The Nomadic Elf Khan's Fiancé Speaks Up
A warm voice rang out, bright and welcoming.
Vesta turned his head and saw Bia approaching. Her presence cheered his expression right up.
"Bia!"
"Bia? The Bia of the Altangerel Clan?"
Bia was a name everyone knew. The two women glanced back, surprised to hear it spoken aloud.
Bia's face was set in stone.
"What business do you have with my friend?"
Her tone was nothing like the gentle one she used with Vesta. Now she sounded stern and commanding.
The women whispered among themselves, startled by the celebrity's arrival.
"Really?"
"Just from the golden coat, she's definitely Altangerel."
"She probably asked what she wanted, but they refused to say."
Bia strode over without a pause and gently pushed the two women away from Vesta.
"Do you know the Khan of the Wilderness's fiancé? Of course you do. That's why you've been waving your tails around."
Tailless. In human terms, it meant "don't wag your tails."
"No, what did we do?"
"Just cheering you on."
The women complained that their own tails had been too forward.
But Bia wouldn't let it go.
"It might look that way to outsiders. A knowledgeable person should know better than to act that way."
Bia shot Vesta a sidelong glance.
"Since I have something to discuss with my friend, it would be best if you left now."
A subtle pressure made the women pull in their tails — or rather, their wagging hindquarters. According to their own logic, they should have held back and been more modest.
"Little one, remember what I said!"
"Next year, come to Ainuwail again. This time, be nice to my colt too?"
Although they were practically being chased away, the centaurs refused to lose their sense of humor.
Bia shot the women a look of displeasure. Clearly, she was annoyed.
"Hmph. No honor in waggling your tails."
'Was it about honor?'
She might not have known the exact word, but her tail had definitely been quite bold.
'Bia's tail...'
It twitched like a whip when she was unhappy.
'It's a very honest tail. Almost cute.'
It matched the straightness of her own twitching ears.
"Vesta. You shouldn't be kind to everyone. Sometimes you need to draw a line."
Bia's words were not wrong, but Vesta felt a little unfairly pressed.
'She barged in before I even finished speaking.'
Nomadic women were usually like that. At a loss for words, he just smiled awkwardly.
"A person who fights like a hungry wolf when it's time for a duel, but behaves like a marmot just woken from hibernation when it's not."
Marmot? He had never heard that comparison before.
"A marmot? Well, not exactly."
Marmots were large, fat rodents. They weren't as quick as rabbits and were quite dull-witted, so they got caught easily by people.
A marmot caught by the neck looked completely helpless, dragged around like a woman's toy. It was like Vesta, surrounded by women, unable to say a proper word.
"With your name and face known far and wide, you should be even more careful."
Bia meant Vesta was already famous.
Not at all. Right now, among the centaurs, the names of the two of them were being discussed the most.
"Which one of them are you?"
"Yes, of course. You defeated centaur warriors with a human body."
Bia praised him, calling it a tremendous achievement.
It made Vesta feel awkward. He scratched his head and answered.
"The other one... I already know who it is without you saying."
'Atilla.'
That man.
He had once stood up for centaur honor in front of the Kairan Clan Head, earning enormous attention.
'And he also made the spotlight bigger himself.'
Atilla was definitely a master strategist. He knew fame was like a spark.
Before the spark could burn out and fly away, Atilla snatched it up with his own hands.
One by one, challengers swarmed in like wasps and fell.
He didn't fight in a casual way.
'Our styles are different.'
If Vesta had created an entertaining match with some effort, Atilla drew attention by overwhelming every opponent effortlessly. Strength against strength. Instinct against instinct.
People were obsessed with Atilla's strength itself.
Almost all centaurs now knew his name and skill.
'If I keep winning from now on, will I have to fight him too?'
The thought made Vesta's shoulders feel heavy.
'The picture doesn't even form.'
Vesta was the kind of person who never imagined fear or defeat. He kept looking for ways to defeat his opponent. And eventually, he found them.
But Atilla was different. From the first time they met, Vesta had sensed he was no ordinary person. Like a natural enemy.
There had been a moment when Vesta had almost drawn his sword against him. Atilla's overwhelming strength had pinned his wrist, but still.
'What if we had fought then?'
Vesta would have lost.
If he had managed to draw his sword and fought back, he would have tried to kill Atilla. He wouldn't have stopped unless he could cut off his breath.
He had drawn his sword with that mindset, but Atilla had never considered Vesta an enemy.
That meant Vesta's blade had never threatened Atilla's life.
'Would it be different now?'
It was an meaningless what-if, yet he couldn't help imagining it.
If he had to fight him...
"Vesta?"
"Ah, sorry. I got lost in some unnecessary thoughts."
It wasn't proper manners to let someone stand there while you talked to yourself. He focused back on the conversation.
"I was looking for Bia earlier, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't find her. Did you meet your friend?"
All the centaurs were gathered in one place, so Bia's friends were probably still in Ainuwail.
In fact, she got along well with other centaur maidens.
But this time, she shook her head for another reason.
"I went to meet my family."
When Bia said family, she meant the people of the Altangerel Clan.
"...Vesta. This opponent will not be easy."
Bia's gaze was serious. She truly looked concerned for him.
'Could it be one of the Altangerel people coming out?'
If that were the case, Bia had every reason to worry.
'Family and friends fighting each other.'
"Well, I'm not going to fight the Altangerel Patriarch anyway. Unless..."
It was half a joke. Logically, a clan head shouldn't challenge a human youth to a duel.
"The Patriarch? No. My father is not the Patriarch."
The word 'is' carried a subtle meaning.
"My older brother seems to be planning to enter the match."
"Eh? Your brother?"
Vesta's eyes widened at the unexpected words.
If it was Bia's older brother, it must be that golden man who had stopped the Kairan Clan Head alongside Atilla.
'This is getting troublesome.'
Vesta knew Bia's strength well. She was an astonishingly powerful warrior.
If the golden man's strength was on par with Bia's, even Vesta wouldn't be able to break through easily. He would become a true rival.
"A famous person, right? Why..."
"He's famous. Very famous."
After all, he was the Altangerel young lord's older brother.
"My older brother is a person who can't do anything wrong. If it's archery, he'll do archery. If it's swordsmanship, he'll do swordsmanship. He has become a perfect warrior. And he's even wise."
"Are you as strong as Bia?"
He almost asked that. But he couldn't hide his surprise, and Bia noticed Vesta's thought.
"So if someone asked who is the better general, you would have to choose my older brother. As a hunter and as a knight, he is the superior one. But as a swordsman, I am stronger. Because I am more true to the sword than any centaur."
Bia's eyes were filled with confidence.
'Yes. As a swordswoman, you can't say you lost to anyone.'
"If it weren't for you stepping in, I would have confronted my clan head-on. Older brother, father... I would have knocked them both down."
In a fair fight, the two of them would have to yield a move. Bia smiled lightly.
"Then I would have won."
Vesta answered coolly. He smiled back at the surprised Bia.
"Because Bia is so strong, my teacher."
"......"
Bia lowered her head, moved. When she raised it again, her eyes sparkled.
"Yes. That's right."
Vesta asked playfully.
"Bia. If I defeat your older brother, is that okay?"
"Yes, please do. Although he has always been kind to me, in the end, he is not of our tribe."
If the person himself had heard, he would probably have been very upset.
"Let's practice. Baatar."
At Bia's words, Vesta stood up straight.
"Work hard and defeat your uncle, Bia."
Bia's eyes burned with determination.