So he developed a small technique, hastily scrubbing the cloth against the washboard, then quickly withdrawing his hands to warm them before repeating the process.
“How are you holding up?”
“Urgh... Why do you think Altina issued the duel today of all days?”
“I doubt she thought too hard about the timing. She likely just had a flash of inspiration.”
“She really needs to learn how to act more deliberately.”
The smell of milk had finally dispersed from one sheet. While there were light splotches of yellow and brown here and there, it was now mostly white.
“Even so, I’m sure the princess will be fine.”
“I know it’s too late to stop her, but... I never thought you’d be that optimistic.”
“Why, Mr. Regis, don’t you believe in her?”
“I don’t have the talent to discern martial prowess. But when I consider objective fact, Altina barely has any chance of winning. If Sir Jerome could be defeated by a fourteen-year-old girl with barely any real combat experience, he would have died on the battlefield long ago.”
“I see. That is one way of looking at it.”
“If there’s another, please enlighten me...”
Clarisse pulled her sheet from the water.
“Because the princess assured me, ‘It’ll definitely work out~♪’”
“That’s just abandoning all thought. You can’t meld faith and fact as one and the same.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“...There aren’t many options left.”
✧ ✧ ✧
After finishing the laundry he was unaccustomed to, Regis parted with Clarisse and returned to his room. He couldn’t tell whether his unsteady feet were the result of stress or sleep deprivation.
On his way, he heard the rhythmic swish of practice swings in the courtyard.
He followed the noise to see Altina swinging a massive fauchard. Though it was an excessively long piece that usually required two hands to wield, she grasped it with one as if she were brandishing a small twig, moving the wind with each flourish.
I’ll admit, there’s no doubt she’s no ordinary girl, Regis thought. She boasted brute strength completely unsuited to her appearance.
He studied her a while longer. It seemed Altina was aware of his presence, as she suddenly flashed a smile in his direction.
“Oh, you want a go, too?”
“I don’t. I couldn’t. I don’t mean to brag, but—”
“You can’t even lift it?”
“Probably not.”
Regis shrugged, eliciting a wry smile from Altina. She resumed her swings.
“You’re... incredible.”
“If you’re talking about my physical strength, I’ve always had confidence in it. I’ve been swinging swords meant for adults since I was a small child.”
“However... whether you can win against Sir Jerome is honestly... What I’m trying to say is... I think it’ll be difficult.”
“Of course. If he could be defeated so easily, our enemies wouldn’t be having such a hard time.”
“Could it be you have some sort of plan? You are the one who issued the challenge.” He staked his last thread of hope on this question.
She looked back at him, rather perplexed.
“A plan? It’s a duel, so, of course, the stronger one will win.”
“Ech... So you really put zero thought into this. There are things you can do to increase your chance of victory, you know.”
“I know that. I’m not an idiot.”
“So you were thinking!?”
“His spear will be faster, so he’ll have the first strike. I must parry, and as my sword is too unwieldy for a nimble counter, I’ll have to mix in hand-to-hand combat as well. Do you think closing in and kicking him in the shin would be effective?”
Regis’s head dropped in disappointment.
“What’s with that...? So you’re just going to go at him with naive integrity...?”
“Otherwise this duel is meaningless. Winning is not my end goal.”
“Eh?”
“My aim is to prove to everyone that I’m stronger. I won’t earn the soldiers’ trust unless I face him head on and win. Nor will I earn yours.” Altina held a composed expression as she spoke.
Regis did think she was right. However...
“...He’s not someone you can beat without a plan, is he?”
“If I win using some scheme, this whole duel will have been pointless.”
“R-Right...”
“You’re not plotting something strange, are you?”
She glared at him hard. He inadvertently found himself avoiding eye contact.
“...There are plenty of ways to turn the tide without anyone noticing, you know? Like throwing glass pebbles, or focusing light to blind him, or laying a contraption under the dirt that’ll—”
His nervous whisper was cut short by a sudden howl as the wind picked up around him.
A shattering roar resounded as the large polearm was slammed at Regis’s feet. It pierced deep into the ground.
“Stop screwing me around!”
“H-Hey, Altina!?”
“Ah... Sorry. I’m a bit on edge...”
As the girl hung her head to apologize, Regis bowed back. That one was on me, he conceded.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to upset you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“I can understand why you’d want to fight fair and square. However, the destination you seek lies beyond a series of countless victories. Do you not think there’ll be times where we have to take the back door?”
Perhaps this was too harsh a truth for a fourteen-year-old girl. As things stood, the fourth princess, Altina, had no chance of legitimately succeeding the throne. If she wanted to become empress, it would have to be through usurpation.
Her motive was one born from integrity, so there was no way she would approve of a path stained in blood. She could only see a clean, just road ahead.
Then I shall walk the stained path so that you don’t have to. Regis clenched a fist.
A fist that was almost immediately enveloped by a pair of small, pale hands.
“Eh...?”
Fingertips clad in heat from her practice swings stroked Regis’s skin. Altina had moved right beside him.
When he looked up, she was so close he could almost make out his reflection in her beautiful crimson eyes.
“This may be presumptuous, but I know you’re worried about me. I understand you know about a lot of things.”
“I-I am worried... But I don’t know a great—”
“There is definite value in thinking tactically. But there are times when you have to win fair and square.”
“...And this is one of them?”
“Yes, wouldn’t you agree?”
Regis closed his eyes. He flipped through a number of books in his memory, drawing out the relevant information.
But he decided against using them in the end.