Episode 17 – Honor and duel
There is a saying that ‘nobles live by honor and die by honor’.
Honor is so inseparable from nobility that people say that the first word that comes to mind when thinking of nobility is ‘honor’.
The reason I am now standing facing Demiron at a distance of twenty steps from the gymnasium after the lecture is also because he has ruined my honor.
In the aristocratic world, behavior that defames is considered to be damaging to the person’s social status.
To a noble who regards honor as life, such an act is indeed a great insult.
The insulted party has the right to obtain an apology from the person who has damaged his or her honor through a duel.
This right is naturally possessed by all nobles, and this right exists even for bastards whose mothers are not nobles.
Why is the right to a duel given to an bastard who is far from the family line of succession?
That’s because nobles aren’t just considered individuals, they’re considered members of a family.
An aristocrat without a family line is not an aristocrat.
Nobles can only exist because they have a family.
And all nobles are treated as members of the family, regardless of their mother’s status.
As long as they are not excommunicated from the family due to the authority of excommunication, which is the authority of the head of the family, they still exist as members of the family even after death.
For aristocrats, family is the root and means of proving their existence.
In the situation facing each other, I could see people slowly gathering in the gymnasium.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“It looks like they are fighting each other. You say you’re dueling?”
“What? Duel?”
When the news that Demiron and I were fighting a duel spread, people who seemed to be cadets belonging to the martial arts department began to rush into the gymnasium.
Perhaps today is the day where everyone just introduces and ends, so it seems that there are a lot of people gathering like this.
“Hmm? You seem to be a freshman, what are you doing in the gymnasium?”
And then, without fail, the person who seemed to be managing this gymnasium appeared.
It was a middle-aged man wearing chain mail, a plate helmet, and a surcoat representing the Royal Academy.
“I will ask. What are you trying to do here?”
“A duel between nobles for honor.”
“Um.”
When Ruel went to the man who seemed to be the manager instead of me and informed him of the current situation, his face hardened seriously.
“If it was a normal sparring, permission would be granted after at least one practical class, but a duel with honor is always possible. However, there must be a manager who will decide whether this duel is won or lost.”
Hmm, the manager who will decide the outcome of the duel.
Judging from the fact that the man said that, he must have asked to use himself as the director.
Your face is stiff, but your eyes look like you’ve found something interesting, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to match his expectations.
“Then what is the name of the person standing there?”
“I am Viscount Logeton, who oversees all the gymnasiums at the Royal Academy.”
“Then, the Viscount will oversee this duel.”
“Um… ….”
When I asked him to direct, Viscount Logeton hesitated for a moment.
However, I could see that he would soon accept my offer.
It was a very important thing to be the director of a duel of nobles.
So accepting the role of director after thinking about it for a few seconds was the most basic courtesy to respect the duel with the honor of a nobleman.
“Good. I, Viscount Miguel Durmeo Logeton, swear to be a fair referee as the director of this duel of honor.”
“I, Damiron Alend Bedoran of the Vedoran family, challenge you to a duel on the basis of my lost honor.”
“I, Alberto Salihar Maydern of the Maydern family, risk my honor that has been tarnished by you, challenge you to a duel, and accept the duel you challenged me to.”
“I also accept your duel.”
When Viscount Loggaton offered to supervise Damiron’s duel with me, we recited the declaration of duel according to nobleman’s dueling etiquette.
“The goddess of justice will judge those who have done iniquity. We declare in no way to hold the other party responsible for what happened in this duel of honor.”
“The goddess of justice will judge those who have done iniquity. We declare in no way to hold the other party responsible for what happened in this duel of honor.”
At the same time as Demiron and I declared, the two of us took out our dueling swords and took the flag-raising ceremony.
–
As soon as Alberto and Damiron pulled out their swords, the atmosphere in the arena instantly subsided.
No one should intervene in this duel where honor is staked.
That’s why everyone in the gymnasium was watching the two of them with bated breath.
Everybody was predicting who would win this duel.
Demiron of the Vedoran family was known externally for the skill of an Aura user.
The public perception was that aura users were superior to sword users, but one step below sword experts.
Aura user is the stage of calling someone who can handle aura among sword users.
In other words, it was different from ordinary swordsmen who couldn’t handle auras.
Aura users could use auras to enhance their physical abilities.
That’s why, in the eyes of the people, that Alberto seemed likely to lose.
It is said that he handles a sword, but his body was of a moderate size with not thick lines.
Because of that, some people thought that Alberto would lose this duel.
However, among the dogs, those who had good eyesight and who had reached a certain level in the martial arts they were training thought differently.
‘That Alberto is amazing. I can’t see any gaps at all.’
‘That cadet named Alberto is at least a top-notch sword user. No, he might be a distant sword expert.’
Although he is an Aura user, he couldn’t find any gaps in Alberto’s posture compared to Damiron’s slightly clumsy posture.
Obviously, the sword held in the right hand was in a riding position with the sword down, but there was no gap to penetrate.
In the virtual sparring in my head, I tried to imagine throwing swords at him in various directions, but it was useless.
No matter which direction Alberto came from, it was because he blocked the sword they wielded.
‘Has the hidden gem been revealed… ….’
‘It’s the Meidern family… As expected, the sword master’s bloodline doesn’t go anywhere.’
‘Hmm, the Maydern family. I must keep it in my mind. If done well, I don’t know if it will be a great help to our family.’
Everyone who vaguely noticed Alberto’s skills began to work hard on his brain.
However, Demiron, who should have worked hard on that head, was carefree.
Until now, there was no one who did not bow before the name of his family.
Except for the brothers in the family, he thought he was the best.
However, the problem was that his opponent was rather strong.
Demiron couldn’t understand Alberto, who just stood still.
Why does he stand still?
Demiron saw that and thought Alberto was a superficial person.
“Hmph, foolish fellow. Why are you still?”
From noble mtl dot com.
“Well? Rather, why do you just stand still and not attack?”
Demi Ron tries to be Alberto.
However, Damiron, thinking that it was not a good thing for Gosu to get angry at the sewage question, opened his mouth as he held the sword.
“Originally, masters allow at least three attacks from sewage. As you can see, there are many loopholes in your actions. So he’ll allow three attacks.”
Alberto sighed after hearing Damiron’s answer.
“It’s just that Prince Damiron comes in first.”
“What?”
“Standing around like this, it looks like the duel will be over before dinner. If I had known it would be like this, I would have eaten lunch.”
“This, you bastard!”
At Alberto’s words, Damiron was furious until the end.
After carefully reviewing his words, it was because he was mocking himself.
Demi Ron took it for dinner or when the duel was over, he said that he couldn’t run because he was a coward.
Even saying that he would come after lunch felt like a mockery saying, ‘It would be easier to deal with you than to have lunch’.
Of course, Alberto was really hungry.
I’m still very hungry because I skipped breakfast, but I thought it would be really hard if I skipped lunch here.
Even when standing with a sword in hand, I could feel my strength draining in real time and I felt even more hungry.
So he really said something like, ‘I’m hungry, so let’s finish this quickly’.
However, thinking that Alberto was mocking her, Damiron grabbed the sword and infused her with an aura to strengthen her sword.
“This bastard, what is it? Are you saying I can’t even get you lunch?”
Demiron swung the aura-loaded wooden sword at Alberto.
“Oops, that’s a misunderstanding. I never said it that way.”
“Noisy!”
Of course, Alberto stepped back little by little and received Damiron’s sword with minimal movement.
It was an advanced technique that did not receive the sword attack directly, but sent it to the sword face.
Of course, to the uninitiated, Alberto seemed to fall back under Damiron’s sword.
However, the talented people here noticed that Alberto was blocking Damiron’s attacks with plenty of time.
‘A wooden sword loaded with an aura is so easily blocked?’
‘I need to revise my evaluation. At least lower level of Sword Expert. Where did such a monster appear?’
‘The father and the son.’
“Kuaaa!”
Demiron went mad and swung his extended sword at Alberto.
Sighs flowed from people’s mouths whenever Demiron’s sword, which contained the techniques of Vedoran’s swordsmanship, flew toward Alberto’s vital point.
However, when Alberto blocked all the attacks flying towards the vital point with a slight movement of his sword, the onlookers gasped in admiration.
“Profit, Profit!”
“If you keep swinging your sword like that, you could injure your arm.”
“Noisy, Noisy, Noisy!”
Alberto spoke to Damiron while deflecting his sword.
Judging from the inconsistent power of the sword, Damiron was now very tired.
Recognizing that, Alberto told him to wield it carefully out of respect for his opponent, but it felt like he was mocking himself from Demi Ron’s point of view.
“I can’t.”
In the end, Alberto thought he shouldn’t have spoken, so he raised the sword in his right hand and stabbed Demi Ron lightly in the arm.
“What?”
Then Damiron’s arms stopped moving and began to tremble.
“Did you learn to wield a sword without thinking? If you just swing the sword like that, it’s just hard, and it’s difficult to deliver an effective blow.”
“Yes, what do you think you know!”
“Blowing is like this.”
Alberto thrust his sword into Damiron’s stomach with a simple motion and moderate strength.
“Gagging… ….”
Then Demi Ron gave out a moan and collapsed to the floor.
“With only the necessary amount of strength, it only attacks by aiming at the critical points. This is the basic swordsmanship. Do you understand? Prince Damiron?”
Alberto smiled and lifted the fallen Demi Ron onto his shoulder.
“Viscount Logeton? Whose victory is it?”
“This duel of honor is the victory of Prince Albert of the Maidern family! Therefore, the loser of this duel, Prince Damiron of the Bedoran family, declares that he must formally apologize.”
-Wow!
“As expected, he was a very talented person,”
“It was fast, brief, and lethal.”
“As expected, it’s the sword master’s bloodline. Amazing. To beat the Aura user so lightly.”
“Hmm, but it doesn’t look nice to walk up to a loser like that and give him a suspicious smile.”
The battle of honor between the families turned out to be Alberto’s victory.
Alberto said as he handed over the Demiron to the Vedoran family attendant who was waiting nearby.
“I only fainted by lightly hitting the stomach, so maybe it will wake up after half a day or so?”
“Young master. Thank you for putting mercy in his hands. Then… ….”
The Vedoran family attendant thanked Alberto and headed for the infirmary with him on his back.
“After. Now then, shall we go have lunch with Nina?”
After winning the duel, Alberto quietly disappeared for lunch, and soon rumors about Alberto began to circulate within the Royal Academy.
There are rumors that he is a ‘scion with a mysterious smile who handles his sword well’… ….
After hearing the rumor, Alberto said, “No, no matter where I look, I’m suspicious!” He shouted, but few people listened to his words.