“Frustrating”
The middle-aged man with blond hair sat on a tree stump, using it as a chair.
“It’s taking too long.”
He sighed, opening his mouth, and the air trembled as if in fear.
Elon Reith.
A 9-star knight.
A Swordmaster who held one of the Empire’s Three Swords.
Yet, a Knight Commander who abandoned the comfortable life of the capital, Kertion, and declared himself the guardian of the frontier.
“Adjutant, isn’t this taking much longer than expected? No results from the search?”
At the Marquis’s cold voice, the adjutant lowered his gaze and replied.
“Yes, Commander. Some traces of escape have been found, but they are skilled in deception, so it will be difficult to expect success from a search pursuit.”
“Tsk!”
Marquis Reith clicked his tongue, and the adjutant kept his mouth shut.
As the Commander’s adjutant, he knew that the Commander was extremely displeased.
The reason was obvious.
“Gilloshian…”
His eyes gleamed eerily as he presumptuously muttered the Prince’s name directly.
Marquis Reith intensely disliked the Third Prince, Gilloshian.
The reason was simple.
‘My beloved youngest son, Karls.’
Because the Third Prince’s escort knight was his son.
Karls Silion was an illegitimate son Elon Reith had with a maid.
He was also an unfortunate child who, by imperial law, was destined to become a slave.
So, after difficultly washing away his status and entrusting him to a ducal family to raise him…
‘Why, of all people, Gilloshian?’
Not the Crown Prince, not the Second Prince, but the unruly Third Prince!
As a father, his heart was breaking.
The path an escort knight walks precisely follows that of his master.
The Third Prince inheriting the throne and Karls becoming the Imperial Guard Captain?
He wouldn’t even dream of it.
‘If only the Third Prince would simply act like a proper person.’
However, Gilloshian had abandoned all training and studies after leaving the royal palace.
During the day, drinking parties in the palace.
At night, gambling dens outside the palace.
In the early morning, he was an absolute good-for-nothing, with no one knowing where or how he was curled up sleeping.
So, the Marquis harbored a dangerous thought.
‘It would be better if the Prince were dealt with this way, and Karls could be brought to the knight order. Yes, that’s right.’
Initially, when he received reports of an assassination attempt on the Third Prince, he was greatly shocked.
He couldn’t help but worry that something might have happened to his son.
But when he heard that Karls had survived and was pursuing the rebel assassins,
‘He’s my son after all.’
He felt immensely proud.
And secretly, he smiled.
If the Third Prince disappeared like this, Karls would be free.
‘Of course, the stigma of failing to protect his master would follow him, but considering the future, this is still better.’
Surely, it couldn’t be worse than rotting by the side of a pig of a Prince.
Therefore, the Knight Commander’s orders were cruel.
“Adjutant, even if the enemy is holding hostages, it doesn’t matter. Kill them all. Understood?”
“Understood, Commander.”
With this, the Special Knights would not consider the Third Prince’s safety in the least.
They would focus solely on killing the invaders.
‘Regardless of what blood soaks the ground in the process.’
The moment the Marquis curved a sharp smile.
Piiiiiiiiiiiiing.
As if on cue, a sharp whistle echoed from afar.
It was a signal that the enemy had been found.
‘Finally!’
Marquis Reith stood up, heading towards the sound.
The Emperor had commanded them to capture the rebels alive if possible and bring them back.
‘I have no such intention.’
He would kill them all.
He would see as much blood as possible.
However, the next moment.
The Marquis momentarily forgot his thoughts and had no choice but to stop.
“Oh? They’re coming in!”
“F-first, block them! Block them with your hands!”
What? No fighting?
Strange conversations were happening beyond the bushes.
“Imperial Knight Second Class Karls Silion! Move aside!”
“Get that sword away, you ugly brutes!”
“Hey! Can’t you even recognize the Prince’s face? Your military discipline is terrible, isn’t it? Or did you recognize him and are still doing this?”
Crash!
With boisterous shouts, unidentified grotesque creatures emerged one after another from the bushes.
Marquis Reith stared at them blankly.
Apparently, they were human, but…
‘Are there beggars in the mountains too?’
No, their appearance was worse than the beggars in the marketplace.
Not only were they filthy, but covered in dirt and dust, they were hardly recognizable as human beings.
How did these things get past the knight order?
Just as he was about to order them to be removed, the Marquis doubted his ears.
“Your Highness, it’s Commander Reith!”
“Hmm? The Marquis?”
“Right, we barely made it to the right place.”
They were chatting alongside each other, acknowledging him. “…Surely not?”
Marquis Reith recognized one face among them that was at least somewhat gleaming.
“Karls? Is that you?”
Then, Beggar 1 grinned, revealing his white teeth.
“It’s been a long time, Commander. I am Karls, the eldest son of the Silion ducal family.”
Does that mean?
“Tirvaen Sui, from the Imperial Research Institute. I wonder if the Marquis remembers me.”
Beggar 2, with a wrinkled face, was the Prince’s magic teacher.
Finally, Marquis Reith stared intently at Beggar 3.
Like the other two, his face was a mess, covered in dirt.
But from his eyes, a very chilling aura flowed, subtly.
Marquis Reith intensely disliked this feeling.
The unique, blade-like aura of the Vald imperial family.
But was the Third Prince ever this strong?
‘It doesn’t matter anyway.’
The Marquis bowed deeply to Beggar 3.
“Elon, head of the Reith Marquisate, greets Your Highness the Third Prince.”
He was not Beggar 3; he was the Third Prince.
The Imperial Family’s good-for-nothing.
A stain on a great lineage.
“It is truly fortunate that Your Highness is unharmed. This was surely by the grace of Ellahorten.”
However, he couldn’t tell him to drop dead in front of him, so the Marquis laid out some appropriate flattery.
But something felt a bit strange.
“The Guardian Dragon didn’t help, but since I’m alive, let’s just say it’s fortunate.”
…What?
A subtly skewed voice.
Somehow, the Third Prince seemed to have changed.
‘Is it because he faced death?’
In any case, they succeeded in finding the Third Prince a week after the incident occurred.
It would have been good to deal with him along with the rebel assassins, but opportunities can arise again, can’t they?
Marquis Reith smiled gently.
“Now then, shall we return to the Imperial Palace? Our Special Knights will escort you.”
It was a perfectly natural thing for the Prince to return to the Imperial Palace, guarded by knights.
However, the Third Prince scratched his cheek and said something unexpected.
“I’m sorry to be a party pooper, but I’m not going, Marquis.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m not returning to the Imperial Palace.”
Gilloshian began to insist, his face streaming with grime.
“Your Highness, what absurd words are those…”
“Withdraw the knight order that’s surrounding the area. I’m going to Aurax with the revolutionary army.”
The Marquis frowned.
‘What crazy talk is this?’
Why would the Empire’s Prince go to the revolutionary army’s city?
It was baffling nonsense from beginning to end.
But that wasn’t all.
“If the Marquis tries to stop me.”
…Stop me?
What are you going to do?
Swish.
The Third Prince, with an unfittingly solemn expression, drew his sword.
“I will go even if I have to cut down the Marquis. This is a Prince’s order and a warning.”
“…Huh.”
Crazy, absolutely crazy.
‘He’s definitely lost his mind.’
Marquis Reith let out a hollow laugh, forced to admit his certainty.
‘He must be dumbfounded.’
I know.
For a Swordmaster, me drawing a sword and warning that I’d cut him down would be beyond ridiculous—it would be adorable.
I know all that.
But I didn’t back down.
From the moment I knew Elon Reith was blocking this path, I’d been racking my brain.
And I kept thinking.
This is a game world, and even for stages that seem utterly impossible, there’s always a way through.
A World Forsaken by God—that was the game.
I decided to maximize the advantage of having the system.
I got the understanding of the Vengeful Priests and put my own preparations into action.
In that process, Karls and Tirvaen ended up looking like beggars.
Of course, so did I.
But it couldn’t be helped, could it?
‘To overcome a Level 0 Master, this much isn’t even enough.’
However, the Marquis knew nothing of this process.
“Your Highness, your jest is too much.”
So, he scornfully mocked me.
“Forgive my impertinence, but I am a Swordmaster. Your Highness may not grasp it as you are unfamiliar with the sword, but there are only three swordsmen in the Empire who have achieved 9-star mastery. And I am one of them.”
‘I know that too!’
The three superhumans who achieved 9-star mastery.
‘The Empire’s Spear, Duke Shedrick Pen.’
‘The Empire’s Shield, Marquis Fox Buaires.’
‘The Empire’s Dagger, Marquis Elon Reith.’
In terms of swordsmanship alone, Marquis Elon Reith is considered the most outstanding among them.
If magic is involved, he might fall behind the other two, but in a situation where he’s simply given a single sword…
‘Literally the Empire’s strongest swordsman.’
So, he wore a look of great interest.
“How exactly does Your Highness intend to ‘cut me down’? I am most curious.”
With that, he slowly began to raise his aura.
I gritted my teeth, feeling it throughout my body.
“Cutting is cutting, is there some special method?”
“Of course, that is true, but… honestly, I’m confident I could knock Your Highness down with just a switch.”
“Yes, I admit it honestly. You could probably knock me down even if you just had a poker under your armpit instead of a switch, Marquis.”
“Hahaha, a terrible thing to say, but you understand very well. But why?”
I gave a cold smile towards the Marquis, who was full of composure.
I know your secret.
“Is that truly still the case now, Marquis Reith?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, is that shoulder still in a state where it can easily knock me down today?”
The face that had been jokingly smiling at me the whole time hardened.
And a cold aura spread.
It was fighting spirit.
An aura directed towards battle.
Marquis Reith, who had slightly adjusted his stance, looked like a completely different person.
“Your Highness, I do not know what or how much you know, but I am Elon Reith. That will never change.”
The confidence of a superhuman who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship as a human.
‘No matter what, you won’t draw your sword?’
But I had a final move.
“Marquis, let’s be honest with each other.”
His expression turned strange as my tone suddenly became short and unusual words came out.
But I kept blabbering.
“I already know what you hope to gain by killing me.”
“Your Highness, what more nonsense…?”
“A petty Swordmaster, worrying too much about your son isn’t good. If you’ve decided to send him, you should send him, shouldn’t you?”
I brought up Karls.
“…This impudent fellow!”
Finally, Marquis Reith, enraged, drew his massive sword.
Kwoooosh!
The ‘Roaring Sword’ in his left hand furiously emitted an aura like a roaring beast.
But I, on the contrary, became calmer.
“Yes, honestly, I feel bad too. Don’t you think I wanted to do well? But a father must also know how to respect his son’s choices. Don’t you agree?”
It felt chilling, as if a sword was at my throat, yet my voice grew even more scathing.
It was a peculiar feeling.
The Swordmaster’s face, stained with anger and bewilderment, was truly a sight to behold.
“If that was nonsense to provoke me, Your Highness, it was a great success.”
Elon Reith was trying hard not to look at Karls.
I grinned at him, pulled off my glove, and tossed it.
The meaning was clear.
“Well, you’ve received an insult and drawn your sword, so we must have a duel, mustn’t we?”
Then, Marquis Reith let out a hollow laugh.
A 9-star knight dueling the unruly Third Prince.
His expression showed that he simply couldn’t believe this situation.
But the stage for the duel was set, and Elon Reith, like a swordsman who had trained his entire life, cautiously extended his sword.
“Elon, head of the Reith family, challenges Gilloshian, third son of the Vald family, to a duel! You shall accept this noble’s duel according to the strict imperial law!”
“Gilloshian of the Vald family accepts the duel. Then, what shall be the rules of the duel?”
Setting the rules of the duel was a procedure stipulated in imperial law.
Of course, it was also a system implemented in The World Forsaken by God.
“All as Your Highness wishes.”
It was a voice that did not anticipate his defeat in the slightest.
As one of the Empire’s Three Swords.
As a 9-star knight.
As a Swordmaster.
‘He must think he can’t possibly lose to someone like me.’
I smiled faintly.
“Understood. Then, let’s do this.”
I set a few conditions and rules…
[Sudden Event ‘Noble’s Duel’ occurs!]
[Defeat your adversary ‘Elon Reith’ and claim victory!]
A system message popped up.
‘Defeat a Swordmaster and claim victory.’
It was an impossible goal to anyone.
But I was confident I could miraculously succeed in this impossible mission.
Because I wasn’t just a runaway prince from a magic empire.
I was a runaway prince with the soul of a great gamer.