Chapter 15
“A sword duel, huh.”
Elysia smiled leisurely.
Swordsmanship—it had been a long time since she’d heard that word, and for some reason, it made her heart flutter. Her excitement mounting, she clenched and unclenched her fist subtly.
“Just a moment—this makes no sense! His Highness is personally conducting the test?”
Right then, Jerome hurriedly stepped in front of Leonar.
“His Highness is far too skilled! What if the young lady gets hurt…!”
Clearly trying to protect the civilian Elysia, Jerome blocked the two with a serious face, earnestly trying to persuade the Crown Prince. He looked every bit the gentleman and paragon of justice. However—
“Mmm, but I kind of want to give it a go…”
Elysia wasn’t thrilled.
“Now that it’s come to this, it’d be better if we just went straight into a full-on duel!”
That would definitely draw more attention. Something interesting was bound to happen in a one-on-one match!
So Jerome blocking things was honestly disappointing for her. Perhaps noticing her sullen expression, Jerome pointed it out.
“See? The young lady looks shocked and upset! And to think you’d raise a blade against a noblewoman!”
“Hmm… That’s not how it looked to me.”
Leonar raised an eyebrow in doubt.
When Elysia stood up just now, saying, “Sure, do you want to settle this with swords?” she had looked more thrilled than anything. Unfortunately for Jerome, he was facing the other way and missed it, while Leonar saw her expression clearly.
Displeased, Leonar pushed Jerome’s arm aside.
“Come on, Elly said she’s fine. Didn’t you hear her? You’re the one getting in the way here. I know Elly better than you do.”
“Oh really? Yet you didn’t even know what kind of ability the young lady from House Semperion possesses!”
“…Ha.”
Leonar’s face visibly twisted at that. Up until now, he had only shown warmth and composure, but this was entirely different.
‘Whoa, so he can make that kind of face too? Looks like a completely different person.’
Before Elysia could dwell on it, the Crown Prince’s frown vanished, replaced once more by his usual gentle smile. He turned to her.
“Still, Elly’s opinion matters most. Like I said earlier, are you really okay with this?”
His warm voice and concerned eyes could fool anyone into thinking he genuinely worried about so much as a scratch on her. But the tone unmistakably said: “You already said you were fine, so say it again now.” The answer had already been chosen for her.
‘Has he always talked to me like that?’
Like he’d made the decision already, and all she had to do was agree?
As Elysia carefully read his expression—
“Young lady, if you don’t truly want to do this, please feel free to say so.”
Jerome sent a magical message that the Crown Prince couldn’t hear. Elysia looked quietly between the two of them. Then she finally spoke.
“Wait a second. Both of you keep asking if I’m okay, but shouldn’t you explain things first? I need to know what kind of test this is before I can answer. What exactly does ‘His Highness personally testing me’ mean? Do you mean with swords?”
“That’s right.”
“How exactly? A duel?”
“Exactly. For example—”
That very moment—
Swish—
“Young lady!”
Without warning, Leonar’s sword swept toward Elysia’s neck. In less than a second—before Jerome could even react to cast magic—
Clang!
A sharp sound of metal striking something solid rang through the office.
“Young Lady Semperion…!”
Jerome gasped belatedly.
Elysia glanced down at the blade at her throat. The Crown Prince’s sword had stopped just shy of cutting her.
What had stopped it was a small stone in Elysia’s hand.
Creeaak…
Cracks slowly spread across the stone’s surface where it had caught the blade directly. Staring at the sword lodged cleanly in the middle of the stone, Elysia murmured flatly,
“That’s a good sword.”
“…!”
“It must have been well-maintained even while hanging on the wall.”
Facing forward, she could see the faint surprise in Leonar’s eyes, as if he hadn’t expected this outcome.
Elysia slowly lowered her hand—the one holding the stone. A tense silence filled the office as her calm voice rang out.
“I’m disappointed, Your Highness. You should’ve at least given me a warning.”
“…That was…”
“Of course, since Your Highness is kind, I’m sure you only meant it as a playful gesture. Right?”
She pushed the blade aside as she added that. She had wanted to be sarcastic, but technically, she wasn’t lying. The blow he’d aimed at her hadn’t carried much force, nor had it been imbued with mana. That’s why even a simple rock could block it.
He probably would have stopped just short of touching her, even if she hadn’t blocked it.
‘…Right?’
This guy… He wasn’t seriously trying to cut me, was he? Right??
Reasonably speaking, probably not. And even if he had, Jerome would have intervened. Shaking off the thought, Elysia continued,
“Still, Your Highness, attacking me when I’m unarmed is a bit much.”
While Leonar stood frozen, she strode to the wall behind him. There, along with the sword Leonar had picked, were several decorative blades displayed in a row.
“Shouldn’t you at least give me a weapon too? If we’re going to have a ‘sword duel,’ that is.”
Elysia pointed to the sword in front of her. It was a beautiful blade, adorned in red and gold trim.
Leonar instinctively responded,
“That one might be too heavy for you to wield—”
Before he could finish, he closed his mouth, seemingly realizing something. After all, someone who had just blocked a sword with a rock wouldn’t struggle to lift a sword. Elysia grinned as she replied,
“So if I can lift it, you’ll allow it?”
“…”
Leonar nodded silently. His face no longer wore that gentle, easygoing expression. Feeling the intensity of his gaze, Elysia wrapped her fingers around the sword’s hilt.
Schwing.
Not only did she lift it, but she swung it lightly as if it weighed nothing. Leonar let out a quiet, scoffing laugh.
“…Ha.”
Though he laughed, his eyes had turned cold, his head tilted slightly as he stared at her.
“Very well. Then shall we head to the training yard?”
He turned toward Jerome as if expecting an answer.
“Right? The young lady has no objections to a duel, and neither do I. All you need to do is serve as witness and referee. Isn’t that so?”
“…If that’s what you both want.”
Jerome nodded reluctantly. With that, Leonar promptly left the office. Left alone with Elysia, Jerome whispered, wide-eyed,
“Y-You really brought a rock for self-defense? I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“…”
‘Honestly, I just brought it to mess with you.’
In truth, she had picked it up to tease Jerome after his reaction in the forest.
‘I even thought about tossing it when I had tea, but never found the right moment to ditch it… Who knew it’d come in handy like this.’
She would’ve just dodged the blade if she hadn’t had it.
Elysia looked down at the rock in her hand. It had cracked in half from the blow. Brushing the powder off her palm, she followed Leonar out of the office.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Shall we prepare sparring attire for you, my lady?”
As they headed toward the training yard, several court attendants rushed after her. Elysia nodded, surprised at how thorough the preparation was.
“Yes, but skip the metal parts. Just something light and easy to move in.”
“But my lady, what if you get hurt…?”
“I’ll be fine.”
After brushing off the murmuring attendants, Elysia changed clothes and finally checked the chat.
LOL she really blocked it with a rock
Elysia’s rock >>>>> imperial sword lololol
I seriously thought she was about to get her neck sliced TTTT
How did she block it so easily??? The Crown Prince is supposed to be a sword master, right???
As the messages rapidly flooded in, one bit of information caught Elysia’s eye.
“The Crown Prince is good at swordsmanship?”
Yeah, he’s the main male lead!!
There’s a rumor he’s a Sword Master… Apparently, he used sword energy in a hidden episode.
“…Hmm.”
A Sword Master, huh. That would make him a pretty tough opponent.
She had heard in passing that the Crown Prince used swords, but she hadn’t thought he was that good. She figured as long as he wasn’t imbuing his blade with mana, he wouldn’t be able to beat her in pure agility and strength.
But… if he was a mana user?
Meanwhile, at that very moment—
The House of Semperion was in chaos.
“M-My lady has disappeared!”
“What!?”
“I heard she went to the imperial palace…”
“What? What are you saying?!”
Howell, his hair disheveled as if he had rushed over, mumbled with a horrified expression.
“Elysia went to the palace…? Don’t tell me…”
His voice, hoarse from sleep, echoed emptily through the hallway.
“She wasn’t dragged away, was she? Did they arrest her at dawn…?”
“…”
