How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 99

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 99

The waiting was quite tedious, but as soon as the test began, the atmosphere started to heat up.

“We will now begin the test.”

As the executor in charge of this test spoke, the gathered territory residents scattered flower petals, cheering and applauding.

Following this, a dozen or so young men with youthful appearances emerged amidst the grand welcome.

You could feel their tension from their stiff expressions and rigid gaits.

Being so nervous in a place where so many people were gathered might prevent them from performing at their best, but Count Lindayer was no fool.

This was a kind of performance.

A performance to announce the faces of the new knights and, at the same time, to show that the powerful Wind Knights were still strong.

Afterward, it was an open secret that there would be another rigorous internal review.

“In a way, it’s a showy performance, but if you demonstrate your skills, you might get some bonus points.”

I nodded at Ruth’s words.

Indeed, just because it’s a performance doesn’t mean they’ll just slack off.

What followed were two sparring matches between the trainee knight candidates and the Wind Knights who had been prepared in advance.

The first was a wooden sword sparring match to judge basic swordsmanship skills.

The second was a real sword sparring match to judge mental capabilities.

“For better or worse, all the trainees are probably thinking that the real sword sparring match is important.”

“The real sword sparring match?”

“Because they can’t beat a Wind Knight with a wooden sword, even if they die and come back to life.”

“That’s true.”

“But in the real sword sparring match, the opponent has to be careful to prevent accidents, so they have no choice but to hold back.”

“Are you saying they’re going to take advantage of that?”

“Yes. If they inflict even a small wound, that candidate will gain the reputation of having broken through a formal knight’s defense.”

“Really? Is there even a possibility of that?”

Ruth smiled at my question.

“In the entire history of the Wind Knights, there hasn’t been a single knight who has allowed a candidate to land a hit.”

“Their pride is amazing.”

“Aren’t they the best knights in the North?”

“Good for them.”

While I was talking with Ruth, the first sparring match began.

The candidate stared at the opposing Wind Knight with a serious attitude, holding a wooden sword.

“Who is the opposing knight?”

“They’ll probably put forward a friend who has just become a formal knight. The lowest of the low.”

“They must be confident to send out such a low-ranking knight, right?”

“It’s probably intended to show the gap between a formal knight and a trainee knight.”

The first candidate came out, holding a wooden sword, and began to warm up lightly. The way he lowered the wooden sword as if letting it droop, then powerfully kicked off the ground and swung it, looked quite disciplined.

“It seems he’s a son of the Baron Ballu family.”

“How do you know?”

“That’s their family’s swordsmanship.”

“You know a lot.”

“When I was in the Knights, guys from all over the place boasted that their swordsmanship was the best, so we sparred almost every day.”

“So, which swordsmanship became the best?”

“At least it wasn’t theirs.”

“Was the Lindayer family’s swordsmanship the best?”

“Well, yeah.”

Well, one way or another, seeing the swordsmanship of the Baron Ballu family’s candidate made my interest fade.

It might look pretty cool to ordinary people, but to those who know even a little about swords, it was no different from child’s play.

I was amazed at the Count and Gilaine, who were sitting on the platform and showed no change in expression even after seeing this.

“I’m starting to understand why you said I’d be bored.”

“If it were a real sword sparring match instead of a wooden sword, it would be a bit more interesting.”

“Forget it. I’m going to lie down and take a nap. Come get me when the formal knight test starts.”

Just as Ruth was scratching the back of his head and trying to say something at my words.

“By order of the Lord, the opponent for this trainee knight candidate will be Cain Lindayer, the third son of the Lindayer family and an applicant for this formal knight test.”

I stopped walking at the words of the executor and the thunderous applause that followed.

“Me?”

Turning around, I could see that all eyes were on me.

And Ruth was looking at me, his lips twitching as if he couldn’t bear how funny it was.

“They say the Young Lord is the opponent for today’s knight test candidates?”

“…….”

A thought flashed through my mind, and I turned my head to meet the eyes of Count Lindayer, who was sitting on the platform in the distance.

The Count’s face was indifferent at first glance, but if you looked closely, you could see a faint smile, barely visible.

‘That old man.’

How absurd.

Is he trying to debut me like this?

* * *

In the middle of the training ground, where everyone’s eyes were focused.

Tap, tap, tap.

Standing there, turning the wooden sword in my hand this way and that, I slowly raised my head.

The candidate from the Baron Ballu family in front of me looked so nervous that he was sweating.

“Name?”

“Y, yes? Yes! Ross Ballu.”

The candidate, who identified himself as Ross, swallowed hard.

“I have heard of your fame in the tournament. It is an honor to meet you like this.”

I was getting tired of hearing about the tournament every time I met someone.

“Really? Thanks.”

“I will do my best. Please take care of me.”

“I’m not the one judging.”

“S, still…….”

“Ah, right. I know what you mean.”

I couldn’t say nice things because I was in a bad mood.

I glanced at the Count, the cause of it all.

The Count still had an indifferent look, as if he had no interest. But I could easily understand the Count’s intentions.

‘Old man, are you really going to do this?’

Annihilate the Northern Kalnashore Orc tribe.

Protect Bashrun, the Princess of the Empire, from an unidentified assailant.

Defeat the existing champion in the tournament held in Capital and take the throne.

Finally, return to the territory, show off your skills, and be appointed as a knight who upholds chivalry and values honor, the Third Son.

And the territory residents, impressed by the Third Son’s heroic actions, send overwhelming support!

Is that the kind of scenario?

At first glance, it was a situation that wasn’t bad for me. Rather, you might think it was help that guaranteed my position under everyone’s eyes.

But the Count was not a man to show such favors without a price.

And if you think about it a little, you can easily understand the hidden intention.

‘He means to use me for propaganda.’

Regardless of what my future plans are, the Count wants to put the image he wants on me.

And he intends to use that image as a propaganda tool, politically, or whatever he wants.

In the short term, it’s not bad, but in the long term, it’s something that must be avoided.

If I need to boldly shed that image in the distant future, and if I break away from that image, what will people call me?

‘A cruel turncoat.’

‘A traitor who abandons trust.’

‘A person with a different face inside and out.’

I don’t even need to see it. And I have no intention of taking such risks.

My image must be created by myself according to my plans.

Not just wearing clothes that others give me and eating food that others feed me.

‘I’ll play along for now. I’ve received some help, so. But I choose everything and I select everything.’

I took my eyes off the Count, quietly took a breath, and looked at Ross.

“Let’s start.”

“Yes!”

Ross, who answered energetically, held a wooden sword.

The erected wooden sword was cut off and flew into the air.

“…….”

Ross, who was staring blankly at the wooden sword that had been cleanly cut off, leaving only the handle, looked at me.

“H, how with a wooden sword?”

“Next.”

At my nod, Ross, with a bewildered face, left the training ground.

“Leton Obra from the Obra Baron family.”

His wooden sword was cut off like Ross’s.

“Manjos Dellan from the Dellan Baron family.”

Manjos’s wooden sword was also cut off in the same way.

It didn’t take even a minute for the candidates to come forward and then retreat. All of them sadly retired without being able to show off the swordsmanship they had honed.

After all the dozen or so candidates were eliminated, all that remained in this place, where hundreds of people had gathered, was silence.

‘This is my answer.’

I glanced at the platform where the Count was.

Count Lindayer, Gilaine, and Baranka’s faces were unchanged. Rather, the expressions of the Wind Knights standing in line behind them were worth seeing.

“Then, after taking a break, there will be a real sword sparring match…….”

The Count raised his hand at the executor’s words.

“The candidates don’t seem to be exhausted. Proceed.”

As the Count said, the candidates who hadn’t even swung a wooden sword wouldn’t be exhausted.

“Understood.”

The process continued, and Ross Ballu, who was the first in line again, stood in front of me with a long sword.

His expression was full of venom.

At first, he was just flustered by the inexplicable situation and retreated, but if he had thought about it carefully, he would have realized the insult he had suffered.

“Let’s start.”

And that insult has now returned, amplified.

“Draw your sword.”

“I told you to just start.”

I was just standing crookedly, placing my left hand on the scabbard and taking a comfortable posture with my right hand hanging down.

Ross gritted his teeth at the sight.

“You might regret it.”

“Regret? That’s what losers do.”

Ross, who ground his teeth at my words, raised his sword.

Seeing that, I only slightly bent my waist.

But Ross’s body stopped at the sight of me.

Me, leaning forward, and Ross, holding a sword.

A strange confrontation began.

How many minutes had passed?

People started to murmur, wondering if something had happened. Nevertheless, Ross still couldn’t swing his sword.

In the end, Ross opened his mouth without swinging his sword, either when he held the wooden sword or now.

“I, I will forfeit.”

Ross, who declared his forfeiture, bowed his head and hurriedly retreated.

I could feel the other candidates laughing at Ross and clicking their tongues.

Of course, those candidates who clicked their tongues were no different from Ross.

“I will forfeit.”

“F, forfeit.”

“I give up.”

The atmosphere of the test site was like cold water being poured on it, with the candidates giving up in droves.

“What kind of disgrace is this!”

I could see a nobleman who had rushed over from afar scolding his son, who appeared to be a candidate.

“B, but…….”

“How embarrassing! Do you still have excuses to make with that mouth of yours!”

“H, however, Father. I can only swing my sword if I can swing it.”

“What are you…….”

“How can I swing my sword when there is no place to swing it? I can’t just cut the air.”

The nobleman was speechless and just dumbfounded, but I could sympathize.

The posture I was taking now was originally Lordain’s.

As I felt firsthand in my first meeting with him, Lordain knew how to subdue his opponent without crossing swords.

And he said that method starts with giving yourself up.

“Just show a gap.”

“Show it? What if I get stabbed?”

“If you get stabbed, you die.”

“I wasn’t expecting such an obvious answer.”

“Who said to just be unarmed? Just focus on countering instead of blocking.”

“What kind of ignorant nonsense is that?”

“Have you ever seen such a stupid guy? Think about it. If you do that, only guys who are confident that they can lightly ignore your counterattack will come in, right?”

“…….”

“If the opponent doesn’t care about your counterattack from the beginning, it means that you can’t beat them no matter what you do in the first place. Still don’t get it?”

At that time, it was Lordain’s teaching that I didn’t know whether to understand or not, but now I could easily understand its meaning.

The candidates didn’t not attack.

They just couldn’t attack.

Because they probably saw the ending where their sword would be cut off again by my counterattack.