CHAPTER 85………………………………….
“But Jaen-kyung…!”
“I’ll concede the first three moves. I’ll use a wooden sword.”
“…….”
Kesiah’s eyes gleamed strangely.
It was the kind of expression that said, I might actually have a chance.
People who casually challenged Laseil often wore that look.
“Draw your sword. Marianne? You’ll need to be a witness.”
“Y-yes!”
Marianne, who nodded instinctively, edged back slightly.
She clearly didn’t want to get hurt in a duel.
‘It seems like a gentle warning would solve this on the other side.’
But Kesiah had to break them this once, or it would cause problems.
People who spoke like this often acted strangely if left unchecked.
“You said you would concede the first three moves.”
At the first strike, Kesiah was surprisingly confident.
Even a Swordmaster is just a person, after all.
They radiated dangerous intent, but not an overwhelming aura…
‘Besides, it’s a wooden sword, right?’
She realized how foolish that thought was on the very first move.
Her aggressively swung sword was stopped by the wooden sword.
A plain, unenchanted wooden sword.
‘How…?’
It felt less like a sword clash and more like trying to cut through a thick piece of wood.
Kesiah had to lift her sword before even properly confronting Laseil.
Even just holding her sword against his made her wrist ache.
‘What the… no, it’s just that I’m not adapted yet.’
Kesiah quickly collected herself and swung again.
This time she put a bit more force behind it…
Clang!
But it was blocked again.
What baffled her most was that Laseil hardly seemed to move.
‘How is this possible?’
It seemed as if he barely twisted his sword, yet it stopped hers immediately.
She had no clue what kind of body mechanics allowed this.
‘This is my last chance…!’
If she missed this opportunity, defeat was inevitable.
Kesiah desperately charged at Laseil.
Clack!
She failed.
Pain shot through her wrist, and her sword snapped in half, falling to the ground.
But Kesiah didn’t even have the luxury to notice.
‘What is… this…?’
Surviving the palpable murderous intent alone was overwhelming.
She barely stayed on her feet, her legs trembling.
She felt like she might collapse and beg for her life at any moment.
Only when Kesiah finally sank to the ground did the murderous aura vanish.
‘I was foolish.’
Kesiah had no choice but to admit it.
Her whole body still tingled with pain.
Even after Laseil withdrew his intent to kill, she lacked the strength to rise.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes. I’m sorry, Captain.”
Kesiah struggled to speak.
Having been utterly defeated, she had no desire to resist further.
Instead, a sense of respect welled up inside her.
‘At least the rumors were true.’
It was said that merely touching swords with the head of the Duke Lusean family’s knights was a lifelong honor.
“Can I step in now?”
Berua, who had accidentally witnessed the whole event, whispered to Agen.
She hadn’t expected this while following Laseil, thinking he might just leave.
“I should’ve enforced stricter discipline. I’ll get scolded later.”
Berua sighed, muttering.
Since coming of age, Laseil had been unusually prone to nagging.
“By the way, who taught him such an outdated idea?”
The notion that a knight is a sword had been common at least a generation ago.
People like that tended to spout nonsense, so instilling such beliefs made some sense.
“Who else?”
“Of course, that ‘Knight Sister’ again.”
She was mentioned every time in Laseil’s stories, especially when talking about knightly orders or swordsmanship.
“I seriously wondered who taught him swordsmanship as a child.”
Berua recalled the memory with a distant expression.
It was the first day Laseil mentioned the “Knight Sister.”
For a child, his swordsmanship was far too precise and orderly to be imagination alone.
“I thought even the previous captain had come back to teach him.”
It was roughly similar in execution.
Not the previous captain, but the first, and not resurrected, but a ghost.
“I nearly fainted hearing about it.”
“Still, everyone believed it in the end.”
“They couldn’t help but believe.”
Since Laseil arrived, the Duke’s household had often encountered supernatural matters.
So it wasn’t surprising if Laseil learned swordsmanship from a ghost.
If anything, Laseil’s talent was even more astonishing.
“When I first saw his aura, I really fainted.”
“And now you don’t?”
A Swordmaster was said to appear maybe once per generation.
And now, there were already two.
Although familiar with it by now, it was easy to forget how rare it was.
“Anyway, the moment he arrived, the captain worked diligently.”
Berua muttered, her gaze tinged with subtle pride.
“He’s grown well.”
“People would think it was the vice-captain who raised him. But it was the Duke.”
“Can you be quiet?”
Agen, unable to resist commenting, got lightly struck for it.
Though he agreed with Berua’s opinion.
The uninvited guest arrived shortly after.
“I heard the Viscount has returned? Or even a bodyguard would do.”
“Yes?”
Ermeta had clearly told them to rest at the Duke’s residence.
Yet new errands kept arriving.
“Is there something you need?”
Laseil exhaled silently, looking at the visitor.
It was Viscount Merryl, the current Duke’s younger brother and Elian’s father.
It was obvious why he had come.
‘He must be here to scold about Elian.’
It was almost surprising he hadn’t come earlier.
Laseil had expected him to confront her immediately after the engagement ended.
Apparently, he had held back, wary of the Marquis family.
“I heard you’ve been solving bizarre incidents.”
“Me?”
“Even the recent curse cases.”
‘That wasn’t a curse.’
Most of the incidents happened because the other party couldn’t accept the change.
It was baffling for Laseil to be asked to investigate them.
“Don’t you already know what I’m going to say?”
“Well…”
Laseil wasn’t curious about Merryl’s words.
She’d rather spend time with Valeria piecing puzzles together.
She answered vaguely, pondering how to get rid of Merryl.
“I can’t know everything Elian thinks.”
“Who’s there?”
Miren opened the door and entered.
She had gone out late last night and only just returned.
“Oh, Viscount? It’s been a while. What happened?”
Miren asked, finally noticing Merryl.
“Out of money again?”
“What do you mean!”
‘He’s still coming…?’
Merryl often relied financially on the Duke’s household.
Though things had improved slightly, he was still coming to borrow money.
‘I thought it had quieted down after the family’s upheaval.’
Laseil recalled the engagement incident and looked at the Viscount.
The experience hadn’t been a very good lesson for him.
“Well, it’s fortunate Miren is here. I’ll show you to the reception room—”
“The reception room?”
Miren blinked.
She genuinely didn’t understand why that was being suggested.
“Why?”
“Why? Well…!”
“I don’t recall inviting a guest. Technically, you’re an uninvited one. You’ve gotten bolder since then.”
Miren casually added, speaking informally.
“Aren’t you ashamed, Uncle?”
