Chapter 39: Blaze Family
Although I left the ballroom with great enthusiasm, I was not entirely sure why Alex had called me out.
Thus, I subtly slowed my pace, naturally letting Alex take the lead.
“It is an honor to meet you, the youngest Master on the continent, Lord Crescent.”
“Just call me Lloyd. You are Lord Alex, correct?”
“Oh, you know me? It’s an honor.”
Alex was a man with a fresh and amiable impression.
“So, what did you call me for?”
“Well, um…”
Alex trailed off with a complicated expression.
“Hmm?”
Following Alex and observing my surroundings, I realized something interesting was happening.
I decided to quietly follow Alex, who kept glancing at me nervously.
“This way.”
Alex led me to a training ground personally used by Lady Scarlett.
It was also the place where I had learned swordsmanship from Lady Scarlett.
“Do you wish to receive instruction from me?”
“Well, um…”
The honest and handsome Alex kept trailing off.
I looked at Alex silently for a moment before picking up two wooden swords of appropriate weight from the wall of the training ground.
Whoosh.
Alex caught the wooden sword I threw at him in surprise.
“I will let you make the first move.”
“…Just so you know, this is not my true intention, Lord Lloyd.”
“Excuse me? Oh, okay.”
“Then…”
Would Lucas have changed like this if he had aged three more years?
Alex gave off that kind of feeling, watching me with a strange expression.
I was contemplating what he meant by that.
“Argh!!!”
Bang!
‘What, what?!’
Like a bull charging at a red cloth, Alex came at me with bloodshot eyes.
Thwack!
“How about this!!!”
As if expecting his first attack to be blocked, Alex glared and poured all his strength into his assault.
His relentless attacks were fierce and hot, like blazing flames.
‘Even Lucas would struggle against this.’
Though his attacks were impressive, my evaluation of Alex’s swordsmanship was just that.
Thud!
“Ugh…!”
Alex, who was kicked in the stomach, rolled across the floor.
After rolling a couple of times, Alex bounced up and grabbed another relatively short wooden sword from the wall.
“Lloyd!!!”
Although I was a bit flustered at first, Alex’s attacks were manageable even without the help of my Chicken Mode.
That was the gap between a Master and a knight.
Tap.
Clatter clatter clatter!!!
Inserting a small stick into the whirlwind-like sword path.
Just that was enough to turn the whirlwind into a gentle breeze, scattering its momentum.
“Ugh! Not yet!!!”
‘Should I try that here?’
Lady Scarlett, even though she had learned the same Blaze Swordsmanship, had adapted it to her body as a woman.
So even if I used my Mimicry ability, it was difficult to perfectly imitate her due to the physical differences between men and women.
But I felt I could mimic Alex’s swordsmanship well enough.
‘Huff, huff, huff! How’s this?! This is Blaze Swordsmanship!!! Hahaha, hahahaha!!!’
I blocked Alex’s dual-wielding attacks smoothly while gradually retreating.
My goal was to grab another sword from the wall like Alex had.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Barely blocking Alex’s sudden thrust, I created some distance.
In that moment, I grabbed a sword similar in length to the second one Alex had picked up.
Then, glaring at Alex before me, I activated my ability.
[Power Level 2: Imitation]
Imitation.
A whirlwind and another whirlwind overlapped.
[Your proficiency with Blaze Swordsmanship has increased.]
‘My proficiency is skyrocketing.’
It was truly a power worthy of being called an ability.
“This swordsmanship!!! How?!”
Our swords clashed with perfect precision, not even a millimeter off.
Clang clatter clatter clang clatter clatter clang!
Because our movements were perfectly in sync, the sound of our clashing wooden swords created a strange rhythm.
“How about this!!!”
It was more of an improvised attack than Blaze Swordsmanship.
Pretending to swing his right-hand sword, he let it go in mid-air.
Then, anticipating being hit, he thrust his left-hand sword deeply.
It was practically a suicide attack.
‘I should skip this.’
Imitating this perfectly would be crossing a line.
There were eyes watching this duel, so I needed to restrain myself.
Thwack!
“Ugh?!”
I easily blocked Alex’s desperate attack.
Then, I placed my left-hand sword at his throat.
“I-I lost…”
The fierce Alex, who had seemed to transform when he grabbed the swords, reverted to his original self.
‘Is this like the berserk state due to excessive yang energy in martial arts novels?’
Would it be different if one reached the level of a Master like Lady Scarlett?
As I pondered, staring at Alex, a man jumped down from Lady Scarlett’s room, where he had been watching our duel.
Jumping down from such a height was a skill only a Master could perform.
‘Dominic Blaze. The head of the Blaze family…’
If you made Alex’s face more dignified and sharp, it would look like this.
He was a handsome middle-aged man.
The most striking feature was his bright red beard extending from his sideburns to his jawline.
It was the Lincoln-style beard, but his sharp impression made him look like a lion.
“Father!!!”
“Oh dear~”
Lady Scarlett’s scream echoed.
“Lord Lloyd Crescent!”
A powerful voice that drowned out Lady Scarlett’s scream rang in my ears.
“I permit you to court Scarlett! Please, take my daughter!”
The man said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
With his ultra-white teeth shining, he gave a thumbs-up.
“Aah, aaaaah!!!”
Lady Scarlett, her hair as red as her face, threw herself out the window.
‘What an interesting family!’
In that moment, my fondness for the Blaze family skyrocketed.
***
Tap, tap.
It was the sound of Lady Scarlett, whose face had turned as red as a beetroot, preparing tea.
As I listened to the sound, I took in the sight of the three new faces seated at the table.
[Alex Blaze]
Similar to Lucas in that noble gentleman manner, but his eyes change dramatically when he grips a sword.
He’s an interesting fellow I’d like to pit against Lucas as a rival if possible—a promising young man for the future.
[Amelia Blaze]
She resembles Lady Scarlett but has softly drooping eyes, giving her a gentle impression.
She’s Scarlett’s elder sister by three years and Alex’s biological mother, yet she hardly looked like someone with a child the same age as me.
“Our youngest is quite capable, isn’t she? Who would have thought she’d end up with a man like this, teehee~”
“Please, enough!”
“Even though we’re family, must you keep speaking in that strange manner? Use a more feminine and gentle way of speaking.”
“Silence! The coming-of-age ceremony is over, so just drink your tea and go!”
Tap, tap, tap!
Lady Scarlett frowned and placed the teacups in front of us.
“She’s quite a strict person, but you know she has her cute sides,”
Amelia said, lifting her teacup.
Her hands were so thin and delicate that she seemed like someone who had nothing to do with swordsmanship.
Indeed, Chicken Mode also informed me that she wasn’t very skilled in swordsmanship.
Despite this, Lady Scarlett seemed to be quite submissive to her.
‘She must have been an official toy…’
Was this the sorrow of being the youngest?
[Dominic Blaze]
He is Lady Scarlett’s father and the head of the Blaze family.
His stern face and sharp eyes left a strong impression.
He looked every bit the part of the head of a duchy that had produced numerous masters and was a founding contributor to the kingdom.
But in reality, he was a very jovial person from our first meeting.
“Lord Lloyd, Scarlett is a master and still in her prime. If you wish, you can have more children than you can count—”
“Aaaah!!!”
Lady Scarlett clutched her head and screamed.
This was the first time I’d seen her so undone.
The closest she’d come to being this aggressive was when she was correcting the 30 Assayers to be normal.
‘This is amusing.’
Indeed, this is what family should be like.
Don’t you think so, my dear psychopath hedgehog prince?
Nod, nod.
“Why are you acting like this, Scarlett?”
“That’s exactly what I want to ask! Why are you doing this to me?!”
“A man who fits the conditions you sang about has appeared. As your father, shouldn’t I act? Moreover, he’s the youngest master! Of course, we should accept him into the Blaze family!”
“Ugh…!”
Lady Scarlett, having met my eyes, covered her face with both hands.
The already reddened Scarlett looked as if she had reached her limit.
“Am I wrong, Amelia?”
“How could the head of the family be wrong?”
“Hmm. Exactly.”
Though born a woman, must she serve her husband?
I have no intention of serving a man weaker than me!
That was what Lady Scarlett had said, mimicking a princess once.
Who knew it would come back around like this?
“Listen to the person’s opinion first! Ha… do you even know my age, saying such shameless things…?”
Lady Scarlett’s voice sounded strained as she turned her back to me.
It seemed she was more sensitive about her age than usual because her peer niece was around.
“Well then. Lord Lloyd, what do you think? Speak freely.”
Despite his words, he raised his eyebrows, giving me a look.
What an interesting person he was.
I would say the same thing regardless of his hint.
“If Lady Scarlett is as beautiful as she is, what does age matter?”
“Ha, ha ha ha! As expected of the youngest master, you have a different calibre!”
“Exactly, oh ho ho!”
“Ah, ha ha…”
The Blaze family laughed in three distinct tones.
Meanwhile, Scarlett the Beetroot looked as if she was seriously contemplating jumping out of the window.
It was chaos.
‘The Blaze family is something else….’
To show this level of chaos without alcohol.
“The sooner we move forward with such celebrations, the better.”
Papa Scarlett, who seemed very excited, tried to speed things up.
“Wait!”
It was Scarlett, who had somewhat calmed down, who stopped him.
“What’s the problem now, Scarlett?”
“Everything is the problem from start to finish!”
Bang!
Scarlett banged on the table as she shouted.
Papa Scarlett, looking at her calmly, wore a slightly composed expression.
“Didn’t you teach Lord Lloyd the family’s swordsmanship with the intention of making him your husband?”
“Never! It was just because of Lord Lloyd’s talent!”
“Hmm… is there such a talent in existence?”
Papa Scarlett looked me up and down with sharp eyes.
“All the more reason to accept him into our family. Who else would you give such talent to?”
Papa Scarlett smiled broadly, showing his teeth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Scarlett pounded the table three times in a row.
It seemed like a familiar sight to the three of them, who held their cup saucers to prevent the table from getting dirty.
“Besides, Lord Lloyd is still…”
Scarlett looked at me with a somewhat frustrated expression.
Then, when our eyes met, she bit her lower lip slightly and looked away.
“Still? What do you mean?”
“Lord Lloyd is said to have been engaged for ten years to another woman.”
“Ah, indeed.”
Even here, Olivia was working hard.
‘Ah, you are always with me, aren’t you?’
Thanks to her, it seemed I wouldn’t have to go straight into the grave of marriage just yet.
“I may have been too hasty. But isn’t it rather a good thing? It means he’s a man capable of loving someone so deeply.”
Papa Scarlett spoke, looking at me with a serious expression.
“If you spend time together, affection will naturally grow. Lord Lloyd, when you return to your territory, please take our Scarlett with you. I’ll speak with Princess Anastasia.”
What a forthright man he was.
‘This is rather good.’
It’s not a good idea to leave people I’ve made connections with in a place where a mysterious entity called a Psycho remains.
Bringing them to our territory would be beneficial, and if he helped, it would be even better.
If Lady Scarlett came to our territory, the princess would easily find excuses to follow her.
I looked at Lady Scarlett quietly.
“Would you come to my territory with me?”
When I said that and extended my hand, Lady Scarlett’s gaze started shaking wildly.
It was almost as if spirals would appear in her eyes in a comic strip.
Hiccup.
Scarlett, who had started hiccupping at some point, finally threw herself out of the wide-open window.
“Oh dear…”
“To think a grown woman ready for marriage would act like this….”
“Shut up! I’m not getting married-!!!”
Lady Scarlett, who had forgotten her formal speech, made an exit worthy of a comic strip.
‘Now, shall I finish recruiting talent?’
I’d been away from my territory for too long.
It was time to wrap up recruiting and return.