Lucian wondered if he'd seen wrong for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.
But no matter how many times he checked, there was no mistaking that face—it was the Sword Demon's.
Standing there among the ten knights and two maids surrounding the marquis's son.
The problem was Felix's outfit.
"Why the hell is he in a maid's uniform?"
If he bent over backward a hundred times, he might've understood if Felix had been the marquis's son or one of the young knights.
Even while scraping by as a mercenary, the man had shown discipline in his swordsmanship and carried a strange air of nobility.
But neither the marquis's son nor a knight—a maid?
He had always been handsome enough that it was hard to tell his gender at a glance, but this was something else entirely.
"…Don't tell me he was cross-dressing as a man when he met me?"
All of a sudden, Lucian began to wonder if his assumptions had been wrong from the very start.
Thinking back, Felix's face had been far too delicate for a man.
Rather than disguising himself as a woman to become a maid, it made more sense that he had been a woman originally and had dressed as a man when becoming a mercenary.
Just as his mind was growing tangled over the sudden revelation about an old acquaintance's secret—
"So, you really did make thorough preparations. Even if you haven't actually made anything yet."
"Have you forgotten that today is the first day of production? You said you wanted to see it done in person, so I merely postponed it. Yet you speak as if it were my fault."
"Watch your mouth, you bastard. Do you think I'm your friend?"
Lucian brushed aside his stray thoughts at the exchange between Hugo and the prey.
The Sword Demon's secrets or whatever—right now was the time to focus on capturing the bastard.
Lucian turned his gaze away from Felix and looked instead at the marquis's son.
Young. About my age, maybe?
Philip Logran.
The marquis's fourth son, one who hadn't even entered the struggle for succession.
Despite the balance of power among the brothers being close, he'd apparently grown frightened and given up his claim early on.
Lucian had expected a timid coward, yet here he was, acting so boldly toward Hugo.
At a glance, he was the textbook sort of brat who bullied the weak and fawned over the strong.
"Enough with the pointless chatter and start the manufacturing! I didn't come here to make small talk—I came to watch whether you're doing your job properly."
"Please wait a moment. I'll bring out the materials."
Clap, clap.
When Hugo clapped his hands twice, his subordinates immediately headed toward the boxes.
At first glance, it looked like they were moving to fetch the ingredients for the potion, but in reality, it was a maneuver to fall back and avoid being caught up in a fight.
It was the moment when everyone except Hugo had put enough distance between themselves and the marquis's group.
"Go."
Papapop.
"What the hell!?"
At the signal, five Black Lions burst out from their hiding places.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden ambush, Philip shrieked and stumbled backward.
The escorting knights, evidently prepared for emergencies, swiftly drew their swords and moved to respond.
"Where do you think you're—!"
Thud.
"Ghk!"
As an escort, it had been a flawless response—but the opponent was wrong.
No matter how elite they were, they were no match for the Black Lions.
Despite having twice the numbers, the knights couldn't properly block even a single strike, and they were brought down in an instant.
Thump.
"Ghhk…!"
In less than a minute, all ten knights were slumped on the ground, groaning.
One had been knocked unconscious by a blow from a sword hilt to the forehead; another had his Achilles tendon cut and couldn't even stand.
With a single exchange, the enemy had been completely neutralized.
It was a gap in skill so vast it was almost embarrassing to call them fellow knights.
"What are you idiots doing right now!? Fight on your feet!"
Well, isn't that rich.
With barely enough time to run for his life, he was busy berating his own knights instead.
Clicking his tongue, Lucian gave an order to one of the Black Lions.
"Quiet him and bring him over."
"Yes, Third Young Master."
Click.
The Black Lion who received the order slid his sword back into its scabbard and advanced toward Philip.
It looked like he intended to knock him out cold with the sheathed blade.
Just as Philip was raging, he finally realized the danger and screamed in panic.
"F–Felicia! What are you doing!? Protect me! If you're only good for swinging a sword, then at least be useful at a time like this!"
"…Hoo."
At Philip's disgraceful shout, one of the maids let out a sigh.
The maid called Felicia shoved aside the other trembling maid and picked up the sword lying nearby.
It was one of the blades that had been knocked from a knight's hand when the Black Lions struck him down moments earlier.
"Tsk. What a waste of effort."
The Black Lion who had been approaching Philip clicked his tongue.
She wasn't even a knight—just a mere maid. What could she possibly do with a sword?
"Move aside."
The Black Lion casually swung the sword he was holding, sheathed.
The trajectory was simple, but the strike was so fast that even a trained knight would have struggled to block it.
Yet the blow failed to hit Felicia, slicing only through empty air.
"What the—!?"
Thump.
"Ghk!"
A sharp impact rang out as the Black Lion staggered.
Felicia, who had ducked low, sprang upward and smashed the pommel into his jaw.
The hit landed cleanly; the Black Lion, who had been trying to regain his balance, soon collapsed backward.
Thud.
"..."
When an outcome no one had anticipated unfolded, a heavy silence settled over the scene.
A moment later, the Black Lions snapped back to their senses and sprang to their feet almost in unison.
"Are you kidding me!?"
"What the hell does a maid think she's—!"
The remaining four Black Lions glared at Felicia, looking ready to rush her all at once.
In the end, though, none of them attacked together.
For multiple Black Lions to gang up on a mere maid would be nothing but humiliation.
"I'll go."
Grinding his teeth, another of them stepped toward Felicia.
Unlike the fallen comrade, he showed no carelessness, clearly intending to end it in a single decisive blow.
Watching him approach, Felicia drew in a deep breath.
Whoosh.
"Ghk!?"
With the sound of air being cleaved, a groan escaped from the second Black Lion's mouth.
At some point, he had already drawn his sword and slashed toward Felicia's position.
But Felicia narrowly evaded the strike and countered by smashing into his greave.
Among the Black Lions, who had now been humiliated twice, gasps of shock burst out.
"W–What the hell!? She reacted to that attack!?"
"That's impossible! You're telling me that maid is at a level comparable to ours!?"
"She didn't react. She predicted the attack in advance and moved accordingly."
"…What?"
As the Black Lions stared in confusion, Lucian spoke up.
"She didn't see your movements at all. She simply predicted when you'd move and how fast, then moved exactly as she'd already planned."
"…That's even possible?"
"It must be, or she wouldn't be standing there. Watch closely."
Lucian nodded toward Felicia.
Only then did the others truly take in her condition—
the beads of sweat covering her forehead, the twitching, spasming of her shoulders.
She had dodged only two attacks, yet even at a glance she was clearly not fine.
"You forced your mana too hard to keep up with that speed, didn't you? Your muscles must feel like they're about to tear apart. Can you still move?"
Felicia bit down on her lip without answering.
Her silence was as good as an admission. From behind her, Philip shouted in a trembling voice.
"F–Felicia! Even if you die, die protecting me! That's your job! Got it!?"
"Shut up, you moron. You're breaking my concentration, so stay still."
"W–What!? How dare a crippled wench—!"
Ignoring Philip, Felicia reset her stance.
She couldn't hide the fine tremor running through her body, but it seemed she still had the strength left for at least one more counterattack.
Just as an enraged Black Lion was about to draw his sword, Lucian stepped forward.
"Step aside. I'll handle this."
"Third Young Master!? This is my fight!"
"So you were planning to kill her? To silence her here so the Black Lions' honor isn't stained?"
"I clearly remember you granting us discretion."
"I'm withdrawing that discretion. Sorry, but I can't kill such outstanding talent just to preserve your pride. She's too valuable to waste—I intend to take her alive."
"Then I'll subdue her with my own hands and hand her over."
"I can already hear you saying your hand slipped, so I'll decline. Fall back."
The Black Lion ground his teeth in frustration, but in the end, he stepped back.
Having received the grand duke's orders, he had no choice but to obey Lucian.
Still, he didn't forget to leave a parting remark as he withdrew.
"Be careful. Since you've chosen to subdue her personally, we won't be able to assist you if something goes wrong."
He'd phrased it politely, but it was a clear warning: having stepped in himself, any injury would be Lucian's own responsibility.
Lucian gave no reply, only letting out a faint chuckle as he picked up one of the swords scattered on the ground.
***
Weak.
The moment Felicia looked at Lucian, she was able to gauge his approximate level.
His muscle mass was unimpressive, and his palms didn't even bear calluses.
In terms of raw strength and speed, he was clearly far below the two she had fought earlier.
Above all, judging from the conversation just now, this boy in front of her had to be the leader.
If I take him hostage… could I get out of here?
She had no interest whatsoever in the honor of the Logran marquisate, nor in the life of the worthless fool cowering behind her.
But having caused an incident of this scale on someone else's territory, she needed to find a way to escape no matter what.
Unlike those lofty nobles, Felicia's life was something that could be snuffed out at any moment.
"Hoo."
She forced mana through her throbbing muscles once more.
Fortunately, she could still move properly two or three more times.
At the very least, it would be enough to subdue the noble young master in front of her.
"Are you ready?"
Felicia frowned at his words.
She didn't like the relaxed attitude of that feeble noble brat.
Just because her condition had worsened a little, did he really think he could win?
Let's see how long that confidence lasts.
As her opponent approached slowly, Felicia set her stance.
She planned to draw him in to the very edge of striking distance, then launch a counterattack.
Whether he knew that or not, he attacked her head-on.
Diagonal slash.
That's it? A basic diagonal cut? Give me a break.
A scoff escaped her at the painfully obvious attack.
She felt foolish for having been even slightly wary of him.
Easily evading the blow, Felicia was just about to swing her sword—
Thud.
With a jarring shock that rang through her head, Felicia dropped to her knees.
Just before her consciousness slipped away, she caught sight of the sword—its trajectory abruptly changing from a diagonal line to a downward path.
The moment she saw that bizarre arc, she understood what had happened.
That… that's my technique…?
How—
Before the question could fully form, Felicia lost consciousness and collapsed.
***
"All right. It's over."
The Black Lions' eyes shook violently as they looked at Lucian.
He was far from someone you'd call "strong" in a straightforward sense.
Just producing speed on par with a Black Lion twice had been enough to make his muscles spasm.
And yet, separately from that, it was also undeniable that he possessed extraordinary, inborn talent.
Even accounting for carelessness, knocking out one Black Lion and landing a solid hit on another was no small feat.
By estimation, if it had been an opening exchange, she wouldn't have been outmatched even in a head-on fight with most knights.
And the Third Young Master defeated someone like that in a single exchange?
It was staggering.
The Third Young Master had been learning the sword for less than two months.
Even after hearing that he'd beaten the Fourth Young Master, they'd brushed it off, thinking both sides were beginners with the blade.
Yet he had instantly discerned an opponent's technique—one even the Black Lions hadn't recognized—and countered with it, finishing the fight in a single exchange.
What was more, he had perfectly imitated her technique, subduing her exactly as he intended without killing her and bringing her in alive.
In terms of pure combat sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he surpassed even the Black Lions.
…Maybe the rumor about him being a lion hiding its claws was true after all.
As the Black Lions' gazes toward him subtly changed, Lucian looked down at the fallen Felicia and muttered to himself,
She still hasn't broken the habit of ducking whenever a taller opponent slashes diagonally. Made it easy to take her down.
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