A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

016 Sword for the Dawn

Train still staggering, shouted,

“Someone to duel in my place! Butler Elford! Don’t you want to marry the princess?”

Then Butler Elford, having sheathed his sword, said calmly,

“I am currently in service to another. Let’s leave this duel to young Train.”

Lisbeth stepped forward and said,

“Train is not in a condition to fight properly, so I will accept the duel in his stead.”

But Butler Elford shook his head and said,

“No. This is the perfect opportunity to assess Train’s true abilities.”

Butler Elford approached Train and extended his sword, saying,

“If you lose this duel, I will kill you with my own hands.”

Train, still staggering, challenged Butler Elford,

“You dislike me as well, don’t you?”

“There are no personal feelings involved. Simply put, if you cannot overcome even this, you will never be able to defeat him.”

At those words, Train’s demeanor changed.

He silently accepted the sword from Butler Elford.

A blade so dazzlingly straight and blue.

The sword once wielded for the kingdom by the former captain of the knights.

As Train gripped the sword in silence, Butler Elford said to him,

“You’re not using the excuse that you can’t wield a sword because of an injured hand…”

“In front of her, such excuses would never hold.”

“That’s an excellent response.”

Butler Elford then took out a small glass vial and handed it to Train.

Traine furrowed his brow.

“Surely not another magic potion?”

“It’s a medicine that will temporarily heal Mr. Traine’s hand.”

“My hand?”

“It’s just a prototype, so the duration will be at most a few minutes.”

A trial concoction Yuril had developed while researching Traine’s poison.

The butler had secretly taken it after Yuril discarded it, deeming its effects too weak.

It would not only heal the injured hand but also partially restore the lost physical abilities.

Of course, there was no intention of ever telling Traine that fact.

Traine looked at the glass tube with suspicion for a moment but soon accepted it with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Butler Elford responded with a soft smile.

“Then, good luck.”

Traine trudged towards Benheim, and the people around him stepped back, keeping their distance.

Even Benheim took a step back, daunted by Train’s inscrutable spirit.

But soon, he sneered vilely.

“You don’t seriously think you can beat me, do you?”

To which Train murmured with his head bowed.

“Sorry, but you’re not my enemy. You’re just a checkpoint.”

“We’ll see how long that arrogance lasts.”

Train gulped down the potion that the butler Elford had given him.

With his right hand, he fiddled with the sword he held.

With the other, he pulled out a grimoire from his bosom.

“Shall we begin?”

Benheim raised his hand high and shouted.

Dozens of red spheres appeared above his head.

Each one was a menacing fireball, as large as a human face.

“Know your place, you insect!”

With a sweep of his hand, Benheim sent the fireballs raining down on Train.

Flames too swift for the eye to catch.

Yet, Traein danced away with light steps,

And at the same time, he opened his grimoire.

‘The Frog Prince’.

A giant, red-lipped maw lunged at Benhaim.

Benhaim was momentarily baffled by the spell he had never seen before.

But to him, the spell meant nothing.

“How trivial!”

With a grand sweep of his hand,

The spell was reflected back towards Traein.

Traein, in a rush to dodge, tumbled to the ground.

“Damn it! It was supposed to be a one-hit wonder that turns you into a frog…”

Traein muttered in frustration, to which Benhaim snickered.

“No matter how powerful the spell, it’s over if I reflect it!”

The relentless rain of fire still poured towards Traein.

Traine sprang up and started running towards Benheim with all his might.

Dodging fireballs with agility, he opened the grimoire once more to summon the red lips.

“You lack learning ability, don’t you!”

Benheim swung his hand, deflecting it away.

Traine was hit directly by the spell this time.

Just when Benheim was certain of his victory-

“It’s a bluff, you fool.”

Traine pierced through the lips and charged, thrusting his sword at Benheim.

After all, ‘The Frog Prince’ was merely a spell to dispel the frenzy.

He had deliberately dodged earlier, making it seem like a dangerous spell.

Thanks to that, Benheim let his guard down for a split second.

Traine’s sword almost reached Benheim’s neck but…

“Swords and magic are useless!”

Benheim stretched out his hand, creating a spherical transparent wall.

Traine’s sword rebounded off the shield that perfectly enveloped Benheim.

As Train quickly stepped back, Benhaim said with a laugh.

“Having infinite magic means I can summon an infinite number of shields!”

Benhaim, still surrounded by his shield, continued to hurl fireballs.

Looking at Train, who was pathetically dodging them, Benhaim snorted loudly.

“Do you still think you have a chance against me?”

“…I told you, you’re not my enemy.”

Train tucked the grimoire into his chest and gripped the sword with both hands.

Then he stepped forward forcefully and swung the sword mightily.

The shield shattered like glass.

“Damn, you brute force idiot!”

Benhaim was momentarily flustered but quickly regained his composure and spread a new shield.

“It’s no use! I’ll summon it again hundreds of times!”

But Train swung his sword mightily again, breaking the shield, and said,

“Then I’ll slash it thousands of times.”

Benheim backpedaled, casting barrier after barrier.

With each one, Train advanced a step forward, shattering the defenses.

After all, with infinite magical power, it seemed inevitable that Train would tire first.

Yet, Benheim’s expression was far from relaxed.

The sight of Train, silently swinging his sword time and again,

Seemed so steadfast, as if it would never break.

“Does this guy ever get tired?”

The other students couldn’t help but be captivated by Train’s form.

Until now, Train had always fought with strategy and cunning.

Who knew the sword of an uninjured Train could be so weighty?

But Elford, the butler, harbored the opposite sentiment.

‘Perhaps the injury was what spurred the boy’s growth.’

Up until three years ago, Train was just a boy of integrity.

Such dogged determination alone would never have saved Lady Yuril.

But it was the injury that led to Train’s greater growth.

Five years of steadfastness and three years of flexibility.

It’s definitely a pass.

“Damn it! Just give it up already!”

Benheim, who had been retreating while only summoning shields, finally hit his back against the wall.

In the brief moment that Benheim was startled and let his guard down,

Traine suddenly threw the magic tome at Benheim.

And then, with his sword, he slashed through both the shield and the magic tome at the same time.

As the shield shattered, torn pages from the magic tome rained down on Benheim.

“What, what is this?!”

Benheim was momentarily blinded and thrown into disarray.

Because of that, the reconstruction of his shield was slightly delayed.

It was truly just a moment,

But Traine did not miss the gap and delved in deeply.

And then, he struck Benheim’s face with his elbow.

“Argh!”

Benheim collapsed to the floor.

Just as Train was about to strike Benheim’s head with his sword—

“Surrender! I’ve lost! Just stop already!”

Amidst the fluttering pages of the magic tome,

Train, with his sword aimed at Benheim, seemed,

somehow like a knight leaping out of a fairy tale book.

The butler Elford chuckled contentedly to himself.

“Exemplary.”

At his words, the students of the Knight Academy began to clap one by one.

Soon, even the librarians started to follow suit, one after another,

and before long, the entire library was filled with the sound of applause.

…Only Princess Shia did not clap.

Her heart was pounding so much at the sight of Train that she even forgot to applaud.

At the same time, she realized that the sword was never meant for her.

Even if the curse were lifted, the day she and Train would marry would never come.

“Even in such a situation, to think I’m contemplating something like marriage, I must be a terrible person.”

Princess Shia chuckled and finally joined in the applause.

…As Train sheathed his sword,

Benheim glared at Train with a hideously distorted face.

“If it weren’t for you, everything would have been perfect…”

Train glared back at Benheim and retorted,

“Happiness that sacrifices someone is fake from the start.”

With those words, Train collapsed on the spot.

***

Ten days later.

Outside the infirmary of the Grand Library, Princess Shia and the students waited anxiously for the results.

Originally, it was a facility for those who had accidents while reading magical tomes.

Thanks to that, Train was able to receive treatment immediately after the duel…

As the butler Elford emerged from the infirmary, Princess Shia asked cautiously,

“How did it go?”

Butler Elford shook his head.

Princess Shia’s head drooped in disappointment.

But soon, with a determined lift of her head, she strode into the sickroom.

Train lay motionless in bed, his body swathed in bandages.

Approaching Train cautiously, Shia…

“Get up now! How long are you going to pretend to be sick!”

She blurted out, yanking the blanket away.

Train then snatched the blanket back, exclaiming,

“Don’t make me laugh! I’m going to live here now!”

Princess Shia and Train tugged at the blanket, squabbling with each other.

Thanks to their struggle, a pile of magic books that had been stacked around the bed toppled over.

“Prince Siran asked for help, so you should start moving!”

“Just go without me! I’ve done enough!”

Under Train’s bed, in the space for the patient’s diagnosis, an absurd word was written.

‘Acute laziness’.

I couldn’t very well write down ‘malingering’, so it must be some made-up illness.

The price for three bottles of magic potion and some dubious medicine was an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and depression.

To an outsider, it might have seemed laughable, but in reality, it was quite serious.

It’s already been five days since Train awoke from a coma,

Yet, for nearly a week after, he hadn’t stepped out of bed even once.

He even wrapped the bandages himself, feigning pain.

Eventually, even the sly Princess Shia reached the limits of her patience.

“If you keep this up, our secret will be out in the open, you know?”

“Do as you like! I’d rather be executed here than suffer because of you!”

“If you get up, as the king’s daughter, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“My wish is ‘Please, just leave me alone.'”

“How about the position of head librarian at this grand library?”

Only then did Train remove his hands from the blanket and said,

“…Really?”

“Really.”

Train briefly locked eyes with Princess Shia before reluctantly rising from the bed.

Princess Shia let out a short sigh.

After all, she had decided to offer him the directorship a few days ago.

But to announce such an important matter in a more formal setting,

And now to use it as a cheap bargaining chip.

Yet, it seemed to have a definite effect.

Train asked, stretching his face as if he had never been concerned, “Shall we go then?”

“…Time is of the essence, let’s move quickly.”

“But do we really need to help Prince Siran? I heard we already got the Bulrak cactus flower?”

Train was already aware of the message from Instructor Eloi that had come a while ago.

That’s why he thought there was no rush until Prince Siran’s return.

However, Princess Shia’s expression was far from bright.

“The situation has changed. The Romer Empire has arrested Brother Siran for theft.”

At those words, Train frowned and asked again.

“Thievery? What exactly happened?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why we need to hurry and check.”