Duel #2
It's been a while.
I gazed at the Krauser Dukedom drawing steadily closer and felt a swell of emotion. In that moment I understood, down to the bone, exactly how people felt when they came home from a provincial business trip.
“Quite prosperous……”
Ellen muttered under her breath from where she sat beside me on the driver's seat of the wagon. High, massive walls were nothing unusual for any territory, but she had clearly recognized that the dukedom's were in a class of their own.
“It has history, too. Old, but constantly maintained, so it's solid.”
“Yeah. Looks that way at a glance.”
She nodded as if in genuine agreement. There was no trace of reluctance; she wasn't simply matching my words out of courtesy.
“Anyway… from here on we're walking straight into the tiger's mouth. I'd better stay sharp.”
For all her nonchalant tone, tension was written plain across Ellen's face. I had explained Helena's character thoroughly, yet she still couldn't take it at face value. Considering the other party was a rare Sword Master who also held a ducal title, the reaction was understandable enough. You only really know someone after you've dealt with them yourself, after all.
“Could it be… Lord Zion Altram?”
I was still half lost in thought when we reached the castle gate and a guard greeted me with open delight. Having been born and raised in the Altram family here in the dukedom, he seemed to recognize my face at once. That, and the fact that I had spent so much time at Helena's side, poking into every corner of the place.
“Yes. It's been a while. I just got back.”
“I heard you'd left the territory, but seeing you like this is a real surprise. And speaking of which……”
The cheerful smile on the guard's face suddenly froze solid. His eyes had landed on Ellen sitting next to me, and on the company of dark elves following behind. Shock wasn't quite the right word. The fact that he knew I had left the territory meant he also knew why; that much made sense. The problem lay in his attitude toward the dark elves—the “common sense” any human born and raised on this continent was expected to possess.
I, however, was not bound by that common sense, so I rebuked him gently. For my sake, and more importantly for Helena's, I wanted to strip even a fraction of those reflexive stares away from the people who would be working hard for us.
“I fully understand how you must feel. But these are guests I brought myself. So please—try to understand just a little.”
“Ah… yes. I understand.”
The guard seemed to take the point. He nodded and waved us through without further inspection. It might sound like boasting, but inside this dukedom my face was as good as a pass.
“I'm sorry. If it were up to me I wouldn't let them look at you that way……”
“Heh. Don't worry so much. I've been getting those looks for over half a century. I've already taken every wound there is to take—if anything, the absence of that stare is more suspicious.”
Ellen gave a short laugh and comforted me. She even claimed the stares she had long since grown used to were almost welcome at this point. The bitter memory of betrayal by a man who had once approached her under a friendly mask still lingered.
“Well… you're right.”
I knew perfectly well what kind of gazes dark elves received, yet I hoped that while they stayed here we might change those looks at least a little. That had become one of my new goals. Of course, it was a goal I could only pursue after winning the duel……
“Welcome back. I'm so relieved you're safe.”
We pushed through the thicket of stares and reached the mansion's main gate. Andy came out to greet us with open pleasure. Even after taking in the faces of the dark elves, he showed not the slightest distaste. I was genuinely grateful.
“I'm glad you still look so hale and hearty yourself, Andy.”
“Ahem. Hale and hearty? I'm nowhere near that age yet. Just because you're young yourself, the way you talk……”
“Haha. My apologies.”
After a brief, friendly exchange of news, I drove the wagon on toward the stables. It struck me anew that I was getting more than my fill of driving—something I had barely done except when I first got my license.
“Oh, and… there was an order that you come to the office the moment you arrived.”
Andy, who had personally accompanied me all the way to the stables, spoke with careful delicacy. He looked thoroughly apologetic about telling a tired man he had to move again. I simply nodded, as if to say there was no need for that. When the master called, a servant went. That was only natural.
“Understood. Then if you wouldn't mind, these people to a separate room……”
“Of course that's the plan. We can hardly leave guests who have come all this way for a duel to fend for themselves. However… for Miss Ellen Redhood, she was told to come with you, Lord Zion.”
Even dark elves treated like refuse were difficult to slight once they arrived as my guests. So he had intended to escort them to guest rooms in the ordinary way; the request that Ellen come along as well was still a mild surprise. I had half expected it, yet it remained surprising all the same.
“Fine. We'll do that.”
Ellen kept her speech stiff and informal even before a noble, determined not to be looked down on. She also seemed rather pleased at the prospect of meeting Helena at once. The fire in her eyes and the smile tugging at her lips said as much.
“Then, Andy, please show the rest of the dark elves in. I'll guide Ellen myself.”
“Thank you for the consideration. The rest of you, if you would kindly follow me.”
The others cast worried looks at their leader, then steeled themselves and fell in behind Andy without a word. I exchanged brief greetings with the servants we passed and headed for the reception room. The corridor that quietly demonstrated what restrained luxury truly meant; the calm atmosphere of the mansion itself—everything felt so welcome that my heart eased of its own accord. Ellen, by contrast, looked rather uncomfortable… but that couldn't be helped.
“This is it.”
With a somewhat lighter heart I climbed the stairs, walked the corridor, and stopped before a familiar door—the reception room.
“Hmm. Complicated circumstances aside, just getting to see the master rumored to be a genius with my own eyes would be a great honor.”
“I'm glad you feel that way. Then… I'll open it.”
After a short exchange with Ellen I carefully prepared to knock. My slightly bent knuckles touched the door and were about to rap—or rather, intended to.
“You're outside, aren't you? Come in.”
A voice I knew all too well froze me a beat too soon. It was Helena wearing her public mask.
“She knew by presence. As expected of a master. Though it seems like a skill even an Expert could manage……”
Even now Ellen stood with her arms folded, busy analyzing the other party. Opening the door, stepping inside, and offering the first greeting all fell to me.
“I've just returned. I'm sorry for worrying you.”
I bowed my head like a sinner. I even let my voice tremble, packing the apology with genuine regret. Necessary or not, I could not deny that I had caused her worry.
“Did I worry?”
Helena's voice drifted down over my bent head. It carried a sulkiness so subtle that anyone else would have missed it. I don't think of myself as especially sharp, yet I was sensitive to Helena's shifts in mood. So I knew.
“I know perfectly well. And thank you so much for indulging my stubbornness.”
“As long as you know. Raise your head.”
An awkward order, but what choice did I have? If she said raise my head, I raised it. I lifted my face with a deliberately stiff expression, straightening my posture so the tension showed clearly. Looking into Helena's endlessly gentle eyes I could have relaxed, yet for the moment it seemed wiser to keep my guard up.
“You've worked hard. Zion, you must be exhausted—go rest first.”
“Yes…?”
After going to the trouble of summoning me with Ellen, she was already telling me to rest? The consideration was welcome, of course, but suspicion sprouted all the same. Calling someone over only to glance at their face and send them away could easily look like a slight toward the other party.
Yet as if to declare my thought completely wrong, Helena's voice snared a woman's ankle.
“Ellen Redhood, was it? I have something to say to you. Please stay a moment.”
What on earth is this about?
Ellen could not hide her bewilderment as she faced the duke who not only sat opposite her but even kindly brewed and served tea. From seating her on this luxurious sofa onward, the treatment was almost impossible to believe was meant for “filth.” Ordinary guests would of course receive such hospitality—but Ellen was no ordinary guest. Even coming for a duel did not make the world's conventions change overnight. In other words, the fact that Helena was treating her this way meant Helena herself was something of an eccentric.
“Please drink.”
“Thank you. I'll enjoy it.”
Ellen lifted the cup with half-honorifics. The cool, refreshing fragrance and taste that sank deep into the chest, easing the heart, ranked among the very finest teas one could offer a guest. It even carried the feeling of a dense forest. Naturally, Ellen's nerves began to settle.
“I heard you are a strong one who survived wandering battlefields for more than half a century. That you will put that strength to use for me… I am truly grateful.”
“Hmm…… With such formal courtesy I hardly know where to put myself. Still, the thanks feel a bit excessive. I came with my own vulgar calculation of payment in mind, so treat me more casually.”
Payment, is it.
Helena calmly ordered her thoughts while watching Ellen fidget under the weight of the formality. First, the woman had been brought by Zion—who stood at the absolute top of her priorities—so she had no intention of treating her carelessly. That would be belittling the judgment of the man who had already assessed her worth. Second came the matter of payment. She had heard that Zion planned to use the family's resources for a land purchase, yet Helena had no intention of leaving it at that. Since the decision rested with her, granting the land was something she herself would do; she had not the slightest desire to take Altram money. In short, she could hand over the land this very moment if she chose.
“About the land, then. Very well. First tell me whether you prefer the outskirts, or to live inside the castle walls.”
“It may be a shameless request, but I would like to live inside the castle… is that possible?”
“It is.”
For dark elves to settle and make a home in a human town was ordinarily a distant dream. Ellen's mercenary band had crushed opposition with sheer force before and secured lodging that way, yet the uncomfortable feelings never truly vanished. It had been a mirage of rest, forcibly seized. So she had asked with an unconscious note of resignation—only for the answer to come so readily that her eyes flew wide. A positive reply to a question she had asked after abandoning hope; of course she was startled.
“Possible… you say? Truly?”
“Yes. However, the land will be granted in half. In consideration of the fact that you are risking your life, I will give half first in place of an advance, and the remaining half as a success fee. Do you accept?”
“Of… of course!”
Receiving half the land as a deposit alone was enough to set Ellen's heart soaring. In her eyes at that moment Helena looked like an angel out of legend. And Zion, who had led her to that angel, was nothing short of a divine messenger.
Ordinarily, terms that were too good would have made her wary. That was simply her nature. Yet the sheer boldness of immediately drafting two contracts bearing both their signatures and handing one over left her speechless. With the seal of Krauser stamped upon them as well, disbelief was impossible. Even if the other party later tried to renege, the contracts gave her something solid to seize—because Helena had chosen to extend that credit.
Having been treated so well, she would have to deliver more than the price. Ellen burned with the resolve to kill her opponent even if she herself took a grievous wound… until a voice suddenly tickled her ear and sent a chill down her spine.
“Oh, by the way. I'd really like to hear exactly what happened between you and Zion… if you wouldn't mind.”
It was a voice so cold and sharp that one could scarcely believe it belonged to the same soft, gentle woman—a voice that called to mind the edge of a keen blade.