Chapter 54

Chapter 54. A Test of Skill (2)

Well, if it was hard to get close, then I could just attack from far away.

Hah!

After pouring my sword full of mana, I hurled it at Manuel with all my strength.

"Aaah!"

Seeing the sword flying toward him, Manuel urgently stretched out his hand.

Pajajajak!

Electricity burst from his hand and wrapped itself around the flying sword.

Absurdly enough, the sword caught in the lightning slowed more and more before stopping right in front of Manuel’s nose.

He blocked that? Even though it was a sword packed full of mana? And thrown with strength above that of a knight?

"Tch! Did you think my ability was nothing more than making lightning? I can stop metal objects too, and move them as well!"

Oh, so that ability could even make an electromagnet with electricity? It was more versatile than I had expected.

I admired it inwardly, but unfortunately that admiration ended there.

To stop the flying sword, he had fired all the electricity wrapping his body toward it.

And by then, I had already closed in on his side right after throwing the sword.

I no longer had a weapon in hand, since I had thrown it, but that did not mean I could not attack.

I clenched my fist.

And swung with all my might.

Smack!

"Urk!"

Just in case, I struck his jaw with my fist, and he spun neatly through the air before crashing to the ground.

Fortunately, he did not lose consciousness right away.

"Ugh, wh-what was that?!"

But the electricity that had been pouring from his hand was nowhere to be seen now, and he looked like he could barely even stand, much less summon it again.

"Ugh! How underhanded!"

No, you really were not the one who should be saying that.

Besides, knights trained in hand-to-hand combat too, in case they lost their swords. How did he not know that better than I, someone from another world?

As I helped the struggling Manuel to his feet, I said to him,

"You should surrender."

In a gentle voice, wearing the face of a younger brother concerned for his elder brother’s well-being.

"Ha! You think I’d surrender?"

As expected, my words had struck at his pride as a noble.

"I think it would be better if you did."

I stepped back from him once he was barely on his feet and said it again, this time with just a hint of mockery.

"Never! There’s no way I’ll surrender to you!"

As he said that, he tried to call forth electricity again, but not even something resembling a spark appeared above his hand.

In the end, abilities all came from the head. A head half-concussed from a blow to the jaw was not going to manifest one properly right away.

It did not seem likely that he would surrender easily.

In that case, I only had to keep hitting him until he did.

Since I was controlling my strength as carefully as possible so as not to inflict any serious injury, the Knight Commander would not intervene before a surrender came.

That was exactly what I had wanted.

Smack!

"Surrender!"

Smack!

"I’ll even be generous if you just collapse and pass out."

Smack!

"Or you can raise your hand."

After that, I happily beat up my dear second brother.

Fortunately, Brother Manuel was rather tenacious.

Thanks to that, I was able to enjoy the feel of my fists in this life to a degree I had not before.

And I could impress upon him physically that he would not be able to ignore me even in the capital.

Fists truly were an excellent means of communication.

---

Time passed after the spar.

The year turned, and at fifteen, the time finally came for me to depart for the capital.

Various things had happened in the meantime, but only a few remained in my memory.

The things I still remembered were that the Duchess had called me aside after the spar, and that Adria de Hierro, Simon’s fiancée, had come to visit.

Since the day before, Flora had been packing my things while wiping away tears on Mother’s behalf.

"To think that Young Master is going away to study in the capital. They say the capital is a truly dangerous place. How is someone still so young supposed to live there?"

She continued packing with great diligence while saying things that did not sound very comforting.

Well, what she said was not wrong.

I had awakened, but I was still only half-noble, so there was no reason to think people would acknowledge me there, and Duke Andres de Gresia was certainly not going to protect me.

Frankly, it would not have been an exaggeration to say that the only future waiting for me there was a bleak one in which I had to survive on my own.

Had I been an ordinary illegitimate son, I might have been terrified and thrown a tantrum about not wanting to go.

“You are my child, and yet you truly are difficult to understand.”

Watching the packing quietly from the side, Mother sighed as she looked at my unchanged face.

“I was grateful that you had grown so well on your own, beyond anything I expected, but now I can only feel that it is a pity.”

It seemed the thought of me leaving to study had given her many things to think about.

Then again, once I left, she would be the one left behind alone, so perhaps she would feel lonely.

But honestly speaking, Mother was getting along fine with the Duke, and the second duchess who might have become a source of trouble had already been sent very far away because of me, so there did not seem to be much to worry about.

The first duchess was still around, of course, but that did not seem like it would become a problem either.

I wrapped my arms around Mother.

I still could not quite reach her height, but I could at least hug her.

She seemed surprised by my unexpected action, but soon she embraced me with both arms and sighed.

“Yes, you are a child who will manage well no matter where you go. No matter how much I worry, it will not help. I will trust you and wait for you here.”

That was Mother for you.

My worries came after hers for me.

She was completely different from that icy Duke, my fa. ther.

The luggage was sent out first with the maids, and I headed toward the front gate with Mother.

As we walked down the corridor, the servants stepped aside and bowed to us.

There were still those who greeted me stiffly, or hurried away from me, but it was a world apart from how things had been when I was younger.

When we stepped out before the front gate, the morning sunlight was dazzling.

The weather was beautifully clear, as though the day itself were blessing my departure.

In front of the gate stood the family carriage bearing the ducal crest, the carriages for the servants, and the baggage cart, all lined up together.

And there were the soldiers mounted on horseback.

Among them, I saw Juan, whom I knew all too well.

Perhaps because it was Manuel’s departure for study, the entire ducal family was present today.

The Duke and the Duchess, their eldest son Simon, and his fiancée, Young Lady Adria de Hierro.

She made a pleased face when she saw me, but because of the people around us, she did not greet me any further.

Thinking of how close we had become before I died in my previous life, it felt a little regrettable, but I could still be satisfied with the fact that she had survived safely.

I gave her a small bow as well.

Once all the baggage had been loaded, it was time for the final farewells.

As always, I stepped back beside the carriage, and Manuel went forward to bid farewell to the Duke and Duchess and everyone else gathered there.

“I will do my utmost so that, even in the capital, I do not bring shame upon the name of House Gresia.”

Manuel delivered his parting words in a clear voice and with impressive dignity.

It was exactly the sort of farewell one expected from the child of a high-ranking noble house.

A completely different figure from the one he had shown during our spar some time ago.

He truly was like a noble child who had been educated almost to the point of brainwashing.

After Manuel finished, I lowered my head politely.

If I drew the wrong kind of attention here, I might end up causing trouble for Mother.

After Manuel’s farewell, the Duke spoke.

“Go and return well. That place is one where rivals and enemies dwell side by side, so always act with caution.”

It was exactly the sort of thing the Duke would say.

He was no different before his legitimate son than he was before me.

After speaking to Manuel, he turned his gaze to me.

It did not seem as though he expected me to say anything, so perhaps I should lower my head again.

The Duke had not called for me even after my spar with Manuel.

I could not tell whether he had simply had no interest, or whether he had already expected the result, but not being called had been both convenient and a little disappointing.

“Keep in touch even after you reach the capital, and if anything difficult happens, ask your mother’s family for help. And...”

After the Duke finished, the Duchess stepped toward Manuel and began touching his face and shoulders while saying all sorts of things to him.

It was unlike her usual self, but it was understandable enough for a mother seeing her son off.

Was it because he was the youngest? Unlike Simon, who had properly grown into a noble, perhaps Manuel’s remaining immaturity was partly her doing.

While she was speaking to Manuel, her eyes met mine for an instant.

The moment she saw me, her face stiffened slightly.

Seeing that expression brought back the image of the Duchess in her drawing room the day after the spar.

That day, she had seemed far colder and sharper than usual.

The Duke had not summoned me after the spar, but the Duchess had.

It seemed Manuel’s defeat had displeased her, for she had stared right through me as I entered her drawing room.

When I bowed, she waved her hand.

“That will do for greetings. Sit in front of me.”

Even in a situation where her face clearly showed that she could not stand the sight of me, she maintained noble dignity with perfect precision.

Once I sat, she closed her eyes briefly, then drank from the tea that had already gone cold.

More time passed after that, and then she spoke.

“I have heard many times that you are not like a child your age. The things you have done so far certainly support that.”

“To be honest, given Maria’s temperament, I never expected you would survive. Yet instead, Maria and her daughter Elena were driven out of the estate.”

“You inherited nothing particularly impressive, and yet at a young age you displayed skill enough to astonish the knights.”

“I do not know how you persuaded my husband, but you even accompanied them to the marquess’s house and made quite a showing there, did you not?”

“And then, on top of all that, you defeated Manuel in your spar.”

Her calm voice continued on, part praise and part mockery.

“You truly may be a genius. It is very rare to show such talent despite being born of a mother with no inherited ability.”

Up to that point, her words had flowed one after another, like compliments or veiled barbs.

“There has been much talk, but to be honest, you were never of interest to me. A half-blood like you could never inherit House Gresia anyway, and you would simply become one of the more useful bastards, like those in other noble families.”

After saying that much, she lifted her teacup, then frowned when she realized it was empty.

The maid standing behind her approached quietly and refilled it, and the Duchess continued.

“But now that you are leaving for the capital with Manuel, and now that you have even defeated him, I can no longer ignore you.”

Just as I had thought.

I had not regretted defeating Manuel, but as expected, trouble had come of it.

I only hoped it would not go so far that we ended up killing each other.

That thought crossed my mind, and then I realized the Duchess was looking at me with an odd expression.

“You really are a strange child. Your face looks as though you are afraid, and yet your eyes do not match that expression at all. If I looked only at your eyes, you would seem almost bored.”

Damn it, had I let my guard down? No, that was not it exactly, but still.

I hurriedly lowered my head.

“Well, it is curious, but this does not seem to be the moment for such a discussion.”

My worry had been unnecessary, because she immediately changed the subject.