Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Lady is Amazing...
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"Y-You madman! Duke's Heir! Retract your words and beg forgiveness right now!"
The duke's face, which had been flushed red, now turned deathly pale. Whoa! The Taegukgi!
"I can't back down now."
The First Princess's banquet—all the nobles gathered here had heard it.
This was straight-up treason. I racked my brain trying to recall any noble in history who had challenged royalty to a duel. There were none in the Luminaria Empire, at least.
If that were possible, a Grand Sword Master could just go around challenging royals one by one to "honorable duels" and take over the throne.
I was at a loss, like I'd wandered into a UFC ring. What was I supposed to do with this mess?
As I stood there dazed, the duke's heir opened his mouth.
"Your Highness, if you're not confident, then step aside."
'Oh~ Now it's insulting the imperial family on top of everything.'
I was starting to feel like laughing at this point.
What kind of "honorable duel" was this? It wasn't beach volleyball—he'd suddenly lost all filter.
The duke's face had drained of all color now.
'The ducal house I've protected all this time...' He could only mutter something like that, his complexion no better than a corpse.
If my father had been here, that father-son duo would already be getting dragged off by the imperial guards. What a lucky family.
'If I don't kill him here, at least the ducal house will have some bones left...'
No helping it. I had to kill him outright to avoid piling on more charges.
Otherwise, it would come back on the lady too.
I forced a bitter smile, about to speak, but my resolve wavered.
'Still... he's the only one in that family who cares about his little sister...'
The way he'd risked treason thinking she was being sold off—it made me think he was a good kid at heart, even if his head was empty.
As I debated a response that wouldn't tarnish the imperial dignity too much, the duke's heir grew more and more bold.
'Chopping off an ankle might be less messy than a thumb, right? Okay, ankle it is!'
His future was a long road ahead, but I decided to put on a little show.
"Your boldness has touched my heart! I accept your 'honorable duel,' Duke's Heir Ardell! And after that, no further punishment!"
I'd thrown down a WWE-style line, and the duke's expression brightened considerably.
'You bastard, if you don't bring a hefty bride price, you're dead.'
This was a massive precedent-setting incident, after all.
My gut twisted, but as I managed my expression, the First Princess approached us and shouted,
"Then, as the First Princess of the Luminaria Empire, Sophia Luminaria, I shall serve as witness to this duel!"
Normally the duke would have stepped up, but his legs had given out—he couldn't even stand.
Poor First Princess, having the spotlight stolen from her own birthday banquet. She was joining in too.
In the end, we headed outside, and the nobles who'd been watching us followed in a swarm.
We faced each other in the garden beyond the banquet hall.
The declaration to begin rang out.
"Then, let the duel commence!"
"Three counts..."
"Nah, forget it. Just go."
I cut off the duke's heir before he could spout some cliché wuxia line.
This whole fighting-and-showing-off thing was getting tiresome.
For all the conveniences I'd granted today, the duke ought to serve me in Lily's place for life.
'Lady... are you watching? I'm working hard here.'
Still, as a duke's heir, his stance wasn't half bad—decent skill level.
Knight-types always watch a mage's hands closely when facing one. Sure enough, he was secretly gathering mana in the air.
Lower output, but if you slammed it in crude like that...
"You'll regret..."
-Zing
A beam of light shot out of nowhere in the air, obliterating everything below the duke's heir's knee.
He collapsed in a daze, unable to keep his balance, and when he looked down at his leg, he let out a horrific scream.
"Arrrghhhh!"
The garden fell silent.
His agonized cries echoed alone through the hush, ringing clearly in everyone's ears.
Whether they couldn't speak or were holding their dignity, all held their breath, watching the scene unfold.
To end this farce, I stared pointedly at the princess.
She caught my gaze and declared in a trembling voice,
"Th-The victor... is His Highness the First Prince!"
I nodded.
"Duke, as promised, no further charges. Send the bride price separately, and I won't accept any servants to care for the lady."
I turned and headed straight to my chambers. The duke stared blankly ahead, repeating "Thank you..." over and over.
Having received the ducal house's "seal of approval" from both father and son, I trudged back to my room, thinking,
'What a pain in the ass.'
Night had fallen before I knew it.
"I'm back~"
"Ah! You're here!"
As I entered the room, the lady greeted me with a radiant smile.
Whoa... she's ridiculously pretty.
That aside, I had a mountain of questions.
"Lady, where's Lily?"
"Ah! She went to prepare my room, hehe. You didn't have to go to such trouble."
"Tch, as if that's enough. You're soon to be engaged to a prince."
Her face flushed red at that.
"...Anyway, I've settled things with the duke. Stay in this palace for now; another one will be assigned later."
"A p-palace? For me?"
"The imperial palace is vast. No need to worry."
I figured she was overwhelmed by the overly generous welcome, but her response was something else entirely.
"No... that's not it... I want to stay here and serve you..."
She mumbled, her face beet red.
'Heavens! How dare she blur the lines between man and woman! Trying to drag the imperial family into gossip!'
I responded firmly.
"...I'll consider it."
"Yes!"
...Well.
For now, let's move past that. I had plenty more to ask.
"Lady, I have so many questions. The duke said you didn't attend the banquet today—how did you get into the palace? Is there some secret passage even I don't know about?"
Secret routes in the imperial palace were for direct imperial kin only.
As I pondered the severity and planned to seal it off, her answer was...
"No, I overheard the maids talking about the banquet and clung to the underside of a carriage!"
"Ah, good thing there's no secret path the... Wait, what?"
"I clung to the underside of a carriage!"
"..."
Having exceeded my daily quota for absurdity, I just stared at her blankly.
Misreading it, she explained further.
"Ah, my head was scraping the ground, so I wrapped it up tight, and tucked my skirt between my legs!"
That wasn't what I meant, but...
"Ah! Lady, you're incredible!"
I wanted to ask if she'd ever been bitten by a spider, but held back.
As if sensing my overheating brain, she grinned innocently.
"Hehe."
While I cooled my overloaded mind, she cautiously spoke up.
"Your Highness... shouldn't we sort out how we address each other?"
"Address?"
She rolled her eyes evasively, rambling on.
"Ah! We're soon to be enga... engaged, right? But if you keep calling me 'Lady' in public, people won't know which one... Of course, when it's just us, it'll be me, but in crowds, other ladies might misunderstand? Instead of 'Lady Ardell, Jenia the Lady,' just 'Jenia' would be shorter and easier! And if you spoke more casually, that'd be nice too."
"Lady, imperial etiquette dictates..."
"Ah... I guess not...?"
She shrank back, gauging my reaction.
Seeing that...
"I'll call you Jenia from now on."
"!!!"
Jenia's crumpled expression lit up, eyes wide.
I smiled warmly.
"Won't you call me Liam?"
"I... for now... I'll keep it like this."
"Do as you're comfortable."
To break the awkward air, I steered the conversation back.
"Jenia, so how did you climb up to the third floor?"
"Ah! My stats are natur...! N-No, I mean, I'm good at climbing walls!"
'...Wait, stats?'
Her eyes spun wildly after the slip.
Asking about stats now would send her RPM through the roof, so I let it slide.
For now... I'd pegged one of her Reincarnation Boons.
We'll talk details later. I pressed on with questions.
"Hmm... I'm a bit sensitive about windows? I layered two barriers on it—how'd you get through?"
"Um... Your Highness, that..."
"Is it hard to talk about?"
"N-No! Ngh..."
Jenia furrowed her brow, hesitating, then resolved herself.
"Your Highness, I have this... technique? Or constitution? It's easier to show than explain."
I focused as mana surged from her right eye.
[Ah! I told you not to do that...]
"S-Sorry, fairy!"
The surrounding mana vanished, and the fairy snapped angrily for once.
Stunned by the sight, I demanded an explanation.
"How'd you do that? You shoved all the ambient mana away in an instant?"
She nodded at my question.
"Yes. I don't remember how I got it, but somehow... Because of this, I have a hard time gathering mana—it's like my constitution rejects it."
This was an insane ability. Amazed, I asked,
"That's incredible... Does it not affect mana stored inside spells, only emitted magic or ambient mana?"
"Pardon? C-Could you explain again?"
Whoops, my curiosity had veered into technical territory again.
Anyway, probably a Reincarnation Boon perk.
That solved the mystery of the imperial ghost story incident. Now...
"Jenia, sorry to bring up family, but the duke seemed thrilled about your engagement."
Her eyes clouded with complication.
"Ah, that man was going to sell me off to some old noble... He never paid me any attention, just ignored me.
But marrying you, Your Highness? He'd be delighted."
Right—I vaguely recalled her saying she didn't want to marry some old noble.
Calling him "that man" suggested bad blood.
Still, thinking of the duke's heir—who'd committed treason for her, even if he couldn't be called that anymore—I mentioned,
"But the duke's heir seemed to care a bit? He blew up when he heard about our engagement and challenged me to an honorable duel."
Terror filled her eyes.
The sparkle faded from them.
"Je-Jenia, what's wrong?"
She trembled as she spoke.
"What... happened to the duke's heir?"
"To avoid dragging you into treason charges if they punished the whole family... I, uh... just... took one leg... Haha."
I'd worded it carefully, but tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Jenia, why cry again? It was the best option. Too many witnesses, all high nobles—I had to make an example. Come on, stop crying!"
"Sob... It's not that..."
Her unexpected words sent my blood boiling in reverse.
"The duke's heir... did this to my back and legs..."
"What?"
That bastard hadn't challenged me out of worry for a sister being "sold"—he'd done it like a kid raging over a toy being taken away.
Realizing that, fury surged to my head, but I forced out,
"Jenia."
"Yes?"
"How do you want it done?"
"What... do you mean?"
"Sigh... I'll get revenge your way. Chop off his remaining limbs and lay them at your feet? If that's not enough, toss him to the heretics. Or feed him to the beasts..."
"Your Highness!"
How badly did he have to beat this little girl to leave her like this?
I vented my rising rage.
"Sigh... Should've killed him outright..."
Then, perfect words came from her mouth.
"No, I'll handle the rest of the revenge myself."
Her response—far from the fragility I'd assumed—left me stunned, then grinning.
"Now there's some color in your cheeks."
I loved that look on her.
And so, two people fueled by hatred had met.