Chapter: 594
Gripping my sword and looking ahead, I see my older brother standing there casually as usual.
His demeanor shows not a hint of tension, which may seem arrogant at first glance, but that’s not it at all.
Of course. Who would feel tense when a fly is buzzing right in front of them? The gap between my brother and me is just that vast.
– Do you think you can win?
“I can’t win at all.”
Changing my mindset from before, I’ve desperately struggled to find a way to win just once against Lucy Allen. To not fall behind that Frey girl. To prove my worth to others. I’ve poured every bit of effort into it.
But if you ask what the origin of this effort is, of course, I would point to one person.
Rene Soladin. The First Prince of Soladin. An undeniable genius and my older brother. The goal I must surpass.
– Is your hobby just to keep building walls without surpassing any of them?
“…Don’t be so sarcastic. I didn’t want to build walls.”
I continued to press forward. But suddenly, many walls appeared right in front of me.
Frey isn’t even a wall. I haven’t been surpassed yet.
– I think you’ve already been surpassed.
Ignoring the words of the fragment, I moved forward as my brother waved his hand with a refreshing smile.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. I am.”
“If there’s anything you want as a handicap, just tell me. I’ll accommodate most things.”
“No, it’s fine as it is.”
“…Really?”
“You didn’t say anything about handicaps when you faced your little brother, right?”
“That’s because he’s an idiot. He has to go all out or he’ll give up after getting smashed.”
“I’ve become an idiot too.”
Saying that firmly, my brother looked stiff for a moment before grinning.
“Sigh. I really hate this.”
There was no forewarning. Before I realized it, my brother was right in front of me.
The sword without an aura targets my head and comes flying at me.
There’s no aura.
In that case, there’s no reason to dodge.
I use Wind Magic to slow down the sword’s path and step forward.
As soon as I take my stance, the sword touches my head, but the impact is minimal.
I can endure it.
“Definitely.”
I gather my aura at the tip of my sword.
Then, I strike with my entire body as a shield.
It’s beyond a simple thrust, surpassing even the speed of an arrow toward my opponent.
“You’ve become foolish.”
The sensation transmitted from the sword tip tells me my fastest thrust has landed effectively.
The speed I created to pierce Lucy Allen’s shield was not wasted.
– Don’t get complacent.
I know without saying that my brother won’t fall easily.
“I didn’t expect you to counter while taking my attack.”
“Because you didn’t have any intention to kill.”
“I had quite a bit of speed, but did that get identified?”
“There’s a beast obsessed with speed right next to me.”
Frey Kent doesn’t know the word moderation. That girl swings her sword as if she’s going to kill me every time.
Compared to the times I was desperately trying to survive in that storm, the sword speed just now is nothing.
“Want to come at me first?”
“Gladly.”
Strengthening my body with aura. Increasing my speed with Wind Magic. On top of that, adding the techniques I learned from playing with Frey.
I mix everything and charge forward.
It’s not running with the wind. It’s piercing through the wind with everything I have.
Thinking I might be faster than when I practiced, I strike again, but I see my brother’s sword lunging in.
“You can’t use the same thing again. At least not in front of me.”
Despite my speed being nullified, I can’t help but smile.
This is my brother’s specialty. The reason he could be called a genius. His analytical skill is already at a level that can be called a blessing.
“You should have knocked me down with your first strike.”
There seem to be two main ways to respond.
One is to take down my brother without giving him any chance to analyze. The other is to crush him with such overwhelming power that analysis becomes meaningless.
I’ve already failed at the former and have no strength left for the latter.
In the past, I would have declared my surrender here. Because what would happen from here on was painfully obvious.
But not now. Even without a win, I will charge in. After all, I’ve seen that guy catch miracles from behind so many times.
Compared to that guy, I might be nothing, but it wouldn’t be right to easily give up as his friend.
“I will continue!”
I still have a lot of methods left.
Swinging my sword filled with Water Magic to obstruct his view and trying to bind his feet with Earth-type magic.
But not only did the magic miss, I nearly got ambushed by my own water barrier.
If I hadn’t sensed the movements in the water, I would have been attacked without even realizing it.
“How long do you plan to keep this up?”
This time, I planned to load Fire Magic onto my sword and attack the areas where the sword strike passed, but with the output I could manage, I couldn’t harm my brother.
Burning his clothes was my limit.
“Do you think this could reach me?”
After that, I tried various methods, but my brother simply nullified all of my tricks.
Sparring with a smart person is difficult in many ways. Is it a problem that I’ve been sparring with an idiot?
Well, fine. Now that I know this won’t work, let’s go back to the basics.
Imagining not Frey’s quickness but the strike of the knight said to be the strongest in the continent.
Overwhelming violence that could shatter even the night.
That knight’s sword is too heavy for someone like me to wield, but if I mix enough tricks, I should be able to create at least a diluted version.
“Let’s go.”
– It’s a shame to use this in such a place.
I don’t care about the gazes of others. I don’t care about proving myself to others either. Mother hoped for my happiness, so self-satisfaction is enough.
“Let’s go!”
Even if the results are achieved by mimicking others, if I can be satisfied with it, that’s the right answer!
– With an opponent like this, complete reproduction is impossible. Just keep that in mind.
The power contained in the blood of Soladin.
The power that has now faded after a long time.
A miracle.
The fragment with various restrictions lifted by Lord Erginius can draw out this power contained in my blood.
“Let’s gooooo!”
The sword comes down.
The sword, filled only with violence, moves toward the opponent.
An overwhelming force that will crush everything blocking the way advances.
For the first time, my brother’s sword was enveloped in aura.
A blackish, sticky, and unpleasant aura that was even darker than the one I saw in the fairy forest.
And when I regained my senses, I found myself sprawled on the ground.
I didn’t even know what had happened.
Frowning at the pain in my head, I raised my body and saw a red liquid blocking my sight, causing me to chuckle.
Anyone who saw this would certainly call me insane, but what can I do?
The fact that my brother wounded me meant he thought he wouldn’t be able to stop me otherwise.
Stumbling to stand up again, I grasped my sword.
I faced my brother, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
And then again.
“Gah!?”
Just as I was about to rush, someone grabbed my nape.
Who is it? Which arrogant fool is trying to interrupt a duel between princes? I don’t like wielding my authority, but just this once…
“…Lucy Allen?”
“I didn’t expect you to be bleeding before I even arrived. Just how much do you like me?”
“Judging by your nonsensical talk, you must be the real thing.”
“Of course. It would be a big problem if there were two cute people!”
If I turn my head back, I can see the knights surround Allen, unable to decide what to do.
Well, this is tricky to address. How many people in the world can stop Lord Allen?
“Sigh. So what are you doing here?”
“I heard someone was playing with my toy.”
Lucy Allen was smiling as usual, but her eyes were as fierce as when she looked at her enemies.
Damn it. I can understand what misunderstanding she might be having.
“Hey, Lucy Allen. This is…”
Just as I was about to say it was just a serious sparring, a divine presence flowed into me through her hand.
Knowing that Lucy Allen’s healing is rough, I bit my lip, but unlike usual, there was no pain in her healing this time.
“You.”
Surprised by the rapidly dissipating pain, Arthur raised his head and finally saw Lucy Allen in her current state.
The goddess-like figure that surely descended from the moon. A miracle shining even brighter than the sun under the sunlight.
Captivated, while Arthur was dazed, Lucy Allen moved forward and smiled at Rene’s blood-stained sword.
“You’re going out a lot these days, gloomy Prince. Have you hit your rut?♡”
The word ‘blasphemous’ could barely cover Arthur and everyone else in the training ground’s shock, but the person in question, Rene, showed no sign of shaking.
“It’s about time to get married.”
“Is that so?♡ They say a male gets fiercer during rut, and it seems that what’s written in books is true!♡ Looks like the gloomy prince couldn’t help but become a male too!♡”
“Books are repositories of knowledge. Your diligence in research is most admirable.”
“Ahaha♡ Are you so desperate that you can’t even help yourself when someone says that?♡ Then just crawl like a dog in front of everyone and ask!♡ Seeing you in such a pitiful state might change my mind a little!♡”
“Haha. That would be a bit difficult. I have my pride, after all.”
“Wow♡ Really?♡ This is the most surprising moment since meeting the gloomy prince!♡ I thought you only had a brain down there!♡”
“…Down there?”
“Come to think of it, that couldn’t be the case!♡ There’s no way a brain could fit into such a small space!♡”
Though Lucy Allen didn’t directly use those words, the direction of her gaze and her sneer provided proof of where she was pointing.
As all eyes in the training ground unconsciously turned in that direction, Rene would be the first to have a smile on his face.
“It looks like we’re going to have a long conversation, should we go inside?”
“Are you trying to lure me into talking alone?♡ Haha♡ Your flirting is so clumsy♡ This is just like a virgin giving off an overwhelming scent!♡”
“Isn’t that the same with you, Young Lady?”
In response to Rene’s retaliation, Lucy, unable to hold back, nearly magnified her grin, leaning her face forward.
“Me?♡ Haha♡ You have a limited imagination♡ Well, what would an odoriferous mama’s boy know?♡”
Anyone could tell that this attitude was just bravado not to lose in the power struggle, but there was at least one person who couldn’t laugh it off.
“W-what do you mean by that, Lucy?”
Benedict, who had gone pale as if he were about to vomit his insides, sat down helplessly, trembling all over.
“Allen, please calm down.”
“Right. That was merely…”
“…Who are you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your Highness, the Third Prince? It must be you. Indeed.”
“Ah, Allen? You seem to have misunderstood something, but—Gah!?”
Arthur barely avoided Benedict’s fist as he faced the raging tide.
If that hit me, I’d die. It’s not a metaphor. I’d instantly die and meet the Great Lord.
“What are you saying, perverted papa?”
Lucy sharply retorted as she kicked the giant’s calf, and Benedict’s eyes went wide.
“Lucy! What do you mean by that!”
“I just wanted to tease that gloomy virgin prince. Look at that pathetic face all flushed. He’s so sloppy that he probably won’t be able to move for a while!”
“Y-you’re joking, right?”
“Of course! I have the most fun playing around with stupid papa~♡”
“Right? This papa is the most fun, right?!”
Benedict wrapped his daughter in a breath-stealing hug and spun around, wearing a triumphant expression aimed at Rene and Arthur.
That looked far too brazen and pitiful for someone who had committed attempted royal murder.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.