I killed people in my previous life as well. And while I am a noble in this life, I’m also an assassin. So Tiegel was right. I would find myself down that same path.
“If the time comes, please kill me,” he said. “And if the time ever comes for you, please let me be the one to kill you. I don’t want you to be killed by anyone else. If we kill each other, we will be engraved more deeply in each other’s souls.”
“What in the world are you saying?”
What a weird thing to say. Tiegel just smiled at me and my exasperation.
“Ah!”
“Ah?”
“That is inappropriate!” shouted a red-faced Evan as he rushed over to us and tore Tiegel and me apart. “I’m a little, no, not just little, I’m, I’m quite shocked you two have that sort of relationship, but…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“But if it means you’re happy, Selena, I suppose I could try…though I’m really not sure if I could, but I would do my best to support your relationship. But, I mean, I know there’s no one around, but we are at the Academy.”
“Evan, what are you on about?” I asked.
His bright red face and incoherent babbling made him look nothing like his usual cordial crown prince self.
“Wh-What do you mean what? I mean, you never know who’s watching in a place like this.”
Wait, did he see my conversation with Shaghad? If he did, he might find out what I really am. What do I do? Kill him? It probably isn’t a good idea to kill the crown prince, is it?
I have a connection with Rick, and Rick runs the shadow side of the country. Someday, Evan will be in a position to use Rick, meaning, sooner or later, he’s going to find out. So, it’s not a problem if he finds out now?
No, wait. Why am I trying to find a reason not to kill Evan? You kill witnesses. That’s an unbreakable rule of assassination.
So…I do kill him?
“Your Highness,” said Tiegel, “I did not kiss Lady Selena.”
“What? Really?”
“What made you think we kissed?” I asked. Based on Evan’s reaction to what Tiegel said, Evan’s behavior hadn’t been an act. Half of me was exasperated at learning Evan was under some false assumption, while the other half of me was relieved.
“Well, you were touching and very close,” said Evan.
“Even if we were having those sorts of relations, we wouldn’t do that in a place like this,” said Tiegel.
“A-And I wouldn’t let you have those sorts of relations!”
Tiegel sometimes teased Evan like that. He didn’t do it with just anyone, only Evan. They must get along well.
“How long are the two of you going to flirt?” I asked.
“We are not flirting!”
“We are not flirting.”
See, they’re in sync.
“Let’s get back to class,” I said.
✦ ✦ ✦
†††
ONCE darkness blanketed the world, I began training Shaghad as promised.
I first had him fight Tiegel so I could get a feel for his strength. I, of course, told Tiegel in advance to hold back.
Based on his fight with Tiegel, Shaghad was already fairly strong. It was easy to see he’d been trained well.
“You’d be nothing to sniff at if you were a knight,” I said.
I wasn’t a knight, but I was well aware of how knights fought, thanks to my employment in my previous life. It was such a pretty way of fighting that it made me want to ask if knights were common throughout the world.
They announced their name, then won through sheer technique without using any tricks. That was why people made fun of them for having such a “pretty” fighting style.
It didn’t matter if you were attacking or defending; it all ended at the same place: with your enemy dead.
Even though they stained their own hands with others’ blood, they touted their mentality of chivalry and boasted that they were more noble beings. How ridiculous is that?
“Chivalry, hm?” I murmured.
I could tell just by fighting that last knight in my previous life that he’d escaped Death’s clutches several times; that’s how good he was. He didn’t just swing his sword like a knight; he fought without scruples. That’s what fighting is, in the end.
Shaghad was entirely focused on Tiegel, so I hid myself and attacked him from behind. He stumbled forward when I whacked him on the side of the head with my metal fan. Then, Tiegel knocked him over with a merciless kick.
I had noticed in the previous exchange of blows that Tiegel was holding back like I’d told him to, but he was still merciless. He seemed to hate Shaghad, though they hadn’t interacted enough for him to have any reason to hate him.
Sometimes, there was just a physiological something that made people not click. Maybe Shaghad was like that for Tiegel.
“Don’t focus on just one enemy,” I said. “No idiots are going to challenge you one by one when you’re against several opponents. Even if you only see one enemy, there’s a chance they have allies hiding somewhere. Be wary of all your surroundings. Hone your senses. If you can’t do that, if that is lacking, you will not just lose; you will die.”
“I understand.”
I apparently cut the corner of his mouth when I hit him. He wiped away the stream of blood with his sleeve, then raised his sword again.
He’s got guts, but I don’t know how long that’ll last.
“Continue, Tiegel.”
“Yes, my lady.”
They began to fight again. Tiegel was a hard opponent for Shaghad since he only knew a knight’s way of fighting. Tiegel used daggers like me. He slashed with the dagger in his right hand. If Shaghad blocked that, Tiegel still had the other dagger in his left. By the time Shaghad blocked the first dagger, the other was already where it could kill him.
The goal wasn’t murder, of course. This was just training, and Tiegel wouldn’t kill Shaghad. Even if Shaghad was mentally aware of that, people began to feel fear when someone continuously struck their weak spots. Fear made you freeze up, and that made you die.
“Do not fear death. The first to die are the ones who fear,” I said.
He was hearing what I said but couldn’t do anything about it right away. All I could do was have him conquer it on his own.
I’d ordered Tiegel to prioritize going for the spots that would cause instant death. He was doing that and letting off a hostile aura so sharp it put even me on edge. It was essentially the real thing.
Wait. Is it the real thing?
Tiegel, you can’t kill him. You understand that, right?
“You dodged that? Well…” said Tiegel.
Shaghad was slowly learning to handle Tiegel’s attacks from both hands with their random timing. But even though Shaghad blocked the attacks from both his hands, Tiegel wasn’t flustered. He calmly swept Shaghad’s legs from underneath him.
Shaghad landed on the ground, his eyes wide as he failed to understand what had just happened.
“This isn’t practice. This is a real fight,” I said. “Someone who comes to take another person’s life won’t fight by the rules like a knight will. Even if they’re holding a sword, that doesn’t mean the killing blow will come from that sword. Be wary of everything. Suspect everything. Now, stand up. We don’t have time for you to take a break.”
“Yes, Selena.”
Shaghad fought Tiegel over and over, each time ending up on the ground with a blade at his throat. Dirt and sweat coated his clothes and face.
“Again.”
“Yes, Selena.”
His breathing was fast. He was probably already at the limits of his endurance. He was falling more often over his own feet.
“Again.”
“Yes, Selena.”
He stood on trembling legs, barely able to hold his sword up towards Tiegel. Tiegel’s breathing was barely elevated.
I didn’t think he would ever be able to beat Tiegel, but if he could stand his ground against him, then he should be able to handle the assassins in this area without problem. He might be at risk of losing if someone particularly skilled came along, though.
“There’s no point in continuing,” I said.
Shaghad tried to stand, but he was drained. There was no strength in his legs to the point he couldn’t force his knees off the ground.
“You are dead the moment you fall or let go of your sword. We’ll continue the same training tomorrow at the same time.”
Shaghad didn’t even have the strength to reply, so, as his guard, I couldn’t very well leave him there. I had Tiegel carry him back to the palace.