The Lord Of Sinal (18)

The day after the banquet, Sinal Castle was noisy from early morning. In the plain where the military exercises had taken place, Duke Kaiston Crunel and Commander Luther Grandis were to hold a duel nearly like real combat. Nobles who had stayed in the guest pavilion after the banquet to watch the match had practically taken over the outer castle walls.

Even ordinary people who couldn’t climb the walls lingered outside the outer walls to watch from afar, and the soldiers had to struggle greatly to control them.

Luther’s close, armed followers and the knights of the Red Moon and Sinal were themselves on edge. Each believed their leader to be the strongest in the Empire, so the contest of wills was intense.

Perhaps because of the onlookers, Luther and Kaiston had each mounted their horses and stood quite far apart. Kaiston held Arzan, the halberd he had used as the crown prince of Baras, instead of the sword Pluto he’d used since coming to the Red Moon. Luther had returned that trophy to him today. Kaiston, in black martial clothes without armor and gripping the long spear, looked remarkably like he had thirteen years ago.

“Bad taste.”

Luther gave a thin smile at Kaiston’s sigh-mixed remark.

“That day, I regretted not being able to duel you.”

The Emperor had ultimately refused to allow Luther to enter the fray that day. Though there were many practical reasons, the decision left Luther sleepless for quite some time.

“Really?”

The general in ornate silvery uniform radiated an even stronger presence than before. Though over fifty, he seemed in his prime, and Kaiston couldn’t help but admire him. Despite the prolonged peace, it was clear how relentlessly Luther had trained himself.

“More than once I’ve thought how nice it would have been to die honorably at your hand that day, General.”

“So you don’t think that now?”

Kaiston chuckled lightly at Luther’s seemingly wounded remark.

“Because I clung to life even in disgrace, I met the Crown Princess, didn’t I?”

At that, Luther fell silent and stared at him for a long time. Kaiston met Luther’s complex gaze with calm eyes of his own.

“I…”

Luther said, frowning.

“Thirteen years ago I warned you. I said that if he ever got what you wanted, His Majesty would eventually kill you.”

“Yes, that’s right. So I refused and was expelled. Thanks to that, I’m alive to this day.”

“Do you think then and now are different?”

Kaiston couldn’t answer Luther for a while. Much had clearly changed. Liris—Crown Princess Liriana truly loved him, and he loved her in return. He had also survived the Red Moon, once thought a deathtrap, proving his worth. He couldn’t be sure how meaningful all that would be to the Emperor, but Kaiston felt one thing strongly.

“At the very least, he won’t kill me. He’ll probably end it by imprisoning me in the Red Moon, as before.”

“Ha… you…”

“And as long as I live, Liris will surely come to me.”

Luther nervously wiped at his eyes.

“Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“……”

“You trust the true feelings of a mere twenty-one-year-old girl?”

At Luther’s incredulous remark, Kaiston answered firmly.

“Yes. I believe her. She asked me to believe her, so I will.”

“You fool!”

Luther finally burst out in anger.

“Will you ruin your life with that nonsense called love? How will you face your parents?”

“…They will like her too.”

“What?”

“They wouldn’t dislike someone I love. Once they know, I think they’ll bless us.”

“Hah!”

Luther was dumbfounded and couldn’t utter a word. It wasn’t as if he had reversed in age. He never imagined such an unrealistic line would come from a thirty-year-old duke’s mouth.

“Kaiston.”

Even after calling him, Luther only sighed heavily, frustrated.

“General.”

Kaiston called him in a low voice. Luther glared, expecting more nonsense, but Kaiston smiled and continued, “It’s already too late.”

There had never been any real choice. From the moment he met her in the Red Moon, it felt like fate. Before he realized it, his heart responded; before his heart recognized it, his body had already reacted. It was as if a stopped heart began beating anew. If it had been that way from the first meeting, then of course it was already too late.

Luther was stunned.

“It’s already too late.” The man saying it did not look like an innocent youth blindly in love. Luther realized he had thought through the worst-case scenarios and still chosen this path. Who could stop a man who had begun a gamble with his whole life? Luther could no longer say anything to him.

Kaiston said, half in self-mockery.

“I will not regret it.”

Even if everything goes against him and he is driven to the brink of despair.

“Loving her is the best thing I’ve ever done since I was born.”

Luther laughed bitterly.

“Madman.”

“General.”

Kaiston gave a small laugh.

“It’s not that I don’t know how to swear.”

Luther shook his head as if admitting defeat.

“Who doesn’t know? You’re as coarse-tongued as the rabble.”

“I’m glad you know.”

“If I had a daughter, you see…”

Kaiston looked at Luther in puzzlement at his sudden remark. Luther had once thought alone in the general’s residence that even if he had a cherished daughter, he would never send her to the Red Moon. But seeing him in person changed his mind.

“I would have given her to you.”

Kaiston laughed in astonishment.

“I’ll pass on a daughter who looks like the General.”

“Ha, you don’t know. Do you not know where Millen’s sly face came from?”

Kaiston shrugged.

“Then I’ll take Millen to the Red Moon.”

“Why him?”

“I’ll remold him into a knight.”

“They say you can’t remake a person, though.”

Kaiston shook his head at Luther’s remark.

“Most knights of the Red Moon are that way. I’ve gotten pretty practiced at fixing people.”

Luther gave a wry smile because the remark wasn’t untrue.

“Do as you please. It’s out of my hands anyway, so you don’t have to report every little thing to me.”

“In any case, I’ll send news from time to time.”

Luther, who had watched him for a moment, nodded.

After finishing the conversation, Kaiston politely took the formal stance for their duel first.

“Our prelude was long, General. I ask for your favor today.”

Luther returned the salute.

“I ask the same. Do not go easy on me for my age; do your best.”

“You may go easy on me a little, that’s fine.”

“You’re good at jokes too.”

The long conversation ended. The two men increased the distance they had closed for their talk.

Luther extended his beloved weapon Fenril. The long, broad crescent-shaped blade at the spear’s tip gleamed with a red, sword-like aura.

Kaiston’s halberd Arzan, perhaps recognizing its master after a long time, trembled and hummed, the dull blade filled with a piercing silver gleam.

Their warhorses steadfastly withstood the aura their masters raised and stared at each other with fierce eyes.

There was no clear initiative.

“Tahut!”

“Haat!”

Luther and Kaiston charged at each other almost simultaneously. The gap between their mounts closed in an instant as Luther’s Fenril and Kaiston’s Arzan clashed violently.

Chjeojung—!!!

A roar so loud it was hard to believe metal had struck metal echoed across the area.

Everyone realized the full-scale duel had begun between two of the continent’s finest in horsemanship and martial skill.

Liris watched their battle from the outer wall, wrapped tightly in her cloak as usual. In truth, she couldn’t follow the intricacies of their combat with her eye. Startled by the booming impacts, she was simply busy checking on the duke’s safety.

Most nobles were probably in a similar position to hers, but the soldiers’ and knights’ gazes were entirely different. Today’s display would have a huge impact on them. Watching their leaders fight at full strength revealed heights they had never seen. Liris felt a little envy at the knights’ unblinking, fierce immersion.

As she scanned the surroundings, Liris was surprised to see Millen standing with Kamel some distance away. He looked hindered by restraints fastened to his back and was pale, but his sunlit blond hair and warm reddish-brown eyes were familiar. Liris quietly watched as eyes once swallowed by despair gradually opened in stunned surprise.

If someone had straightened his warped temperament, he would have become an exceptional knight. No one could deny his genius as a warrior. His charisma drew people in, and Liris along with many young ladies and gentlemen had liked him.

Liris couldn’t guess what he was thinking now. She only hoped he would find a new purpose in life, something to replace the desires that had been forcibly taken from him. Even if it were a small remnant of friendship toward someone he had once called a friend, she wished that his continued life might gain some worth.

Liris turned her gaze back to the duke and the general.

Dozens, then hundreds of exchanges passed, and neither’s momentum diminished. If anything, they warmed up and, having gauged each other’s abilities to some extent, unleashed their techniques more relentlessly.

“I’ve heard Baras didn’t hold military men in high regard, so why is Duke Crunel so skilled in martial arts?”

A young lady a short distance away asked her father this.