A Devotion Sealed by One Punch
"Allow me to take it from here."
What kind of bison snaps an iron chain?! Is that even possible?!
While the modern soul in me reeled at something that defied all common sense, the giant bison—the Mountain King—smashed straight through our enclosure and burst out. Stalls and market stands around it crumpled like toys, and every stride of that enormous frame made the ground itself shudder.
Aagh, just how big is this thing?
A rough estimate in my head put it at about the size of a large van. This bison truly could not be compared to its earthly cousins—an outright anomaly, outside every known scale.
And of course, that colossal brute was charging straight at us.
"Natasha, run, quick!"
I shouted on reflex, forgetting even my going-out accent, but Natasha didn't move. No—couldn't move was the more accurate way to put it. The color had drained entirely from her face. Pure terror had frozen her to the spot.
What do I do?
In stark contrast to my utter panic, this body's heart was astonishingly calm. Calmer, even, than when I had nearly killed Natasha.
The scene ahead was chaos in the truest sense. The Mountain King's horns carved through the air; its hooves pulverized the earth beneath them. Threatening, unmistakably so—and yet Katerina's body seemed entirely unaware that anything like a crisis was unfolding.
What is this, exactly...?
Even as my bewildered reason collided with my placid instinct, the Mountain King drew nearer and nearer.
My body moved on its own. Guided by Katerina's instinct, I planted myself in front of Natasha.
The Mountain King's massive bulk filled my vision to the brim. The earth churned beneath its pounding hooves, dust swirling up in the wake of every impact.
In that instant, Katerina's instinct sent a warning: swing at full power, and the Mountain King's skull might cave in.
Considering the sheer size of that enormous beast, it sounded like an absurd worry—but given this body's monstrous strength, it wasn't entirely without merit.
Then like this—!
I dropped my body as low as it would go and drove a fist up toward the Mountain King's jaw. An uppercut thrown from a stance coiled all the way to the ground, then exploding upward. From that posture, I could knock the Mountain King cold without inflicting a fatal wound.
Now then... how shall I put this?
I am Natasha, third daughter of the House of Count Volkov, a family renowned throughout the southwest for its iron mines and foundries. Two elder brothers above me, and one younger brother below.
I remember the events of that day as vividly as if they were this morning. When that giant bison came charging straight at me, I truly believed I was about to die.
Ridiculously enough, the thought that crossed my mind at the time was, Impossible. To think I would die so cheaply, so meaninglessly.
If I had thrown myself sideways with everything I had, I might at least have had some sliver of a chance at survival. But my body simply—utterly—did not move an inch.
I knew perfectly well, as my sword instructor was forever saying, that one must remain calm in a moment of crisis... and yet, laughably, I froze solid right where I stood.
But what happened next defied belief even further.
Lady Katerina stepped in front of me. Quietly, but with unmistakable resolve—unusual for her, who is somehow coolly aloof and yet strangely full of life all at once.
And then... something impossible occurred.
She drove her fist into that bison's jaw. And—
It made far too great a sound to call a punch. A colossal boom, like boulder striking boulder.
With that dreadful roar, the body of the charging giant bison lifted briefly into the air, then toppled over sideways.
I could only... I could only stand there, staring at what unfolded before my eyes, unable to believe any of it.
To be honest, I had heard plenty about Lady Katerina's strength. Though I had never witnessed it with my own eyes before that day.
Frankly speaking, I had assumed the rumors about her power were somewhat exaggerated.
Even if her fist had once crumpled my brigandine, forged from the finest steel in the entire Grand Duchy.
Still, I thought—not quite the stuff of the rumors, but surely tremendously strong; the strongest of any noblewoman of my age I had ever seen, or so I had estimated.
And in any case, during our spar, I had believed that punch was truly her most committed, her very hardest. Because I had stubbornly insisted that she take our match seriously, she had reluctantly obliged at full strength—so I assumed.
But... now I understand. The punch I took that day carried less than half of half her true strength. Perhaps it was weaker still than even that.
Watching the blow she aimed at the jaw of that giant bison—of the Mountain King—I finally comprehended just how exquisitely controlled that strike against me had been.
When I recall my own self whining, Lady Katerina, please take me seriously!, my face still burns with shame. My skill was at a level where even half of her sincerity might have cost me my life.
I can only say it was presumptuous of me. No—beyond presumptuous; it was arrogance, plain and simple. And yet Lady Katerina, out of a desire to protect my pride, sparred with me while adjusting her strength with such painstaking delicacy...
Looking back, she was extending me the very finest consideration. And I never once realized it.
And then... this may be only natural, but still.
When I first sought to build a relationship with Lady Katerina, my motives were not pure. Father and I both knew full well that she would become the future Grand Duke. The goal was to cultivate goodwill with the future Grand Duke for the sake of our house. Even now, I cannot claim such thoughts have vanished entirely.
But Lady Katerina is different from me in that respect. Dress up in commoner's clothes and slip out incognito? Heh heh. Truly an idea I could never have conceived of.
Considering she made that offer the very moment I complained that my studies were wearing me down, I suspect it was meant to lift my spirits, was it not?
Though we shared hardly any personal intimacy, Lady Katerina treated me with complete ease, as though I were an old friend.
Ah, of course, I have wondered whether such eccentric behavior was in fact deliberate political calculation on her part. But, ahem. That would be terribly rude of me to voice, so please keep it to yourself.
...If Lady Katerina were truly capable of such high-order scheming... would she have bothered with something as absurd as a disguised outing—and, of all people, with Natasha of the House of Count Volkov, with whom she had almost no personal closeness whatsoever?
I... don't believe so.
It may be presumptuous of me to pass judgment on Lady Katerina... but from everything I have observed:
Perhaps Lady Katerina is a person whose strengths and weaknesses are even more clearly defined than those of the current Grand Duke himself.
...In truth, this assessment too is an upgrade earned through what I witnessed today. The prevailing view had always been that she was an uncertain choice to succeed the Grand Duchy.
His Highness the Grand Duke of Eisenmark is a brilliant warrior with a keen eye for judging people, and he possesses considerable political acumen as well.
At the cost of great sacrifice and hardship, he brought the war with the northern lords to an end through marriage alliance, and he has somehow steered the war-ravaged Grand Duchy all this way to the present day, has he not?
But Lady Katerina... has had no opportunity yet to demonstrate such abilities. She hardly takes part in public affairs, and I hear she is not particularly diligent about her heir's lessons, either.
Throwing in one's lot with her in a turbulent age like this one could, frankly speaking, prove dangerous.
And yet my heart was already captured. Her martial might—able to subdue a giant bison, as I saw with my own eyes today—is formidable in itself... but Lady Katerina is unquestionably a beautiful woman, and she carries a masculine, frank, unhesitating sort of charm. That is what drew me to her.
And this is not merely a matter of personal feeling. A debt of gratitude and a grudge alike must always be repaid. Commonplace as it may sound, that is the family motto of House Volkov, and it binds every one of us.
I have decided. I will follow Lady Katerina. I will stake my future on her.
What would I do if Father and my brothers objected, you ask?
Well... then I suppose I shall simply have to bring the House of Volkov to Lady Katerina's side myself. By any means necessary.
Is that not being too hard on one's own family? Whatever do you mean. Any noble of the Grand Duchy can manage at least this much—even the faintest-hearted among us.
On a separate note... Lady Katerina seems quite different from the person I occasionally glimpsed at official occasions until now.
Even the rumors only ever said that she was indifferent to those around her, cold, or—I do apologize for saying so—willfully self-absorbed...
Did her recovery from her injuries change her heart? Or did I simply fail to know her true self all along?
If the latter, then it seems a person's character truly must be experienced firsthand to be understood. "One cannot judge a book by its cover," the proverb goes—how right it appears to be. Or else Lady Katerina has been possessed by a ghost.
...Ah, that last one was merely a tasteless joke. Please do forget I said it.