Chapter 47

Chapter : 47

It was broad daylight when I arrived at the estate.

It was still too early for dinner, but my younger siblings said they had already eaten, perhaps because they were avoiding me. Perhaps because I had just finished traveling a long distance, my own appetite had faded as well, so I ate an even simpler dinner than usual.

“You have no idea how worried I was after you left the estate. To be honest, I thought you were running away to the Academy. People here have been giving you nasty looks for the past few months, haven’t they? I thought you were leaving because you couldn’t stand that.”

“Haha, I really was lacking back then. So?”

“That’s all I meant. But I’m glad that wasn’t it. Ahaha...”

Koromang was literally beaming. Even when she stood still, every so often she grinned foolishly or let out a strange little laugh.

“You did well. You really did. I never dreamed it would turn out this well. Hehe.”

From the moment I arrived at the estate until now, Koromang had hovered around me, praising me without end. A few times would have been fine, but after it kept going on, I started to feel a little burdened.

“How shall I prepare breakfast tomorrow morning? Ah, and what time would you like to wake up? Should I just leave you alone until you rise on your own?”

“You don’t have to fuss over me so much just because it’s been a while. I’ll wake up on my own.”

“Ah. Yes. Understood.”

It seemed even Koromang realized from my answer that she had become overexcited.

She reined in her overflowing energy and lowered her voice.

Then she told me I ought to rest and went off. That left me alone. What should I do tomorrow? Sleep in for once?

It was then.

Jericho entered the dining room.

It seemed that, while I had been training, Jericho had built up his body with equal diligence. He had already been large, but now he had grown even bigger. Separate from that, however, his condition seemed poor. His complexion was yellow, like someone who was ill.

He bowed his head slightly toward me.

This was the first time I had ever seen him act like that. Before I left for the Academy, he had barely even acknowledged my existence. My standing really had changed.

“Welcome back. I heard you made great progress at the Academy. Congratulations.”

“Ah, thank you. You’ve been well too, right? It looks like you’ve gotten even bigger.”

“Yes. I’ve been very well. I worked hard at my training too. I admired knights from childhood, didn’t I? Even if I gave up that dream, I never let go of the sword for a single moment.”

Jericho pulled out the chair opposite mine and sat down across from me. I had been about to go upstairs and rest, so I wasn’t pleased, but I didn’t show it.

With both hands folded together, Jericho spoke slowly.

“I trained and studied in order to become strong. That’s why I know what level a Sword Expert is.”

“So you saw the article.”

“Yes. Who in this estate could possibly have missed that article? I read it over and over. Which is why I’m curious.”

“Curious whether the article was true? Whether I really reached the level of a Sword Expert?”

“Yes.”

“It’s true. So stop reaching higher than your place.”

In the Original Work, Raphael disliked Jericho. It was because he was younger, because he had inherited nothing from their father, and yet had been stronger than Raphael, who was the elder brother and Head of the House. After Raphael lost the position of Head of the House, that dislike had become hatred.

Raphael had disliked Jericho.

And me?

I wasn’t sure.

More than liking or disliking him, it was probably more accurate to say that I had no particular interest. I could count on both hands the number of times I had seen his face, and we had spoken even less than that. It would have been stranger if I had formed some deep impression of him.

The reason I had been cautious of him and kept my guard up was because he had his eyes on my territory.

That was all.

If he gave up on the estate obediently and set aside his ambitions cleanly, I had no intention of causing any trouble.

Unfortunately, Jericho seemed different. His eyes lit up, and he rose from his seat.

“Then may I confirm it myself?”

“Whether I’ve truly reached the level of a Sword Expert? You?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“When we were young, we used to spar now and then. At least until I grew much smaller than you and it became easy for you to win.”

“Sorry. I was childish back then. So? You want one match?”

“Yes.”

I stared at Jericho for a moment.

If he gave up on the estate, then everything could be left in the past. Even the plots and schemes he had tried to set in motion could be buried.

I hesitated, hoping that perhaps Jericho might let go of his greed during that silence. But he seemed firm.

This needed to be crushed properly.

“All right. Let’s do it. And while we’re at it, let’s call some people to watch.”

House Isaac was a martial house. Even if only in name, it still retained the old-fashioned family law that the strongest person became Head of the House. If I lost, especially if I lost to my own younger brother, it would not end merely with a wounded reputation.

My name would be dragged through people’s mouths for a very long time.

Even so, when I accepted the risk and made the suggestion, Jericho nodded.

“Yes. Let’s do that. When shall we set the time?”

“I’m tired from traveling such a long distance. I think I’ll sleep late tomorrow. Make it after lunch.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

As I watched Jericho bow to me and leave, I made up my mind.

Don’t kill him.

Don’t hurt him too badly.

Keep it moderate.

I held no grudge against him.

I only needed to crush him enough that he would never dream of taking the position of Head of the House again.

I was on my way from the dining room to my bedroom. Perhaps because I had returned after so long, there seemed to be more visitors than usual today. Evelyn was leaning against the wall, waiting for me. Before, she would have ignored me even if our eyes met, but now she greeted me properly.

“You’ve returned. You’ve worked hard.”

“Yes. Why? Do you have something to say?”

“I’ll speak plainly, since this is something you already know. Jericho coveted the estate. I know that he has committed a grave offense.”

I only blinked at her, as though telling her to continue. Reading the hint, Evelyn went on.

“Please spare him.”

Unlike Koromang, she didn’t appeal to blood ties or family sentiment. She made the request simply and directly.

Spare Jericho.

Apparently, she assumed I intended to kill him tomorrow.

To be fair, tomorrow’s duel would indeed be a rather convenient place to kill him.

Even if I used a blunt training blade, in my hands it would become a killing weapon. Cutting off Jericho’s neck would not be difficult. Raphael had hated Jericho deeply before, so it wouldn’t even have been strange if he tried to kill him when given the chance.

The fact that Evelyn asked so plainly for Jericho’s life meant she was probably trying to make a deal. If that wasn’t the case, she would have shed tears or pretended to, and emphasized that we were family.

The fact that she spoke so simply suggested she had something to offer me.

If I asked her why I should spare Jericho, she would already have an answer prepared.

She would offer the most valuable thing she or Jericho could produce in the current situation.

But would it be useful to me?

I already had plenty of money. My position as lord would soon be firmly secured as well. Then what exactly could Jericho and Evelyn do for me?

At least in the current situation, almost nothing.

“All right. I’ll spare Jericho. And I’ll mark this down as a debt.”

Even though my answer skipped several steps, Evelyn didn’t question it. She lowered her head immediately and replied,

“Thank you. I’ll repay it without fail someday.”

Then Evelyn lifted her bowed head again.

“There’s one more thing I ought to confess. I would rather hide it, but I know I cannot. You must already know it all, and pretending otherwise would only be ridiculous. Yes... I also agreed to help Jericho.”

“So?”

Even after she confessed that she had betrayed me, I let it pass lightly. Evelyn neither looked surprised nor pretended to be. She continued quickly.

“After tomorrow’s duel is over, I’ll come to see you together with my treasure. I believe you’ll be satisfied.”

---

In name, the duel between Raphael and Jericho was no more than an exchange between two brothers raised in a martial house.

The blunt blades they were to use would have struggled to cut through even the head of a fish.

Since they would be fighting with something closer to iron rods than true swords, it fell far short of what one would properly call a duel.

Even so, everyone in the estate, save for a few hired hands, appeared to watch the two of them spar.

The strongest person became lord.

Everyone knew that this ridiculous family law would exercise its power today.

They understood that the one who lost today’s match would not merely be driven out of the estate, but might even lose his life.

The estate’s own parade ground.

Upon it, Raphael and Jericho stood facing one another.

Unlike Raphael, who looked almost relaxed, Jericho was in dreadful condition.

Jericho had not slept a single moment the night before. He dragged his sagging body toward Raphael, his condition worse than it had ever been.

But he thought that hardly mattered.

The outcome of the duel did not depend on his own hands.

If the article claiming Raphael had become a Sword Expert was false, Jericho would win.

If the article was true, he would lose.

His physical condition meant nothing in comparison.

The article is probably true.

Jericho respected Katarina.

Not only because of the heaven-reaching swordsmanship that had made her a Sword Master at a young age, but because he had been moved by the path she had walked.

She had bloomed at last despite poverty and a lacking environment, and she had remained upright. She did not seem like the sort of person who would commit fraud.

Especially not over nothing more than the skill of her own disciple.

It should have been impossible for Raphael, who had neither talent nor diligence, to reach the level of a Sword Expert in only a few months. But the testimony of Katarina, who had already accomplished the impossible herself, was enough to make one believe it.

Then why had Jericho insisted on this duel?

Because he had lived only for this.

He thought that if he could not become lord, then he might as well die.

No.

If he could not become lord, then he wanted to die.

“The weather is nice.”

“It is.”

When he looked up, the sky was brilliantly clear.

It would have been better if it had rained.

Then perhaps so many spectators would not have gathered.

Jericho looked around him.

Every face was familiar.

They were all people of the house.

What now? What if Raphael truly has reached the level of a Sword Expert? Will I be humiliated before all these people who have watched me for years since childhood? Will Raphael kill me?

He didn’t know.

There was only one thing to do.

Pray.

Pray that the claim that Raphael had become a Sword Expert was false.

As Jericho prepared for the duel and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, he flinched in surprise.

It felt as though the sword itself were cursing him, calling him an idiot. If that was how he felt, then why had he picked it up at all?

The outcome had already been decided from the moment he stepped onto the parade ground.

Whether Raphael had become a Sword Expert or not had already determined the result.

So whether Jericho fought with all he had or not, nothing would change.

Memories flashed through his mind of all the years from childhood until now in which he had swung the sword. It felt as though what he was doing now insulted all of those memories.

So he decided to do it.

To fight with everything he had, even if his opponent was a Sword Expert.

“Hah.”

If Evelyn heard that, she would probably mock him for days.

If you know you’ll lose, then why fight? If you know you’ll lose, then why act so pathetically? You could just surrender.

All of that was true.

But still... he simply didn’t want to.