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Side Story Chapter 2

“…Hup!” Kireua’s breath caught in his throat as their swords clashed.It was time for Kireua to stop daydreaming and focus on this battle.

His opponent moved swiftly and unleashed a barrage of attacks against Kierua with his sword; each one of those attacks were so sharp that they looked like they could cut through his bones.

Kireua bent his waist backward. Although he looked like he was going to drop the ground, he stopped midway—just in time to see a silver line passing him by.

“Oh? You’ve gotten quite good at improvising.” His opponent grinned, his sword still extended.

Kireua smiled back at his opponent. “I’m just getting started, actually.”

“The waist is a crucial part for men. If you use it like that, it’ll break down quickly.”

“That is why I always do core exercises as much as I practice my sword skill, and I’m certain that I do that more than most people.” Kireua puffed up his chest.

“Is that so? Then you won’t need to spar with me any longer.” His opponent sheathed his sword without hesitation. The man looked about six years older than Kierua, who was nineteen years old this year.

“Ah, come on!” Kireua dramatically shouted. “Yeah, I daydreamed a little bit, but the great Imperial Knight doesn’t have to act this cheap.”

“Talking me up won’t do you any good.”

Kireua smiled. “You said that you want to test my ability.”

“…Was there something you haven’t shown me yet?” Kireua’s opponent drew his sword again, drawing a sigh of relief from Kireua. It wasn’t easy to find a sparring partner in this place, especially a knight who was on the level of Kierua’s current opponent.

Kireua straightened his posture. “Then let’s continue.”

The sudden blare of a trumpet made Kireua and Hamel, his sparring partner, freeze.

“…I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is the time for us to be playing around here.”

“Are they finally here?” Kireua asked.

“I think so… I’ll prepare the men to defend the fortress.”

At that moment, a messenger approached them. “Your Highness!” he shouted. “I come with an urgent message!”

“Give it to me.” Kireua received a piece of white paper and found that it only bore one sentence. “Advising me to surrender…? Who do they think I am?”

Kierua ripped the paper in two without a second thought.

“Our best choice is to abandon the fortress and exit through the rear gate,” Hamel advised.

The Fortress Raymond was located between two sharp cliffs and only had two gates: the main gate to the southern region and the rear gate to the capital. That was why it was called a heaven-sent, impenetrable fortress. If the people in the fortress focused on defending one gate, then they could stop an army that outnumbered them many times over.

Kireua frowned. “What are you talking about? I never run away from a fight.”

“We’re not running away. It’s a strategic withdrawal. The enemy army is ten times bigger than ours, so we have to consider the option.”

“…The Hero King won a battle against an enemy army that was a hundred times bigger than his,” Kireua mumbled.

“What are you talking about?”

“Umm…Your Highness,” the messenger, who hadn’t left yet, cautiously said.

Kireua looked askance at him.

“I’m sorry, but they also sent this…”

“That is…?” Hamel’s eyes widened.

The piece of paper that the messenger handed to Kireua this time was red, not white, and only two names were written on it. That kind of red paper meant one thing in the continent of Igrant.

“This is a challenge to a duel,” Hamel murmured. “Who could have…?”

“…It has my name on top,” Kireua said.

Hamel firmly shook his head. “You can ignore it. Your title might be temporary, but it’s ridiculous to challenge a commander-in-chief to a duel.”

However, Kireua looked rather intrigued. “Who is Argo rane Suspen?”

“You don’t know him? He’s one of the most prominent knights in the Empire…”

“I haven’t heard about him. Is he that talented?” Kireua asked.

“If I had to put a number on him, he would be at least ninth strongest among the knights around his age. He’s actually the same age as you.”

They were talking about the knights within an empire, not a kingdom. Being the ninth strongest knight in this vast land was certainly impressive, but… it was nothing from Kireua’s perspective.

“I won’t have to worry much about him,” Kireua remarked with a shrug.

“You can’t think lightly of him. His father is the Marquess Suspen,” Hamel stressed.

“Ah, is he the Ghost Slayer who became a Master ten years ago?”

“Yes. Argo rane Suspen, his son, is already almost at the level of an intermediate expert.”

“If he’s nineteen and an intermediate expert, then he’s truly something else. Do you know him very well, Sir Hamel?”

“…In the past, he took the test to become an Imperial Knight,” Hamel answered after a moment of hesitation.

“Oh?” Kireua’s eyes sparkled. “What was the result?”

“According to the old rule that Cain implemented while he was in command, a knight has to beat an Imperial Knight to become one of the Imperial Knights,” Hamel explained. “To cut straight to the chase, Argo rane Suspen won the fight.”

“That is amazing. Our Imperial Knights are a force to be reckoned with.”

“We increased the number of the Imperial Knights from one thousand to two thousand that year,” Hamel added.

“Aha, so he beat a prospective Imperial Knight, not an official Imperial Knight.”

“The problem is that he didn’t become an Imperial Knight even after he won the fight. In fact, it only happened a year ago—he must have known what was going to happen,” Hamel bitterly concluded.

Kireua’s smile deepened. “I just made a decision.”

“No.” Hamel firmly shook his head.

“Huh? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Hamel‘s eyes narrowed. “It’s obvious that you’re going to accept this duel.”

“You and I haven’t known each other for long, but you certainly catch on quickly.”

“Please remember what your position is. You’re the commander-in-chief of this fortress. There is no precedent anywhere on the continent of a commander-in-chief going into a duel against an enemy general!” Hamel shouted.

“What do you mean there is no precedent? Yes, there is: the Hero King.”

“You keep mentioning him, but His Majesty is an exception!” Hamel frowned.

“I’m his son.”

“Phew.” Hamel gave up in the end and threw his hands into the air. “So you’re going to accept the challenge.”

Kireua grinned. “Don’t worry too much.”

Kireua’s sword shone radiantly and a layer of his flame-like aura slowly spread over his sword.

“A tiger cub can’t possibly lose to a baby fox, right?” Kireua’s smile deepened.

* * *

A beautiful woman with cat-like eyes and snow-white skin sighed. Her hair resembled blazing fire, and her ruby eyes were as brilliant as her hair. Although she was over forty right now, she looked to be in her thirties.

Her name was Charles—Charles Sanders. It was evident by her surname, but she was the queen consort of this Empire. Before she became a queen consort, her name was Charles di Pontier, the head of the Ducal Family of Pontier in the south.

“Did this war really have to break out during my vacation …?” Charles sighed once again.

Ten years had passed since the disappearance of the Emperor of Avalon. During those long years, she had to substitute for that irresponsible man. It was always better for the most experienced person to take charge, and she happened to be the most experienced in leading people compared to the other members of the Imperial Family.

“…This was the first vacation I’ve had with my son in ten years.”

The war had broken out silently. Simultaneous uprisings had started all over the Empire, and the southern region, where she was right now, wasn’t an exception.

“Mom, it’s me!” a man shouted from outside the door, making Charles frown immediately. “I’m going in.”

The door opened, admitting a young man with red hair that looked exactly like Charles’s. However, his eyes were quite distinctly black. Charles’s heart-throb guest was actually her son.

“Kireua, haven’t I told you?” Charles massaged her temples.

“What?”

“Refrain from calling me mom in this place,” Charles said.

Kireua awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Well, why not? No one is around.”

“They say the walls have ears for a reason. You always need to behave yourself.”

“Aye, aye. Yes, Your Majesty. You’re so strict that your dear son won’t be able to act like your little boy again,” Kireua pouted.

Charles gave him a bitter look. “Please understand, Kireua. You can go to the other moms and play like you did when you were young. As you already know, I’m the busiest one.”

“That’s why my dream is to become like His Majesty,” Kireua solemnly replied.

“…That was very random.”

“Why not? He lets his wives take care of the state affairs and has beautiful women like you as his wives, but people still praise him and say that a hero indeed likes women[1].”

“You and your mouth again.” Charles was about to scold him, but she covered her face with her hand. “…Phew, forget it. I have enough work already. How did a sly fox like you come out of my womb?”

“I guess I take after Dad.”

“Your Dad is far from sly. He’s actually a very honest man.” Charles recalled old memories.

“Then do I take after you, Mom?”

“I don’t have a sly son like you~!” Charles said with a sing-song voice.

“Come on~!” Kireua quickly approached her and crawled into her arms.

“My, aren’t you a little too old to be doing this?”

“Your dear son just wishes for Her Majesty to let down her burden a little bit,” Kireua quietly answered.

Charles stopped trying to break away from Kireua’s arms.

“I’m just saying you don’t have to burden yourself too much. You have me by your side, right?” Kireua smiled.

“…You…” Charles smiled faintly. “...you really are a grown-up now. You know how to touch people’s hearts.”

“Hehehe.”

However, Kireua’s giggling quickly came to a halt because Charles turned serious. She took her son’s hand.

“Kireua.”

“Yes, Mom?”

“Never let your guard down. I was serious about behaving yourself. It’s not that our national army is weak, but the rebel army is a force to be reckoned with,” Charles advised him with a worried voice.

The rebels had been hiding for dozens of years. With that kind of wicked determination, they were capable of anything.

“You can tell what I mean from how the southern region was taken right away, can’t you?” Charles asked.

“No, I won’t accept their victory.” Kireua shook his head. “They raided an empty nest like cowards.”

“Raiding an empty nest is a valid military tactic. Refusing to accept the enemy’s victory is just making excuses. At the end of a war, there are only winners and losers.”

“…If you think so, then you have all the more reason to not worry,” Kireua said.

“Mmm…?”

Kireua squeezed Charles’s hand back. “I am Kireua Sanders, the son of Joshua Sanders—and he never lost a fight.”

“You…” Charles was rendered speechless.

Kireua smiled widely. “I’ll get going now.”

1. It’s an old four-character idiom. ☜