25 Wanting to Crush That Bastard
“That bastard who calls me the worst guy, yet he has this arrogance as a martial student. The punk who was spouting off about being a beaten soldier or someone lagging behind. I want to stomp him myself.”
Rie blinked in surprise, her eyes wide as she stared at me.
Facing those light purple eyes like sparkling amethysts, I found myself thinking how oddly beautiful they looked in this serious atmosphere—a foolish notion, of course.
“What… did you just say…?”
Yes, I had anticipated that exact reaction all along.
No matter how inferior Forbes was, as a martial student he should still possess at least the basic level.
The proof lay in the fact that he had passed the academy’s entrance exam for the martial division.
By comparison, I was a real combat gem—worse than that, carrying the nickname “theory genius” in moments when even my practical skills were pathetic.
When I entered Minerva Academy, Forbes’ swordsmanship had already caught at my ankle.
“Lucian? Wait… please listen to me first. What Forbes-senpai called the worst martial student is, after all, only my personal opinion. You know he comes from the Clement Viscount family, right? Of course he received proper basic sword training before arriving at the academy.”
“I’m sure of it.”
“I hate to say it, but cold as it sounds, right now you can’t beat Forbes-senpai. You can’t even defeat most of your literary division classmates.”
Every single one of those statements was the cold, hard truth—being hammered home like a nail.
Forbes might be called below my level, but even calling mine simply “below” still felt generous; mine had gone straight underground.
Still, I didn’t deny or affirm her words. I simply stayed silent.
Rie understood exactly what that silence meant.
When my persuasion failed, she grew even more desperate. She stepped closer, her neck straining to reach my height.
Swish—
I raised my sword and pointed it straight at her.
“From the moment we step into the dueling arena and stand face to face with blades drawn, it becomes a clear ‘enemy.’ Basic training, the very basics, even literary students know that. Rie, you’re not going to cheat, are you?”
“It’s not a joke! Please stop this. I made a momentary mistake and nearly injured you badly. Forbes-senpai’s skill is far below mine. He’s not someone who can keep himself in check at an appropriate level.”
“Actually, that might be better.”
“Lucian!!”
Her shout rang clearly through my ears.
A flicker of anger, and beneath it, worry far heavier than anger.
Rie’s amethyst eyes, fixed on me right now, were trembling with unease.
It was clear she was still pained by the wound I had given her with my own hands yesterday.
If even she had nearly killed me with one careless mistake, then facing someone whose skill was even lower would only make her curse herself for not stopping harder when he was truly injured.
“Don’t. You’re not at that level yet.”
“Then you have to help me.”
“I won’t. If that’s what you’re thinking, I’ll drop it.”
“Then I’ll just sit by and watch as that bastard keeps yelling he’s going to claim you?”
“I said it’s my problem. I’ll handle it. I can handle it.”
Rie was right. This was something she had to resolve herself.
But at the same time, this was something I had to resolve myself.
“Are you dismissing me as weak?”
“…What?”
“A hopeless fool who can’t even handle a sword properly. A guy on the same level as a child. You think that about me, and so you’re trying to protect me?”
“No! I have never thought that about you!”
“Then help me. It’s not that hard. You just have to teach me swordsmanship like you did yesterday.”
“Still….”
“I can think for you too, Rie? Forbes said to me in front of you, ‘She’s my fiancée, stay away from such weaklings.’ Go do your paperwork or whatever. You’re saying these things and expecting me to just ignore them? A nobleman’s honor and a man’s pride are at stake. Forbes was the one who issued the first challenge. If he’s the one who struck first, sure, I’ll forgive that. But staying silent after being hit—that’s what an idiot does.”
“I can protest….”
“I’m the one who was hit, not you. You handle what you need to handle. I’ll handle what I need to handle. That’s all. Thanks to that bastard, I’ve been restless about swordsmanship for a long time.”
So let’s do this right now—let’s spar before the excitement cools, and see how the blades fare.
I lifted my chin high and adopted the attack stance I always took.
My body still felt stiff, but the feeling wasn’t frustration—it was anticipation.
Could the martial genius standing before me, this future swordsman, really break through my blocked swordsmanship?
“…I won’t press as hard as yesterday, but brace yourself. You wanted this.”
Rie had given up trying to convince me. She raised her sword exactly as I had.
Even facing each other like this, the pressure that made breathing impossible hung in the air.
I had thought this kind of thing only happened in comics or movies.
The weight of the blade in my hand, the tension flowing through my body, and the impossible enemy I faced no matter how many times I looked at him—it was actually happening.
“Same as last time—attack first.”
“Again, I’ll block everything. Then I’ll become the devil who torments an angel without a care in the world.”
I took the attack motions I had observed during practice with my literary classmates.
I thrust, slashed, feinted as if pushing in when the opponent’s blade tip pointed down, then closed in and aimed a strike at the handle.
My body still faltered in the middle, and the transitions between attacks felt horribly unnatural.
But Rie caught every single one of them without comment, as always.
The attacks I had carefully thought out were all useless.
No matter how fake I made my movements, Rie remained completely unmoved.
If I tried to fake an attack, she would counter in the exact same instant, forcing me back with a surprised step.
I was swinging my sword desperately just to threaten.
Rie could stretch out one foot and land a blow so precise it left me stunned.
“…This time I’ll attack. I’ll go as slowly as I can—keep your eyes on the gaps and block perfectly.”
At last Rie began to move, slowly from her spot.
It was like a massive beast slinking forward after watching a puppy’s tricks.
Her eyes flashed, and the gaze that swept over me was so cold it sent a chill down my spine.
She was looking for a weakness, spotting an opening, ready to strike straight through.
‘…Insane.’
A curse slipped out unbidden, and my legs felt unsteady.
It was a truth I hadn’t realized until yesterday, when Rie had pressed so desperately.
When an opponent truly committed and wanted to fight, you could feel the exact shade of eyes, the precise hatred, and the crushing pressure in your bones.
“Forbes-senpai’s level isn’t this high, but as a martial student he should still have the basics.”
“…That’s right.”
“Just the momentum alone can put the opponent on the defensive from the start. A mind that’s hardened will also harden the body, and the result is always defeat.”
Ta-ta-ta!
For a split second it looked as if Rie disappeared, then something whipped straight toward me.
My eyes saw it, my head knew it, but my body still couldn’t move. A curse rose in my throat.
If it were the old me, I would have thought blocking impossible and simply stepped aside.
If that were impossible, pride or no pride, I would have rolled across the floor.
But that wasn’t an option now. Neither of us was doing this just to cover up some minor mistake.
I refused to dodge. I would block exactly as Rie had, find the opening for a counterattack.
My body was pathetic, but I could read attacks and defenses better than anyone. If I could hammer that skill into my flesh and make it move, there was still hope.
Even the smallest step could become a foothold for growth.
Clang!
The pommel of my sword collided with Rie’s blade right beside my face.
If I had been even a moment later, the strike would have landed on my cheek.
“I deliberately slowed down. I thought you wouldn’t block it in time.”
“Th-that’s… right. I was thinking….”
“But that block just now was good. Should I dodge or block? You chose to block, and even though the speed was much reduced, you still managed to stop my attack perfectly. Now what? Are you just going to keep sparring? Do you think you know how to deal with the opponent?”
Bwoom!
Rie pushed my sword lightly aside and slashed in a perfect diagonal.
It was obvious to the eye, but this time I couldn’t catch it in time.
The speed had only increased by a hair from before. That small difference was everything.
“I told you before, didn’t I? Your eyes have already learned to read the sword path. Your head already knows where to move and how to swing. But, Lucian, there are times when you have to move on pure instinct before thinking and swinging. In a situation where every moment counts, seeing, thinking, deciding, and moving—that combination can never be guaranteed. Even if you’re stupid, you have to hammer it into your body. Attack, dodge, block, counter. In every single part.”
“I know. But it’s not easy. No, it’s impossible.”
“Without breaking through that, you can’t win. Do you really want to stomp Forbes-senpai, that bastard? Don’t you want to hear any more of his stories about me? Then all the effort you’ve put in until now would be for nothing. Come at me with the mindset of starting from scratch. I want you to be Lucian, not the man. I want to whisper to you about our future. Make that wish come true.”
“…Hey. Saying that is cheating.”
I had heard once that the moment a man changes is the moment he’s willing to change everything for the woman he loves.
I thought it was just the empty talk couples spout, but apparently not.
Even if it meant wiping out all my previous efforts, I still wanted to move forward—just a little, very little.
I wanted to shout proudly that I’d crush that bastard, that I’d been beaten by a beaten soldier and was ashamed, and that I’d learn my lesson.
“I’m coming again. This time, block continuously.”
Block no matter what, then counter no matter what. If my body doesn’t react fast enough, hammer until it does.
Thinking that way, I threw all my attention toward the Rie charging at me.
* * * * * * * * * *
Bwoom! Bwoom!
At the same time, in another dueling field, Forbes swung his sword with sweat for the first time in a long time.
His classmates whispered in confusion, but he ignored them.
The thought that filled him was simple: the golden beauty, the angel of the Haniell family, Rie—only by bringing her down could he be satisfied.
‘If I show that idiot that he has zero value to Rie, she’ll lose interest. To do that, I have to show a huge gap and crush him.’
Forbes had heard that Lucian was learning swordsmanship from Rie.
Then his job was simple: flatten that idiot completely and make him give up.
No more swinging a sword—just sit at his desk and cling to books.
Forbes wanted the same thing Lucian did—only the details differed.
Lucian had been trying to break the weakness he knew he had.
Forbes, on the other hand, was using his strength to the maximum and planning to deliver humiliation.
‘A useless literary student like that… a guy who can’t even handle a sword properly…!’
If Rie or any other martial student had heard that, they would have laughed.
“You think that’s something special? You should be more worried about someone who calls himself a martial student but can’t swing a sword worth a damn.”