Chapter 103: The Tin Knight and the Martial Arts Tournament (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: The Tin Knight and the Martial Arts Tournament (10)
“I heard she beat old man Gerhardt and that slick René, so I was expecting some kind of monster, but she's actually quite cute.”
Maris burst out laughing as she recalled the sight of Adelaide trudging away, completely exhausted.
The news that a girl from a collateral line had secured the position of representative instructor for the Lennart dojos had sent considerable waves through the main family.
And that was to say nothing of the subsequent news that this girl was the youngest daughter of the Friedel domain, currently competing with Giselle for the right of succession.
It was rare to find a better piece of gossip to whisper about in small groups.
However, this wasn't necessarily a good thing.
“…Will you be alright, my lady? It was the Duke’s will to dispatch a new candidate for lord to Friedel and order its reconstruction. If that girl’s standing grows more than necessary and disrupts the plan, your own position could become difficult as well.”
The golden-haired, violet-eyed knight beside Maris spoke with a worried expression.
But Maris’s nonchalant demeanor didn't change.
“My father isn’t the type to concern himself with such trivial matters. Even if he gave the order himself, it was the Council of Elders who actually instigated it. After all, the fact that the Friedel domain ended up in that state is largely their mistake. Sending Giselle was probably their way of trying to sweep that mistake under the rug as quietly as possible.”
The annihilation of the Lord of Friedel and the domain’s army he led was one of those incidents that, strangely, never became widespread gossip.
Many in the bloodline didn't know which battle the lord had been deployed to, who he had fought, or how his forces were wiped out—or even that such an incident had occurred in the first place. That was because the Council of Elders had issued a gag order.
Even Maris, with her status as the Duke’s own daughter, had trouble investigating the exact circumstances. The likelihood that any proper news had reached the bereaved family left in Friedel was incredibly low.
And that meant the more Adelaide drew people’s attention, and the more interest people took in her and the Friedel domain, the more uncomfortable the Council of Elders would become.
“She seems to have a tough road ahead. I wonder if she'll be alright, that girl.”
Maris’s words were directed at the Council of Elders, but the knight beside her seemed to take them differently.
“I doubt it. No matter how foolish they are, would they really dare to touch the girl in this situation?”
“Hm?”
“Weren’t you worried that the Patriotic Youth Corps might retaliate?”
“Oh, ah. Well, I suppose so. Not right now, at least. If they have any sense at all, they wouldn’t dare touch her now.”
Maris wasn’t worried about that part.
Surely, they couldn’t be that stupid.
*
At the hideout of the Patriotic Youth Corps.
“How dare she… How dare she humiliate me like that!? I will never forgive her!”
“To interfere with our lord’s just punishment! They must all be in on it together!”
“What else could Maris von Lennart’s intervention mean! Isn’t this clear proof that the ducal family is behind this whole affair!?”
As if responding to their idiot leader’s cry, his idiot underlings started spouting all sorts of nonsense.
Seeing that they might actually cause trouble if left unchecked, the few members of the Youth Corps who still possessed some reason hastily stepped in.
“Calm yourself, my lord. No matter what, touching Maris here is too dangerous!”
“There are too many eyes on us. You can have your revenge in the tournament anyway, so please be patient for now.”
“That cursed Lion Duke’s bloodline is plotting against us right now, and you want me to just stand by and watch!?”
“You cowards! It’s because our lord is served by weaklings like you that he suffered such disgrace! If we had been there, we would have crushed them in an instant!”
“Fuck, you stupid bastards! If this was something we could solve by just charging in, our parents would have handled it long ago!!”
The Patriotic Youth Corps split into two factions and began to argue.
Those filled with baseless confidence and conviction in their own abilities and cause raised their voices, insisting they should retaliate immediately. The ones with a shred of reason remaining tried desperately to stop them.
Normally, they would have meekly followed the lead of the loudest voices (the loudest of whom was, of course, Maximilian), but this time, they suspected the consequences of following their lead would be enormous.
“My lord. The Marquis will not permit anything further.”
Even when the opposing faction brought up the Marquis’s name, Maximilian couldn’t bring himself to lower his raised fist.
“Hmph… Even if we can’t do anything about Maris, that masked wench is another story, isn’t she? She may be of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, but she’s not even a noble of the Empire.”
“That girl, Adelaide, is staying in the special district, just like us. The overall security is tight, and with so many key figures from various nations gathered here, it would be too difficult to silence any witnesses.”
“If we’re seen making a move ourselves, it will become troublesome in many ways.”
“Most importantly, that wench is—”
The young man’s sentence—‘—going to face you in the tournament anyway, my lord, so can’t you just punish her then?’—was left unfinished.
He had noticed the subtle shift in Maximilian’s expression and realized he didn’t want to discuss the topic.
‘…Don’t tell me he’s trying to avoid fighting her?’
Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.
Even if his guess was correct, just mentioning it would seriously tarnish Maximilian’s honor and pride.
So, he quickly changed his words.
“…Perhaps she is too lowly an opponent for you to deal with personally, my lord.”
As if satisfied with that answer, Maximilian nodded.
“You are right. But we cannot simply let this stand, can we?”
“In that case, how about this?”
Sensing an opportunity to curry favor with Maximilian, one of the Youth Corps members proudly began to explain a certain plan.
The expressions of the other members turned peculiar as they listened.
‘Is he out of his mind?’
‘How could he suggest such a despicable and honorless method…!’
‘Will it even work?’
Doubt, disgust, suspicion. Despite their various feelings, the young men kept their thoughts to themselves for one clear reason.
“Hmm.”
It was because none other than Maximilian seemed intrigued by the plan.
That changed everything.
Although they went by the grand name of the Patriotic Youth Corps, most of its members were individuals who had lost out in succession struggles and held ambiguous positions within their families.
Maximilian, on the other hand, regardless of his own abilities, was certain to rise to a high position simply because he was the second son of the Haidern family.
In the world of politics, trust was more important than ability, and given the Haidern family’s position, they could never betray the Empress.
If the eldest son entered the political world as the successor to Marquis Haidern, then Maximilian, the second son, was destined to become the military arm of the new Emperor.
If only to get a share of that sweet honey later, the young men of the Patriotic Youth Corps had to get on Maximilian’s good side, no matter what.
They quickly began to spout the words Maximilian wanted to hear.
“It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, my lord.”
“It is the job of a cleaner to take out the trash. To deal with a lowly clown, one must use methods befitting them.”
“Indeed. Though they are wicked beings we would rather not associate with, using them to dispose of other wicked people is also for the good of the Empire.”
Those who had been advocating for revenge from the start actively agreed, and even those who had opposed it didn’t bother to step forward this time.
Unlike the unmanageable plan of swarming their target and physically beating her down, the newly proposed ‘plan’—while vile, despicable, and of questionable effectiveness—had the significant advantage of not drawing public attention.
Maximilian nodded.
“I permit it. See that it is done.”
His expression was needlessly grave and solemn for the nature of the plan.
*
Clang!
A two-handed sword and a one-handed sword clashed. The one-handed sword flew into the air before being flung to the ground.
“…I forfeit.”
“Huh?”
Leaving a stunned Adel behind, the referee shouted.
“The winner is Adelaide von Lennart!”
Amidst the fervent cheers, Adel quietly descended from the arena.
A single question occupied her mind.
‘…He looked like he still had the strength to fight. That’s strange.’
And at the opposite entrance.
The young man from the Patriotic Youth Corps, who had advanced to the main tournament alongside Maximilian, let out a quiet sigh.
Clutched in his hand were a few long, curly strands of golden hair.
For a moment, a look of self-derision flickered across the young man’s face, but it vanished with the excuse that this, too, was unavoidable.
A short time later, the matchups for the semifinals were announced.
Individual Matches
Kalidahs VS Peter
Adelaide von Lennart VS Maximilian Egir Haidern
Team Matches
Team Dorothea VS Team Kumara
Team Algind VS Team Maris
*
A secluded back room, lit only by a dim light.
A young man in luxurious clothes and a man in a black robe faced each other.
“With this, I’ve given you all the materials you requested. If you dare try to run away without doing the job properly—”
“‘I won’t let you get away with it,’ is that what you were going to say? Let’s skip it. It’s so cliché, don’t you think? Hahaha.”
“You bastard.”
The young man’s face flushed with anger at being interrupted, but he soon clicked his tongue and suppressed his rage.
The man in the robe chuckled at his reaction and spoke.
“However, my good sir. What you’ve given me now doesn’t seem to be enough.”
The young man frowned.
“I brought you the girl’s hair, just as you demanded! I even gave you the money for the other offerings!”
“Did I not make myself clear? I told you I needed the target’s blood and hair for the curse. Of course, it’s possible to set the target with just hair, but the curse’s effect will be inferior.”
“Enough with the chatter. What do you want?”
“If the quality is lacking, we must make up for it with quantity. It seems we’ll need to offer more sacrifices, so I’ll need funds to procure them.”
“…Tsk. You lowly creature.”
Despite being insulted with a look of contempt, the robed man remained unfazed.
His expression seemed to say, ‘So? Do you have any other options besides me?’ The young man ground his teeth, but in the end, he produced a new purse of money.
He had already boasted to Maximilian that he would take care of it, and he had even enlisted the help of another Youth Corps member who had advanced to the main tournament just to get the hair.
After all this, if he produced no results, it would be his own neck on the line.
The young man soothed his bitter heart by reminding himself that if he earned Maximilian’s favor through this, he could easily recoup such a minor loss.
“Hehehe, thank you.”
“You must handle this cleanly. If you fail, it won’t just be my head on the line; the entire Empire will be after yours.”
“Rest assured. That won’t happen. Didn’t you already see the results last time?”
The robed man, a Necromancer who specialized in taking requests to curse others, continued with a sly smile.
“People scorn and mock us as insignificant, weak beings, but that’s only because they don’t know any better. It’s inefficient for direct destruction, but for killing someone indirectly, there’s nothing better. Because it is primitive and primal, it is extremely difficult to unravel with logical formulas like other forms of magic.”
“If it’s so convenient and powerful, I’d think you people would be ruling the world by now.”
“Hehe, of course, there are limitations. Curses don’t work on clerics who wield holy magic, or on the nobles who can afford to keep such clerics by their side. If the energy we wield is paint, then holy power is the water that washes it away. But you said the girl we’re targeting is skilled in combat but not of high status, didn’t you? Even if someone like that falls under a curse, how could she possibly get help from a cleric?”
The young man conceded the Necromancer’s point.
Most clerics were managed by the Kingdom of Heaven and resided above the sky; only a handful remained on the surface.
Even the members of the Patriotic Youth Corps couldn’t afford to treat a cleric like a personal physician.
The chance that a mere girl, who likely traveled with only a few attendants, could enjoy such a luxury was nonexistent.
“Are there any other weaknesses?”
“Another Necromancer, or perhaps a mage who preserves ancient esoteric arts like a Necromancer, might be able to counter it. But that, too, is highly unlikely. Necromancy is easy to get into, but necromancers tend to have short lifespans, so it’s extremely rare to find one walking around in one piece. Keh heh.”
“…Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”
In the dark back room.
A wicked and terrifying conspiracy began to stir.
*
“Achoo!”
“Oh my, Lady Adel. Are you catching a cold? Here.”
“Ah, thank you, Miss Sophia. But you really don’t need to use it for something so minor… Oh, where is the witch?”
“She’s completely absorbed in making her staff. She’s been pulling all-nighters for days, so she’s quite on edge. It’s best not to bother her.”
“I see. I’ll be careful, then.”