Chapter 58: Trampling and Golden Healing

“Begin the match!”

The bout between Richard and Godwin began.
The two clashed with blunted swords.
One was a man who had risen to the rank of knight commander of a ducal house.
He was by no means weak.
However—

Clang!

“Guh…!
Richard!”

After taking that single swing, Godwin barely managed to keep hold of his sword.
Even so, numbness ran through his arm, forcing him to retreat.
Richard stood calmly, not pressing the attack, quietly watching Godwin’s movements.

“Tch!
You’re truly a detestable bastard!”

Spitting out the insult, Godwin glared at Richard.
Ever since the days when they served in the ducal knight order together, he had never liked Richard.
His looks and his character earned him favor from many, and his strength overwhelmed all others.
Godwin knew that sooner or later, Richard would become a threat to him.
That he himself would eventually be driven from his current position.

What he found unforgivable was the fact that a marriage proposal with a count’s daughter had been raised for Richard.
He believed Richard had to be removed at once, and so Godwin devised a scheme.
Disguising it as a training accident, he deliberately inflicted a deep wound on Richard’s dominant arm.
Before a live-blade sparring session, he tampered with Richard’s equipment so that he could not move properly.
He also arranged matters so that Richard’s treatment would not go well.

Everything went exactly as Godwin intended, and Richard was forced to abandon his path as a knight.
He thought his own position would remain secure from then on.
And yet—

Now Richard Claudius stood before him once more.
With skills even greater than before.
On top of that, he was joined to a woman whom the Duchess of Ryuswell herself favored, even if she was only the daughter of a viscount.
That woman, and Richard as well, were being praised by the people and called by honored names.

It was utterly intolerable.
He could not forgive it unless he crushed them.

“Richard!”

Godwin tried to close the distance, forcing a contest of strength.
It was not that he overestimated his own physical power compared to Richard’s.
He merely wanted to get close enough to whisper words only Richard could hear, without others noticing.

“…Is that wise?”

Richard turned his gaze to him, showing no sign of agitation at Godwin’s words.

“Do you know where your woman is right now?
If you intend to beat me… who knows what might happen to her?”

“…!”

Anger flared in Richard’s expression, but there was no confusion.
In that instant, he understood that Godwin was a truly despicable man.
Someone who, driven by petty inferiority, would even bring harm to what his enemy cherished most.

“Lose pathetically.
No—offer up that right arm again.
This time I’ll make sure you can never recover.
If you care about your woman—”

At that moment—

“Richard!
Do your best!”

A voice rang out loudly enough for both men to hear.

“…Haha.”

“What are you laughing at…?”

“Can’t you tell whose voice that was?
You use her as a threat, yet you cannot even recognize her voice.
Remember her properly, or you’ll only expose your own foolishness.”

Clang!
Godwin was shoved back, sword and all.
Still, there was no follow-up attack.
Instead, Richard pointed toward a single spot.

Godwin’s gaze followed the direction he indicated.
There stood—a woman with light blue hair.

“Richard!
I have been perfectly safe since this morning!
Please show no mercy!
Leave the rest to me!”

Saying that, Electra waved a small wand.
Perhaps it had been prepared for the tournament.
Magic gathered at its tip, releasing a golden glow.
It was not a blinding light, merely bright enough to stand out as encouragement.

Waving the “small glowing wand,” Richard’s beloved cheered for him.
Since no one else was doing anything like it, her presence stood out all the more.

“W-what…!?”

Godwin stared in shock.
Neither Richard nor Electra missed the change in his expression.

“So?
What will you do, Greg?
You have no confidence in defeating me by skill alone, do you?
That is why you rely on filthy tricks.
You are a pathetic man.”

“Damn you…!”

Richard deliberately called Godwin by his given name.
It was a clear sign that he held no respect for his position.

“Will you choose a disgraceful defeat?
Without even fighting?
Can you continue as knight commander after showing such a pitiful display?
Once you lose the respect of your subordinates, you can no longer lead them.
If you dislike that, then come at me, Greg Godwin.
Like a knight, openly and honorably.
I will end you myself.”

Richard stood firm, waiting.
Though anger surged within him, Godwin, who recognized Richard’s strength more than anyone, could not step forward.

“…Will you withdraw due to illness?
That would be even more shameful than defeat.
No matter how you try to justify it, everyone will see through your cowardice.
Especially the knights.”

“Guh…!”

Anger, impatience, fear—
A storm of emotions churned within Godwin.

“You are afraid of me, aren’t you?
The one who acknowledges my strength most of all is you.
Greg.
…No, that’s not quite right.
You are not afraid.
You admire me, don’t you?
Hahaha!
Very well, Greg!
I shall instruct you gently.
For your sake, I will!”

Richard laughed loudly, deliberately relaxing his stance.
It was an expression, a tone, and a choice of words he would never normally use.

But that slight show of carelessness, combined with the rage of being insulted, drove Godwin forward.

“Don’t mock me, you whelp!”

A powerful swing worthy of a man who had become knight commander.
Against a lesser knight, that blow would surely have brought Godwin victory.
But it could not succeed.
Because the one facing him was—Richard Claudius.
The man hailed as the “Holy Knight.”

Screech—!

“—!?”

Not blocking, but deflecting.
Richard slid blade against blade, dispersing Godwin’s strike.
Without losing momentum, he delivered a powerful blow to Godwin’s dominant arm—his right.

“Gah…!!”

The swords used in the match had blunted edges.
Even so, they were still iron blades.
A poorly placed strike could cause serious injury even with dulled edges.
All the more so when wielded by someone with tremendous strength.

“Gah…!”

Whether out of sheer stubbornness or pride, Godwin did not immediately release his sword.
Nor was he given even the chance to deliberately let go and end the match.

The blade that had been swung upward reversed direction in an instant and came crashing down.
Godwin saw the movement clearly.
But he could not react in time.
Richard’s sword was far too fast.

Thud!!!

“Gah—aaaargh!!”

Only after the second strike did Godwin finally release his sword.
His right arm had been crushed.
Though the form differed, it was much like the injury once inflicted upon Richard’s own right arm.

“Aaaaaargh…!!”

As Godwin screamed, the referee loudly declared Richard the victor.

“With that arm, you can no longer walk the path of a knight.”

“Y-you… you bastard… Richard!
Richaaarrrd!!”

Godwin roared in hatred.
But—

“Rest assured.
This tournament is held in the name of the goddess, and our policy is to leave no one with grave injuries.”

“What… are you saying?!”

Electra ran onto the field.
She wore white garments adorned with gold, just as she had during the opening ceremony—almost like a holy maiden.
In her hand, instead of the small glowing wand, she carried a white-silver spear with a banner rolled around its tip.

“—Grant healing to those who have shown us a worthy battle!”

With Electra’s words, golden light burst forth.
It was gentle, pleasing to the eyes, and softer than before.
The restrained glow only enhanced her sense of mystery.

The golden light enveloped both Richard and Godwin.
In that moment, Godwin’s crushed right arm was completely healed.

“Wh… ah…?”

Godwin stared at his restored hand, eyes wide, words failing him.

“Thank you for serving as her foil, Commander Godwin.”

Richard spoke quietly so that only Godwin could hear.
His expression was calm, his smile gentle, just as usual, without the earlier provocation.

“As for the matter of the right arm, let us consider it settled with this.
As for the other issues, we will leave them to those better suited to handle them.
May fortune favor you.”

With a courteous smile, like a gentleman, like a knight, Richard finished speaking.
He then took Electra’s hand and left the arena.

Richard had nothing more to do with Godwin.
The resentment of the past had already been eclipsed by the fate that led him to his beloved.
His conflict with Godwin had been nothing more than a small trial on the path to meeting the one he loved.

That Richard did not even regard him as a worthy opponent—
That fact alone crushed Godwin’s pride more thoroughly than anything else.