Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 206. Final Weapon (1)
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“There, all done.”
I untied the necktie that had bound her wrists.
Then, casually looped it back around my own neck.
“...”
Rozanna rubbed her slender wrists.
At the same time, she shot me a resentful glare.
“You tied it so tightly.”
The empire’s First Imperial Consort slowly rose to her feet.
She drew the hem of her dress over her exposed thigh.
“Your Highness is such a formidable presence that I had to. I’d be grateful if you could forgive me.”
I placed a hand over my left breast.
Then, I bowed my head politely, showing proper respect.
“Slick bastard.”
The consort let out a scoff and looked away.
She glanced at me with sly eyes, then...
―――――.
She strolled leisurely toward the waiting room door alone.
The moment she flung the door open.
“...!”
The consort came face-to-face with the silver-haired princess, Iriina, who had just arrived at the door.
“Consort Rozanna...?”
Emerald eyes, vibrant with the green of summer foliage, flashed between strands of the princess’s radiant silver hair.
In response, Rozanna regarded her with a subtle gaze.
“Wh-what brings you here, Veil?”
Iriina asked in a wary tone.
But the consort gave no reply.
“...”
Perhaps recalling the vision she had just seen of Iriina and my final moments, she closed her eyes briefly.
Then, she passed by in silence.
With an expression that seemed oddly envious.
―――――.
The sharp click of her heels faded into the distance.
Only after the footsteps had completely vanished did Iriina cautiously enter the waiting room and close the door.
“Veil...”
She met my eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Her clear gaze drew her slowly toward me.
“Are you okay? She didn’t do anything to you...?”
Her platinum dress clung perfectly to her figure.
“Yes. Nothing happened.”
I scratched the back of my head and answered her.
Yet even after hearing that, Iriina seemed inwardly anxious and gently pressed herself against me.
Soon.
“...”
She rested her soft ear against my left breast.
As if eager to hear my heartbeat.
“Really?”
The steady rhythm of my heart.
Only after listening did the princess exhale deeply, finally reassured.
I felt the warmth of her skin against me.
“Yes, you saw her yourself. The consort leaving with that resentful look.”
I naturally embraced her.
Then, I lightly patted her beautifully arched back.
Each time my palm touched, I sensed the delicate shape of her wingbones.
But I wasn’t the only one savoring the sensation.
“Whew... Good thing...”
Iriina tentatively placed both hands on my back.
She explored my form, relishing the closeness.
Soon, her soft fingers trailed slowly down the deep curve of my back.
“Your Highness...?”
I asked with a casual chuckle.
At that, Iriina peeked up shyly, her cheek still pressed to my chest.
“Why?”
“Isn’t your touch a bit too bold?”
I grinned playfully.
At the same time, I rubbed her pale cheek with my thumb.
“You’ll wear me out at this rate.”
She clung to me like a wolf latched onto a hunter.
Suddenly self-conscious, she belatedly composed herself.
“I-I was just checking if Rozanna cast any spells...”
To show her I was more than a cute wolf, I pulled her into a deep embrace.
“As you can feel, I’m perfectly fine.”
“Yeah... That’s a relief.”
Come to think of it, Iriina had always come to me in moments of crisis.
From the Black Knights’ ambush in the past to today.
Perhaps stirred by memories of my previous life, I felt especially flushed now.
“...”
I gazed down intently at Iriina in my arms.
A fresh fruity scent seemed to waft from the crown of her head.
I knew that fragrance.
When she had enveloped me beneath the crumbling palace.
The fresh aroma rising from her hair as she descended into my arms like a goddess.
That scent sparked a sudden thought.
‘Perhaps...’
Maybe my journey to the past wasn’t mere miracle.
And if Iriina had played a role in it...
‘No way she came with me...’
There were too many oddities.
Her knowing glances and tone from the investiture ceremony onward.
Plus, the warning she sent to the emperor about his meals, which led to removing the chronic poison he’d been dosed with over time.
Thanks to that, Leonhardt could now open his eyes again and even attend this match.
“Iriina.”
I spoke to her plainly.
“Yeah.”
Was it because her cheek was pressed to my chest?
Her words came out a bit muffled.
“Do you... have any secrets you can’t tell me?”
“Secrets...?”
Only then did the princess lift her face.
She peered up at me intently.
“Yes, like something hard to speak of.”
Had it been from rubbing against my body?
Her radiant silver locks were slightly tousled.
“...”
Amid them, eyes sparkling like emeralds.
They trembled faintly, for some reason.
“I do.”
Iriina buried her face in my chest again.
“There is one...”
The arms wrapped around me quivered subtly.
“But I’m scared.”
Scared.
At those words, I immediately asked.
“Scared of what, exactly...?”
What could she fear?
As if hinting at the answer, the princess murmured.
“One is whether you’ll believe me if I tell you.”
Iriina swallowed deeply.
“And the other is whether you still resent me.”
A scene flashed in her mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Then, she bit her soft lower lip.
“That’s why I couldn’t muster the courage.”
The moment I heard that.
I pulled slightly away from Iriina.
Then, grasping her cold hand, I asked.
“Please tell me. I’ll listen humbly to anything.”
Iriina stared straight into my earnest black eyes.
“You’re sure... it’s okay?”
I could feel the weight of her words.
But I was ready to bear it.
“Yes.”
Hearing my brief reply, Iriina nodded to herself.
The moment she hesitantly opened her mouth.
「――――――」
A grand orchestral fanfare echoed from outside the waiting room.
The signal that the enemy had arrived.
“...”
Iriina and I both turned toward the door.
Then, we exchanged glances and smiled brightly.
“I’ll tell you after you win.”
Her gentle eye smile.
Transparent tears shimmered between her elegant eyelids.
“Just one more step, and victory’s ours, right?”
Before the world calling my name, we faced each other.
Iriina lifted the corners of her mouth with a resolute gaze.
“Once everything falls into place... then we can talk about the rest.”
“...”
Iriina’s eyes shifted to my sword.
Then, she clasped her hands lightly and closed her eyes.
「―――」
She prayed quietly over the sheathed blade.
The sight was as beautiful as an elf from myth casting a spell.
“I’ve cast a magic incantation.”
Incantation.
At those words, I blankly watched the princess walk away.
In my dying moments.
She had clasped her hands alone and prayed silently.
That image overlapped with the current Iriina.
With hands behind her back, Iriina strode ahead with light steps.
She opened the door herself and said to me.
“Let’s go, Sir Knight.”
I stepped forward, honoring not her request, but her plea.
Into an arena filled with tens of thousands of spectators.
Bonds unbroken from my past life.
Passing the dim corridor, we reached the sunlit arena entrance.
I turned back to her one last time.
There stood the Second Imperial Princess in her platinum dress, hands behind her back.
She was surely smiling.
And alone, she whispered.
「This life... your sword won’t break.」
“...!”
The moment I heard it.
For the first time, my steadfast pupils wavered.
As I opened my mouth to speak.
“Waaah――――!!”
“And here comes today’s star, Veil Mikhail!!”
The roaring cheers calling me drowned it out.
I ignored the noise, focusing on the princess’s voice.
“Do your best, Veil.”
Iriina waved lightly.
Like a childhood friend of many years.
“My knight.”
Hearing her quiet encouragement, I steadied my heart.
And with everything firmly resolved.
I vowed to have that honest talk.
Just as I’d orchestrated a conversation between Rozanna and the emperor.
I too would share deep words with Iriina.
「Then, I’ll be off.」
I pressed my fist firmly to my left breast.
Then, calmly stepped onto the arena floor.
――――――.
“Finally here.”
A man stood atop the ruined arena.
He wore uniform pants but a black tank top above, utterly free-spirited.
The kind of outfit only mad dogs among knights would dare.
“What took you so long after summoning me?”
The man had black hair and black eyes like mine.
A longsword hung at his waist.
「...」
From its sheath flowed the most sinister, repulsive black mana I’d yet seen.
He’d tried masking it blue with Rozanna’s mana, but it was pointless.
No, the man before me didn’t seem to care about hiding his power at all.
His lifeless eyes radiated killing intent, eager to slay me on the spot.
‘Strange.’
Was it thanks to Iriina that my past-life memories sharpened?
My senses from that time felt vividly alive.
‘That guy’s the Knight Order Captain...?’
He certainly emanated the aura of the strong.
But it differed from Gilbert or Liam, whom I’d faced before.
They retained the sharp, composed gaze befitting former captains.
A captain bore the lives of countless subordinates, after all.
Yet this one showed none of that.
I saw no leadership or wisdom to command his men.
‘Like staring at a beast loosed into the arena.’
Behind him, the souls of those he’d slain seemed to writhe and scream.
「...」
And I wasn’t the only one sensing it.
The emperor, another Grand Master, furrowed his brow from the VIP seats.
「Leon.」
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
「Is that man the current Black Knight Order captain?」
In his comatose state, he’d missed the new captain’s investiture.
Black Knights were usually under Leon’s command anyway, so he couldn’t tell.
“Yes. That’s Captain Lin.”
Leon replied with a meaningful smile.
「I see...」
The emperor nodded in acknowledgment for now.
He signaled the referee wordlessly to begin.
“Alright, with both fighters present, let the match begin!!”
The referee bellowed.
Lin tilted his thick neck, loosening up.
“I’ve been dying to fight you, Mikhail.”
「Do I know you? This is my first time seeing you.」
I slowly drew Iriina’s sword.
Gripping it with both hands, I met his gaze resolutely.
“Of course. I’ve been watching you from afar.”
The man drew his longsword too.
He pointed it at me, speaking with lifeless black eyes.
“Seeing Liam and Gilbert Captain lose got me all riled up.”
He flashed a creepy grin.
Like a beast starved for slaughter.
「Riled up, huh... You’re no captain.」
“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m the Black Knight Order captain...”
I smirked at the sight.
Then, my face hardened into a grim mask.
「No true captain would say that.」
I’d been a guard captain myself.
I knew the weight of that position well.
「One who bears his men’s lives can’t get excited easily.」
The crown prince’s petty schemes grew tiresome.
To punish it, I declared firmly.
「Looks like the crown prince still doesn’t grasp the crisis. Sending a fake like you to cut losses...」
Lin, whose black pupils had burned with madness till now.
He faltered at my sternness.
「Unlike the former captains, I’ll end you even more pathetically.」
Iriina watched quietly from the referee’s seat as she sat.
Unconsciously, she murmured.
“He’ll be okay, right...?”
Even to her, Lin’s killing intent felt brutally savage.
The emergence of the hidden Black Knight Order captain she’d never known...
His eyes screamed he was something different.
“Feels dangerous.”
As the princess swallowed deeply alone.
Someone beside her chimed in.
“Indeed. It feels dangerous.”
A calm, commanding woman’s voice brimming with leadership.
Iriina turned, voicing her worry.
“Right...? Veil mustn’t get hurt...”
At that moment.
Iriina froze upon seeing the woman’s face.
“No.”
A pale face around her own age.
But one eye bandaged, her mouth scarred with a jagged wound.
“The danger isn’t coming from Lin.”
The tall woman in black uniform.
Slender overall, yet her squared shoulders spoke of rigorous training.
“It’s emanating from your knight, Veil.”
She had black eyes and hair like Arena Captain Lin.
Yet her gaze held a subtle charisma unlike his.
“Huh...?”
Iriina followed the woman’s words to the arena.
Soon...
――――――.
She beheld the Grand Aura blazing radiantly atop my raised sword.
Clearer and more solid than even the emperor’s prime.
Like a god’s greatsword, I slammed the massive blade down.
The instant it struck.
Kwaaaang――――!!
The ground where my sword strike hit sank as if divine punishment had fallen from the heavens.
“Huh...”
The Black Knight took the full brunt of the strike.
Despite raising his greatsword to block, he trembled from the pain piercing his body.
「Mad beasts fear the whip.」
I raised my sword again.
And until he called his real master, I swung with lethal intent.
「I’ll thrash you till your owner comes.」