How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 162



Only Noblemtl

Episode 162

Chaeng-! Kiiiiiing-

As the sword pressed down heavily from above, Lianus blocked it by crossing his two swords and quickly slid it to one side.

‘When you let it go, don’t give the other person time to think. Let it go naturally, like water flowing. Don’t let the direction change.’

Lianus muttered to himself.

If you let it flow, it won’t back down, but will turn around and counterattack right away.

Whoosh-!

As expected, my brother’s sword followed the expected trajectory without a single inch of error.

No, that’s a misnomer. It wasn’t the sword path I expected. To be exact, it was the sword path that Nihil showed me.

Instead of stepping back, Lianus ducked down and dodged. The sword, not sharp enough, passed over his crown, making a sound like wind.

It would have been an evasion technique that would never have been possible if he had been just a little bit taller.

Since the sword that was swung wide took time to swing again, if I counterattacked now, I could win. I also won against Nihil, who imitated his brother, in this way.

but,

‘Rian, you can’t win.’

Lianus pursed his lips and instead of fighting back, he stepped back, putting some distance between them.

I never intended to ignore my friend’s advice from the beginning. I just tried it out to see if the method that worked in the sparring match with Nihil would actually work on my brother.

‘It’s exactly the same.’

It felt like we were doing the same drill again. No, once was something. It felt like we had already done it ten times.

He had been unable to defeat Nihil, who was imitating his brother, but yesterday he took a risky gamble for the first time and won.

Of course I got scolded. It was too dangerous. If I had made a mistake, I would have been hit in the head.

‘How did Neil imitate it so well? It really feels like I’m sparring with my brother.’

At that thoughtless question, my friend’s expression hardened for a moment. And then, unexpectedly, a mumbled answer was heard.

‘… imitation… my… essence… … .’

‘… … ?’

‘I… do not… exist… nor… exist… . Lian.’

Lianus didn’t hear the answer properly, but he decided never to ask that question again. Somehow he felt he had to.

visor-!

“……!”

I was suddenly brought back to reality by the blade that was strongly pressing down on my head again. I tried to let it go, but my waist was bent backwards and I couldn’t use my strength, and I could see that my brother was also trying to control the direction of the sword as much as possible.

“You’re thinking of something else during a duel… Isn’t that dangerous, Rianus?”

“…….”

Unlike his soft-spoken tone, my brother was holding on as close as possible and was pushing down with all his might. It was as if he was going to crush me.

Lianus hesitated whether he should admit defeat or not. Since it was a duel he couldn’t win anyway, it was okay to end it like this.

‘But… I want to do a little more.’

In the current situation where I have even given up on swordsmanship lessons, it will not be easy to get a chance to spar with my brother.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was any way to overcome this situation right away. I tried to step back or deflect the sword, but the longsword was right behind me, pressing down on me from above.

“Rianus, if you keep doing that, your back will hurt.”

“…….”

“Wouldn’t it be better to admit defeat?”

“no.”

Lianus replied briefly and completely laid back, losing his center of gravity. And in that brief moment of floating in the air, he twisted his waist and pushed his brother’s side with his foot, changing direction.

puck-!

Although I rolled around loudly on the ground, I managed to get away from that place.

Lianus quickly sat up and regained his posture. The shock to his back made him cough repeatedly.

Even though his brother was hit in the side, he didn’t fall over. Nihil’s judgment that his center of gravity was firmly held was correct.

“…What a crude trick you’re using. Who taught you such a crude trick?”

“Kolok, you’re going to get caught up in that crappy shit someday.”

“…….”

The air became tense again and several fierce attacks followed. Unlike before, I could see that my brother was tense. On the other hand, I was mentally very relaxed because it was a fight I had to lose.

‘Neil even twirled the sword in his hand… … .’

When Nihil is not imitating his brother, his movements are very free and colorful.

During the duel, he sometimes throws his sword, and even while clashing the swords, he turns them half a turn and holds them in the opposite direction.

Even though it looks like it has a lot of vulnerabilities, it is incredibly confusing when you actually fight it, as if you are fighting multiple people.

Moreover, apart from showing off such flashy tricks, Nihil is very good at bare-handed fighting. No, he is even scarier when his hands are empty.

You don’t have to adjust your strength.

The strength was so strong that he was even caught by the collar and sent flying into the sky.

‘Eughhhhhhh!’

‘Oh no! It’s the prince!’

‘Evan, geez-!’

‘Ask.’

‘You fucking savage little cat!’

Evan jumped up and caught it, and at that moment it really felt like a flying piece of dog gum.

“…Are you laughing?”

As I recalled this, I must have laughed without realizing it, because my brother’s face hardened.

Lianus quickly made an excuse to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry, I was thinking of something else….”

“…Are you saying you still have time to think about other things?”

Chaeng-! Giggle!

The sword swung down more fiercely, as if he was angry. My hand started to tingle.

His brother’s sword became faster and faster as if he was pushing forward. Rianus felt his hands becoming more and more entangled. Perhaps because he had been holding the two-handed sword for so long, both swords came out at the same time.

“……!”

Chaeng-, finally, a sword slipped out of my hand with a loud noise.

“Neil! Careful…, ugh!”

Rianus tried to warn Nihil as he saw the sword flying towards him, but his brother pounced on him and he lost his balance and fell backwards.

“Can you just take a look?”

“…The match is decided. Get out of the way, brother.”

Rianus climbed on top of me and pushed Lawrence’s shoulder hard enough to make a thud while he was pointing his sword at my neck, and then went straight to Nihil.

“Neil, are you okay?”

Nod nod.

Fortunately, it seemed like no one was hurt. It was strange that my close friend got hurt over something like that.

“They both had a hard time.”

Sedes was secretly impressed by Lianus’s rapid growth, but he pretended not to notice and opened his mouth indifferently.

“Lawrence.”

“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I knew he was already very talented, but I was very impressed by how he calmly handled unexpected situations. His fundamentals were also very solid.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“However, the swordsman is too honest, so it would be good if he could be a little more flexible.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Lawrence didn’t look particularly happy about his win. Instead, his usually smiling face seemed a little stiff.

It would be understandable to be upset that Lianus’ skills had improved noticeably despite not attending fencing classes. However, there was nothing he could do about it, so Sedes turned away.

“Rianus.”

“Yes, yes! Your Majesty.”

“It was a really great match considering that you’ve only just started using dual swords. You should be punished for skipping class without consulting me, but it’s more important to find a teacher and swordsmanship that suits you and learn from them. I look forward to your future growth.”

“Go, thank you!”

“However, refrain from taking risky moves. It’s good to try your best to win, but you shouldn’t get hurt.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“Okay. You both worked hard. I look forward to the rest of the evaluations.”

Sedes said that and pushed aside the blank evaluation form that was useless to look at.

“……!”

At that moment, the air changed. The peacock, who had been silently watching the rain, stepped forward.

The old snake did not hide his sword master’s characteristic aura.

Sedes furrowed his eyebrows slightly under the subtle pressure. He was out of breath, but he tried to act calm.

“…Your Majesty, do you have anything to say?”

“It’s very… interesting.”

He could feel the knights guarding him tense up. If they wanted, they could kill him and put the first prince on the throne.

Sedes’ face crumpled. I wish the old snake’s momentum had been directed only at me, but the duke turned to the white boy.

‘… I should have given Sirentia to Heinz.’

Sedes clenched his fists. The current situation, where he could not object to this kind of abuse of authority, was miserable.

Of course, I don’t regret giving Sirentea to Abel. But whenever the Duke pressures me like this, I can’t help but think of my Shadow Knight who said he could make me a Sword Master.

‘Still, once Abel’s treatment is over, I think I can go up to Circle 6 without any problems.’

Maybe it was possible to reach the 7th circle. If it was the potential he had shown when he was young and was called the next Magic Tower Lord, it was definitely possible. If he could reach the 7th circle, he would be able to hold even the Sword Master back to a certain extent.

At that moment, I suddenly felt the air become much more relaxed. I wondered why the Duke was backing down so easily, and when I checked, I saw that his expression was filled with displeasure.

‘Isn’t that what you did on purpose?’

“…Why, why are you doing this, Duke?”

On the other hand, Lianus hesitated as he saw the duke approaching him, or rather, his close friend.

“I thought about it from the first time I saw it…, it’s very strange.”

The duke raised one eyebrow slightly and tried to gain more momentum. But his momentum was soon overshadowed by something else.

Lianus didn’t know why the Duke was acting like this, but he stepped forward because he felt he had to protect Nihil. Normally, he wouldn’t have been able to raise his head properly, but today, the Duke didn’t seem that scary.

“Your Majesty, I don’t know what you are talking about. Do you have business with my friend?”

“That thing… is it alive?”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s right before your eyes, but it doesn’t seem to exist.”

That’s really strange. I can’t feel any movement… at all.

The Duke lifted Nihil’s cotton thread with his wooden sword. The cotton thread lifted slightly, then was cleanly cut along the sword’s path.

A black opal with a mysterious glow appeared between the torn cotton threads.

“What did my friend do that you are threatening me like this?”

Lianus quickly pulled Nihil into his arms. No matter how much the duke left, he would not touch the royal body.

Before he knew it, the knights surrounding the Duke were drawing their swords and bracing themselves for any threat.

Sedes, who had been watching, cried out in a low voice.

“Lord Tessaurus, do not cross this line any further.”

“It’s just a simple wooden sword.”

“Even a branch can become a weapon to a sword master.”

At those words, Calor threw away his wooden sword as if he was surprised and gained momentum.

While the knights sighed in relief at the reduced momentum, only Evan remained tense and blocked Lianus’ path.

Calor raised the corners of his mouth as if he found Evan funny.

“It’s a loyalty that cannot be seen without tears.”

“…….”

“How long will that hypocrisy be loved?”

“…That’s something I can handle.”

“Cheeky.”

“……!”

In that moment, one of Evan’s knees buckled. The duke was starting to gain momentum again.

Evan croaked repeatedly under the suffocating pressure. He could feel our little kitten fidgeting behind him, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to comfort him.

The corners of the old snake’s mouth went up crookedly.

“I know the topic……”

puck-!

“Ugh!?”

As the Duke spoke, something struck Evan’s back.

Thud, thud, thud-!

He kept hitting me.

“Ugh, you crazy…, ugh, you punk, stop…!”

Thud, thud-!

“Oh! Don’t do that!”

Evan finally grabbed Nihil by the scruff of his neck. The momentum that had been weighing him down naturally disappeared.

No, it wasn’t gone. The peacock was still oozing with energy, it just wasn’t reaching me.

As expected, the old snake’s face was crumpled.

“…sorry.”

In the end, he put the disobedient cat under his arm and bowed his head again. But that did not improve the duke’s mood.

“What is it?”

“…….”

The Duke looked at Baedong, who was staring at him expressionlessly. He changed the target of his pressure from the second prince’s escort knight to Baedong, but there was not even a hint of agitation in those mysterious eyes.

“It’s really a doll…….”

“Callock.”

“……?”

The doll, no, Baedong, who had been still, suddenly vomited something red.

“blood……?”

Baedong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as if he had never coughed before and looked up at the duke again.

Then a crying sound was heard from far away.

“Ugh, ugh, Your Majesty, His Highness the Duke, ugh, my close friend, and, uh, my knight, are harassing me…, huff, huh.”