Chapter 47: Morning Star (4)

 

It was early in the morning.

 

In the training grounds of Edelweiss Castle, as always, the sound of swords clashing could be heard.

 

As knights of the Duke's family, their swordsmanship training was indispensable.

 

Though they didn't receive much attention from the public due to being overshadowed by the magic troops of Edelweiss, they sharpened their swords for the sake of their master.

 

Due to Merohim's cold climate, the ground beneath the training area became frozen and solid. Surprisingly, when the individuals running on it stepped on the frozen ground, clear footprints were left in their wake.

 

Currently, there were only two people wielding swords on the vast training ground of Edelweiss.

 

Damian and Gilead.

 

The sparring match between Count Kraus' eldest son Damian and the highly anticipated newcomer of the White Knights, Gilead, had already become a well-known story among the Knights. It was widely known that Gilead always ended up defeated. Nevertheless, on this occasion, all the knights had assembled to witness the duel.

 

Since Damian was returning to Sarham soon, Gilead's eyes were filled with an intense fighting spirit, unlike any other time.

 

"Haaap!!"

 

With a fierce shout, a powerful sword strike, carrying the chill of winter, surged toward Damian.

 

Though there wasn't an aura attached to the sword, which was considered a symbol of a knight, the sword itself never lost its ominous presence. His rigorous training honed his skills, making the sword sharper than ever. With a force surpassing human limits, Gilead swung his sword, cutting through the air and creating a fierce gust.

 

It was as if Gilead's sword, swung with the momentum to cut everything in the world in two, seemed to have forgotten that it was engaged in a duel.

 

However, even though those who were watching knew this fact, they did not try to stop him. Instead, they simply watched Gilead with eyes that already knew the outcome.

 

Gilead had attacked a total of ten times so far.

 

And during those ten attacks, Damian had not once raised his sword to block.

 

He avoided the sword as if it was passing by, leaving a close distance from the sword.

 

Gilead's swordsmanship was at its peak, yet the undeniable disparity between the two combatants made it evident that reaching Damian with that alone would prove insurmountable.

 

As expected, Gilead swung his sword forcefully but once again failed to land a hit and instead sliced through the air.

 

Damian skillfully avoid Gilead's sword with his light footwork, just as he had done before.

 

However, if there was a difference from before, unlike in the past, Damian managed to break through Gilead's defense with unprecedented swiftness, swiftly closing the distance and landing a strike on Gilead's arm.

 

Suddenly, with Damian coming right up to his nose, Gilead hurriedly tried to adjust his stance, but it was already too late to block the attack.

 

-Bang!

 

"Hah!"

 

With the sound of bursting air, Gilead collapsed.

 

In a single strike...

 

...The duel had come to an end.

 

Gilead, who had been struck precisely in the throat, was lying on the floor of the training ground, struggling to catch his breath. Wilhelm, who had been watching this, came out to the area where only Damian stood and declared his victory, and at the same time, cheers erupted from the surroundings.

 

"As expected of Kraus. Even though he's a newcomer at that age, to defeat a knight."

 

"But if Gilead had used an aura, the outcome might have been different, don't you think? Isn't Gilead highly regarded within the Knights for his aura power?"

 

"Are your eyes just for the decoration? Just now, in the duel, he couldn't even touch the hem of Lord Damian's clothes. But even if he had used an aura, would the outcome have changed? Even if he had used an aura, the result would have been the same in the very first strike."

 

There were also those who regretted Gilead's defeat, but they too sent their praises to Damian and congratulated him on his victory. It was because Damian's skill was too strong to regret Gilead's defeat. Since they were knights gathered under the name of Edelweiss and at the same time warriors who admired strength, they did not deny Damian's abilities.

 

Damian held Gilead's hand and lifted him up from the cold floor. Gilead, with a flushed face and heavy breathing, seemed incapable of speaking, but he managed to open his mouth and spoke with a trembling voice.

 

"D-Damn it... I... lost again..."

 

"Is that such a surprise?"

 

"It's not... what I mean is... In this situation, now I'll have to wait until the Lord returns."

 

Damian didn't bother to answer Gilead's regretful words. He simply looked down at Gilead, who was muttering with a meaningful expression. As Gilead walked out of the training grounds, Damian also tried to leave, but someone held him back.

 

"Sir Wilhelm."

 

Damian already knew what Wilhelm, who was smiling mischievously while looking at him, was about to say. Damian gestured toward one of the people among those who were watching the duel before Wilhelm could speak.

 

As Wilhelm turned his gaze in that direction, his facial expression began to change.

 

It was not only the knights who had been watching the duel on the training ground. Elena and her maid, Hailey, were also there, observing Damian and Gilead's duel.

 

Seeing Hailey staring at him with a distorted face, Wilhelm seemed to be worried for a moment, then, as if making up his mind, he picked up the sword Gilead had left behind from the ground.

 

"Are you really going to do this? You'll anger Hailey."

 

"Lord Damian, I can not leave the North. Moreover, I am already old and feeble. I do not know when you will return to this place. How could I miss this opportunity?"

 

Damian could discern the bulging muscles beneath his attire, evidence of a formidable physique. However, Damian chose not to object

 

Wilhelm, still looking at Damian without releasing his sword, spoke with a glint in his eyes.

 

"And aren't you curious too, Lord?"

 

Damian's demeanor changed in response to Wilhelm's words, mirroring Wilhelm's expression.

 

The sparring with Wilhelm did not end properly earlier. He couldn't fully recall the memories of that day, but he still had a curiosity about their match, which was a separate matter altogether.

 

Unlike the previous battle where proper control was impossible, now he had succeeded in completely taming those senses.

 

Then, where did he stand at this moment? There was no better opponent to test himself than Wilhelm.

 

However, he didn't draw his sword.

 

Perhaps sensing the strange undercurrent flowing here, Hailey, who had been standing behind Wilhelm, called out to him in a chilly tone.

 

"Grandfather?"

 

"H-Hailey! This is an important matter!! And the previous incident was all a misunderstanding!"

 

"What misunderstanding? Grandpa, even Ken said that it was the first time he'd seen Lord Damian so exhausted. How harshly must you have treated Lord Damian to reduce someone as robust as him to a rag! I don't know why you're trying to take responsibility if anything unusual happened to Lord Damian's well-being!"

 

'R-Rag...'

 

Hailey's words made Damian feel like a dagger was lodged in his chest.

 

He thought his condition at that time wasn't normal, but was it really that severe? Of course, his body had felt precarious, as if it could collapse at any moment even before the duel began. Still, he didn't think it was to the extent that Hailey described.

 

It seemed that the recent overwhelming victory of Damian had a negative impact on Hailey.

 

How harshly must her Grandfather have treated him for someone like him to collapse like that? That was what she meant.

 

Wilhelm, who until just a moment ago seemed unaffected by it, appeared hesitant to intervene after hearing Hailey's reproach. He gestured to Damian for help with his eyes, but it wasn't just Hailey who was present there.

 

"No."

 

A clear and pure voice quietly resonated in the training ground.

 

When that voice reached Wilhelm's ears, Hailey, who had been defiantly speaking, stopped talking, and Wilhelm looked toward the owner of the voice and nodded.

 

Elena, who had climbed up to the training ground, approached Damian and took his hand before speaking again.

 

"The duel ends here, Damian. It's time to stop now."

 

And so, Damian was led away by Elena's hand, descending from the training ground. Everyone present watched that scene with disappointed expressions, unable to offer any objections or resistance.

 

Wilhelm had a dissatisfied expression on his face, but as an Edelweiss knight, he couldn't defy her orders. Instead, he would only receive a stern scolding from Hailey for his recent actions.

 

Damian, led by Elena, left the training ground and asked her after confirming that they had some distance between them.

 

"Elena, we still have plenty of time until departure."

 

“I know.”

 

"Then why did you do that?"

 

Elena paused for a moment at Damian's question.

 

In fact, having witnessed Damian's growth to a certain level since that day, she could see it at a glance. Even if she hadn't stopped the duel just now, he wouldn't have been injured. On the contrary, he might have defeated Wilhelm in the duel.

 

But perhaps it was because of what had happened before.

 

Suddenly, the image of Damian collapsing in front of her eyes kept flashing in her mind, influencing her actions and words.

 

"...What if you collapse again like last time?"

 

That was why Elena had no choice but to borrow Hailey's words to speak.

 

Damian smiled wryly at Elena's response, which meant that he would surely lose, but he soon corrected his expression and smiled lightly.

 

"Yes, that's right. I have to go home soon. And If I go back after being humiliated, Father will scold me."

 

In a gloomy voice, Damian spoke softly, and Elena quickly turned her head, wondering if her words had hurt him. However, she could tell from his smiling face that he didn't actually take her words that way.

 

Damian stood by Elena's side, matching his steps with hers. Elena also started walking, synchronizing her pace with Damian's.

 

While walking on the road, Damian asked Elena about the sight of the winter castle sparkling white in the sunlight.

 

"Aren't you feeling regretful?"

 

"What?"

 

"Leaving Merohim."

 

For her, leaving Merohim would be like leaving a beloved home. Considering Damian's constant desire to return to Sarham while staying in Merohim, if Elena expressed any intention to stay here a little longer, he would be willing to do so.

 

However, Elena smiled and answered his question.

 

"Aren't you asking a bit too late?"

 

"Huh?... yes."

 

At Elena's words, Damian remembered why he had come to Merohim. He realized that his presence in Merohim was not because he wanted to be here, but simply due to Joachim's whim.

 

Feeling that he had asked the wrong question from the beginning, his face flushed with embarrassment.

 

"Don't worry about that. I prefer flowers more than snow."

 

"Sarham gets cold in winter too."

 

"Is it colder than here?"

 

Seeing Elena's bright and cheerful smile as she replied, Damian couldn't continue the conversation any further.

 

If Joachim, who was unwilling to let her depart, were to overhear this conversation, he would undoubtedly be astounded. Damian mused over this thought, fully aware that his own smile mirrored the sentiments expressed in her words.

 

***

 

"Yes!"

 

Inside one of the rooms of Kraus's lord's castle in Sarham, the battle cry of a young boy filled the air.

 

The boy, holding a small wooden sword, was vigorously striking a large doll in front of him without reservation. Although there was a risk of the doll bursting if he struck it too hard, the boy paid no attention. At the moment, the joy of holding a sword in his hand was the only thing that mattered to him.

 

-Thwack!

 

"Hyaak!"

 

Upon hearing someone passing by the room, the boy quickly hid the wooden sword under the bed and hid behind the doll. Fortunately, no one entered the room, contrary to the boy's worries. Taking out the sword he had thrown under the bed once again, the boy breathed a sigh of relief and looked out the window.

 

"When will my brother return..."

 

Alphonse Kraus, the second son of Count Kraus, muttered while gazing at the empty courtyard of the mansion.

 

The one week that Damian had been away from the mansion was truly a dreadful time for Alphonse. The reason was that Damian had made a promise to Alphonse before leaving for Merohim.

 

The wooden sword currently in Alphonse's hand was part of it.

 

It was the promise between him and Damian. To adults, it may have looked like a mere stick, but considering Alphonse's small stature, it could be said that the wooden sword was perfectly tailored to him. Before Damian left Sarham, he handed this sword to Alphonse and promised to teach him swordsmanship when he returned.

 

Growing up while witnessing his father, who was considered one of the strongest swordsmen on the continent, and his brother, who was praised as the most talented in the family's history, Alphonse always wanted to become an exceptional swordsman like his brother and father.

 

However, despite being born into the Kraus family, his father and brother had never taught him anything about swords. So, the promise he made with Damian this time excited Alphonse more than ever before.

 

The stronger his desire grew, the more Alphonse found himself eagerly awaiting Damian's return. For the first time, he realized how slowly time could pass. He used to effortlessly skip through a whole night with just a short nap, but now, instead of napping, he spent the entire day staring out the window.

 

In his heart, he wanted to visit the family's training ground that his father and brother always used and touch a real steel sword. However, knowing that his father would disapprove if he went to the training ground without Damian, who hadn't returned yet, Alphonse refrained from doing so.

 

But this waiting was over as of today.

 

Last night during dinner, Alphonse heard the news from Arthur that Damian would return to Sarham today.

 

"Hee hee... What will my older brother teach me when he returns? The Dragon Slayer Sword, of course!"

 

Although Alphonse had never properly learned swordsmanship, he was dressed in imaginary, splendid armor and wielding a sword, fighting against a dragon in his imagination.

 

Lost in his imagination, ready to strike the doll with his wooden sword again, Alphonse's eyes caught sight of a carriage approaching the castle in the distance.

 

He immediately rushed to the window, blinked his eyes once again, and realized that it wasn't a figment of his imagination.

 

With that realization, Alphonse cheered and slammed the door, running outside. It was still not yet fully daylight, so wearing an outer coat was necessary, but Alphonse forgot about that fact and ran outside.

 

As he emerged outside, the carriage stood right in front of Alphonse's eyes.

 

In Alphonse's eyes, the carriage appeared as a large gift box. Excitedly approaching the gift box, Alphonse went closer. However, what was inside the carriage was not the gift Alphonse had been eagerly anticipating.

 

As the carriage door opened, a golden light poured out.

 

Similar to when Alphonse had rushed out of the castle, a young girl jumped out of the carriage in a dazzling golden radiance. With the sunlight shining on her, the girl landed in a stable posture and immediately raised her both hands, shouting in joy.

 

"Yaaho! Brother! Finally! We had arrived at Kraus Manor!"

 

"No, Noel! What if you suddenly run out like that?!"

 

Something strange had come.