IDDYD 09

Chapter 09

In this duel, Aiden had one goal: to decide the match with a single attack.

He had to secure a perfect victory that no one could dispute. That way, there would be no murmurs about his win later.

He had no intention of leaving the ducal mansion either. He needed to stay by Alice’s side until he achieved his objective.

Above all, if he, a demon, lost to a human like Neil… that would be pretty embarrassing.

However, he couldn’t fight him with his full strength. If he misjudged his power and killed Neil, he’d be put on trial before even finding his sword.

‘So, I’ll go easy on him at first, gauge his skill, and then finish him in one move.’

Having decided, he chose the most flexible uniform from his clothes and took the sword Alice had provided.

Among the practice swords, it was considered decent, but even this one looked like it would break after a few strong swings.

Yet, Aiden was confident. He was sure he could secure victory even with this crude sword.

Therefore, intending to assess his opponent’s skill, he allowed Neil to make the first move.

A heavy sword swung towards his side, but he dodged it lightly.

Neil’s eyes widened, seemingly not expecting him to evade his sword so easily.

Neil swung his sword again, this time from the opposite direction. As before, Aiden twisted his body slightly to dodge.

‘He’s definitely not unskilled.’

After dodging several consecutive attacks, Aiden was convinced. Neil’s swordsmanship was precise and refined, worthy of a textbook. It was fitting for a Knight Captain.

But this level of skill alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat Aiden.

“Ah, so this is the extent of it.”
Once he had gauged Neil’s ability, Aiden grinned. His gaze, now fixed on his target, turned sharp.

Aiden poured power into his sword. Responding to his energy, the sword shone white.

“Huh…?”
By the time Neil noticed the change, Aiden was already right in front of him.

**CRASH!**

A tremendous impact struck Neil’s sword along with a loud noise. He tried to hold on, putting strength into his sword hand, but his power was insufficient to withstand Aiden’s powerful strike.

**CLANG!**

With the sound of breaking metal, Neil collapsed to the floor. His sword, severed in two, fell from his hand.

“……!”
By the time he regained his senses, the sharp tip of a sword was already pointed at the bridge of his nose.

Aiden’s icy blue eyes met his. Neil couldn’t move a muscle on the spot.

He was already overwhelmed by the intense aura emanating from Aiden’s surroundings. It was a sensation he had never felt before, but somehow, he felt he knew what it was.

“You… could it be… a Sword Master…?”
Neil’s murmur echoed in the now-silent training ground.

Aiden smiled, pulling up one corner of his mouth. Neil’s pupils shook as he understood the meaning of that smile.

Sword Masters were exceedingly rare in the Empire, numbering less than five. Yet, his duel opponent, the one who became Alice’s guard, was precisely that—a Sword Master.

“I… I yield…”
Finally, words of surrender flowed from Neil’s lips. Even he, who had been hailed as a sword prodigy, couldn’t defeat a true genius.

**Crunch.**

Simultaneously, the sword, unable to withstand Aiden’s aura, crumbled into dust and scattered.

Everyone in the training ground watched the scene, holding their breath.

“Wow…”
Starting with one exclamation of awe, everyone in the audience erupted into cheers. The stands became instantly noisy.

“The match is decided.”
Liam, who had been watching, nodded. A satisfied smile hung on his lips.

Alice checked her father’s expression and then turned her head to look at Aiden.

Aiden, brushing the remnants of the sword from his hand, looked up and met Alice’s gaze. He flashed that characteristic, smug smile of his.

*What did I tell you? I said I was confident.* His expression seemed to say.

“I guess so.”
*He had reason to be confident.* Alice didn’t take her eyes off Aiden until the cheers died down.

* * *

Thanks to Aiden’s victory over Neil in the duel, no one objected to him being Alice’s guard anymore.

She could now take Aiden around without worrying about anyone’s judgment.

It was clearly a good thing, but…

*’Is this right?’*

Alice, who had come to the training ground looking for Aiden, couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Sir Aiden, please spar with me!”
“What are you talking about? I was here first! Sir, I have a question…”

*What is this? Why on earth is Aiden surrounded by knights, being bombarded with questions?*

*No, first of all, since when did the knights get so close to Aiden? Didn’t they dislike him before?*

Alice’s mind was in chaos.

“Ah, Young Lady.”
Just then, one of the knights surrounding Aiden, Captain Neil, spotted her and bowed respectfully. Following his lead, the other knights nearby also bowed to her.

Alice acknowledged their greetings absently and spoke.
“You all… have gotten quite close.”

“To be honest, we’re trying our best to befriend him. We want to learn swordsmanship from Sir Aiden.”
Neil answered with a cheerful smile. It was hard to believe he was the same person who had been glaring at Aiden not long ago.

*’Considering Sir Neil’s personality, his sudden change in attitude isn’t that strange.’*
He was obsessed with the sword. And it wasn’t just Neil. The entire Fort Knight Order was obsessed with swords.

*’Are all knights like this?’*
Alice recalled what Elliot had said the other day with shining eyes.

“Sister, I want to learn swordsmanship from Sir Aiden too!”

While her younger brother, excitedly talking about seeing aura for the first time, was cute, as his older sister, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him to get close to a demon, so she had laughed off Elliot’s request.

Well, Aiden himself was a rare talent. With one of the Empire’s few Sword Masters having tumbled into their ducal household, it was good to learn from him while they could.

*’But this is too conspicuous…’*
While she hadn’t expected to hide his presence entirely, she also hadn’t expected him to stand out this much. Alice pressed a hand to her throbbing head.

Meanwhile, a tug-of-war over Aiden continued among the knights.

“Sir Aiden, please spar with me!”
“Captain, you already had a turn, didn’t you? Let’s take turns!”

“About that…”
Aiden, wearing a rare expression of exhaustion, raised his hand to speak. The knights’ attention focused on him.
“I can’t spar. I don’t have a sword.”

“Huh?”
His words baffled the knights. Only then did they remember that Aiden had used a practice sword even in the duel.

Seizing this opening, Alice intervened.
“I was just about to mention that. Aiden, keep tomorrow free. We need to go get you a new sword.”
Alice said, recalling her promise to get him a sword if he won the duel.

“That’s perfect! Sir, once you get your new sword, you’ll spar with me, right?”
“…I’ll think about it.”

Leaving Aiden to deal with the spar-obsessed knights, Alice left the training ground.

* * *

“Is this your first time going out since you came to the ducal mansion?”
The next morning, Alice spoke to Aiden, who was waiting in the mansion’s entrance hall.

“Yeah, I guess so, but…”
Aiden trailed off, looking at Alice as she approached.
“What, why?”
“No, are we going on a picnic or something?”
Aiden said, looking at Alice’s attire.

Usually, Alice preferred dresses made of light, easy-to-move-in materials. But now, she was wearing a soft pink dress with abundant lace under the hem. With a bonnet of the same color, she looked exactly like a young lady going on a spring picnic.

“…It turned out that way.”
Alice answered, lifting the long hem of her dress so it wouldn’t drag.
The maids had been thrilled and decked her out when they heard she was going out with Aiden. Alice couldn’t bear to stop them, as they seemed so enthusiastic, as if they’d been waiting for this moment. It seemed they had been itching for something to do, given the lack of banquets to prepare for lately.

Alice glanced up at Aiden. He was wearing a neat pink suit. It was the outfit Madam Christine had praised endlessly, saying this color suited very few people.

As Madam said, it did suit him well… Alice spoke with a slightly displeased expression.
“Why did you have to wear a pink suit?”
Dressed like this, they looked like they were wearing matching outfits.

“I came down first, you know?”
Aiden let out an incredulous laugh.

*Could it be that the maids, knowing what Aiden was wearing in advance, chose her dress in the same color?* Alice had a rational suspicion upon hearing his words.

But she couldn’t change clothes now after all the preparation. The ducal mansion’s carriage was already waiting outside.

“Need an escort?”
Aiden, standing before the carriage, offered her his hand.

As much as she wanted to say she could board alone, her dress was too heavy, and she needed help.

“Just for today.”
Unable to refuse Aiden’s courtesy, Alice answered primly, took his hand, and climbed into the carriage.