Rinea and the knight were just about to cross their swords when…
「I really hope your friend doesn’t suffer any serious injuries.」
「Are you threatening us?」
「Of course not. I just want His Majesty to see the reality of the situation.」
「If the student gets hurt, you will have to take responsibility.」
「If that happens, of course I will sincerely apologize. I will tell His Majesty that, unfortunately, my knight must have been unable to hold back his strength sufficiently since she was weaker than he had expected. I will then explain that, to be a knight, a greater amount of strength is necessary and share my opinion that knights should only be men. Any women that wish to protect the royal family should aim to be magicians instead.」
As Rutum told us this, Rinea attacked her opponent, but the knight easily parried her attack and, with a nudge of his hand, ripped her sword out of her arms, sending it flying to the ground. Rinea gritted her teeth to bear the pain in her arms, and picked up her sword to continue the fight.
「I wonder how long she will be able to hold on for.」
「You…」
「After this, she might never be able to pick up a sword again.」
「I’m going to stop the match!」
Shia said and started to make her way towards the stage.
「Will you be able to get there before my knight gets in an actual attack? I wonder who’s quicker.」
Shia stopped dead in her tracks.
「If somebody tries to approach them during the match… I think you understand why that would be a bad idea.」
Rutum continued and looked at Shia with that twisted smile of his.
I wanted to smack the smile off his face so badly. Would it be okay if I actually did it? Eleanora-san would probably get in trouble for it…
Mu, mu, mu, mu… this was so annoying. If only I could release my anger somehow…
I whispered to Fina and Shuri to let go of my uniform, and to stand behind me, so that I could be free to make a move at any time.
「Why don’t we make a deal? If you accept the engagement to my son, I will order the knight to stop. How about that?」
「Do you think I would allow such a ridiculous bargain?」
「Perhaps your daughter sees it differently?」
Eleanora-san rejected Rutum’s demand outright, but Shia looked conflicted as she watched her friend in pain.
I took a quick look back at the match. The knight looked as if he was about to be hit by Rinea’s attack but then he forcefully moved his sword. His strong thrust clashed against Rinea’s sword, and swept it aside easily. The knight then swung his sword downwards, forcing Rinea to block his strike with her own sword. He continued to swing his sword again and again, leaving Rinea in a lot of pain as she tried her best to block it, eventually losing the grip on her sword. Not wanting to give up, she picked her sword while gritting her teeth, and stood up to face him again.
This time, the knight didn’t waste time, and used brute force to tackle her down.
「I will fight on her behalf!」
Shia shouted at Rutum.
「I just have to win, right?」
「Fu, fu, fu. I know that you are an excellent student, but there is no way you can win against a trained knight.」
「I can’t know until I try!」
「Shia, I won’t allow this!」
「Mother…」
Hmm…
If Shia used magic against a melee opponent, she had a chance to win as long as she kept her distance. Still, the moment the knight reached her, she would be done for.
「Alright, how about we agree on this? If Lady Shia wins, then I won’t do anything to that girl aiming to become a knight. However, if Lady Shia loses, she will have to marry my son.」
「That…」
「Oh, and how about pairing my youngest son with your younger sister, Lady Noa? Don’t you think it would be wonderful to have both sisters marry into the family?」
When Noa heard her name mentioned by Rutum, she shivered noticeably.
This conversation was heading in a very bad direction.
Just a bit more, and I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back anymore.
「If I win against that knight, will you stop trying to prevent women from becoming knights?」
「Shia!」
Eleanora-san yelled at her, exasperated.
「Sure, I can agree to that. However, if you lose, you will have to marry my son.」
「You can’t do this.」
Elenora-san tried to stop Shia from going through with it.
「Mother…」
「Then, how about I fight for you, instead?」
「Yuna-san?」
At this point, I could no longer let this guy get off easily. He was trying to force both Shia and Noa into marriage, so he had to pay.