If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 126

At that moment, a thunderous roar erupted. Oooooh! A yellow dust cloud surged up where the two knights had been standing, then slowly settled. When the two men became visible again, they were still standing motionless in the exact same spots. However, the ground behind Regen had been gouged deeply, as though slashed by gigantic claws. It was the trace of Regen dispersing the immense force concentrated at a single point into three separate directions.

 

The destruction disrupted the airflow within the arena. A violent gust spiraled upward from ankle height to the distant sky, wildly tossing the two men’s hair and uniform hems. Amid it all, the light sky-blue ribbon tied to Regen’s scabbard came loose and nearly flew away, only for his left hand to snatch it.

 

“Shut your mouth. I almost killed you without thinking.”

 

“Isn’t killing me the reason you came here?”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Regen deliberately and almost ostentatiously retied the ribbon to his scabbard. On the verge of being blinded by jealousy, Dominic glared at him as though he wanted to tear him apart.

 

Feeling the prickling killing intent pouring toward him, Regen calmly thought. Should I kill him? No… There are too many eyes watching. It wasn’t as though he lacked murderous intent himself.

 

Simply eliminating Dominic Mizekal would greatly accelerate Sasha’s plans. It was a temptation difficult to resist. But no matter how he considered it, dealing with the aftermath would be too difficult. Fighting to win a duel and fighting to take someone’s life were entirely different matters. In the latter case, even Regen could not avoid revealing his true abilities against Dominic. And if the mad emperor, watching the battle, came to see Regen as a threat, the first person endangered would be Sasha.

 

Is there no way? The silent, rational killing intent that never leaked outward filled Regen’s thoughts.

 

It was at that moment.

 

“Ha. Came out here to kill you?”

 

“…”

 

“No, not at all. I came out here because I wanted to look cool.”

 

Regen slightly furrowed his handsome brow at the incomprehensible remark, then realized something. Neither he nor Dominic had drawn their swords yet. Don’t tell me…

 

Dominic turned his body toward the special spectator seats. Regen immediately knew where those crimson eyes were directed.

 

“My Rosasia is watching over there.”

 

“…”

 

“See? She can’t take her eyes off me.”

 

Once, Regen realized that the princess was his weakness. Just hearing those few words rapidly soured his mood. He did not want to permit Dominic to act as though he were the princess’s knight.

 

It was when Regen resolved that if Dominic uttered one more presumptuous word, he would immediately make him look pathetic. Dominic suddenly turned toward Marquis Osbond. “I forfeit.”

 

“…” Regen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“This is unbelievable! A result no one could have predicted! Sir Dominic has declared forfeiture before even properly clashing with his opponent!”

 

Booo—! The crowd’s disappointed noise mixed with Marquis Osbond’s commentary and rang loudly in their ears.

 

As if to prevent misunderstanding, Dominic spoke to Regen. “I decided before you started rambling about honor. No matter how you look at it, a knight wheel battle is a bit much. I’m still a knight.”

 

“You could have simply not participated from the start.”

 

“No, that wouldn’t do. You need to show unexpected charm for people to be moved.” In other words, just to catch Sasha’s attention, Dominic was willing to hand even the hated Regen a free victory.

 

Regen felt displeased. Because he thought he would have done the same thing in that situation.

 

By then, Dominic had started walking away to leave the arena. As he brushed past Regen, he sneered. “If we’d really fought today, I would’ve killed you. Anyway, you are really lucky.”

 

“I’m glad you know that.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

The two men’s gazes collided fiercely once more.

 

“You really can’t let things end warmly, can you? Next time, I should just slit those vocal cords for real.”

 

No matter how bloodthirsty Dominic looked, he was already a loser who had declared forfeiture. He could not disgrace himself by changing his words and attacking again, so he ground his teeth and turned away. Every time he faced Regen, it felt as if his self-control was being tempered.

 

As Dominic showed his back and exited the arena, the audience booed in disappointment, saying the excitement had died down. Even the chief chamberlain glanced nervously at the mad emperor. But the mad emperor didn’t seem especially disappointed while watching Dominic leave.

 

“That’s what makes Dominic interesting. Even after all the training I put him through, there’s still something inside him that hasn’t broken.”

 

“…”

 

“In any case, the entertainment isn’t over yet.”

 

Right then, Marquis Osbond raised the atmosphere again. “Now, only the true final duel remains! Until now, not a single imperial guard has succeeded in usurping the position of personal knight. But this time, I am certain the result will be different.”

 

The crowd’s anticipation revived. In inverse proportion, Sasha grew sharply in the princesses’ seats, while Regen waited indifferently for his next opponent.

 

“Now then, behold! The appearance of the tenth challenger, who will bring this knight battle to its climax!”

 

Clank. A heavy metallic sound accompanied every footstep. A knight clad in pitch-black armor that seemed capable of swallowing even the midday light entered the arena. It was the very same man who had been standing at the mad emperor’s left side until recently.

 

“Allow me to introduce him! His Majesty’s new sword, Sir Blackhound!”

 

✦

The knight in black armor drew his sword and pointed it at Regen. Hostility, killing intent, mana. Three sharply honed presences brazenly invaded Regen’s senses and scraped against his nerves.

 

“…” Ignoring the provocation, Regen calmly observed his opponent.

 

The knight began spinning his sword using a snap of the wrist. The thick blade rotated widely like a windmill, cutting through the air with a piercing whistle. The audience tensed in fear at the implied threat that anything entering its range would be sliced apart. Of course, it was far too insignificant to intimidate Regen.

 

“It seems only your appearance is heavy. Are you the type who enjoys showing off?”

 

“…”

 

The rhythmic sound of the blade cutting air faltered for a brief moment.

 

Having finished observing him, Regen spoke. “Come.”

 

“…”

 

“What? Is that armor too heavy for you?”

 

At that instant, boom. A massive vibration shook the earth. The shockwave flipped up Regen’s silver-white bangs. By the time the handsome man’s clean forehead was revealed, the knight had vanished from sight.

 

Regen turned his head to the right. The enemy was charging ferociously around his blind spot. But Regen simply waited in his perfectly upright stance. With a metallic scream loud enough to rupture eardrums, the swords collided. An overwhelming force, as though gravity itself had multiplied, surged through the blade toward Regen.

 

Regen slowly twisted the wrist holding his sword, redirecting the monstrous strength. His blade tilted sideways until it nearly lay flat. At that moment, beyond the crossed blades, he noticed the knight’s breastplate trembling faintly. Regen narrowed his eyes.

 

“You’re smiling.”

 

The armored knight was delighted after confirming that he had overwhelmingly dominated the contest of strength. He then stopped laughing and flexed his muscles explosively.

 

Despite the immense force driving into him, Regen did not slide backward. Instead, he used one leg as a pivot and spun halfway around. Turning as sharply as if making a sudden change in direction, he instantly moved behind the knight. Like an executioner carrying out a sentence, Regen’s sword descended toward the back of the knight’s neck.

 

Booom! An explosion erupted that was impossible to believe had come from a fight between humans. The thunderous blast and vibrations shook the entire arena, while thick clouds of dirt exploded upward from the center. Ooooooh—! Even after the crowd’s cries faded, the dust cloud showed no sign of settling.

 

Using that blind spot, Regen truly began to move his sword. Within the dust cloud, dazzling trails of curved and straight lines made of light flashed wildly. The sound of full-body armor being relentlessly battered rang out without pause. Each time a mana-infused sword strike landed directly on the knight’s head, shoulders, or back, the armored knight staggered. Yet he immediately straightened again like a weighted doll, his breastplate trembling faintly. Because the mana-coated armor could not be damaged no matter how much it was struck, he was deliberately allowing the hits to land.

 

Only once the dust cloud cleared did Regen stop attacking and widen the distance. Then the armored knight spread both arms wide and spun around once in place. His chestplate shook even more violently than before, almost as if choking laughter could be heard from within.

 

The crowd murmured at the display of his unharmed state. But Regen’s reaction remained far removed from agitation.

 

“Sir.”

 

At the low call, the armored knight stopped his frivolous movements.

 

Regen spoke as though seeing straight through the helmet. “By any chance, are you wearing a gag?”