Vol 9 Chapter 12.1: Special SS: The Dream of the “Crimson Lance”

“—And then, and then! What happened after that, Father?!”

Charles, who had just turned thirteen this year, asked with excitement.

His cheeks flushed red, and he clenched his fists naturally.

I grinned.

“That comes after we return home. We should be heading back soon, or your mother will be furious with us.”

“! Y-Yes, of course! I-I’ll go fetch the griffon!”

His face went pale as he dashed off, bowing his head at the training ground entrance before disappearing.

I looked up at the sky… contemplating the passage of time.

To think that I, the fourth son of Count Evelyn, through a series of coinciding circumstances, would inherit the family, take a wife, be blessed with a son and adorable daughters… and become a father!

I muttered to myself.

“Life is truly unpredictable.”

No… that’s not quite right.

I gripped the crimson lance in my hand.

—That day, when I decided to propose to Lady Lily Linstor, it was at least by my own will.

Though I could never tell my wife… at the time, I, Tria Evelyn, was purely smitten with that young lady.

That’s precisely why—when I heard Duke Luca Linstor, Governor of the Southern Territories, was “seeking suitors for Lady Lily,” I remember vividly even now how I shouted, “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has arrived!”

—When I was successfully selected as a candidate, the men I faced were all formidable warriors of similar age.

Everyone knew the rumors that she was obsessed with being a maid despite being from the Linstor family, but at the same time… no one was ignorant of that lady’s loveliness.

I will mow down every last one of these men and become her husband!

…That resolve, however, dissipated instantly the moment I faced him.

I chuckled softly.

“Who would have thought the rumors I’d heard about ‘The Brains of the Sword Princess,’ ‘Linstor’s Trump Card,’ ‘The Duke’s Most Important Person’… were all real. The Linstor Ducal House, then and now, remains truly terrifying. And truly—”

Life is fascinating.

As I said this—I thrust forward with full force using the crimson lance in my hand, striking at the empty space ahead.

That speed and sharpness had already placed one foot into the realm of the divine.

Passed down through generations, allowed to be wielded only by the Counts of Evelyn, this crimson lance that has led the vanguard in every battlefield where the Linstor Ducal House has participated—there are few things it cannot pierce.

Yet my strike—failed to capture the phantom of that fearsome, smiling young man I once faced. It was clearly deflected, and he slipped behind me.

I felt the phantom blade touch the nape of my neck.

…Today, too, I cannot win.

Since that brief yet intensely concentrated battle, I have continued to fight on countless battlefields.

There were death matches. There were hard-fought battles. There were desperate struggles.

…Speaking personally, there were bitter, unforgettable defeats.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sensed “death.”

However—even after surpassing all those deadly situations, I still don’t have even the slightest sense that I’ve finally reached the brilliance of that young man’s swordsmanship and magic, the “Brains of the Sword Princess.”

I recalled the words Lady Lily calmly told us before the battle.

“Allen-san’s magic power is by no means strong. In pure swordsmanship, some of you may even surpass him. However… I apologize, but none of you can defeat him. Your chances of victory are absolutely zero. He never stops. He continues moving forward constantly. If it were for one day, you could catch up. If it were for one month, with talent you might match him. But he will likely continue advancing until the day he dies. And—he’s thoroughly indulgent with his family. That’s precisely why he’s undefeated.”

She was absolutely right.

Though we made him draw his sword, that was—merely a display of respect toward us.

The brilliance of magic he displayed afterward in the sudden duel with the hero of the Demon King War, Jade Wind, was… simply on another dimension.

It’s no wonder that those who witnessed that battle and those who fought against him still pass down the tale.

“We have fought against him! As warriors, what greater honor could there be?!”

As for myself, I tell these stories to my son and still continue to ponder how I could land this crimson lance on him.

Most likely—those who stood on that battlefield feel the same.

As a result, we under the banner of the Linstor Ducal House have now become known as “the most powerful and formidable since the Demon King War.”

But… it’s not enough. Not at all. Not to the back we chase.

Forward. Just forward. Forward and forward!

Easier said than done.

It’s simple, yet… how difficult!