An Assassination Disguised as a Spar
The result of an assassination attempt disguised as a sparring match somehow handed me a third chance. “But why the sudden sword spar?” I asked.
“Because you’re the first person who’s ever stabbed a sword into me.”
“Pardon?”
“Seeing you hold a sword made me want to pick one up too. That’s all.”
The princess answered breezily. It didn’t seem like there was any deeper reason. She simply wanted to do everything together with me. Did she not have any friends? Well, maybe she didn’t. After all, she’d always been alone, so she must get bored.
Looking at her like this, she just seems like an ordinary young lady, doesn’t she?
Maybe it was because her precursor symptoms had vanished. Today the princess’s face looked quite bright. She had the excited air of a girl on a rare outing. Her already beautiful features were softened by a faint smile, making it almost too dazzling to look at.
“Ah! While we’re at it, want to make a bet?”
“A bet, Your Highness?”
“Yeah. If you win the spar, I’ll let you bury your face in my chest again. How about it? Sounds good, right?”
Well, her personality was still completely insane.
“Haha, and if I lose instead?”
“Sleep with me tonight. I’m sick of sleeping alone.”
Hmm. Yeah, she really was properly crazy.
“More importantly, my lady. How about we spar somewhere other than here?”
I smoothly changed the subject. Getting dragged into the princess’s absurd conversations never ended well.
“Huh? But this is the closest training ground, isn’t it?”
We were currently heading toward the outdoor training field reserved for the Imperial Knight Order. Drawing a sword freely inside the imperial palace was a violation of imperial law, after all.
“There will be many eyes watching. Especially at this time of day—”
“Why does that matter?”
“No matter that it’s just a spar, it won’t look good for someone like me—a member of the Royal Guard—to point a sword at the princess I’m supposed to protect. It will draw unnecessary attention, which I’d rather avoid.”
The truth was, it was because of the rumors that had just begun to spread. The ones claiming that the princess and I had that kind of relationship. A sword spar would obviously be misinterpreted as a lovey-dovey date between lovers. Besides, having too many witnesses during an assassination attempt was far from ideal. So I explained it as vaguely as possible.
“For a knight, you’re surprisingly shy, aren’t you?”
“I’m simply cautious.”
“If you’re a man, don’t worry about what other people think. Still, if it really bothers you that much, should I gouge out all the onlookers’ eyeballs for you?”
For your sake.
The princess spat out that chilling line with a casual smile. As expected of our princess. She didn’t give a single fuck about other people’s opinions.
“Why? Are eyeballs not enough? Then how about I rip out their tongues too, so no rumors can spread? I already memorized everyone who was talking about me in the dining hall earlier.”
The princess made the suggestion with a bright smile. It was an innocent, childlike grin completely free of malice—which somehow made it even more terrifying.
“Sigh… No, that’s not necessary. Let’s just go.”
“You’re full of shame but also incredibly fickle. What a difficult man.”
“……”
I didn’t bother replying. There was no point in talking to someone who didn’t speak the same language. Besides, ignoring the stares of others was simple enough. And most importantly, if this assassination succeeded, every problem would be solved.
Defeat the princess—that is, the Worst Evil Magic Dragon—and return immediately. Save this world from destruction.
‘Of course, that’s only if my aura actually works on her.’
This time, I planned to exclude holy power. I couldn’t guarantee it would go smoothly, but using an ordinary sword instead of the Holy Sword would change things. Even if I didn’t succeed in killing her, it was more than worth testing.
“The weather’s really nice. It’s been so long since I’ve seen flowers like this.”
Whether or not she knew about the dark thoughts swirling in my head, the princess simply hummed a tune while admiring the scenery.
“Is this your first time going out in a while, my lady?”
“Yeah. About twenty years, I think?”
“Twenty years?”
“That damned curse kept me from wandering around outside.”
“So you’ve been stuck inside the imperial palace all this time?”
“That’s right. It was a needlessly luxurious prison.”
For a moment, shadows fell across the princess’s face. Twenty years since her last outing… It made perfect sense why she was so excited. And why she had gone mad. I could roughly guess. For the first time, I actually felt a little sorry for her. Enough to feel sympathy for my assassination target.
Still, I had a job to do.
“Ahem. Have you ever learned swordsmanship before?”
I changed the subject again to lighten the awkward atmosphere. We were almost at the training ground anyway.
“A little from my father when I was young. Just the basics.”
Basic swordsmanship, huh…
Most nobles and members of the imperial family learned swordsmanship from a young age as part of their education. But Violetta was a dragonkin brought in by the emperor. Despite that, the emperor and Violetta seemed unusually close—like blood relatives. In short, there was far too little information.
I would have loved to ask how she had become the emperor’s adopted daughter, but I couldn’t even imagine what kind of wrath that might bring down on me.
“This time, will you teach me instead of Father?”
“Would that really be all right?”
“Yeah. Learning from you sounds like it would be fun.”
The information that she was a complete beginner with the sword was good news. No matter how powerful her true form as a magic dragon might be, she wouldn’t be able to defeat me—a Sword Master—with a blade.
“Understood. Let’s head inside for now.”
I opened the door and guided the princess into the outdoor training ground. Beyond the entrance stretched a vast parade ground. Seats lined the outer walls like spectator stands. It was, after all, a place where real spars and duels took place.
Clang! Clang!
Dozens of knights training, crossing swords with one another, came into view. But their heated practice lasted only a moment.
—What the? Why are they like that all of a sudden?
—L-look over there. Isn’t that Her Highness the Princess?
—Oh! It really is. Has she completely recovered?
—Armand’s with her too. But why are they here?
—Hey, avert your eyes. If you make eye contact for no reason, your life’s gonna get ruined.
In an instant, every gaze locked onto us. The princess’s beauty simply didn’t belong among the sweaty knights. She was like a single rose blooming among weeds and thistles.
“Here you go.”
I handed the princess a wooden training sword.
“I don’t want it.”
Of course she refused. Given her personality, there was no way she would settle for something as boring as wooden swords.
“You there. Mind lending me your sword?”
“…Huh? Y-yes!”
The princess soon received a real blade from another knight. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.
“This is more thrilling, don’t you think?”
“Are you really sure this is okay?”
“It’s fine. So you should use a real sword too.”
Thud.
The princess pointed her sword at me in a clear command. This was perfect. It gave me all the justification I needed to swing at her without restraint.
“Well, if it’s Your Highness’s order, I have no choice.”
Click.
I drew the sword the emperor had bestowed upon me yesterday as a member of the Royal Guard.
“The first one to fall or surrender loses.”
“Simple. I like it. Let’s start already.”
“Just a moment. Even if you learned a little as a child, handling real blades is extremely dangerous, so first we should go over basic safety ru—”
“Don’t worry about that. I have no intention of hurting you.”
“…!?”
Tap!
The princess cut off my words and charged. A real sword gleaming with a deadly edge thrust forward. It was a surprise attack aimed at my opening. Any ordinary knight would have been caught off guard.
But I was no ordinary knight.
Youngest Sword Master.
Reaper of the White Aura.
Master of All Blades.
Those cringeworthy titles followed my name. I was a talent who drew attention even within the Imperial Knight Order. The attack was fast, but I could react. And such an honest strike was actually easy to deflect—
Clang!
…What the hell?
It was anything but easy. A heavy force pushed my sword back, nearly making me drop it. My palms already stung. In short, despite her crude swordsmanship, her strength was monstrously overwhelming.
This… looked like another difficult assassination attempt.
The afternoon Imperial Knight Order was boiling over. Everyone except those on duty had gathered at the outdoor training ground, eyes fixed on a single spot.
Clang! Clang-clang…!
Sparks flew every time the swords collided.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you doing it properly? Are you going easy on me?”
“Ugh…!”
Shockingly, the princess had seized the initiative in the attack. And for good reason—
She’s a literal monster.
Her physical ability was insane. It far surpassed anything Armand had expected. I’d thought being dragonkin would make her different, but her movements were impossible to follow with ordinary human eyesight. She chased the trajectory of my sword like a ghost, without any technique or skill. It was as if the princess was glued to me.
Of course, her swordsmanship itself was terrible. Even her basics were sloppy. However, a dragon’s raw power and reaction speed more than made up for it. A casual swing from her was enough to send a Sword Master like me flying backward.
“Oh right, this was a spar, wasn’t it? You’ve been watching to see what I’m lacking, right?”
The princess grinned, completely misunderstanding the situation in her own convenient way. The more she looked at me, the more she seemed to like me.
“Then I should go all out. That way we can get a proper assessment quickly, right?”
“…!?”
That wasn’t even her full strength?
I adjusted my grip on the sword, face stiff with alarm. It was true I had only been testing her at first. But there was no longer any need to hold back. The princess was undoubtedly the Worst Evil Magic Dragon. The power balance was already completely broken. To possess this much monstrous strength in human form before even awakening—
I can’t afford to hold back anymore.
I steadied my stance and focused on my blade.
Vrrrrrr…!
A pure white energy began to envelop my entire body. This was none other than my aura. The color of aura varied from knight to knight. Its nature changed according to the wielder’s ability and will. Aura was an intangible blade forged by an indomitable spirit. If one wished, there was nothing it could not cut.
“So you’ve finally decided to get serious?”
Humming cheerfully, the princess actually began to sing. To her, this situation was simply entertaining.
“Then I’ll go all out.”
I muttered quietly and slowly moved forward. Pure white energy followed my every motion, as if the aura itself was supporting my sword. I intended to pour every ounce of my power into a single strike aimed at the princess’s heart.
Clench!
I pulled the sword back as far as it would go, gathering my strength.
“Oh, this feels a bit different from what you showed me this morning.”
Rip.
The princess’s eyes sparkled as she tore open her clothes, proudly displaying skin so smooth it was hard to believe it belonged to a reptile.
“Good. Use that one this time. Deeply—”
Fucking hell…
Her absurd reaction made my aura waver for a moment, but I was a seasoned knight. The pure white aura quickly stabilized and condensed along the blade.
This actually worked out well.
Whoosh!
As I swung my sword as if to tear the very air apart, a massive fan-shaped slash formed in the empty space. This time I planned to cut not just her heart, but her entire body in half. An aura forged with this level of focus could surely cleave even a thick castle wall. It should have—
『Kiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeek━──!!!!!!』
Suddenly, a pitch-black shadow blotted out the clear sky, accompanied by an ear-splitting screech.
“W-what the hell is that?”
It was a monster spreading jet-black wings. A creature resembling a wyvern plummeted straight down at terrifying speed—directly toward the princess, who still stood with her chest proudly bared. It opened its maw wide as if it had been aiming for her from the very beginning.
The speed was incredible. No one could react in time. Not me, and not even the princess. But the timing was disastrously bad. By sheer coincidence, the slash I had fired at her overlapped perfectly with the monster’s descent path.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
『Kigigigigigek…?!?!?』
Thud!
The monster’s cleanly severed corpse crashed onto the training ground. Thanks to that, the princess received no damage at all. And shortly after—
Passionate cheers erupted from every direction.
Wait, why the hell does it always end up like this???