BBYW Vol. 3 Interlude Part 21 (WN)
Interlude – Royal Martial Tournament
Part 21 – Flower Honey Can Be Toxic
I disposed of all the enemies I encountered on my way to the shack, where the hostage was confined in, and ultimately broke into it.
There was a woman laying on the floor. Her clothes were still in their proper place: I had made it in time, apparently.
At the same time, I noticed that the captured beauty was bawling like a child, and realized that I had *barely* made it in time.
(First off…let’s kill them all.)
The crying woman was another man’s fiancée, certainly not mine. Nevertheless, I felt a surge of anger inside me.
It felt just like my favorite flower field had been ravaged by strangers, as if I had witnessed something pure and noble being defiled: pure indignation.
“Why…why in the blazes are you here!?”
So one of the abductors shouted. My sudden appearance was completely unexpected for them as well.
If, instead of me, Valon Sphinx had barged in, they would probably not have been as surprised.
The “intruder”, however, was me, Dyngir Maxwell — heir to House Maxwell, someone with no direct connection to House Sphinx or the hostage.
It was not surprising for them to wonder why I would be here.
“There’s nothing to explain, you’re all going to die anyway.”
“W…What the…are you insane…!?”
“Hah…we’ll know soon enough who’s the insane one here!!!”
I drew my blade and slashed the chest of the man closest to me, before anyone else could react. Blood spurted from the wound, spraying even the ceiling red.
“Kh…! Draw your swords!! Kill him!!”
“Too damn late. You should have drawn the moment I came in!!”
“GWUAAAHHH!!”
I stepped closer to the men and let my sword dance. The dusty air of the shack was cut up by countless slices, accompanied by the men’s screams.
“HAAAAAAAH!!”
My sword slashed, again and again, relentlessly, mercilessly.
Blood spurted like a triumph of red flowers in bloom, as the Saverne swordsmen fell, one after the other.
They were certainly not weaklings; if we fought normally, one-on-one, they would all surely prove to be worthy opponents.
Though, my sudden intrusion left them all wide open. Their sword arm was dulled by the confusion, and the outcome of the battle was decided.
In the end, the key factor that brought my victory was the difference in actual fighting experience.
In war, on the battlefield, both enemies and allies sometimes acted in ways one would never expect.
To know that from experience was the small, yet crucial, difference that allowed me to win.
After making sure all the swordsmen were down for the count, I approached the woman. I swung my blade one last time, to cut the ropes that bound her.
“I probably scared you. I’m sorry, but this is the only method I know.”
I apologized for showing the woman such carnage, wiped my hands of the blood and lifted her up.
She looked at me, in a daze. Strangely enough, there was no trace of fear in her eyes. Slightly puzzled by that, I caressed her blonde hair.
“Ah….”
“Good job holding out here. You must have been terrified.”
“Aah…WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
I gently combed her hair, and the woman broke into tears. She buried her face in my chest, uncaring of the bloodstains.
“Really…how can this woman be so…childlike…?”
I looked up at the ceiling. For some reason, I found myself treating her like a child, even if she looked older than me. I felt I should protect her, as if I suddenly had a little sister.
(That’s probably why I came to save her…tch, and yet she’s Valon’s fiancée…)
I shouldn’t get any closer to her. If I did, I would start thinking I really wanted her for myself. I’d end up laying my hands on her.
I felt a growing risk, as if I was being gradually cornered in a game of chess, but I couldn’t help but continue caressing the woman’s head, as she rested in my arms.