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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Unfair Spar
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My stomach churned.
I wanted to grab Luciano and leave right then and there.
I couldn’t understand why I had to listen to this.
“As his older brother, can’t you do that much for your younger sibling?”
Since when had he ever treated him like a brother.
Imperial Consort Isabel’s voice was soft and gentle.
But no one could mistake this proposal for anything but a command.
“Understood.”
In the end, Luciano accepted the spar.
“Crown Prince Luciano will step up. Prepare the area.”
Imperial Consort Isabel smiled as if she’d expected as much.
While the knights prepared the space according to her orders, I pulled Luciano aside during the brief moment we had.
“How could you agree to that? Say you can’t do it now.”
“If I refuse.”
You know.
Imperial Consort Isabel wasn’t the type to give up until she got what she wanted.
That’s what Luciano’s calm gaze conveyed.
And what she wanted was obvious.
Luciano’s defeat.
His humiliation.
“So, you’re going to throw it?”
“……I’ll do my best.”
Yeah, right.
“Everything is ready. Please head over there.”
Imperial Consort Isabel’s attendant approached to announce preparations were complete.
Luciano glanced at me briefly before turning away.
His footsteps were resolute.
‘He really plans to give it his all.’
From spending time with him, I knew Luciano had an incredibly strong competitive spirit.
When we played games together, I’d throw a fit wanting to win, but Luciano hated losing just as much.
He never threw a match on purpose.
‘This time, too, he’ll give his all to overcome the difference in environment and conditions.’
Watching him like this, I sometimes thought.
Maybe that’s why Imperial Consort Isabel tries to suppress him even more—because of this personality.
‘With the protagonist’s genius and that relentless drive, he’ll achieve everything in the end.’
She might have recognized that danger early on.
I’d even wondered if it might be better for him to show some weakness on purpose.
But now that he’d decided to go all out, I hoped he’d win.
Anxious, I clasped my hands tightly together.
I believed Luciano could pull through this time, too.
He would.
All the knights cleared out, leaving only Luciano and Prince Steven in the center of the training grounds.
At least that was something.
‘Not really a relief, though.’
No matter how you looked at it, this was an unfair matchup.
The one pushing it.
The ones not stopping it.
They were all utterly repulsive.
I knew the world was like this.
‘But experiencing it firsthand makes me lose faith in humanity.’
There was still so little I could do.
Every time something like this happened right in front of me, I wanted to grow up fast.
Being a child felt so unjust.
The spar seemed about to start any second, but Luciano and Prince Steven didn’t move.
Instead, they exchanged a few words.
They were too far for me to hear the conversation.
Their expressions were polar opposites.
Luciano looked tense and rigid, while Prince Steven exuded confidence.
The leisure of someone who knew the situation favored him.
“Espin.”
I startled, having been focused on them, and realized Imperial Consort Isabel had been watching me with an arrogant gaze.
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Who do you think will win, Espin?”
“……Crown Prince Luciano.”
Luciano would overcome this.
That was all I said, voicing my belief, but Imperial Consort Isabel laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“Well, of course you’d root for your friend, Crown Prince Luciano. Then I suppose I’ll cheer for Prince Steven to win.”
Her smiling face was infuriating.
“What do all of you think? Who will win?”
Imperial Consort Isabel asked the surrounding nobles.
“Obviously Prince Steven, right?”
“Prince Steven, with his superior talent, will win by a landslide.”
They fed her the sweet words she wanted as if it were natural.
“Oh my, a landslide? Then the loser would feel utterly depressed, wouldn’t they?”
Their blatant flattery and laughter made my skin crawl.
“Ah, it looks like it’s starting.”
Someone announced the beginning of the spar, and we all naturally turned our attention.
Both Crown Prince Luciano and Prince Steven raised their wooden swords, ready to fight.
I clasped my hands tightly again.
‘It’ll be fine. He’s the protagonist—he’ll win, obviously!’
Anxiety and nervousness crept in, but I believed it would turn out okay.
And in an instant, the two clashed.
Clack!
Prince Steven swung down from the front, and Luciano easily blocked the first strike.
But Prince Steven’s assault didn’t end there.
He swiftly pulled back his sword and struck from the side.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The sound of wooden swords clashing grew more intense.
Prince Steven’s attacks, honed through diligent training, were sharp beyond what you’d expect from a child.
But Luciano was holding his own well.
‘As expected of the male lead!’
Luciano, who’d trained for over a year without any help, was managing admirably.
As the match dragged on longer than expected for what should have been a quick end,
“Crown Prince Luciano is holding out quite well.”
Someone muttered softly, earning a glare from Imperial Consort Isabel.
“Ahem, still, the decision will come soon. The skill gap is just too wide.”
Only then did her icy gaze lift, and the noble sighed in relief.
‘No. It won’t end like this.’
It might look one-sided, but Luciano was weathering Prince Steven’s attacks while watching for an opening.
‘Luciano hasn’t given up!’
As the onslaught continued, Prince Steven’s follow-through movements grew slightly sloppy.
His sword recovery was slower than at the start.
Luciano didn’t miss the gap.
His wooden sword thrust out like lightning, aiming for Prince Steven’s nape.
“!”
Prince Steven, no novice with the sword, leaned back and barely dodged.
But he was a fraction too slow, and a red line appeared on his cheek.
“Argh!”
Imperial Consort Isabel’s scream rang out.
‘That’s it! As expected of Luciano!’
I barely held back a cheer.
“Stop it right now! Stop it immediately!”
Imperial Consort Isabel shouted to halt the spar.
“Don’t come closer! It’s not over yet!”
But Prince Steven’s cry was louder.
The approaching knights hesitated.
Furious at being struck by Luciano, Prince Steven glared with fire in his eyes.
At his command, the knights glanced at Imperial Consort Isabel.
“What should we do?”
Imperial Consort Isabel had been shocked thinking her son had been bested by Luciano.
Realizing it was just a minor scratch, she narrowed her eyes at Prince Steven before calmly replying.
“Let them continue for now.”
And so the spar went on.
Sensing no interference, Prince Steven reset his stance.
Gone was his earlier cocky demeanor; he charged at Luciano more seriously.
And swung his sword even fiercer.
Clack!
Of course, Luciano blocked without yielding.
But it felt more like a desperate parry than before.
Luciano was undoubtedly a swordsmanship genius.
He was destined to become stronger than anyone later.
But that was the future.
Right now, he was just a talented twelve-year-old without a proper master.
Prince Steven’s sword grazed Luciano’s body by a hair’s breadth.
The difference of over a year couldn’t be ignored, after all.
With Prince Steven’s mindset shifted, signs of Luciano being pushed back became clear.
Little by little.
More and more.
The air grew thick with defeat.
Clack!
“Ugh!”
On the final strike, Luciano lost his grip on his sword.
Silence fell over the training grounds in that instant.
Luciano had lost.
Prince Steven stepped back with a face full of elation.
Luciano stood there, head bowed, unmoving.
Was it because I’d inwardly believed the protagonist would win no matter the trial?
‘Luciano… lost….’
His defeat shocked me too.
“As expected, Prince Steven wins. Congratulations.”
Someone’s flattery snapped me back to reality.
I couldn’t just stand there dazed.
I ran toward Luciano.
“Crown Prince Luciano, are you hurt anywhere?”
Prince Steven shot me a strange look, but I had no time for it.
“Your Highness….”
I tried to see his expression, but he didn’t lift his head.
As I approached further, he flinched and turned away without showing his face, leaving the area.
His retreating figure seemed to beg me to leave him alone, so I couldn’t bring myself to grab him.
Once Luciano had left the training grounds, Prince Steven seemed to fully realize it and shouted excitedly.
“Mother, I won!”
He couldn’t hide his joy.
‘Is this really a win?’
I felt indignant on his behalf.
Unlike my mood, Prince Steven was jumping around.
“Wow, wow! I beat big brother Luciano! I won!”
He acted like he’d conquered the world.
“Prince Steven.”
Then Imperial Consort Isabel’s voice rang out.
Her chilling tone was ominous, but Prince Steven, high on victory, didn’t notice.
“Yes, Mother!”
He replied brightly and happily.
Imperial Consort Isabel’s gaze on her oblivious son was cold.
“You should have done it properly from the start. Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, would you?”
Her scolding tone froze the jubilant Prince Steven.
Even I hadn’t expected her to reprimand him after getting what she wanted.
It sounded icy to me; how must Prince Steven feel, hearing it directly?
His mood plummeted in an instant.
“I’m sorry.”
The others in the space glanced around nervously.
Unable to stand it, someone spoke up.
“But you still won.”
It was Knox Marquis, Imperial Consort Isabel’s father, stepping forward in this atmosphere.
“I don’t need a flimsy victory. To keep the opponent from getting any ideas, it has to be overwhelming.”
But even he couldn’t sway Imperial Consort Isabel.
“…….”
Prince Steven’s head drooped even lower.
“Your Imperial Highness.”
Knox Marquis called shortly.
It seemed like a warning that this wasn’t appropriate in front of so many people.
And Imperial Consort Isabel had enough sense for that.
“Prince, don’t make the same mistake next time.”
She wrapped it up.
Though her words were for Prince Steven, her gaze was directed at me.
A warning that this wasn’t the end.
A hint that there would be a next time.
I understood clearly.
