Chapter 33 - Honorable Duel (3)

Alicia Heinal.

The daughter of the previous Family Head, and a person granted legitimacy beyond any comparison to Endre, who had been born of a concubine.

And her blood was also connected to Shazad, a family of the central region.

The blood of Shazad that began with Alicia's grandmother meant the firm trust that had been forged between the two families.

But the concept nobles called politics existed beyond humanity.

Because their blood was blue.

"Make the declaration!"

Shazad decided that profit close at hand was more important than blood ties far away.

Because Endre had promised them that.

Because he had said he would hand over even things that a Family Head looking to the future would never dare promise.

Shazad accepted that answer, and gave Alicia a knight who knew no honor.

Alicia had been deceived, and Bayezid had been toyed with.

This match was not honorable.

"... It is not over yet."

And in that dishonorable battlefield where everyone had fallen silent, there was someone quietly rising to his feet.

Joseph of the Bayezid Family.

A young man who, though he had never intended it, had become the representative of the North in this duel dirtied by the central families.

He rose heavily.

"I request a brief recess so that we may speak with one another regarding this situation."

Though his voice was not loud, it was more than enough to spread through the hall filled with silence.

The priest, hearing the anger contained in Joseph's words, could do nothing but wipe away his sweat over and over, at a complete loss.

"Do so."

"Thank you, Priest."

Joseph's eyes, burning pitch-black, were searching for someone.

The man down below with a triumphant expression.

Endre Heinal.

"The knight on Alicia's side has forfeited! I understand how you feel, Lord Joseph, but this duel is over!"

"Is this truly an honorable duel?"

Embers may have cooled, but they keep something hot within.

Joseph's voice was like that now.

"I have not the slightest intention of simply accepting the result you people decided on."

Though he could not wield a sword, Bayezid blood flowed within Joseph's body as well.

The savage blood of Bayezid.

"Until I am satisfied regarding this situation, this duel cannot end."

"..."

Those quick-witted enough would have felt it from Joseph's resolute declaration.

That this moment was the starting point of the clash between the central region and the North, which had already been uneasy for some time.

"How might I...convince you?"

Endre, with victory right before his eyes, had been shouting with a triumphant air, but that force gradually died away.

Because he had seen something burning pitch-black in the eyes of the man with deep shadows beneath them.

'Bayezid...'

As he looked at Joseph's pitch-black eyes staring at him, a phrase came to Endre's mind.

The North always repays.

Whether it is honor or disgrace.

"Allow the duel to continue."

Joseph thought.

The best outcome had become impossible, but he had to avoid the worst.

"We cannot let Lady Alicia's honor be sullied by a defeat by forfeit."

Honor that had not even been proven.

That was a humiliation so severe it could not be described with the word dishonor.

That was why Joseph chose to bring this duel to a conclusion here, one way or another.

A clumsy halt would hand over a fatal justification, and a duel that had not even properly finished would leave Alicia beyond recovery.

In the current situation, only a definite defeat could bring about the lesser evil.

Only then would they be able to plan for the future.

"... Do you have someone to stand in for Sir Jubert? If so, I shall accept the request."

As Joseph listened to Endre, he stared at him with fierce eyes.

That sly fox already knew that he and Alicia could not produce a proper knight.

'He planned this meticulously from the beginning.'

Alicia could no longer put forward any knights, and Joseph had brought only two knights with him.

Because when invited to another territory, it was an unwritten rule among nobles not to bring too many knights or soldiers.

It was a painful checkmate aimed precisely at that.

"... If you put forward someone to stand in, as Lord Endre says, I will allow the duel to continue."

The priest, who had been listening to the two of them, eagerly seized upon Endre's words.

If the duel was to continue, naturally there had to be a substitute.

Without one, the proposal would not be valid in the first place.

"..."

At the priest's words, Joseph turned his head and looked at Alicia, but she was merely clutching her pounding chest with a pale face.

Alicia, who had barely been holding on, had collapsed from that last blow.

If it ended like this, she would not even be able to prove her honor.

"... There is one."

As Joseph looked at the stunned Alicia, he thought.

This might be for the best.

It is not a board I set, but I will gladly step onto it.

"There is someone who can take his place."

A duel was honorable.

That was why only one who had proven his own qualifications, or one who had been entrusted with the right by an honorable person, could step onto an honorable battlefield.

"Who is it?"

I will stand in for the honor.

Then who will take up the sword in my place?

"..."

Joseph quietly ran a hand down his face and looked at his sword, Jager.

He was nodding.

"Bayezid will put forward a new duelist in place of Jubert of the Shazad Family, who chose to forfeit."

People could not help but be puzzled by Joseph's statement.

Who would he send out in this situation?

"I, Joseph of the Bayezid Family, as the champion who will stand in for Lady Alicia's honor..."

Joseph stood in the highest place in Alicia's stead.

His finger was pointing at someone.

"...will put forward Vlad of Soara."

"...!"

Along with a quiet silence.

Everyone there turned their heads, following the end of Joseph's finger.

A person no one had noticed, and no one had even thought of.

And for that very reason, the one and only person who could leap onto the honorable battlefield.

Vlad of Soara, squire to Sir Jager.

"Uh..."

The blond boy standing at the end of Joseph's finger could do nothing but blink, not knowing what to do.

The boy stood at the first and foremost front where the central region and the North collided.

* * *

After confirming who Vlad was, Endre practically foamed at the mouth as he protested the unfairness.

"He is not a knight! He has no qualifications!"

"An honorable duel does not have to be fought only by knights. Anyone who holds a sword may do it."

"His opponent is a knight! Putting up a squire against a knight is an act that sullies the honor of Arnstein..."

"You people!"

Cutting off Endre's words, Joseph stamped his foot hard.

Then he spat out a fireball burning with rage.

"Did you people consider the honor of the Bayezid Family when you did this?"

In this place, where the true master had bowed her head and the usurper was drooling with hunger.

"Toying with Bayezid with such a shallow trick!"

The only person who could stand proudly alone was Joseph of the Bayezid Family, the prestigious house of the North.

Because Joseph was the person here who carried the most honorable blood.

"I will guarantee his honor!"

And he was a person with more than enough qualification to guarantee someone else's honor.

"We will replace our substitute. Please accept it."

"Ah, hm..."

There was nothing wrong with Joseph's words.

If he guaranteed it, then not only a squire, but even a mere stable hand could take part in the duel.

"Do you, do you agree?"

However, the stage called an honorable duel could only be established when both sides agreed.

Endre briefly met eyes with the knights behind him, then nodded as if he had no choice.

"If you insist on doing even this, then very well."

What could a mere squire possibly do?

Even if that greenhorn over there was a knight instead of a squire, Pablo of Arnstein was not someone who would fall easily.

"Our side accepts Lord Joseph's proposal."

"Then let the duel proceed."

It had been a tilted board from the beginning.

But Joseph had just twisted that board.

Though it was only a small twist made with the wedge called Vlad, this much would be enough.

Because he had not been hoping for victory in the first place.

'I only need to buy time.'

Joseph had come here to Deirmar to obtain something certain.

And the man called Joseph of Bayezid was someone who always prepared for the worst.

He could only hope the boy would hold out.

"Hm. Hm. Hmmm."

["Calm down, Vlad."]

Faced with the sudden situation, Vlad tried to keep his composure, but it was not easy.

"I am, right now, going to duel?"

"That's right."

"And with a knight?"

"I said that's right. Breathe in."

Jager was tightening Vlad's leather armor, armoring him as firmly as he could.

At the rare sight of a knight attending to a squire, people naturally could not take their eyes off Vlad.

"... I won't die, right?"

"If it is the worst of the worst, I will break in."

"What about just the worst?"

"..."

Seeing Jager tighten the armor straps without giving any answer, Vlad quietly adjusted his grip on his sword.

As had always been the case, it seemed that in the end, the only one he could trust was himself.

"Vlad."

"Lord Joseph."

Joseph, who had jumped down from the distinguished seats before anyone knew it, forcibly held back his rough breathing and embraced Vlad.

"You did not have to go this far..."

"Hold out for just ten minutes."

"... Oh."

To others, it looked like he was encouraging a squire going up to a harsh battlefield, but a close conversation was passing between the two of them.

"There is something I prepared from the beginning. If you hold out, I can do it."

"... Will ten minutes be enough?"

Vlad knew.

That Joseph was not someone who would simply be swept away by anger and act impulsively.

"It would be good if you held out longer."

At Joseph's answer, Vlad turned his head and looked around.

The old, fat knight who was always cursed at was nowhere to be seen.

"... Understood. I owe a debt, too."

"To whom?"

Instead of answering Joseph's words, Vlad met the eyes of the woman sitting alone in the highest place.

His gaze met her aquamarine eyes, which were shaking ceaselessly.

"I will do my best to hold out for about ten minutes. If possible."

"Be careful."

It was an answer that did not fit the context, but Joseph, knowing that Vlad often talked to himself even normally, merely nodded.

This was too much weight for this fellow to bear.

He had every reason to be nervous.

Vlad bowed his head toward the aquamarine-haired woman whose eyes were brimming with tears.

"..."

I am sorry I mistook you for a maid, and I am sorry I snuck into your parents' graves.

And thank you for not telling anyone.

So I will do my best.

"The substitutes from both sides, come forward!"

For a knight, his lord's command came first, and his own honor second.

Vlad agreed to shoulder the burden that was too much for him in order to protect Joseph's command and Alicia's honor.

"... Hoo."

Though it was borrowed, the boy carrying shining honor stepped onto the battlefield with trembling steps.

Everyone here was watching him.

Allies, enemies, and even people who had nothing to do with it.

The world was watching the boy.

"I am Vlad of Soara."

Vlad of Soara.

The name that a faithful priest had written into the world with God's permission.

By his own will, the boy declared his name to the world.

Today, the boy had earned the right to shine.

Because, for the first time in his life, he had raised his sword for someone other than himself.