach. She was probably planning an immediate counterattack. As expected, her range control was precise.
She’s better than most champions.
She was exceeding my expectations. I wondered just how far she could go. I ducked my upper body. Naturally, my sword extended further than its original target.
“…!”
As I broke through her range, Pompiné’s eyes went round. Her trembling pupils showed she was genuinely flustered.
At the moment it seemed my sword would pierce her face, Pompiné must have decided she had no other choice. She immediately relaxed her body and dropped to the ground.
Swish—
My sword grazed the top of her head. It was a hair’s breadth. A few severed strands of hair scattering in the air were proof of that.
Pompiné quickly rolled on the ground to create distance, then sprang to her feet.
“Hah. Hah.”
Though we had only exchanged a single blow, she was already out of breath.
In that time, I had returned to the same stance I’d held when I first pointed my sword at her. My perfectly composed posture starkly highlighted the difference in our skill.
Pompiné also returned to her initial stance and spoke.
“Why would a man of your skill become a pawn for a scoundrel like him?”
Just as I had gauged her skill from our single exchange, it seemed she had gauged mine as well.
“I promised to be his champion, and I am simply keeping that promise.”
“Even if he is a villain?”
“My loyalty isn’t so fickle as to change depending on the person.”
A look of surprise flickered across Pompiné’s face before her expression hardened. She pointed the tip of her sword at me and declared.
“I, too, am not one to give up just because my opponent is strong.”
“Then, no more words are necessary.”
Gritting her teeth, Pompiné changed her stance.
She placed her left foot forward and crossed her arms to grip her sword. The pommel at the end of the hilt was below her waist, while the blade pointed upward. Naturally, the tip of the blade was aimed at my face.
It was a more cautious stance. It seemed she was aiming to counterattack after defending. The problem was that an obvious trap is no trap at all.
I widened my stance to shoulder-width and thrust my sword. As if she had been waiting for it, Pompiné swung her sword upward to parry. A thrust is inherently weak to lateral force, so my sword was knocked wide, forcing my upper body off balance.
“Hup…!”
Pompiné didn’t miss the opening. She extended her front hand on the grip further and raised her back hand, closer to the pommel, higher.
The tip of her sword, which had been pointing to the sky, reversed its direction and aimed for my face.
Her sword was still in a high guard, like an umbrella blocking an attack from above. To counter, I would have to retract my sword and attack from a middle or low guard.
The problem was that doing so would take time, and Pompiné’s sword would reach me first.
I took a step back to evade the thrust. Since I hadn’t taken a large step, I had room to maneuver. Pompiné followed, seemingly intending to maintain her offense.
My sword, which had retreated in a downward semi-circle, was launched at her with added centrifugal force. It was a diagonal upward slash.
As I took another step back, Pompiné, as if waiting for it, retracted her sword and immediately transitioned into a thrust.
Now…!
This was the moment I had been waiting for. I met her thrust with one of my own, catching her blade on the geometric guard of my sword.
As sparks flew, I gave my sword a slight twist, and the tip of Pompiné’s sword was deflected outward.
My sword, in contrast, was still aimed at her neck. It was a counterattack with exquisite timing. Focused on maintaining her offense, she couldn’t avoid it.
Swish—
My sword was just about to pierce her face. At the last second, its direction shifted slightly, and it passed through the empty space just below her ear.
Frozen like ice, she could only move her eyes, barely managing to watch my sword’s movement as it returned.
Only after I had returned to my initial stance did she unfreeze, glaring at me with a flushed face.
“How dare you…!”
She had realized I was holding back. I, in turn, feigned confusion.
“Didn’t you know it would turn out this way?”
The reason she had risked facing me in a duel herself was that she knew a mere champion couldn’t possibly injure her.
“Grr—”
Unable to deny it, Pompiné ground her teeth.
The preparations are complete.
The first attack was to gauge Pompiné’s skill. The second was to see if she could endure.
Now that I had lit the fire, she wouldn’t back down until it was extinguished.
From that point on, I began to seriously use my footwork. With light, bouncing movements, I circled around Pompiné. The moment I saw a slight opening, I thrust my sword without hesitation.
Clang—
Pompiné, who had been turning in place to match my movements, parried my sword with a diagonal slash and immediately tried to counter.
But I was already out of her range. Realizing too late that it was just a light feint, Pompiné ground her teeth.
“Stop playing around!”
Pompiné soon had to retract her words. After dozens of what looked like playful feints, she was bound to get flustered.
Swish.
Not missing the opening, my sword pierced the space below her other ear. It was the opposite side from before.
Her body froze again. In that time, I returned to my initial stance, aimed my sword at her, and asked.
“Does it still look like I’m playing around?”
“You—!”
It seemed she had finally decided that she couldn’t just wait for a chance to counterattack. Pompiné lunged forward without hesitation.
“Just take a hit!”
But she couldn’t catch up to my footwork, so her efforts were fruitless. On the contrary, she only expended more stamina, and she was soon drenched in sweat.
Her breathing became as ragged as a marathon runner’s. Yet, she didn’t give up.
Her efforts were not entirely in vain, however. Though she, focused on the duel, didn’t realize it, the spectators were all cheering for her.
It was only natural.
Anyone could see this was a fight between the strong and the weak. It was human nature to empathize with and cheer for the underdog.
Moreover, that underdog was continuing the desperate fight without giving up, despite knowing the gap in skill.
She was charging forward without regard for her own body. Wasn’t it the very image of a popular protagonist from a coming-of-age story?
Of course, that makes me the complete villain.
In direct proportion to the number of people cheering for her, the number of people cursing me also grew. It was partly due to the situation, but also because my fighting style looked cheap.
Clang—
Noticing the strength draining from Pompiné’s sword, I clashed blades with her. As I retreated far back from the recoil, she couldn’t follow.
“Hah. Hah. Hah.”
She was too exhausted. A bead of sweat that had trickled down from her forehead collected at the tip of her chin before falling. Drip. Drip. It fell ceaselessly.
I whispered, so only she could hear.
“You should give up now.”
Barely managing to straighten her upper body, Pompiné pointed her sword at me. She was breathing so heavily that the tip of her sword trembled uncontrollably.
“I must prove it here. That I am worthy of the title of Lord of Taliang…!”
“Don’t you think this is enough?”
“What…?”
“Look around you. From what I can see, there isn’t a single person here who thinks you are unqualified, my lady.”
As a bewildered Pompiné looked around, a sound began.
Clap. Clap.
The spectators, taking advantage of the brief pause in the fierce battle, began to applaud. The sound soon spread throughout the entire audience, becoming almost deafening.
It was praise for her, for holding her ground until the very end. Watching her face turn red for a different reason, I continued to whisper.
“In some duels, the loser draws more attention than the victor. I believe now is one of those times.”
“You… could it be—”
Anyone could see this was a stage set for Pompiné. Finally realizing that I had orchestrated this situation, Pompiné’s face filled with disbelief.
“Why?”
However, it wasn’t as if I gained nothing. Unless the audience was completely blind, they would know that Pompiné’s skills were formidable.
My own skill was proven by overwhelming her.
And that wasn’t all. In truth, the person who stood to lose the most from this duel was me.
Baron Allanton, a noble, would just end up being ostracized by high society, but I would be branded a madman who drew his sword on a noble.
Knowing this, I held my ground to keep my word. I had become the type of person that nobles couldn’t help but admire.
Baron Allanton also gained something. Just as you can know a man by his friends, a good subordinate becomes a reflection of his master’s reputation.
In the end, it became a duel that satisfied everyone.
There’s no need to explain all this, though.
I returned to my initial stance and pointed my sword at Pompiné.
“This is the last one.”
Having caught her breath, Pompiné also assumed her initial stance. Then, at the moment a sudden gust of wind kicked up dust between us…
“Hah!”
As if on cue, we both lunged and swung our swords. And at the moment they crossed, there was a flash of light.
There was no upset. Pompiné’s sword was pushed outward, but mine had stopped just a finger’s breadth from her neck.
Clap, clap, clap.
But the applause that followed was surely directed more at Pompiné than at me.
“Lady Taliang’s hidden skill is surprising, but that champion’s ability to overwhelm her is even more so. Don’t you think?”
One of the few people clapping for Allen approached Baron Allanton. Just as the baron was letting out a sigh of relief, he recognized the man.
“Aren’t you Count Valliere?”
Baron Allanton straightened his clothes and asked politely. It was only natural, as Count Valliere was one of the most prominent lords in the south.
He smiled gently and said.
“I have a proposal for you, Baron.”