The battle was a mess. Like children rough playing with swords, it was sloppy and trivial. The problem was that one of the people in this battle was the Seventh Prince Baltian, who came as the representative of the Boltis Kingdom.

Everyone already knew that Davey was the weak prince who had just woken up from a six-year-long coma not too long ago. At this point, even royalty from other countries, who had no interest in Davey, would be aware of his situation.

It certainly wasn’t a minor event that Baltian, who was called a genius with a gift for swordsmanship, had lost to Davey. To worsen matters, he was knocked down by sloppy attacks and did not score at all.

The hall was silent because of this unamusing situation, and it was seemingly going to stay this way until someone spoke to break the silence.

The advantage of the ‘Drunken Sword’—no, the ‘Comedic Sword’—was that no one could estimate how skilled Davey was. It just seemed like a randomly swung sword that anyone could easily dodge. However, matters were always easier said than done. It looked like the person on the receiving end could dodge it, but they could not, and this was the only and most beneficial advantage of the ‘Comedic Sword’. It was a sword technique that lowered the opponent’s guard, but it wasn’t just left to luck without any method.

“Groan… My whole body hurts.” Davey stood up and slightly stumbled when he dropped his wooden sword.

Rushing over to help Davey, Winley shouted with a very pale face, “Brother! Are you okay?” She looked up at Davey, checking to see whether he had been hurt.

“Big brother!” Baris, who was staring at Davey blankly, also came running and shouted, “Why did you do that! It was so reckless!”

“I must’ve gotten lucky. Haha.” Davey offered an awkward smile.

“Big brother!” Baris looked like he was about to nag Davey’s ears off. He sighed.

“The victor has been decided.” Princess Illyna broke her indifferent silence and spoke quietly.

“Prin… Princess! Thi… This is!” Baltian quickly stood up and shouted, as if he was trying to justify himself. The beautiful girl just coldly stared at Baltian. “Are you, who took the knight’s vow, trying to overturn the match?”

“This was not a fair battle!”

“Of course. It was a dishonorable battle, very far from fair, led by you, Prince Baltian. But yet, you have something to say when you have lost?” It was difficult to see that kind of straightforwardness from a lady in high society. Glaring at Baltian, who was standing with a stunned face, Princess Illyna soon glanced over to Davey. She looked at Davey, seemingly befuddled, then turned away. “Hmph. I’m going to go.” She walked away, as if she had lost interest.

‘Wow, a chilly beauty.’ Princess Illyna was beautiful, and Davey was thankful for her adequate favor, but glances that cold weren’t really his thing.

A few people left with Princess Illyna, but there were still those looking over at Prince Baltian.

“Whatever it was, you still have to keep your promise.”

As Davey spoke with a big smile, Baltian’s face was flushed from humiliation and anger.

“Keugh….”

“You wouldn’t possibly back out now?”

“....” Baltian frowned at Davey’s words. “That’s!”

“Is the representative of the Boltis Kingdom trying to go back on his word?”

As Davey spoke calmly, Baltian flinched. The young nobles, who had accompanied Baltian from the Boltis Kingdom, looked nervous. They couldn’t think of a way to stop the situation.

“I need that apology.”

Baltian grit his teeth. He looked like he was trying hard to keep himself from beating Davey to death.

“Keep your promise, Prince Baltian!”

As Baris fired back at him with a cold stare, Baltian looked around at his surroundings with his jaw clenched, then lowered his head. And then, he slowly kneeled. “I… Grit… Apologize, Pri… Princess Winley, and Prince Davey, for my impertinence.”

Baltian, who had lost his face, grit his teeth so hard that it wouldn’t be weird if he killed someone right now. Unfortunately, a promise was a promise. It probably wasn’t easy for him to apologize to Davey, whom he mocked, in front of these many people.

“Grit…Please… Forgive…” There was an unbearable humiliation in Baltian as he slowly mumbled in anger.

Winley, who would usually accept an apology, grabbed Davey’s hand and walked away. She seemed really angry. “Hmph. Let’s leave, brother.”

“Let’s go, big brother.”

It seemed difficult for them to stay at the banquet hall any longer because of the conflict that took place.

‘Well, why did you lay your hand on someone’s treasured sister?’ Snickering in his head, Davey turned away and left the banquet hall while ignoring Baltian, who was clenching his fist to the point of breaking it. Davey didn’t know what kind of grudge the prince would hold because of this, but it was none of his business.

10. The Monster

“Big brother! That was reckless!”

“That’s right! You know that something really bad could’ve happened?”

Davey could only chuckle at the two cheeky twins bombarding him with nagging as soon as he got on the carriage to return to the palace. “Well, it’s fine since it all worked out.”

“You got lucky! His personality is like that, but he is still famous for his talent in the Boltis Kingdom!”

“You know him well?”

“Of course I do. I saw him once during a joint event.” Winley shuddered and crossed arms as if she was upset.

“After that time, he persistently kept pushing for a marriage. Geez, since he’s that stupid, no wonder he has a bad judge of character.”

“Hey!”

“Hehe!”

Baris mentioned that Baltian had a history of hitting on Winley. If Davey knew that Baltian was going to act like that, he would’ve done something. He was a little regretful that he didn’t break the prince’s arm or something.

An above-average level of talent was already required for someone who was training swordsmanship to feel mana, but it was even harder to train and reach the ‘Expert’ level. It wasn’t for no reason that most knights couldn’t reach the ‘Master’ level even if they trained their whole lives.

There were three sword-masters in the Rowane Kingdom, but there were less than fifty in the continent altogether. This was despite the continent’s large population.

“Brother… You’re not hurt anywhere, right?” With tears in her eyes, Winley asked while she held Davey’s hand.

“Well, I wasn’t hit anywhere.”

There was no way Davey could have been hit anywhere since Baltian was the one fooled by Davey’s tricks. However, Davey probably seemed like he was in grave danger to the observer. Davey chose the ‘Comedic Sword’ to screw over the opponent while not revealing his actual skills. The result was a little petty, but wasn’t it pretty satisfying? Although, as the Rowane Kingdom and the Boltis Kingdom were in a cold war, Davey’s conflict with Baltian could become a national one.

“I thought that my heart was going to drop! If you got hurt, how would I ever see you?” As Baris spoke in a criticizing manner, Davey flicked him on the forehead. “Aghh?!”

Davey grinned at Baris, who reflexively let out a shout in pain. He was thankful that they cared for him this much, and that was why he was so fond of the two.

“Big brother, how are you so strong?”

“You have to know the trick. And besides, I tend to just act first since I’m not that patient.”

“Phew… You’re lying.” Baris’ gaze was that of someone who saw through Davey to some extent. It was that kind of look.

“It’s okay. Isn’t it fine since everything worked out?”

“Phew… I won’t say anything more since you didn’t get hurt. But please don’t do that next time. I’d rather just do it instead, big brother.”

“The heavens really helped. Your stumble from not being able to withstand the weight of the sword actually caught him off-guard,” Winley murmured in wonder.

“Yeah. He probably didn’t expect such a ridiculous defeat.”

“Giggle! I didn’t say this, but it was honestly so satisfying. Brother, you really are amazing!”

Baris said nothing more as Winley giggled, but he seemed to be holding in a smile as if he were thinking the same thing.

* * *

“Ahhhh!!!!” Extremely enraged, Prince Baltian threw and broke everything that he could get his hands on in the place.

“Yo… Your Highness! Please calm down!”

“Let go!” The boy screamed loudly in anger, like he could slash someone at any moment. “How… How dare he! How dare he disdain me, the next crown prince of Boltis?!”

“Your Highness…”

“Get out.”

“Your Highness!” At the boy’s cold roar, the nobles, who were stopping him, trembled.

“Get out before I kill you!!”

“...” No one could stop Baltian anymore. The nobles left silently with their heads down.

The boy huffed while throwing things again. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him!!” His furious shouts had only one target. His eyes were filled with hatred and anger toward the person who gave him the worst humiliation in his lifetime. “Ha…. Ha….”

“Do you want to kill him?”

Right then, despite his anger not subsiding, the boy paused. The boy, Baltian de Boltis, frowned immediately and turned towards the windowsill. He saw a woman with red eyes sitting there. She seemed to be in her early 20’s, and her eyes and hair glowed red in the dark night. Baltian asked, “Who are you?”

“Do you want to kill him?” Her voice was enchanting, like one would be charmed by it if they weren’t focused.

“Didn’t I ask who you are!!” Baltian pulled out his longsword and roared violently towards her.

She should have been afraid of the sharp blade, but she just rose from the windowsill and approached Baltian. “I can help you kill him.” She spoke like a mother consoling her child, like a sister caring for her brother, or like sweet whispers of love. As she walked toward him, Baltian could not say anything. “I can help you, child.”

At her enchanting voice, Baltian’s hands slowly stopped trembling. His eyes went blank. “Kill him…?”

“Yes, your anger brought me here. I’ll help you rip him into shreds and feast on his bones.”

“Your…name…?”

“Shari. Can you remember that for me?”

Baltian, who was staring blankly at her, nodded without himself knowing. Seeing him in such a state, the glowing red woman gave a cold, cruel smile. Then, she approached him, held him in her arms, and buried her face into his neck. “Yes, good boy. Leave it all to me. All you have to do is follow your heart.”

In the dark room, the woman slowly opened her mouth and her sharp teeth ruthlessly pierced through Prince Baltian’s neck.