CHAPTER 103: THE TIN KNIGHT AND THE MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT (10)

0% “I thought she’d be some kind of monster since she took down that old man Gerhardt and that slick René, but turns out, she’s just an incredibly cute kid.”

Maris burst into laughter, recalling the sight of Adelaide trudging away in exhaustion.

The news that a girl from a collateral line had obtained the position of representative instructor at a Lennart dojo had caused quite a stir even within the main line. Needless to say, it was even more so after the news spread that this girl was the youngest daughter of the Friedel domain and was competing with Giselle for the position of domain heir.

It was rare to have such a juicy topic for gossip when gathering in small groups.

However, it wasn’t necessarily all good.

“...Will it be alright? It was the Duke’s will to dispatch a new lord candidate to Friedel and order them to assist with reconstruction. If that girl’s position grows unnecessarily large and the plan goes awry, it could put you in a difficult position as well, Young Lady,” the golden-haired, violet-eyed knight beside Maris spoke with a concerned expression.

But Maris maintained her composed attitude.

“Father isn’t the type to both with such trivial matters. Even if Father gave the order itself, it was likely incited by the Council of Elders. After all, it was largely their mistake that the Friedel domain ended up in that state. Sending Giselle was likely an attempt to cover up that mistake as much as possible.”

The annihilation of the lord of Friedel and the domain army he led was one of those incidents where rumors spread strangely little.

Many bloodline members didn’t even know what battle the lord had been deployed to, who they fought and how they were annihilated, or even that such an incident had occurred at all. This was due to the gag order the Council of Elders had issued.

If even Maris, who held the position of the Duke’s own daughter, had trouble investigating the exact circumstances, the possibility that proper news had been delivered to the bereaved families left in Friedel was next to none.

Ironically, this meant the more Adelaide drew attention and the more people became interested in her and the Friedel domain, the more uncomfortable the Council of Elders would become.

“It seems like she’ll have a lot of hardships ahead, I wonder if she’ll be alright. That child.”

While Maris’ words were with the Council of Elders in mind, the knight beside her seemed to interpret it differently.

“Well, no matter how foolish they are, surely they wouldn’t dare touch that girl under these circumstances?”

“Huh?”

“Weren’t you worried about the Patriotic Youth Group retaliating?”

“Hmm, oh, well, I suppose that’s true. I don’t know about later, but if they have any sense left, they wouldn’t recklessly act right away.”

Maris wasn’t worried about that aspect.

Surely they couldn’t be that stupid.

***Patriotic Youth Group hideout.

“How dare, how dare they make me suffer such humiliation!? I’ll never forgive them!”

“To obstruct our lord’s righteous punishment, they must all be in cahoots!”

“What could be the meaning of Maris von Lennart stepping forward!? Isn’t this clear evidence that the ducal family is behind this whole affair!?”

As if responding to the idiot leader’s lead, the subordinate idiots began to spout a chorus of nonsense. Seeing them, the few remaining rational members of the Youth Group hurriedly stepped forward, fearing they’d likely cause a real incident if left unchecked.

“Please, my lord, calm yourself. No matter what, touching Maris here is too dangerous!”

“There are too many eyes around. You can take revenge in the tournament anyway, so please endure for now.”

“Are you saying we should just stand by while those cursed Lion Duke’s bloodline members scheme!?”

“You cowards! Is it not because of spineless fellows like you that our lord suffered such humiliation! If we had been by his side, we would have crushed them in one go!”

“Damn it, you stupid bastards! If it could be resolved by us charging in, wouldn’t our parents have resolved it long ago!!”

The Patriotic Youth Group began to argue, split into two factions.

Those full of groundless confidence and conviction about their abilities and justification raised their voices, saying they should start retaliation immediately, but those who still had some reason left tried desperately to stop them.

Usually, they would obediently follow along with whatever the loud ones said—of course, Maximilian had the loudest voice—but this time, they guessed that if they did what these guys wanted, the aftermath would be tremendous.

“My lord, even the Marquis wouldn’t permit further reckless action.”

Even when the opposition mentioned the Marquis, Maximilian couldn’t easily lower his raised fist, “Hmm.... Even if we can’t do anything about Maris, isn’t that masked girl fair game? Even if she’s of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, she’s not even a noble of the Empire.”

“That Adelaide girl is staying in the special district like us. The overall security is thorough, and because major figures from various nations have gathered, it’s too difficult to silence her.”

“If we’re seen moving directly, it’ll become troublesome in many ways.”

“Above all, that girl will—“

The youth’s words of “—face our lord in the tournament, so can’t we punish her then?” remained unfinished

He realized that Maximilian didn’t want this topic, seeing the subtle change in his expression.

...Could it be that he’s avoiding fighting that girl?

Naturally, this was something that couldn’t be said out loud.

Even if such speculation was correct, the mere mention of it would cause a serious scratch to Maximilian’s honor and pride.

Therefore, he hurriedly changed his words, “...Isn’t she too lowly an opponent for our lord to deal with directly?”

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Maximilian nodded, “Your words are correct, but we can’t just leave things as they are, can we?”

“Then, how about this?”

Seeing it as an opportunity to earn favor with Maximilian, one of the Youth Group members proudly began to talk about some plan.

The expressions of the Youth Group members who heard the plan changed subtly.

Is he in his right mind saying this?

How could he suggest such a vile and dishonorable method...!

Would that even work in the first place?

The reason why the youths, while harboring various impressions including denial, disgust, and doubt, didn’t voice these thoughts and kept them to themselves was clear.

“Hmm.”

It was because none other than Maximilian showed signs of being intrigued by this plan.

Once that happened, the situation changed.

While they bore the grand name of the Patriotic Youth Group, most of its members were those who had been pushed out of the succession race and held ambiguous positions in their families.

In contrast, Maximilian was someone who, regardless of his own abilities, was certain to rise to a high position in the future simply because he was the second son of the Haidern family.

In the world of politics, trust was more important than ability, and the Haidern family, by its very position, could absolutely never betray the Empress.

If the eldest son entered politics following in the footsteps of Marquis Haidern, Maximilian, as the second son, would be in charge of the new Emperor’s military power.

To share in that sweet honey in the future, the youths of the Patriotic Youth Group had to curry as much favor with Maximilian as possible, no matter the method.

They quickly began to spout words that Maximilian wanted to hear.

“It doesn’t seem like a bad plan, my lord.”

“Originally, it’s the servants’ job to clean up trash. There’s a fitting method for dealing with lowly clowns.”

“That’s right. Even if they’re wicked ones we’re reluctant to associate with, if we use them to deal with equally evil ones, isn’t this also for the sake of the Empire?”

Those who had been advocating for retaliation from the beginning actively agreed, and even those who had been shouting opposition didn’t step forward this time.

Unlike the plan to physically rush in and mess things up, which seemed likely to have unmanageable consequences, this newly proposed “plan”, while vile and filthy and of questionable practicality, had the great advantage of not being noticeable to others.

Maximilian nodded, “I permit it. Proceed with the execution.”

It was an unnecessarily solemn and grave expression for the content.

***Clang!

The two-handed sword and one-handed sword clashed, sending the one-handed sword flying into the air before embedding itself into the ground.

“...I forfeit.”

“Huh?”

Leaving Adelaide with a dumbfounded expression behind, the referee shouted, “Winner, Adelaide von Lennart!”

Amidst the passionate cheers, Adelaide quietly came down from the arena.

There was one question in her mind.

...It looked like he still had the strength to fight more. How strange.

At the opposite entrance, the youth from the Patriotic Youth Group, who had advanced to the finals along with Maximilian, quietly sighed.

In his hand were a few strands of long, tousled golden hair.

For a moment, a light of self-mockery flashed across the youth’s face, but it disappeared along with the excuse that this, too, was unavoidable.

Some time after that, the semifinal matchups were announced.

Individual matches:

Kalidahs VS Peter

Adelaide von Lennart VS Maximilian Egir Haidern

Team matches:

Team Dorothea VS Team Kumara

Team Algind VS Team Maris

***In a dimly lit, secluded room, a youth wearing luxurious clothing and a man wrapped in a black robe were facing each other.

“With this, I’ve handed over all the materials you requested. If you dare to run away without properly carrying out the job—“

“‘I absolutely won’t let you off,’ if you’re going to say something like that, just drop it. Isn’t it too obvious, hohoho.”

“You—“

The youth momentarily showed an irritated expression at the attitude of the other party, who cut off his words midway, but soon clicked his tongue and suppressed his anger.

The man wrapped in the robe, seeing his counterpart’s appearance, grinned and said, “However, my lord, what you’ve given me now seems to be insufficient.”

The youth frowned, “Didn’t I bring that girl’s hair as you demanded!? I also passed over money for other offerings!”

“Didn’t I clearly tell you? I need the blood and hair of the target to be cursed. Of course, it’s possible to set the target with just hair, but the effect of the curse will be inferior.”

“Your words are long. What do you want?”

“If quality is lacking, it must be made up with quantity. It seems more offerings need to be made, so give me funds to procure them.”

“...Tsk, lowly thing.”

Despite receiving a contemptuous gaze and insults, the man in the robe remained calm.

Although the youth gritted his teeth at the man’s attitude that seemed to say, “So, do you have any other means besides me?” he eventually handed over a new money pouch.

He had already boasted loudly to Maximilian that he would take care of it, and even received cooperation from another Youth Group member who had advanced to the finals to obtain the hair.

If there were no results after going this far, this time it would be his neck on the line.

Repeating to himself that if he gained Maximilian’s favor through this incident, he could more than make up for such minor losses, the youth soothed his bitter feelings.

“Hehehe, thank you.”

“You must handle this cleanly without fail. If there’s any failure, it won’t end with just me, but the entire Empire will be after your neck.”

“Rest assured. There’s no way that will happen. Didn’t you see the effectiveness last time?” the man in the robe, a necromancer specializing in cursing others on commission, continued speaking with a fishy smile. “People despise and mock us as worthless and weak beings, but that’s because they are ignorant. We may be inefficient when it comes to directly destroying something, but there’s no one better for indirectly killing people. Due to its primitive and primal nature, it’s extremely difficult to unravel with logical formulas like other magic.”

“If it’s so convenient and powerful, it seems like you lot would be ruling the world by now.”

“Hehe, of course, there are limitations. The curse doesn’t work on clerics who handle holy magic and noble ones who can keep such clerics by their side. If the energy we handle is like paint, holy power is like water that washes it away. But, didn’t you say that the woman we’re targeting this time, while excellent in personal martial arts, doesn’t have a particularly high status? How could someone like that receive help from a cleric if they’re cursed?”

At the necromancer’s words, the youth nodded.

Most clerics resided in the heavens under the management of the Kingdom of Heaven, and those on the surface were just a handful.

Treating a cleric like a personal physician was impossible, even for members of the Patriotic Youth Group.

The possibility that a woman, who at best walked around with a few attendants, would enjoy such luxury was non-existent.

“Are there no other weaknesses?”

“Other necromancers, or mages who preserve ancient secrets like necromancers, might possibly be able to counter it. However, this possibility is also slim. Originally, its easy to become a necromancer but most end up dying before long, so those who are alive and walking around normally are extremely rare. Kekeke.”

“...Good, then I’ll leave it to you.”

In the dark back room, a wicked and terrifying plot began to stir.

***“Achoo!”

“Oh my, Adel. Do you have a cold coming on? Here you go.”

“Ah, thank you, Miss Sophia. But you don’t really need to use holy power on such minor things... Oh, by the way, where’s Miss Witch?”

“She’s busy making a staff. She’s been pulling all-nighters for days now, so she’s quite sensitive. It’s best not to bother her unnecessarily.”

“I see, I’ll have to be careful then.”