I gripped my Staff of Wizardry and walked confidently.
Ild and Ted were also standing taller than usual. Even the dwarves were humming to themselves. We were very conscious of the endless lines of soldiers on either side of us until we finally reached the bottom of the staircase in front of the castle tower.
Once we got that close, we could clearly see what kind of person awaited us on the terrace.
The man in the center, draped all in black, was definitely the duke of Filsand. His dignified aura and penetrating stare were different from everyone else’s. By his side stood a beautiful woman with somewhat revealing clothing, a man in a red robe, an elderly fellow with white hair, and a young man with black hair.
Elisabel whispered to me that the beautiful woman was the duke’s first wife, Alaine; the man in the red robe was Nathan, the court sorcerer; the elderly man was Prime Minister Juzell; and the young man was the duke’s second-born son, Agveil.
According to the Sense of the Adept spell that I’d cast earlier, the duke was a Human Male, Age 43, equivalent to a Level 15 D&B Warrior. At least now I understood why he was considered so strong. I could also see that the court sorcerer equaled a Level 10 Magic User, and the beautiful woman was a Level 7 Magic User. Incidentally, the Detect Enemy spell that I’d also cast in advance was showing three enemies, and they did not include the duke or the court sorcerer.
“Welcome to Filsand. I am Darmund, lord of Filsand,” The black-armored man in the center addressed us with a loud voice. When he waved his hand slightly, the soldiers lined up on either side of us responded.
“We salute the Great Wizard Geo Margilus!” They hit the ground with their weapons in unison and each placed a hand upon their chests. It looked like he wasn’t planning on suddenly attacking us with all these soldiers.
As I gazed at them, my mind wandering, Clara poked me in the back again. Sorry again… Since the duke of Filsand had gone out of his way to introduce himself first, I was the one who had to speak to him.
“I am Geo Margilus, wizard and lord of Castle Getaeus. Allow me to express my gratitude for your taking the time to see me.” I looked up at the duke of Filsand and bowed ever so slightly by drawing in my chin. This type of greeting is only allowed between aristocrats of equal status. The prime minister and duchess had displeased looks on their faces, but the duke didn’t seem to mind.
“Now, Margilus. There is much I would like to discuss with you…but I hope to address one or two matters right away. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. What seems to be the issue?”
The duke turned his black eyes to the person next to me. Elisabel’s pigtails were quivering. “Elisabel. You have placed your bet on this wizard. Do you stand by that wager?”
I gritted my teeth.
Elisabel clenched the silver staff in her hand and looked up at her father with her red eyes. “Yes, Father. Lord Geo Margilus is worthy of entrusting with my life.”
Well, she certainly thought highly of me. I wonder when her opinion rose so much. In any case, I’m sure she had her own opinion about everything. Her eyes harbored a power that I never would have imagined when we first met.
“Heh…”
The duke of Filsand stroked his chin, seemingly amused. Perhaps he had already realized that the engagement was merely a temporary expedience. In contrast, his wife and the prime minister were clearly mocking her. Only Agveil’s face looked pale. I sensed that only he and the duke trusted Elisabel’s intelligence. They were probably thinking that their sister (or daughter) would never rely this much on a scammer or a common sorcerer.
“I understand clearly,” the duke said as he turned his gaze to me. While I found myself wishing he’d share a few more words with his daughter, he put his hand on the longsword at his hip and slowly drew it. It was probably a magical sword. Even I, who wasn’t supposed to be able to perceive the magical powers of this world, could clearly make out the glimmering shine surrounding the weapon.
“Now, Margilus. You need only convince me of one thing: Do you possess sufficient power to take my treasured daughter from me?”
“You mean, in a duel?” On the inside I was astonished that he might be telling me to defeat him if I wanted his daughter, but that wasn’t something I needed to worry about. The duke pointed to the soldiers with his magic sword, and they cleanly parted down the center. Two shadows appeared between them.
“Yes, a duel. It seems my daughter has grown unexpectedly popular. There are others who wish to challenge you to deadly combat, with my daughter as the prize.”
One of the young men was a strong-looking, brown-skinned fellow. He was clad in black armor and held a long spear in his hand. At a glance, I could tell he was relatively handsome. According to my Sense of the Adept, he was a Human Male, Age 23, Level 12 Warrior.
The other was a giant of a man, pale-skinned, towering at two meters tall. He had heavy chains wrapped all around his entire body in lieu of armor. His weapon was a long-handled, double-edged axe. Human Male, Age 35, Level 10 Warrior. He looked so ferocious that I doubted the spell’s assessment that he was human.
When Elisabel saw the two opponents, she choked down a little scream in the back of her throat.
“That young warrior is captain of the duke’s guard. He’s the strongest warrior in Filsand, besides my father. The other is a war thrall—a battle slave. He’s already killed dozens of rebels and enemy soldiers. The captain is a big enough challenge, but they sent him, too…?”
The duke of Filsand lifted his chin a bit higher. The court sorcerer next to him shrugged his shoulders and then came down the stairs.
“The red robe he wears symbolizes that he is a sorcerer of the Faction of the Blessed,” Clara informed me. “Their school believes that sorcery is nothing but a tool to make humans rich.” I remembered Clara was part of the Faction of Conquerors, whose members viewed sorcery primarily as a means to fight against daemons. The various sorcery factions didn’t really seem so different to me in practice, though.
“So, there you have it,” the duke said, spreading his hands apart. “I do apologize, Margilus, but I’ll need you to duel with all who would seek my daughter’s hand.”
It seemed Elisabel only had three suitors so far. I finally understood. Just as Elisabel had said, the duke would confirm my strength in this duel. Since he presented them as her suitors, and I presented myself as her fiancé, there was no way I could refuse or criticize him. How clever.
“I accept.”
I hadn’t exactly been expecting a duel, but I had prepared for the worst-case scenario, which would be the entire army attacking us.
They probably weren’t expecting me to respond so quickly—the prime minister and his wife looked surprised, at least. The duke himself just grinned, looking thoroughly amused.
“Geo Margilus, the mighty wizard. I look forward to seeing all your strengths.”