Amid all our struggles, we still had a wedding to plan, which made the month fly by. And before we knew it, the day of Johann’s duel with Prince Liu had come.
We assembled at the wasteland Tailong had designated for the duel. Liu and Tailong were already there when we arrived, with several guards in tow.
“So you didn’t skip town after all, didja, Jojo?”
“Why would I back out of the duel? You are not only Lady Lin’s older brother, but you are also a prince of the Ren Empire. I regret to inform you, however, that I am taking this duel most seriously—I will not hold anything back.”
Liu chuckled, “Good. I won’t hold anything back either.”
And there they stood, across from each other in a martial stance. Johann was the future master of the Olbrun School of fencing and Eric’s captain of the guard. He was regarded as one of the finest swordsmen in Elshaid.
But Liu was nothing to sneeze at either—he was talented enough for Lingsha to say he was stronger than her. I had faith that Johann would win, but I knew it would be no easy task.
Eric silently watched the two men size each other up, a dubious expression on his face.
“Eric, is something wrong?” I asked.
“Linboldt hasn’t come to see me once this entire month. But my spies told me that, aside from meeting with Tailong three times, he hasn’t done anything otherwise suspicious.”
“Yeah, Dale also told me he wasn’t acting suspiciously.”
I subscribed to Dale’s theory that Liu had ordered the margrave not to do anything that would interfere with the duel. If Liu won the duel, my marriage to Eric would be canceled, just like Linboldt wanted, and if that happened, it would be easier for Linboldt to steer Eric in the direction he wished.
“From what we know about Linboldt, don’t you think he would urge Johann to withdraw from the duel? He would never approve of a commoner like Johann picking a fight with a prince like Liu. He would try to stop the duel before Liu got hurt. Besides, if Johann admitted defeat without fighting, that would increase Linboldt’s chances of getting what he wanted.”
“Oh?!”
I hadn’t even thought of that, but it was true. Linboldt was even more righteous than Eric—he would never approve of this duel.
Furthermore, if Johann were to win, Liu had promised he would give up on bringing Lingsha back home. If Linboldt heard about a duel that threatened the peace between nations, there was no way he would keep quiet about it.
“All right, wanna get started?” Liu asked.
“Yes. May the best man win.”
While my brain was busy whirring over Eric’s question, the men were just about to start the duel.
Okay, Leia, for now, concentrate on praying for Johann.
I stopped my thought spiral temporarily and poured all my focus into the duel.
Liu and Johann pulled their swords from their sheaths, then they quietly took their stances.
“All right. Let’s have some fun.”
Liu made the first move. He closed the gap between himself and Johann in a flash with a sharp stroke. Johann jumped back to dodge it.
“Hah!!”
Liu’s attack didn’t end there. Maintaining momentum, he turned a somersault and slashed again.
“Ngh!”
Johann managed to block it, but the impact made him skid back a little.
“I’ve got more!”
As Liu continued to slash at him, Johann shrank back a little, blocking each strike. Then, when there was a gap in Liu’s defenses, he lunged with a counterattack.
“Yah!”
“Too slow!”
But Liu saw it coming. He did a half-spin and slashed back at Johann. Then he used the force from his recoil to attack again without hesitation.
“Ugh—what agility!”
In the face of the tempestuous wave of linked attacks, all traces of calm left Johann’s eyes. It looked like Johann was stuck keeping pace with Liu’s intense speed.
Incredible… Even after the onslaught of chaotic attacks, Johann is still holding his own.
Liu’s movements were too fast for me to follow, but Johann managed to keep up.
I spoke to Eric beside me, “Eric…Johann really is an incredible warrior. Liu is faster than him, yet he’s blocking everything.”
“Johann has extensive combat experience. It’s given him extraordinary battle instincts.” Eric’s eyes looked joyful as he watched Johann fight. “Plus, Johann is fighting for Lingsha today. It’s given him a boost. Your sword swings much harder when it’s for someone you love.”
“Yes, I see. He’s swinging his sword…for Lingsha.”
Curiosity overcame me, and I looked at Lingsha. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest in prayer. Prayers always looked the same, regardless of country.
“Miss Lin…do you think she’s all right?” I asked Eric.
“Well, let’s just trust Johann to see to that.” Eric kept a protective eye on Johann.
Noticing our stares, Lingsha turned around. “Leia, something wrong? Are ya worried about me?”
“Er, not worried, per se.”
“I’m not worried about Johann. He promised me, see. He promised he would win.”
“Did he…”
“Besides, I trust Johann, so I’m not worried one bit!” she said with a serene smile. She really did seem to believe that Johann would win—she didn’t doubt that for a second.
“You’re better at this than I thought you’d be, Jojo!”
While we were talking, the combatants were parrying and riposting back and forth—and both of them had wounds that dripped with blood. The longer the duel lasted, the greater the risk to their lives.
“But you’re still not good enough that I’ll let you have my Linny,” Liu jeered.
Did Liu just reassess his feelings for Johann?
All the back and forth thus far was likely enough for Liu to judge Johann’s abilities. He was now throwing everything he had at Johann to whittle down his strength.
“I don’t appreciate you talking about Lady Lin as if she were an object. And you will not defeat me! I vowed to protect her with my life!”
“Nice! That’s the spirit.” Liu grinned like an angel and lowered his stance. Glaring at Johann, he said, “This will probably be the last attack. Let’s neither of us have any regrets about it.”
“As you wish.”
Johann also readied his blade. His face was graver than I’d ever seen it, but it strangely didn’t frighten me.
His were the eyes of a man willing to die for his love. Johann took a quiet breath in and out, then tightened his grip.
“Olbrun arcanum…Lightning Dash!”
Johann vanished in a plume of dust—but not literally. The dust cloud allowed Johann to swing his sword at Liu’s blind spot.
Liu gasped, “How’d you get there?!”
“You won’t beat me!” Johann roared.
As Johann came at him with impossible speed, Liu really appeared to hold his own. But Johann slashed his sword at the very last millisecond and caught Liu in the chest.
It was a move that anybody would call divine.
“Ya cut me… Ruthless… Phew, take care of Linny for me.”
“Prince Liu, you’re bleeding!”
Crimson blood welled up from Liu’s chest, but he stayed upright and stared hard at Johann. “There’s something you should know about me: I don’t know how to give up. I was waiting for ya to take that step.”
“Guh?!”
Despite a critical wound, Liu counterattacked with a lunge. Johann immediately leaped back, but Liu’s sword impaled his chest. Blood sprayed and Johann stumbled, but he plunged his sword into the earth to steady himself without dropping to his knees.
Liu wheezed as he said, “Whenever…huff huff…m-my opponents think they’ve won…huff…I trip those fools…a-and send them to their graves… It worked on…huff…so many…but not…you.”
Still smiling, Liu collapsed. It almost looked like he had bowed down to Johann to honor his victory.
“Johann! Are you okay?!” A frantic Lingsha ran over to him. He was bleeding all over, but the sight of her made him smile weakly.
“Forgive me for worrying you, but I managed to survive. Lost a bit more blood than I’d like, but never mind that. I know it was a duel…but I killed your brother. I didn’t mean to.”
Lingsha’s eyes widened. Then she shook her head slowly. “Liu was happy you beat him, Johann, so don’t worry about it.”
“Lady Lin…”
“Johann…thank you for fighting for me. You’ve made your Lingsha so happy…”
Lingsha squeezed Johann’s hands as tears streamed down her face. Seeing this, Johann’s eyes also flooded with tears.
As I watched them, I thought to myself, Everything turned out all right…
I knew the couple would make it. They would live a long, happy life together in Elshaid, forever…
I walked over to Johann. “Johann, please let me use a healing spell on you.”
Liu was slain. Since they signed a contract, I doubted the agreement would be broken…but I still worried as I treated Johann’s wounds.
The lacerations went deeper than I thought. If the battle had lasted any longer, he really could’ve died.
“L-Lady Leia…so sorry to trouble you. I’m fine now.”
“It’s no trouble at all. This is why I’m here. You’ve lost a lot of blood, so you may be weak for a little while, but all the wounds have closed.”
Healing Johann’s wounds was my duty—a duty entrusted to me by Eric.
Eric addressed Tailong. “Now, Koh Tailong. Your master is dead.”
He crossed his arms and smirked. “I never imagined Master Liu could lose.”
“I hope you aren’t going to nullify the contract.”
“No…unfortunately, a contract is a contract. I cannot oppose it.”
“Phew…” I sighed in relief.
But barely a moment later, Tailong uttered some terrifying words.
“But I would be dishonored if I returned home empty-handed. I require a parting gift.”
“What kind of…parting gift?”
Tailong, usually so stoic, twisted his lips into a cruel smirk. Then he pulled out a paper talisman. The next thing we knew, a terrifying burst of magic flew from his entire body. As a small tornado whirled about him, a giant phoenix burst from the talisman.
“Oh no! Why is Tailong summoning a phoenix?!” Lingsha shrieked.
None of us imagined that Tailong would have Liu’s talismans.
This was terrible. We would lose everything we’d gained.
“So sorry to startle you all. I acquired these spells from Master Liu. Without his permission, of course. I had them at the ready so I could return home the moment I completed my mission…my mission to acquire Death Poison and to assassinate Master Liu.”
We stared on in horror.
We were right… The Ren Empire wasn’t interested in either Lingsha or a political marriage—they were after the Death Poison! To think they plotted to kill Prince Liu as well…
Tailong’s eyes gleamed with determination. He was at long last about to chase after his true goal.
Eric was right, this matter wasn’t going to be settled easily…