Chapter 110
As we talked, the cleanup progressed, and the hall truly began to empty out. I was growing tired, but problems should be dealt with promptly.
I looked out the window, crossed the terrace, and descended into the courtyard.
Wondering where Hardy was, I looked around and heard the sound of something cutting through the air in the courtyard.
When I approached, I found Hardy dressed in formal attire, holding an unsheathed blade and swinging his sword toward the sky.
The blade he swung cleaved the air, sharp enough to seem to cut away his hesitation.
He lacked Al's strength and Ray's sharpness, but their swordsmanship had been forged on real battlefields. Born a noble and raised as a knight, Hardy had mastered orthodox swordsmanship.
His swordplay was elegant and smooth. No matter how many times he swung his blade, his center of gravity never wavered, and each attack flowed naturally into the next.
His movements were not flashy, but they were steady and faithful to the fundamentals. If he were my enemy, breaking through Hardy's defenses would be no easy task, and a rash attack would only leave me open to a counterattack.
After completing his forms, Hardy relaxed his stance and returned the blade to its sheath.
I applauded Hardy for the magnificent display he had given me.
"Splendid."
"Milady, how long have you been there?"
"For a little while. So, have you put your doubts to rest?"
No one else would be swinging a blade in a place like this during a banquet. He must have been organizing his thoughts by moving his body.
"Yes. I have."
Beneath the starlight, he looked back at me with unwavering eyes. I see. He had made up his mind.
"Then what will you do about the engagement?"
"As for my engagement to you, milady, I will set that aside for now."
I take back what I said. What was this man about to say?
"Before that, I want to hear what you intend to do, milady."
Hardy got straight to the point.
"When I first heard about you, I thought it was absurd for a lady to lead soldiers in exterminating monsters. But after seeing your military operations and your soldiers, I quickly realized that you were not doing this as a game. I also realized that your goal was not merely to exterminate monsters. You intend to fight the approaching Demon Army, don't you? You intend to save the people with your own hands, without relying on the royal family."
"In that case, what will you do?"
If my actions were misconstrued, the royal family could regard them as a declaration of rebellion. If he reported me, I would be in serious trouble.
"Will you report me to the royal family?"
"No. My domain is also on the frontier. I cannot raise my sword against a lady who has risen to save her people."
"Then what will you do?"
Now that you know and have spoken of it, you cannot simply pretend not to see it. If you do not make your position clear, I will have no choice but to kill you.
Hardy then dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and held out the sword in his hand.
"I offer this sword to you."
His words and gesture left me momentarily breathless.
To offer one's sword meant nothing less than becoming my knight.
A knight's oath was merely a verbal promise. It was a tradition that had gradually become an empty formality. History offered no shortage of men who had lied with the same mouths that swore an oath or turned the swords they had offered against their lords. There were countless examples of betrayal and disloyalty.
Yet those words still held profound meaning.
"What do you intend to do about my father's orders?"
"Graham-sama ordered me to protect you, milady. There is no problem with my following you."
It was a generous interpretation of his orders, but I would let it pass.
"Then, before I accept that sword, let me ask you once more. What do you intend to do about the engagement?"
Offering me his sword did not mean becoming engaged to me. What did he intend to do about his relationship with me and with Sonea-san?
"Regardless of whom I marry, I must first become a man of consequence before I can stand at anyone's side. If you intend to wipe out the demonkind infesting your domain and this country, there will be no shortage of battlefields where I can distinguish myself. You would not want a good-for-nothing husband, would you, milady?"
So that was what he meant by putting it on hold.
At present, an engagement to Hardy was out of the question. But if he distinguished himself, became an outstanding commander, and asked for me as his reward, I might even agree to marry him.
Even if he were to reconcile with Sonea-san, it would be impossible in his current position. He had caused the House of Mikara to lose face by turning down their marriage proposal.
But if he accomplished something great, returned home in glory, and then proposed to her again, the House of Mikara would be able to save face.
First and foremost came a man's achievements. Perhaps this was a man's world, where almost anything was forgiven once a man had accomplishments to his name.
I had mixed feelings about that way of thinking, but it was also true that a man without achievements had no say in the matter.
As Sonea-san had said, it was important to give him the opportunity to prove himself. If he failed, then that was all he was. I could cut him loose.
But Hardy's thinking was naïve. His resolve to distinguish himself on the battlefield was admirable, but the battlefields I would lead him into were on an entirely different scale.
Hardy probably thought I intended to do no more than drive the demons from my earldom and the rest of the country, but I had no intention of stopping there.
"However, Hardy-dono, you are mistaken about one thing."
I pointed out his mistake.
"Let me make this clear: I do not intend merely to save this country. I will liberate the countries conquered by demonkind and drive all demonkind from this continent. Then I will cross to the Demon Continent and save the people who were carried away as slaves."
Thomas-san had sacrificed himself to save us.
No matter how much I regretted it, Michelle-san and little Sera could not be brought back to life. All I could do was save people, so that no one else like Michelle-san or Sera would ever be sacrificed. That was the only way I could atone.
"Wh—what?"
My grandiose declaration left Hardy speechless.
"Do you think I cannot do it?"
By any ordinary reckoning, it would be impossible. Even just the demons that had infiltrated this country numbered fifty thousand. If we counted all the demons scattered across the continent, there were probably ten to twenty times that many.
Meanwhile, I had fewer than four hundred soldiers. I intended to challenge a million with that force, so it was certainly reasonable to think I was insane.
"I may have fewer than four hundred at my disposal now. But when I came here, I was alone."
In less than a year, I had grown from one to four hundred. Give me a few years, and I would make that number ten times larger. And in ten years—or twenty, if that was what it took—I would drive demonkind from this continent. Before I died, I would make my way to the Demon Continent.
I did not know when it would happen, but I would set foot on that continent again and liberate its people.
That was my ambition, the purpose I would never abandon.
"Now that you know my purpose, are you still prepared to offer me your sword?"
My ambition was dangerous, to say the least.
I intended to cross not only the boundaries of my domain and country, but even those of another continent. This was not merely a matter of overstepping my authority; it could be construed as treason.
Swearing loyalty to me could mean being executed alongside me.
"Well?"
"I, Hardy, must apologize to you, milady."
He bowed his head and apologized.
"For what?"
"For my lack of foresight and resolve. And now I offer this sword to you once more."
Still bowing his head, Hardy held out the sword again.
"Please accept me into your knightly order as one of its members."
I quietly accepted his sword.