Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Cluster of Stars (7)
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Silence blanketed the hall.
No one dared to open their mouth.
Kline's strike just moments ago.
It had clearly been infused with aura.
No, it still was.
A blue energy rippled along Kline's training sword.
Aura was strictly forbidden in mock duels.
That rule had been laid out right at the start.
So why was aura flickering on Kline's blade?
-What the hell was that?
-What's going on?
-Young Master Kline using aura...
The nobles who hadn't grasped the situation buzzed among themselves.
They had no choice.
No one had ever seen the aura Jeil tried to infuse into his sword.
Only Kline, who had crossed blades with him up close.
Only Kline, with eyes that could perceive the Flow of All Things.
He had spotted it instantly and knocked the sword away.
"......"
Jeil's mouth hung open in a daze.
He must have realized it too.
What he had just tried to do.
'I infused it with aura.'
Aura was forbidden in mock duels.
He had said it himself, clear as day.
Yet somehow, he had...
Clang, roll roll—
The sword Jeil had been struck away clattered across the floor with a metallic ring.
The nobles who saw it began to murmur.
-Did Young Master Kline win...?
-Looks like it. But if he used aura, that's a different story.
-Yeah. Aura's a no-go in mock duels... Did he cheat just to win?
-Then Jeil wins, right?
The words from those still in the dark stabbed at Jeil's heart.
It was suffocating.
Jeil's chest heaved violently.
In front of all these people thinking Kline had broken the rules.
Jeil couldn't bring himself to lift his head.
"......I'm disappointed, Sir Jeil."
A slow, deliberate sentence.
Those words from Kline's mouth weighed down on Jeil's shoulders.
But his head snapped up reflexively.
Jeil's gaze met Kline's blue eyes.
Those icy eyes.
They stared at Jeil with unyielding hardness.
"You said it yourself. This duel would be pure swordsmanship, nothing more. Anything beyond that is an automatic loss."
"......"
"And this is the result?"
Kline wasn't angry.
He didn't raise his voice harshly or call it an insult against him.
He didn't even threaten to use it for political gain.
All that emanated was disappointment.
A downgraded assessment of Jeil as a swordsman.
That's why Jeil couldn't utter a word.
What could he even say?
He was the one who had cheated.
The fight kept shifting against him, so in desperation, he had decided to win somehow.
In that moment of lost composure, he had infused his aura.
That alone was an indelible shame for Jeil.
Yet here was this swordsman, so calm and detached.
Simply stating Jeil's mistake as "disappointing."
A vessel vast enough for that.
...And far younger than him.
The boy Jeil had challenged, certain he couldn't possibly be superior.
Now quietly rebuking his error.
What could Jeil possibly say?
"I understand."
Kline continued.
"It must have bruised your pride to be evenly matched with a younger swordsman. How humiliating to have every flaw laid bare before all these nobles."
This wasn't sarcasm.
No mockery or ridicule.
Kline was sincerely empathizing with Jeil's feelings.
That made it all the more painful.
Jeil wanted to shout.
Curse him instead.
Call him trash for using aura in a mock duel. Unworthy to walk the path of the sword.
Say it was shameful to even duel a senior like you.
But Kline said none of that.
"But Sir Jeil, look closely."
With that, Kline raised his arm.
His right arm, the one he had awkwardly twisted to infuse aura and swing.
"......!"
Jeil's breath caught.
A sword wound marred Kline's right wrist.
Training swords were blunted for non-lethal use; they rarely drew blood.
So why the injury?
No need to ask.
The clash of auras.
Jeil's blade and Kline's had collided, and the aura had slashed Kline's wrist.
Drip. Drip.
Blood beaded up and fell to the floor.
How deep was it?
Would he lose the use of his sword hand?
Or just a harmless cut?
...Jeil felt utter shame for the instant he hoped it was the latter, that he could relax.
"This is the result of your mistake. An immature heart can grow and be corrected, but if you can't control it and let it burst out, these are the consequences."
Kline, clearly much younger than Jeil, spoke with far greater maturity.
Kline lowered his arm and released his sword.
"The drive to prove your superiority, that competitive spirit—fine. But use your judgment. Unless you want a lecture from someone younger."
Clang, roll roll...
Both dropped their swords.
Now the nobles should cheer, declaring the victor.
But no one dared speak.
Kline was clearly the winner.
But with aura involved, they couldn't say it lightly.
And the atmosphere was off.
If Kline had cheated with aura, would Jeil look so flustered?
Something was up.
Maybe a mistake on Jeil's part.
-......
The nobles exchanged furtive glances, gauging each other.
Whose side to take?
House Stimond? House Leonhart?
Leonhart Ducal House was undeniably more prestigious.
But if it was Kline's fault, backing him would be a blunder.
The knights had nothing to say.
They couldn't sense mana from afar.
Some nobles aspired to magic too.
Ultimately, the nobles' levels just weren't high enough.
Whose fault was it?
What had really happened?
As no one dared name a winner.
"Uh, ahem. Ahem. A... A victory for Sir Kline... I suppose!"
A girl's voice, lacking all confidence, rang through the hall.
All eyes turned to her.
To see who had the guts to speak first here.
Frizzy lavender hair, trembling lavender eyes shaking like leaves.
Elysia of House Rosnet, the viscount's daughter, was stuttering it out, quaking.
"Sir Je... Jeil used... used aura. Sniff. So Sir Kline used aura too, to counter... right! Nnngh!"
Incoherent, with weird interjections, but her point was clear.
Jeil used aura first; Kline merely responded.
-......
The nobles blinked at each other.
If true, it was Jeil's foul.
But one question lingered.
'Why?'
Did Kline Leonhart really match aura for aura?
He could have just stepped back and called it out—end of story.
Why go that far?
Why knock the sword away, wounding himself?
-Is this for real?
-No idea. But it's Elysia speaking. That Elysia.
-Yeah, the speaker doesn't inspire much trust... Still, if true, it makes sense.
-Right. If he'd used aura one-sidedly, no injury. ...But why match it then?
Questions piled on questions.
Partly because Elysia's name carried little weight.
Elysia Rosnet.
The odd girl nobles called "that Elysia."
A noble who couldn't dress up, lacked confidence, and had no eloquence.
Her viscount house got no special treatment either, sapping her credibility.
The hall's mood hadn't tipped yet.
And then.
One person settled it instantly, backing Elysia.
"I agree."
Adelheit von Baldrion.
The princess who had watched the duel spoke.
"I sensed mana. Sir Jeil's sword definitely had aura. Kline must have strained to block it."
That sealed it.
The princess here commanded the nobles' utmost admiration and authority.
All nodded at once.
-That bastard Jeil really did it.
-How do you use aura in a duel?
-Guy's lost it.
Everyone turned on Jeil in unison.
"......"
But for Jeil Stimond, something hurt more than their scorn.
"I hope next time brings a different outcome. It's a shame for both of you to end like this."
Kline still didn't rage at Jeil.
No ridicule.
Just gently admonishing his youthful mistake.
Encouraging even him, after such an error, to do better next time.
"......I'm sorry, Sir Kline."
So Jeil belatedly bowed his head.
No, slammed it down.
He was truly ashamed—not of the nobles' mockery.
But of wronging just this one man.
With that, the duel ended.
Jeil and Kline returned to their places.
Kline got dragged off by an extremely excited Elysia on the way.
A fairly graceful close, considering the aura scandal.
Watching the result.
"......Haa."
Adelheit sighed.
She had kept composure backing Kline earlier, but now it was impossible.
Kline Leonhart.
Her mind brimmed with thoughts of that man, her chest heating up.
Adelheit knew, of course.
That Jeil had used aura.
She was an excellent mage; she could sense that much.
So she expected Kline to call it out.
That was the "typical noble" response.
Spot a political weakness? Sink your teeth in.
Use it to elevate your honor.
That was what Adelheit had seen countless times as a princess.
But.
'He was different.'
Kline's demeanor from moments ago kept replaying.
That mature air, like an older brother despite being younger.
You couldn't act that way without grasping the situation and calculating the best move.
Any other noble in Kline's shoes would have pounced on Jeil's aura use.
Instead, he concealed it, using his own aura to muddy the nobles' sharp reactions.
No noble would do that.
It proved how exceptional Kline was.
"......"
Their recent conversation resurfaced.
Your face says noble affairs annoy you too. But you don't complain?
Yes. That's correct.
Kline had said it plainly.
Noble business was a hassle.
But if it must be done, he did it.
What if someone made you do something you hated? If the mood demands it, would you?
I would. Sure.
He did hated tasks without a word.
To Adelheit, that was a distant tale of another man.
She hated doing unwanted tasks, and loathed doing them without complaint even more.
So she said she'd watch.
Because Kline had insisted.
He wouldn't have accepted if it were mere emotion.
He hoped for an ending without scars.
Adelheit had thought it foolish.
As if.
He accepted because Jeil irked him—how could he manage that?
But Kline did it.
He ensured the duel didn't scar Jeil fatally.
No anger, no mockery.
Just calm guidance.
Perhaps—truly "noble" behavior.
Not the profit-chasing nobles she despised.
A noble who knew honor, never lost dignity, always pursued elegance.
First time she'd seen one.
A man who drew positive from the negative.
So maybe that's why.
"......You intrigue me."
Her heart stirred just a little.