CHAPTER 102: THE TIN KNIGHT AND THE MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT (9)

0% Naturally, Maximilian had a fit, “What do you mean you’re not!? While blatantly using the Lennart name!”

“I’m just using the Lennart name because I admire the Lennart family! I explained this earlier!”

“Adelaide von Lennart! Do you think you can avoid responsibility with such wordplay?!”

“I’m telling you, I’m Lennart Mask! Are your ears just for show? Go see a doctor quickly!”

“This, this is really...!”

Maximilian’s face was so red it was worrying he might collapse clutching the back of his neck.

He was someone who rarely lost in arguments throughout his life.

It wasn’t that his eloquence was particularly outstanding, but rather that those who succumbed to his background acknowledged defeat on their own.

Of course, not everyone cowered before Maximilian, and among them were some big shots that Maximilian had to be extremely careful with his attitude towards, but such people didn’t engage in childish arguments like this with Maximilian.

If Maximilian were to fall in love at first sight with Lennart Mask here, saying, “No one has ever talked to me like that...!” it would become a ridiculous comedy in its own right, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Instead, Maximilian raised his sword.

“Fine, then! I’ll personally remove that precious mask and reveal your identity!”

After Maximilian stomped the ground with passion, his body soared into the air.

It was a nimble movement that was hard to believe from someone wearing such heavy armor.

Landing on the roof, he swung his sword without the slightest hesitation.

Faced with an attack flying towards her face, Lennart Mask—no, Adelaide, hurriedly leaned her body backward.

Swish!

Although the attack itself didn’t connect, the sharp strike passing right in front of her eyes was enough to raise alarm.

Moreover, sword energy was even gathered on the opponent’s sword. The intent to kill, or at least utter disinterest in whether the target lived or died, was clearly felt.

“Let’s see how long you can run away like a little mouse!”

The imperial court swordsmanship unfolded from Maximilian’s hand.

The martial art that only members of the imperial direct knight order, or imperial family members and their relatives could learn, steadily pressured Adelaide.

He’s strong!

Under the mask, Adelaide’s expression became serious.

To be honest, she had been secretly looking down on Maximilian a bit.

While Maximilian didn’t know due to his erased memories, from Adelaide’s perspective, he was an opponent she had already subdued once.

But crossing swords with him one-on-one like this, she could tell.

Regardless of his personality, Maximilian’s skill was undoubtedly real.

It was just that the Tin Knight, who had subdued him in one go as if dealing with some wild bandit, was abnormal.

Shortly after this bout started, the Tin Knight’s message echoed in Adelaide’s head.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says this is a chance to adapt before facing him in the tournament!]

Practice like it was real or real like it was practice.

It was still a messy training plan, as always, but Adelaide had long since adapted to it.

Adelaide tightly gripped her sword handle.

Clang!

“Pathetic!”

A sword strike aimed at a gap was lightly blocked.

A mocking voice was heard, but Adelaide didn’t mind.

Her mind was fully focused on analyzing each of Maximilian’s movements.

A sword more focused on defense than offense.

A sword that blocked any possible variables and subdued the opponent safely and surely.

A sword carrying authority that instilled awe in observers and a sense of powerlessness in opponents.

It was excellent swordsmanship, and a highly refined skill.

Adelaide glimpsed the image of a majestic palace in the swordsmanship Maximilian displayed, however—

The sword and the wielder are out of sync.

Maximilian’s sword technique was truly elaborate and dignified.

However, Maximilian’s sword energy was extremely violent and frivolous.

The sword he wielded was one of authority, but the person wielding it lacked the weight and authority befitting that sword, instead surrendering to violent impulses.

Adelaide struck at the gap caused by this disharmony.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Maximilian’s expression twisted as his thigh was hit.

Until now, he had comfortably blocked attacks with just swordsmanship, but this was the first time he was caught off guard.

There was no injury thanks to the armor, but the humiliation was a different matter.

However, this was just the beginning.

Clang, clang, thud!

Shin, side, right upper arm.

Adelaide’s sword struck relentlessly, hitting various parts of Maximilian’s body.

Although there was almost no damage thanks to the excellent performance of the armor and defensive magic tools, Adelaide didn’t mind.

She had been continuously fighting against the Tin Knight, who couldn’t be pierced even by a single blade, since her lowest point.

This much was just everyday life for her.

“Damn it, if only the footing was proper!”

Maximilian was irritated.

The terrain they were fighting on was a pointed triangular roof, and naturally, the footing was poor.

While he had to pay attention to maintaining his posture with every step, the opponent was hopping around as if this place was flat ground.

It was hard to tell if she was human or animal.

As if trying to vent his rising anger, Maximilian’s attacks became increasingly fierce.

Perhaps thanks to eating a lot of good things, his sword energy was unprecedentedly large and flashy, but the more it was so, the easier it became for Adelaide.

While Maximilian’s swordsmanship itself was of such a high level that it was hard to find gaps, the more violently he acted, the more the inherent advantages of the swordsmanship faded.

Thud!

“Guh!?”

Adelaide, who had caught Maximilian’s back, swung her sword and struck the back of his head.

A bluish defensive barrier appeared just before the sword made contact, avoiding a direct hit, but instead, Maximilian’s body fell forward.

Unfortunately for Maximilian, the place they were standing was on top of a roof.

Thud!

The sight of Maximilian rolling off the roof and falling to the ground was clearly etched in the eyes of the spectators.

While Maximilian’s body still didn’t have even a small scratch, and his armor remained intact, there was no avoiding getting dirty as he rolled on the dirt ground.

“My lord!”

Subordinates approached to support Maximilian, but he roughly pushed them away and glared at Adelaide on the roof with bloodshot eyes.

Towards such a Maximilian, Adelaide said, “Please give up and go back. The judgment for crimes will be made not by you or I, but by the Lord of Thracus.”

“Nonsense!”

Maximilian cut off Adelaide’s suggestion in one stroke.

He shouted, overcome with anger, “Adelaide von Lennart! Are you going to keep shielding these insolent ones to the end?! I’m curious how much you’ve been bribed to act like this! The honor of the Lion Duke’s bloodline has truly fallen to the ground!”

“I keep telling you, I’m not this Adelaide person you speak of, but Lennart Mask.”

“You dare mock me to the end...!”

It was then—

“I don’t understand why you can’t believe people. If they say they’re Lennart Mask, you should just believe them.”

—a single remark from among the spectators pierced Maximilian’s ears.

Maximilian’s head turned sharply.

A certain beautiful woman with golden hair and violet eyes was staring at Maximilian with her arms crossed and beside the woman, two swordsmen with the same hair and eye color were standing by.

One of the Patriotic Youth Group members let out a gasp, “Maris von Lennart...!”

The woman called Maris opened her mouth in an enigmatic tone, as if she truly couldn’t understand, “You keep mentioning our family, but there’s no connection whatsoever between the Lennart Ducal family and this store, you know?”

Maximilian immediately objected, “Don’t talk nonsense! Isn’t that woman protecting the store right now!?”

“You’re really bad at listening. I’m telling you, that’s not one of Lennart’s people. They said it themselves. Just a simple fan.”

“Do you think such a forced excuse will work!? It’s obvious to anyone—“

“If that person really were a member of our family,” Maris’s voice changed.

The somewhat light expression and atmosphere disappeared, and ice-cold eyes pierced through Maximilian.

“It would mean that the second son of the Haidern Marquis family made statements insulting the entire Lennart family towards a member of the bloodline, and even attempted to use force when words didn’t work. Can you handle that?”

Maximilian’s mouth, which was about to spout more abusive language as per his nature, snapped shut.

Maris glanced towards the roof where Adelaide was, then continued, “If that child is just ‘an outsider who admires the Lennart family’, then all your talk about the Lennart family so far could be brushed off as ‘sarcasm towards a fake daring to impersonate a ducal family’s name’. It’s somewhat unpleasant, but not quite to the level of needing to report to the Duke.”

Even though they were collectively called the Lion Duke’s bloodline, if one gathered the main line, collateral lines, and relatives, their number exceeded three digits.

Unless it was a person with an important position in the main line, the ducal family couldn’t intervene every time for the revenge or saving face of individual members.

But if the entire family was being challenged, even they couldn’t ignore it.

“I’ll ask one more time. Can you handle it?”

Maximilian finally realized his mistake.

If Maximilian had tried to gain the upper hand in public opinion or justification, he should have thoroughly targeted “Adelaide von Lennart” as an individual.

It should have been framed as the deviation or wrongdoing of Adelaide.

In fact, when Adelaide first intruded, this was also the plan Maximilian had in mind.

But excited by repeated provocations, he made repeated verbal mistakes without clearly narrowing his target as per the original plan, and this problem became a matter between powers rather than a simple battle of pride.

Now, whether Adelaide’s disguise was crude or not was no longer an important issue.

No, even if it were a cruder disguise than this, Maximilian and the Patriotic Youth Group had to grit their teeth and pretend not to know her identity.

If they ignored the escape route provided by Maris von Lennart, one of the Duke’s own daughters, it would be tantamount to asking for an all-out war.

“Kugh...!”

Maximilian gritted his teeth.

Even if he was born with a silver spoon, he couldn’t recklessly charge at opponents of a similar level.

If he did such a thing, even if the Empress forgave him, his father, Marquis Haidern, wouldn’t leave him be.

Sensing Maximilian’s hesitation, his subordinates quickly began to build justification.

“Let’s stop here, my lord. Continuing to engage with a madman who shamelessly impersonates the Lennart family will only lower your dignity.”

“With your lordship’s stern warning, the company, too, will not dare to dream of any further wrongdoing. We’ve achieved all our goals, so let’s return now.”

At the words that it absolutely wasn’t retreating because the situation had become unfavorable, but merely withdrawing because the goal had been achieved, Maximilian reluctantly agreed.

“Ha, if you insist to this extent, I am left with no choice. Indeed, getting worked up over a madman’s nonsense will only lower our dignity.”

At Maximilian’s words, the faces of the Youth Group members, who had been worried about what would happen if he persisted to the end, brightened.

“That’s right, my lord! Your noble sword shouldn’t be used against such a madman and trivial merchants!”

“We have many more schedules ahead. Come, let’s hurry.”

With seemingly majestic steps, while doing their best to emphasize that “this isn’t running away, but withdrawing”, they left.

Of course, unless the eyes of the people were just for show, everyone knew that this was essentially a declaration of defeat.

Perhaps because the parties involved knew this too, the faces and earlobes of some of the young men were bright red.

“Phew...”

Only then did Lennart Mask—no, Adelaide let out a sigh of relief.

It would have been troublesome for her as well if things had escalated further.

It was frightening to face the anger of the witch who would rage like fire, saying, “I told you not to cause trouble!!”

The fact that they could roll around all sorts of places roughly without experiencing much inconvenience in food, clothing, and shelter was largely due to Dorothea’s magic.

The moment the enraged witch issued a magic ban, Adelaide’s quality of life would instantly plummet to the level of a wild castaway.

No, even before that, without eating Dorothea’s special nutritious food, it was obvious her body would be ground down by the Tin Knight’s training. The Tin Knight himself did take care of various things, but whole roasts with the skin still on were a bit much.

Adelaide bowed to Maris, “Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to get through this safely.”

“Well, you said you’re a fan, so I should provide at least this much service.”

“Ahahaha.”

Towards Adelaide, who could only laugh awkwardly, Maris showed a mischievous smile, “By the way, don’t you need an autograph? Ah, no, since it’s a special occasion, how about we draw a picture together? I know a skilled artist.”

“...Huh?”

Adelaide’s body stiffened.

She felt like the conversation was flowing in a strange direction.

Towards such an Adelaide, Maris sent a lukewarm gaze.

It was a look that combined affection towards a relative building up dark history and the sharpness of “how can I miss this opportunity?”

“Why? You said you admire our family. Are you really going to just leave? Don’t tell me everything you’ve said so far was a lie?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it, but!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m also the type who values privacy. I won’t ask you to take off the mask. You’re ‘Lennart Mask’, so we can’t take away your identity.”

Adelaide frantically searched for the Tin Knight.

And...

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he’s a person who can read the atmosphere, so he’ll step back here!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ cheers for Adel to have a good time!]

The price of trusting the Tin Knight when there was no one else in the world to trust was devastating.

In despair, Adelaide was grabbed by Maris’ hand and dragged away.

When she returned, there was a picture in her hand.

It was a picture of her making a V-sign with her fingers while wearing a mask next to Maris.

And so, Adelaide—no, Lennart Mask was forever immortalized.