Chapter 160: Banquet of Swords (3) (1/2)
Terms used in this chapter:
One who has tied the knot must untie it – A saying that means whoever created the problem must be the one to solve it. An English equivalent would be ‘You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.’
Throwing technique – A Judo technique to unbalance one’s opponent and throw them to the floor.
One full point – Also known as ‘ippon,’ it is a score given in judo when one executes a skillful throwing technique which results in one contestant being thrown largely on the back with considerable force or speed. An ippon in judo is equivalent to a knockout punch in boxing.
Lucian Dior.
Born as the eldest son of Count Dior, he enjoyed all sorts of luxury and was the kind of man Jude had expected.
He was a man with a bad personality, but was quite clever and had a natural talent for swords.
But unlike those kind of bastards who whiled away their time in alcohol and women, he walked the path of the sword quite seriously.
He devoted himself to training from early in the morning every day, and never stayed up all night even after drinking and playing games with his clique.
His fiancée, Lorraine, highly praised Lucian’s diligence which she found to be surprising, but there was actually one more reason why he was diligent.
‘Fear.’
If Lucian had to choose two things that left a deep impression in his life of more than 20 years, one was meeting his fiancée, Lorraine, and the other was his first meeting of ‘a person higher and stronger than his father’ when he was five years old.
‘Duke Wotan.’
Lucian was walking inside the mansion like always and happened to witness a conversation between his father and Duke Wotan, which greatly shocked him.
Duke Wotan wasn’t doing anything strange.
What completely surprised Lucian was his father, Count Dior.
‘Father?’
For the child Lucian, Count Dior was like a god.
He held absolute power within the family, and always wielded that power to its utmost.
Lucian had noticed that the maids, butlers, and even his mother always trembled in fear when they stood in front of such a father.
Lucian liked such a father.
He thought that someday, he would become like his father.
Count Dior.
His god-like father.
But not that day.
His father whose back was always straightened up, had bent it over like that of an old butler.
He bowed his head repeatedly in subservience, smiled like a secretary, and tried to please Duke Wotan.
And Lucian realized it that day.
The fact that his father was not a god, and that his son, Lucian himself, was also not a god.
The fact that there were stronger and greater people in the world.
That was why unlike other bastards, Lucian looked at his opponents differently and cleverly used his head.
He knew it.
He knew so well that neither he nor his father were gods that could do whatever they wanted.
After witnessing that shocking sight, Lucian began to make an effort in his training.
Because he was very scared.
He had to be strong.
He must continue to stand in the position of the strong one.
In order to not be left behind by greater beings than him such as Duke Wotan, he must become someone skilled.
He must have the ability to reign over things that were equal or inferior to himself.
Lucian’s original personality didn’t change.
He still liked to bully the weak and used that to boost his ego. He constantly wanted to confirm that he was still strong.
‘The ten great swordmasters’ children.’
They weren’t just children of great swordmasters, but also children of those who occupied a place in the 12 northern families.
Lucian instinctively felt a sense of crisis.
So he thought like he usually did.
He had to beat them. He must hold the dominant position.
And…
And.
‘How nice would it feel?’
If he beat those people.
If he could instill to those people, who have lived thinking that they were strong, of the fact that they were actually weak.
But when he first saw Lucas, he couldn’t make any hasty moves.
Because Lucas Hræsvelgr wasn’t someone he could easily offend.
‘Margrave.’
He was the first child of Count Hræsvelgr who led the Jackdaws.
Even if Count Dior was favored by Duke Wotan, the Hræsvelgr family wasn’t a family he could thoughtlessly offend.
If that was the case, he had to win with his own abilities in the end, but that wasn’t easy either.
‘Lucas Hræsvelgr.’
A sword genius whose name was known even in the royal capital.
Lucas was still four years younger than him, but he didn’t think he would lose. But he didn’t think he could easily win either.
But new faces then appeared at the tea party.
Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase.
There were rumors about them in the royal capital like Lucas, but the content of the rumors were completely different.
One was a sword genius.
The other was about two young people who were crazily in love and eloped.
But it wasn’t only that. Unlike Cordelia who was quite healthy, Jude had suffered from an illness that he couldn’t go out much until half a year ago.
‘Easy.’
He could beat Jude as much as he wanted to. So he immediately picked a fight with the other.
Even if Lucas had drawn his sword, Lucian was determined to goad Jude into a match through provocation.
‘I want to see it.’
To see that handsome face be wrecked into a mess.
When it came to their looks, Cordelia Chase was comparable to Lorraine – no, she was even better looking than his fiancée, and he wanted to see such Cordelia cry as she realize that her beloved was actually a weak idiot.
As he felt thrilled by his sadistic thoughts, Lucian provoked them even harder, and Lucas drew his sword as he expected.
But it went wrong after that.
‘Cocky bastard.’
Jude Bayer.
It was obvious that Jude didn’t know much about the world yet.
It was obvious that Jude was like him in his childhood, not knowing that there was a heaven above the sky.
Then he had to teach Jude.
How lowly his existence was.
The purpose of the Banquet of Swords was to broaden one’s horizons, so he would teach Jude once as his senior.
As he charged towards Jude, the word ‘defeat’ did not exist in Lucian’s mind.
He only dreamed of winning and scorning the weak like always.
And…
“Huh?”
At the moment he first swung his sword, Lucian unwittingly let out a word in surprise.
Because when he tried to immediately strike Jude with his sword, Jude evaded it, so nothing happened.
“Oops, I forgot one thing.”
Lucian’s eyes turned sharp when Jude retreated more than ten steps in an instant and slyly smiled before speaking.
Because it was the first time he had seen that considerable level of footwork technique.
“Lord Lucian, let’s make a promise.”
“Promise? What promise?”
“If Lord Lucian loses, he would kneel and apologize to Cordelia. Together with Lady Lorraine. With sincerity.”
“What?”
“To begin with, this match started because Lord Lucian arrogantly mocked and shamed Cordelia. As the saying goes, one who has tied the knot must untie it, so shouldn’t Lord Lucian be the one to put an end to it?”
“Crazy b*stard.”
Lucian cursed, and the prospects from the royal capital laughed out loud while the prospects from the south found the current situation to be interesting.
But the prospects from the north thought.
‘No, weren’t we insulted too?’
‘Weren’t we the first ones to be shamed?’
But that didn’t matter to Jude.
What mattered to Jude was Cordelia.
“Would you like to make a promise?”
“What if you lose then?”
“I will prostrate myself in front of Lord Lucian and Lady Lorraine. I’ll apologize for acting arrogant.”
“No, you alone is not enough. Your fiancée should be with you.”
“Crazy son of a b*tch, I thought I’d cut you some slack, but you must be desperate to die, huh?”
“W-what?”
“Anyway, let’s make a promise, okay?”
When Jude let out curses and then asked him with a smug smile, Lucian was taken aback before he laughed.
One could only laugh if they found something to be so ridiculous, and that was exactly what happened to him.
“Crazy son of a b*tch, I’ll beat you to a pulp.”
“If you can.”
At that moment, Lucian made up his mind.
He had thought of teaching Jude a lesson moderately, but that wasn’t enough now.
He should at least put a cut on Jude’s face.
“You brought it upon yourself.”
“Yes, you brought it upon yourself.”
Jude grinned again, and Lucian kicked the ground. And this time, Jude did not avoid it.
And right after that.
When Lucian’s lightning-fast sword lunged at Jude.
“Huh?”
Lucian let out a surprised voice again. But this time, it was different from before.
Lucian found himself flying in the air.
To be exact, he found his head falling downwards to the ground.
Throwing technique.
At the moment Lucian lunged at him, Jude narrowed the distance at once with Twenty-Four Gale Steps. He grabbed Lucian’s right hand that held the sword that thrust at him, and immediately did the throwing technique. He used his strength to flip Lucian over his head.
And right after that again.
When Lucian realized that the positions of the sky and ground had reversed.
Lucian didn’t fall to the ground headfirst.
Just before his head touched the ground, the sky and ground changed positions again. Something supported the back of his neck, so he only fell to the floor on his back.
“Ah.”
And he realized it.
What touched the back of his neck was the top of Jude’s foot.
Jude had brought his foot to the back of Lucian’s neck after the throwing technique to prevent Lucian’s head from falling headfirst to the ground.
“One full point.”
Jude smiled and said, prompting the voices of those who were watching at that moment.
Confusion, awe, and fear.
“What- what happened?”
“Did he throw Lucian behind his head?”
“No, he supported Lucian with his foot at the end, I think? So that Lucian wouldn’t fall headfirst? Is that even possible?”
They honestly didn’t see it properly.