A Swordsman's Recollection — The Strength I Witnessed
From here on, allow me to do the explaining!
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Volgar was, of course, an enemy—but he was also a warrior. He readily accepted the Grand Duke's daughter's interruption of the duel, and received a new axe from his delegation.
And then... the young lady declared that she would face him without a weapon.
'My body itself is my weapon, desuwa.'
Those words snapped me awake. That enormous Sergen warrior—bare-handed?
What was more, she wasn't even wearing armor. She had nothing but a single pair of gauntlets on her hands.
Absurd recklessness. Had the young lady lost her mind... I confess there was a time when I genuinely thought so.
After the duel began, I lifted my head from where I lay and watched—and the sight was so unreal it might have been a dream.
Not once did the massive axe Volgar swung ever touch the young lady. She evaded his attacks as lightly as if walking on water, then in an instant slipped around behind him and climbed onto his back.
From there, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to squeeze. It was a technique I had never seen before in my life. But its effect was unmistakable.
The towering Sergen warrior began losing strength before my very eyes. Volgar thrashed and bucked, trying to throw her off, but within barely a dozen seconds his movements had slowed dramatically. In the end, he lost consciousness right where he stood.
I can hardly put into words what I felt in that moment. Shock, awe, relief, joy, and pride—all of them tangled together.
The guardian of Eisenfels, the invincible Grand Duke's daughter, Lady Katerina Eisenmark had defeated a Sergen barbarian warrior with her bare hands.
A roar of celebration swept over the plaza. People chanted the young lady's name, and the sound rolled outward like thunder.
'Long live the Grand Duke's daughter!''Long live Katerina!''Long live Eisenmark!'
And the same cry echoed within my own heart. I knew with certainty that nowhere in this world existed anyone like our young lady.
After the Sergen delegation departed, I was moved to the infirmary along with the other wounded. Sergeant Cormac lay in the bed beside mine, and while the healers dressed our wounds, other guardsmen drifted in and out, bringing news.
"The young lady sent the Sergen delegation packing in magnificent style!"
"She refused to bow to those brutes, and cleverly bought us time while she was at it!"
"And that Volgar fellow ended up dancing right in the palm of her hand."
Everyone spoke bubbling over with excitement, and the infirmary was as festive as a banquet hall after a victory in battle. People began dragging out the old rumors they'd heard about the Grand Duke's daughter.
"So the story about her felling a giant bison with a single punch at the livestock market was true after all."
"Of course it was. She rode that very bison into Eisenfels, didn't she? I heard she even rides it when chasing bandits from the ranch."
"In any case, our young lady is the most powerful figure in the entire history of the North!"
I lay quietly in bed and listened to it all. My face was wrapped in bandages and my nose was broken, but what hurt more than my injuries was my heart.
When night deepened and the infirmary fell silent, I turned the day's events over in my mind. I honestly examined every action I had taken, every emotion I had felt.
I had committed two cowardly acts.
The first was recklessly charging an enemy far beyond my reach. That was not something I could dress up as courage. I had simply been swept away by my emotions. In the end it resolved nothing—quite the opposite, it only made matters worse.
The second was that, though I could have gotten up after falling, I didn't. It was fear. I was so crushed by the terrifying strength, the sheer bulk, and the overwhelming presence of the Sergen barbarian that I'd judged it safer to stay down—that I might just save my own life. Even now, that image of myself fills me with shame.
But precisely because of that disgraceful behavior, I was able to witness the Grand Duke's daughter's true strength. If I look at it that way, I can't say I have no regrets... but it isn't enough shame to waste away over.
Rumors about the Grand Duke's daughter had always circulated among the citizens of Eisenfels, after all. Plenty of them had already been repeated by the guardsmen who visited the infirmary.
That she had felled the colossal bison known as the Mountain King with a single punch. That she rode the beast around and had beaten down dozens of cattle thieves. That she had smashed an incredibly thick log fence with her bare fists. That she had subdued warrior-ladies one after another as if they were children.
It wasn't that I dismissed those rumors entirely, but I had assumed they were exaggerated. No doubt everyone else thought the same.
But today, watching her subdue Volgar right before my eyes, I understood that all of those rumors were fact, unembellished.
And what was even more astonishing was that the young lady had used that tremendous strength for the sake of Eisenfels' citizens.
Had she used that power only for her own comfort, or to flaunt it... well, everyone would have followed her out of awe all the same. But that would merely have been the instinctive, natural act of following the strong.
Instead, the young lady used her strength to protect Sergeant Cormac. When I saw that...
Lying in bed and thinking back on it now, somehow tears come to my eyes. Strange tears, mixed of shame and gratitude.
While I recovered in the infirmary, I thought a great deal. At first I felt unbearably humiliated and pathetic about myself, but as time passed my spirits gradually improved.
The reason I'd joined the guard was that I refused to remain a laborer's son, and the reason I endured the grueling life of a guardsman was much the same.
A steady salary, a promotion to sergeant in time, and if fortune truly smiled, the thought of rising even higher. Yes. Money and advancement were my only goals.
But after witnessing everything that unfolded in the plaza, a new feeling took root in my heart.
The incredible strength and courage the young lady displayed stirred something beyond awe—it stirred loyalty. A thought settled into my heart: I want to fight for her.
Of course... the desire for advancement hasn't vanished completely. Haha. To be perfectly honest, that ambition still remains. But now I have something that matters to me just as much.
After that day, the whole of Eisenfels felt transformed. The fear that the towering Sergen barbarian had planted in the hearts of the guard and the citizens alike was blown away in an instant by the Grand Duke's daughter and her even greater power.
We now knew that the Sergens were not some invincible monster, but merely a strong enemy—strong, and nothing more.
At the same time, everyone came to feel in their bones that the Sergen threat we had only ever heard of in rumors was very real. While I was recovering in the infirmary, I heard that the city guard, the Citadel's Royal Guard, and Captain Woldin had already begun preparing for war.
Through the stories of comrades passing in and out of the infirmary, I also learned that the young lady was making all manner of preparations against the crisis in the North. Food stockpiles, reinforcement of defensive structures, and so on...
After some time had passed, I made a full recovery and returned to the guard. Sergeant Cormac did the same—with one more large scar added to his face.
If the Sergens invade, I will be sent to the front lines. Honestly, I am far from unafraid even now. We would have to stand against an army of hundreds, thousands of men like Volgar.
And still... if the Grand Duke's daughter is with us, I believe we will win. I am certain of it. Lady Katerina Eisenmark, the Grand Duke's daughter, is the only one who can steer us through this crisis.
Her transcendent strength will save us. At least, that is what I believe. After all, I witnessed her power with my own eyes that day.
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I arrived at the citadel's office. The commotion and cheering outside didn't reach this far, but its afterglow still lingered in my ears.
"The young lady subdued the Sergen giant with her bare hands!"
"They say she crumpled an axe with her grip!"
"She choked him out with some mysterious art none of us had ever seen—the giant fainted on his feet..."
Every manner of rumor would already be spreading through the city. I stood at the window for a moment and gazed down over the panorama of Eisenfels.
The city was at peace for now—but that peace was, at best, a temporary thing barely held together.
The door opened, and Woldin entered with several high-ranking officials. Everyone took their places around the oak table at the center of the office. This was no formal council, so without ceremonial greetings or procedure, the discussion began at once.
"The Sergen delegation has left the city. They departed through the north gate, and the guard watched until they boarded their ship."
Woldin delivered the first report. His voice trembled faintly with excitement.