The Outcome of the Sparring Match
The Outcome of the Sparring Match
The massive greatsword came crashing down toward the Crown Prince, shrouded in light, as he swung his own sword and threw himself straight into the path of the giant blade.
Clang! Clang!
The clash of swords echoed throughout the training ground.
The Grand Prince narrowed his eyes.
Even he, confident he could still track and defeat most ordinary knights with ease, found it overwhelming to keep up with the two of them.
Had he grown old, too...?
The Grand Prince felt a pang of regret, but no matter how many times he saw his son's splendid swordsmanship and dazzling movements, he couldn't help but admire them.
To wield a light-shrouded sword so freely and dodge that monstrous greatsword by a hair's breadth—what agility.
Such a feat was impossible without proper 'Mana Resonance'.
The Grand Prince subtly channeled his mana.
When he raised his hand, a faint, barely perceptible light flickered.
It was a dim light, nothing compared to his son, who was shining brilliantly over there.
The Grand Prince clenched his fist and dispersed the mana.
Though his ability was too weak to be of any use in actual combat, it was thanks to this feeble power that he had secured the Duchy.
If he'd had a more proper ability, he might have been able to push aside his deceased older brother and claim the Carlos Kingdom. But back then, securing the Duchy had been the best he could do.
As a result, his brother had given up on dividing the country among his children, which ultimately triggered the civil war.
'If his help back then had all been for the sake of this moment, decades later, it would be an utterly absurd story.'
It had been a gift from a stranger to his younger self, who had envied his older brother for possessing 'Mana Resonance'.
The stranger had clearly been someone from the Empire, and though he had ended up siding with the Empire quite a few times afterward, he had never regretted receiving his help.
'Still, it was unexpected that they would seek out my son again after decades had passed.'
Whether his son's potential was greater or their technology had advanced, his son, unlike him, had managed to acquire a proper ability.
As he watched his son swing his sword with such vigor, the Grand Prince found himself growing greedy once again.
For the throne of the Carlos Kingdom.
As he watched his son's sparring match, his thoughts wandered for a moment.
The sudden influx of royals possessing 'Mana Resonance'.
'Could it be that they had approached the Second Prince and the Princess as well?'
Otherwise, there was no way an ability that had manifested in only one person per generation would suddenly burst forth like this.
What on earth was their purpose?
When they approached him, and even when they awakened his son's ability, they had made no demands.
'Did they truly just want to throw the Kingdom into chaos?'
Now that he had become the ruler of the Duchy and his perspective on the world had broadened, such doubts came naturally.
But a plan spanning decades...
This was something that could not be done without knowing the future.
And even if he had known things would turn out this way, there was no way he could have refused to awaken his ability back then.
Throwing away a chance to ascend the throne—that was not something he was capable of doing.
Clang!
"Khk!"
While the Grand Prince was briefly lost in thought, the sparring match had taken a turn.
The battle, which had been evenly matched just moments ago, was now tilting to one side.
The Crown Prince was losing.
Clang! Clang!
The Crown Prince bit his lip as he blocked the sword strikes.
He bit down so hard that blood smeared his mouth.
A flurry of emotions crossed the Crown Prince's distorted face.
Surprise, resentment, regret, and even fierce competitiveness.
It was only natural that he felt resentful: he was considered the strongest in the Kingdom, yet he was losing to a younger knight.
It was also natural to regret not being able to display his full skill in a mere sparring match.
And it was understandable that his competitive spirit was burning, since he desperately wanted to win.
Then there was the surprise.
Looking at the young knight wielding the greatsword, the Grand Prince didn't find his son's surprise strange at all.
The young knight's evasions of his son's sword were even more breathtakingly close than his son's dodges of the greatsword.
He dodged the sword as if he had eyes all over his body, then blocked his son's strikes with that heavy greatsword.
He almost seemed to possess 'Mana Resonance'.
But what truly shocked the Grand Prince was the boy's swordsmanship.
Deflecting his son's sword, pushing and pulling—at times, that massive blade looked as heavy as a mountain, while at others, it seemed as light as a feather.
He could catch glimpses of the Duke of Gracia's swordsmanship, and at times, the royal swordsmanship flickered through.
It even seemed as though the swordsmanship of the Duke of Ceuta, which he had seen in his youth, was there.
It was as if he were seeing the swordsmanship of the First King, in which all the Kingdom's swordsmanship had become one.
The Grand Prince raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.
How could he be having such delusions just because the sparring was moving so fast he could barely see it?
There was no way he could see the First King's swordsmanship in that young boy.
He must have been stressing too much over the preparations for war.
Clang!
The moment he relaxed his eyes and looked forward again, a loud crash rang out, followed by a pitiful groan.
Clink, clink.
Then came the sound of a sword bouncing off the wall.
The result was decided.
Regrettably, the outcome did not change.
The Crown Prince had lost his sword and was sitting slumped on the floor.
His sword had flown all the way to the wall and was rolling along the ground.
Yet the young knight didn't even seem out of breath.
To think there could be such a gap.
Surely, his son was supposed to be the strongest knight in the Duchy.
The Grand Prince stared intently at the young knight.
A prospective knight who hadn't even graduated from the Academy, far younger than the Crown Prince.
Yet the knight's breathing hadn't even grown ragged after defeating the strongest knight in the Duchy.
For the first time in a long while, the Grand Prince had laid eyes on a knight he coveted.
That was close.
If I'd made one wrong move, I would have exposed everything.
I'd had to rely on swordsmanship as much as possible to win the match, avoid using the Invisible Sword or 'Mana Materialization', and keep 'Mana Resonance' to a bare minimum so he wouldn't notice.
To be honest, it was practically a brute-force victory carried by physical enhancement.
He was called the strongest in the Duchy, and indeed, his skills were easily among the top few of everyone I'd ever faced.
Given his age, it wouldn't be long before almost no one in the Kingdom could match him.
Although I'd won the match, it had also made me keenly aware of my own lack of skill.
At this rate, it would be difficult to defeat the Twenty-Year-Old Hero inside the training sword with my original skills.
I had to become stronger.
"I really didn't expect to lose."
The Crown Prince shook his head and stood up.
He immediately admitted defeat. As expected, he was quite a decent prince.
Thanks to the Crown Prince admitting defeat, the sparring match ended on a good note.
Neither of us was hurt, and the Crown Prince didn't seem to be upset, either.
On top of that, it didn't seem as though my other abilities had been exposed.
But the real problem started now.
The Grand Prince hadn't said he would grant my request unconditionally if I won the sparring match.
He had only said he would look favorably upon it, without making any promises.
As expected of a cunning ruler who had led the Duchy for decades.
Even if the Grand Prince changed his mind, I wouldn't be in a position to complain.
Then there was the bet the Prince had placed on the sparring match.
I was incredibly curious about what on earth he had wagered.
While I was pondering this, the Grand Prince spoke to the Crown Prince.
"Well, since you lost the sparring match, you have to keep your promise, right?"
"Sigh, a promise is a promise, I suppose."
The Crown Prince let out a sigh.
"If you can't even win a sparring match, it would be absurd for you to take the vanguard. Stay put at headquarters."
"Understood. Since I promised, I have no choice."
The Crown Prince looked regretful, but the Grand Prince seemed satisfied.
The Grand Archduchess seemed pleased.
It seemed the bet was different from what I'd imagined.
While the Grand Prince and the Crown Prince conversed, I quietly stepped back, approached the Grand Archduchess, and asked in a low voice,
"What on earth was that promise about?"
The Grand Archduchess answered at once.
"Father told Brother to command the troops from the rear headquarters, but it seems Brother insisted on fighting at the vanguard alongside the knights instead."
The Crown Prince wanted to fight directly on the battlefield, while the Grand Prince wanted him to stay somewhere safe.
"They kept arguing, so they decided to settle it with a sparring match against you, Young Lord. They agreed to follow the winner's terms."
The Grand Archduchess smiled at me.
"I knew you would win. You did well. The Crown Princess will be delighted, too."
I could only manage an awkward expression.
Since the Grand Prince, the Grand Archduchess, and the Crown Prince's wife were all pleased, it was certainly a good thing, but...
Looking at the gloomy Crown Prince, I felt a bit sorry for him.
He had such skill at such a young age, yet he was being forced to command from the rear alone.
No wonder he had that look on his face.
As expected, the Grand Prince didn't give me a definitive answer on the spot.
He left the training ground, telling me to come back to the audience chamber tomorrow.
It seemed he would let me know the outcome then.
Even though her brother had lost, the Grand Archduchess seemed in high spirits. I wondered what she and Balea were chatting about so happily, but on the way back, I found myself walking quite a distance away from them.
Thump.
Just then, while the two women ignored me, someone slung an arm over my shoulder.
It was the Crown Prince, leaning in, his freshly washed face glowing.
"Your name is Alex, and you're the son of the Duke of Gracia, right?"
"Yes."
Why was he suddenly asking about my background...? In any case, I couldn't ignore the Crown Prince's question.
"And you're close with Frida, too."
"Rather than close..."
The women walking ahead of us abruptly fell silent.
The Grand Archduchess whipped around, and I reflexively changed what I was about to say.
"...Ah, yes, we are close."
"Good."
What on earth was so good about that?
"The Duke of Gracia is still within the line of succession for the throne, right?"
"That is true, but..."
"And you are the Duke's son."
I could only smile bitterly at the Crown Prince's words.
I wondered what he was getting at, and it turned out he was thinking of setting me up with his younger sister.
Apparently, he thought that a Grand Archduchess of the Duchy and the son of the Duke of Gracia might be a slightly mismatched pair, but could somehow still be matched.
It was truly a simple, knight-like thought from a very straightforward mind, and an idea that anyone with even a shred of political sense would never have conceived.
It was obvious he'd just come up with it on a whim after seeing my skills.
It seemed better to tell him beforehand so he wouldn't regret it later.
"I am indeed the son of the Duke of Gracia, but I am an illegitimate son."
"Ah, right... There was that, too."
With an embarrassed look, the Crown Prince lowered his arm from my shoulder.
He apologized to me with a remorseful expression.
"It seems that when my body heats up, my brain goes numb, too. My apologies."
While the Crown Prince was apologizing, the Grand Archduchess stomped ahead.
Balea kept talking beside her, but the Grand Archduchess kept walking without replying.
The Crown Prince rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the Grand Archduchess walk away.
"She looks angry, doesn't she? I might get scolded later."
I didn't know why she was angry, but it did seem like he would get scolded.
And so, after a hectic day...
In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, the orb woke up.
[Restart operation has been completed.]