Brother's Fiancée Has Arrived (1)
Brother's Fiancée Has Arrived (1)
Staring blankly at the girl, I finally snapped out of it.
"Who might you be?"
She was an incredibly pretty girl, but I was sure I had never seen her before.
"Aren't you Alex? I heard you're the third Young Lord of the Duke's estate—and a bastard?"
There was no hint of disdain in her voice when she used the word 'bastard.' She seemed to be simply stating a fact she knew.
The lack of condescension was refreshing, but she was just as lacking in manners.
I took a closer look at her.
She looked about three or four years older than me. In my past life, she would have been a middle schooler.
The problem was that the dress she was wearing looked incredibly expensive.
At a glance, she was clearly the daughter of a noble family.
It didn't seem like a good idea to demand manners from her, so I replied plainly.
"Yes, I am Alex."
"I knew it!"
"But I'm no 'Hidden Blade of the Duchy' or anything like that. Besides, I have no reason to cross swords with someone I don't know."
Nor was there any reason to have this kind of conversation in the middle of a hallway where people were constantly passing by.
I was on my way to the training ground. I wasn't late yet, but I had no time to waste like this.
"I am Adria de Hierro! Daughter of the Hierro family. I am visiting the Duke's estate as a guest of Young Lord Simon!"
The girl held her wooden sword with both hands and introduced herself.
It was a disciplined knight's salute, completely at odds with her outfit.
The absurd situation continued, but at least I now knew who she was.
I had heard about Brother Simon's fiancée. Although it was a political arrangement intended to forge an alliance between the Duke's estate and the Marquisate, rumors had circulated that Brother Simon secretly liked her because his betrothed was so beautiful.
Back then, I had wondered how pretty a kid in her early teens could possibly be, but seeing her now, she was definitely beautiful enough to justify those rumors.
But I had never heard anything about her having such an absurd personality.
And what was this about 'The Hidden Blade of the Duchy'? I'd been hiding away and doing nothing but training for years, so I had no idea what kind of rumors were going around.
In any case, she was definitely a difficult person to deal with.
By the way, I hadn't heard anything about Brother Simon's fiancée coming here.
While I was lost in thought, she thrust her sword forward again.
"Now that I've introduced myself, we can fight, right?"
She seemed eager to fight, but she'd already kept me here long enough.
"Adria!"
A low shout echoed from behind her.
A noble boy in his mid-teens, Brother Simon, hurried toward us with a flushed face.
"What are you doing here?"
When Brother Simon came up and asked, the girl replied nonchalantly.
"I happened to spot an opponent, so I was asking for a duel."
Brother Simon glanced at me. I shrugged awkwardly.
At that, Brother Simon's eyebrows twitched. It was the expression he always wore whenever something displeased him.
"We haven't even finished touring the mansion yet. You shouldn't wander off on your own like this."
"I've already greeted the Duke and the Duchess. Since we were just killing time until my room was ready, I should make use of what's left. Or would you like to duel me, Young Lord?"
Brother Simon's face turned an even deeper red.
Was it because of her words? Or because I was here?
"I am currently guiding you through the mansion. I. Request. That you grant me the honor of continuing to show you around."
Brother Simon said, bowing politely.
He was the very picture of a well-mannered noble.
Brother Simon's fiancée let out a silent sigh.
"Understood. Then please duel me later."
She bowed politely too. There was no way the daughter of a Marquisate wouldn't know manners.
So she was only like that with me?
I felt a little slighted, but right now I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
"I will think about the duel."
Brother Simon replied, avoiding a definitive answer. As expected, his social skills were well honed.
Brother Simon offered his hand, and his fiancée bowed to me.
"I'm sorry. I rudely took up your time. See you later, then."
The beautiful girl placed a hand over her chest and bowed with picture-perfect grace.
A heart-fluttering sight... like hell. Having just witnessed a completely different side of her, I wasn't moved; I only found it ridiculous.
And, as she'd said when taking her leave, I didn't expect to run into her again.
Even though we lived in the same mansion, I barely ever ran into Brother Simon.
Since she was Brother Simon's fiancée, they would be moving around together like this. Given that Brother Simon deliberately avoided my usual routes, it was certain that I wouldn't see her in the future either.
After leaving me utterly dazed like that, Brother Simon and his fiancée departed to tour the mansion.
Once the two of them left, I also went on my way.
The path to the training ground behind the mansion was one I had walked with Flora until a few years ago, but now I walked it alone.
I had grown old enough to walk alone.
I was still short and my voice hadn't broken yet—a mere child—but none of the mansion's servants treated me lightly just because I was young.
I followed the path through the forest, passing the family sepulcher.
Having walked this path for several years, I could now navigate it even with my eyes closed.
After walking for a while, a clearing surrounded by trees appeared.
It was the ducal family's training ground.
At the training ground, Miguel was waiting alone as always...
Huh? He wasn't alone.
A middle-aged knight stood next to Miguel, his face grumpy.
As always, the knight's expression made it abundantly clear that he didn't like me very much.
It was Knight Commander Alonso.
Miguel explained why he had come.
"He wishes to see your skills, Young Lord."
Was it a test? But Miguel must have already told him.
At first, even the Duke would visit occasionally, and the Knight Commander would show his face, but recently, no one had appeared at the training ground.
Is that why rumors about 'The Hidden Blade of the Duchy' and the like had started spreading?
Anyway, even if he hadn't come, he could have learned everything he needed to know from Miguel, so why had he suddenly decided to test me?
Though I had my doubts, the test was the more immediate concern.
"Is it a wooden sword duel?"
As I spoke and pulled out my wooden sword, Miguel shook his head.
"Not a wooden sword, but a real one."
He handed me an iron sword. It was slightly smaller than the swords used by the Knights Order—a sword of the kind used by knights' squires.
I looked at Miguel in surprise.
It was a sword I had handled often recently, but only in training.
"Are we really dueling with real swords?"
"Yes."
At his words, I asked cautiously.
"Um, will it be alright?"
Gulp.
At my words, the Knight Commander let out a dry chuckle.
"Even with real swords, if a trainee gets hurt during an instructional duel with a knight, that knight should resign from his post."
At the Knight Commander's words, I glanced at Miguel, and cold sweat beaded on his neck.
"T-There is no problem."
The Knight Commander frowned at Miguel's stammer.
Miguel and I stood facing each other.
Unlike a typical instructional duel, Miguel was extremely tense, and I was incredibly nervous as well.
"I need to see your exact skill level, so do your best."
The Knight Commander spoke again.
It seemed this was no simple test.
I raised my sword.
"Come!"
The moment Miguel spoke, I rushed at him.
A short while later, the duel ended.
I lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.
My entire body was covered in dust, and I was bruised all over from rolling around here and there.
By the age of ten, my training had given me a body stronger than an adult's—no, almost on a knight's level.
Miguel was incredibly amazed by how much I grew during every training session, but in a duel against an official knight, I had no choice but to roll around on the ground like this.
My body had grown stronger, but my arms and legs were still short, as befitted my age, and that was the problem.
The difference in reach was too great.
Because our arm lengths were so different, even when Miguel's sword could reach my body, my sword could barely graze his arm.
When moving, I had to run twice as hard with my short legs, and every time our swords clashed, I was sent flying here and there because of my light body weight.
On top of that, since we were dueling with real swords, I had to move as if my life depended on it.
Still lying down, I looked toward the Knight Commander.
The Knight Commander looked at us with a serious expression.
"Have your reports up until now been accurate?"
The Knight Commander asked Miguel in a scolding tone.
Miguel shook his head.
"I reported accurately."
"You reported accurately?"
"Yes. A knight-level physique with semi-knight-level swordsmanship. Good judgment. The only weakness is a body that has not yet fully grown. That was the content of my last report."
After racking his memory for a moment, the Knight Commander spoke reluctantly.
"...Is that so? Did I fail to judge properly?"
At the Knight Commander's words, Miguel scratched his head.
"Well, considering the Young Lord's age, it's not easy to believe the report as written."
Unlike me, Miguel hadn't rolled around on the ground, and his clothes and body were still perfectly fine. There was no dust or dirt on him, nor any visible bruises.
Since this was an instructional duel with a knight, that was only natural.
Yet Miguel's expression was not good.
Because he had been so tense, his face was still flushed, and his leather armor was covered with cut marks.
The marks were barely visible, but they were still traces of a sword making contact with his armor.
During an instructional duel, the trainee's sword had touched the knight's body.
According to the Knight Commander's words, Miguel should have resigned from his post, but Knight Commander Alonso did not scold him.
He merely stared at me with a surprised expression.
"Your skills are improving much faster than expected. I must report this to the Duke again."
I was satisfied with the Knight Commander's admiration, but I hadn't shown my full strength yet.
Deep within my body, unawakened mana lay coiled.
If I showed him my mana as well, the Knight Commander would be far more shocked, but mana was not something to reveal in a duel like this.
Mana was my 'hidden blade'.
Having confirmed my skills, the Knight Commander brought up the main point.
"At this level, there is no need to worry."
As expected, he hadn't checked my skills for no reason.
"This is the Duke's order."
The Duke's order. What on earth was he trying to make me do?
I wanted to listen while lying down, but the Knight Commander stopped speaking and just stared at me.
It was a silent command to get up.
Ugh. What a stuffy old man.
I forced myself up. Once I was standing before him, the Knight Commander continued.
"Today, Young Lord Simon's fiancée arrived."
Huh? Out of nowhere, he brought that up.
"She is the daughter of the Hierro Marquisate. Since this is not an official visit, a conspicuous escort is difficult."
Uh-oh. An ominous premonition washed over me. Surely not, right?
"Since Young Lord Simon is busy and cannot stay by her side, we would like you to escort her while she stays at the Duke's estate."
As expected, bad premonitions never fail. Is there no way to refuse?
"Fortunately, she also gladly gave her consent."
The girl I met earlier came to mind. The girl who had brandished her wooden sword right in front of my face. Her words asking for a duel echoed in my head.
"You may begin escorting her tomorrow. Just accompany her like an ordinary friend."
A friend! That's ridiculous. Besides, who asks a future brother-in-law to act as an escort? If Brother Simon found out, he definitely wouldn't let this slide!
I cursed inwardly, but all that escaped my lips was a sigh.