If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 119

13. Knight Wheel Battle

Waaaaah—! A roar erupted through the enormous circular arena. Countless subjects packed the stands shoulder to shoulder to watch the knights struggle in an unreasonable duel. Their overheated excitement shook the entire area.

 

“Win!”

 

“Fight until you die!”

 

Blazing sunlight poured into the arena as if to scorch the retinas. Under a cruelly clear sky looking down upon a spectacle that toyed with human lives and a knight’s honor, five knights entered.

 

“The personal knight of Princess Amethyst, Sir Noah!”

 

“The personal knight of Princess Safflower, Sir Yulis!”

 

“The persona knight of Princess Silver Bird, Sir Regen!”

 

“The personal knight of Princess Golden Deer, Sir Kilieon!”

 

“The personal knight of Princess Amber, Sir Ciel!”

 

Leaving behind the fluttering symbolic banners in five directions, the personal knights gathered at the center. Though surrounded by tens of thousands of gazes, none of them shrank back as each gripped his sword.

 

Marquis Osbond’s shout announced the opening of the cruel entertainment. “Then let us begin the ‘Knight Wheel Battle’!”

 

✦

It was thirty minutes earlier. One side of the straight hallway was dark, while dazzling light poured in from the other. Humans are instinctively drawn to light, but this light was one that should never be followed. Because if one walked toward where it shone, what awaited at the end was an arena of death where one had to wager one’s life.

 

Regen and I stood facing each other in the middle of the hallway. Since the five personal knights would each emerge through different passages, we were the only ones using this place at the moment. As if engraving it into memory, I took in Regen’s face with my eyes. His straight forehead visible between silver-white strands of hair, his deep-set eyes beneath it, then his sculpted nose and curved lips that always stole my gaze.

 

“I wish you fortune in battle, Regen.” It was an old tradition for a lady to give one of her belongings to a knight before he entered combat. I took out a long, slender sky-blue ribbon from my chest. “For a moment, your sword.”

 

Regen grabbed the sword at his waist and offered it to me with both hands, as though presenting tribute. I then firmly tied the ribbon to the upper part of the scabbard. The end of the ribbon swayed slowly like a long tail in the wind blowing from the far side of the hallway. When he lifted the sword, he lightly kissed the knot of the ribbon. His profile looked like a masterpiece painting.

 

“Thank you, Sasha.”

 

“…” I couldn’t say anything and only looked up at him. Regen’s face, wearing a faint smile as if today were just another ordinary day, looked calm.

 

“That is the face of someone worried.”

 

“Because I am worried.”

 

“Have you forgotten? I am Regenhart Lohengrin. All you need to do is wait for victory.”

 

My head knew it, but my heart did not.

 

Regen gazed steadily at the anxiety on my face before speaking. “Sasha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“To be honest, I am pleased that you worry for me. But…” The sweet voice that had been soothing gained force from then on. “I am a knight who has proven myself through the sword. My strength is my honor. As a knight, I wish for my lady to believe in me without wavering.”

 

“…”

 

“The absolute faith you give me will make me even more honorable.”

 

“…”

 

His golden eyes shone like the sun. Revealing a proud dignity, he made his request. “Be indifferent, as though retrieving something that naturally belongs to you. Watch this battle as though waiting for an obvious result.”

 

“…”

 

“My victory is already decided.”

 

“…”

 

Though it was no command spell, his decisive voice felt as if it were being carved into my soul. I realized anew it was true. The man before me was Lohengrin’s treasure, the strongest hero since myth. It was only proper that I bear the attitude fitting for one who possessed such a being. Straightening my back, I composed my expression. “I will. Bring victory to me.”

 

“Yes, my Princess.”

 

His lips brushed lightly against the last joint of my finger before pulling away. The brief touch was tender. But I was given no time to savor that lovely sensation.

 

“It seems I arrived right on time.”

 

A voice that made my nerves bristle just by hearing it came from the dark side of the hallway. The black-haired man, Emilio, approached after dismissing his guards and attendants. As the traitor came within a certain distance, life immediately vanished from Regen’s eyes. It was the effect of the dominion authority, but to me it looked as though Emilio were killing the soul of someone precious to me.

 

“Lord Emilio. What brings you here?”

 

“I came to remove a possible source of anxiety.”

 

“Source of anxiety?”

 

“I am uneasy leaving an important part of our plan solely to the personal knight’s free will.” The crooked curve drawn by Emilio’s lips was unsettling. “Please issue an order to your personal knight here and now. After victory, have him unquestionably hand over the wish-right to Your Highness.” After finishing his words, Emilio observed Regen with persistent eyes.

 

What a painstaking provocation. Enough to make me want to strangle him on the spot.

 

“There is no need to force that through an order.”

 

“Then there is even less reason to refuse.”

 

“…”

 

It was an attitude with no room for compromise. Then again, this was Emilio Hwibrik. He lacked the heart to understand how sensitive the issue of commands through authority was between a princess and her personal knight.

 

“Your Highness, I am fine.” Regen’s low voice granted me absolution.

 

In the brief glance that crossed between us, I read the meaning: get Emilio Hwibrik out of here quickly.

 

“Very well.” After already forcing Regen to suppress his emotions before the traitor, I was now piling on yet another coercion. “After victory, hand the wish-right over to me.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

I used imperial authority right in front of Emilio. He watched with interest as the glowing patterns resonated in my eyes and Regen’s.

 

“How fascinating. To subjugate a monstrous knight who could wipe out an army alone with a single word.”

 

“…”

 

“To be honest, I did not trust the authority of the Magnarod imperial family, but having seen it with my own eyes, I can now be certain. An imprinted personal knight will obey anything if it is Your Highness’s command, and also for Your Highness’s…”

 

Emilio stretched one hand toward my face. The sound of Regen knocking away that rude hand rang loudly through the hallway.

 

“…safety, he will stop at nothing.” There was no sign of displeasure on the traitor’s face. Rather, there was only the satisfaction of confirming his old enemy’s weakness.

 

The two men locked gazes, layered with accumulated emotions. After a long standoff, Regen was the first to speak to the traitor. “Have you become something worth braving, whether it is fire or water?”

 

“Me, braving whether it is fire or water? Fire and water are merely tools.” Emilio deliberately put on a regretful expression. “It is unfortunate that you view the world from the perspective of a tool. Then again, no matter how praised a famous sword may be, in the end, it is merely a sword. A tool.” It was a mocking remark toward Regen, who had been ruthlessly used as a tool of war.

 

“Lord Emilio.”

 

If I wanted to keep pretending I knew nothing about the relationship between the two, the conversation could not go any deeper.

 

“I doubt there is any need to discuss swords in front of a knight. For amateurs like us, it is enough fortune if we do not make the clumsy mistake of grasping the blade instead of the hilt and trying to swing it.”

 

“…”

 

As I openly defended Regen, Emilio’s eyes narrowed.

 

Pretending not to notice, I extended one hand toward Emilio to conclude matters. “The match is about to begin. Let us return to the stands.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness. I shall escort you to your seat.”

 

Simply by holding my hand in front of Regen, Emilio received enough superiority to satisfy him. Though it was unpleasant, it couldn’t be helped. This was the best way to remove the never-grating traitor from before Regen’s eyes.

 

Now it was truly time to part from Regen. Before turning my back, I deliberately whispered to him in a subtle voice.

 

“See you in the bedroom after it’s over.”

 

“…Yes, Your Highness.”