Hearing my cry filled with certainty, Father blinked in bewilderment.
“You say you can cure the youngest daughter of Praha?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?” Father’s gaze was filled with disbelief, and understandably so.
If I were in his shoes, and my profligate son suddenly claimed he could cure an illness that no one had been able to touch, I would have told the boy to stop spewing nonsense.
But it wasn’t like I could play ignorant about a method I did actually know.
And naturally, I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I know because I regressed!’ That wouldn’t do. So I mulled it over, trying to come up with an excuse.
“I read it in a book once.”
“…You read a book?”
Hmm, perhaps that wasn’t the right angle? Thinking about it, there was no way he would believe me saying I had read a book. It would be more credible to say I heard it in a tavern.
Reluctantly, I blurted out another excuse.
“…I mistook it for an erotic book, but it turned out to be a medical text.”
“What kind of imbecile would confuse those?”
“It had drawings of naked women, so I just….”
My father nodded with a look of utter exasperation at my excuse. His expression seemed to say, ‘Alright, I understand that much.’
…I could cry from the injustice of it all.
I sighed deeply and continued, “In any case, I know a way to cure Lea Praha, so we can inform the Duchy based on that.”
“Setting aside whether that method is reliable, I’m not sure the Praha Duchy will accept the marriage just because of that,” my father mumbled, uncertain.
Right. Even my father didn’t believe I could cure her, so why would the Duchy believe it?
But did he think I hadn't considered even that?
“Along with the news of the cure, please inform the Duchy. Tell them I wish to be engaged to Lea Praha.”
* * *
After the conversation about the engagement concluded, Louis left the office. Only the Count and the Knight Commander remained in the Count’s study.
Creak. The Count rose from his seat and looked out the window. He could see Louis shuffling towards the drill ground.
“…What do you think?” the Count asked.
“He seems to have changed. He trains alone at times when the soldiers are gone, and they say he no longer bothers the attendants. The soldiers also seem pleased, saying he doesn’t insult them as 'house dogs' anymore.”
“Is that so?” The Count breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat comforted.
He had worried that Louis hadn't truly changed despite everything he said. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Then… what do you think of his claim to cure the youngest Ducal Lady of Praha?”
“Frankly, I find it hard to believe, but he has no reason to lie either. As the Young Master said, had he wanted a wife for her beauty, he would have asked for an engagement with one of the other Ducal Ladies.”
“That is true. If that’s the case, then there must be a method… The question is whether the Duke of Praha will accept this.”
“He will accept. No matter how low our youngest lord’s reputation is, it will be a proposal made through the House itself. Furthermore, the Duke of Praha is likely grasping at straws right now.”
There was no way a doting father like the Duke of Praha would miss this opportunity. Moreover, even if their power wasn’t as great as a Ducal House, this was an official request sent from Berg County, the Empire’s foremost spear-fighting family.
There weren’t any idiots who would stake the name of a prestigious family to commit fraud, were there?
“The problem isn’t whether the Duke will accept,” the Knight Commander pointed out. “The biggest issue is Young Master Louis’s martial power. The North is harsh, cruel, and a place of continuous struggle.”
Count Berg sighed deeply, inwardly agreeing. If Louis were to marry into the Praha Duchy, he would become a son-in-law who takes up the Praha name, meaning he would have to go North—to a place where every moment was a battlefield.
Should he go to the northern front without any significant martial power, Louis would surely become a cold corpse before long.
No matter how important the family’s marriage alliance was, the Count did not want to expend his son like that.
The Count swallowed his thoughts and said, “Yes… that’s also true. You said my youngest is practicing archery?”
“Yes, milord. I personally observed Young Master Louis’s archery, and it is very ordinary. He is not without talent… but I observed no particular reason for him to insist on archery.”
“The boy must have thought he had no talent for the spear. He must have been trying to find a way to survive.” The Count sighed sympathetically.
Spear or sword fighting took a long time for one person to become competent. Each stance held subtle principles, and a warrior’s body was forged over countless hours of practice.
However, archery was different. It was difficult to infuse Aura into archery. It was difficult to achieve destructive power, and fighting was impossible without arrows. But the time it took to become competent was overwhelmingly faster.
Striking the target every single time? Surprisingly, reaching this level was a simple matter for those from knightly families.
Of course, it would be difficult if one was completely devoid of no talent, but if the practitioner had even a certain level of physical ability, it was no big deal.
His son had probably chosen archery for that initial rapid growth. The problem was that reaching the levels beyond that was near impossible.
In the Empire’s long history, the only one to reach the level of Grand Master in archery was the Divine Archer, that Old Lunatic.
Throughout history, only a handful of knights had ever reached the realm of Grand Master. And yet that old man—a mere human, and an archer at that—had achieved it. This was despite the fact that most archers struggled even to break through to the Expert level, let alone ascend to Grand Master.
Did his youngest son really have that much talent?
The Count shook his head decisively.
“Ordinary talent prevents one from seeing the path ahead, and it will be the same for my youngest. If he chose spear fighting, I could at least pass on the House’s secret spear techniques. Alas…”
“In that case, he would be more than capable of holding his own.”
“…But he’s only just now coming to his senses and training. I can’t exactly discourage him now, can I?”
The Count groaned. He debated whether it was right to dampen his youngest son’s efforts just when the boy was finally trying to take care of himself.
As he pondered, the Knight Commander spoke in a low voice. “We can make him choose.”
“Make him choose?”
“Yes, milord. We simply need to make him realize that spear fighting, not archery, is what will benefit his future.”
The Count fell into thought. If that could be achieved, everything would be resolved. The problem was how to do it.
“Hrmm… is there a way?”
“Let us set a condition for Young Master Louis. Tell him that in exchange for permitting the marriage with the Duchy of Praha, he must defeat Raon.”
“…Raon is at the Aura Adept level, is he not? As far as I know, my youngest is merely at the threshold of an Aura Novice. Will he feel the inadequacy of his archery just because he lost to a knight of a higher level?”
“He will. There’s a difference between merely imagining something and actually floundering and losing without being able to do anything. If he doesn’t learn anything even after this, then it is best to cancel the marriage for his own sake—he won’t be able to survive on the northern front.”
The Knight Commander spoke decisively.
He was right. It would be better for Louis to experience it firsthand rather than just being told that a spear was better than a bow. And since it wasn't an impossible opponent, he would likely learn much.
And as the Commander said, if he doesn’t learn anything, it’s right to cancel the marriage for his sake.
No matter how much the family’s glory mattered, was it more important than his youngest son’s life?
The Count nodded and declared, “Let it be so. Relay the message to my youngest.”
* * *
“…So, you’re telling me to defeat Raon?”
“That is correct.”
I chuckled hollowly at the Knight Commander’s words. Did my father find my choice of archery bothersome? Or perhaps he was worried.
Figures… as a father, I’m sure he wants to stop me from pursuing the bow instead of the spear. Archery had that much negative perception.
Actually, this was good. Since I had chosen archery anyway, it was a hurdle I would have to overcome at some point. The fact that marriage was tied to it bothered me, but wasn’t that just a matter of winning?
Speaking of which, Raon… Haven’t heard that name in a while.
The son of a Baron’s family, this fellow had sought out our House because he wanted to become a knight. I guessed that since he was a knight and a part of our noble family, he was put forward as my opponent.
He was probably around my level as well. By now, Raon’s prowess would be Aura Adept, one stage higher than mine.
There was a good reason as to how I knew this in such detail.
That bastard, he’s a spy planted by the Artezia Duchy.
The Artezia Duchy had planted spies in every other noble family, and Berg County was no exception. There were arguably more than in other places, certainly not fewer.
I was already planning to deal with him soon, but to have a stage set like this?
I smiled, curling the corners of my lips, and said, “Good. When should we do it?”
“The spar is scheduled for a week from now, on the drill ground.”
“Understood. I’ll train until then. Ah, Commander, do you know how to shoot a bow?”
“I know how to, at a basic level.”
“Would you mind showing me?”
I handed the bow to the Knight Commander. He took the bow and drew the string.
Click.
When he released the string, the arrow flew and struck the exact center of the target, splitting it in half.
Thwack!
“I can only do this much.”
“Excellent.”
“This level is merely basic education for knights. If you intend to use a bow, please at least wear padded armor.” The Knight Commander left the drill ground after saying that.
I watched the man go, a faint smile playing on my lips.
He said that for my benefit.
I picked up my bow and gently shook my head. It seemed I would have to show them the true greatness of proper archery.
* * *
Time flew by, and soon the day of the spar arrived.
The only spectators were the knights, the Count, and my brothers. It seemed they were considerate enough to spare me the embarrassment in front of the attendants and soldiers.
As I entered the drill ground, Raon, who had arrived first and was warming up, acknowledged me and approached.
“For the Young Master to spar with me… I am deeply honored.” Raon spoke with a friendly smile. His acting was so good that no one could ever suspect him of being a spy.
In fact, that bastard was never caught until the family was ruined.
I remembered him quietly appearing and whispering to me only when my family was annihilated. What was it he said? Something about how it was easy to ruin the family thanks to me.
The memory was so clear and unpleasant that I had a hard time stopping myself from going to find and kill him the moment I regressed.
Well, thanks to him, a stage like this has been set, so perhaps it's a gain after all.
I smiled faintly at Raon, who had offered a handshake.
Accepting it with a hard grip, I said, “I share your excitement. Please, don’t hold back. If you hold back here and end up returning to a beggar’s family, what will you do?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Do fulfill your usefulness. And don’t expose your lowly blood.”
I pulled Raon closer by the hand and whispered in his ear.
“You’re a prostitute’s son, after all.”