How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 101

“…….”

Silence filled the room.

The Knight Commander was injured. Of course, the injury was just a scratch, but still, the Knight Commander’s red blood had been revealed to the world.

Everyone was in shock, speechless at the unbelievable outcome.

Of course, it wasn’t a completely satisfactory result. Gillein had blocked my attack while still adhering to the rules.

‘He didn’t show his aura until the very end.’

It wasn’t important to me that I had injured Gillein. What mattered was that an all-out attack was blocked by someone who didn’t even use aura.

Besides, I could go all out whether the opponent was hurt or not, but Gillein had to hold back.

From the start, the advantages and disadvantages were divided, and with that alone, I could feel a great wall in Gillein.

In fact, I had exhausted most of my energy. Therefore, this duel was a complete victory for Gillein.

“That was a sharp strike.”

Gillein, who could have been hurt in his pride, simply smiled after glancing at the small wound.

“You had a hidden card.”

“……I lost.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Gillein, who sheathed his sword, nodded and returned to the platform.

The Count, who had been watching the whole process, still had no change in expression. The Count simply announced the next event indifferently.

“Count. The Third Son doesn’t seem to be in good condition…….”

At the words of the Vice-Captain, Beylern Barangka, I stood up.

“I’m fine.”

I had to do what I could.

Honestly, how many more times would I have the chance to fight the mainstays of the Knights? I needed to engrave it in my body now.

At my words, the Count twitched his eyebrows.

“He says he’s fine.”

“…….”

“Beylern Barangka.”

Calling him by his name, not his title, in a public setting meant that the Count was very uncomfortable with the current situation.

Beylern, realizing this, straightened his posture.

“Yes, Lord.”

“Would it be acceptable for a new knight who has faced the Knight Commander and Vice-Captain to be standing here unharmed? What do you think?”

At the Count’s words, Barangka belatedly realized his intention and his expression hardened.

The Count was right.

Strictly speaking, the Wind Knights were in danger of losing face because of me.

In a situation where there were many eyes watching, the Knight Commander was injured. And that too, by someone who was just taking the test, not even a formal knight yet.

In the end, I declared surrender, but the perception that people had was not simply my defeat and Gillein’s victory.

Barangka, feeling this, nodded firmly.

“It won’t do.”

“Go and resolve it.”

Barangka, who had been holding the heavy two-handed sword next to him, came down from the platform and stood in front of me.

At the sight, people started cheering again. But the atmosphere was completely different from before.

Before the duel with Gillein, they cheered and praised both sides, but now, only cheers supporting me filled the air.

“……Is this what you were aiming for?”

Beylern Barangka stood in front of me and asked.

In response, I took a breath, using the sword as a support, and nodded.

“That’s right.”

“I don’t think it was necessary to go this far.”

“You’re saying the same thing as the Knight Commander.”

“The Knight Commander and I have goodwill towards you, Third Son, not animosity. The Count also intended to spare no support. But why did you have to use this method?”

He meant, why would I refuse the elite course that was opened on a smooth road and act like a rebellious person?

‘There’s a lot I want to say, but.’

There’s no way I can say it.

How can I say that the day when the entire continent will be swept up in war is not far away, so there is not enough time to climb up step by step?

“Think of it as a rookie’s spirit.”

“……I understand.”

Barangka nodded lightly and kicked the end of the two-handed sword, placing it on his shoulder.

“Let’s begin.”

“Please teach me.”

“…….”

At my words, Barangka only distanced himself without answering. Is he angry? Well, whatever, I don’t have the stamina to drag it out anyway.

Before I could finish thinking, Barangka kicked off the ground.

Despite his heavy build, his footwork was unusual. It was far from Gillein’s swiftness, but the Vice-Captain had his own elegance.

Whoosh!

The huge two-handed sword was swung horizontally, aiming for my upper body.

I hesitated to block it, but decided to just dodge it. If I rashly blocked it, it felt like my body would fly away with it.

“Are you just going to keep dodging?”

At my appearance, Barangka rebuked with a stiff face.

“It looks like my hand will break if I block it.”

“Don’t exaggerate. Is that all the resolve you had when you challenged me and the Commander?”

“That’s not it, but.”

Whoosh-!

A few strands of hair were cut off by Barangka’s sword that swept over my lowered head.

‘If I rashly block this, my bones will break.’

But it seemed like I couldn’t keep dodging forever. Barangka was gradually increasing his skill as he watched me continue to dodge.

Eventually, the sword came in a path that I couldn’t dodge.

Clang!

At the same time as deflecting it with a diagonally raised sword, my two feet on the ground slid.

‘Oh my.’

Feeling the tingling sensation in my hands and feet, I hurriedly tried to escape, but Barangka did not miss the opportunity he had seized.

If I retreated two steps, he would stick to me, advancing three steps.

If I scattered my sword to stop him, he would simply deflect it and launch a counterattack.

At the sight, I suddenly remembered what Ruth had told me.

“The strongest person in the Knights? That’s naturally Knight Commander Gillein.”

“Is that so?”

“But the person I least want to fight is someone else.”

“Someone you don’t want to fight? Who is it?”

“It’s the Vice-Captain.”

“Beylern Barangka? Why?”

“The Knight Commander is, well, his skill is clean and elegant, so you can feel the gap, but the Vice-Captain…… makes the opponent fall into the mud and makes you feel the gap.”

You were right, Ruth.

Barangka clearly intended to drag me into the mud and make me roll around.

Barangka, who deflected my swung sword with a straight sword, suddenly dug in and rammed his shoulder into my chest.

“Ugh!”

I felt like I was suffocating. My feet floated in the air for a moment, pushed by the force, and I flew through the air.

Barangka looked down at me as I bounced off the ground with a breakfall to regain my posture.

“You’re not thinking of surrendering, are you?”

“…….”

“I didn’t have any intention of accepting it easily even if you did.”

Once again, Barangka swung his sword.

Even though the path was obvious, I had no choice but to retreat without blocking or countering the long reach of the two-handed sword.

And when that gap was created, Barangka relentlessly dug in and used his martial arts.

A low kick exploded on my thigh as I staggered and tried to regain my posture. The moment my leg was half-bent and rattling, his shoulder struck my chest again.

‘Ah, damn it.’

So this is the feeling Ruth was talking about.

I let out a sigh as I flew through the air again.

After rolling on the ground several more times and being covered in dust, Barangka accepted my surrender.

What followed was a barrage of duels from the knights who were angry at me for injuring their Knight Commander.

Honestly, I regretted my actions of requesting to face the upper ranks first. I could feel the chilling hostility they showed with my skin.

“Young Master, are you alright?”

Starting with Gillein and Barangka, I went down the ranks, and eventually, it came to Ruth, and Ruth expressed concern at my battered appearance.

“It’s not enough to die.”

All the people I’ve faced so far are masters of the sword. They are experts at only striking while avoiding vital points.

So my whole body is creaking, but strangely I don’t fall down, and in that state, I struggled to lift my sword.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

“……I understand.”

Normally, I could have easily beaten Ruth, but my current body is no different from an empty jar [completely depleted].

Ruth, who knew him, must have thought that it would be better to rush and finish quickly rather than showing mercy, so he attacked relentlessly and roughly.

‘Anyway, this guy and that guy.’

They’re just trying to eat me alive.

Feeling a belated regret, I was pushed back by Ruth’s sword and rolled on the ground once again.

* * *

My long and long test was over.

As soon as it was over, I was dragged to the Lord’s castle, received treatment, and lay down on the bed in my room like a living corpse.

After that, the day shining through the window became dim, and I seemed to have fallen asleep for a while due to the fatigue that came late.

“…….”

I opened my eyes at the presence of someone and saw the Count standing in front of me. I glanced outside and saw that the day had already turned dark.

Guessing that quite a bit of time had passed, I tried to get up, but a maid nearby came to help me and made a backrest with a pillow.

“You look terrible.”

“Did you come to watch?”

“Yes.”

“Well, as you can see, it’s like this.”

The Count chuckled at my appearance, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, and pulled up a chair to sit down.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“We internally discussed what to do with you.”

“Don’t tell me I failed?”

“The Wind Knights are not a bunch of thugs who would bring up emotions in public and private matters.”

Well, even if I did something rebellious, would they drop an Expert?

“So what’s the conclusion?”

“If you look at your skills, you pass without any room for doubt. We just haven’t announced it yet.”

You passed. But it hasn’t been announced.

I felt something was fishy.

“Is there something more?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“We acknowledge your skills and potential, but we have judged that you lack the virtues that a knight should have.”

“Are you saying my personality is lacking?”

“Have you forgotten your behavior towards the trainee knight candidates?”

“…….”

Well, I was a bit harsh back then.

Still, they were people who came to show off their skills, but it was harsh to send them away without even crossing swords once.

“So, are you telling me to acquire those virtues?”

“Yes. But there’s no way I can trust that you, who only have tricks in your head, will only acquire them in words.”

“…….”

“Your admission has been decided on the condition that you accept knight training.”

“Knight training?”

A kind of disciplinary measure for those who possess a human nature unsuitable for a knight.

To compare it to modern times, it is a concept like community service. A very tough one at that.

“…….”

“And the place where you will cultivate the right personality and virtues as a knight is.”

“It’ll be the Sky Fortress.”

“Did you know?”

“How could I not know?”

There’s no way they’d send me to the Sky Fortress, which I have to go to anyway, for knight training. What’s the reason?

It’s obvious. It’s a way to give me, who did something unpleasant, a handicap. To compete with Dane as a knight in training, not as the Third Son.

“My position won’t change even if you do that.”

“I don’t know what you mean. I just hope you learn a lot from those who dedicate themselves to the territory and the kingdom in the Sky Fortress.”

Of course, you would.

“And.”

“…….”

“It’s not something to be proud of that puberty came late, is it?”

I laughed at the Count’s words, telling me to just kill my temper and accept what he gives me.

“Well, isn’t it called puberty because it doesn’t go as you please?”

“Is that so? If so, then accepting the whims of a child is also the duty of a parent.”

The story of probing each other ended there.

The Count, who got up from his chair, stopped for a moment at the door as he moved to leave the room.

“By the way.”

“…….”

“There’s one more guy who’s going through puberty like you.”

There was someone else who was going through puberty like me?

“I can’t understand why he’s trying to imitate your spring-day-puppy-like behavior. I’ll attach him to you, so get along well together.”

The Count finished speaking and left the door.

But I forgot to even greet the Count and was lost in thought.

He imitated me? Who is it?