IBACM Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Hogan stood in front of them with a menacing smile.

“Welcome, young masters.”

“It sounds like he’s welcoming us to hell.”

I muttered under my breath, and Dedrick’s lips twitched slightly.

I decided to keep my mouth shut. If Dedrick laughed because of me, he’d lose points.

I walked towards the Grand Duke and his wife, who had the best seats to watch the duel.

“Sir, we meet again.”

“…”

He flicked my nose so fast that no one even noticed.

Flick!

“Ouch!”

“…”

I grabbed my nose and glared at him.

“Using that skill just to hit my nose…”

My voice came out from the pain.

“I heard that Young Master Axel is withdrawing from the duel. Is that correct?”

I turned my gaze to the training grounds at Hogan’s voice.

Even from a distance, I could feel the overwhelming energy radiating from him. Axel hesitated but finally answered.

“…Yes.”

“If you withdraw now, we will never acknowledge you as our lord, even if you become the heir in the future.”

Becoming the Grand Duke of Blackwood without the recognition of the Black Hawks was the same as throwing away his honor.

A Blackwood lord who couldn’t subdue the Black Hawks would be laughed at in high society.

“Do you still want to give up?”

Axel hesitated.

He glanced at the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke noticed and frowned.

Delani licked her dry lips and gave Axel a small nod.

Wow, she’s actually telling him to give up?

Axel’s face darkened. Then, he clenched his fists and spoke.

“…I’ll do it.”

“What…!”

Delani shot up in surprise but quickly sat back down, glancing at the Grand Duke.

Instead, Somerset’s angry voice rang out.

“That’s not what we agreed on! Are you really going to go against your own brother?”

“…”

“That’s strange.”

Hogan suddenly interrupted, making Somerset pause.

“Why does fighting fairly in a duel mean betraying his brother?”

The Grand Duke watched Somerset in silence, while Delani looked anxious.

She seemed to have a lot to say, but Somerset gritted his teeth and stepped back.

It seemed Delani had warned him strictly.

Otherwise, he would have already been yelling at Hogan.

“We already discussed this. He’s just surprised by the sudden change.”

Somerset tried to explain, sounding irritated.

But Hogan wasn’t letting it go.

“That’s odd as well.”

“What?”

“Did you really have a discussion? Or was it just a one-sided concern?”

Hogan’s words provoked Somerset. Unable to control himself, he shouted.

“Hogan! This is too disrespectful, even for you!”

Considering his temper, Somerset had already held back a lot.

He couldn’t stand being ignored, no matter who it was.

What is he even trying to achieve with that attitude?

“What’s so disrespectful?”

“You…!”

Somerset glared at Hogan but quickly looked away, intimidated by his presence.

“Pathetic.”

I looked at him with disappointment.

Then, suddenly, a macaron appeared in front of me.

Wait…

The Grand Duke was holding a macaron up to my mouth.

“Are you… giving this to me?”

He nodded.

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

As I hesitated, the macaron was shoved into my mouth.

“Mmph!”

I reflexively chewed. A strong strawberry flavor spread in my mouth.

…It’s delicious.

But regardless of the taste, I couldn’t figure out what the Grand Duke was thinking.

Why is he suddenly acting friendly?

Hogan’s voice brought me back to reality.

“I only spoke the truth.”

Even with a smirk, he didn’t take back his words.

Somerset raised his voice, trying to argue.

“That’s—!”

“A true knight doesn’t just talk. Let’s begin the duel.”

Hogan cut him off on purpose. I smirked.

Somerset needed to earn points, but instead, he was scheming behind the scenes and provoking Hogan.

He was too emotional, like a balloon swaying in the wind.

“Who wants to go first?”

Dedrick was about to raise his hand when Somerset shot his hand up.

“I’ll go first. Is Sir Hogan my opponent?”

He looked Hogan up and down and let out a mocking laugh.

Oh, now he’s being arrogant too.

This actually works in my favor.

He probably thinks Hogan is just another knight, so he’s acting like this.

They say ignorant people are fearless.

Seeing Somerset, I finally understood that saying.

They also say an incompetent ally is more dangerous than a competent enemy. The Grand Duchess sure has an incompetent ally…

Volunteering to go first should have earned him points, but his arrogance had already offended both Hogan and the Black Hawks.

Ignoring the leader of the Black Hawks wouldn’t end well.

I could see Delani’s clenched fists trembling in fear.

“He’s digging his own grave. How convenient.”

I muttered sincerely.

Hogan glanced at Somerset before speaking.

“Then we’ll go in order of age.”

That means Dedrick will be last.

He must be nervous.

Axel and Dedrick stepped down, while Somerset picked up a wooden sword and swung it a few times for practice.

Then he clicked his tongue, looking at Hogan as if he was unimpressed.

Hogan’s expression remained unchanged, but he was probably annoyed by Somerset’s arrogance.

“Pick up your sword, Sir Hogan.”

“What the heck is he so confident about? Yum.”

I popped a light blue macaron into my mouth and chewed.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Did he want a favor or something?

Not that I minded—I was happy to eat something delicious.

But Delani wasn’t paying attention to the disappearing macarons. She was too busy focusing on Somerset.

“I am not a match for the eldest young master. Unfortunately, you are far too unskilled to cross swords with me.”

“…What?”

“Pfft!”

I openly laughed.

Hogan also seemed to think Somerset was ridiculous. He smirked and dealt him a verbal blow.

“The knight who will be your opponent is Jacob Howard.”

“What?!”

Jacob was back?!

My eyes widened, and Dedrick looked just as shocked.

Aura.

Did he finally awaken his aura? That must be why they brought him back.

Our question was soon answered by Hogan.

“Jacob will not be using his aura in this match.”

That meant—he had awakened it!

I turned to look at Delani on purpose. Her face twisted in frustration.

She had always looked down on Jacob, but now he had returned, fully awakened and standing tall.

And after everything she had done to him.

“Serves her right!”

Jacob stood in front of Somerset, much bigger and stronger than before, holding a wooden sword.

His presence was so overwhelming that Somerset instinctively took a step back.

The knights of the Black Hawk Order kept neutral expressions, but surely, they would mark that as a negative for Somerset.

“Bring a chair.”

Suddenly, the Grand Duke ordered a servant. Another chair was placed beside him, and he draped his outer coat over it before nudging my shoulder.

With that slight push, I landed right into the chair.

“Are you trying to get on my good side, old man?”

“Take the chair away.”

“Aaah! I’m kidding!”

I clung to the chair. A servant approached but backed off at the Grand Duke’s gesture.

“Wait a second… He touched me just now, but no one else can see me, right?”

It was the same during our first meeting. When Dedrick and I made brief contact, Perez could see him.

“So it’s only with Didi?”

That must be why he kept flicking my forehead so casually.

“What a weird old man.”

“……”

I straightened up and looked at the stage.

Hogan stepped down, and another knight took his place, raising his hand.

“Both of you, step forward.”

In the center of the stage, Somerset and Jacob stood face to face. Jacob was noticeably taller, and Somerset scowled up at him.

“Then, let the match begin!”

The knight left the stage, and they lifted their swords. Somerset charged in first.

“Yaaah!”

What happened next was hard to follow. Somerset moved well, but he was no match for Jacob.

Less than three minutes into the fight, Somerset was already humiliated in defeat.

“Urgh!”

With one knee on the ground and a wooden sword pointed at his throat, Somerset gritted his teeth.

It was an undeniable loss.

But as soon as Jacob lowered his sword, Somerset lunged at him again.