Investiture Examination (2)
Investiture Examination (2)
Renoa-nim, having finished her strategy session—though it was hardly much of a strategy—arrived at the third-floor balcony before the duel began.
The family members and vassals were leaning against the railing, watching the training ground.
Upon noticing Renoa-nim's arrival, they merely spared her a glance and said nothing; no one welcomed her. They quickly turned their eyes back down below.
Since this was the treatment she expected, Renoa-nim didn't mind. She took a spot in a corner of the railing where no one else was standing.
Then, someone approached her side.
"Hello? It's our first time meeting, isn't it?"
A gentle voice flowed into her ears.
Blonde hair and blue eyes that were a spitting image of the Duchess.
It was Idella-nim, the eldest daughter of the Edelheid family and Renoa-nim's half-sister.
Idella-nim wore a soft, smiling expression toward Renoa-nim, as if she were treating a cute younger sister.
"I am Idella-nim. I'm your one and only older sister. I've heard plenty about you from Mother. She said you were quite bold?"
"......."
"I suppose it's true. You see your sister and don't even offer a greeting."
Though Idella-nim treated Renoa-nim like a sister one might find in any ordinary household, Renoa-nim's assessment of her was different.
If she were a human who truly considered her a sister, there was no way she wouldn't have visited the mansion even once in seventeen years.
Indifference.
Renoa-nim believed that was the only emotion Idella-nim harbored toward her.
This kindness Idella-nim was showing now was surely nothing more than the self-satisfaction of a superior treating an inferior with tolerance.
The legitimate daughter, Idella-nim, to the illegitimate daughter, Renoa-nim.
Feeling no need to play along with that hypocritical performance, Renoa-nim turned her head toward the railing and spoke dryly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
A greeting as cold as a sheet of ice.
However, Idella-nim showed no sign of being offended; instead, she let out a light, tinkling laugh.
"Oh my, your voice is quite lovely too."
Unfolding a flamboyant feather fan to slightly cover her mouth, Idella-nim's gaze also turned toward the training ground.
She stared intently at Irion, who was warming up.
"So that's the slave knight? Mother praised him so much that I wondered what kind of boy he was, and he certainly seems worth it. If you keep him by your side, he'd be more valuable than most accessories."
"......."
"But what a shame. Of all people, his opponent is Calben-gyeong. He has wretched luck. I wonder if I should cover your eyes as your sister before that poor thing turns into a lump of meat."
It was blatant mockery disguised as sisterly concern.
But Renoa-nim did not look back at Idella-nim. She quietly gripped the railing with hands full of strength, following only Irion's profile with her eyes.
It wasn't just her; everyone was looking at Irion, exchanging comments.
Yet, as if their interest was of no concern to him, Irion focused only on the man in front of him.
Knight Commander Calben-gyeong.
The continent's greatest Magic Swordsman.
As if to prove that his title was no empty boast, a terrifying pressure poured out from him just by standing there.
The grains of sand around Calben-gyeong were practically trembling.
"I have heard much of your prowess. It is an honor to have the Knight Commander grace my investiture ceremony."
"Is it because you met the wrong master, or is it because of your nature from crawling in the gutter that you don't even know the weight of this position?"
Every single word Calben-gyeong spat out was dripping with displeasure.
Calben-gyeong was deeply dissatisfied with the current situation where he had to cross swords with a mere slave. He was only performing this farce because of the Patriarch's command.
But Calben-gyeong's feelings were none of Irion's business. Instead, Irion's lips twisted into a slight, provocative smirk.
"In the gutter, I had to struggle every single day just to stay alive. That weight is nothing compared to a mere investiture ceremony."
At that impious response, Calben-gyeong's facial muscles contorted fiercely.
"You little insect, with nothing but a flapping tongue."
Seureureung.
A sword imbued with a black hue emerged from Calben-gyeong's scabbard. Purple mana surged ominously over the blade like waves.
Irion drew his sword as well.
He watched Calben-gyeong.
'There are no openings.'
Based on his attitude, one would expect him to say something like 'One hand is enough for the likes of you,' but there wasn't a single flaw in his stance.
As expected of a Knight Commander, he didn't let his guard down even against a slave.
'What should I do....'
He remembered something Zain had said once. That Calben-gyeong was a powerhouse several levels ahead of him.
Whether clashing with him at full strength would even work was uncertain.
'Well then, what else can I do?'
If there are no openings, I'll just have to make one.
Irion drew a line around himself with his heel.
A circle with a radius of one meter.
A brilliant golden band rose along the round line his toes had traced.
Skill [Oath of Protection].
The swordsmanship for protecting a master that Irion had mastered over the past three years. It was the result of reaching its essence, a sanctuary that Irion himself had carved and forged.
A vicious determination to devour any enemy who dared to invade the circle to target his master had manifested as a skill.
Irion stood firmly in the center of the circle and let the tip of his sword hang at an angle.
"From this moment on, I will not step outside this circle. Therefore, I shall grant you the first move."
"What did you say?"
Irion tilted his head.
It was a sign to come whenever he felt like it.
In an instant, a bizarre silence descended, as if even the dusty wind circling the training ground had held its breath.
A declaration that he would give a handicap to Calben-gyeong, who was hailed as the strongest in Edelheid.
It was a reckless remark of ultimate arrogance that no one could have imagined coming from the mouth of a mere slave.
Calben-gyeong's eyes sank deep like an abyss.
"To think you would dare try to measure my sword with your vulgar tongue...."
It took only a moment for his intense sense of humiliation to transform into murderous intent.
The air currents surrounding Calben-gyeong's entire body shattered like sharp glass fragments and spread in all directions.
Then, purple mana poured down like a waterfall, greedily swallowing his greatsword.
Kwadeuk!
The hard sandy ground was gouged out. The hand gripping the greatsword rose above his head.
And then.
Seugak!
With a chilling sound of tearing through the air, Calben-gyeong's greatsword drew a merciless diagonal line.
A massive, half-moon-shaped shockwave fired from the tip of the sword, violently overturning the sandy ground as it flew toward Irion.
The earth split wide to the left and right along its trajectory.
It was a full-power strike intended to slaughter that thin golden line Irion had drawn, along with the body standing behind it, leaving no trace.
Kwa-ang!
The moment that catastrophic purple shockwave collided with the golden line of protection.
A shockwave erupted along with a roar that threatened to burst eardrums, sweeping through the training ground.
Broken stone fragments and dust surged up like a tidal wave.
"Calben-gyeong used too much strength. Not a trace will remain."
"I was going to watch since the Duchess praised him, but there's nothing left to see now, is there?"
The vassals on the balcony chattered as if this were nothing new.
Renoa-nim bit her lip hard. Her hands gripping the railing tightened.
The dust that filled her vision slowly began to clear.
In the center of the impact zone.
The first thing to reveal itself was the golden border, shining perfectly intact without a single scratch.
And inside it, there was no one.
Forget bloodstains, not even a single scrap of torn clothing remained.
"...What?"
"Was he swept away by the shockwave? But the circle is still there......"
Confused murmurs spread across the balcony.
Calben-gyeong also narrowed his eyes, searching for traces of Irion. He expanded his detection range, but nothing was caught anywhere.
He couldn't have vanished into the ground, and looking up, only the blue sky was visible.
At that moment.
"......!"
A bone-chilling cold ran down Calben-gyeong's spine. His transcendent senses screamed a warning to watch his back.
Calben-gyeong twisted his body before he could even check behind him, but.
Pu-uk!
A sword lunged out from over his shoulder. Calben-gyeong's shoulder blade was torn along with his pauldron.
Without time to be flustered by the unexpected ambush, Calben-gyeong leaped forward to create distance.
a figure followed closely behind him like a shadow.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
It was Irion.
With light footwork, he erased the space between the two of them and swung his sword.
Panic was evident on Calben-gyeong's face as he hurriedly parried the attacks.
"When did you—?"
"I'm quite skilled at petty tricks."
Mana sensitivity, which he had trained intensively alongside his swordsmanship.
While it was useful for expanding his senses to detect an opponent's presence, the reverse was also possible: he could suppress his own presence.
He had slipped behind Calben-gyeong while the man's attention was focused on the circle.
"You clearly babbled that you wouldn't step outside that line!"
An agitated shout erupted from between Calben-gyeong's hideously distorted lips.
Through Calben-gyeong's eyes, he had analyzed that Irion's circle wasn't just a decoration made for show.
It was clearly a mystery where, in exchange for being unable to leave the circle, his physical abilities within it would increase.
In fact, his analysis was correct.
As a knight who could not stray far from his master, he gained formidable power within that territory at the cost of the restriction of binding his own feet.
Calben-gyeong, who was well-versed in the principles of magic, had clearly seen the weight of those shackles.
Therefore, he hadn't doubted for a second that Irion would jump out of the barrier on his own.
Because to face him with that pathetic body, Irion would have to give his all.
Though he called it a handicap, leaving the circle was actually disadvantageous for Irion.
It was a trap designed to lure Calben-gyeong into his territory under the guise of a handicap.
"To think you would believe the words of a slave from the gutter so literally. You have a surprisingly naive side, Knight Commander-nim."
That was the extent of Irion's scheme. Irion's wits were one step ahead of Calben-gyeong.
No openings?
Then the task was simple.
'I just had to deceive him with enough effort to make him think I was showing an opening.'
Calben-gyeong gritted his teeth so hard they might break.
"Do you have not even the slightest shred of pride as a knight!"
"The safety of my master is more important than a knight's pride. If my head gets chopped off while I'm trying to look cool, is that pride going to protect my master in my stead?"
It didn't matter if the whole world cursed him. In the end, the one who survived until the end was the one who could claim the glory.
Nothing could take precedence over survival. Even now, walking the path of a knight, Irion could not change that mindset.
For himself, and for his freedom, he was willing to throw away his pride as many times as it took.
"What in the world is more important than one's life? If pride is so important to you, then you die instead of me."