Chapter 247: A Proper Duel Challenge

“This is a proper duel challenge from the Landsknecht. Read it, Lord Faust.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being tricked, like a fox playing tricks. That’s precisely how I felt toward Duke Temeraire—a woman with the demeanor of a strict teacher and the cunning of a vixen.

She was a woman with a flattened nose, as if its cartilage had been crushed, yet somehow, she suited her silver-framed, crystal-lensed glasses. At first, I thought, What’s with this boar of a woman? But after talking to her, I came to respect the many admirable qualities she possessed beneath her foxy exterior.

Looking at the letter she handed me, I grimaced in distaste.

“I’ve kept my promise, Lord Faust. I swore to protect Lady Valiere, and as I predicted, nothing happened. I was even prepared for anything that might occur. Now, it’s your turn to uphold your end of the bargain, isn’t it?”

That’s how it had to be.

Duke Temeraire’s predictions had been entirely accurate, and she had already explained in detail why the Landsknecht had attempted to abduct Lady Valiere yet ultimately refrained from taking any action.

I pitied their plight.

But that had nothing to do with the insult directed toward me.

The pity I felt and the affront they had dealt to Polydoro Territory, as well as my mother, were matters to be dealt with separately—or so I felt deep down.

“For now, let’s read the letter.”

My nine-year-old attendant was far calmer than I was.

“Go ahead.”

I decided to set my thoughts aside for the moment. I handed the letter to Martina and let her read it aloud.

It was a challenge to a duel from the Landsknecht.

The first letter I had received from them was atrocious—filled with vulgar provocations. I had little hope for this one. Still, I listened.

“‘We are burdened with desires, mired in sin, yet we are human.’”

The opening line almost seemed to take pride in their deep-seated sins.

I couldn’t help but look down on the Landsknecht.

“I recall that such a motto was once inscribed on the banner of the Second Princess’s Royal Guard, to whom you swore fealty.”

No, I was mistaken—they were kin.

I vaguely remembered their motto, A Paradise for the Unwanted.

Martina filled in the rest, reciting the full text: A Paradise for the Unwanted. Burdened with desires, mired in sin, yet we are human.

Not bad.

For someone from Polydoro Territory, a land built by outcasts like us, those words didn’t sound entirely out of place.

“I think it’s a fine sentiment. Once, Lord Reckenber said something similar to us. He told us we were creatures who could only live by piling up sins and wrongdoings. That we were beings full of desires, shaped by them. Yet, even so, we were born into a world where we were never allowed to grasp anything unless we lived in such a manner.”

…I paused for a moment.

What are they trying to say?

This isn’t a lied from the Landsknecht. It’s more like a letter of anguish—a confession of torment directed toward its recipient. Even their praise for the Second Princess’s Royal Guard, my kin, feels like part of that.

“It seems you may already know from Duke Temeraire that we long to hasten our way to Valhalla.”

I couldn’t understand the purpose of their message.

It felt like they had abandoned the structure of a lied and were merely pouring out their thoughts in disorganized prose.

I already knew.

I knew they wanted to die quickly and meet Lord Reckenber in Valhalla. I knew they wished to escape this barren world as soon as possible.

I pitied them.

But that was all.

“We Landsknecht are beings incapable of escaping doubt, worry, and suffering through our own strength. We needed a guiding Lord. For the Second Princess’s Royal Guard and Lady Valiere’s fallen gleanings, that guiding figure was Valiere herself. In this foolish and cruel world, we found salvation. Salvation that lifted us up.”

Indeed.

Lady Valiere is an extraordinary person.

I recall being furious upon hearing that she would take 3,000 people to Polydoro Territory.

If I set aside personal circumstances, I must admit that Her Highness was truly a savior.

To those who cursed everything in this world, she extended a hand and declared plainly, “I will take you with me. I will be with you.”

To those who had nowhere to go, she spoke with clarity.

Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Words like those aren’t meant to be spoken by ordinary people, much less swindlers.

It is not something achievable by common mortals.

It’s no wonder that Lady Berlichingen, the greatest bandit knight in the Gusten Empire, swore loyalty to her.

I, for one, pledged my loyalty to Her Highness from the very beginning, during her first campaign.

“For us—or for those like them—Valiere was our salvation. For them, we had Reckenber. ‘From the great and brave Reckenber, may we receive the blessings of the gods! Under her guidance, a band of knights arose, traveling the lands with flutes and drums—this is what we call the Landsknecht.’ That was our lied.

Now, it’s a pitiful lied. There is no longer anyone to lead us with flutes and drums. The words we wrote in the challenge to you, Lord Faust, now embarrass us to the point of wanting to cover our faces.”

I’ve heard enough nonsense.

Even as I let Martina speak on, I find myself tempted to cover my ears.

I understand perfectly well what you want, all of you.

“To anger me, provoke me as much as possible, and then challenge me to a duel where I’ll kill you. Laughable, isn’t it?”

It isn’t laughable.

I have no intention of indulging you.

I already know your intentions.

You want me to kill you, don’t you?

To me—a warrior, but not a murderer.

I was about to say as much when I glanced at Martina and Duke Temeraire. Both shook their heads.

“There’s still more to the letter,” Martina said.

I see.

Then speak it aloud.

It’s all nonsense anyway.

There’s no reason to persuade me, Faust von Polydoro, of anything.

The Landsknecht mocked my homeland, my mother Lady Marianne, and now they want me to end their lives?

I understand their wish, but I see no reason to grant it.

That’s what I think.

“—”

Martina’s voice carried on, singing the so-called lied of the Landsknecht.

It doesn’t matter.

It’s meaningless.

I once said to Lady Valiere during her first campaign:

“We’ll make them pay reparations so vast that it’ll cost them the skin off their backs. I despise lords and knights who can’t clean up their own messes. I’ll show no mercy.”

I said so.

I, Lord Faust, do not engage in battles from which I gain nothing.

I told them so.

That hasn’t changed even now.

However…

In conclusion, Martina spoke these words:”

“Furthermore, Your Lordship, after you defeat us, and after you have vanquished Baumann, the assassin we set upon you, we promise that our entire fortune will be paid to you. We have made certain that Baumann will have no objections. If you are victorious, use it to aid in the development of Polydoro Territory.”

“I clicked my tongue.

So, the Landsknecht said that as well.”

“I see, I see. So that’s the kind of people they are.”

“They no longer desire any benefit in this world.

Money in the present world means nothing to them.

They are casting everything aside and saying they want to go to Lord Reckenber’s side.”

“So they want me to go that far just to kill them, is that what they’re saying?”

“Will you accept a proper duel, Lord Faust? You did say you could handle up to fifty opponents at once.”

“Duke Temeraire asked.

At this point, I understood what answer she sought.

Would I kill them or not?

Of course, I would answer.”

“I shall accept their proper duel.”

“It was a simple conclusion.

I’ll kill them, these old veterans of the Landsknecht.

I’ll kill them by my own hand.”

“They said they would pay a fee. They said they would pay money for their own lives. They said they would die in doing so. In that case, I will no longer refuse. They are trying to clean up their own mess.”

“They said they wanted to die.

They asked me to kill them.

They said they would pay the six mon coins for that purpose themselves.

Then, I have no reason to refuse.

They have completely cut off their own escape.”

“If that’s what they want, I will simply grant their wish.”

“So that is all you Landsknecht desire.

I had reached my conclusion.

Even if I refused here, next time we would end up in a back-alley brawl without even a proper duel.

I have no other choice.

I clicked my tongue.”

“…Lord Faust, the Landsknecht are strong when they fight seriously. As individual soldiers, they’re nothing, but once they form their ranks, they are formidable.”

“Strong enough to defeat Duke Temeraire?”

“I spoke sarcastically.

I hope I’m allowed at least this level of complaint.”

“Yes, strong enough to defeat me.”

“Duke Temeraire accepted the sarcasm as if it were perfectly natural.

As though to say she had nothing to be ashamed of.

Lightly adjusting her silver-framed, crystal-lensed glasses, she spoke.”

“Lord Faust. You must think it a dreary slaughter, but you, more than anyone, know how terrifying the Landsknecht become when they fight as if already dead.”

“During the Virendorf campaign, I became more than aware of that fact.”

“I answered.

There is not a hint of excitement in a mere act of killing, a slaughter purely for the sake of slaughter.

It’s nothing but an empty ritual now.”

“Even so, they are not stronger than the heavy knights of Virendorf. And I have no intention of letting my guard down. What remains will be only a gruesome outcome.”

“There is just one thing that interests me.

That is the duel with Baumann, whom even Reckenber acknowledged.

With that, I ended the conversation and quietly closed my eyes.”