I Wished for Romance, but it Turned Out to be a Romance Fantasy

Clang!

The swords clashed.

While I was confident in my combat skills, I never assumed I could simply overwhelm my opponent from the very first strike.

Nobility were, by their very nature, individuals who took to the battlefield. Though the glory of past accomplishments had faded, remnants of that heritage still lingered, with lineage being passed down intact.

Even if I knew that my opponent challenged me while being aware of my position as the deputy commander of the Knights Order, I wouldn’t consider for a moment that he lacked skill with a sword.

“Looks like you’ve trained quite hard, huh?”

“It’s only natural for a noble!”

Yom continued to push against me, but unfortunately for him, I had the upper hand in strength.

“Still, isn’t it just a bit cheeky to try and overpower a knight?”

“Shut up!”

Clang!

Realizing the futility of a strength battle, he swung his arm back fiercely to retreat and regain his stance.

I noticed that his stance was different from before; it seemed he was now ready to properly utilize the swordsmanship he had learned.

I followed suit, adjusting my position accordingly.

“Huh?”

Maria, who had watched me fight multiple times already, seemed puzzled.

And rightly so. This stance wasn’t one I had learned as a monster hunter; it was the swordsmanship I had acquired as the son of the Brandenburg family to join the Knights Order.

Normally, I would already be lowering my upper body and tilting my sword forward, but not now. My legs were slightly apart, prepared to pivot in any situation, with the sword held diagonally in front of me.

“…Is this guy underestimating me?”

Yom gritted his teeth as he glared at me.

Well, it was understandable. This position was almost identical to a basic stance taught to beginners wielding a sword.

However, the price of such a misunderstanding was entirely his own to bear.

“Here it comes!”

Tap!

With nimble footwork, Yom rapidly closed the distance. Instead of swinging his sword widely, he thrust it diagonally toward my back, showing he had learned proper swordsmanship.

Even though I could see his movements, he was surprisingly fast.

Of course, it wasn’t beyond my capacity to respond. I infused magic into my movements, swiftly twisting my waist to dodge. Yom tried to retract his sword, but I was quicker, striking at the base of his sword with my blade.

Clang!

With the sound of metal clashing, Yom’s stance faltered. Seizing the opportunity, I aimed to strike at the shoulder or hip area of his armor, but this time, Yom reacted.

“…Wait, seriously? You’re better than I expected.”

I found myself genuinely impressed.

While his reaction speed could be attributed to natural talent, like everything else, having good reaction speed alone doesn’t mean the body can follow suit. Quickly making judgments and moving at that speed was something that couldn’t be achieved without serious, prolonged training.

“I didn’t hone this swordsmanship just to earn your praise.”

This time, perhaps realizing I wasn’t teasing him, Yom responded somewhat humbly.

If only he would just admit defeat with that attitude.

However, I carefully chose not to voice that thought.

“Now it’s your turn to take a hit.”

I resumed my stance and charged.

Tap.

When I was roughly halfway across the distance, I leaped. Raising my sword-wielding hand above my head, I declared, “Ha! Are you truly that foolish? Have you become one with the monsters to the point your head’s fallen to their level?”

Yom firmly planted his feet, bracing himself while leaning his sword back.

He probably planned to intercept me the moment I drew closer.

“Here I come!”

I shouted on purpose, swinging my sword. In response, Yom also swung his sword immediately. He aimed to evade my strike and target my body as I dropped.

But this was my intention from the start.

“What…!”

Clang!

The swords, swinging with all their might, met in the air.

As our blades collided, Yom looked flustered, taken aback.

“Let’s see how well our esteemed Marquis’s offspring can fight without a sword!”

A swift follow-up swing from me missed Yom entirely.

However, my true target was his sword, which he had thrust toward me in response.

Our blades collided, and Yom’s sword was driven down into the ground, with about one-third of the blade embedded in the earth. Naturally, my own power behind the strike left me momentarily unable to swing again right away.
But that didn’t mean I was out of commission.

Bang!

“Gah!”

I slammed my head against Yom’s exposed forehead. With an alarming noise, he stumbled and fell. Given that his sword was stuck in the ground, getting whacked in the head like that made it clear his training had some gaps.

Thud.

As he lost his grip on the sword, he collapsed onto the ground.

‘It’s over now.’

There was nothing more to see. The duel had ended with my victory. However, since the final judgment hadn’t been passed yet, I walked over to him, ready to aim my sword at his neck.

But Yom was still glaring at me. That look wasn’t one of someone who had given up. Something seemed off; I furrowed my brows and glared back at him.

“Tch!”

He clicked his tongue in disappointment and swung his arm.

“Wait…!”

A dagger flew out from the hidden sleeve of his arm. I hurriedly swung my sword to deflect it, but that created an opening.

Seizing the chance, Yom pulled something out from within his clothing.

“An Awakening Agent?”

“It’s too late to recognize it now!”

What he pulled out was a substance used as an Awakening Agent beyond the eastern territories of the Empire. As the deputy commander of the Knights Order for the Brandenburg family, I certainly couldn’t be unaware of it.

While it wasn’t illegal, it wasn’t exactly a health booster either. I knew from my father that he was working hard to prevent such substances from being circulated in the Empire, so I wondered how Yom had managed to acquire it.

‘Looks like I’ve got another question for after this duel.’

The moment Yom injected the Awakening Agent, he immediately sprang up to retrieve his sword. Despite being firmly lodged in the ground, he pulled it out as easily as if he were fishing in water.

“Now you’re resorting to drugs too?”

“For the sake of winning, I’ll do whatever it takes!”

Does he really have genuine feelings for Maria? But based on how he acted, it didn’t seem so. The reaction he had when her name was mentioned had been one of someone who was simply uncomfortable or burdened, not someone with genuine affection.

It seemed more like the reaction one would have when dealing with someone they genuinely disliked or found repulsive, akin to dealing with a certain Mr. Ba.

“Now it’ll be tough for you too!”

Bang!

He dashed towards me faster than I could process and struck down with his sword.

“Ugh!”

The impact I felt when I parried his attack was on another level compared to earlier. Though the Awakening Agent would lead to tremendous fatigue, muscle tears, and pain after its effect wore off, while it was active, it provided a significant boost to physical abilities, and the effect was certainly noticeable.

Given that he was already no slouch in the skills department, the added boost turned up the intensity significantly.

Clang clang clang!

“Haha! A monster hunter, huh? You strutted around with a silly title, but turns out you’re nothing special!”

He taunted me and relentlessly pushed forward.

Now that I was at a disadvantage in a battle of strength, stepping back meant I would continually have to retreat.

However, this was a situation I was more accustomed to.

After all, the title of monster hunter wasn’t merely a bragging right earned from hunting lowly creatures like goblins or kobolds. That title had been earned by hunting down monsters possessing unreasonable strength, like trolls.

And every time I faced those monsters, I was always the underdog.

“Hup!”

Just as I was being pushed back, I stomped my foot hard into the ground.

Boom!

“Guh…!”

To stop myself from being pushed back further, I laid my sword flat and supported it with one hand to deflect Yom’s attacks.

“Stop wasting your effort and surrender peacefully!”

Ignoring his provocations, I channeled magic into my body through the sword. Against Yom, who had used the Awakening Agent, I couldn’t overpower him in strength, speed, or technique, so infusing the sword with magic for higher cutting power would have no real impact.

That was only meaningful when I had the chance to attack my opponent.

Instead, I pushed magic into my body to its limits, strengthening my force before pushing Yom back.

“Not a chance!”

Of course, he didn’t actually get pushed back. But it gave me enough time to readjust my grip on the sword, changing it to hold the hilt upward.

“Let’s see how reinforced that head of yours really is!”

And with that, I swung the hilt of my sword straight at Yom’s head.

Clang!
Due to the helmet, Yom’s head didn’t burst open.

However, with a low, heavy sound that was far too dull for a clash of metal against metal, his helmet caved in as he tumbled backward. But the fight was not yet over. The Awakening Agent served to forcibly keep the user’s mind tethered until their body could no longer hold out and they effectively shut down their brain.

This was merely a temporary lapse in his strength from the shock.

Before he could rise again, I gave it my all and kicked his wrist.

Crack!

The leg that was kicked couldn’t maintain its grip on the sword, and as soon as the weapon slipped from his hand, I kicked it away with my other leg.

The sword spun through the air, sailing past the spectators and embedding itself near the audience.

The observer, seemingly unfazed, continued to watch us without blinking.

‘…Just how formidable is this guy, anyway?’

Momentarily impressed with his tenacity, I refocused on Yom.

No matter how much stronger Yom had become temporarily due to the Awakening Agent, that didn’t mean I had no countermeasures. In fact, how to deal with someone under the effects of such an agent was already common knowledge in the Eastern territories where it circulated frequently.

Just hold on.

The effects of the Awakening Agent wouldn’t last long; if I could just endure for a few minutes, he would collapse from the side effects.

I opted to use the same method.

“C-Cough, Wilhelm, you coward…! Fight fairly!”

“…I never expected such words from someone who’s using drugs.”

I deliberately kept striking his helmet with the hilt of my sword to disorient him, tripping him every time he tried to get up. Yom desperately attempted to rise and continue the fight, but I also strained to keep knocking him down.

This was my first time utilizing half-swording with such finesse, and at some point, I got a little carried away and hit a bit harder.

Finally, the effects of the Awakening Agent began to wear off.

“G-Guhhhh…”

Suddenly overcome by the tide of fatigue and pain, Yom lay sprawled on the ground, unable to rise any longer, merely groaning weirdly. As time passed without him moving, the observer approached and lifted my arm in triumph.

“Winner! Wilhelm von Brandenburg!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd!

Perhaps it was because this was an unusually rough duel in the capital; the audience fervently celebrated my victory.

Then, the observer proceeded to make a judgment about which side of the rumors we had initially discussed was true, in front of the gathered onlookers.

“Thus, it is declared that the rumor regarding Sir Yom von Wurttemberg having a hobby of dressing as a woman while wandering the capital, under the lord’s observation, is true!”

At that moment, silence enveloped the Wurttemberg estate.

“Oh no…this is just…damn it…”

With Yom’s low muttering, the mansion quickly descended into chaos.

—

Hastily escaping from the fervent crowd clamoring for countless (not really) handshakes, I threw off the armor that I hadn’t yet managed to remove.

As the moisture and heat trapped inside burst forth, filling the carriage, I exclaimed, “Oh, sorry!”

“No, it’s fine.”

Only then did I realize that Maria was also in the carriage, and I tried to open the window, but Maria stopped me. I wondered if she was planning to use magic to handle it, but she didn’t take any action.

As I was about to summon a gentle wind with basic magic just to ease the situation, Maria whispered in my ear.

“Well then, since you won the duel as you mentioned, I suppose I should give you a gift, shouldn’t I?”

Her tone held an oddly ominous undertone, somehow creating a dark and sinister atmosphere as she spoke softly in my ear.

No, even though there was some distance between us, her voice was as clear as if she were whispering directly in my ear.

A sense of impending crisis washed over me.

“Uh, um, I just thought a small—”

“If it’s not a gift that I can accept, I will *give* you the gift I truly want, you know?”

A chill ran down my spine instantly.

Why did I feel that even though I had won the duel, I was facing the greatest crisis of my life?