“……Stop!”
Eventually, Delphine could no longer hold back and shouted.
Her tearful eyes turned towards I-an. He was silently looking down at her, seemingly questioning what was going on.
Tears dripped from Delphine’s eyes. She squirmed and desperately twisted her body. The smell of blood-soaked earth filled the air. Yet, she was determined.
She couldn’t lose her sword, not her sword. It had been everything she had honed and polished up to now.
It was a woman’s desperate plea.
“I-I was wrong… P-please have mercy.”
It was humiliating. She felt her eyes reddening with shame, and her eyelids trembled. But more than that, the fear of never being able to wield a sword again loomed larger.
As Delphine received no response, her anxiety grew. Unconsciously, her mouth began to utter even more beggarly words.
“F-Forgive me… Please, I beg you. At least my arms…”
“Kneel.”
At the cold voice, Delphine’s eyes blankly looked upward. The man’s silent golden gaze seemed to pierce through her.
“It’s a duel among nobles, a matter of life and death. Is your life worth that little? Kneel, and show some sincerity.”
Delphine’s lips trembled. She wanted to say something, but the man’s voice carried a sincere intensity that made her hesitate to speak.
Hadn’t she already crushed her pride by begging on the ground? Hadn’t she already shattered any chance of ever defying him again?
She wanted to voice such thoughts, but the moment I-an raised his sword again, she startled and began to flail her arms.
Her shoulder was half-broken, and with tendons severed, mobility was nearly impossible, but she managed to move with her magic.
However, her speed was significantly slow. Even though she was moving as frantically as she could, it was still insufficient. Fearing that I-an might change his mind, Delphine quickly kneeled before him.
Then she pressed her forehead against the ground.
Her lips were ground together. A lump formed in her throat as tears welled up.
She thought she had already thrown away her pride, but that didn’t seem to be the case. In a voice that trembled from humiliation, she spoke.
“I-I was wrong…”
“Again.”
Delphine gritted her teeth. She wanted to argue, asking what more was lacking since she had already knelt.
Just as she raised her head with fierce determination, she once again found herself staring into those golden eyes.
There was not a hint of wavering.
The man was serious. If she failed to satisfy him, he was poised to swing his sword without hesitation.
And it would leave her arms and legs as minced meat. He aimed to inflict injuries so grievous she could never hold a sword again.
Recalling that fact made Delphine’s eyes tremble with fear. She quickly buried her head back down, desperately working her clever mind to figure out what was wrong.
Finally, her mouth opened again.
It was in a respectful tone.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know my place… Hic.”
She wanted to maintain her speech somehow, but hiccups crept in. Thankfully, I-an did not seem to take issue with that.
He merely stared at her in silence. From Delphine’s lips, a voice tainted with shame and humiliation began to spill out.
“C-Come at me… A-and even so… Hic, p-please have pity on me, who is begging for my life…”
Bowing her head, Delphine struck her forehead against I-an’s feet.
It was the gesture of a servant showing respect to an emperor. It was an immense humiliation, but the water had already been spilled. At that moment, Delphine only had one thought in her mind: she had to find a way out of this situation.
“P-please have mercy. Hic, bestow it upon me… Hic…”
Hiccups soon erupted into sobs. After watching her for a while, I-an finally began to retract the aura enveloping his sword.
With a weeping woman lying at his feet, I-an spoke in a low voice.
“……Delphine Yuridina.”
Delphine, crying tears, couldn’t respond. I-an didn’t seem to expect a reply either, letting out a sigh as he continued speaking to himself.
“You’ve lived too narrow a life. The Yuridina Clan and the Academy are not the world. Outside, there are all kinds of strong people and monsters.”
The sound of a sword slipping back into its sheath resonated through the air. It was the signal that the duel was over.
“Have you ever faced the Daiswei Vampire? Mages who have contracted with Evil Gods? What of the priests of the Dark Cult lurking between the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Southern Kingdoms?”
As he said this, he turned his back, signaling his intention to leave.
“If you encounter them, it won’t just end with losing your life or not being able to touch a sword for the rest of your life. So from now on, it would be best to choose your battles wisely.”
Delphine slowly raised her head. There, she found the golden eyes glancing back at her, piercing the void with light.
“……There will be no next time. Of course, the price for saving your life today is separate.”
At those words, Delphine’s body trembled in shock. She pressed her forehead back against the ground. Her eyes shook violently with fear.
The man walked away just like that, leaving her with his final words.
“Since you’re a noble, you probably have a potion or two, right? I’ll make sure to send someone.”
When the monster comes, take care of it yourself.
With that indifferent remark, the sun of that day began to set.
Even after the man had left, Delphine remained in her kneeling position. She merely chewed on her humiliation and shame, her body trembling and her lips chewing until they bled.
She kept it up.
For quite some time.
“I’m sorry, but Lady Yuridina is refusing visitation.”
In front of the temple, I closed my mouth at the words of the theological student who seemed to be on duty today.
It was understandable. I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but it was an injury serious enough to be hospitalized in the Intensive Care Room. It was clear that Senior Delphine had been thoroughly beaten by “me”.
I couldn’t fathom what tricks were used to get this result. To put someone of Senior Delphine’s caliber in the Intensive Care Room, perhaps my future self had become some kind of master?
It was a ridiculous thought. I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief at my own thoughts.
Masters were individuals unmatched on the continent. Those who had reached the peak of martial or magical arts, bending the very laws of the world itself.
If the conditions were met, they were beings who could not be defeated even by an entire army. Naturally, those who could reach such a realm were exceedingly few.
The empire’s sword master.
The holy kingdom’s saint.
The great witch of the southern kingdoms.
These were the only three masters currently existing on the continent.
Considering that a powerful master could live for several hundred years, it meant that a master might only appear once a century.
I didn’t possess that level of talent. This was an objective fact.
Even among those I knew, the most talented with a sword, such as Seria and Senior Delphine, were unlikely to reach the level of a master. If I had such talent, wouldn’t I be at the top of the third-year Swordsmanship Department?
As I chuckled to myself, the theological student was looking at me with a slightly bewildered expression. It was as if he was looking at an odd person.
Only then did I snap back to reality. My worries deepened once again.
How could I meet Senior Delphine?
It was clear that explaining my pitiful situation wouldn’t earn their trust. My soul, having come from the future, temporarily possessing my body, and needing to find out what happened in the meantime.
It was fortunate they hadn’t decided to admit me right there. That meant there was only one answer.
I had no choice but to win over Senior Delphine’s heart, and as far as I knew, there was only one way to do that.
“Could you lend me some paper and writing utensils?”
The theological student still looked at me with suspicion.
Yet, perhaps due to my rising reputation at the academy, his expression shifted to one of consideration for my request.
He handed me a small piece of paper and a pen. I jotted down a sentence on the paper, folded it twice, and handed it back to the theological student.
“Could you deliver this note to Senior Delphine? If I mention that it’s from me, she’ll understand. If she still refuses, then I’ll give up.”
The theological student looked bewildered, but it seemed he decided to follow my instructions.
He soon disappeared down the temple’s long corridor.
A moment later, he returned, looking quite surprised. He said with admiration.
“Lady Yuridina has granted you visitation… She hasn’t even allowed her close aides in; what kind of trick did you use?”
“Hahaha, it’s a secret.”
With an awkward smile, I deflected the man’s question.
It was only natural.
How could I explain that what was written on that note was such content?
“If you don’t want to get hit again, come meet me.”
That was my best course of action. Persuasion was long, while threats were short.
With a heavy sigh, I followed the theological student’s guidance toward Senior Delphine’s hospital room.
Hoping silently that she hadn’t been made to suffer too much.
*
Warm sunlight filtered through the window.
The neat room made of pure white marble was now a familiar sight. I had visited several times before and had even been here for hospital visits.
Golden hair glittered in the sunlight as she sat up, silently gazing out the window.
Even just from her back, I could tell. It was Senior Delphine.
Although we had a complicated history, now I needed to seek her cooperation. I cleared my throat and spoke in the most cautious voice I could muster.
“Um, Senior Delphine?”
At that, the woman slowly turned her head. Her crimson eyes gazed blankly at me for a few seconds.
Finally, the moment had come for me to meet her.
