“That’s enough! Ian has won!”
Words of ruthlessness echoed inside the palace’s training grounds.
The king, who announced the victory, looked down upon Ian, my half-brother, and me from the spectator seats.
And Ian, standing in front of me, also regarded me with disdain.
In front of me, he pointed a sword at me with an expressionless face, while my own sword lay several meters away.
Given the circumstances, it was evident to anyone who had won and who had lost.
Yes, I had lost.
“Lloyd. As I promised, you are disinherited, and I will name Ian as the heir prince.”
This duel between my brother and me would decide who would be the next king.
Or rather, His Majesty, my father, had decided to disinherit me as the heir prince and name Ian instead, but due to my protest, this last-minute duel was arranged.
If I were terribly incompetent and my brother incredibly talented, I might understand.
But neither my brother nor I were so different in skills.
If anything, my specialty was magic, and my brother’s was the sword.
Apart from that, we were nearly equals.
“Your Majesty! Please, allow me one more time! It’s true that my brother excels in fencing! But I also have magic! Let me use magic!”
Why must a wizard fight with a sword? There’s no way I can win, even if I say so myself.
“No! In Edeltart, the art of war is valued. The king of Edeltart must be skilled in close combat. It’s something I’ve told you many times.”
It’s true that they have told me this since I was a child. But I didn’t see it that way.
What sense does it make for the king to be skilled in fencing?
And even though His Majesty says it so grandly, he has never set foot on a battlefield.
“I disagree.”
“It doesn’t matter if you agree or not.”
His Majesty regarded me indifferently, rose from his seat in the audience, and turned away.
“Your Majesty!”
“That’s enough! I appoint you as a feudal lord of lands in Meel.”
That means, in short, not only am I disinherited, but I also lose my status as a member of royalty…
“Your Majesty!”
Unsatisfied, I called out to my father again, but he did not turn around.
“Older brother…”
Ian, my brother, lowered his sword and looked at me with compassionate eyes.
“Kuh!”
I stood up, picked up my fallen sword, sheathed it, and left the training grounds, ignoring my brother.
Upon leaving the training grounds and reaching my room, I stood there in silence.
As night fell, taking advantage of the maids’ distraction, I left the palace. Once in the city, I climbed an old, vacant watchtower from where I could overlook the palace.
“Soon it will be time to bid farewell to all this…”
Unintentionally, those words slipped out.
***
I had lived there for 18 years.
That place was my world, and I thought it would be so until the day I died.
However, I must go to the Meel border.
That means I can never return to this place again.
“Haa… Meel…”
Meel is not exactly a pleasant place.
In short, it’s a rural and desolate place.
“This is rubbish…”
“That’s right.”
As I complained, I heard a female voice from behind.
I turned slowly towards the voice.
It was a beautiful blonde woman, truly charming to the eyes, dressed in white, and she observed me with narrowed eyes.
“Lisha?”
“What is His Highness doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Gazing at the palace.”
“I’m not talking about that. I mean the duel this afternoon.”
The duel with my brother…?
“Were you watching?”
“Of course. As your betrothed, your future, and therefore my own future, were at stake.”
Lisha is a noblewoman and my childhood friend.
She is also my betrothed.
In essence, she should have been the future queen.
“It seems His Majesty enjoys fencing.”
“Rather, it seems he dislikes wizards. He looks down upon wizards who do not go to the front lines as cowards, even though he himself has never been in combat…”
By the way, this former future queen has quite a sharp tongue.
Furthermore, her attitude and character are not what one would expect of someone like her.
Of course, she acts with refinement in public, but both I and the other nobles who attended the same noble school know her true nature.
“That’s how a king is.”
“Well, yes… That’s why I understand your discontent, Your Highness. However, you should have acted differently.”
Differently, huh…?
“Are you saying I should have focused my energy on fencing instead of magic?”
“No, rather you should have used magic in secret during the duel, or slipped a potion to Ian-sama in his food, don’t you think?”
There it is.
That person is despicable…
Well, when it comes to nobles, such an attitude is quite characteristic of them.
“I thought about it, but the guards had noticed.”
“You can’t trust anyone, can you?”
I guess it goes both ways.
“What do you plan to do from now on? If you want to break off the engagement, I’ll understand…”
Setting aside her personality, with her appearance and position, she could marry someone suitable.
In fact, if she marries Ian, who still doesn’t have a betrothed, she could regain her position as the future queen.
“What are you saying? I’m not looking for another husband. I’d rather choose death over that.”
Very noble of her…
“Then, you’ll spend your life in Meel.”
“Meel…”
Lisha slumped her shoulders disheartenedly and made a disgusted face.
“If you choose to stay with me, that’s what will happen.”
“We could stage a coup…”
Lisha murmurs something truly surprising.
“And who would follow me? As His Majesty and you yourself say, this country values combat skill. Who would join a coup led by a wizard?”
It’s not that wizards are hated, but they are certainly looked down upon.
“Ha… I suppose so. It doesn’t sit well with me either.”
Just like the people of Edeltart, Lisha enjoyed martial arts, and her swordsmanship skills were remarkable.
Although she normally doesn’t carry one in the castle or at her house, she always wields a sword when she ventures into the city, as she is doing now, holding a sword in her left hand.
And yes, she does so despite being a noblewoman…
“I guess it’s best to go to Meel for now. Once Ian becomes king, maybe things will get sorted out, he is a kind person after all.”
He might grant me a suitable position and allow me to return to the capital.
“It would be a shame…”
Lisha shakes her head.
“Better Meel than nothing, don’t you think?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
After a moment of silence, Lisha and I gaze at the palace together.
“Lisha… I’m sorry I can’t make you queen.”
I whispered softly.
“No, I… I’m sorry I can’t make you king, Your Highness. It’s due to my lack of skill.”
It’s amusing she says that when it’s me who lacks skills…
As I turned to look at Lisha, I saw her beautiful face awash with tears.
“Don’t cry…”
“You too…”
Unbeknownst to me, it seems I was also crying.
I’m frustrated. Frustrated for not being acknowledged for my magic and for losing to my brother.
Despite the closeness in age, losing to my brother wounds me.
“I couldn’t become queen. Even though from a young age, both father and mother firmly insisted that I would…”
Once again, an uncomfortable silence filled the space between Lisha and me.
“My brother will make a good king.”
“Well, perhaps. Ian-sama is not exceptionally talented, but he has good qualities.”
By the way, neither I nor Lisha possess those qualities.
“But still, losing to my brother is exasperating.”
“I understand how you feel. I feel frustrated too.”
I couldn’t deny feeling that way, however…
“There’s something I want to show you.”
I said that and turned away from Lisha to look towards the palace.
“What is it?”
“It’s a little prank, a sort of revenge.”
“For pulling stunts like this is why you get disinherited…!”
How loud she is!
“Well, this is nothing, it’s just…”
“What did you do?”
“I placed a ignition magic talisman in the palace. Look, I gave you one before, remember?”
“Haa… Are you a child…? But indeed, this is quite a coincidence.”
Coincidence?
“What do you mean by ‘coincidence’?”
“I also placed an ignition magic talisman I received from you in the palace.”
What…?
“Wait a moment! What are you doing?!”
“If it’s just a small fire, it won’t be a big deal… We’ll just give them a little scare… And some sleepless nights.”
“Where did you put it?”
“Eh? Where…?”
That magic will explode if activated, you know?”
While a single flame isn’t a big deal, when there are two or three, the magic spreads rapidly.
In fact, its original use was that, and it was magic I had modified to ignite fires or campfires.
“I placed it in Erin Palace, where there are fewer people, mostly to avoid harm…”
At the moment Lisha gave her explanation, Erin Palace suddenly lit up brightly.
“Oh-oh…”
Lisha was stunned to see the palace ablaze.
“It truly is a coincidence. I also set it off at Erin Palace.”
Well, that place has plenty of water and can be easily controlled.
And so, both of us stood there, gazing at the fire in shock. Obviously, this no longer qualified as a mere prank.
Then, alarm bells began ringing throughout the city.
“……….”
“……….”
Several seconds later, we looked at each other in silence.
“You, traitor plotting against the royal family!”
“You, traitor plotting against the royal family!”
We drew our swords simultaneously and faced off…
