Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 141: Engagement – Crow

"Ugh! You, you bastard...! Do you think you'll get away with this..."

"Of course. I'll get away with it."

The knight from the Brina Barony looked down at the sword impaled in his abdomen with eyes full of disbelief. His mistake was underestimating the boy because of his young age.

Typically, knights grew stronger with age. The longer they trained in swordsmanship and the more mana accumulated in their bodies over time, the stronger they became.

Middle age was the prime of a knight's life.

Not yet weakened by old age, knights at this stage often reached the pinnacle of their swordsmanship skills, depending on their talent.

Leo Dexter, newly an adult, stepped up to the middle-aged knight. Grabbing the choking man's nape, he whispered something, then pulled out the sword from the knight's abdomen and thrust it into his neck.

[Achievement: One Knight – You become stronger when facing knights. min(1)]

[Quest: Duelist 973/1000 – Your {Swordsmanship} ability increases by one level.]

"Sir Marlon!"Everyone stared at Leo in astonishment. At first, they thought he approached to help Lena or mediate the situation.

But Leo said nothing. As if to apologize, he bent his waist, then suddenly drew his sword.

It was a quick-draw technique.

It was difficult to execute quick-draw techniques with a two-handed sword. The sword's length meant you had to stretch your shoulder to draw it in one go, and even if you managed to swing it, the stance would be broken, making it an awkward and shameful display.

Marlon would not have been caught by such a weak attack. He quickly drew his sword to block it easily... but the problem was what happened next.

Leo Dexter, as soon as his sword was blocked with a clang, threw the sword's hilt.

Since he had quick-drawn with his right hand, his body naturally turned, and his left hand followed. Grabbing the thrown hilt with his left hand, he thrust it directly into Marlon.

That was the end.

Despite his long years of training, Marlon was easily pierced through and died helplessly. Leo shook his sword, sensing everyone's astonished gazes.

Black blood scattered, decorating the snowy ground.

'It's definitely good swordsmanship...'

Minseo, lacking talent in swordsmanship, held his breath, and Leo Dexter's talent breathed life into the technique. He didn't just mimic {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Style} but applied it according to the situation.

Leo suddenly wondered.

What was my original skill level? Before being overlaid with Minseo and receiving the 'system' enhancement, how strong was I?

'...I must have been similar to Lena. Judging by the reactions so far... No, wait.'

Leo stood there, deep in thought. There was something bothering him when he recalled the past.

Father, Noel Dexter, didn't find it strange that my swordsmanship skills had suddenly improved. It happened this time, and it happened before.

Only when I was initially lacking in skills did he look at me with curiosity. When Minseo first gained the {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Style} ability and sparred, Father exclaimed:

- "Hahahaha! Son! You've realized something!"

It was definitely strange.

The skills I showed then were not at the level of the current Lena. Even without fully utilizing the characteristics of the Bart Style, my skills surpassed most knights, and I even momentarily overwhelmed my father.

Father, who sparred with me daily and knew my skills better than anyone. His exclamation meant... that my past self had hit some sort of wall, and Father had some inkling of it.

But this didn't explain Lena's reactions so far. She always acted as if she had almost caught up to my skills.

That means...

'Did I hide my skills from Lena before the scenario started?'

Leo reached a bizarre conclusion. With no memories of the past, it was a question he couldn't unravel.

Leo looked at Lena with a confused expression. But,

"Leo! What are you doing?! How can you kill someone like that! Are you crazy?!"

Her shout broke his reverie. Leo looked around at the merchants and defended himself.

"I had no choice. If I left him alive, we would have been killed, right? Isn't that so?"

The merchants, who had braced themselves for death, nodded. Their expressions weren't bright, likely worrying about future repercussions.

"Still, you should have subdued him first and talked..."

"Wait! He's getting away!"

Ran pointed with her finger.

When Leo turned his head, he saw a squire who had come with the knight backing away.

"Eek!"

Now, the squire turned completely and started running toward a horse. Leo kicked off the ground.

"P-Please spare me. I-I was just following orders..."

"I'm just trying to survive too!"

And to fill the pit of tragedy that this damned game had prepared.

Leo's sword sliced through the squire's waist as he desperately climbed onto the horse.

Hot blood flowed down the horse's back, melting the snow with the warm sunlight.

Winter was nearly over.

  *

Bubbling.

Lena blew bubbles with her nose in the hot spring, steam rising in white wisps. The warm water soothed her travel fatigue, but she hugged her knees with a sulky expression.

"Hiya!"

- Splash!

Water splashed as Ran Aviker jumped into the hot spring.

"Ah! This feels great. Oh!"

She quickly stood up, her elastic body rising from the water, and hurriedly threw her hair tie outside.

Long brown hair flowed down her curved back.

Anne Aviker picked up the feather-decorated hair tie her sister had thrown on the floor, keeping it along with her own hair tie, and dipped her feet into the hot spring.

This was a village they had stopped at along the way.

After the commotion, the merchant group continued their journey as if nothing had happened, and Ran, Anne, Lena, and Leo traveled with them toward the capital.

"How is it? Isn't it nice? The warmth takes away all your fatigue, right?"

"...It's nice."

Lena replied reluctantly. Ran swam over to sit beside her.

"Are you still sulking? Come on, you're such a kid."

"I'm not a kid."

"Of course you are. You've been raised so gently... Is this the first time you've seen someone die?"

"It's not that. I just... I think it was a bit excessive. Maybe we could have persuaded them..."

"Ugh, stubborn as always. You know they wouldn’t have been persuaded. And I think Leo did the right thing. Strength should be met with strength. Those who are powerful don't need to be cautious."

At Ran’s firm words, Lena lowered her head and blew bubbles in the water again.

Immediately after Leo killed the knight and the squire, he listened to the merchants' stories. The merchant, who introduced himself as 'Vernon' and dealt in jewelry, told the story of what happened in the Brina Barony.

He said that he had received a request from 'Diego Brina' in Barnoul. Diego promised support in exchange for a favor in his territory at the southwestern edge of the Kingdom of Astin.

The request from the baron's son, 'Diuro Brina,' in Brina Barony was...

+ + +

"He asked us to engage in smuggling."

"Smuggling?"

"Yes. Without going through the gates. The Brina Barony borders the Holy Kingdom of Jerome and the Kingdom of Bellita. Diuro said that a war would break out soon, making it a great opportunity. He also emphasized that he had already arranged things with Count Oscar of the Holy Kingdom and Baron Sauer of Bellita."

Sitting together in the carriage, Vernon sighed and continued.

"I refused. It might have made a lot of money, but it was clear that we would eventually be abandoned."

"You did well. It was the right decision."

Leo, crossing his arms, nodded in agreement and fell into thought. He knew the Sauer Barony.

He had encountered them in the beggar siblings scenario before. The head of the Sauer Barony, 'Brian Sauer,' wore ridiculously extravagant clothes and used exaggerated manner.

With shifty gray eyes and unusually many wrinkles, he also owned all the brothels in Orville.

'Could it be that he’s involved in something here? Why am I entangled with him again?'

Leo nervously tapped his fingers.

Everything seemed unsettling.

It might be paranoia and coincidence, but he even suspected the similarity between the name 'Brian' of Baron Sauer and the 'Brina' of Brina Barony in the Kingdom of Astin.

And he knew that 'Marquis Benar Tatian' was behind Brian Sauer.

Back then, the marquis had introduced him to nobles with whom he was friendly, trying to adopt Prince Leo.

During that friendly conversation, Baron Sauer had made a slip of the tongue, mentioning 'border areas,' and hastily shut his mouth at the marquis's sidelong glance.

Border areas...

'Is the marquis plotting something through Baron Sauer?'

Leo's head throbbed as he recalled distant memories, and the merchant bowed politely.

"In the chaos, I didn’t get to thank you properly. I don't know how to repay this favor. But... Huff. You’re a knight, right? Thank you for helping us, but you should also flee quickly. The baron won’t stand idly by after you killed his knight."

Leo shook his head slightly.

He smiled at the merchant who was concerned about his safety.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't kill him without a plan. Ran. Anne."

"What? Why are you calling us?"

"Sorry, but I'll need your help."

"Our help?"

Leo pointed to the cart he had dragged along. Lena, sitting at the end of the cart with a sullen expression, saw the bones of the Sulgak Saro.

+ + +

"I agree with my sister, Lena. Don't think too rigidly. I don’t know why you learned swordsmanship, but isn't martial arts about that? And it turned out well. Although we left all the Sulgak Saro bones..."

Listening to Anne, Lena kept sipping and spitting out hot spring water.

The sisters were right.

Honestly, it would have been hard to persuade that arrogant knight.

Killing him was the only solution, and Leo had suggested a follow-up plan. They would leave the Sulgak Saro bones behind.

Hearing his plan, the merchants cheered and killed two horses. They smeared the Sulgak Saro bones with horse meat and blood everywhere.

Ran and Anne's axes butchered the knight and squire’s bodies. They also broke down the Sulgak Saro bones and scattered them around, making it look like wild beasts had devoured them. It would indeed seem that way.

Someone might see through this trick.

But it was more plausible that the rare knight, one of fewer than a thousand in the kingdom, had encountered wild beasts and perished, rather than pursuing a single merchant caravan and getting killed.

"Phew. I wish we had brought one of the horns... The kids would have loved it."

"Sister, do you have children?"

Lena asked, calming herself a bit. Ran smiled broadly and replied.

"Of course. I'm old enough to have kids. I have a son."

"Wow... I didn't know. You look so young... Then Anne, you too?"

"Yes. I have two. A daughter and a son. They’re both adorable. When we get to the capital, you should visit our house. You can stay for a few days."

"Ah! You’re planning to tell the kids about catching the monster, aren't you? So sneaky."

"What else can I do? I can’t go back empty-handed to my kids and husband."

"Oh? So you two left your kids and husband to travel? How old are they?"

"Hahaha. Lena, you just came of age, right? Adding a bit of exaggeration, they’re almost your age. We married early. I was married at thirteen, right?"

"Yes, I married at twelve."

"Twelve?" Lena's eyes widened.

"Oh my... Why? Why did you marry so early?"

"Well, it’s a long story. Shall we talk outside? I can't stay in the hot water any longer. Wow? Anne, look at her firm body. Youth is really something."

Ran poked Lena’s butt.

"Ouch! Don’t touch me!"

"Hahaha. Judging by your reaction, you haven’t slept with your boyfriend yet."

Ran and Anne laughed as they teased Lena, who turned red and quickly dressed.

In doing so, she didn’t see the large tattoos on Ran and Anne’s backs, revealed as they lifted their long hair to tie it.

Red and black crows.

One perched on a sword, the other on a shield, both arrogantly holding their heads high.