Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Deliberately Stirring Up Anger (3)
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The lord's command rang out, and Philip and all the servants straightened up immediately. They left the dining room without delay.
In an instant, only Diego and I remained in the dining room.
"Abel."
Diego's voice fell heavily to the floor. In contrast, I replied in a light, refreshing tone.
"Yes."
No matter what he asked, I had an answer ready—as long as it stayed within the boundaries Philip knew of my behavior.
But the words that slipped from Diego's mouth were,
"Liam Schmidt."
Something I hadn't anticipated at all.
"So you've been learning the sword from him."
"......"
I tightened my fingers where they were crossed over my chest.
'How did he find out?'
Keeping a calm face, I racked my brain furiously.
Someone must have seen Liam and me together and reported it to Diego.
'And that someone would be...'
Pierre, no doubt.
It didn't take long to reach that conclusion.
'But he couldn't have seen it up close.'
We'd been at a distance where either I or Liam would have noticed if someone approached that far.
'And yet...'
There was far too much certainty in Diego's voice. He seemed to know exactly what Liam and I had been up to.
'How is this possible?'
I didn't have time to think further.
"Ha!"
Diego let out a bitter laugh through gritted teeth.
"Seems you have no intention of denying it."
"......"
"Scattering your energy all over the place like it's on display."
Ah, that.
'I had a feeling it might be.'
There was no way Diego hadn't noticed what Philip and Liam had vaguely picked up on. No, for a first-rate swordsman of his caliber, it was only natural.
Having acquired a sword on the level of the world's strongest, my energy couldn't possibly remain the same as before.
'I tried to suppress it, but I guess it didn't work well enough.'
I was skilled at reading others' energy, but hiding my own was still unfamiliar.
In any case, denying it now would be pointless.
"So what?"
I tilted my head slightly and let a sly smile curl my lips.
"You bastard!"
Diego slammed his wine glass down on the table roughly.
Crash!
The thin crystal shattered helplessly.
"Have you forgotten why I forbade you from ever touching a sword?"
A storm of rage swirled across Diego's face. I smiled calmly, like a traveler unmoved by the tempest.
"No idea."
I knew, of course. It was one of those details hammered into the story endlessly.
Diego's cheek twitched faintly with fury.
"You mean you've forgotten what happened when you were five?"
At five years old—the age when Abel had first beaten an animal to death.
'Can you still fly like this?'
Abel had smiled innocently as he tossed a hawk with one broken wing into the sky. When it staggered and failed to take flight, crashing back to the ground, he cackled, 'Oh dear, not enough effort,' and snapped the other wing. The hawk never flew again, reduced to crawling on the ground.
'Useless thing, you.'
Abel pelted it with stones indiscriminately, smashing its skull and pounding its body until it was nothing but a mangled lump of meat.
Seeing the hawk's corpse, Diego had been consumed by extreme rage—and realized Abel's unnatural cruelty.
"That pitiful hawk's corpse is still vivid in my mind!"
Diego spat the words. With no one else in the dining room, he showed no concern for prying eyes.
'But is that all?'
I kept my bored expression from showing.
The litany of Abel's misdeeds that followed was enough to make one's jaw ache just recounting them.
Killing a pregnant bitch heavy with pups and checking if the litter was still alive. Tormenting the servants over trifles until one of his direct attendants vanished, and so on.
"You, who treats staining your hands with others' blood as less significant than a meal."
Diego swallowed a ragged breath.
"And yet you dare to learn the sword?"
His eyes began to boil over again. The lava that had briefly subsided was now erupting as magma.
"I can see exactly what will happen! You'll get drunk on power, slaughter innocent lives, and dip your hands in others' blood without a second thought!"
If only that were all I'd already done.
I kept my smile as the thought crossed my mind.
"Those who wield a sword must bear the heaviest responsibility of all! They must know the weight of life and approach it with utmost reverence at all times!"
"......"
"So how could I ever allow you to touch one!"
With a final outburst, Diego heaved for breath. He glared at me with eyes blazing like fire.
"Discard the sword immediately."
He wasn't referring to Requiem in my possession.
He meant forget everything I'd learned so far and never touch a sword again. But that was a command I couldn't obey.
"What if I don't want to?"
I let out a scoff.
"Why should I listen to you, Father?"
"You insolent brat!"
A thunderous roar crashed down.
"Think a bit of swordplay makes you invincible?"
He shoved his chair back roughly and stood.
"I knew this would happen. I knew letting you learn the sword would make you this reckless!"
Diego's hand was already at his waist.
Whoosh!
He drew his sheathed sword and charged straight at me.
'You madman!'
I shot to my feet in alarm.
Before I could utter a word, Diego's sword was already slicing toward my shoulder.
'Damn, too fast!'
In a panic, I grabbed the edge of the dining table and heaved it up.
Crash!
The dishes scattered across the floor.
"Hmm."
Diego swiftly withdrew his sword and stepped back. Having barely bought a moment, I scanned the surroundings desperately.
'Something to use as a weapon...'
The floor was a mess of shattered plates and cutlery. There was the knife I'd used earlier.
'No good.'
That tiny utensil couldn't block Diego's heavy strikes. It would shatter on the first clash.
'Requiem's out too.'
I wasn't wearing the Gauntlet, and pulling it out would flip Diego's lid.
"Overturning the table—your manners are utterly deplorable."
Diego approached at a leisurely pace. But his eyes gleamed with sharp menace, belying his demeanor.
'No, it's already flipped?'
I'd pushed his buttons, but to this extent? He must have been furious seeing me radiating Requiem's ferocious energy.
Swoosh!
Diego swung his sword, producing a terrifying whoosh.
"Urk!"
I rolled aside, barely dodging.
It wasn't just about evading. His single swing was so powerful it felt like it tore the air apart.
'Even a graze would fracture bone.'
And that was with the sword still sheathed. If he drew it...
'Whew.'
I shook my head.
'He doesn't intend to kill me.'
Still, I couldn't keep dodging forever. Starting a conversation seemed pointless too.
Diego was dead set on breaking my arm if that's what it took to crush my will.
'Should've just played along and said yes.'
But that would only delay the inevitable.
My opponent was the empire's strongest swordsman. A flimsy lie would unravel quickly.
'He can read others' energy with his eyes.'
In the end, he'd see through any deception. This confrontation was unavoidable.
"Abel!"
Diego's sword whipped toward me again with fierce momentum. I bent low at the waist to dodge, then flung myself sideways.
'Damn it, I need a weapon...!'
Desperately scanning around, my eyes locked on one spot.
'That!'
In the venerable Ovest Castle, swords hung on the walls everywhere, ready for use at any moment.
They carried two meanings.
If monsters poured over the border, take up these swords and fight.
Or if the border fell and hope was lost, slit your own throat and end it.
'If not now, when?'
I snatched the sword from the wall and steadied my ragged breathing.
'The feel's off.'
Objectively, it was a fine blade, but laughably inferior to Requiem.
'No choice. Gotta adapt.'
Even if not right now, I couldn't use Requiem while operating as Abel.
"...Hoo."
I gripped the sword with both hands as if it were heavy. Though I could easily wield it one-handed.
'No need to reveal my full strength.'
I spread my feet shoulder-width apart and assumed the stance I'd learned. Ready for the real fight.
"......"
Diego eyed me steadily.
"Your form isn't bad."
He muttered just loud enough to hear, then gripped his scabbard with his other hand.
Shing!
His beloved sword, Ebony, rang out clearly as it was drawn. For the record, Ebony was the name of Abel's mother—and Diego's wife.
The devoted husband who named his sword after his wife spoke sternly.
"To dare point a blade at your own father—you've truly lost your mind."
Hey, didn't you draw first on your son?
I wanted to retort, but there was no time.
Step, step.
Diego took position.
The dining hall was narrow in width but long, providing ample space even for two facing off.
Spacious enough to make one wonder if it was designed for post-meal sparring to aid digestion.
"Come."
Diego commanded in a cold voice.
"I'll show you that you're not worthy to hold a sword."
"Ah, sure."
Hearing that after everything went south only fueled my irritation. Above all, I hated how I was shrinking before him.
To stoke his anger—and to steel myself—I replied in a relaxed tone.
"This will be the first lesson from Father, then."
A jab at Diego, who'd left Abel to his own devices in the castle while always off fighting at the border.
"......"
Diego's eye twitched.
Flash!
In the next instant, he kicked off the ground without a word and lunged. Unlike Liam's courteous warning, this was abrupt.
'He's dying to beat me senseless.'
I bit back a sneer and tensed my body. Holding the sword calmed my nerves somewhat.
'Coming from the right!'
Faster than Liam, but I could still track Diego's movements.
'I can block...'
My eyes widened.
I could see the sword's trajectory clearly, even where it would strike. Just thrust out my blade to parry.
Yet strangely—instinctively—I sensed it wouldn't work.
'No way?'
In the next moment, the sword bent at an impossible angle.
Clang!
A sharp sound ripped through the air.