#After returning, the family was ruined (194)
“Isn’t that Sir Damian?”
“It’s true.”
Loud.
Damian Plotten.
He was the eldest son of Duke Floten and one of the top five knights in the Kingdom of Limedell in terms of popularity. If I were to sum up his life in one word, it could be called Royal Road.
Exceptional talent.
Generous support from a renowned family to back him up. Even a gorgeous appearance that is second to none. The fact that he was born with these elements would have made him famous.
The rumor that brought him fame was of a different kind.
It was a story about his passionate love. A love story between a maid hired by the family and a princess.
A story that can only be seen in fairy tales has now appeared in reality.
She was someone who raised too many questions to be chosen after rejecting the courtship of numerous noble ladies.
Did the maid have exceptional looks?
no.
Although she may not have been ugly, she did not have the appearance of a particularly beautiful woman.
So, did he possess some great talent that was not recognized by his family?
That wasn’t it either. She was just one of Damian’s exclusive maids who had served him since he was young.
Approximately five years ago, Damian announced the news of his marriage to a maid in a very surprising manner, and the ducal family was turned upside down.
It was no wonder that there was an uproar as the only son insisted on marrying a maid who had no title.
Even the head of the house tried to stop him, but Damian’s stubbornness did not break in the slightest. The story of the woman threatening to remain single for the rest of her life if she oppressed her maid was a very famous story even in the Kingdom of Limedell.
Unable to break his son’s stubbornness, the duke eventually placed one condition.
We must reach the semifinals or higher at the continental swordsmanship competition to be held five years from now.
It was an incredible condition.
Even though the Duke of Floten was one of the top three families in the Kingdom of Limedell, the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament was a huge event where many families gathered in one place.
In addition, the Floten Dukes were a family that had never advanced beyond the round of 16 in any competition held so far.
It was the same when I was given a gold-level invitation. Invitations could only be given up to the round of 16, and after that, players had to raise their rankings on their own.
Only then did the family slowly begin to quiet down. It was a condition that anyone would say was extremely difficult, and if he passed it, he would have accomplished such an incredible feat that no one could refute him, even if he were to welcome the maid as a duchess.
Damien very readily accepted the offer and was currently working to achieve the conditions. Now, five years have passed since the duke laid down the conditions.
The conditions imposed by the Floten duchy were evaluated as a godsend. In the past, Damian had consistently made efforts to advance himself, but after the condition was imposed, he devoted himself so hard to training that it was said that the person himself had changed.
Five years of time.
It was a period that not only raised Damian to the highest review index in the kingdom, but also improved his skills to the point where the state of transcendence was only vaguely visible. A growth rate that is incomparably faster than before.
There was no one who did not know that all of this was his effort to achieve good results in the continental swordsmanship competition. The fact that such efforts were ultimately preparations to welcome the maid who fell into his heart.
To that extent.
Interest in Damian, who participated in this tournament, was bound to be much more intense than that of any other knight in the kingdom. Will they be able to overcome all the difficult conditions imposed by the family and complete the romance of the century?
The audience’s gaze gradually shifted to follow his gaze. There was a knight from another country sitting there.
“…who is this? Looking at you on the top floor, you seem to be a great knight…”
“You still don’t know? “It’s Duke Ethan.”
“Duke Ethan?”
“The head of Ardan.”
“If you say Ardan… do you mean the master swordsman I know?”
“okay. “The swordsman you know.”
The kingdom was different, but it was impossible to not know the name Ardan. Because it was the family with the greatest reputation for hundreds of years.
However, the rumors about Ardan that the people of the Kingdom of Limedel knew were not of a very good kind.
“Ardan? “Didn’t you say it was ruined there?”
“What a mess. I heard a rumor that he came back to life very quickly. “And that’s just one year after Duke Ethan over there woke up.”
“Ah, was that Duke the eldest son who fell?”
“Hey, you didn’t know that either?”
“I don’t even know the names of our kingdom’s nobles, do you understand?”
“Be aware of this from now on. “Because the author will be the core of the real storm.”
“How much skill do you have?”
“Can’t you see it’s on the top floor? “Not even Lord Damian could be in that position.”
“…He’s a more powerful person than Sir Damian? Really?”
The man I was talking to widened his eyes. The eldest son of Duke Floten was one of the strong candidates for winning this competition. His skills, known to the world, were more than superhuman, and he was also a knight who was expected to soon overcome the wall of transcendence.
“You look so young…”
“You’re young. “You’ll be 20 this year?”
“Huh… You’re 20 and you’re sitting in that seat?”
Although the participation condition for the swordsmanship competition is that the late age index is under 30, if you are 20, you will definitely be on the younger side among the participants. To be in a position at such an age that not even Lord Damian was invited to.
What was even more interesting was Damian’s piercing gaze. Damian continued to glare at Ethan as if he were a lifelong rival.
On the other hand, Duke Ethan just stared blankly at the preliminary round taking place below, as if he didn’t care at all.
“…Which of the two will win?”
“well. I still think Sir Damian will win. “Because age is something that cannot be ignored.”
“What is your seniority when you are five years apart?”
“Shall we make a bet?”
“I see. “I bet on Duke Ethan.”
Betting began to take place everywhere.
* * *
There were so many participants that the preliminaries continued all week. The first day was the end of the day when the religious leader visited for viewing. Naturally, Ethan’s interest waned.
‘There are no big variables.’
There were only a few talented people who could advance from the preliminaries to the top of the finals.
Actually, it was natural. Not receiving an invitation meant that the talent was outside the box, and finding outstanding talent among such talents was as difficult as finding a gold mine.
‘About the quarterfinals.’
It’s not like there wasn’t a single talented person who could go to that level. However, there is no one who can reach the finals and compete against him.
How many geniuses can there be who have reached the level of transcendence before they turn thirty? Perhaps his standards were too high to be harsh.
The preliminaries continued steadily.
Nerian and Myers easily passed the preliminaries. This may be a natural result since both are highly skilled knights even at 8 stars.
Now, a week has passed.
The bracket for the finals was right in front of him. The first place that caught my eye was the matchup between Nerian and Myers.
Both were lucky until the round of 128. Because I was fighting against knights who didn’t stand out that much.
However, things were different from the round of 64.
‘Myers must be having a hard time.’
Muscal Eindel.
Ethan saw the name and shook his head. It was one of the articles that caught my eye during the preliminaries. He was a talented player who could easily make it to the round of 32.
On the other hand, Nerian…
was smiling faintly as he looked at the bracket.
Round 64.
This was because there seemed a possibility of reaching a higher ranking than the original goal.
After seeing the two people’s match, Ethan’s gaze went upward.
Round of 16.
Names were written in as many as ten of the sixteen spaces.
Ten people received gold-level invitations. That was their name.
There are only six positions left.
It was clearly evident even without looking at the fact that those who came all the way from the preliminaries would compete fiercely to take this position.
‘Hmm. The first opponent….’
William Mines.
He was a knight from Deacon Kingdom, famous for its endless desert. Since he received a gold-level invitation, he must be a talented person in his own right.
However, unfortunately, we did not have information about interest.
One thing could be guessed from this. The fact is that it won’t be such a great article.
The fact that Ethan couldn’t remember his name had that meaning.
Usually, I tend to remember the names of those who could be called ‘heroes’.
“It looks like we’ll be competing against each other.”
Ethan nodded.
Ten people assigned to the round of 16.
Although the organizers organize tickets to avoid competition as much as possible.
If there were eight people, it might have been different, but since there were ten people, even if one person was assigned to each seat, the two games would inevitably be against each other.
The position where Ethan was located was also the site of a match.
One thing was certain.
“You’re out of luck.”
It wasn’t something I said to myself.
Anyway, it didn’t matter much to Ethan whether there was a match or not.
However, William Mines must have been a very unlucky person. Otherwise, you wouldn’t face yourself in the first game.
* * *
Lesson 128.
Round 64.
Round 32.
As each day passed, the names of the knights who rose to the top became clear one by one. Thirty-two people elected to the round of 32. The battle to determine six of them has begun.
Among those people was Nerian. I cheered my heart out, but I couldn’t make it into the top six.
“…With this, all 16 people who will advance to the round of 16 have been decided!”
“Wow!”
A hot shout rang out.
The games so far have been spectacular, but the real spectacle begins now. Because it was a collection of all the best articles among the late indexes in one place.
“Duke, it’s not long until the game starts.”
Ethan nodded at the approaching knight’s words and moved toward the inside of the stadium.
Two games scheduled to be played today.
He was included in the first match marking the opening of the round of 16.
“Introducing the first group of people! “His Excellency the Duke of Ethan, who has not only reached the heights of superhumanity in just one year but also occupied the famous throne of Ardan, enters!”
“Wow!”
A huge amphitheater.
Ethan took his place in the middle of it all.
“But the Duke’s opponent is no mean knight! The superman of the desert kingdom of Deacon! Sir William Mines enters!”
A hooded knight came trotting out from the other side. Coincidentally, the thing in his hand was a great sword.
“The type of weapon is the same! Great sword versus great sword! I’m definitely looking forward to a heavy yet spectacular battle! “Are you two ready?”
The two knights nodded at the same time. The public’s expectations reached a peak due to the host’s skillful hosting.
Superman vs. superman!
It was a match that was not easy to witness until the round of 32. Either one of them is superhuman or both are not superhuman. In nine cases out of ten, the structure of the game was like that.
‘This is going to be very hot from the first game.’
It was a common thought among the public. There will be a lot of eye candy. It was when their expectations reached their peak.
“Then the game begins!”
The host shouted loudly.
The host shouted loudly, and the new forms of the two knights became blurred.
pop!
A knight was thrown so deeply into the wall that it seemed like it would be difficult to break through it, accompanied by a huge cloud of dust.
Inside a huge stadium.
The only one standing alone was Duke Ethan.
“…uh?”
“what?”
“…Is this really the end?”
Confusion spread among the audience.