Chapter 63 - A Ring as a Gift

'Well...'

Galahad ran his fingers over the box.

The Imperial Princess's gift was a severed finger.

Finding a severed finger in the box did not surprise him. Compared with some of her other gifts, a severed finger was relatively benign.

The problem was who it belonged to.

The ring on the finger was the one the prince from the Alliance of Kingdoms had shown off to Galahad.

["It is a treasure of our kingdom, imbued with a blessing."]

The prince had been a fairly decent fellow.

Galahad had met him on a mission—an espionage operation intended to destabilize the increasingly powerful Alliance of Kingdoms.

He had chosen the smallest kingdom. Not simply because it was the worst off, but as the result of meticulous calculations based on his investigation.

The operation had succeeded, and his achievements had earned him assignments involving the imperial family.

That was how he had become entangled with the princess.

Galahad tapped the box with his fingers.

The princess's gift was not the ring. It was the finger beneath it.

The dark, swollen finger bore signs of poisoning.

But this was a prince whose mother had died of poison. As a result, he had made a habit of having someone else taste his food and watching their reaction before eating.

Galahad examined the finger. At the edge of the darkened area was a mark that extended like a sharp thorn.

'Hornleaf poison.'

Hornleaf grew in the desert and possessed a particularly vicious poison. It only became poisonous when heated to temperatures like those of the desert.

Magic kept the imperial palace pleasantly cool at all times. Body heat would not have been enough to activate the poison. Moreover, the middle of the finger was deeply blackened.

'The burn is faint.'

Someone had clearly used a flame hot enough to activate the poison, but kept it within the narrow range that left only a light burn.

'An expert. A handshake, perhaps?'

There were few Mages sufficiently versed in fire magic to regulate its temperature who were also experts in this sort of work. None around the princess, at least.

'The Third Imperial Prince.'

It was just the sort of meticulous move he would make.

The princess would inevitably fall under suspicion if the prince died, so there was very little chance of the Third Imperial Prince losing anything.

Besides, the imperial family would never admit to it in the first place...

What mattered was the motive.

Why go out of his way to kill a prince from the Alliance of Kingdoms?

It was one of two things. Either another connection within the Alliance of Kingdoms had reached the Third Imperial Prince, or he wanted relations with the alliance to break down entirely.

The Third Imperial Prince enjoyed earning glory through bloodshed. Since he stood to gain on the battlefield, it was likely the latter.

'Failing to kill him back then has cost me dearly.'

Galahad narrowed his eyes.

"It is what you wanted."

The princess spoke with a smile in full bloom.

It was a statement of certainty, not a question.

Unfortunately, he could only nod.

There were a few things Galahad had failed to accomplish. The Third Imperial Prince was one of them.

This finger the princess had given him was a sword he could use to stab that prince.

Calling it a gift was quite appropriate.

Nor was that the finger's only use.

Since the princess had personally handed him the prince's missing finger, it was also a leash with which to hold her.

She had placed her own leash in Galahad's hands.

A very tight leash...

'That changes things again.'

The princess had become a somewhat more promising prospect. And if he could eliminate the Third Imperial Prince as well...

It certainly had its appeal.

But there was Adrianna.

Galahad glanced at Adrianna and clicked his tongue softly.

Her eyebrows were lowered, her gaze fixed on the gift box.

'Did he call it a treasure of the Alliance of Kingdoms?'

It was an exceptionally ornate ring, befitting a kingdom's treasure. Rumor had it that it bore a blessing that prevented its wearer from aging.

Galahad did not believe it, though the princess's smooth skin did make him wonder whether it worked.

Meeting his gaze, the princess broke into a broad smile.

"Take me to the Grand Duke. Let us finish this quickly and go back."

"I won't be going back."

"You do hold a grudge."

"You have no business with me. Let's go."

"I want to hold your hand."

"Please shut your mouth."

With the two of them talking incessantly, Adrianna never found a chance to speak.

* * *

'Oh, hell—'

Galahad rubbed his dry throat.

The Grand Duke and the princess sat facing each other on either side of him.

The Grand Duke looked exceedingly rough. With those fearsome muscles on display, he looked less like a rugged man than a demon-beast.

Yet the princess remained perfectly at ease before him.

She worked her knife and fork, cut a piece of meat, and put it in her mouth.

"It's undercooked."

Galahad let out a low groan as the princess frowned in complaint.

"That's how we eat it in the North."

"How barbaric."

The corners of the Grand Duke's mouth rose in a savage smile.

"It tastes awful."

Clicking her tongue, the princess reached for the cup beside her. It was the same as those before Galahad and the Grand Duke, but larger than her face.

The enormous cup was filled with liquor so strong that its smell alone made one's eyes narrow.

The princess effortlessly lifted it in one hand, brought it to her lips, and drank it all in one go.

GULP, GULP.

Her slender throat bobbed repeatedly.

She emptied the cup without spilling a single drop.

'She hasn't changed.'

Galahad clicked his tongue inwardly.

"Excellent liquor. Is there more?"

The Grand Duke gave a low chuckle as the princess shook her cup.

"What brings such esteemed imperial royalty all the way to the North?"

"I have come to reclaim what is mine."

"Yours?"

In answer to the Grand Duke's question, the princess pointed at Galahad.

He put on the most harmless smile he could manage.

"I don't belong to anyone."

"Galahad is mine."

The princess spoke as though she had not heard him.

"How amusing. He's hardly the sort to let anyone have him."

The Grand Duke looked at Galahad as he spoke.

"Precisely, Your Highness. As perceptive as ever."

"I am of noble imperial blood."

"Does noble blood not spill?"

The Grand Duke's question was almost a growl. The menace was enough to send a chill down Galahad's back, but the princess merely scoffed.

"I know about the pact. Spare me such childish threats."

'... The pact?'

Galahad narrowed his eyes at the word.

"The pact covers only imperial royalty. Didn't that coward tell you?"

By coward, he probably meant the crown prince—the one who had come to see Adrianna before.

Galahad recalled what the Grand Duke had told him. How the crown prince had ridden away alone...

He was threatening to kill everyone except the princess, who was imperial royalty.

The Grand Duke's threat was vicious enough to make even Galahad's hair stand on end. Unfortunately, he was dealing with the princess.

"Galahad is a good rider, so that hardly matters. In fact, it would be rather intimate."

She nodded.

She meant it. Even if he killed everyone she had brought, she would not bat an eye.

"Ah, how about a wager? Which of us can kill more? I'm quite confident myself."

The princess twirled her knife lightly and grinned.

She clearly, sincerely believed the wager would be entertaining.

"Ha!" The Grand Duke laughed aloud.

His laughter took Galahad slightly by surprise.

"You're better than that crown prince who came before."

His voice was low and fierce, but blunt.

'Madmen understand one another.'

Galahad leaned back slightly in his chair.

"Give me Galahad, and I will leave. The contest? You may have the victory. I will pay the corresponding price as well."

The princess's offer suddenly made Galahad uneasy.

The Grand Duke did not like him. Naturally enough, since the Empire had arbitrarily arranged Galahad's marriage.

Though he had recently earned the Grand Duke's recognition and worked hard to distinguish himself, he did not imagine that meant the man liked him.

Given a chance to get rid of him, he would take it.

Even Adrianna had mentioned canceling the marriage when she heard the princess was coming.

There was a considerable chance the Grand Duke would accept.

"Wait."

Just as Galahad was about to speak, the Grand Duke tapped the long dining table with his index finger.

BOOM!

The noise was as thunderous as though he had struck it with a club.

"There is only one way for anything in my hands to leave them."

The Grand Duke stared at Galahad.

His eyes were terrifyingly fierce.

With eyes as wild as though a tempest dwelled within them, he looked at Galahad and spoke.

"Dead."

Galahad swallowed hard.

"I would prefer him alive, if possible. How troublesome."

The princess frowned and grumbled.

The Grand Duke's mouth stretched into a broad grin.

Something was going to happen if Galahad let this continue.

If the Grand Duke killed all the soldiers and knights the princess had brought, she would tear through his castle with a smile.

That was the worst possible outcome.

Galahad quickly searched for a solution.

It did not take long.

When he raised his hand, the Grand Duke and the princess looked at him simultaneously.

Under their fierce stares, he slowly began to speak.

"They may be goodwill duels, but they're still duels. Wouldn't it be dull without any prizes?"

Both pairs of eyes narrowed at once.

Galahad smiled.

"Let's each put up a prize for the duels."

* * *

"Are you saying you're putting Commander Galahad up as a prize in the duels?"

Adrianna spoke in a low voice. Theodore, whom she was addressing, looked uncomfortable.

"Commander Galahad is not an object. How can you offer a person as a prize in a duel?"

Her voice rose, a rare occurrence. Theodore turned his head toward Galahad, who was leisurely smoking.

At Theodore's meaningful glance, Galahad clicked his tongue softly.

"Ah, I put myself up."

"... Pardon?"

Adrianna's eyebrows twitched rapidly.

Since she seemed not to understand, Galahad elaborated.

"The prize. I offered it myself. It didn't seem they'd calm down otherwise."

"What are you saying? There is no reason you should be treated like an object! I'll speak to His Highness!"

"I told you I offered. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Adrianna's lips moved. For a moment, she seemed to be choosing her words, then pressed her mouth firmly shut.

The inner ends of her eyebrows lowered while the outer ends rose.

It was an eyebrow configuration he had never seen before.

'Angry eyebrows?'

Galahad clicked his tongue softly.

She looked ready to do something if left to her own devices.

"You're going to win anyway, aren't you?"

Adrianna looked at him again.

Meeting those blue eyes, Galahad spoke with conviction.

"I believe in you."

Adrianna's mouth fell slightly open. Her eyebrows shot upward.

Her already large eyes grew wider still.

Galahad was a little surprised that a person's eyes could be so large.

"We can discuss how I'm being treated after the contest. We're busy at the moment."

"Busy with—?"

At her question, Galahad gazed into her blue eyes.

There was not a single speck in them.

The finger the princess had given him could prove extremely useful, but ultimately it was merely one of the cards in his hand.

The sword that would one day pierce the Demon King...

That was Adrianna.

"I'll teach you how to beat the princess."

* * *

'...?'

Adrianna frowned at Galahad standing before her.

He had taken a stance with a rapier in hand. Yet his posture was remarkably solid.

Like that of a seasoned knight.

"Have you studied swordsmanship?"

"It used to be a hobby."

His answer made Adrianna tilt her head.

"Do you know the rules of imperial duels?"

"Yes. I hear aura is forbidden, and points are awarded according to the body part struck."

"Precisely. The ban on aura is the key. Also, once a point has been scored, any subsequent hits are invalid."

"I see."

"That's why I said you couldn't win. They practice these sword bouts for sport."

Adrianna was an exceptional knight. Galahad, on the other hand, was a Mage.

A Mage lecturing a knight about swords was quite ridiculous. Indeed, the Second Battalion's commander had angrily rejected Galahad's offer as an insult.

Yet Adrianna, the finest knight in the North, listened with complete seriousness.

"First, let me demonstrate."

Galahad extended his sword, and Adrianna took her stance opposite him.

Galahad was a Mage. If she pushed too hard, he could get hurt.

She gripped her sword hilt more carefully than usual.

Then Galahad kicked off the ground. His unusual footwork looked almost like dancing.

The distance between them vanished in an instant.

Knights generally watched their opponent's shoulders rather than their sword. The shoulders moved before the blade did.

And so she watched his shoulders, but—

"This is what makes dueling difficult."

Adrianna let out a faint sigh as she looked at the rapier that had grazed her gauntlet.

Galahad had moved from his waist rather than his shoulders.

It was a move that caught her off guard.

It was not that she had failed to react.

No, the problem was that she had reacted too well.

Adrianna had honed her sword on the front lines against Demons. There, even a slightly slow response meant falling prey to them.

As a result, her aura reacted before her body.

When Galahad attacked, her aura rose before she was even conscious of it. Suppressing it cost her time.

And his sword was faster than she had expected.

Consequently, his blade had grazed the back of her hand first.

In an actual fight, it would not have mattered. Her aura could have blocked a blow like that.

In a duel, however, it was a point.

"Were you a knight?"

"Didn't I tell you? It was a hobby."

'A hobby?'

Those movements and that speed could not come from a mere hobby.

A question rose to her lips, but Adrianna forced it back down. If someone did not want to talk, it was only polite not to press.

Everyone had a past they did not wish to discuss.

Adrianna understood that better than anyone.

"As you just saw, a rapier makes it easy to deceive your opponent. If you begin a thrust from your waist instead of your shoulders, you can produce an explosive burst of speed at the end."

Adrianna nodded.

"These techniques are easy to fall for if you don't know them. Of course, with aura, you could react even to those, but aura is forbidden in the duels."

"Yes, I understand."

Galahad took his stance again.

It was a habit born of real combat. Learning to restrain that instinctive use of aura would clearly take considerable time.

Watching Adrianna, Galahad sprang forward again.

As before, her movements were slightly sluggish, her attention divided by the need to suppress her aura.

He attempted a slash instead of a thrust.

Slashing with a rapier was pointless, but in an imperial-style duel, even that counted for points.

Then Adrianna's sword moved.

She was still a little late, but faster than before.

Fast enough to knock his sword aside...

"Ah, so it can be used for slashing as well. It does score points, after all."

Adrianna nodded earnestly as she examined the line etched into her gauntlet.

'A genius.'

Galahad broke into a broad smile.

"Again."

"Yes, please."

How many times did they repeat it?

Before long, when his sword could no longer even reach toward Adrianna, Galahad lowered it.

'That was close.'

Adrianna's talent exceeded his imagination. It was only natural, given that she was the youngest Swordmaster in history, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter.

Still, even this was not enough.

"The princess's sword will be faster than mine."

"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."

"Even so, you've done splendidly."

"Thank you."

Despite the praise coming from a Mage, Adrianna was genuinely delighted.

Of course, that was not all he had prepared.

To defeat the princess, she needed one more thing.

"Would you hold out your hand?"

"Don't you have your duel soon?"

"Ah, I'm not going to hold it."

Adrianna cautiously extended her hand.