“Oh?”
Oh no.
Arriving at the training ground, I sighed.
There was a fact I had overlooked.
Right there in the training ground was Alek, who hates and despises everyone else.
“Captain, where are you going again?”
“Well, you see…”
Luckily, Eshronde was with us, right?
As soon as we arrived, Alek, who was getting scolded by Esh, shrank back and hurriedly ran to me.
“Ishmael!”
“Captain? I haven’t finished my words yet.”
Esh’s sharp words made Alek look unfairly aggrieved.
“Esh, give me a break too. What is work with no rest all day long?”
“Didn’t you forget that your duty as captain is to not forget your responsibility and wander outside without rest?”
Esh’s face, answered so neatly, showed not an inch of room for argument.
“Let’s go back quickly; we have a lot of pending Lycan captain duties.”
“Ishmael, save me.”
“Hmm. Sorry.”
I was on Esh’s side.
“Thank you, Lady Noble. As expected, you’re a much better role model for the Lycan than a useless captain like me.”
Esh was also on my side.
“Then, let’s be on our way.”
Esh mercilessly grabbed Alek’s nape and pulled him along.
‘As expected, he’s a half-moon bear Suiin.’
His strong grip was so firm that even Alek, a silver wolf Suiin, was helplessly dragged along.
But, really, do you think I’d go so easily?
Alek, who was being dragged, struggled and suddenly grabbed Esh’s arm.
“Wait… just a moment! Just one thing!”
“…What is it?”
“You said I have to do my duty as captain. So, I have to do this too.”
“What’s that?”
“Fighting that guy.”
Alek pointed to Ban’s face with his finger.
“What? What did you say?”
I gasped.
“You said Leviathan, right? Fight me.”
“…Are you trying to challenge a duel because you don’t want to do your captain’s duties right now? That kind of thing should be with your subordinates.”
Ban responded with an annoyed look, as if swatting at a bothersome fly.
However, Alek remained steadfast regardless of my and Ban’s reactions.
“Do you think I’d challenge a duel just for such a trivial reason?”
“Then?”
“You’ve been sticking close to my younger brother lately instead of me. Then, I want to see your skills, right? That’s the principle of the Lycan duke’s family.”
“Oh my god.”
I sighed deeply and crossed my arms.
“Alek, don’t be stubborn. Ban is currently recovering from his wounds.”
“Can’t you see my body? I’ve been hurt even more than he has.”
That was true.
I didn’t know what Alek had been up to lately, but he was covered in wounds.
Well, he’s never been particularly good at taking care of himself anyway.
“Besides, a guy who wiped out a dozen assassins in Nectrex Mountain can’t be ordinary. I must fight with you.”
“…Absolutely?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
“Alek, stop being so unreasonable—”
“Well, then, there’s no choice.”
I tried to stop Alek, but surprisingly, Ban nodded in agreement.
Alek looked somewhat stunned and asked back.
“Are you accepting?”
“You said you’d fight me, no matter what?”
He unrolled the black cloth wrapped around his head, revealing piercing dark eyes.
The dark blade gleamed in the sunlight.
It sent a shiver down my spine, as if I could smell the blood.
Did he think the same as I did?
Seeing his weapon, Alek’s face quickly hardened.
“…That’s a strange weapon. Not everyone can wield something like that.”
“Gumje, you’d better take a good look.”
A cold, merciless smile appeared on Ban’s lips.
“Because it’s a weapon you’ve never faced before in your life.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Two sturdy men are on top of the dusty training ground, with dirt swirling around.
How did it come to this?
I don’t know.
‘Let’s just watch.’
“Miss, are you okay?”
“Huh?”
As I opened my mouth in surprise, popcorn, like corn fried into popcorn, went straight into my mouth.
When I heard that Ban and Alek were fighting, Anna, who brought snacks, said that popcorn was the best for watching battles.
“Wow, it’s delicious.”
Anna and I, sharing happily, finally watched the fight begin.
‘By the way… amazing.’
The fight between the two was, how should I put it, beyond words.
When Ban first mentioned that he needed to cast a magic barrier to prevent the spectators from being swept away, I wondered if it was really necessary, but seeing it firsthand, I understood.
‘Without the barrier, the impact of the fight would have swept everything around.’
Just looking at the sandstorm happening right now, isn’t it obvious?
“Hey, who’s that person fighting the captain?”
“I think they said she’s the benefactor of the Lady Noble?”
“Hey, with that skill, wouldn’t she have taken the imperial knight order exam already?”
“I’ve seen plenty of knights, but I’ve never seen that face before.”
I looked around.
The entire training ground was packed with people, loud enough to cause a commotion.
From the Lycan knights, to maids, ladies-in-waiting, butlers, and coachmen.
Some even looked like they had just come running from laundry duty, with foam on their hands and feet.
“Hey, who did you challenge?”
“Are you crazy? The captain is a Gumje.”
“But I want to challenge that young master. It’s so frustrating that the captain is skipping out alone.”
“Yeah, if you want to live only today, then challenge him.”
The teasing and bickering around made me laugh, but soon a worried thought crept in.
‘Is it really okay, Ban?’
In the original story, Ban’s true strength is revealed while wandering across the continent.
But now, to reveal his true strength at the Lycan duke’s estate?
Isn’t this a breach of the original story?
“Ugh…”
What will happen from now on?
Surely, rumors will spread and reach Zeroth’ ears.
“Who are you challenging, Lady Noble?”
While I was sighing and worrying, Esh, who was munching popcorn beside me, asked.
“What?”
“I challenged Kaharje Young Master for 100,000 Garlan.”
“What? 100,000 Garlan… no, 100,000 Garlan you challenged? Isn’t that too much?”
“I didn’t want to challenge the captain. And you?”
“Well…”
I blinked twice.
I wanted to challenge Ban for 1 billion Garlan, but I couldn’t leave my older brother like that.
“Oh well, I don’t care. I’m going in.”
“Huh? Won’t you want to see the result?”
“It’s obvious.”
“I see… as expected, you trust the young master!!”
Alek might be a fool, but he’s a master swordsman, so I think he’ll definitely win. Anna muttered this to herself, but I knew.
Ban would win.
With a deep sigh, I stood up from the sofa where I’d been sitting and started to climb the stairs.
But was I lost in thought too much?
My foot slipped on the stairs.
I lost my balance and fell flat on my butt, and my silver hair fluttered everywhere, blocking my view.
“Oh, no…”
My butt hurts.
And maybe I twisted my ankle, because my foot also hurt.
“Good grief! Miss, are you okay?”
Anna screamed.
“You’ve probably sprained your ankle! What should we do? Can you move?”
“Hmm…”
Trying to move slightly, a stabbing pain shot up from my ankle.
“No, no way.”
“I should carry you. Come on, get on my back!”
“Lady Noble! Are you okay?!!”
Suddenly, I heard a deep voice.
Could it be the second knight captain, who had challenged me for 10,000 Garlan, rushing toward me like lightning?
In the blink of an eye, he reached me and immediately knelt on one knee.
“This is Eric, the little lord, sending his regards.”
“Yes, Lord Eric. It’s been a while. But I… I can’t get up and greet you right now…”
“Yes, yes! Of course!”
He muttered almost tearfully as he looked at my ankle.
“Poor Lady Noble…”
Eric quickly called a doctor from the officer following behind him and turned to me.
“Lady Noble, may I humbly ask to examine your injury? I’ve been rolling on the battlefield for ten years. I’m used to injuries.”
“Oh, then please.”
Leaning into Anna’s embrace, I slightly lifted my dress to reveal my ankle.
Even as a noble young lady, since I was injured, this should be fine.
“Excuse me.”
Eric bowed his head and gently took hold of my ankle.
‘…Eric is quite handsome.’
As he paid close attention to my ankle, unfortunately, I found myself paying even more attention to his appearance.
Come to think of it, Lord Eric is a Suiin, right?
Brown hair, warm brown eyes, handsome face… with a tall and sturdy body, he’s the second knight captain.
‘He must be quite popular. As expected, he’s one of our Lycan.’
Just as I was feeling pleased, suddenly, a huge explosion echoed across the training ground.
“What, what’s that?”
Startled, I turned my head toward it.
No, I was about to turn.
But I couldn’t.
Eric, who had been examining my ankle, let out a groan. Was he crying out in pain? He rubbed his neck as if strangled and collapsed sideways with a pained expression.
“E-Eric? What’s wrong?”
Surprised, I hurriedly shook his shoulder, but then I heard a voice behind me, as if strangled.
“Ah… Miss. The pheromone…”
Anna’s eyes filled with tears as she muttered.
“Pheromone…?”
Unconsciously, I slowly turned my head back toward the training ground.
Alek, collapsed and gasping for breath near the edge of the training ground, contrasted sharply with Ban, who stood tall in the center. His gaze shifted away from me and toward Eric.
His blood-red eyes looked colder than usual.
I instinctively knew. That he was exerting pressure on everyone else—excluding me—through pheromones.
Why I was excluded, I didn’t know, but one thing was certain: I had to tell him to stop.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on October, 1.
See you then!!
