Chapter 6
Vroom—vroom—
It had been fifteen days since Leona had joined as both teacher and bodyguard, and Eric had acquired the trait <Indomitable>. Today, like every other day, he arrived at the training grounds, pushing himself even harder as he thought about the wager that was now only five days away.
“Nine hundred thirty-four! Nine hundred thirty-five!”
From early morning until nearly lunchtime, he swung his sword nonstop for hours.
“Nine hundred thirty…six!”
“…My lord.”
Tap—tap—
“Nine hundred thirty…”
“My lord!”
Thunk—
“Uh…huh?”
After more than three weeks of this grueling routine, Eric, lost in a trance as he struck the scarecrow, blinked in surprise when Leona suddenly stepped in, grabbing the wooden sword from his hands.
“Wait. Take a break for a moment.”
“A break? Why…ah.”
He had been about to complain, annoyed at being interrupted mid-practice. But then, following her concerned gaze downward, Eric noticed his palms, scraped raw and bloody, and frowned.
‘Ouch…since when did it get this bad?’
He hadn’t felt any pain until now, but once he noticed it, holding the wooden sword became difficult.
‘No matter how absorbed someone is, they usually forget the pain…’
Perhaps this was an effect of <Indomitable>. Normally, physical pain would tire someone out quickly, but <Indomitable>’s effect of reducing stamina consumption might have masked the pain until now. Now that his training had stopped, the pain he should have felt was catching up with him.
“Your blood…please wait a moment. I’ll fetch a cleric immediately.”
Eric barely had time to react before Leona took his hands, inspecting the wounds carefully. Seeing her stern expression as she turned back to him, he simply nodded.
‘Her expression…come to think of it, her attitude toward me has changed recently. She used to treat people like insects.’
Eric set the wooden sword down for a moment, recalling her complicated look from earlier.
‘Well, I’m not the only one who’s noticed changes in the way people look at me lately.’
Shk—
“Ahem!”
“Hmph hmph.”
Soon, leaning comfortably against the wall, Eric quietly smiled as he noticed the knights glancing at him before quickly averting their eyes.
Even now, few welcomed him warmly. But at least they no longer openly mocked him. Perhaps seeing a delinquent like him swing a sword tirelessly for almost a month, until exhaustion brought him to the ground, looked entirely different from before.
All of them. Except one.
“Getting a little cut on your palm and taking a break? Seriously? Aren’t you ashamed in front of the knights? This is why incompetents are useless.”
From the far entrance, a boy approached, leading the knights behind him.
Ivan Ather.
Meeting his younger brother again after the last encounter at the dining hall, Eric glared at the wooden sword, blood soaking its handle, and looked up at the boy, who was provoking him with a sharp tone.
“I hear you’ve been working hard lately…you weren’t serious about that duel, were you? You didn’t actually think you could beat me, right?”
Ivan had soon reached Eric’s side, tapping the sword on the ground as he spoke with irritation. Though Eric had barely ever held a sword before, it seemed Ivan’s pride had been bruised even more than by receiving the duel challenge itself.
“Why, are you scared now that the duel is so close?”
“Hah! Scared? Me?”
Seeing his relative come to taunt him, Eric only became more determined. The more serious Ivan became about the duel, the better for Eric’s position within the family later, ensuring there would be no whispers of weakness.
“Still, we’re brothers. If you begged a bit now, I might forgive you. But after these few days of training, you think you can just disregard me?”
Ivan chuckled at his audacious tone.
“The wounds on your palms…everyone here has gone through the same. It took years of effort, bleeding every day, to get where you stand now.”
A month. Barely a month, and yet Eric’s minor struggles irritated Ivan.
“If your palms got cut during training, you should be ashamed. It shows how comfortable you’ve lived using ‘incompetence’ as an excuse, never even growing calluses by your age!”
Seeing someone who had wasted their youth sullying the family name now compete seriously in the succession race felt like an insult to all the effort Eric had made to surpass his older brother.
“So?”
With a somewhat bitter tone, Ivan demanded, and Eric scratched his ear with a sulky expression.
“So what do you want me to do about it?”
Eric had already guessed the reason behind Ivan’s behavior. Always insecure around the player ‘Allen Ather’ in the game, Ivan naturally felt threatened seeing someone he had ignored now learning swordsmanship.
“Don’t misunderstand. You started this provocation.”
Still, that didn’t change the fact that the duel was valid.
“Or are you really that unconfident?”
To secure his future dominion in the next three years, Eric had to establish his position by defeating Ivan here.
“You…!”
“Stop it!”
Just as Ivan, unable to contain himself, raised his hand to strike, Leona stepped in.
“There are still five days until the duel. Stand down.”
Ivan lowered his hand, glaring at her while rubbing his slightly sore wrist.
“So you’re the teacher Father assigned to that delinquent?”
“…I’m Leona.”
Bold enough to intervene without hesitation, her unwavering gaze unsettled him.
“Tch. An incompetent knight and a lady knight. Perfect pair of incompetents.”
Ivan frowned, clearly displeased with her confidence, and turned away.
“See you in five days. Let’s see if you’re still this confident then.”
As Ivan led the knights away, Leona sat in front of Eric and pulled out something.
“…My lord, give me your hands.”
With inexpensive ointment and a clean white bandage from the academy, she gently cleaned Eric’s bloodied hands, applied ointment, and wrapped them.
Swish—swipe—
“The cleric is out, so I brought a temporary bandage. Make sure to get proper treatment later. And…”
After finishing the emergency care, she watched Eric slowly open and close his hands.
“I will teach you swordsmanship for the remaining period.”
When she had blocked Ivan’s hand earlier, her presence felt formidable. Rumors said that even if Eric’s younger brother was not as skilled as the first prince, he was still lacking compared to Eric. Yet, he already had this level of skill at such a young age. Leona worried that something could go wrong in the duel.
“No, I’m fine…”
“Don’t be stubborn! There are only five days left until the duel!”
Seeing Eric resist learning, Leona raised her voice in frustration.
“There’s no time, so you must learn now. Honestly, the talent gap between you and your younger brother is large, and he’s been training longer, so you likely can’t win. But if you do well, you might at least land one hit!”
Talent in this world was absolute. A person’s strength was largely determined by the blessings they received at birth. And when combined with years of effort, it was nearly impossible for Eric to win the upcoming duel.
“…Or do you really think it’s pointless because you’re incompetent?”
But that was all the more reason the fight was worthwhile. If the ‘incompetent’ Eric could at least land one blow, it would earn him recognition.
“I’m not being stubborn. And I’m not giving up before even starting.”
Meanwhile, after a short break, Eric picked up the wooden sword. His skin still stung, but the bandage supported his grip.
“I may not be able to beat Ivan, but I can at least land one hit.”
Vroom—
He returned to the scarecrow, smiling as he began training, the pain subsiding as expected.
“I don’t start fights I know I’ll lose.”
Soon after, he completed the remaining swings to reach one thousand.
Ding—
[Through persistent effort, you gain some understanding of the principles of the sword.]
[Skill <Swordsmanship (Beginner)> acquired.]
[All future attacks with a sword receive a bonus.]
With this cheerful notification, the long-awaited reward appeared before him.
Thunk—
After achieving his goal, Eric set the wooden sword down and looked sideways.
“Lady Leona.”
The only way to beat Ivan, whose abilities were dozens of times higher than his own.
“Are you free this weekend?”
It was time to seek the final piece of the puzzle.
