If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 68

He’s stepping in personally? Cold sweat trickled down Bellinger’s back. Even someone as confident as him couldn’t guarantee victory against this opponent. If he had known this man would be guarding the final garden, he would never have rushed to be the first to arrive. Damn it. I should’ve waited until the other knights weakened Dominic before I showed up.

 

He forced himself to hide his frustration. For now, he decided to buy some time. “Is it really appropriate for the captain of the emperor’s personal guard to step into a place like this? Wouldn’t it suit you better to command your underlings while standing dignified with your arms crossed?”

 

“That’s too authoritarian. I’m more of a lead-by-example kind of guy.”

 

“…”

 

“Just kidding. I wasn’t planning to, but I needed a change of pace.”

 

In other words, he came here to blow off some steam.

 

Dominic glanced over Bellinger’s shoulder as if peering at something in the distance. “When is that guy Regen planning to show up?”

 

“…”

 

Thanks to that, Bellinger could figure out why Dominic was in such a foul mood. It was because Princess Silver Bird had kissed her personal knight in public, and now his pride was hurt, so he was looking for payback.

 

“Ha, and for such a personal reason, you’re now…”

 

“If someone saw you, they’d think you were great at separating work and personal matters. You look like the type who’d wield power purely out of spite if you had it.”

 

“…”

 

Bellinger didn’t respond. He was only holding back his retort because he was in front of Dominic, not because the words were true—he kept repeating that to himself.

 

Dominic spun the hilt of his sword playfully. It was a demeanor unbefitting a knight preparing for battle. “I’m bored waiting alone. While that guy is on his way, I’d appreciate it if you’d entertain me for a bit, Sir Bellinger.”

 

“I don’t particularly—”

 

“Ah, I’m counting on you.”

 

“…!”

 

Bellinger didn’t even have a chance to protest. It was because Dominic immediately swung his sword, sweeping through the spot where Bellinger had been standing.

 

Bellinger quickly raised his sword, blocking the successive attacks. Focusing on defense while searching for an opening to counterattack, he was steadily pushed back. But he didn’t give up.

 

Using magic is forbidden. Dominic is a strong knight, but his reputation must have been built on relying on magic! He must have neglected his basics, so with pure swordsmanship, I…

 

“You’re wrong.”

 

That cold statement shattered Bellinger’s hopeful delusions.

 

Dominic spoke, his eyes gleaming as sharply as his blade. “When I was young, did you know what His Majesty’s hobby was? He’d shackle me to suppress my magic, toss me among the gladiator sl*ves, and watch for fun.”

 

“…”

 

“So, you’d better stay on your toes.”

 

As if everything up until now had just been a warm-up, Dominic’s sword strikes became even sharper and fiercer. Every time the sound of the blade cutting through the air reached his ears, thin red lines appeared on Bellinger’s body. It was only then that Bellinger fully realized Dominic was not someone he could handle.

 

This was the man hailed as the strongest knight in the history of the empire. After the death of the knight of Lohengrin, he had claimed the title of the strongest living knight, and it was no empty boast.

 

If his opponent hadn’t been exuding such a murderous aura, this duel might have been an honor. But right now, Bellinger’s life was being pushed closer and closer to the edge of a cliff. There’s only one thing I can rely on now. I just have to buy time until the other knights arrive and join the fight…

 

“I can see exactly what you’re thinking.”

 

In the midst of his frantic evasive maneuvers, a potion bottle slipped out of Bellinger’s grasp and rolled across the ground. Dominic mercilessly stepped on it, shattering it, as he closed the distance.

 

“Sir Bellinger, you were thinking that once the other knights arrived, you’d slip away while they fought, weren’t you?”

 

“…”

 

“Then how about this? If you manage to hold out well enough, I’ll let the other knights pass through—except for that guy Regen.”

 

“What…!”

 

“While you block me, the others will stroll by. An honorable sacrifice. Sounds heroic, right?”

 

“That’s absurd!”

 

This was the worst-case scenario. He’d rather die together with everyone than face this alone.

 

“Then die. At least I’ll make sure your corpse is placed ahead of the others in line.”

 

Now, there was only one hope left for Bellinger. For Regen to arrive and take over as the plaything. However, when they set out, it was clear that Regen was in terrible condition. It seemed someone had used poison to sabotage the first-place winner of the last competition.

 

There was someone who had carried out the plan Bellinger had only thought of in his head. At the time, he had been grateful, but now it was a problem. No doubt, he’s going to come in last! Regen might arrive much later, or perhaps he was already dead.

 

“Still have the luxury to daydream?”

 

“Ugh!” Pain shot through Bellinger as his shoulder was pierced, his body convulsing in paralysis.

 

Dominic shoved Bellinger against a tree. The sword that had impaled his arm sank deep into the trunk, leaving Bellinger pinned in place. Without pulling out the sword, he twisted its angle, observing Bellinger with a face full of amusement. The distance between them was close enough for Bellinger to clearly see the madness in Dominic’s eyes. Bellinger felt the cold grip of death.

 

“Sir Dominic, the match is decided. Put away your sword.”

 

A third voice interrupted. Both Bellinger and Dominic turned their heads simultaneously.

 

“S-Sir Regen?!”

 

The sight of the handsome man with silver hair fluttering in the wind was almost unreal. Even as relief washed over him at the thought of being saved, Bellinger couldn’t hide his shock. How is he here already? Did he overtake all the other knights and arrive second?

 

Moreover, Regen showed no signs of injury or fatigue. He was in perfect condition.

 

“Oh, you’re here.”

 

Dominic’s crimson eyes, fixed on Regen, burned with even more murderous intent than when he had been about to kill Bellinger. He pulled the sword out of Bellinger’s shoulder and knocked him out with a blow to the head. After all, no one wanted an audience for a lovers’ quarrel.

 

The two knights stood facing each other, their gazes fiercely intertwined.

 

“Should I thank you for showing up earlier than I expected?”

 

“I thought someone might be waiting, but I didn’t expect it to be Sir Dominic.”

 

As Regen calmly responded, Dominic deliberately curled his lips into a crooked smile.

 

“The competition looked too fun to pass up, so I wanted to join in somehow.”

 

“Well, Sir Dominic’s dream was to become a personal knight, wasn’t it? A dream that was crushed, though.”

 

“You speak better than you look. I was only planning to gouge your eyes, but now I think I’ll have to rip out your tongue too.”

 

“Didn’t you already decide that before the competition even started?”

 

The moment before the tournament began, the memory of Sasha kissing Regen was indirectly brought up. In the end, it was Dominic who was provoked first.

 

As their blades clashed, the resulting resonance shook the area. While every branch in the garden trembled in fear, the two knights stood their ground, swords locked in a tense standoff.

 

“Lucky for you. I’m fighting you without using magic.”

 

“Are you referring to your own luck, Sir Dominic?”

 

Dominic scoffed briefly.

 

Regen’s background as a war prisoner turned to persona knight was unknown, but Dominic’s lineage was beyond reproach. Facing the strongest knight in the empire without showing any sign of intimidation was, at the very least, commendable as a knight. But the thought of Regen protecting Sasha with such determination only made Dominic want to kill him all the more. That role was supposed to be his, after all.

 

“Ha, this is a problem. What if Rosasia is shocked when she sees your tattered corpse?”

 

“That’s an unnecessary concern.”

 

“Right? As long as your tongue is still in your mouth, she won’t see it.”

 

Both Regen and Dominic were men who had spent more days holding a sword than not. They exchanged blows, their martial skills honed to the extreme on the boundary between life and death.

 

While neither of them bore even a shallow wound, the garden around them was savagely torn apart. Severed zinnia blossoms rolled across the ground like the spoils of war. Meanwhile, Dominic was inwardly quite surprised. He had never experienced being outmatched in terms of swordsmanship. But now, the man he was crossing swords with, Regen, was displaying a level of skill nearly equal to his own.

 

Have I ever faced such an opponent?