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Chapter 94 - The Duelist

"So this necromancer—" Helena wasted no time walking by his side. "Defeating him would've been a task worthy of our best mages. You've done it alone?"

Konrad almost tripped.

Sounded like praise, but he smelled a trap. Why did he never think of an explanation?

He knew he wanted to frame the Inquisitor to protect Stella, but left the details vague. Or rather, he was too busy to make up a coherent story.

Before he could even say something, the princess probed further.

"You saw what, eighteen winters?"

"Ah, um—yes, but I had help," Konrad stuttered. "And I only had to distract her until—"

"Her?"

Ugh, she was way too sharp for such a blunder.

Slowing down, she furrowed her brows.

"Last time I saw him, he was a bald man with an ominous aura. Did his magic change that?"

"No. Yes, of course, I meant him," Konrad muttered, "silly me, haha."

He needed to salvage that situation.

Until now, he had gotten off easy because Gabrielle handled the Church and Stella as well.

Now, they were both hidden away at the ex-executioner's fief, and he had to think for himself.

"Sorry, Your Highness, Master is overworking himself," Eyna rushed to the rescue. "Your disguise must've confused him, since you yourself also look like a man."

Fuck. Too much. Too insolent. Konrad was starting to sweat.

But the princess laughed, taking a curious look at the purple-eyed beauty.

"Interesting servants, Lord Konrad," she noted, her voice tinged with a smile. "Looking around these ruins, I can tell she's right."

His heart rate spiked. Eyna's save might've worked.

"Yes, sorry, I skimped on sleep lately," Konrad apologized, running with that explanation. "Your Highness must be also—"

"Don't you dare to offer me rest, boy," she shot him down, her face darkening.

"Of course," he bowed, his face flustered. Now he had no idea how to handle her. "Didn't mean to offend you, My Lady."

What Vargas said about his title and licking her boots stuck with him.

So far, he had done a terrible job at it. And the cityscape they walked by didn't help.

He must've looked like a raider, rather than a responsible lord.

Did he fail the royal investigation even before it started?

"If it's stretching your leg you're looking for, why not take the opportunity to spar with the kid, my Lady?" Vargas asked out of the blue. Konrad's mouth hung open.

"Sparring? With a royalty?" his voice pitched up, glancing at her worn armor.

Helena let out a hearty laugh—the hardness from her face disappearing right away.

This woman—

"You mean to tell me, the boy's strong enough to defeat a necromancer, and also swings the sword?" She asked, her eyes bouncing between the captain, Konrad, and Eyna back and forth.

"He's better with the blade than with his magic, Your Highness," Vargas smirked, with a nod.

Okay, well, that wasn't even a lie.

"To be honest, it's been only two months since I first tried spellcasting," Konrad admitted. The woman seemed even more intrigued now,

This strange offer might have been his way out of the interrogation before it went south.

He was desperate enough to give it a try.

Bootlicking. That was all it was. He'd let her win, of course, and—

"Intriguing," Helena gave him a curt nod. "I'll consider it. But don't you dare go easy on me."

Okay, this was the second time. Was she an actual mind reader?!

"Wouldn't it be a death sentence to injure a royalty, though?" he asked, getting cold feet.

"Boring me would be," she replied, her face hardening again. What was it that made her look like that every time he opened his mouth? "To injure me, you'd have to land a hit first."

She had confidence, for sure.

Giving him a look, she let out a sigh, her hand already reaching for his warhammer.

"All right, I've decided, sparring it is, then," Helena announced. Turning around, she seemed like she was looking for a suitable spot already. "Where is your weapon, boy?"

"W-what?" Konrad felt like he had escaped one trap to walk into another.

How did things turn out like this?

Minutes ago, he was trying to figure out the hopeless financial situation, and now—

"It'll be the perfect opportunity to break the ice. Ever since I've arrived, you act like you swallowed a stake. My spies reported from a different Konrad von Halstadt before."

Spies. Well, of course. She was a royalty in disguise, and the king knew about him for a while.

It seemed obvious that he'd send someone to keep an eye on him—but who? And when?

His glance landed on Vargas right away, the most obvious candidate.

But no, the old schemer wasn't even with him most of the time.

"You'll spar with the vice captain of the King's bodyguard," Helena pushed him further. "Don't think of me as some fragile princess. I'm not your wife-to-be from the Schwertburg house."

Holy shit. She sure knew her stuff.

Part of it. The kingdom was vast, but word must've traveled fast.

If she had heard of Gabrielle's marriage offer, her spies must have been around a long time.

Of course, the archangel wasn't exactly that fragile beauty she must've expected, either.

"Is that so?" he said when he finally found his voice. "Well, it would be an honor to try my blade against a real knight. And a welcome change from all the paperwork I've done these days."

After all, why the heck not? She asked for it.

Did she not know that he started his sword training at the age of six?

He was more confident in his skill than in his ability to make up a fake story on the spot.

Helena flashed a bright smile, looking excited—and less of a bored official now.

"It's decided, then," she said, reaching for her hammer right away. "Does this town have an arena? What ruleset should we apply?"

She became a different person. Did he guess her age to be mid-thirties?

Now she looked like an eager teen. Full of life and mischief.

For being a woman of the royal house, the strangest things must've turned her on.

But Konrad didn't mind. It was a huge load off his chest that he no longer had to stutter his random nonsense. Arena, she said—it had him chuckle a bit.

"There's a small courtyard behind my temporary office," he offered. "And my gear's there, too."

"That'll do," Helena nodded. Was that disappointment in her voice? "A private bout it is, then."

Did she expect an audience? The town was still empty for the most part.

"It would be my honor if I could act as the referee," Vargas joined in on the fun as well. "Your Highness has a reputation among us, old swordsmen."

"She does?" Konrad froze, his brows furrowed.

Why did he still know so little about this world?

"Your seneschal is exaggerating," she claimed with a slight blush, as if to try to comfort him.

"Her hammer broke more blades than the smithies in the capital could produce," Vargas said.

Okay, that had to be an exaggeration—but it had him double-take.

"That so?" Konrad paused to take another look at the woman. She was plain-looking, but with potential. And not in her looks alone. "Then I look forward to sparring with a real master."

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