In theory, nothing should have changed—Jerome was surely still fighting on thin ice, where one wrong move would break his weapon. But, bit by bit, the tide turned so drastically that it almost seemed he was tormenting her.
Her dress torn, Altina’s shoulder was lain bare. Thin beads of blood oozed from her pale skin.
“Hah... Hah...”
“Not bad. I thought you’d be on the floor by now, little lady.”
“I won’t surrender just because I’m a bit short of breath.”
“Hm, I’ll admit it. There aren’t many in this fort who could keep up with me this long. Not to mention at your age. Give it a few years and you’ll be a fine swordsman.”
“Hah... Hah... A swordsman? Have you knocked your head? What I demand is for you to recognize me as your commander.”
“With the strength you’ve shown, your orders should pass far easier than before. You’re not on my level, but they should treat you as a deputy commander, to say the least.”
“In that... case... I can’t quit just yet!”
Altina brandished her greatsword on high, kicking the snow back as she advanced.
Down came the blade.
“Hyaaaaaaaah!!”
“Good grief... Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
The sword smashed into the ground, raising a cloud of white smoke. A deafening rumble erupted from the earth as though lightning had struck.
Jerome avoided the attack, lunging forward to counter.
“Sei!!”
“Hee-yah!”
The sword sprung from its resting place in the earth. It shot straight at the spear darting toward her.
But before it could connect, Jerome pulled his entire body back, weapon and all.
The blade passed through thin air.
He had read her. Her footing was now unsteady; the blow she had poured her remaining stamina into had missed.
Such an opening could not be overlooked, and so followed a horizontal strike from the shaft of Jerome’s spear.
With no time to dodge, Altina took the blow with her left arm. She was knocked off her feet.
“Aguh!?” The guard that had protected the girl’s upper arm shattered.
Regis squirmed his way forward.
“Altina!?” he called.
The girl tumbled wildly through the snow. That’s the match, he thought.
But the sword wouldn’t leave her hand. She immediately stood.
“Hah... Hah... Hah... Kuh... Hah...”
Her eyes, blazing orbs of fire, fixed on her foe. Blood spilled from her upper left arm, dyeing her dress sleeve and gauntlet in red. Her arm slumped down, exhausted, drained of all power.
Perhaps she had fractured it. Perhaps it was paralyzed from pain.
Her greatsword was now supported by her right hand alone.
It seemed impossible for her to fight on. And yet, her expression showed no consideration of defeat.
Jerome, who’d taken his distance again, stuck his spear into the ground and relaxed his stance, though not dropping his guard completely. He spoke casually:
“Do you want to continue?”
“Of course... Hah... Haha... I can’t give up here...”
“Even when you’re down to one arm?”
“Would you... nkh... resign on the battlefield, just because... hah... one arm wouldn’t move?”
“Hmph, admirable spirit. But what will you do if you become commander? Little lady, can you shoulder the lives of the three thousand men of this border regiment?”
“Hah... Hah... So you think I challenged you without that resolve...? Nggkh... You’re thinking too little of me. I’ll show you I can shoulder a nation!”
Altina raised the sword with her right hand. Regis was surely not the only one reminded of the legend of L’Empereur Flamme, wielding his trusted greatsword with just one hand.
The soldiers were astir.
Jerome did not retrieve his spear, but instead offered a verbal counter that was equally as sharp.
“You mean to tell me an inexperienced little girl... can issue orders more effectively than I can? This isn’t a matter of spirit. I’m asking if you have the skills! One single mistake, and hundreds, thousands of soldiers’ lives will be wasted. Do you understand that!?”
“...Kh!?”
Altina, whose body had surpassed its limit with pain and fatigue, and who was barely maintaining herself through force of will alone, was finally shaken up. The girl’s crimson eyes wavered.
Her gaze prowled the crowd before eventually resting on a single point.
Jerome followed her eyes. The soldiers who were watching did the same. So many eyes; so much interest gathered. Even Everard beside him.
Nearly everyone in the plaza was looking; he felt like the pressure might crush him to death. He was coming under the illusion that a person’s gaze carried physical force. The boisterous voices that had surrounded him just moments ago faded further and further away.
Regis held his chest.
He could hear nothing but his heart, which pounded ferociously in his ears.
Why had it come to this? What had he done?
Right, it was that night. When Altina said she would believe in me, I didn’t reject her. Was that it!? Was that why she’d go so far for someone as useless as me!?
I don’t know this situation.
I don’t understand it.
I’ve never read about anything like this before.
See? Don’t you see now, Altina!? I can’t do a thing.
I can hardly even breathe. I’m going to pass out.
In his hazy consciousness, Regis looked back at Altina.
Her lips were moving. The surrounding ruckus prevented him from hearing her voice, but he could clearly trace the words with his eyes.
I. Be. Lieve. In. You.
Yes, this really was—
“What a troublesome princess, good grief.”
Regis stepped forward as he continued, the snow crunching under his feet.
“...Your Highness, that is not what you’d call ‘belief.’ It is simply a combination of abandoned thought, unearned entitlement, and baseless expectations. Using such an unreasonable ideal to encourage someone to take on an obstacle beyond their limits... Such irrationality has birthed countless tragedies throughout history. How lamentable.”
He spoke with a mixture of sighs and groans, his strained voice barely forced from his throat.
“How truly lamentable... You’ve gotten me to take on a challenge that is beyond me. I’m crying at my own foolishness.”
Regis slipped out of the ring of soldiers, alone, and walked to Altina’s side.
She laughed in a chipped voice.
“Thank you, Regis.”
“...Too early for that.”
Letting off a murderous air, Jerome greeted him with a voice that resonated from the depths of the earth.
“What did you come here for? I told you, you’re an insignificant apple mixed in among the prime cuts.”
“My apologies, Margrave, but while I may be a bit role to you, it seems I’m something else to another... I promise you my counsel. Princess, if you win this duel, I, Regis Aurick, will be your tactician!”
Tactician!?
Surprise spread among the soldiers.
Regis’s basic ability had been recognized in the bandit incident, and while he hadn’t gained any widespread trust, no one found him particularly incompetent.
There were voices that questioned the height of his rank as a fifth-grade administrative officer, but they were not the majority. Rank-wise, the princess did score highest, after all.