The gazes of the knights who were exchanging opinions suddenly turned towards the audience.
“…?”
Their eyes fell on the third princess consort, Diana, who was blinking and looking back at them.
Kayden, sensing the sudden silence around him, stopped his thoughts and looked around. “What? Where are you all looking at…?” He frowned and turned his head, only to freeze at the sight of Diana standing at the end of the knights’ gaze.
Now that I think about it… Though his thoughts habitually flowed towards the first prince and his wife, having been recently married, the most important person to him now was…
At that moment, Diana, who had been watching them, suddenly stood up and descended the stairs. Kayden quickly approached her, flustered.
“Diana.”
“I came down because it seems that I meet the conditions set by the first princess,” Diana spoke with an innocent face, a faint smile on her lips.
At her words, Kayden’s brows twitched slightly. A fog of caution clouded his eyes. Could it be….?
Kayden discreetly glanced in Rebecca’s direction. Rebecca had previously tried to harm Diana once through her maids as a ‘warning.’ Was it really a coincidence that she set conditions pointing entirely to ‘Diana’?
“…”
Kayden’s heart pounded with rational suspicion. As his anxiety grew, so did his mana.
He’s doing it again. Diana quickly reached out and patted Kayden’s arm. She whispered with a small smile. “You’ll protect me well, won’t you? And we have Sir Antar with us, so don’t worry too much.”
As she said this, Diana glanced at Antar. Seeing this, Antar stood up straight and nodded visibly.
Kayden took a deep breath, gently holding Diana’s hand. The touch calmed his anxious heart a little. However, the doubt did not entirely vanish. He looked at Diana with a worried expression and cautioned her.
“Still, be careful just in case, and shout right away if something happens. I should have brought something just in case.”
“Got it.”
At this point, there was no reason for Rebecca to target her. The previous ‘warning’ had likely dispelled most suspicions. But since Kayden didn’t know this, he couldn’t help but be anxious.
Diana patted his arm a few more times to reassure him before walking towards the platform.
* * *
With the power of an earth attribute elementalist, four walls were erected in the training ground. Seated atop these walls were those entrusted with the flags of each order. Diana held the flag of the fourth order, commanded by Kayden, and Ludwig held the flag of the first order, commanded by Rebecca.
From afar, Diana stifled a laugh as she saw Ludwig with a red rose behind his ear, sitting atop the first order’s wall. It suited him too well for just a flag marker. Well, she herself had a similar rose pinned in her hair.
Seated atop the fourth order’s wall, Diana looked around. Below the wall, knights specializing in defense, including Antar, were arrayed in a semicircle.
Antar, sensing her gaze, looked up briefly at Diana. But when their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
Well, he’ll do fine. Though Diana tilted her head at the sight, she soon set aside her curiosity.
According to what she had heard from Kayden, though the training period was short, Antar was so skilled in handling spirits that teaching him one thing allowed him to learn ten. Thus, unless something extraordinary happened, this defensive battle would end in Kayden’s victory. Diana took a deep breath and steadied herself.
Meanwhile, Kayden and the knights took their positions. The defense team, including Antar, stood right in front of the wall. Kayden, Patrasche, and the attack team aiming to capture the opponent’s flag stood a bit farther away.
As the movements ceased, silence descended. A magically amplified voice echoed through. “When I count to three, the defense battle will begin.”
At those words, people tensed up, shoulders stiffening. Tension filled the air.
“3, 2, 1… Begin!”
Bwoooo— With the long blast of a horn, the voice announced the start of the defense battle. As soon as it began, the attack teams of each order sprang forward.
“This year, let’s end it!”
“Who are you kidding to say that?!”
The second order led by Duke Yelling, and the 5th Order of Duke Wicksvil, charged at each other as the horn sounded.
“Graaaah!”
Kayden and Patrasche rushed towards Rebecca’s camp.
“Out of the way!” Patrasche, stepping on Kayden’s hand, leaped up and swung a giant hammer with a shout. Boom—!
“Ugh…!”
Rebecca and Ferand’s knights staggered at the heavy tremor and gust that followed. Kayden burst forward through the gap. Swinging a golden sword as large as a wall, he swept the knights aside.
“Wow, that’s insane…”
A knight standing below the wall where Diana sat muttered in shock. She wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.
“Aaaah!”
That was understandable since Kayden was significantly less burdened and did not have to worry about the wall and flag behind him. Especially with Antar, a specialist in defense, he could focus more on capturing the opponent’s flag. Hence, Kayden swung his sword freely, unconcerned about his mana. Of course, even normally, he didn’t need to worry about running out of mana, but there was a noticeable difference now that he didn’t have to conserve it for any eventuality.
Kayden now resembled the first emperor, who was said to have split the heavens and the earth with a single sword swing.
“Undine!”
“Saelist!”
Then, sharp shouts interrupted Kayden’s advance. He withdrew, dodging the fist-sized water droplets and fireballs raining down without warning.
Kayden paused, catching his breath. Rebecca and Ferand appeared before him. Since Kayden had recruited Antar just before the mock battle, the two, unfamiliar with Antar’s abilities, thought Kayden was being reckless.
Ferand looked at Kayden with a scornful gaze, twirling the chain in his hand. “What makes you so cocky? No matter how hard you try, our knights’ average skills surpass yours.”
“You talk a lot for someone dragging down that average alone.”
“What did you say, you punk?” Ferand’s face twisted in anger.
Rebecca held Ferand back with one hand, squinting at Kayden. He seems to have something up his sleeve… Is it because of that knight he brought in a week ago?
Kayden, unlike before, charged into Rebecca’s camp without worrying about what was behind him. This unexpected move made her confront him directly sooner than planned.
But in the end, he’s still a commoner. There’s no way he could have trained adequately in just a week, and as Ferand said, our average skill level is superior.
Nevertheless, Rebecca was confident that this defense battle would end in her victory. If she and Ferand held Kayden and Patrasche as per their tactics, the fight would ultimately be between the remaining knights.
Rebecca’s knights were those she had meticulously trained for a long time, now equipped with gear embedded with Opera Diamonds. Hence, it was only natural that her knights were superior to those of the fourth order.
The outcome won’t change. Convinced of this, Rebecca adjusted her grip on her sword.
Seeing this, Kayden smirked with one corner of his mouth. “Indeed, Older Sister is wiser than Older Brother. It’s more fitting to cross swords than to waste time with words.”
“Shut your mouth.” Rebecca spat coldly, then charged at Kayden with Ferand.
