NOVEL NEXT Chapter 162
Chapter 162. Beggar Siblings – Double Life
“You brat! You’ve got some nerve!”
Katrina shouted.
It was another day no different from the usual. The recently joined rookie named ‘Deros’ was still frustrating, and her swordsmanship skills seemed to be completely at a standstill.
Living with Ellen was her only joy, and she was grumbling to herself, “Ugh, I should just go home and eat,” as she was heading home. Suddenly, something uncommon happened. A boy in flashy clothes approached her. His intense gaze and soft dimples seemed likely to make many women cry.
Today’s eye candy…
“Are you a knight? I’m sorry, but could you watch my swordsmanship just once?”
Katrina’s blood pressure surged to her forehead. Why bother asking when the sword was already drawn?
How dare he view a knight as…
Fuming, Katrina launched a kick. Normally, she would have simply slashed, but,
[ Achievement: The Man Katrina Risked Her Life to Protect – Gained Great Favor from Katrina. ]
There was no need to go that far. She decided just giving him a fierce beating would suffice.
“What?”
But the boy reacted swiftly. The sword flipped in his hand and aimed to strike her legs low toward her waist.
Blocking a low kick with a sword is tough. Normally, one would either evade or swing their sword as if saying, ‘I’ll take the kick, but you’ll get slashed!’
Provoking such brutal exchanges was Katrina’s forte. It was her most favored type of fight.
However, since the boy responded uniquely, Katrina adjusted the trajectory of her flying leg.
She avoided the tip of his sword, putting her feet together like a ballet move. She spun her body using the kicking leg’s force and slashed diagonally with her sword…
‘Oops! I didn’t mean to kill him!’
Regret came slower than her actions. Katrina was startled by her instinctive combo, but decided, ‘Forget it, let him die,’ and did not pull back her sword.
– Clang!
“Oh! He blocked it?”
Leo barely managed to defend with the long sword he held in reverse. He kneeled on one knee under Katrina’s sword pressure.
His wrist felt like it would break.
His sword was pushed back, cutting his right elbow and thigh.
Leo felt the blood soaking his clothes but braced himself. Pushing the ground with his left foot, he aimed to dig into Katrina’s lower body.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Katrina easily thwarted Leo’s desperate counterattack by lowering her stance. Holding up her sword, she pinned Leo down, rendering him immobile.
A very brief struggle. Even that was enough to make sweat beads form on frail Leo’s back.
If it were Leo Dexter, handling this Katrina would not have been hard. Thanks to {Swordsmanship.4v: Jacob Style}, his level was high, and his physical abilities superior.
But with this hopeless body, despite having captain-level skills, it was impossible.
Of course, he had taken that into account coming here, but…
‘Why is she coming on so strong this time? She wasn’t like this before.’
This time he drew his sword courteously in front of her. He’d seen her temper when he had drawn it behind her last time.
Such temper.
Clicking his tongue, Leo pulled his sword. Pretending to be pushed back (he actually was), he rotated the tip of the sword around the contact point with Katrina’s sword.
It was the swordsmanship of ‘Jacob,’ a Swordmaster he had met in the previous round.
The essence of Jacob’s swordsmanship could be defined as ‘Weapon Destruction.’
It was a technique to gain maximum advantage the moment swords collided, focusing not only on breaking the opponent’s blade.
“What?!”
Startled as Leo’s sword turned inward, Katrina was taken aback. Moving the sword recklessly during a power struggle was taboo.
Usually, the one who moved first would lose, making it standard to either open the distance slowly or push the sword away with force.
This guy didn’t do either.
As he guided her sword harmlessly to the side, he started to realign his posture by rotating the oddly gripped reverse sword.
“Wow! You’ve got some nerve!”
– Clang!
Katrina shouted as she repelled his sword. Though she was winning the power struggle, she chose to reset the stalemate.
Leo understood why the slender Swordmaster had used this technique.
He wasn’t confident in power struggles. Hence, even with his inferior skills, Leo Dexter could hold out because he possessed an unbreakable sword.
Leo quickly sheathed his sword.
Knowing he would lose if it continued, he bowed to the fuming Katrina who yelled, “Why the hell did you sheathe your sword!”
“Thank you for evaluating my skill. How is it? Is it useful enough?”
“Useful my foot! Unsheath your sword! It makes it look like I lost!”
It took quite a while for her anger to subside. No matter how much she pressured him, Leo didn’t draw his sword, so Katrina, with a discontented face, asked while putting her sword away.
“What are you? A body without a muscle… No, that’s not the issue. How old are you?”
Katrina, who had regained her senses, examined Leo. He seemed older than he looked, but he was still young.
“How did such a young kid, who seems barely of age, manage to block my sword? Even I couldn’t do that at his age.”
‘Could this be the genius I’ve only heard about?’
That was the only explanation she could think of. His skills were beyond what one could achieve at his age.
Knights were fundamentally all geniuses.
Only someone with overwhelming talent among tens of thousands of humans could become a knight. Even Deros, her junior whom Katrina berated daily, was a person of considerable talent, despite differences in degree.
Of course, there was a significant differentiation even among them. The talent gap became evident based on whether one could create their own swordsmanship or not.
In Katrina’s view, this guy had already established his own swordsmanship. It was hard to believe, but it was true.
“My age is…”
“Shall we go somewhere to talk first? Oh, wait. Are you…a noble?”
It was a reasonable suspicion. Hilariously, Katrina’s behavior became more restrained, and when the playful Leo cleared his throat, she paled.
‘Damn. No wonder he looked handsome. This is bad; he’s injured… I hope I’m not taken away for treason.’
“No, I’m a commoner.”
“You son of a bitch. Draw your sword.”
* * *
A bruised Leo mumbled as he ate some bread. It was a restaurant he had visited before; Katrina sat across the table sipping water.
“So, you just came up to the capital without any plan?”
Beating someone up just because of a joke. Leo obediently answered, feeling the need to reconsider his high regard for achievements.
“Yes… It hasn’t been long since I arrived. But the knights’ entrance exam is over, and I’ve run out of money…”
“Do you refuse to smile?”
“I came seeking help. Sir knight.”
A woman who seemed like a thug. I’ll get you back for this.
As he forced a smile, Katrina grinned. She didn’t seem to worry about any future consequences.
“Help, huh… I can help you.”
“How?”
“Join our knights’ order. I’ll recommend you.”
For whatever reason, Leo, who had entered the stage he wished, cleared his throat.
“No. I’m thinking of joining the Royal Guard. I heard their entrance exam is in a few weeks.”
“The Royal Guard? Why would you want to join such a rigid place? Our knights’ order is much freer and better. If I recommend you, you can join without taking any exams.”
“Thanks for the offer, but…”
— Gulp.
This was an important moment. He knew Katrina would recommend him to the knights’ order if he showed his skill. And Leo desperately needed that recommendation.
As he swallowed the bread filling his mouth, he acted somewhat indifferent.
“The Royal Guard seems much better. If something like a war breaks out, the royal knights have to be dispatched, but the Royal Guard just protects the palace.”
“What do you mean by ‘just protects’?”
“…This is a saying from my hometown. I just want to live comfortably. Both the Royal Guard and royal knights have to train every day; it’s better to work in the palace if I have the choice.”
“Oh my, what kind of brat are you? What do you think knights are for…”
Ah right, he is a genius.
Surprising that even at a young age, with little training, he’s already this skilled. It’s no wonder he looks down on knights.
‘No, I shouldn’t accept this.’
Katrina shook her head. She pondered how to coax this rogue and spoke.
“Hey, wars don’t happen that easily. And the knights’ order pays better. The vacations are properly given. The Royal Guard doesn’t have such things. You have to stay in the palace, and promotion is slow. You could progress rapidly in the knights’ order.”
“It’s only a minor difference. It’s not like I can take vacations to travel far, and promotion stops at being the head of knights. The positions of knight commander and deputy commander usually go to nobles.”
“…”
How does this kid who just arrived in the capital know so much? Biting her lips, Katrina said.
“That’s not always true. Who knows? At your age, becoming a Sword Master isn’t just a dream. Then you could become a knight commander like Count Herman Forte and live a grand life.”
“Even a Sword Master could live a grand life doing anything.”
“……”
That’s true.
However, Katrina’s patience reached its limit with this exact statement of facts. She wanted to say, “You damn brat. I can’t recommend someone like you! Do whatever you want.” But without a recommendation, this lazy kid would definitely become a Royal Guard.
She therefore proposed a final compromise.
“…It’s hard for the Royal Guard to get married. Both the lodging and workplace are in the palace, where would you find a woman? Being a knight is much better.”
But even this compromise was drowned by Leo’s one word.
“I have a girlfriend.”
“Fine!! Good for you!”
Emotions flaring, the table was flipped. The sight of flying bread pieces was quite spectacular.
* * *
“This is my house. Here’s the key.”
Grumbling, Katrina handed over the key to Leo.
The house was covered in dust. Dust had accumulated on the threshold of the entrance, clearly showing that no one had lived there for a long time as Leo stepped inside.
It was the house where Katrina had lived. Before moving in with Ellen, she resided here, southeast of the royal castle. Though the house was in disrepair, Leo was satisfied. It wasn’t too far from the theater where Xenia and Lena were.
‘I’m off then. You remember where I live, right?’
‘Yes, I’ve memorized it.’
There was still some grumbling, and Leo thought he heard a muttered ‘damned brat,’ but he saw Katrina off with a bright smile.
The smile disappeared as soon as the door closed with a puff of dust. There was no need to pretend anymore.
‘Hoo. At least the residence issue is solved…’
Though Xenia had agreed to take care of his sister, living at the theater himself wasn’t an option.
He now planned to start a rather troublesome life. First, he secured a promise from Katrina for a recommendation. This time, he needed to become a royal guard no matter what.
There were two reasons for this.
The first was to deal with Gilbert Forte. If he wasn’t dealt with, Leah from the ‘Childhood Friend’ scenario would be expelled from the capital church.
Killing him wasn’t difficult, but the repercussions were serious, as he had deeply regretted from the previous ‘Beggar Siblings’ round.
Being on the run wasted time, and above all, it made it impossible to receive help from Count Gustav Peter.
This time, he planned to prevent Gilbert Forte from going to the capital church without killing him.
There was only one way Leo could think of. He had to enter the palace and stop Gilbert Forte and Princess Chloe de Tatalia from causing trouble.
The swordmaster sent his son to the capital church because of this. If he could prevent the kiss in front of the Prince of the Astin Kingdom, a war might be avoided.
Even though the war broke out in the previous round despite killing Gilbert, who knows if the princess kissed someone else due to the aftermath of his death?
With no way to avoid the ‘War’ event by capturing Noguhaho in the ‘Fiancé’ scenario, it was a choice he had to consider.
The second reason was to meet Count Gustav Peter ‘safely.’
It was almost certain that Count Peter and Bishop Berg are father and son.
And Bishop Berg was a crucial figure in defeating Prince Eric de Yeriel of the Conrad Kingdom, an apostle of Oriax.
He had seen it in the previous ‘Childhood Friend’ scenario — Bishop Berg summoning the enormous figure of a god.
Compared to Lev, who received the absurd ‘Counter’ benefit, it wasn’t much, but it was a formidable power. He was someone who must be won over.
The problem was that he wasn’t very cooperative with the returned prince, Leo de Yeriel.
Thus, he seemed to need the help of Count Gustav Peter (or Baron Monarch), who wasn’t much more cooperative either.
In the 9th round where he parted from his sister, the count recognized both he and Lena’s identities at a glance but pretended not to and tattled to Marquis Benard Tatian.
‘That would be the same this time too.’
Marquis Benard Tatian was a terrifying person. Leo still didn’t think he could handle him. He had to avoid him at all costs.
Hence, he needed the title of royal guard. If a royal guard wanted to meet someone, it was generally because they were a messenger of the king, making it easier to meet Count Peter.
Also, being a knight belonging to the royal family, even if Count Gustav Peter tattled to Marquis Tatian, the marquis would hesitate to act carelessly.
However, it wasn’t good for it to be known.
Aside from the marquis, there’s no telling what would happen if the Tatalia royal family found out that he was the prince who fled the Conrad Kingdom.
Leo raised his arm to brush off the dust from the bed.
{Barbatos’s Bracelet}. Looking at the simple leather bracelet with two remaining red beads, he finished his contemplation.
He planned to utilize everything available.
First, he would become a royal guard and meet Prince Klean de Tatalia, who he had never met. After securing achievements to gain a slight favor from the nobles serving the Tatalia royal family, he would go find the count and use this bracelet to charm him.
He knew that Count Gustav Peter was a frugal person who didn’t wear accessories.
Therefore, the charm would surely succeed.
In addition, by utilizing {King’s Blood} and {Dignity}, if he could just manage to secure an oath of loyalty… the {Master-Servant Relationship} achievement would be triggered.
Count Peter would reveal all his secrets to him, including the method to win over Bishop Berg.
Laying down a thin summer blanket, Leo lay his body on the bed.
Despite the dust flying around, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
He vowed.
He would definitely return. He would go back and apologize for all the mistakes he had made.
It took Leo a long time to fall asleep. To prepare for any worst-case scenario, he would occasionally visit Lena, who was entrusted at the theater, secretly, and as a royal guard, he would start his double life on the vast stage of Orville, uncovering the problems.”