Master’s Smile

“ ‘Unjust knight’, she said. Truly, that’s exactly what you are right now, Theldorff!”

“…….”

After his meeting with Neena, Lintz returned to his bedroom.

Naturally, Theldorff and Wissen, who had attended the same talk earlier, followed him inside.

Lintz ridiculed Theldorff with a mocking manner, yet he did not even move an eyebrow in response.

Seeing this, Lintz clicked his tongue in a bored manner.

“Tsk…. Are you sure you can defeat Ritter? This battle must be won for me to become the king, hence defeat is not an option.”

“…Ritter is a strong knight. However, I am also the leader of the royal knights. I will never be defeated.”

Lintz nodded in satisfaction at Theldorff’s words.

“Well, that’s fine. But understand this, if you ever lose to Ritter, I will withdraw from the treatment of your daughter.”

“…Yes.”

Theldorff bowed deeply and left the room.

“…Hmph! Nothing but a boring reaction as usual.”

“Ihihi! Theldorff-san’s ideology is the exact opposite of Lintz-sama’s to begin with. Since you are forcing him to stay, it’s obvious that he reacts that badly.”

The remaining Wissen replied to Lintz, who was unpleasantly critical of the man who had just left.

Originally, Theldorff was a knight who, as Neena evaluated, was the most chivalrous and strongest knight.

He was a man who would help the weak and crush the strong. The very definition of a knight among knights.

That man had no choice but to join Lintz, who was willing to spread misery for others even if it was for his own desires.

The reason being was his daughter.

She was still a young girl, but she was currently suffering from an unknown disease and there was nothing that could be done for her.

Yet, Lintz managed to at least preserve her life by dispatching the healer named Wissen.

In return, Theldorff decided to join Lintz’s faction.

“Well, I was also the cause of it, wasn’t I!? Ihihihi!!”

However, it was none other than Wissen himself, under orders from Lintz, who caused the unexplained illness.

Furthermore, it was not a disease, but a curse.

A new curse, developed by Wissen, was placed on the girl.

“And yet, to think you would let an innocent young child be cursed in order to acquire a military asset like Theldorff-san…. Lintz-sama is an evil guy indeed.”

“Sacrificing one of my citizens was a small price to pay in order for me to become the king. Besides, you were also eager to put the curse on her, weren’t you?”

“Well, I could confirm the result of my research, so of course I was delighted and didn’t hesitate!!!”

A conversation of the utmost selfishness.

Yet, there was no one here to stop them.

“Your mouth is really loose, huh…. Don’t you dare mention that in front of Theldorff, you understand?”

“Of course, of course! I’d be cut to pieces if I’m careless.”

Lintz and Wissen laughed insidiously in the dark room.

　◆

A few days had passed since the talk between Princess Neena and Prince Lintz, and apparently the detailed information about the duel had been passed by him.

The princess then explained the content to Ritter, who was involved in the duel, as well as myself.

It seems that the location will be a deserted arena in the suburbs.

Slaves and monsters used to be put to fight there in the past, but it seems it had fallen into a decline.

So Ritter and Theldorff will be fighting without an audience, huh.

Though, it would be impossible to invite spectators to begin with.

Yes, there was nothing wrong with this.

The problem was….

“Only Ritter and Theldorff, the duelists, can go to the arena. And only my brother and I, the observers, can spectate them.”

That was where the biggest problem lies!

Why can’t I go!? I’m getting angry!

I still kept my smile, but the princess replied with a tense look.

“W-Well, my brother said that if I bring someone else, he will also do that. If we are not careful, we may end up in an all-out conflict with them. Clashes between royalty can lead to civil war, so we must avoid that.”

I don’t care about that!

What do you mean I can’t see Ritter fighting in person!?

I can’t take it anymore. Should I just kill everyone in Prince Lintz’s faction?

“…It’s fine.”

It was Ritter who stopped me from becoming obsessed with such dangerous thoughts.

She held my hand and looked up at me.

“I can’t keep dwelling on the past forever.”

I was moved by her words.

Really, kids grow up fast before you know it….

Without me knowing, tears began to well up in my eyes….

I see, I did decide to leave it to Ritter, so I need to trust her until the end, right?

Okay! I’ll leave it up to Ritter!

“…Mhmm. Will finish off, Lintz who disrespected Master, and Theldorff who attacked Master.”

No, you don’t have to go that far.

With that said, I couldn’t go and watch the duel between Ritter and Theldorff, but… Well, I guess I’ll just use my farsight magic to watch.

If anything goes wrong, I’ll be able to intervene immediately.

“…If Master doesn’t come, no motivation.”

I also need to make sure Ritter doesn’t abandon her duty halfway through.