When the Villain Joined the Knights to Avoid Doom Flags, but Somehow the Heroines Started Approaching Him - Chapter 21: The Spar

Chapter 21: The Spar

From the dining hall, the group moved to a different location.

They arrived at the training grounds—a place Yulis had visited once before during the entrance exam.

What awaited him now was a sparring match between a newcomer and a senior knight. Or rather, it felt more like a form of hazing than a proper test.
Perhaps eager to witness the event, several knights who had stayed back gathered in the spectator seats.

Looking around, Yulis noticed the varied expressions of the onlookers.
Some were curious about his abilities, while others clearly disliked him, sharing Thor’s disdain for the so-called “disgrace of nobility.” A handful, however, seemed to be silently cheering for him. Each person wore a different expression.

“Teach that womanizer a lesson!”

“Show him the true honor of the knight order!”

“Do it, Thor! Crush him! Take away whatever he’s planning to use on those girls and toss it into the sea!”

It seemed like even among those who didn’t like Yulis, there were differing reasons behind their animosity.

“…I feel like those cheers are kind of demoralizing.”

“Taking that as cheering, Yulis, makes you one of those rare ‘masochists’ we don’t see very often these days.”

Standing in the arena-like space within the training grounds, Yulis and Celia both couldn’t help but grimace at the jeers.

Though the jeers from Thor’s associates were expected, the louder, more mocking voices from unaffiliated knights were the ones grating on his ears. It was strangely ironic.

As Yulis glanced around, his eyes landed on Lieselotte sitting among the spectators.

When their gazes met, she gave him a small wave.

“Do your best!”

Though Yulis couldn’t hear the words amidst the noisy jeers, he caught the encouragement from Lieselotte through her lip movements.

“The heroine cheering for me, huh…,” he murmured with a wry smile, raising a hand to wave back.

Meanwhile—

“I’m sorry, Master…”

Iris, who hadn’t yet made her way to the spectator seats, stood nearby with her head hanging low, her usual bright energy nowhere to be seen.

“…If I hadn’t provoked him, none of this trouble would’ve happened,”

It was rare to see Iris, usually so lively and cheeky, looking this dejected. Even though she often acted like a spoiled child, it was clear her role as a loyal maid weighed on her.

She felt genuine remorse for causing Yulis inconvenience, her expression clouded with regret.

Yulis, feeling slightly thrown off by her uncharacteristic demeanor, placed a hand gently on her head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“T-That’s…!”

“What kind of master wouldn’t get angry when someone tries to harm his maid? Especially when it’s a girl who stood up to protect him.”

Iris was what you’d call a “hidden heroine,” one of the characters who could inadvertently lead Yulis to a bad end. 

Normally, getting close to a heroine like her would spell nothing but trouble. Protecting her in this situation might not align with the “correct” choices he was supposed to make.

But…

After spending so much time together, seeing her devotion, care, and now her willingness to stand up for him, how could he not feel something? He wasn’t so far gone that he could turn a blind eye to someone who cared enough to defend him and was now being blamed for it.

At least for now, in this moment, Yulis didn’t care one bit about the rules of the game or how it was supposed to play out.

“I’ll make sure to beat him up properly, so when it’s over, let’s laugh about it together. I prefer seeing you smile, Iris.”

“!?”

With a gentle smile, Yulis softly patted Iris’s head.

The moment he said those words, Iris’s face turned bright red, her eyes growing teary with a flustered glow. Overwhelmed, she quickly bowed her head, then spun around and sprinted toward the spectator seats, leaping up to join the others.

“…I think I’m starting to understand why you’re so popular.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. That was standard behavior for how a master treats his maid—textbook-level ordinary, really.”

“Fufu, that’s only how it feels to the one doing the talking. How the other person interprets it is a whole different matter—something you can’t see unless you’re looking from the outside.”

Celia’s remark left Yulis tilting his head in confusion.

But before he could press further, Thor appeared at the entrance to the training grounds, sword in hand, walking toward them with deliberate steps.

“Just so we’re clear, as a referee, I intend to judge fairly.”

“Of course you do. After all, I didn’t bribe you with a mountain of gold coins large enough to make dollar signs flash in your eyes.”

“That said, it’s also no secret whose side I’m on. So, do me a favor and make sure the place he collapses in is the infirmary, alright? Give him a proper thrashing… oh cool junior.”

With those words, Celia walked to the center of the arena.

Thor soon followed, stepping into the ring with the same deliberate pace.

“So, you didn’t run away after all.”

“There’s no way a junior would turn down an invitation from a senior.”

And besides—

Yulis flashed a rare, ferocious grin, raising his middle finger.

“It’s not every day you get the chance to beat the crap out of your senior. Might as well use this opportunity to vent all my frustrations and have a bit of fun while I’m at it, you idiot.”

“…That smart mouth of yours—I’ll make sure to twist it into screams soon enough, you cheeky brat.”

The tension between them crackled as they locked glares, both brimming with anger.

Meanwhile, Celia remained calm, addressing them in a measured tone.

“This is just a spar. The moment one of you is knocked unconscious, it’s over. If it looks like things are going too far, I’ll step in immediately. Got it?”

With that, both combatants drew the swords at their hips.

There was a brief pause, then Celia raised her voice.

“Begin!”

And—

“Come at me with everything you’ve got, you idiot! I’ll carve the power of a villain into your very bones!”

A silvery haze spread across the arena, blanketing it like frost.

From Yulis, the so-called “villain,” white breath escaped his lips, curling into the cold air.

♦️♦️♦️

At the same time—

Lieselotte, watching Yulis’s fight from the spectator seats, was taken aback.

“W-Why are you here…?”

After all—

“Fufu, I heard that a certain child decided to play an amusing little game before starting their duty as a guard. Isn’t it only natural to want to see the skills of the one I’ll be entrusting my safety to, live and in person?”

Her hair, shining like gold under the silvery light, framed her elegant features.

It was none other than the Third Princess, Fia Mercury.

The young girl, someone who commanded the utmost respect from everyone present, stood there with a gentle smile gracing her lips.