How to Live as a Tyrant’s Bastard Brother

(07)

I hardened my expression and pondered what to say.

Using mana against a knight was akin to confessing that I had learned to wield a sword.

“What are you talking about?”

I shot back as irritably as possible.

If things went wrong, I might find my neck severed within a month of my return.

“What do you mean I learned to wield a sword? It’s all your fault for being worthless. Are you trying to prove that you’re not a fool by making your opponent seem like a genius?”

“Your Excellency, please don’t speak nonsense.”

“It’s my prerogative to say so.”

I grinned wickedly and raised the training iron sword.

It seemed I’d need to resort to shock therapy.

“Were you the one who said you’d teach me humiliation? Allow me to become the source of your shame.”

I charged forward with the training iron sword.

A cool breeze blew through the training grounds as darkness began to settle.

Seeing my eyes go wild, the young knight clenched his teeth.

We collided with a loud clamor of clanging metal.

I could feel my movements becoming more natural with each swing of the sword.

The experience gained from my previous life was guiding this still-immature body.

The formless energy flowing through my blood aided my unoptimized movements precisely according to my will.

Clang!

My sword struck the young knight’s chest plate once again.

“You traitorous scoundrel!”

The young knight roared as he swung down his sword.

Thud! At the very moment his sword flew up, I kicked hard under his knee.

The young knight staggered.

I lifted my leg and pushed against his chest to knock him down.

With a loud thud, the other young knights training around us began to gather at the sound of clashing metal.

“What a cowardly technique.”

“Not something you can use in battle, but not something to use in training either.”

“So you really are trashy in a fight, just as they say.”

“That’s how all the rascals act.”

I perked up my ears to listen to their conversation.

As expected, their reactions confirmed my assumptions.

Instantly, I burst into a haughty smile.

“I told you to introduce me when I asked!”

“What are you going on about now?”

The staggering knight couldn’t keep up with the tirade and widened his eyes.

I ducked down and kicked his ankle once more.

The knight, already exhausted, teetered heavily.

“Sis! Sister!”

I deliberately shouted messy words while swinging my sword three times to strike the armor above.

In the end, my face flushed a deep red.

I just hoped my racing heart was enough of an excuse for it.

Clang, clang, clang!

The sound of metal echoed, sparks flying.

The useless and sadistic movements drew frowns from the surrounding knights.

“How frivolous.”

“Speaking of introductions, I’ve heard rumors that Prince Valencius is a lecher.”

“I thought Sir Bonnel had a sister?”

“I see what’s happening here. To get involved with such a scoundrel.”

As I listened to their conversation, I pondered how to appear more like a rascal, like someone who had never learned to wield a sword.

Before my contemplation came to an end, the young knight regained his balance.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

“I never thought someone like you would pull this out.”

A red light gleamed in his eyes.

The first level of Imperial swordsmanship, Accelerate.

A technique that sacrifices subordinates to increase speed.

I hurriedly lowered my sword and crouched, gathering strength throughout my body.

However, the young knight had no choice but to halt in between.

“Endure!”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“After all, I am of royal blood.”

Three fellow knights dashed in to restrain him.

A knight with a long scar on his face stood before me.

“Your Excellency, Duke Valencius. I am called Caliel.”

“Sir Caliel. I’m eternally grateful to you for protecting me from that rude knight.”

“…?”

Caliel seemed to have many things to say, his lips twitching.

“I won’t ask who drew first.”

“That knight drew his sword at me first.”

The surrounding knights looked unconvinced.

“I don’t know the ins and outs, but if there’s a conflict, settle it with a proper duel.”

I gathered all my patience to refrain from cheering.

“A duel?”

I tried to put a crooked tone into my voice.

“I will give you time to practice until this Friday. I shall report your permit to practice swordsmanship to the higher-ups.”

“I welcome it. Ask that knight. He would want to run away after rolling on the floor after getting hit by my shaky sword.”

Imperial knights are strong.

But I was someone who had reached the rank of Sword Expert.

I could beat a novice knight without revealing my true abilities.

“Sir Bonnel, are you okay?”

“I will definitely repay the humiliation I’ve received from that rascal.”

“Be sure to do so. The Emperor will be observing.”

In that moment, I thought I had misheard.

“Wait, did I just hear ‘the Emperor’? What do you mean?”

Sir Caliel replied.

“This Friday, His Majesty will directly oversee the training of our Silver Knight Order. I intended for the duel to serve as an event on that day. Does that pose a problem?”

She is a Swordmaster.

She would surely see that I have properly learned swordsmanship and am not just a lucky and reckless rascal.

Moreover, the swordsmanship I use is the very technique she developed.

If I were to question how she knew something I hadn’t yet been taught, there would be no answer.

What should I do?

“Your Excellency, you’ve suddenly turned pale. Are you scared?”

The young knight, Sir Bonnel, spoke to me.

My bloodshot eyes were glistening.

“How could that be? My heart is racing with excitement, to the point I feel like it might burst. If you don’t want to get hit in front of His Majesty, you better practice hard.”

I pretended to turn around casually.

Cold sweat streamed down my back.

Now that it had come to this, all I could do was practice.

I had to suppress them and disguise my victory as mere luck.

***

I hated lying.

This was because I had seen many people die from telling lies in my past life.

I despised the unique tension it brought.

Lying to cover up a mistake, and then telling a bigger lie to cover that lie until it spiraled out of control was something I detested.

That’s why I always spoke the truth.

If I had to hide something, I would simply say part of the truth.

But this stubbornness of mine didn’t hold in this life either.

The virtue of honesty didn’t apply when my opponent would kill me for speaking the truth or if I were found out for lying.

In this world, the innocence or guilt was decided by a word from the sovereign.

Still, this was a life I had already experienced once before.

“Valen? Valen!”

“I’m sorry, did you call for me?”

“Here’s some cold water. Take it easy. You’ll collapse if you’re not careful, especially in this heat.”

It was early June. The weather was already sweltering, and there wasn’t a single tree shade near the Crimson Crescent Palace.

“Thank you. But if I rest now, I might never get up again.”

I replied while wiping the sweat from my brow.

“I brought some salt too, so you can have some.”

Rudi looked at me with a worried expression and nodded her head.

“Sure.”

I set down my sword and took a pinch of salt between two fingers to toss into my mouth.

“Do you have any progress?”

She asked cautiously.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“More than I expected.”

A body that wasn’t worn down by alcohol and drugs moved as I wished.

The mana streaming from my heart flowed through my veins, wrapping around my muscles to assist me.

There was no longer any need to circumvent blocked blood vessels or excessively replace necrotic muscles with mana like in my past life.

Though there wasn’t much mana yet, it would be resolved with time.

***

“His Majesty will begin the regular inspection for the second week of June. Guards, please do your utmost to show your polished performances.”

The steward shouted into a magic tool inscribed with amplification spells.

The members of the Silver Knight Order saluted en masse towards the platform.

The rallying cheers of the tall men echoed loudly.

“Eternal glory to the Empire and His Majesty!”

Jailiris, rising from her seat, raised her elegant hand to salute in return.

“I am grateful for such loyalty. I have been impressed by your energy. I have no doubt that today you will showcase skills beyond expectations.”

As always, her words filled one’s heart with warmth.

“I heard there is a duel scheduled between a new knight and a member of the royal family. I look forward to a fine match.”

She turned her gaze towards us.

The golden eyes on the high platform sparkled like flames lost in darkness.

Sir Bonnel, who was to face me, stiffened at that gaze.

“I will never lose. You scoundrel.”

So it had reverted from a duel to a match.

Well, even if the practical treatment was in shambles, it didn’t paint a favorable picture for a knight to duel a member of the royal family.

“Now, Duke Valencius and Sir Bonnel, please step forward!”

The steward cried out.

I slicked back my white hair and donned the most extravagant outfit I had.

The gold-buttoned and silver-threaded vine-patterned uniform glimmered in the sunlight.

Please don’t tear.

I didn’t have the money to replace it.

“Have you come to mock me?”

Sir Bonnel frowned.

He had cropped his dark brown hair short enough for his scalp to show, leaving the upper hair and bangs slightly longer.

Underneath his armor, he wore a simple shirt and pants without patterns.

His appearance and attire were neat like a true knight.

Sir Caliel, a high-ranking knight, offered us training swords.

They had no edges but were heavier than real swords.

Sir Bonnel and I pointed our swords at each other and took a step or two back.

“The Goddess of Justice, La Eustatia, gazes upon this match.”

At Sir Caliel’s declaration, the duel commenced.

Before attacking Sir Bonnel, I glanced at Jailiris.

She wore an intriguing smile as she observed me.

This was troublesome.

Using techniques would surely have me exposed and dragged out.

“Where are you looking!”

With a ground-shaking stomp, Sir Bonnel transformed into a gust of wind charging at me.

The blunt tip of his sword seemed to waver for an instant before it suddenly thrust towards my chest.

I hadn’t expected him to be this fast.

Perhaps I had been more exhausted than I thought that day.

Damn it, I pivoted around on my left foot, dodging the thrusting sword.

Simultaneously, I swung my sword with all my might, aiming to strike at the side of Sir Bonnel’s thigh.

Sir Bonnel stepped back to evade with a large stride.

“Have you ever seen such a cowardly person!”

“Don’t you know you shouldn’t aim below the waist?”

The knights shouted loudly with scorn.

Sir Caliel, judging the match, approached and said, “Your Excellency, you shouldn’t aim below the waist during duels.”

“My bad. I didn’t remember.”

It had been too long since I had faced a duel to keep that in mind.

Of course, I had no intention of revealing this on my face.

Instead, I pretended to be oblivious, masking my expression with feigned ignorance.

Sir Bonnel ground his teeth in frustration.

“Do you really think it makes sense that you didn’t know that?”

A sharp energy flashed at the edge of his sword as it came down in a diagonal arc.

Despite being a training sword, its form seemed razor-sharp.

I bit my teeth in response, swinging my sword.

Clang-!

With a loud noise, steel clashed against steel, and sparks flew.

At the moment our blades met, Sir Bonnel’s lips curled upwards.

“I’ve been waiting.”

He put his weight into it, pressing down on my blade while stepping forward, lunging towards my chest.

His moves flowed so fluidly that I couldn’t even dodge them.

I filled with doubt if he intended to kill me.

However, I was well aware of the methods of Imperial knights.

Bending my knees and lowering my posture, I held my ground and shoved up my lowered sword.

Sir Bonnel’s grin faltered, and his blade slid off mine.

He tried to step back, but I wasn’t about to let him go.

Pressing my body closely, I extended my left hand to grasp his forearm, attempting to sweep his legs out from under him.

“Sword wrestling?”

“You must be mistaken. This isn’t just me going easy.”

“Right. The lecherous Prince Valencius wouldn’t know such techniques.”

“A drunkard’s brawl? Ha ha.”

The knights chimed in one by one.

“Your Excellency. Are you challenging me?”

Sir Bonnel, trapped in my grasp, clenched his teeth.

In the next moment, I felt his body harden like stone.

“Mana Body Enhancement?”

By the time I noticed, my body was already soaring through the air.

It wasn’t a technique; he had simply thrown me with sheer force.

Thud! The sound accompanied my body crashing to the ground.

I heard Rudi’s scream.

My back ached.

“Ouch.”

As I wobbled to get back on my feet, Sir Bonnel charged at me.

The blinding wind created by his wildly swinging sword approached menacingly.

If I couldn’t block it, I might well die here.

A moan slipped out through my clenched teeth.

I hadn’t expected I would be reduced to merely focusing on surviving today.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled mana from my heart.

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