Chapter 12: Chapter 10: Two Swords Clash

Knights of Lorien forged themselves through blood, sweat and battle. They constantly honed their abilities to become the swords and shields of their kingdom. So as to not disturb the daily life of the royal family, their training grounds were hidden away in a lightly forested area a fair distance away from the royal palace. A person standing near the forest’s edge would normally hear the faint echoes of wooden blades clashing and men roaring out their battle cries.

Today, these noises were absent, despite all the members of the royal first knight order being fully present. They were stunned into silence because something out of a fantasy story was happening before their very eyes.

“Hey.” Within the gathered crowd, one baffled man spoke to another.

“Hm?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but her highness only started training here barely a month ago, right?”

“...Yes”

“Then how is it possible that she is beating all of our new recruits one by one, while having no prior experience in combat?”

As he said this, the unmistakable sound of a hard object striking flesh and bone resounded in the clearing, eliciting a few winces from the audience and causing a loud and mournful wail of pain to escape from one particularly unfortunate soul.

The victor, Chris, dropped her weapon and quickly rushed towards her felled opponent.

“Sorry about that, I went a bit too hard there. Let me help you up.” She kneeled down and extended a hand out towards the young man twitching in the dirt, seeming to not mind the dust that ended up on her clothes.

The defeated youth focused less on the dull pain tearing through his leg and more so on the girl in front of him. Maybe he was simply disoriented from the blunt force trauma, but he couldn’t help but keep his eyes longer on her face than was necessary. Her features, which were gilded in the golden light of the afternoon sun, made her appear similar to an angel reaching out her delicate hand out of heartfelt concern.

He broke out of his daze when he realized he was just knocked on his ass by said angel.

“Humph.” He stood up in a fluster, ignoring the offered hand and bearing the pain in his bad leg, knowing that the burning heat in his face was not just from the humiliation. 

Chris remained standing in the same spot, smiling wryly to herself and remaining oblivious to the young man’s true thoughts.

I guess he’s just shy.

 

Away from all the action, Edward was chatting with another person while observing his sister. Turning towards his conversation partner, a tall middle aged man with a relatively subdued appearance and a neatly trimmed salt and pepper beard, he gave his enthusiastic commentary.

“Isn’t she great? I have to say that even I’m impressed with how much she’s improved in such a short time.”

“You give her too much praise, Edward.” The man replied in monotone.

“You’re the only one other than my own family who actually dares to speak to me that way, Sevvy. I could have you suspended or court martialed for this, you know?”

“It’s not like you hate it. And my name is Sevraus. Get it right next time, your highness.” 

Edward mischievously smirked.

“You’re right, I’ll admit that I’m somewhat fond of that attitude of yours; it’s refreshing. You could probably reign it in a bit more around others though.”

The man, Sevraus, rolled his eyes, exasperated at the ridiculous behavior of his vice captain, who the country was somehow both fortunate and unfortunate enough to have as its first prince. 

“If I don’t scare them, then those lousy fools will never listen to what I say. As for the princess…”

Stroking his beard, he gave his serious and unbiased opinion on Chris’s performance.

“She’s pretty good, but not so much that I would applaud her skill. I blame the fact that these hot blooded children lose their minds when facing a pretty girl several years younger than them.” He started rubbing his glabella in consternation after seeing several recruits blush when the princess looked their way. “Seriously, what’s going to become of this knight order?” he grumbled.

“You could perhaps say that her beauty is a praiseworthy trait as well.” Edward mischievously joked, much to the knight captain’s annoyance.

“I don’t know if I should be thanking your sister for revealing the new recruits’ faults or if I should be angry at her for disgracing them like this.”

“Why not thank me instead? I was the one who taught her, you know. Oh, and don’t forget that it was my mother who set up this little event today.” the prince said while donning a cheeky smile.

Sevraus stared at him with undisguised umbrage. His vice captain had been so “dedicated” towards teaching his little sister the way of the sword, that he conveniently ignored all of his other duties in the knight order. Gods knew how many days he had to stay up later than normal to handle all of the order’s logistics.

Don’t even get him started on when the queen threatened to personally cut him down if any serious injury were to be inflicted on the princess. Thinking of the ice cold edge of her blade on his neck still sent shivers down his back.

“Why did her majesty think it was necessary for her daughter to make fools out of members of the most decorated knight order in this kingdom?” he lamented. “And I’m the one who has to clean everything up…” 

“Just think of this as my sister getting to know some more peers around her age. She rarely has the opportunity to play around like this.” 

“Then give her some playmates from those uptight noble families! I might lose my head for this, you insufferable boy.” the older man retorted.

“It’s fine, Sevraus. Christiana’s a lot tougher than you think she is, as you’ve already seen.”

“Is that so? Let’s hope that she lives up to your expectations.” the older man grunted.

Shaking his head in exasperation, he started striding towards the center of the field, where the knights were spectating more of Chris’s matches. A few of them spotted him, and gave their nervous greetings.

“H-hello, sir.”

The stone faced man looked at them in uncomfortable silence, not bothering to respond. His gaze bore through their leather accoutrements, drilling deep into their backs without relent. 

“Well?”

“Huh?”

“What are you supposed to be doing?” He spoke with an eerily calm voice that sent shivers down their spines.

“C-captain, we- ”

“Get down and give me fifty.”

“But- ”

“Did you not understand me? Get on the ground, you sacks of horse shit.” He commanded them with the cold fury of a thousand winter storms. 

“Yes sir…” Cowed into submission, the men could only accept their fate. All of them immediately began their exercises in unison, like a flock of sheep being herded by a ferocious beast.

“Once you finish, do a dozen laps around the perimeter.” 

Ignoring their groans of dismay, he turned his attention to the area where the princess was preparing to spar with another recruit.

“Oh?” Looking more closely at her opponent this time, his eyebrows lifted slightly upwards in a rare sign of interest.

“This might be something worth seeing.”

 

Chris, the star of the show, let out a long and labored breath of exertion. Staring down at her hands, which were weathered after daily punishment, she couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride. To think that just a while ago she hadn’t been able to swing a weapon to save her life. Forcing herself to endure the past month of agony had all paid off.

Each day of struggling under her older brother’s strict instruction had slowly refined everything from her physical abilities to her body’s ability to retain mana. She could only commit to short bursts of power at the start, but she could now sustain it for a much longer time. Needless to say, she raised her combat potential by a fair margin. 

At the start, she subconsciously used her mana whenever she was feeling strong emotions. The System had steadily guided her in improving her mana control and adapting to her unique situation. Whenever she exercised, trained, and meditated, it gave direct instructions and feedback as it monitored her soul, mind, and body.

Eventually, she was able to consciously utilize her mana to reinforce her physical capabilities. By circulating trace amounts of mana through her body, she could boost her own battle prowess many-fold. She could keep up with people whose base physical strength, stamina, and reflexes were much better than hers.

If the entire past month was her training period, then today was her race, a time to compete against others, test her limits, and see how far she had progressed. It also happened to be a last minute trial her parents set up to test her strength, mostly in support of her new hobby.

This wasn’t easy. Already, the accumulated strain of enhancing her movements and senses all the time was placing a heavy burden on her. Muscles that she didn’t even know existed were aching, a telltale sign of her mana destroying and rebuilding her body from the inside. A somewhat disturbing description, but the System had assured her beforehand that the aftereffects wouldn’t differ much from intense full body exercise.

She would definitely feel those side effects in full force tomorrow morning, though they weren’t anything that Griselda’s miracle ministrations couldn’t handle. The maid had been such a lifesaver in the last month, tending to her battered body after each day of her brutal routine.

Surveying the lineup of her defeated foes, she became dumbfounded when she saw their faces red from embarrassment. She was even more flabbergasted at the sight of a group of grown men in the distance who were silently shedding tears, like a bunch of children being scolded. 

In The Guardian Knight’s Saga, the Lorien kingdom’s knights prided themselves on their courage, honor, and prestige. Their fame throughout the continent was rivaled only by the fearful ferocity of Fernan’s legions and the widely acknowledged skill of Belrhast’s own orders. The protagonist of the story, Rayden Havelocke, was actually impressed by their prowess; it was what first sparked his interest in Christiana, the princess of Lorien. 

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Aren’t you guys supposed to be renowned for your strength and character? Shouldn’t you be acting more dignified than this? She had always imagined the knights to be steadfast and solemn warriors in full metal armor. Her childhood fantasies were being shattered to a million pieces.

She snapped out of her thoughts when her next opponent entered her line of sight. Unlike her other adversaries, the boy appeared to be the same age as her —somewhere on the cusp between childhood and puberty. Despite sharing her short stature, he somehow looked taller than anyone else she had faced with just his confidence alone. His hair was a warm shade of light brown. It almost reminded her of… caramel? Apple pie? Gosh, she had to stop eating so many sweets!

But his odd demeanor wasn’t the only thing special about him.

Those eyes… she felt the overwhelming urge to look away when they made eye contact. It was as if she was staring into two suns at once, their cores formed out of molten gold. 

“System.” She had to know who this person was. 

 

[Affirmative. Fetching requested data.]

[Name: Bertram Espard]

[Affection meter measurement: 15%]

[Description: The son of a fallen noble house who recently awakened his family’s dormant bloodline after his Bestowal. Due to his potential, the first knight order scouted him from the countryside. He enjoys eating street food in the capital every other day when he finishes training.]

 

“....” Every other bit of information was useful, but what was up with that last sentence? Why should she care what kind of food he likes to eat in his spare time? It just came out of nowhere, and it was information that she clearly didn’t need at the moment… or ever, really. 

Despite her confusion, she couldn’t help but look over the boy’s name and appearance again. 

Bertram Espard, a boy with warm brown hair and unsettling golden eyes, as well as a posture and presence that overshadowed every other opponent she faced today. She had to admit that he looked pretty handsome for his age, and this was from her experience as a man in her past life. She then realized that she was probably going to attract a few passing stares herself once she grew older.

Chris quickly shook her head to clear her mind of these messy thoughts. There was one unmistakable conclusion from all of this information, and it was that she didn’t know anything about this kid other than what the System gave her.

Neither in the original story nor in her brief time in this world did she ever become acquainted with someone of this name or appearance. But the boy looked unique enough to be the protagonist of a whole other novel. Was he a character that would have been introduced in the later volumes of The Guardian Knight’s Saga? Since he was recruited to Lorien’s royal knights at such a young age, then he should have shown up somewhere in the novel.

Her brows furrowed; this was really out of the blue. She would have to do some of her own digging later on to figure out the boy’s origins. 

Her frown only depended when she saw his measured affection for her. 

If it’s 15 percent, this dude must really hate me.

He was, in fact, glaring at her at that very moment. If looks could kill, she probably would have disintegrated countless times over by now. It made her wonder whether she had done anything horrible to him in a previous life, or if the boy had just lived his entire life so far with a giant stick up his arse. 

Giving a resigned sigh, she mustered up her willpower to meet his stare, this time keeping eye contact between them for much longer in a show of both respect and defiance. Aquamarine ocean met golden hellfire, and sparks ignited where those two gazes met.

As per the rules of ceremonial conduct, the challenger had to bow first. Though he looked aggrieved, Bertram looked away from her eyes and reluctantly bent his torso as if doing so would put him in excruciating pain. Chris reciprocated in a curt bow of her own, still wondering if she had somehow wronged this person in the past.

Wordlessly, they raised their weapons: heavy wooden training swords that, though blunt on their edges, had the potential to inflict serious wounds nonetheless.

The boy took the initiative, not with a swing of his sword, but with a verbal jab. He deployed a troop of cutting words from smirking lips. 

“I don’t know why we have to fight you when the regular knights are right there. Maybe they feel it is beneath them to entertain the whims of a young girl, even if you are a princess. Or maybe you’re just afraid of testing yourself against those who are stronger than you. If that’s the case, then as a fair warning, I won’t be going easy on you like everyone else.” he sneered.

Hearing his words, the mechanisms and gears that were busily turning in Chris’s head stopped moving with a resounding click. 

Are you an idiot? All thoughts of battle and strategy left her mind. This kid certainly had balls in insulting the kingdom’s princess straight to her face. She didn’t know whether his audacity should impress her, or if she should snarkily refute him and win this little verbal exchange.

Screw it. This dumbass made a mistake in starting a flame war with an Internet veteran. How many times had she single-handedly beaten down those who derided her favorite heroine in online forums in the past? This little shit just dug his own grave.

The edges of her lips turned upwards into a polite and graceful smile. And out of that pretty mouth came venomous words that mercilessly slaughtered her foe.

“Oh? Then this is my fair warning to you. By all means, if you are that afraid of being bested by a ‘young girl’ of your age, then you can just turn your back and leave right now. No one will think any less of you.” 

A vein popped out on Bertram’s head, and he bared his teeth in a way such that she caught the glint of his canines. His visible reaction gave her a small sense of satisfaction. Was this immature of her? Yes. But she was in the body of a 12, soon to be 13 year old. She could let loose for a bit.

You’re a thousand years too early to try to roast me, buddy. Let’s end this with the coup de grace.

“Sorry, did I hurt your feelings? Maybe you shouldn’t be here, I won’t be worrying about actually hurting you when we do fight.”  

“Enough talk! Are you only able to fight with words?”

Roaring out his challenge, which didn’t sound all that menacing from a boy barely into his teens, he made a mad dash to overwhelm her in a single powerful downwards slash. 

Idiot. Did you seriously get riled up from that?

Chris easily caught his attack in the middle of her own sword, careful to not let the torque of his swing disarm her. The mana reinforcing her limbs made it a near effortless task. She relished the moment when the boy’s eyes widened in shock.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she teased.

In response, his expression became even more fierce, and the golden glow in his eyes intensified. The weight bearing down on her seemed to increase several times over, like a small mountain suddenly colliding with her sword.

This time it was her turn to be surprised.

What?!

Before she could further react, her opponent had already ended their clash and was letting down a flurry of strikes. Chris focused her entire being on dodging and blocking the brutal blows that rained down upon her with gritted teeth. There wasn’t any room for counterattack, or to even catch a breath. In but a single moment, the tides of battle shifted in Bertram’s favor.

How did this kid get this strong so suddenly? Don't tell me that he’s also using mana reinforcement. But that should normally be impossible for people our age. 

It’s like he changed to a different person entirely. Like a charging bull, all his attacks were single mindedly telegraphed, but extremely devastating. It was hard to believe they were coming from a boy this young. Every time she was forced to block an attack, it felt like she was being rammed by a small car. 

Fine, if I can’t win in strength, then I’ll do so in speed! Shifting the direction of the mana flowing in her veins with well practiced precision, she managed to increase her reaction time and movement speed by several magnitudes.

Easily weaving in between Bertram’s brutal swings, she darted into his blind spots and striked at his wide openings.

Seeing him stagger after one really nasty hit to the knee, she moved in for a finishing strike to disarm or topple him.

Just as her sword was about to connect, however, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest, causing her to stumble and land only a glancing blow. 

Fuck! Is this my limit? And I was so close.

Wondering why he didn’t take this chance to launch a cheap shot at her himself, she noticed that he was breathing heavily while sweating profusely. She wasn’t doing much better, having to steady herself after forcibly stopping the circulation of mana for her own safety.

She couldn’t help it. Looking up at her opponent's face, she found him staring right back at her. Bertram looked tired, sure, but she likely did as well. Despite this, his eyes still held firm and unwavering determination. She almost respected him for that. Almost.

“I landed... more hits on you… so I win.” she declared in between breaths.

“A battle… isn’t… over… until one… of us… falls.” he huffed out.

As they continued wheezing while clutching their knees, chests, and necks like they’d run a marathon, Chris saw her older brother slowly walk towards them. Upon arrival, Edward gave a passing glance over them before saying anything.

“Well, since the both of you are like this now, why don’t we just call it a draw and end it for today? You, little sis, definitely need to take a break.”

“But I can keep goi- wah, wait, put me down!” Chris was lifted by the collar like an animal being held by the scruff of its neck. Ignoring her protests, Edward proceeded to carry her off. They left her bewildered opponent behind and started walking back in the direction of the royal palace.

Bertram, who remained standing on the field, shuddered when he felt a large hand fall on his shoulder. Turning around, he met eyes with the knight captain and became face to face with a demon. Giving a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Sevraus uttered out a soul-shattering command.

“Since you’re done, get back with the other whelps. I’m going to beat some discipline into all of you.”

The defeated boy could only hatefully glare in the direction where his opponent fled before resignedly walking into hell.