I Became the First Prince

The Sword, the Rose, and the Lion (2)

“No!” Another Rosethorn knight screamed as he fell under Eli’s smooth assault.

“Ooh—oh-oh!” Bernardo Eli roared in victory as he stood before his defeated foe.

He showed no such thing as proper consideration toward the other person.
I would have frowned under other circumstances, but not this time around.

Duncan Seymour Tudor was staring at the training ring with a rock-solid expression.
The Rosethorn knights who had maintained a solid energy looked at their fallen comrade with hard eyes and closed mouths.
They showed no emotion to Eli’s satisfaction.
Duncan briefly glanced at Eli before calling up another knight.

‘Dwak!’

“Third down!”

Bernardo Eli also bested him.

“Who’s next?!”

The Rosethorn Knights’ faces now became distorted as they heard Eli cry out loud, his shoulders raised.
The duke sent forth another knight.
Unlike his comrades, who had all fallen to Eli’s first blow, this knight was quite competent.
It was only after ten strikes that he couldn’t withstand the assault any more and rolled to the floor.

“That’s four! I am the Master who will receive the sword from his Highness!”

“Boo! Boo!”

Boos poured out from Leonberg’s knights towards Eli.
The Rosethorn knights remained silent, their mouths shut.
It was an absurd sight, so I looked back to my knights.

“To go into the ring on his own, without discussion! If you feel sorry for your mistake, Eli, then come out of there by yourself!”

“Where’s the honor in a stolen victory!”

The kingdom’s knights were spouting abuse and curses at Eli.

It seemed that they didn’t like Eli’s actions, who had entered the ring while they were still busy setting their order.
They should’ve known how bad Eli’s behavior usually was, and he was still the same man.

“I am after Bernardo Eli.”

“Who said that?”

There were even those who were already deciding who was next in line, anticipating Eli’s defeat, who was standing still.

It was ridiculous.
I was used to it but thought that it had to be weird for the Teutons.
Duncan Seymour’s Face was completely twisted.
It seemed that he thought the knights of Leonberg were insulting those of Teuton.
I could have gone to the duke and told him: ‘It’s just a misunderstanding.
These guys just don’t like it if someone reduces their chances of fighting and scoring wins.’

But I didn’t.
It was a pleasure for me to see the duke’s furious face.
Duncan called a knight to him and then quietly said a few short words to the man.
The knight nodded and stepped into the ring.
Even after seeing four of his comrades beaten to the floor in such a miserable manner, he didn’t hesitate in his steps.

It was natural; just as Eli was a Master, so was this knight.
And he was a Master who had reached completion through the use of mana rings, which were antithetical to the mana heart.

“I am Gerhard Butland,” Teuton’s Master introduced himself by name.

“Bernardo Eli is the name of the knight that will defeat you.”

Eli was so excited that he couldn’t even notice that Gerhard was a Master, and he greeted his foe with absolute arrogance.
That was likely to get his nose broken.

Although Eli’s behavior was nasty, I didn’t want the Teutons to smash us, so I called out to warn him.
At least, I would’ve done so if I hadn’t seen his eyes.
Eli’s eyes were burning with a calm intensity.

“How long will you endure? I don’t think you’ll last long,” Eli taunted with a frivolous face, his eyes as calm as before.
He seemed to have an idea.
To rebuild the Eli family, he had been cunning enough to exploit the sons of other noble families.
Eli had surely expected there to be a Master among the Rosethorn Knights, one of the strongest orders on the continent.

I waited patiently, wanting to see the number of tricks prepared by the clever Eli.

‘Klang! Klank! Klang!’

A series of blows followed one after another as Aura Blades cleaved through the air.

‘Schp~’

Eli’s face, always relaxed, was wracked with pain.
His Aura Blade, which still shined brightly, began to shake sporadically.

‘Klang!’

On the other hand, Gerhard’s face continued to show no expression.
Eli’s situation was such because the unique waves of the mana rings had destroyed the mana flowing from Eli’s heart.
I had been convinced up till then that Eli had a number of tricks up his sleeve, but it was not so.
He was facing the Teutonic Master with pure swordsmanship, without schemes.

Truly, it was strength versus strength and Aura Blade versus Aura Blade, a clean fight.

In terms of swordsmanship, Eli was clearly superior.

His opponent had refined his skill repeatedly, but the Eli family’s style – a family once called the greatest family of knights in Leonberg – was superior to that of the Rosethorn knight.

Nevertheless, Teuton’s knight had the upper hand.
But I knew that Eli, who hadn’t stepped back until now, was on the verge of using it.
Even as I watched Bernardo Eli struggle with the Teutonic Master, I did not step forward.
He would not back down; his mana heart was not trash.

I wasn’t wrong.
Through the power of [Third Ear], I could hear Eli’s constant repetition.

Bernardo Eli wasn’t here for a mere victory.
His family had fallen because they had persisted in the use of mana hearts, and this was a world wherein the Eli family was foolishly laughed at and mocked.
Eli had entered the ring to say goodbye to all of that.

“Ji!” Eli exclaimed as he channeled mana from his heart into his sword.

‘Kdang! kdang!’

Ethereal Aura Blade fragments fluttered in the air – all of them split from Eli’s sword.

Gerhard’s energy began to surge.
It was clear that Eli was going to go all-in at this point, without thinking about the long game, about being ready for the next battle.

Teuton’s Master suddenly launched an unprecedented and powerful strike.

‘Klang! Klang!’

With each clash of swords, Eli’s Aura Blade was winnowed down.

“I am the best sword in the kingdom!” Eli shouted, shaking as he spewed blood from his mouth.
Another strike cleaved through the air, and…

‘Dla~ Dla~’

A great crack formed on Eli’s Aura Blade, and it shattered.
Eli looked at his sword, its radiant light gone.

“…!” Teuton’s Master shouted something and raised his sword.

“I am Bernardo Eli, the successor of the ancient Eli family!”

Eli had looked at his sword blankly for the briefest of moments.
He then fixed it in both his hands and twisted his stance at the waist.

“In the dark, moonlit night”

“Rust upon my sword shined blue”

Eli quietly recited verses.

“Under a pale moon do I scrape away the rust”

“And sharpen my sword for when the wolf howls”

A subtle light shone in place of Eli’s shattered Aura Blade.
And that was the moment when Gerhard sliced down with his sword.

‘Bwang!’

I got up from my seat.

‘Dump~’

Teuton’s Master knelt – with a sword cut through in half in his hand.
And before him was Bernardo Eli, who still stood.
Although trembling and with a blood-covered body, he remained on his two feet.

Eli looked at me.

“I am Bernardo Eli.”

As I heard him speak, I instinctively clenched my fist.

Even in this age, when mana from the heart has been dismissed as a mercenary or low-level skill, Eli had persisted in the vision of his fallen family.
His successive victories was a sign of the resurrection of his family.
It was a declaration that the Knights of the Heart, who had been oppressed by the Knights of the Ring, have returned to the world.

It was the resurgence of ancient glory.

My heart pounded.

Teuton’s Master, who was kneeling, slowly tilted to the side and collapsed completely.

‘Wssch~’

Eli spasmed and slowly slumped down.

‘Shin~’

I caught the crumbling guy’s body.

“My- I did it, your Highness.”

The man in my arms laughed, and as usual, it was a frivolous and disgusting laugh.

“Good work, Bernardo.”

Eli’s eyes stretched wide as he heard my words.

“Why did you call me on my first name? You never did that.”

Instead of answering, I quietly embraced him and turned around.

“Oh, Sir Arwen should have seen the scene, I win-”

The guy muttering bullshit in my arms closed his eyes, unable to finish his sentence, and fell completely unconscious.
I glanced at the princess who stood on the edge of the dojo.

“Both contestants have fallen unconscious, but I declare that the one who has held on to the end, Bernardo Eli, knight of the Leonberg Kingdom, has won.”

The princess, who seemed devastated, declared Eli’s victory.

“Sir Eli is the best!”

“Champion of the kingdom!”

“Bernardo Eli!”

Leonberg’s knights cheered the man who they had jeered at only a while ago.
I gave a happy chuckle.
When I got back to my seat, the waiting court wizard accepted Eli from me.

“He fainted and should let himself heal for a time, but fortunately, there are no major wounds,” the wizard reported.

“Must be because he’s such a strong guy.”

The palace knights helped the wizard to carry Eli away.
In the meantime, I looked at the knights from the Kingdom of Teuton.
Their Master had already been carried away, and the remaining Rosethorn Knights seemed half-mad after Gerhard’s shocking defeat.
On our side reigned a festive atmosphere; on theirs, the atmosphere was that of a mortuary.

It was the picture I wanted to see, and a scene that I really liked.
However, the contest had just begun.
Teuton’s knights had become incensed by their successive defeats and stared at our side.
Leonberg’s knights stared back, their energy having risen after Eli’s victory.
Duke Seymour looked our way with a withering glance.

The arrogance of looking down upon our kingdom and acting as if he had placed Leonberg’s knights under his feet could no longer to be seen.
As I matched his sharp gaze, the corners of my mouth curled up.
With this, I straightened my expression.
The party had just begun.
The real deal would start from now on.

“Next to go up is-”

Before I could finish speaking, there was a man who jumped into the ring like a blast, like a flash.
He was a one-eyed knight who wielded a black spear.
It was Quéon Lichtheim, commander of the Black Lancers.
He learned bad habits quickly; it seemed.
I laughed as I watched the dojo.

Teuton’s knight entered the ring after Quéon and introduced himself – And the duel began.

Victories followed defeats, and swords from both kingdoms clashed countless times.
Twilight came like a heavy black spider, and the palace knights surrounded the ring with torches.
Knights from both countries constantly met one another’s swords in the ring.
The day was completely over, with the sky glowing with the sun’s last red rays.
The ground was littered with pieces of iron and splattered with the blood of knights.
Nobody came to clean the dojo up, a factor that added to the heated atmosphere that reigned on both sides.

“Next!”

“…!”

The dueling knights faced each other without rest.
Meanwhile, most of the people residing in the royal palace had flocked to the dojo.
There were those of direct Leonberger lineage, Maximilian included.
The Great Marshal, Montpellier, and Siorin came as well.

“Your Highness.”

“What can you tell me about the meeting?” I asked Siorin while my eyes tracked the knights’ battle.

“We stopped at your Highness’s command.”

“How much did you gain?”

It turned out that no profit had come from the interrupted talks, though.

“We found out that Teuton does not want an equal alliance, but is rather forming an anti-imperial alliance centered on their kingdom.
From their attitude, it seems that some countries have already accepted Teuton’s proposal.”

“So they want to play the big game and imitate the Empire?”

Siorin nodded.

“And Montpellier…” Siorin said as if just remembering.

“What about Montpellier?”

“I still wonder if he is the right person for this job.”

Leonberg’s knight was on the verge of ending his opponent, so I turned to look at Siorin, who was looking at me with a stern face.

“Even if your Highness has entrusted him with the duty to negotiate with the Teutons, it would be wise to exclude him from proceedings, even now.
The process was delayed because of him tying it down, quibbling over minor details, or demanding far too much.”

“Why do you think I sent him there?”

“Yes, your Highness?”

“In truth, I wanted Montpellier to turn the negotiations upside down.”

Siorin’s face contorted as he heard my words.

“Of course, I didn’t get him to obstruct the Teutons without reason.”

After saying that, I called Montpellier to me with a gesture, and he came from afar.
He explained himself.

“Since your Highness was to compete against Teuton’s knights in a contest of swords, I thought it would be easier to proceed with negotiations after the proper results here were achieved.
If we strike them hard once… No, they won’t be able to act so arrogantly after they step away from a defeat.”

“That’s right, Montpellier.”

Siorin sighed at me.
It seemed that he was not happy with the actions of Montpellier and me and the way we were conducting diplomatic talks.
Still, Siorin didn’t dare disagree with me.
He just gave a deeper, more complete sigh.

Siorin’s attitude changed the moment when Arwen climbed into the ring and started competing with a Teutonic Master.
It seemed as if he was going to rush in and punch the Teutonic knight who had scratched his precious daughter’s body and started treating the Teutons as enemies.

It was Arwen who won, and the wound on her body was but a scratch.
Teuton’s Master, who had faced her, had a gash in his stomach and across his shoulders, and he fell straight down.
Siorin’s daughter remained undefeated.
Or maybe not…

“It’s coming to an end.”

I again began to focus on the battles between the knights.