Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

123 – Do You Need Power?

..I should have simply escorted her to the gates of the estate

and then fled.

If I had known I’d be caught up in something like this.

“Brother? W-wait a moment!!”

“W-Wait… Brother, why?”

*Whoosh*—

The air rips, raw and ragged.

Torn apart by a single strike.

“…Hah, still can’t reach, eh?”

“Brother, just calm down for a—”

“No, I’m afraid that’s quite impossible…!”

The man, wielder of the strike,

muttered as he kept his grip on the sword.

He did not forget to constantly move his feet.

Well, at first, naturally, I thought he’d only come to

snatch that kid, Aria, away.

But after watching for a bit, that didn’t seem to be the case.

He hadn’t spared a single glance this way

since a little while ago.

‘…Well, frankly, it doesn’t even look like he *has* the leeway.’

And why would he?

That man… he’d been

swinging his sword ceaselessly,

yet hadn’t managed to graze even the hem of Jenison’s clothes.

“Kuh…!”

“Just calm down a little…!”

And still, he keeps rushing in?

Though they haven’t crossed swords directly,

he must surely know.

The gulf in skill between himself and

that black-haired youth is unbridgeable.

The proof is in the fact that he hasn’t fallen yet.

Perhaps it’s because they were once family,

but if this man were a mere manservant,

he’d have collapsed, nape seized, ages ago.

To not have fallen until now could, in itself, be considered a sort of pride, no?

If rumors are to be believed, Jenison is someone who could

swallow even knight captains whole.

And yet, a nameless knight, praised only among his peers,

has endured this much.

He ought to feel quite proud, I’d say.

‘But… are those two even family?

No matter how I look at it, they seem like complete strangers…’

“Um… Miss Sino?”

While I was still lost in thought, twirling a strand of my hair,

I felt someone shaking my arm from the side.

Turning my head in that direction,

I saw a woman in a white veil,

looking up at me with something akin to unease.

*Cute, like a stray kitten…*

“Mi… Miss Sino?”

“Ah, yes. Your Holiness.

Is something the matter?”

Even though I, personally, am of the Charlotte family,

dedicated solely to the Imperial household,

I had no intention of speaking to even Her Holiness

as if she were just a friend from the neighborhood.

I really ought to use the most respectful language I can muster.

“That’s… I understand that the gentleman and… that person are

family… but perhaps I’m—”

“Ah, those two are indeed related.”

“Ah… Is that so?”

Her joy at seemingly confirming her memory was fleeting.

She quickly tilted her head, looking up at me again with a puzzled expression.

So far that the white veil that obscured her face

revealed her features completely.

“But… why are they fighting?”

“….”

*Well, I hardly know the answer to that myself.*

*Even if I am well-versed in information…*

*I’ve never once delved into the secrets of the Duke’s family.*

“I’m afraid I don’t know…”

Not only did I fear the consequences,

but digging into them would not have been easy to begin with.

How could I possibly know their family affairs?

“Well, there is one person who

might know, I suppose…

The one over there, watching them

with such a forlorn gaze.

Wouldn’t our princess be aware?”

*

*Whoosh—*

The sound of wind being sliced,

and a strand of my hair parted company.

That damned blade still shows no sign of stopping.

“…Why? At least tell me… why!”

“….”

His lips, which until recently

had been muttering to themselves incessantly,

remained sealed now.

Did that mean he was simply exhausted?

Or that even the strength to open his mouth

was being channeled into the sword?

Personally, I leaned towards the latter.

“….”

And rightly so. I could still see

that burning fire in his eyes,

there’s no way he’d give up here.

“….”

“…I didn’t want to hurt you.”

It was the truth.

I didn’t want to

attack him, not now.

Truly.

There was a time I even

considered him family, and

wasn’t the reason he hated me in the first place because he thought I was a disgrace to the family?

The very reason he harbored

so much animosity towards me had practically vanished.

So, as I am now,

I really didn’t want to antagonize him, but…

“…Forgive me, brother.”

With no telling when the Duke might return,

things were different.

Any moment now, the Duke could

Having been summoned and allowed to return to this manor,

any semblance of leisure felt like an outright indulgence.

“…!”

“I haven’t much time, you see.”

I effortlessly evaded his sweeping slash, moving from right to left,

and instantly burrowed into his right flank.

“Hngh…!”

“….”

Of course, he wasn’t as easily handled as the servants.

As if he’d anticipated my move,

a magic spell he’d prepared beforehand

was already launching toward me.

Elementary magic: [Mana Bolt].

A mana bullet said to freeze even

well-trained knights, let alone ordinary folk, in their tracks.

Certainly, for an impromptu plan,

it was an impressive idea, well-executed.

But, regrettably, I wasn’t about to

waste my own mana on something so trifling.

“…!”

“Guh..”

I conjured a dagger into my hand

and simultaneously hurled it toward the Mana Bolt.

The Mana Bolt, just moments from discharge,

was struck by the dagger’s tip,

resulting in a small explosion.

An explosion powerful enough to throw a knight

off balance.

“Damn it…!”

“This will sting a bit.”

My mana-charged fist connected directly

with his right ribs,

and instantly, I felt the satisfying sensation.

The sensation of human bones

snapping.

“Guh… erp…”

“….”

The moment my fist landed,

he stumbled back a step.

He’s jamming his sword into the earth now,

bracing himself, but

it won’t hold for long anyway.

Bones fractured, a direct hit to

the liver.

Unless you’re accustomed to agony like I am, utterly impossible─

“Kheu-heueup…!!”

“..Oh?”

*

It aches.

It’s agonizing.

I want to collapse this very instant.

But I didn’t.

If anything, I gripped my sanity tighter.

“Keo-heo…heo…”

“….”

His dark irises

are fixed on me.

Looking down at me.

This me, by that wretch.

Normally, I’d have

sprung up and bolted from the spot,

but throbbing, throbbing─

the pain searing my side

desperately holds me back.

‘Hoo… hoo…’

“….”

‘..Ha, is that concern?’

Of course, I almost lost it for a moment

under his sympathetic gaze,

but I stubbornly endured, endlessly mulling over my thoughts.

From the start, I hadn’t imagined

I’d get away unscathed.

Just moments ago,

his movements, the ones I witnessed,

were far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary man.

Some measure of pain, that he had surely braced for,

and it was he who first drew his blade,

thus no excuses could be made.

‘…Still… even so…!!’

Was this not too vast a disparity?

He could not so much as meet blades,

not even a glancing touch,

and the fellow had, until now, launched but a single attack.

Without drawing any weapon at all.

Could there be a greater indignity

in a knight’s duel, than for one’s opponent

to refuse the sword?

‘…Damn it all!!!’

He moved, his body ready to collapse, with teeth clenched tight.

Plucking up from the dirt the sword

he had, until moments ago, used as a walking stick,

each shift of his right foot a stab of pain,

a knifing ache in his ribs,

yet he disregarded it all.

“Khuh…!”

“…Oh?”

He charged.

Quite literally.

Whoosh—

Once more, his sword cleaved the air.

The weight of the blade, distinctly

different from but moments ago,

felt truly, vividly real.

‘He could not lower his tail, not while he had strength left to die!!!’

“Ho, this is… rather…”

“…!”

Each swing, thrust, and slash,

he felt the broken ribs

impeding his arm,

yet gave it no mind.

The only thing to heed here

was the toppling of that b*stard.

Nothing else mattered—!!

“Keuh…!”

“Forgive me, I won’t die.”

Consciousness wanes.

Why? Wherefore?

What struck me?

Where was I hit?

Magic? A blade?

Or this time, just a fist?

I felt nothing at all.

All I could ascertain now

was that my body was falling backwards.

‘Am I… doomed to always lose?’

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

Hard enough to taste the acrid tang of blood.

A sense of defeat, the likes of which I’d never known

against those of my own age, washed over me entirely.

It was as if I’d encountered a wall impossible to surmount.

No matter how much I battered at it,

no matter how hard I tried to leap over it,

a solid barrier that seemed unbreakable.

I’d thought I would never have to feel this way again,

not ever in my life.

‘Why… why him of all people?’

That fellow I’d always disregarded,

always looked down upon,

always met with indifference.

Why does he now appear as my wall, only now?

I clenched my fist so tightly that my nails dug into my palm,

but nothing changed.

The fact that I had been defeated, powerless to even twitch a finger, remained.

‘If only… if only I were stronger.’

A single thought flashed through my mind.

If only I were stronger.

If only I possessed a more

exceptional talent.

If only I hadn’t neglected my efforts.

If only some great power could flow into me now.

‘I could crush that wretch completely.’

‘…Do you require power?’

Yes, I did.

A power that was immense.

A power enough to make that wretch

kneel before me.

It was desperately needed, now more than ever.

‘Understood…hee hee.’

For a moment, a devil’s laughter

lingered near my ear,

but it didn’t seem so dreadful.