The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go – Chapter 54

Author: Nikss

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‘Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I knew you were a bit of a lunatic sometimes, but have you seriously lost your mind this time?’ I wish I could say this.

Why has this guy flipped a switch again?

Cedric looked in genuine disgust like he was looking at a cockroach.

“Oh, well. It won’t happen unless you run away, perhaps.”

“Run or not run, you can’t just grab a person and lock them up like that, Your Majesty.”

And what’s with the ‘perhaps,’ anyway?

Sounds like there are plenty of times when you want to lock someone up, even if they don’t run away.

“Anyway, you don’t have to be afraid,” Cedric slyly changed the subject.

He always changed the subject when it was to his disadvantage.

Who taught him to do that?

[Oh, I bet he learned it from you…]

‘Oh, that’s right.’

I’m really at a loss for words.

“So you’re not going to run away, are you?” Cedric asks, smiling.

I sighed, as usual, looking at the handsome bastard who was constantly reminding me not to leave.

“Shed your sword, will you?”

Henry, a rookie knight with sweat beading on his forehead, gritted his teeth and parried the attack.

His attack patterns became simpler and simpler as he lost strength.

Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he spun his sword around and brought it to the man’s throat.

“Hah…”

With his sigh, the duel ended.

He sheathed his sword and stared blankly down at it for a moment, then wiped the sweat from his brow and grasped it again.

“Henry, wait. Let’s go over this before we duel.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Yes, Captain.”

“At the end of the duel just now, what did I do? Show me.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

Henry made a quick twirl of his wrist around his sword grip, just as he had during the duel.

“How does it feel? Does it take a lot of strength?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“No.”

“Right, but you always feel like you’re using too much force during the duel. Did you feel that way too?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Uh, yeah…”

“That’s because you keep sticking to the pattern of attacking in a diagonal line. You can’t win a one-on-one battle by swinging your sword around a lot.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

I said as I held Henry’s sword for him, who nodded in understanding.

“The sword can be pointed in any direction, and a simple flick of the wrist like this can turn the tide.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“I see…”

Henry nodded, twiddling the sword a bit.

“Think about where the gap is, and try to time your movements accordingly.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“Your attack patterns shouldn’t be fixed. Fighting one-on-one is a split-second affair, so you need to be able to make quick decisions.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“You mean I need to have a wide range of moves, so I can do what’s best for the situation?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded, patting Henry on the shoulder.

“I know you already learned all that in summer training, but you have the official Knights’ manual, right? I want you to practice all the movements in it at least twenty times a day, every day.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Yes!”

I smiled once at Henry, who replied in a confident voice and turned around.

As I looked around at the knights practicing, each clashing their swords, I offered advice to those who were finished.

Then I noticed a figure loitering at the entrance to the training grounds.

“Kashuel…?”

He looked puzzled, his mouth agape as his eyes locked with mine.

Apparently, he needed to take care of something, but he didn’t want to call me when I was so focused on my Knights’ training.

In the end, I called out to him first.

“Duke?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Ah, Master Minerva…”

“Do you have something to say to me, if so, please come with me to the Knights’ lounge.”

“Ah, no. I don’t want to interrupt your training,” Kashuel said, shaking his head.

“A few minutes is fine. I’m sure you’re busy enough as it is…” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

Mages have just as much to do as knights.

Especially a palace mage of the first rank, like Kashuel, who was much busier than most.

“Then I’ll just make a short talk here. It’s about the arrangement of mages and knights for Princess Akeletta’s visit.”

Kashuel said, pulling a piece of paper from his arm.

It was a map depicting the locations of the knights and mages escorting Princess Akeletta to the Imperial Palace.

“With figures like that, I’d say that most of the mages and knights are being mobilized.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Yes. It’s a vassal state, but it’s a royal visit, so we can’t afford to be sloppy.”

“I see, so you’ve placed the mages who specialize in defense closer to the main palace, right?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

I looked at the layout and conveyed to Kashuel that I would like to see some changes in those directions.

Kashuel listened to me, his emerald eyes scanning the map sharply, and said he would either come up with an alternative to my suggestion or consult with Marquis Lauren again.

We hadn’t yet finalized a plan for the escort mission, and the map Kashuel had shown me was only a rough draft, so we agreed to discuss the details another time.

“That’s all for today, then. We still have knights to train.”

Kashuel glanced at the knights in training and tucked the map away.

“Yes, I will, but does Marquis Lauren have any plans today?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here.”

Somehow…

He usually preferred to come and talk to her himself rather than send someone else.

“I see.”

I nodded and replied briefly. Then there was an awkward silence.

‘How do I continue the conversation?’

I don’t know if I should just say goodbye and walk away. But I also don’t want to keep talking to him here.

As I was racking my brain, Kashuel spoke up.

“You guys are working hard.”

I looked up at Kashuel, who spoke in a plain, nonchalant voice.

His emerald eyes were fixed on one corner of the training ground.

‘Ah…’

Where Kashuel’s gaze was directed, a group of magical swordsmen were practicing their magic, sending sparks resembling lightning from their swords.

Kashuel’s eyes looked bittersweet as he watched them.

“You all look great.”

His eyes were filled with regret for the magical swordsman he could never be.

“…They are.”

“Yeah.”

Kashuel nodded.

His platinum hair glistened in the sunlight as he slowly turned his head toward me.

For some reason, the eyes that had held so much regret and sadness a moment ago seemed to be smiling when they faced me.

“You look great, too.”

“What?”

Kashuel chuckled softly, surprised by the unexpected comment.

“I wasn’t that good with the sword until the end, and I admire you and the Knights for pulling it off.” He spoke in a raspy voice.

“And I thought it was cool that you kept trying when you were already so good.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

Kashuel smiled.

It was a crystal clear smile.

But for some reason, I felt like someone was poking me in the chest with a needle.

“…No.”

The words came out of my lips before I could think.

“It doesn’t matter if you can use a sword.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

“Yes?”

Kashuel blinked, looking slightly surprised, “Well?”

“It’s all about who you use it for, and how you use it, I guess.”

I said, adjusting the scabbard at my waist.

“Isn’t magic the same way?”

Kashuel, who had been listening intently, nodded.

“Well, yes.”

Hearing his answer, I winced, “Aren’t you also a wonderful wizard who uses righteous magic to help people?”

“What? Uh…”

“Because you work as a palace official, protecting people’s lives.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

Saying that, I pulled my sword from its scabbard and prepared to return to the training grounds.

Looking back at him as he gazed at the training grounds with a slightly dazed expression, I said one last time.

“I look forward to seeing your magic in the future.”

Preoccupied with the knights practicing their magic that day, I didn’t hear Kashuel, who had been lurking in the corner of the training grounds for some time, muttering to himself.

“You really are… even in times like these…”

It was only later that I heard that he covered his flushed face with his gloved hands and was unable to leave the training ground for a while.