Chapter 90: The Lord is With Us (11)
Chapter 90: The Lord is With Us (11)
"…Stop!"
Finally, Delphine could no longer hold it back and screamed.
Her tearful eyes turned toward Ian. He looked down at her in silence, his expression asking what the matter was.
Tears streamed from Delphine’s eyes. She squirmed, desperately twisting her body to turn over. The smell of blood-soaked earth was rank. Yet, she was desperate.
Her sword—she couldn't lose her sword. It was everything she had honed and polished until now.
It was a woman’s desperate plea.
"I—I was wrong… P-please, show me mercy."
It was humiliating. Her eyes grew red with shame, and her eyelids trembled. But more than that, the fear that she might never be able to hold a sword again was greater.
When Ian didn't respond, Delphine grew even more anxious. Her mouth began to utter even more groveling words before she even realized it.
"F-forgive… forgive me, I beg you. P-please, at least my arms…."
"At least get on your knees."
At the cold voice, Delphine’s eyes blankly drifted upward. The man’s silent, golden gaze was piercing through her.
"This is a duel between nobles—a life-and-death struggle. Is your life worth only that much? Get on your knees and show some proper sincerity."
Delphine’s lips quivered. She wanted to say something, but the absolute sincerity in the man’s voice made her heart fail.
Haven't I already crawled on the ground and begged? Hasn't my pride already been crushed into the dirt?
I’ve been shattered so thoroughly that I could never stand up to you again. Is that still not enough?
She wanted to say those things, but the moment Ian raised his sword again—
Startled, she began to move her arms frantically.
Her shoulder was half-shattered and her tendons were severed, making movement nearly impossible, but by channeling mana, she managed to move somehow.
However, her speed was remarkably slow, even though she was moving as fast as she could. Fearing that Ian might change his mind in the meantime, Delphine quickly knelt.
Then, she slammed her head against the ground.
She bit her lip hard. Tears welled up, threatening to spill over.
She thought she had already thrown away her pride, but she hadn't. Her voice trembled with humiliation as she spoke.
"I-I was wro—"
"Again."
Delphine grit her teeth. She wanted to demand what more he wanted, since she was already on her knees.
But the moment she raised her head with a fierce intensity, she met those golden eyes again.
There wasn't a single flicker of hesitation in them.
The man was serious. If she didn't satisfy him, he looked ready to swing his sword without a second thought.
And he would turn her arms and legs into minced meat. He would leave her with injuries so fatal she would never be able to grip a sword again.
Reminded of that fact, Delphine’s eyes shook with terror. She quickly pressed her head back into the dirt, her brilliant mind racing desperately to figure out what the problem was.
And soon, her mouth opened again.
Her tone was polite.
"I-I am sorry. I didn't know my p-place… hic."
She wanted to keep speaking, but a sob broke through. Fortunately, Ian didn't take issue with that.
He simply stared at her in silence. From Delphine’s mouth, a voice thick with shame and humiliation flowed out.
"For d-daring to attack… hic, and even then… uugh, for p-pitying me as I beg for my life…."
Bowing her head, Delphine struck her forehead against the tips of Ian’s boots.
It was the etiquette a subject showed an emperor. It was a massive humiliation, but the die was cast. The only thought in Delphine’s mind now was how to escape this situation.
"P-please, mercy. Hic, please grant me mercy… waaaah…."
The sobbing soon turned into a wail. After watching Delphine’s display for a while, Ian finally began to slowly withdraw the Aura gathered on his sword.
Looking down at the weeping woman at his feet, Ian spoke in a low voice.
"…Delphine Yurdina."
The tearful Delphine couldn't answer. Ian didn't seem to expect a response either, as he merely sighed and continued speaking to himself.
"You’ve lived in too narrow a world. Neither the Yurdina family nor the Academy is the whole world. The outside is overflowing with all sorts of powerhouses and monsters."
Sring. The sound of the blade sliding into the scabbard echoed. It was the signal that the duel was over.
"Have you ever faced a Vampire from the Great Sea of Trees? What about the Fiends who have contracted with the Evil God? Or the priests of the Dark Cult who operate in the shadows between the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the United Kingdoms?"
With that, he turned his back. It was a sign that he was leaving.
"If you fall to them, it won't end with just losing your life or being unable to hold a sword. So, in the future, you’d better pick your battles more carefully."
Delphine slowly raised her head. There, those golden eyes glancing back over his shoulder seemed to pierce through the air.
"…There won't be a next time. Of course, the price for the life I spared today is separate."
Delphine’s body flinched at those words. She slammed her head back into the ground. Her eyes shook violently with fear.
The man left just like that, leaving only one final remark.
"Since you're a noble, you probably have a potion on you, right? I'll call for someone."
If a demonic beast comes, deal with it yourself.
With that indifferent comment, the sun set on that day.
Even after the man had left, Delphine remained in her kneeling position. She simply trembled, chewing on her shame and humiliation, biting her lip until it bled.
She stayed like that.
For a very long time.
"I'm sorry, but Lady Yurdina is refusing all visitors."
In front of the temple, I fell silent at the words of the theology student who seemed to be on duty today.
It made sense. I didn't know exactly what had happened, but her injuries were severe enough to land her in the Concentrated Healing Room. It was clear as day that Senior Delphine had been brutally beaten by 'me.'
Though I had no idea how I did it. To put a powerhouse like Senior Delphine in the Concentrated Healing Room… was my future self some kind of Master?
It was a silly delusion. I chuckled at the absurdity of my own thought.
'Masters' were powerhouses with no equals on the continent. Those who had reached the pinnacle of the Martial Way or Magic and could twist the laws of the world itself.
If the conditions were right, they were beings that couldn't be defeated even by an entire legion. Naturally, only a tiny few could reach such a realm.
The Empire's Sword Duke.
The Saint of the Holy Kingdom.
The Great Witch of the Southern Kingdoms.
These three were the only existing Masters on the continent.
Considering that a powerhouse who reached the level of a Master could live for hundreds of years, it meant a Master was a being that appeared perhaps once a century.
I didn't have that kind of talent. That was an objective fact.
Even Seria or Senior Delphine, the most talented swordspeople I knew, weren't guaranteed to reach the level of a Master. If I had that kind of talent, wouldn't I be the top student of the third-year Swordsmanship Department by now?
As I stood there chuckling to myself, the theology student looked at me with a dubious expression. It was the look one gave a strange person.
Only then did I snap out of it. My dilemma deepened once more.
How could I meet Senior Delphine?
It was obvious she wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain the messy circumstances. That the soul of my future self had temporarily taken over my body, and I needed to find out what happened in the meantime.
I'd be lucky if she didn't have me committed on the spot. If so, there was only one answer.
I had to change Senior Delphine’s mind, and as far as I knew, there was only one way to do that.
"Could I perhaps borrow some paper and a writing utensil?"
The theology student still looked at me with suspicion.
But perhaps thanks to my rising reputation in the Academy recently, his expression soon changed to one that assumed I must have a good reason.
He handed me a palm-sized piece of paper and a pen. I scribbled a single sentence on the paper, folded it twice, and handed it back to him.
"Could you deliver this note to Senior Delphine? Tell her it's from me, and she'll understand. If she still refuses to see me after that, I'll give up."
The theology student looked bewildered, but he seemed decided to follow my request for now.
He soon disappeared down the long corridor of the temple.
A moment later, he returned, looking quite shocked. He spoke to me in admiration.
"Lady Yurdina has granted you an audience… She wouldn't even let her closest associates in. How on earth did you do it?"
"Hahaha, it's a secret."
I brushed off the man’s question with an awkward smile.
I had to.
How could I tell him that the sentence written on that note was this:
‘If you don't want another beating, let me in.’
It was the best I could do. Persuasion is long, but a threat is short.
I let out a deep sigh and followed the theology student to Senior Delphine’s room.
I just hoped she wasn't in too terrible a state.
*
Warm sunlight was streaming through the window.
A clean room made of pure white marble—it was a familiar sight. I had been here several times myself, and I had come here to visit others before.
There, brilliant golden hair was scattering the sunlight. Sitting up, she was staring out the window in silence.
I could tell just by her back. It was Senior Delphine.
We had an ill-fated bond in many ways, but right now, I was in a position where I needed her cooperation. I cleared my throat with a light cough and spoke in the most cautious voice I could muster.
"Um, Senior Delphine?"
Only then did the woman’s head slowly turn. And as she faced me, her blood-red eyes remained blankly sunken for several seconds.
The moment to finally meet her had arrived.