Chapter 11: Spring Comes Forth (4)

“Princess Oliciren, I will bring Young Master Cain to you soon.”

Cloyd, a man with a well-trimmed beard, bowed in the reception room.

In front of him.

A woman’s gray, bobbed hair rustled.

Princess Oliciren is seated in a chair reserved for special guests.

She nodded briefly.

Cloyd took a step back and exited the reception room with the utmost respect.

Thud.

As he closed the door, only she and her knight bodyguard remained in the room.

“Isoel.”

Princess Oliciren called out to the knight who had followed her here.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

A stiff voice.

A massive iron helmet covered the majority of her face, as did the heavy armor she was wearing.

Nonetheless, Isoel’s gender was unmistakable.

“Isn’t it strange?”

Oleciren tilted her head.

It’s too perfect.

She was curious as to how the Ethelred territory in the far south of the kingdom was thriving so well.

Isoel nodded firmly.

“The knights looked different too.”

“Anyway, they’re Sir Edmund’s knights, so they must be powerful. But I’ve heard the men here are soft.

If the marquises knew and exploited a weakness, the royal family was also aware of it.

This is especially true for First Princess Oleciren, who was closest to the throne.

She had casually mentioned the weakness of the Ethelred Knights.

Isoel looked around to ensure no one was listening before speaking.

“Contrary to the rumors I’ve heard, when I saw them in person, they all had this aura……”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. In some ways, they are sharper than when Count Edmund was here.

“Is it because of the half-brother that Philip of Ross brought?”

Oleciren tilted her head.

Currently, Marquis Ross is shaking up the nobles in the southwest, while Marquis McLoud is shaking up the nobles in the northeast.

The royal family was aware that Marquis Ross was using Abel to disrupt the Ethelred territory while the count was absent.

They had been unable to intervene, so they simply observed.

However, now that she had arrived in person, she was astonished by how different the scenario was from what she had anticipated.

“It was my mistake not to know the situation of the territory in advance.”

Knight Isoel bent her head.

Princess Oleciren waved her hand and took the refreshments served by the attendants.

“There was nothing we could do”

“……”

“Well, it doesn’t matter how it turns out.”

Clack━.

Oleciren bit into a hard cookie with her teeth.

In contrast to her serene demeanor, her eyes shone with iron intent.

The First Princess of the Gypsum Flower.

Oleciren Rune Airian.

If anyone saw the expression she was making now, the idea that she was always smiling and appeared to be absent-minded would be dispelled.

This was her true visage, which she revealed only to Knight Isoel.

Time passed like that.

It became clear that the sun was setting outside the window.

Oleciren pointed to a desk clock in one corner.

Isoel went straight to the clock and brought it to her.

“Ethelred’s ‘soon’ seems to be more than an hour.”

“Right.”

Oleciren stood up.

She had waited so long that the sofa she was sitting on was slowly rising.

“I knew that the sense of time would be different in the countryside than in the capital, but this is a matter of etiquette for a noble to treat the royal family.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s a real disappointment if they come out like this, Ethelred.”

Oleciren began walking towards the door with big strides.

Isoel followed closely after her to the left, moving with her sword.

Wide open━.

The reception room door was open.

There was no one in sight in the lengthy corridor ahead, which was a little chilly and damp.

Wooooong━.

The windows on the left side of the corridor creaked oddly.

Oleciren paused for a moment at the bleak sight, then gazed out the window.

Woooooong━.

The training ground within the castle could be seen.

A group of knights, including the middle-aged knight who had just escorted her, stood there as if they were all the knights in the territory.

Isoel got closer to the window and gazed down.

Clang-clang ━, woooo.

The knights were surrounded.

Two young men were facing each other with their swords in hand, surrounded by knights.

Clang, clang, clang━.

A huge popping sound erupted the moment their swords clashed.

Woooooong━.

The windows creaked with the roar.

Oleciren and Isoel, who had assumed it was the sea breeze because this was coastal country, stared at them blankly.

One had brown hair, while the other had black hair.

And the young man with black hair brutally beat the young man with brown hair with his sword and fist.

“Isn’t he going to die?”

Oleciren questioned Isoel, pointing to the brown-haired young man whose face, torso, and everything else appeared frigid.

“……”

Isoel, who had responded right away, appeared to be so focused on watching that she did not hear.

“Isoel?”

Only after Oleciren contacted her twice.

“I apologize.”

“It’s a fierce fight, but is it enough to make you lose your mind?”

She inquired, tilting her head.

Because she had never trained with a sword, she appeared to have a limited view of the world.

Thud━.

On the other hand, Isoel, who was considered to have the best talent in the capital, clenched her fists in frustration.

“I think those two are probably the sons of Count Edmund.”

An unexpected opinion.

And.

“The brown-haired youth is improving every time he fights. In terms of talent, he’s better than me.”

“……!”

Oleciren’s eyes widened when he heard Isoel say something unexpected.

Isoel continued speaking as if he hadn’t noticed her reaction. Her voice had trembled before, but now it was far more so.

“And the young man with the black hair is probably……”

An assessment that could not be simply concluded.

But that was sufficient.

She could tell based on the title Isoel used to call her opponent.

🔹🔹🔹

As the princesses waited, Cain and Vanderbilt walked ahead, with Knight Asher in front of them.

But Cain turned around suddenly.

“Young Master Cain?”

The two of them turned their heads as Cain approached the training ground rather than the castle where First Princess Oleciren waited.

“Let’s check him before we go.”

“If you’re talking about checking……”

“My brother who’s going to shit blood for touching something strange.”

The only person Cain would call that was Abel.

The two of them ran after Cain.

“Can’t you do that after you meet the princess?”

Vanderbilt looked nervously between the reception area, where the princess was, and Cain.

“It’s okay, right.”

“But why now?”

“I want to see him now.”

“……”

Vanderbilt and Asher were both silent for a moment.

But Cain’s steely visage made Asher’s heart pound.

“Young Master━!”

Far away.

On the way from the castle.

Cloyd, who had come to find Cain, dashed towards Cain, who had wandered off the route.

Cain called him to follow and led him to the training ground.

Whoosh━.

There are three knights: Cain and one other.

Abel Ethelred.

He was there.

Whoosh, whoosh━.

Abel wielded Ethelred’s sword without stopping.

There were numerous traces of Abel’s feet spread around the training ground’s sand.

Whoosh!

And underneath that,.

The tint of the sand was different.

It was not obvious from a distance, but if you looked closely, you could see that just the sand beneath Abel was slightly darker.

Drip, drip.

The cause was the sweat streaming down Abel’s entire body.

Abel’s desperate endeavor to do something impossible is reminiscent of trying to push a rolling boulder over a precipice with both hands.

Clap.

Cain slapped his hands, halting Abel.

“……You came.”

Abel’s cheeks were thin, as if he hadn’t drunk water in 10 days.

His eyelids were dark, and his eyes had lost their light, resembling those of a dead person.

“Is it hard?”

“……”

“It’s frustrating isn’t it? The path of ‘Ardvark’ is clearly visible in front of you, but your body, which contains your talent, is doing all the techniques with ‘En Zauer’.”

“Really……”

Thud.

Abel collapsed to the ground.

The strength he had been standing on was not physical strength.

It was a combination of desperation over his last chance to save his mother, as well as a sense of urgency and alienation from wanting to escape from himself, who could only survive by sacrificing her.

Those combined into a hopeless despair that devoured Abel, leaving him unable to see even an inch ahead.

“Can I do it, brother?”

Cain gazed down at Abel, who had lost all the wetness that could be expressed as tears.

‘I’m glad I came to see him before meeting the princess, who would give me a headache.’

Whoosh.

Then he turned his head.

He cast a stern look at Cloyd, who had been assigned to educate Abel.

Unlike before, when he had always taken a step back and attempted to examine the occurrence, he shook his head vigorously.

“I really did my best to teach him.”

“There was nothing wrong with Sir Cloyd’s teachings.”

Even Vanderbilt, who was watching, nodded and tried to erase Cain’s doubts.

But Cain disagreed and scanned Abel.

It soon came into his sight.

‘The talent is higher than expected; that is the difficulty.’

Cain had not expected Abel’s ‘En Zauer’ to become so adept at this point.

No matter how talented he was, embodying the principle with his body was on a whole other level.

In other words, the body that had mastered ‘En Zauer’ struggled to accept the polar opposite, ‘Ardvark’.

Cain raised his head.

He darted a quick glance toward the castle’s reception area, where the princess was.

The Princess or Abel.

Of course, everyone else in the count’s family would argue that the princess is more important.

Even Vanderbilt and Cloyd, who were enemies, would say the same thing at this point.

Cain, however, held a different viewpoint.

“Abel comes first, no matter what. Even for the Princess and Isoel.

Cain has met the princess and Isoel before.

The shame and embarrassment he had felt that day remained fresh in his thoughts.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t want to avenge that.

But.

Right now, what was more important was his ‘brother’ who was experiencing failure for the first time and being crushed by talent that would devour his master.

Cain twisted his head left and right, loosening his muscles.

It was a posture that anyone could see was going to have a fight, and Cloyd said in alarm.

“The princess is waiting for you right now!”

“The guest should wait for the host.”

“Young Master! She is the first in line for the throne of the kingdom!”

Despite his cries, Cain did not even glance at him, instead reaching out his hand.

“Give me a sword.”

“Young Master Cain!”

“If the first princess is really certain to succeed to the next throne, would the marquises be making such a mess as they are now?”

“That’s……”

The royal family desired First Princess Oleciren of the Gypsum Flower, who had legitimacy.

On the other hand, the marquises’ preferred heir was Second Princess Olivia, also known as the Fiery Safflower.

A fierce war was raging for future dominance, and the Ethelred Count was but a pathetic shrimp caught up in it.

“Think carefully, Cloyd. Did that wonderful princess come all the way here just to eat?

“Yes?”

“It is customary for the royal family to provide advance notification of where they will travel. To allow them time to prepare. But she arrived silently, accompanied by only one knight.

“……”

Cloyd, who had become engrossed in the princess’s name, only understood the peculiar point after hearing Cain’s comment.

“Let us think simply. Who would be more regretful: the princess or the other?

“It’s a simple rule that the one who is desperate digs the well━!”

Esquire Asher, who had been listening to Cain’s chat, interrupted and shouted.

Cain gave him the thumbs up.

“You said your name was Esher?”

“Yes, Lord Ethelred!”

Asher sprang up and shouted.

Slide━.

Cain chuckled and drew the sword from Asher’s waist.

“You have potential.”

“I will serve you with loyalty!”

“Well, then, Abel.”

Cain turned around.

Abel glanced at Cain, half-conscious.

“Now I will teach you myself.”

Whoosh!

The wind blows.

It was not a sea breeze.

A cold north wind blew only over the snowfield that spread out from Cain’s core. The deadly intent was ferocious and spooky.

“Of course, if you can’t learn, you’ll die━!”

Abel instinctively kicked the ground and rose.

Sheeeet!

And Cain’s sword was aimed at Abel’s skull.