After the Duel
Alan Ludwig dragged his throbbing body through the duel, every bruise and scrape lighting up in protest.
He had always prided himself on his stamina, even as a child—but an overflowing well of endurance did not mean the wounds stopped hurting.
Restless after failing to land a single clean hit, he was about to launch another attack when a violent impact slammed into his leading leg.
"Ghk!"
This is bad.
The searing pain in his leg made him falter for a split second, and he realized too late that he had left a gaping opening in the middle of the duel. He scrambled to recover his stance.
If I stay like this, I'm finished.
That was Alan's instinct—and yet, for some reason, Kyou Ventus did not move.
He could not understand why, but he sensed this was his chance. He hastily corrected his posture and charged.
The motionless Kyou Ventus twisted his body, sluggish though the motion was—
Thwack!
Alan had aimed for the head, but Kyou turned, and the wooden sword clipped his shoulder as it swept past.
Alan gripped his sword, ready to drive a flurry of thrusts into the man now at his back, when—
"Stop! That's enough!"
The professor declared the duel over.
I won.
That was what Alan thought as he sank to the ground.
Behind him, Kyou Ventus was clutching his shoulder and collapsing in much the same way.
Riel came running into his field of vision.
Riel.
I won! I saved you!
The girl who was always so expressionless now had her face twisted with worry. Was she that worried about him?
Alan thought so, and he was about to welcome her—when Riel ran straight past him without so much as a glance.
Huh...?
He turned his head to follow her.
Riel was at Kyou Ventus's side, looking at him with anxious eyes, saying something. Her words did not reach Alan's ears. All he could see was her face—her face, filled with worry, looking at Kyou Ventus.
...A face that Alan, who had spent more than ten years at her side, had never once seen.
"Why..."
The professor's voice cut through Alan's murmur.
Riecht Altman.
He was the swordsmanship professor at Gransen Academy, and the instructor in charge of duels between students.
In the original novel, he was the sort of man who would take a bribe from Kyou Ventus and conveniently overlook magical interference in the middle of a duel. A moderately corrupt adult, the kind who would pocket a little something on the side.
Without a bribe, however, he simply performed his duties as referee with diligence.
His mana-sensing ability was not at a mage's level, so he could not tell which of the many students had used magic—but he had definitely felt mana being fired in from outside during the duel. And at the same time, he had seen Kyou Ventus's movements grow sluggish.
There was nothing to debate. Someone had interfered with Kyou Ventus from the outside.
He declared Alan Ludwig's disqualification and Kyou Ventus's victory.
"Why... why am I being disqualified?!"
When Alan Ludwig confronted him, unable to accept the ruling, Professor Altman looked at him with a frigid expression.
Alan Ludwig. The son of a currently serving knight, reasonably talented with a sword, and capable of a little magic besides—a boy with a promising future. Though some of the faculty had expressed concern about his self-righteous streak.
"Alan Ludwig. That last attack of yours in the duel just now—didn't you find it strange?"
"Th-that's..."
Alan's expression flickered.
He was a swordsman too. He must have found it odd that Kyou Ventus, presented with such a massive opening, had moved so sluggishly instead of attacking. He simply had not had the luxury of dwelling on it in the heat of the duel.
"One of the students in the audience used magic on Kyou Ventus."
"......"
"The moment a third party's magic entered the duel, it became a foul. And it was clearly magic intended to obstruct Kyou Ventus."
"......"
"And if what I saw is correct, you would have been hit for certain if that interference hadn't occurred. Any objections?"
"...None."
Alan conceded with surprising ease and withdrew. As a swordsman himself, the realization that his final blow had only landed because of someone's sabotage must have been a shock. And that without that sabotage, he would have lost without landing a single hit.
When the duel ended and the spectators began to disperse, Liliana Edwin stood frozen in place, unable to move.
What... what have I done...
Liliana was horrified by her own actions.
She had watched the two of them duel with a trembling heart. This had been a duel born of Alan's misunderstanding to begin with, and a knot of unease had sat in a corner of her mind. But with every exchange, Liliana's heart had grown more frantic.
Alan had not landed a single clean hit. Instead, he had taken several blows, wounds accumulating across his body. Kyou, too, was visibly tiring—but he was merely catching his breath, without a scratch on him.
Then Alan had staggered, leaving a massive opening. At the same time, from the opposite side, Kyou had settled into his stance, about to attack.
Back when she had still been engaged to Kyou, she had seen his swordsmanship a few times. She recognized that stance. Even with a practice wooden sword enchanted with non-lethal magic, a blow like that would knock someone unconscious in a single strike.
No!!
If he takes that hit, Alan loses. If Alan loses, he might not be able to stay at the academy at all. I won't be able to be with him.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Liliana was already using magic, without even realizing it. The spell activated so quickly it startled even her, flying toward Kyou.
In that instant, she felt as though her eyes had met his.
Thwack!!
Looking back on it now, it had been a stupid thing to do. Even if Alan won because of her magic, the professor overseeing the match was not a decoration. Alan would be disqualified.
"Alan Ludwig, disqualified! The duel is awarded to Kyou Ventus!"
The professor's voice rang out.
Alan had gone to protest, but after hearing the professor's explanation, he had bowed his head and left the dueling ground.
She herself—she, who ought to have been begging Kyou for forgiveness—had hurt him yet again in a moment of impulse.
Liliana could not leave, paralyzed by her own foolishness.
Alan had gone. Kyou, too, had been helped away by a few students. Liliana stood there alone, staring blankly at the empty space. The other students had either left for their own practicals or clustered together chatting.
Then she heard footsteps approaching.
Liliana lifted her head to look—
Slap!!
A sharp crack, and Liliana's face snapped to the side. A dull sting bloomed across her cheek.
She turned her dazed gaze toward the other person, and saw distinctive crimson-red hair.
Riel Ignis.
The girl who had been sticking unusually close to Kyou lately. Her face was twisted into a fierce scowl, and she was glaring at Liliana with piercing intensity.
"......"
"......"
The two of them stood facing each other in silence for a moment. Then Riel's lips parted, as if with great effort.
"......"
With that, Riel left, vanishing somewhere.
Liliana had no rebuttal. Because she truly had been vile.
"Kyou! Are you okay? You're really okay, right?!"
"I-I'm fine, I really am, okay?"
After my classmates had helped me to the infirmary and I had finished getting my shoulder treated, the nurse stepped out—and that was when Riel burst through the door. Then she latched onto me, fussing over my well-being.
The hit to my shoulder had come while I was frantically trying to dodge, so it was not a serious injury. At worst, it was about as painful as getting whacked in the shoulder with a baseball bat?
...Okay, thinking about it again, that actually hurts like hell.
"It's just a bruise on my shoulder. They put some ointment on it and said I'll be fine in a few days, so you don't need to worry."
"R-really?"
Tears had gathered at the corners of Riel's eyes. She really had been worried. I felt grateful, and a little embarrassed, so I changed the subject.
"Haha... I took a pretty big hit at the end there."
"No, that was because Liliana interfered."
"...Huh?"
I was a little surprised to hear Riel say Liliana's name.
Honestly, with that many students packed together, it would have been hard to tell who had used the magic. You would need exceptionally sharp mana-sensing, or you would have to be someone like me who was already familiar with that particular mana signature...
Seeing my startled face, Riel smiled.
"When the magic was used on you, I saw you look at her. So I figured that was it."
"I-I see."
No, wait—I had only glanced in Liliana's direction for maybe a second, if that...
And she saw that?
"What are you going to do about Miss Liliana?"
"Well..."
The moment I learned she had used magic to interfere with me, even the last lingering scrap of attachment I had felt toward her vanished. Yeah. I did not feel anything for her anymore. And that was exactly why I made this decision.
"Whether she stays at the academy or not, I'm just not going to care."
"Is that enough?"
"Yeah. She's got nothing to do with me anymore."
I won the duel. Alan and Liliana were probably assuming I would have her expelled from the academy. But I would not. If she wanted to attend, she could attend. Liliana—Liliana Edwin—had nothing to do with me now.
If I had her thrown out of the academy just because she made me uncomfortable, that would feel like I was still paying attention to her. So I would just leave her be. Whether she kept attending or dropped out, I would not involve myself at all.
Riel's expression turned a little dissatisfied, and I almost laughed. And I felt grateful that she cared this much.
"Thank you, Riel."
"Huh...?"
"But more importantly, we need to get ready for what comes next."
It was not over yet. I had managed to win the duel somehow, but a duel was not all that Alan Ludwig had prepared.
Knock knock.
A knock sounded at the infirmary door, and a woman walked in. A woman very familiar to me.
She wore a maid's uniform, her pale blue hair tied back. Her amber-brown eyes flicked over me and Riel, and a faint smile touched her lips.
"I've returned, Young Master Kyou, Lady Riel."