The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 40

“Kraut-sama, do you have a moment?”

As I made my way to the dueling grounds, Enzi approached me with a serious expression.

“That guy, Orelian—I’ve seen him before. If I remember right, he used to be an adventurer. People called him ‘Bloodstorm.’”

“…He had an alias?”

“He’s a piece of scum who enjoys tormenting others. Kept causing trouble until he was eventually banished. But his strength is real. Not as strong as me, but at least on par with Heliotrope—maybe even stronger.”

“You’re kidding…”

I haven’t won against Heliotrope even once, and now I have to defeat this guy today?

This is some Lunatic-difficulty nonsense.

But I have to win.

There’s no other way to protect everything that matters.

The royal training grounds—built like a grand colosseum.

At the center of the massive circular arena, only Orelian and I stood.

The surrounding stands were packed with spectators. Across from the entrance was a special elevated section—the royal box, I suppose. The king, Primelia, and even Lilie were seated there. When did she show up?

I shifted my gaze to Orelian, who stood a short distance away.

He wielded dual daggers. Judging by his build and stance, he was clearly a speed-focused fighter.

The moment our eyes met, his already narrow eyes thinned further as he flashed a menacing grin.

“Let’s take it easy, Kraut-samaaa. I’ve been looking forward to witnessing your famous swordplayyy.”

His dragged-out speech was unsettling.

The fact that he was supposedly as strong as Heliotrope was bad enough, but now I had to deal with this unreadable bastard?

As I frowned, a knight approached—the designated duel referee.

“The duel shall now commence. Victory is determined when one combatant either surrenders or dies. Only weapons that were pre-approved may be used. Do both participants understand?”

Orelian and I nodded in unison.

Naturally, my weapon of choice was my katana.

The knight raised his right arm high—then brought it down in a sharp motion.

“Begin!”

“Here I cooome, Kraut-samaaa.”

“!?”

Orelian moved first, rushing straight at me with his daggers lowered—

He’s faster than Heliotrope!

“He’s using the same… ‘wind’ technique!”

I recognized that movement.

Wind mages often use magic to propel themselves forward at high speeds.

In that case, my best response was—a counterattack!

I took an iai stance, carefully timing my strike.

“…Now!”

I released the built-up pressure within the sheath, executing the fastest iai slash I had ever practiced—

But—

“Well nowww, this is an interesting sword styleee. Quite impressiveee.”

“What—!?”

He slipped through the blind spot of my iai strike!?

A katana’s motion follows a sweeping arc centered around the wielder’s body.

Its biggest blind spot—before the blade is fully drawn—lies on the wielder’s right side.

If someone could pass through that exact space before I completed my slash, my attack would miss entirely.

It sounds simple in theory, but in practice, a single misstep meant instant death.

“Gah—”

A sharp sting ran through my right shoulder.

I glanced down to see a shallow cut.

That bastard—he sliced me while slipping past my attack.

And he only nicked me, deliberately keeping the wound shallow.

A single exchange, and the difference in skill was glaringly obvious.

It was almost laughable.

“What’s wronggg? Are you ready to surrender alreeeady?”

“Hah! Don’t be ridiculous. We’re just getting started.”

“Ahhh, now that’s the spirittt.”

A sadistic grin stretched across his face.

Yeah, Enzi did say—”He’s a scumbag who enjoys tormenting others.”

Just looking at his face confirms it.

I can’t afford to hold back.

No hesitation. No restraint.

“All right—let’s go!”

I infused my body with Chikaramizu, enhancing my physical abilities before lunging forward—striking at my fastest speed.

This was all I had.

So I’d just have to keep attacking until I landed a hit.

“Ohhh, now this is fasterrr than befooore. A lesser knight or adventurer wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Damn it—”

But he dodged with ease.

This time, he managed to slice my back just slightly.

“Not done yet!”

“Ohhh, marvelousss! I dooo enjoy fighters who refuse to give uppp.”

Slash—dodge.

Slash—dodge.

By the time I had executed my fifth iai strike, my body was covered in over ten shallow cuts.

My arms, shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, legs, neck—and even my face.

None of the wounds were deep.

But my entire body was now stained red.

“Kraut-sama, your bl00d—!”

Primelia’s pained voice reached my ears.

Damn it. How pathetic.

I was supposed to grow stronger so she could live peacefully in this world.

And yet…

“This is wonderfulll. The willpower to fight on despite knowing the difference in ability—utterly delightful.”

“Sorry, but I don’t give a damn about your tastes. Maybe it’s time you stopped playing around?”

“Ohhh myyy… But if I really went all out, you’d die instantlyyy, you knowww?”

“Talk big when you can actually back it up.”

“…….”