Chapter 240, Don’t Stop (2)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

A quiet night.

 

Unexpected guests visited Wilhelm Hall and the Siegfried Family estate respectively.

 

Arsene, who had been at Wilhelm Hall, showed a surprised expression when he encountered Rmain, who by rights should absolutely never be together with Plants. Still, since he no longer felt as tense as the first day he had seen Rmain, he carefully selected polite words without panicking and delivered them to Rmain.

 

“I apologize, Your Majesty. You are disturbing the healer.”

 

Rmain, who had properly heard the direct words from the Mage who possessed abilities inversely proportional to his salary, and who literally received Kalian’s terrifying favor, briefly examined Plants with only his eyes before returning to Arpia Palace.

 

And Dmirea, due to what she had heard from the healer who had made even Rmain turn away, was in a state where her thoughts had become quite numerous. Thanks to that, while substituting tea and pancakes for the meal she had missed due to swinging her sword without rest until late at night, she came to receive a guest.

 

“I have urgent matters to tell you regarding the Prince, so I have come to see you.”

 

Kalian’s only Knight.

 

After hearing the words he brought, Dmirea clenched her fist.

 

[‘Lesser Duchess, have you ever thought about why you should not sway?’]

 

She felt as if Hina’s soundless words were echoing in her ears.

 

* * *

 

Evan was by no means young.

 

However, he had not yet established a successor.

 

[He seems insane, but if it’s Evan, he could do that. Or perhaps he has already established a successor but has perfectly hid them.]

 

Having these thoughts made him curious about something.

 

[Whatever the reason, just how great must that swordsmanship be.]

 

Why had the true swordsmanship used by the head of the Beurisen Family, one of the Two Knight Order Families of Cyries, never been made known? What kind of great swordsmanship was it that he was wary of even establishing a successor or making it public?

 

Kalian became curious about such things.

 

And then he realized it.

 

The momentary imbalance he came to feel because he had not let any of Evan’s movements slip away even amid the fierce exchange of offense and defense, putting all of them into his head.

 

“You have good eyes.”

 

“It’s because I’m still young.”

 

When he developed that subtle doubt, the answer emerged.

 

“I thought you liked showing off, but you hid it well.”

 

“This was a country with no special wars or civil wars, so would the Family Heads have had any occasion to directly use their swords outside? Besides, we don’t know when the Elephants might change their minds, so we can’t live showing them all of our things.”

 

“You’re showing it to me. And my fiancée is extremely scary.”

 

“Don’t worry. Like the other bastards who saw my sword, you won’t be able to leave here either.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

Kalian, who had roughly nodded and responded, spoke again.

 

“But Marquis. You split the sword in half, so why are you spitting out your words in half pieces too?”

 

Kalian, who had tapped the floor a couple of times with the tip of his sword, finished his words with a lovely smile.

 

“How rude.”

 

At the same sarcasm as always, killing intent thickly rose.

 

Two swords wrapped in blue Aura rushed in ferociously.

 

Kalian, who showed laughter full of anticipation, threw his body toward the swords stabbing in from both sides.

 

*Clang!*

 

[Oh my, the poor boiled pea’s path of hardship has opened. He couldn’t even properly handle one sword, and now he was going to hold two, so what to do about this?]

 

*Clang! Clang!*

 

[Well, when he wakes up, he’ll really need to eat a lot of meat.]

 

*Clang!*

*Clang! Clang!*

 

[He’ll need to relearn swordsmanship too,]

 

[And that incredibly barking cat.]

 

*Clang!*

 

[Is he going to raise it properly?]

 

*Clang!*

 

* * *

 

Time continued to flow.

 

The warm light that endlessly flowed from Hina’s hands seeped into Plants’s heart. Unlike Magic, since she could just draw on the Mana that dwells in nature as it was and convert it into the power of healing, there was no concern about running out of Mana.

 

That was the only fortunate thing.

 

However, even if Mana was not lacking, mental and physical strength were not infinite either.

 

“This is serious. The Seal of Oath has yet to disappear.”

 

The tips of Hina’s hands placed on Plants’s pure white shirt instead of cat fur finally began to tremble little by little. Arsene, who was watching such a sight, clicked his tongue.

 

“I will have the Royal Healer summoned.”

 

“No.”

 

Hina’s resolute voice, which Arsene was hearing for the first time, immediately rang out.

 

“If it’s because of Magic training, don’t worry. Unlike our Prince, since you have not yet formed a Circle, there will be no other problems even if you receive Divine Power.”

 

“It’s not for that reason. Please don’t summon them.”

 

Although it was a firm expression of refusal, Hina was currently so exhausted that she could not even properly explain the reason.

 

“This will be quite different from the treatments you’ve done until now. Before, while confirming that wounds were healing, you could catch your breath for a while, but today is different, isn’t it? In that state, you won’t last long. From what I see, you’re already…”

 

“I don’t want to entrust him to someone else’s hands. I can’t trust them.”

 

Arsene, who had stopped speaking, pressed his lips tightly shut.

 

Even though she must have developed a friendship while receiving education from the Royal Healer, she said this: ‘that she could not trust them’. Hina, of all people.

 

“Indeed, who could you trust? Even the Caera Knights have been stained by Beurisen.”

 

In the end, Arsene nodded as if it couldn’t be helped. However, when he opened his mouth to say that if it really wouldn’t work, he would truly summon a healer at that time.

 

*Click.*

 

The closed treatment room door opened.

 

The place where the Prince of Cyries was.

 

The place where the Deputy Commander of Valkan and the healer were by his side.

 

Although this was such a place, someone whom the other Mages guarding the door could not rashly restrain had arrived. Someone who could skip the knock they had probably never done with their own hands and open the door entered inside.

 

Arsene, who saw the second unexpected guest, slowly stood up.

 

“Why are you here…?”

 

The blue eyes filled with the refreshing energy of dawn completely faced for the first time the blue eyes so deep and deep that no one knew what they contained within.

 

He did not find it rude that Hina did not stand up but only bowed her head before focusing on the treatment again. Whether he knew or did not know that she could not speak was unclear, but he showed no particular reaction to her not opening her mouth to show courtesy. He did not even blame Arsene, who was not even bowing his head at all.

 

Rather than having a generous heart, it was because he had no interest whatsoever in the reactions of these two.

 

“You are not stepping aside.”

 

After staring at Arsene for a while, the person turned only his gaze to look down at Plants and spoke thus.

 

“Is this a place where your permission is needed for my steps?”

 

Arsene answered while nodding as if he had nothing to hide.

 

“Yes. That is correct.”

 

“Even though the one behind you is my younger brother.”

 

“It is because Plants, the Prince who is behind me, is precisely the younger brother of Your Highness, Prince Randel.”

 

“Are you worried that I will cause him harm?”

 

“I am not exactly worried, but…”

 

[Well, surely I wouldn’t worry about the Prince who is our Prince’s older brother and His Highness Deputy Commander.]

 

“I feel I must be on guard.”

 

Even though it was a statement of suspecting a Prince, Randel delivered his answer calmly without showing any change in expression.

 

“Do so on another day, not today. I have not come to cause harm right now.”

 

Randel’s quiet eyes gazed at Arsene.

 

Arsene, who had faced that weighty gaze for quite a while, eventually nodded and stepped back.

 

“I understand.”

 

While thinking that after using unheard of and unseen Magic on Plants, and then letting even Randel in as he pleased, when Arsene met Kalian, one thing or another would surely be broken.

 

Or perhaps a hole would be made somewhere.

 

* * *

 

Kalian twisted his waist to the right and extended his sword upward.

 

*Clang!*

*Swoosh!*

 

The sword falling from above his head was blocked, and the sword striking in aiming for his left side cut through empty air.

 

The slightly surprising thing was that even though he held a sword in each hand, the force applied did not become lighter.

 

Thanks to that, Kalian, who felt as if he were fighting two Evans, made an expression as if he had imagined something terrible and shook off the sword he had blocked.

 

*Swoosh!*

 

Seeing Kalian lightly lift his body, Evan held the two swords in different directions. In that state, he rapidly rotated his body and sent sword strikes toward the place where Kalian would have to land.

 

*Clang!*

 

The sound of blade clashing rang out several times.

 

Kalian blocked the first sword rushing in, then pulled his sword back slightly to block the attack of the second sword. After receiving both swords, he struck upward with all his strength against the two swords. Then he twisted his body and approached behind Evan.

 

Kalian, who completed defense and movement during the time to take a short breath, thrust his sword out.

 

*Swoosh!*

 

Before the sound of air being torn could be heard, Evan bent his waist. He quickly stood up and pursued Kalian’s form, but this time too, Kalian was standing in a different direction at the same time his attack was blocked.

 

[More!]

 

*Clang! Clang!*

 

[More. Show me more! Tell me everything!]

 

*Clang! Clang!*

*Clang, clang!*

 

How he dealt with attacks from behind, how he moved and positioned his shoulders and waist and legs, how he blocked attacks rushing from above or below, what kind of attacks he made when holding the two swords in reverse, how the two swords complemented each other and fought.

 

He observed the path of the sword more concentratedly than when facing anyone until now and dodged. He moved endlessly and aimed not at Evan but at Evan’s swordsmanship. He stole it.

 

*Clang! Clang!*

 

The exchange of offense and defense continued again.

 

When he had gradually become accustomed to Evan’s movements like that, Kalian stopped his feet very briefly and steadied his breathing.

 

He quickly organized what he had seen and captured and put it into his head.

 

[This much should be enough.]

 

Although he could not learn as perfectly as receiving direct instruction from Evan, it did not matter. Besides, the limit might have come now.

 

Whether it was the pea or Hina.

 

So it was only up to here…

 

Kalian, who decided he could fill in what was lacking with his own swordsmanship, created a very brief distance from Evan and took a deep breath. Then he rushed in.

 

The leisure disappeared from Evan’s face.

 

*Clang! Clang!*

 

He struck upward against Evan’s attack falling down while crossing the two swords, and consecutively let the flowing two swords enter in rotation with a time difference.

 

He twisted the sword held in his hand and extended it, digging into the empty space between the two swords.

 

Seeing that, Evan joined the hilts of the two swords together to block the blade coming for his neck.

 

The crimson sword that had slipped away at some point rushed toward his heart. Evan turned his waist as if dropping one shoulder to dodge, then thrust out the opposite sword.

 

Kalian was not there.

 

*Swoosh!*

 

Even thicker killing intent.

 

Anger and murderous intent revealed without concealment directed toward Evan.

 

Bright red eyes appeared.

 

Absurdly, Evan recalled the black cat brooch at this moment.

 

He finally understood why that bastard had come here alone, leaving that excellent Master of Magic behind. He finally understood why he had not used Magic even once until now and had faced him with only the sword.

 

[If I die here to this bastard, what will be taken is not my life, but…]

 

[Beurisen! He will take Beurisen’s sword!]

 

“You bastard, until now…!”

 

*Clang!*

 

Kalian did not answer. He did not mock Evan either.

 

Kalian, who had been tirelessly extending his sword to aim at Evan’s swordsmanship, was now aiming at Evan’s life.

 

Even the afterimage of the sword Kalian thrust out could no longer be seen. The footsteps that seemed to be gradually audible became completely hidden. Evan sensed Kalian’s energy with movements close to instinct and blocked.

 

*Clang! Clang! Clang!]

 

The sword rushing toward his neck exceeded the speed at which Evan could block. Evan, who intuited the end, infused strength into the hand holding his sword. With the thought that even if he died, he should not leave Kalian unharmed, he abandoned defense. Kalian’s sword approached like lightning.

 

But at that moment…

 

*Pat.*

 

Unexpectedly.

 

Without any trace of wariness.

 

“Grandfather…”

 

A young voice as if just awakened from sleep.

 

*Thud!*

 

It seized the crimson sword.

 

The eyes of Kalian, who reflexively looked at the owner of the voice flowing from behind Evan, wavered.

 

One room at the end of the corridor.

 

Before it stood a young child with green eyes and hair much deeper than Plants’s.

 

Even while knowing it was not so.

 

Even while knowing it was an unrelated young child.

 

The successor. Yes, it was that child.

 

He tried to make that child his successor. It must be a child of Lannen or Gray. To teach the Family’s swordsmanship without being threatened by his two sons, it would have been better to make their child the successor. So, he hid them secretly in the residence to teach them.

 

Even while recalling all these thoughts at once.

 

“Older… brother?”

 

He made an absurd mistake.

 

Evan’s sword was rushing in, cutting through the wind.