Chapter 63
"Y-you're pretty good...!"
"Right back at you! I've never met anyone who could match me!"
With that, we swing wooden swords.
Both of us are poor at martial arts, so our swordplay is unsteady and lacks force.
Still, Yurgen and I felt we were having a fairly heated match. We only thought so, though.
After the match, I ask Sebas, who had been watching.
"Huff, huff... How was it?"
"A contest between two equally inept fighters, I fear. Children's swordplay would be safer to watch."
"As I thought..."
Yurgen's shoulders slump.
To anyone watching, a dead-even fight between two bottom-tier fighters must have looked like such a sloppy mess that children's swordplay seemed preferable.
Well, this was more or less what I expected. Since everyone kept telling us how hopeless we were, I only wanted to see just how bad we really were.
We wipe away our sweat with towels and consider our next move.
"Your swordsmanship is no good, at any rate... Is there anything else you're good at?"
"Something I'm good at...? I've kept training in one discipline for a long time."
"What is it?"
"The halberd."
Sebas fetches a practice halberd from among the weapons prepared.
The halberd, known as a spear-axe, has an axe attached to the head of a spear. It's a versatile weapon, but extremely heavy and difficult to handle. I believe dwarves developed it to compensate for their short reach.
It would be powerful in skilled hands, but an inexperienced human would be better off using an ordinary spear.
"Why a halberd?"
"When I was fifteen, I met Lieselotte-sama in person when I asked for her hand in marriage. She told me she would not marry a man who couldn't wield a weapon. I expected as much, so I trained with a spear. However, it wasn't enough against Lieselotte-sama."
"Well, naturally..."
My sister Liese was formidable as a commander, but she was terrifyingly strong as an individual as well.
She's a master with every weapon.
A weapon taken up at the last minute would never stand a chance.
"That was when she told me my strikes were too light. At the time, I was extremely thin—and short, besides. I could never have landed a blow that would satisfy Lieselotte-sama. So I chose a heavy weapon. But every time I swung it, I kept losing my balance."
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right. I ate a lot and put on weight. Even building muscle could only take me so far."
Poor man...
It was true that Yurgen seemed more stable with a halberd in hand, and even his practice swings seemed powerful. He looked the part when he swung it, too... But I never imagined he would sacrifice his physique for that.
Sister... There's someone whose life you changed with your words. I can't help feeling sorry for him.
As I spoke to my distant sister in my thoughts, I looked at Sebas.
"Well?"
"This is quite promising. Whether it could stand up to the Imperial Princess is another matter."
"If being able to stand up to my sister were the standard, only generals and Imperial Guardsmen would qualify. She isn't demanding that much of him."
"I hope so. In any case, he shows far more promise than he did with a sword. If he simply uses its weight to hack his opponent down, no great technique is required, and he has the balance to handle that weight. He must have trained a great deal. Judging from his swordsmanship, his martial talent is probably about on par with Your Highness's."
"So, in other words, none at all. And yet he raised himself to a level where he can use one weapon competently. He's quite a man. I could never imitate him."
Yurgen had studied commerce and made his weak ducal house prosperous. He must have had a talent for business. There was no doubt that was what suited him better.
Even so, Yurgen continued training. Though he knew commerce was the path he was best suited for, he spared no effort to turn his weakness into a strength because he wanted my sister's approval.
"Duke Reinfelt."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Have you never been tempted by another woman?"
"Never. I said that I loved her. Once I had told her that, I didn't want to lie about my own words. People said my father had no redeeming quality except his honesty, but I liked that honesty. So I want to be the same. I want to love one woman and remain true to that love. I thought that love was beautiful, and if it were not, Lieselotte-sama would never turn her eyes toward me."
"...Sebas. This is making me feel like I'm the one doing something wrong..."
"Whether Her Highness accepts him or not is her choice. If working hard guaranteed marriage, everyone would work hard. Effort is worthy of praise, but it doesn't guarantee anything. A woman's heart is as changeable as the autumn sky, after all. Stories of women being drawn to some flighty man instead of the man who earnestly courted them are everywhere."
"Hey, Duke Reinfelt just dropped to his knees!"
"I'm only saying that stories like that exist. In the end, it is all up to Her Highness."
He must have been doing his best to shut out the voices around him.
He had worked hard until now, trying not to think negatively, either.
Perhaps that was a little cruel for Yurgen.
I approach him to say something, but...
"Duke Reinfelt, keep your spirits up."
"Damn it! If I let something like this get me down, I'll never be worthy of Lieselotte-sama! How weak I am!"
"..."
"If she likes flighty men, I'll play both parts myself! Prince Arnold! Please teach me the secret to becoming flighty!"
Yurgen shoots to his feet and asks me that.
He comes rushing at me out of nowhere, so I instinctively retreat toward Sebas.
"He certainly doesn't let setbacks keep him down."
"And asking me, of all people, for the secret to becoming flighty—isn't that rude?"
"I believe that is simply a statement of fact. No one in the Imperial Capital has pursued the Way of Flightiness as thoroughly as you have."
"Don't invent some ridiculous Way of Flightiness. I have no memory of ever walking such a path. I simply never walked any path at all."
"I see! Don't make choices in the first place! I'm learning so much!"
"..."
"..."
What am I even supposed to make of this?
He's amazing. That's all I can say.
Can love really turn someone into this? I had underestimated love.
"My sister generally favors strong men. If we could somehow showcase the strength Duke Reinfelt possesses, would he have a chance?"
"When you think about it, Her Highness has watched the duke grow for twenty years. Surely she recognizes that kind of strength?"
"She only sees the results. I want her to see the effort it takes, too. Watching someone work hard draws people in. Don't you agree?"
"You have a point."
"Prince Arnold, I feel it may be rude to ask you something like this, but..."
"It's already rude, so feel free to ask anything."
"Oh, good. How did you get Lieselotte-sama to take a liking to you, Your Highness?"
He really doesn't mince words.
As I thought that, I remembered how I had won my sister Liese's favor.
It was eleven years ago, when I was locked in a cell for a week after shielding a girl.
My eldest brother, who had learned the details from Father, apparently told my sister that I had been imprisoned for shielding a girl, because she came to the cell every day.
And time and again, she told me she would intercede with Father if I told her whom I had shielded.
Of course, I did not know that my sister already knew everything. But I insisted to the very end that I was the one who had done it. Looking back, perhaps I was being stubborn, too.
I'd been locked up for a week for shielding a girl. After going that far, revealing the secret would make it all meaningless.
So I kept the secret to the very end and left the cell.
My sister gently stroked my head.
"That's my little brother..."
"Huh?"
"That's what she told me when I was a child. I stubbornly held my ground and saw it through, and my sister praised me. After that, she began to take a special interest in me. I suppose my attitude appealed to her."
"That is good news. At least it means Duke Reinfelt is on the right track."
"I think so. The way Duke Reinfelt conducts himself should appeal to my sister. She must like people who work hard. Well, I don't really know her type in men... It might be quicker to meet her in person."
With that, I stand up.
In the first place, it was a mistake to handle something this important through letters.
"Sebas, make the preparations. For now, we're heading to Duke Reinfelt's domain."
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll make the arrangements at once."
"P-Prince Arnold!?"
"His domain is much closer to my sister than the Imperial Capital is. If I go there, she might come to see me. If she doesn't come, I'll go to her."
I say that with a smile.
Trying to deal with my sister from the Imperial Capital had been rather naïve of me.
I might as well go to the front lines myself.
Now that that's decided, I'd better start preparing.