“Why?”
“Didn’t you say you would take responsibility for me? Then take responsibility for this, too.”
Before I could even ask what exactly I was supposed to take responsibility for, Lucas strode away and disappeared.
I couldn’t understand him to the very end.
Just as Lucas had said, I counted to ten and followed him.
Fortunately, he hadn’t gone far, so I was able to catch up.
“Lucas.”
Unlike before, his face was calm. It seemed the heat had finally passed.
“What is it that you wish to say?”
“Tayros mentioned that he would like you to help train the knights. I want you to start helping from today.”
“Am I allowed to hold a sword now?”
“Yes. Just don’t think about escaping. Tayros knows the activation word, and unlike me, he doesn’t have a patient personality, so you’d better be careful.”
I said it just in case he went wild among the knights.
Lucas didn’t seem to care much about my words and maintained his calm expression.
“Ah, it would be good if you could look over Leon’s swordsmanship, too. I saw you playing well with him earlier. Do you like children?”
“There is a large age gap between my younger sister and me, so I am used to playing with children.”
Did he have a younger sister?
As I recalled the novel, a memory surfaced of her appearing in a scene where he reunited with his family after being reinstated as a Duke.
Other than that, nothing else came to mind.
Then was his younger sister also living as a slave in another fiefdom?
“By any chance… your younger sister…”
“She is fine. She managed to escape safely.”
“That’s a relief.”
I inwardly prayed that she wouldn’t get caught until her older brother was reinstated as a Duke.
If a woman who shared his looks were a slave, it was glaringly obvious what kind of hardships she would suffer, so I prayed from the bottom of my heart that she would stay safe.
By the way, seeing that I only remembered the story about Lucas’s sister after hearing it just now, it seemed there were many things I couldn’t recall even though I had dreamed about it.
It felt like there were quite a few parts that didn’t appear in the novel, too.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to investigate Lucas a bit more to find out?
We arrived at the training ground. Completely unaware that Lucas was staring intently at me with a meaningful look on his face, I spoke to Tayros.
“Commander. Did your talk with Leon go well?”
“Yes, My Lord. Young Master Leon says he wants to learn swordsmanship from Lucas.”
I didn’t expect Tayros to call Lucas by his name.
When I looked puzzled, Tayros pointed toward Leon with a glance.
Leon was standing with his arms crossed, watching Tayros as if monitoring him.
Ah, Leon must have told him that people should be called by their names.
He was so mature and admirable it was killing me.
I held back my laughter because Leon would hate it if I smiled, and spoke to Tayros.
“Yes. If you permit it, I would like to do that as well.”
“Then please allow Lucas to duel with me. I want to decide after seeing his skills.”
It was a reasonable proposal. Lucas also agreed immediately.
“Very well.”
Thus, a duel between the two broke out at the training ground.
The knights who were training also stopped their exercises and surrounded the training ground to watch.
It was indeed a spectacle that could not be missed.
Tayros had confidently boasted that he would win, and today we would be able to see what the result would be.
The two faced each other holding wooden swords.
Since both were wearing protective gear made of leather, there was no risk of serious injury.
However, all the onlookers grew tense at the murderous aura radiating from the two.
That tension lasted only a brief moment before the two probed each other for what felt like quite a long time.
The only difference was that Lucas was looking at Tayros with a relaxed, confident face, while Tayros was looking at Lucas with an increasingly anxious expression.
‘What is this?’
Just then, Tayros made the first move.
He lunged forward with his sword with all his might, but Lucas blocked it leisurely.
Every time Tayros attacked, Lucas stepped back by a single pace with each block.
On the surface, the one being pushed back was Lucas.
However, the one with the relaxed face was Lucas, while Tayros was frantic and busy focusing solely on attacking.
Finally, Tayros boldly extended his arm and thrust toward the chest.
‘Gasp!’
Thrusting with all that strength, wouldn’t he pierce through the protective gear and get hurt?
I squeezed my eyes shut, but no scream was heard.
When I opened my eyes again, Lucas was already standing behind Tayros.
It seemed he had dodged by rolling.
Instead of attacking from behind, Lucas waited for Tayros to turn around and discover him.
‘This… Lucas seems stronger.’
Tayros grimaced as if frustrated.
Just as everyone was watching with bated breath, Lucas began to take the initiative and attack for the first time.
I watched Lucas’s swordsmanship with my mouth wide open.
Lucas was the fastest and most menacing knight I had ever seen.
“Ugh!”
Tayros barely managed to block Lucas’s sword with great difficulty.
Lucas moved exactly like a wild beast hunting its prey.
He focused his attacks intensely only on the vital spots that could cut off one’s breath at once.
Moving here and there with his platinum blonde hair fluttering, he looked just like a lion.
Tayros struggled just to block and dodge.
Gradually, Tayros’s movements slowed down.
Just when it seemed Lucas’s attack was about to succeed, Lucas suddenly took a step backward.
“Pant, pant…”
Only the sound of Tayros’s heavy breathing filled the training ground.
Lucas showed no signs of exhaustion.
A chilly atmosphere hung over the training ground.
‘He really has no tact. If you win by completely crushing the knight commander of another household, who is going to like you…?’
Even if he was going to win, he should have at least pretended to win by a hair’s breadth.
If he won like this, he might get stabbed in his sleep.
As if to prove that my thoughts were correct, several knights tightly gripped the hilts of their swords with resentful faces.
While I was agonizing over how to clean up this mess, my eyes suddenly met Lucas’s.
Lucas looked at me and smiled.
‘Now is not the time to be smiling…’
In the meantime, Tayros caught his breath and launched an attack again.
Lucas seemed to step back while dodging the attack this time as well, but then he suddenly lunged forward, exposing his chest.
Tayros seized that opening and attacked, and this time, the strike succeeded.
Tayros’s wooden sword pointed at Lucas’s neck.
Lucas’s wooden sword fell to the ground.
The knights cheered.
I let out a sigh of relief.
With this, it seemed I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting stabbed in his sleep.
Though he would have to brace himself for some bullying.
“It was a splendid duel. Good work to both of you.”
Tayros lowered his sword.
The two bowed their heads to me.
I deliberately spoke in a loud voice so that everyone could hear.
“As expected of our knight commander. Bringing me victory regardless of the opponent.”
“…Thank you.”
