Noble blood is of a blue hue.
Their blood carries the responsibility and duty that ordinary crimson blood may not be able to fulfill.
"….”
However, Alicia is not ready to turn her blood blue.
All those eyes on her.
And Endre's fierce gaze staring back at her.
It's hard to breathe.
As determined as she was, for Alicia, a young woman not yet in her twenties, it was challenging to withstand the intense pressure emanating from Endre.
So, she averted her gaze.
To avoid his stare in the most casual way possible.
And there, when she turned, waiting for her, were the blue eyes she had seen that day.
"….?"
A blond boy looking bewildered, as if he didn't know what was happening.
When the boy appeared, Alicia forced herself to focus.
Her pounding heart calmed, her dizzying vision returned, and her ceaseless sweat stopped.
The comfort she had felt on the hill with her father and mother was now in the blue eyes of the boy she looked at.
In them, she could finally breathe.
***
Vlad cleared his throat as he looked at the knight standing next to Jager.
"He's on our side."
It was the mysterious man who had spied on the knights from the other faction yesterday, just like Vlad himself.
Jubert, a knight sent by House Shazad.
Vlad stiffened as he observed Jubert's playful gaze.
Somehow, you recognize me.
Someone who had subdued him, pretended to be close to him without his permission, and then vanished in the end.
[This woman, Alicia, has undoubtedly ensured she is clever; she has a good chance of winning.]
"I suppose so."
Vlad couldn't respond aloud in the presence of so many people, but he, too, thought it was most likely that Alicia would be the winner of this duel.
He couldn't get a good look at the knights standing beside Endre, but Colin and Pablo were no match for Jager and Jubert, no matter how high they were ranked.
Jubert, the knight sent by the Shazad family, was so advanced that his voice and aura couldn't be easily read.
Given the rules of the best-of-three duel, the outcome was predictable.
Even if it meant losing a man.
***
"Stop, stop, I surrender!"
Upon Alicia's urgent plea, the priest intervened.
"Hold! The duel is over!"
"Not yet... I can still go on!"
"Lord Duncan, your lord has waved his hand. He admits defeat."
Silence lingered as a fierce yet melancholic duel concluded.
Duncan, the Old Knight.
He had defended House Heinal for many years, and though over sixty, he remained in good form. However, the passage of time was inevitable, and despite his best efforts, the world would only accept the results.
"It's been a good fight, Master."
"Am I still your master...?"
Duncan gritted his teeth as the young knight extended his hand toward him.
Chard, a knight of House Heinal who had pledged his sword to Endre.
"I don't need..."
Raised to be the future of House Heinal, he had reverted to a blade that stabbed his lord. Duncan's misjudgment and venomous turn to Alicia were indescribable.
Staggering from the wound, Duncan brushed away the hand with what remained of his pride and bowed his head to Alicia, guilt unabashedly etched across his face.
"…”
Though her expression remained unwavering, there were deep ripples in Alicia's eyes.
An old knight apologizing for his disastrous appearance.
It was the last pillar of strength Alicia had.
Duncan's blood brought tears to Alicia's eyes.
"The winner of this duel is Lord Endre's knight, Sir Chard!"
The priest's declaration was met with a loud cheer from those siding with Endre. Just as Endre had risked everything to win House Heinal, they, too, risked much for him.
Winner takes all, loser loses everything.
Having taken the first step towards victory under the world's universal laws, they certainly deserved the applause.
"Next knights, step forward!"
Vlad swallowed nervously as the priest called for the next duelists.
A three-round duel, two winners.
Perhaps most crucial was the one securing the second place.
They would decide the duel's outcome if the first player won or, in the unlikely event of a loss, pass the duel to the third player in a desperate attempt to win.
"The second knight from Alicia's side, please step forward!"
And the knight with the significant task was none other than Jager from House Bayezid.
Jager with a single eye.
Though not a knight with a luxurious title, Duncan and Joubert were unanimous in their decision to place him in the second position.
The weight of the name Bayezid was enough to warrant that level of trust.
"Jager."
"Colin."
For a knight, their lord's orders came first, their honor second.
In the eyes of many, a duel of honor was an all-out clash between their lord's orders and their own honor.
Therefore, the first encounter naturally led to a confrontation.
The two knights stared at each other across the blood-splattered floor.
"Where did you lose one of your eyes?"
"I was hungry, so I ate it."
"Ouch!"
Colin was a head taller than Jager, but Jager wasn't intimidated. Rather, he seemed to ignore him as if he were a nuisance.
"I guess you lost it then; you'll never be the same."
"Yes."
"I'll take even your last eye."
"Please remember, this is an honorable duel."
Colin's growl was uncharacteristic, but the priest stepped back for the duel to commence.
Though an honorable duel with rules, it was still a sword fight, and sometimes things could get out of control.
"For the gods of this day's sun!"
"Kaaaah!"
At the priest's signal, Colin shouted and charged at Jager.
It was an incredible speed from such a huge man, and it was a powerful strike from such a massive man.
Indeed, with a single swing of his sword, the man known as the Earth Boar of the Middle Lands had proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with.
Jager, the direct recipient of the momentum, could only stand still with an expressionless face.
BANG!
Colin's sword shattered the floor of the hall with a tremendous roar. Fragments of the floor flew in all directions.
"Oooh!"
"He's as powerful as I heard!"
Alicia felt her chest tighten as Colin's blow resonated in the hall, and Vlad searched for the nuts Jubert had given him yesterday.
This was just the beginning.
But the knights on Endre's side had noticed a strange turn in the combat's momentum.
It didn't take long for Colin himself to feel that something was amiss.
"Olé!"
"You bastard!"
Only now, facing Jager's face, did Colin realize he had been foolish.
Unlike him, who was out of breath, Jager's face remained serene and untouched.
Colin opened his eyes horrified.
Jager's body was moving strangely.
It wasn't fast or slow, but it held many possibilities.
Right or left.
Dodge backward or take a step forward.
It couldn't be discerned.
"Argh!"
Colin opened his eyes and swung his sword relentlessly, trying to ignore Jager's movements as they dazzled him.
It wasn't a refined move, but it was his best option.
When there was no clear alternative, one had to do their best.
And Colin wasn't the only one watching Jager's movements with narrowed eyes.
[Watch carefully; what he's trying to show you is about to be revealed.]
“...”
Last night, Jager had warned his nervous squire with a sharp blow.
Think about walking before thinking about running.
At the same time, he demonstrated one of his tricks, passing on a lesson to a wobbling Vlad.
"You can't use a technique like this if you don't have the proper foundations."
"Kaaah!"
Colin yelled, continuously striking the massive sword.
The thick lines of blood on his shoulders and forearms showed how much power the sword contained.
Teng!
The blade bounced off with a dull sound.
Tung! Tung! Tung-!
Colin's attacks were relentless, but Jager blocked them without missing a beat. No, he was cutting them.
[That's it. A gap?]
With each swing of Jager's sword, Colin's momentum subtly wavered.
It was a gap that could only be created by a forced misalignment of the blow.
[Counterattack.]
Counterattack.
The art of launching a counterattack through a gap created by a blocked attack.
It was an advanced technique that involved reading the opponent's number of moves and responding accordingly, an unorthodox approach to the counterattack.
It was a challenging technique to execute, but it promised to be deadly if successful.
“!"
Vlad stood there with wide-open eyes, watching the new trick Jager was demonstrating.
Tears welled up in his strained eyes, but the boy, hungry for everything, devoured what he was seeing.
He didn't even breathe.
He was lucky to have found Jager.
He was a wild and twisted man, but a man who knew what he was doing.
Today's lesson is called "Counterattack."
The test subject was the Earth Boar.
***
I apologize for any confusion. It seems there was a misunderstanding. Let me provide you with the translation:
"Done."
Jager adjusted his eyepatch and looked at the priest.
"The winner of the duel is Lord Jager the Knight, representing Lady Alicia!"
Jager's victory was clearly declared, but the people on Alicia's side remained silent, without cheering.
The silence filled the duel arena.
Jager's strange aura left Endre's men drained of energy and Alicia's speechless.
"......"
But the one even quieter than them was Colin, who was now kneeling, with an expressionless face.
Today, he had run into a wall.
And he felt it.
It was massive, insurmountable.
"Well done."
"Good job."
Vlad could only be grateful that Jager had deliberately set the scene for him.
Even though he didn't show it.
"Thank you, Lord Jager."
"I was just following your orders, Lord Joseph."
Duncan turned to Jager, triumphant, and sincerely thanked him.
Seeing him wrapped in reddish bandages was still lamentable, but Jager was as courteous as he could be.
"Next duelists, please step forward!"
Duncan lost, Jager won.
With the Vanguard and Mid-Game battles finished, all that remained was the Grand Battle.
"My turn."
At the priest's call, stroking his well-groomed mustache, Joubert entered the duel arena.
This duel would be enough.
Win this, and Alicia would be the legitimate Baroness of Heinal, recognized in the name of God.
Alicia's anxious looks, Duncan's, and those following them merged behind Joubert.
But Joubert himself remained undisturbed, with an inscrutable smile on his face.
The two knights crossed the silence that Jager had created and entered the duel arena.
"I am Pablo of Arnstein."
"It's not the first time. That we meet."
"Pablo of Arnstein."
"...Joubert of Shazad."
Jubert smiled ironically at his inability to make a joke.
He turned his head to look at Alicia and bowed.
It was a proper and well-learned greeting.
"Eh?"
But Joseph, sitting among the audience, observing the duel, knew something was wrong with the greeting Jubert had just given him.
It wasn't a greeting he would use in this situation.
"I'll say it again. A duel ends when a representative expresses the intention to surrender, and when the duel cannot be hastened..."
The priest diligently explained the duel rules, but Jubert could only remain silent.
"I will withdraw."
"If you suffer a serious injury... What did you say?"
The priest didn't immediately understand the words that came out of Jubert's mouth.
He heard them with his ears, but he didn't understand them with his mind.
These were words that should not and could not have come out now.
"I will withdraw."
Like an actor on a stage, Jubert looked around with exaggerated gestures and shouted.
"I, Jubert, the representative sent by the Shazad family, withdraw from this duel."
"......"
"......"
Jubert's words seemed quite innocuous, but for those who had to hear them, they were a thunderous declaration.
A terrible silence gripped the hall.
"This, this... this."
Duncan, finally coming to his senses, raised his wounded hands in a sign of disbelief.
"!"
Alicia, the one in the duel, stood up with trembling lips.
Her pale white skin was turning a pale blue.
Everyone was in a panic, not understanding what had just happened.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of someone's applause echoed in the silent hall.
"Attention!"
Endre Heinal.
"So, the duel is over!"
The man, the second in line for the Heinal House, finally showed the fangs he had been hiding.
"Not like this!"
The man shouted loudly in the face of everyone's silence.
He was the accuser, the usurper.
He was also a man who had four hands before entering the duel arena.
"....Curse."
Realizing he had been dragged into an unpleasant situation, Joseph quickly gestured to Bordan.
"Now recognize me before the gods. Priest!"
Jubert waved to Alicia with an exaggerated gesture.
It was a farewell.
"That I am the only legitimate Heinal!"
This duel was rigged from the beginning.
By those who do not know honor.
Noble blood is of a blue hue.
Their blood carries the responsibility and duty that ordinary crimson blood may not be able to fulfill.
"….”
However, Alicia is not ready to turn her blood blue.
All those eyes on her.
And Endre's fierce gaze staring back at her.
It's hard to breathe.
As determined as she was, for Alicia, a young woman not yet in her twenties, it was challenging to withstand the intense pressure emanating from Endre.
So, she averted her gaze.
To avoid his stare in the most casual way possible.
And there, when she turned, waiting for her, were the blue eyes she had seen that day.
"….?"
A blond boy looking bewildered, as if he didn't know what was happening.
When the boy appeared, Alicia forced herself to focus.
Her pounding heart calmed, her dizzying vision returned, and her ceaseless sweat stopped.
The comfort she had felt on the hill with her father and mother was now in the blue eyes of the boy she looked at.
In them, she could finally breathe.
***
Vlad cleared his throat as he looked at the knight standing next to Jager.
"He's on our side."
It was the mysterious man who had spied on the knights from the other faction yesterday, just like Vlad himself.
Jubert, a knight sent by House Shazad.
Vlad stiffened as he observed Jubert's playful gaze.
Somehow, you recognize me.
Someone who had subdued him, pretended to be close to him without his permission, and then vanished in the end.
[This woman, Alicia, has undoubtedly ensured she is clever; she has a good chance of winning.]
"I suppose so."
Vlad couldn't respond aloud in the presence of so many people, but he, too, thought it was most likely that Alicia would be the winner of this duel.
He couldn't get a good look at the knights standing beside Endre, but Colin and Pablo were no match for Jager and Jubert, no matter how high they were ranked.
Jubert, the knight sent by the Shazad family, was so advanced that his voice and aura couldn't be easily read.
Given the rules of the best-of-three duel, the outcome was predictable.
Even if it meant losing a man.
***
"Stop, stop, I surrender!"
Upon Alicia's urgent plea, the priest intervened.
"Hold! The duel is over!"
"Not yet... I can still go on!"
"Lord Duncan, your lord has waved his hand. He admits defeat."
Silence lingered as a fierce yet melancholic duel concluded.
Duncan, the Old Knight.
He had defended House Heinal for many years, and though over sixty, he remained in good form. However, the passage of time was inevitable, and despite his best efforts, the world would only accept the results.
"It's been a good fight, Master."
"Am I still your master...?"
Duncan gritted his teeth as the young knight extended his hand toward him.
Chard, a knight of House Heinal who had pledged his sword to Endre.
"I don't need..."
Raised to be the future of House Heinal, he had reverted to a blade that stabbed his lord. Duncan's misjudgment and venomous turn to Alicia were indescribable.
Staggering from the wound, Duncan brushed away the hand with what remained of his pride and bowed his head to Alicia, guilt unabashedly etched across his face.
"…”
Though her expression remained unwavering, there were deep ripples in Alicia's eyes.
An old knight apologizing for his disastrous appearance.
It was the last pillar of strength Alicia had.
Duncan's blood brought tears to Alicia's eyes.
"The winner of this duel is Lord Endre's knight, Sir Chard!"
The priest's declaration was met with a loud cheer from those siding with Endre. Just as Endre had risked everything to win House Heinal, they, too, risked much for him.
Winner takes all, loser loses everything.
Having taken the first step towards victory under the world's universal laws, they certainly deserved the applause.
"Next knights, step forward!"
Vlad swallowed nervously as the priest called for the next duelists.
A three-round duel, two winners.
Perhaps most crucial was the one securing the second place.
They would decide the duel's outcome if the first player won or, in the unlikely event of a loss, pass the duel to the third player in a desperate attempt to win.
"The second knight from Alicia's side, please step forward!"
And the knight with the significant task was none other than Jager from House Bayezid.
Jager with a single eye.
Though not a knight with a luxurious title, Duncan and Joubert were unanimous in their decision to place him in the second position.
The weight of the name Bayezid was enough to warrant that level of trust.
"Jager."
"Colin."
For a knight, their lord's orders came first, their honor second.
In the eyes of many, a duel of honor was an all-out clash between their lord's orders and their own honor.
Therefore, the first encounter naturally led to a confrontation.
The two knights stared at each other across the blood-splattered floor.
"Where did you lose one of your eyes?"
"I was hungry, so I ate it."
"Ouch!"
Colin was a head taller than Jager, but Jager wasn't intimidated. Rather, he seemed to ignore him as if he were a nuisance.
"I guess you lost it then; you'll never be the same."
"Yes."
"I'll take even your last eye."
"Please remember, this is an honorable duel."
Colin's growl was uncharacteristic, but the priest stepped back for the duel to commence.
Though an honorable duel with rules, it was still a sword fight, and sometimes things could get out of control.
"For the gods of this day's sun!"
"Kaaaah!"
At the priest's signal, Colin shouted and charged at Jager.
It was an incredible speed from such a huge man, and it was a powerful strike from such a massive man.
Indeed, with a single swing of his sword, the man known as the Earth Boar of the Middle Lands had proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with.
Jager, the direct recipient of the momentum, could only stand still with an expressionless face.
BANG!
Colin's sword shattered the floor of the hall with a tremendous roar. Fragments of the floor flew in all directions.
"Oooh!"
"He's as powerful as I heard!"
Alicia felt her chest tighten as Colin's blow resonated in the hall, and Vlad searched for the nuts Jubert had given him yesterday.
This was just the beginning.
But the knights on Endre's side had noticed a strange turn in the combat's momentum.
It didn't take long for Colin himself to feel that something was amiss.
"Olé!"
"You bastard!"
Only now, facing Jager's face, did Colin realize he had been foolish.
Unlike him, who was out of breath, Jager's face remained serene and untouched.
Colin opened his eyes horrified.
Jager's body was moving strangely.
It wasn't fast or slow, but it held many possibilities.
Right or left.
Dodge backward or take a step forward.
It couldn't be discerned.
"Argh!"
Colin opened his eyes and swung his sword relentlessly, trying to ignore Jager's movements as they dazzled him.
It wasn't a refined move, but it was his best option.
When there was no clear alternative, one had to do their best.
And Colin wasn't the only one watching Jager's movements with narrowed eyes.
[Watch carefully; what he's trying to show you is about to be revealed.]
“...”
Last night, Jager had warned his nervous squire with a sharp blow.
Think about walking before thinking about running.
At the same time, he demonstrated one of his tricks, passing on a lesson to a wobbling Vlad.
"You can't use a technique like this if you don't have the proper foundations."
"Kaaah!"
Colin yelled, continuously striking the massive sword.
The thick lines of blood on his shoulders and forearms showed how much power the sword contained.
Teng!
The blade bounced off with a dull sound.
Tung! Tung! Tung-!
Colin's attacks were relentless, but Jager blocked them without missing a beat. No, he was cutting them.
[That's it. A gap?]
With each swing of Jager's sword, Colin's momentum subtly wavered.
It was a gap that could only be created by a forced misalignment of the blow.
[Counterattack.]
Counterattack.
The art of launching a counterattack through a gap created by a blocked attack.
It was an advanced technique that involved reading the opponent's number of moves and responding accordingly, an unorthodox approach to the counterattack.
It was a challenging technique to execute, but it promised to be deadly if successful.
“!"
Vlad stood there with wide-open eyes, watching the new trick Jager was demonstrating.
Tears welled up in his strained eyes, but the boy, hungry for everything, devoured what he was seeing.
He didn't even breathe.
He was lucky to have found Jager.
He was a wild and twisted man, but a man who knew what he was doing.
Today's lesson is called "Counterattack."
The test subject was the Earth Boar.
***
I apologize for any confusion. It seems there was a misunderstanding. Let me provide you with the translation:
"Done."
Jager adjusted his eyepatch and looked at the priest.
"The winner of the duel is Lord Jager the Knight, representing Lady Alicia!"
Jager's victory was clearly declared, but the people on Alicia's side remained silent, without cheering.
The silence filled the duel arena.
Jager's strange aura left Endre's men drained of energy and Alicia's speechless.
"......"
But the one even quieter than them was Colin, who was now kneeling, with an expressionless face.
Today, he had run into a wall.
And he felt it.
It was massive, insurmountable.
"Well done."
"Good job."
Vlad could only be grateful that Jager had deliberately set the scene for him.
Even though he didn't show it.
"Thank you, Lord Jager."
"I was just following your orders, Lord Joseph."
Duncan turned to Jager, triumphant, and sincerely thanked him.
Seeing him wrapped in reddish bandages was still lamentable, but Jager was as courteous as he could be.
"Next duelists, please step forward!"
Duncan lost, Jager won.
With the Vanguard and Mid-Game battles finished, all that remained was the Grand Battle.
"My turn."
At the priest's call, stroking his well-groomed mustache, Joubert entered the duel arena.
This duel would be enough.
Win this, and Alicia would be the legitimate Baroness of Heinal, recognized in the name of God.
Alicia's anxious looks, Duncan's, and those following them merged behind Joubert.
But Joubert himself remained undisturbed, with an inscrutable smile on his face.
The two knights crossed the silence that Jager had created and entered the duel arena.
"I am Pablo of Arnstein."
"It's not the first time. That we meet."
"Pablo of Arnstein."
"...Joubert of Shazad."
Jubert smiled ironically at his inability to make a joke.
He turned his head to look at Alicia and bowed.
It was a proper and well-learned greeting.
"Eh?"
But Joseph, sitting among the audience, observing the duel, knew something was wrong with the greeting Jubert had just given him.
It wasn't a greeting he would use in this situation.
"I'll say it again. A duel ends when a representative expresses the intention to surrender, and when the duel cannot be hastened..."
The priest diligently explained the duel rules, but Jubert could only remain silent.
"I will withdraw."
"If you suffer a serious injury... What did you say?"
The priest didn't immediately understand the words that came out of Jubert's mouth.
He heard them with his ears, but he didn't understand them with his mind.
These were words that should not and could not have come out now.
"I will withdraw."
Like an actor on a stage, Jubert looked around with exaggerated gestures and shouted.
"I, Jubert, the representative sent by the Shazad family, withdraw from this duel."
"......"
"......"
Jubert's words seemed quite innocuous, but for those who had to hear them, they were a thunderous declaration.
A terrible silence gripped the hall.
"This, this... this."
Duncan, finally coming to his senses, raised his wounded hands in a sign of disbelief.
"!"
Alicia, the one in the duel, stood up with trembling lips.
Her pale white skin was turning a pale blue.
Everyone was in a panic, not understanding what had just happened.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of someone's applause echoed in the silent hall.
"Attention!"
Endre Heinal.
"So, the duel is over!"
The man, the second in line for the Heinal House, finally showed the fangs he had been hiding.
"Not like this!"
The man shouted loudly in the face of everyone's silence.
He was the accuser, the usurper.
He was also a man who had four hands before entering the duel arena.
"....Curse."
Realizing he had been dragged into an unpleasant situation, Joseph quickly gestured to Bordan.
"Now recognize me before the gods. Priest!"
Jubert waved to Alicia with an exaggerated gesture.
It was a farewell.
"That I am the only legitimate Heinal!"
This duel was rigged from the beginning.
By those who do not know honor.
