LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 8 - Five Years Later
Kyle, having become friends with the Third Prince, Bellion, began to engage in casual conversations with him.
“Wow, Kyle, you’ve already learned Aura.”
“What’s so surprising? You have too.”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it, Yuri?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
Kyle tilted his head, observing Yuri’s formal speech.
It was only natural for his fiancée, who had been speaking informally just moments ago, to suddenly switch to formal speech.
After a moment of thought, Kyle realized why Yuri was being so formal.
“Wait, are you being formal with me just because I’m speaking informally with the Prince?”
“……Th-That’s not it.”
“Alright. Hey, Bellion. Yuri’s the same age as us, can she drop the formalities?”
“Of course. I’m all for it.”
Watching Prince Bellion smile as he said this, Yuri began to tremble, unlike her usual self.
‘What’s so scary?’
Kyle chuckled. In this game world with its loose settings, would anyone die for speaking informally to a prince?
‘In the original story, they were all buddy-buddy with the commoner protagonist.’
“It’s really okay, Yuri. Bellion said it’s fine.”
“……O-Okay.”
“Still a long way to go…”
Sighing and looking at Yuri, Kyle thought of a way to break the stiff atmosphere.
As everyone knows, a slightly risqué topic is the perfect solution to an awkward situation.
“By the way, Yuri, your chest has gotten bigger.”
“Mhm…”
“You weren’t lying when you said your have big breasts.”
“She’s right over there.”
At the mention of Yuri’s mother, his future mother-in-law, being present, Kyle quickly scanned the party hall.
Sure enough, a silver-haired woman stood in the distance, wearing a dress that emphasized her chest.
‘Damn, they’re huge.’
The dress likely employed various methods to enhance her cleavage, but even considering that, they were the size of watermelons.
Even half that size would be enough to earn the title of busty, so Kyle nodded in satisfaction and looked at Yuri.
“Keep up the good work, Yuri.”
“Mhm…”
“……What are you two talking about?”
Bellion, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, looked at them with a dumbfounded expression.
Whether it was Kyle commenting on his fiancée’s chest or Yuri accepting it without a fuss, neither of them seemed normal.
“─Your Highness. You were here.”
“Ah, Steward.”
Just then, the Royal Steward came looking for Bellion.
The Steward glanced at Kyle and Yuri before promptly relaying the party’s schedule.
Since the main guest of the party couldn’t be tied down to one person indefinitely, Bellion expressed his regret and bid them farewell.
“I have to leave now. Kyle, Yuri. See you later.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
“……Safe travels.”
Although the Steward glared at Kyle for a moment after hearing the informal speech, he didn’t reprimand him on the spot.
After parting ways with the two, Bellion headed to the designated area for the main guest of the party, accompanied by the Steward.
As soon as Bellion appeared in the center of the party hall, nobles aiming to become part of the Prince’s faction began to line up.
“Your Highness, happy birthday.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“I have prepared a gift. I hope you like it.”
“I’ll check it out later.”
If he were a proper prince, he should be memorizing the names of the nobles approaching him and discerning whether they were truly loyal or just flitting around like bats.
However, Bellion wasn’t in the right state of mind.
He was too excited about having made his first friend.
‘A friend… a friend…’
He glanced over at Kyle, who was chatting with his fiancée in the distance.
He hadn’t expected to meet someone who treated him so casually, even at such a young age.
‘Aren’t ten-year-olds supposed to know better?’
To act like that at that age meant one of two things:
Either they were thoughtless, or they had a bold personality that didn’t care about such things.
Watching him laugh and playfully slap the back of his fiancée, a princess, it seemed like the latter.
‘I made a friend.’
But it wasn’t enough yet.
The Empire’s Protective Sword.
While House Meyer wasn’t an unworthy family to be friends with the prince, Kyle himself was still just an ordinary heir.
‘If you become a Sword Saint, then…’
An Aura Master.
If he reached the realm of Sword Saint, then he could comfortably treat him as a friend.
Praying that his friend would become worthy of being his friend, Bellion continued to manage his network of connections.
***
The party was over.
He wondered if all these nobles had been summoned from the countryside just for this, but his father, the Count, probably ran around like a headless chicken behind the scenes.
Like a swan gracefully gliding on the water while paddling furiously beneath the surface, he offered a silent tribute to the Count’s unseen hard work as they headed towards the carriage that would take them back to their territory.
“Are you leaving already?”
“─Duchess.”
On their way to the carriage, they encountered his future in-laws.
The Duchess, accompanied by Yuri, blocked their path.
Kyle bowed his head to his mother-in-law, whom he was meeting for the first time.
However, the Duchess seemed displeased with his gesture and frowned slightly.
“It’s rare that we have a chance to meet, and you’re leaving without even a proper greeting. Don’t you think that’s a bit rude?”
“We’ve been inconsiderate. My apologies, Duchess.”
“I wasn’t trying to scold you. By the way, Kyle? Is this our first time meeting?”
The Duchess addressed him directly, offering a greeting. Kyle responded with a hearty smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mother-in-law.”
“So, you were the one who said our Yuri’s smile was unattractive?”
“It was the truth.”
“There are truths in this world that are unpleasant even if they are factual. ‘Hmph’, you have no idea how surprised I was when His Grace told me to improve my smile.”
The Duchess chuckled as she spoke. With each laugh, her ample bosom jiggled up and down.
‘Heh-‘ As he stared blankly at her chest, the Duchess gazed down at him and spoke.
“She has cultivated it into something breathtakingly beautiful. Have you seen it?”
“The Duke told me not to look.”
“Yes, that’s right. The price has gone up.”
The Duchess paused mid-sentence and abruptly turned to her daughter.
“They say that anyone who has seen our Yuri practice her smile, even just once, falls lovesick. That’s how beautiful it is.”
“Oh? I’m curious now. How beautiful could it be?”
“And so… I’ve been thinking that if my daughter is destined to not smile for a long time, it wouldn’t be so bad to marry her into a family that can make her smile.”
At those words, Kyle looked at Yuri’s face.
Despite the conversation about her engagement potentially being broken off, Yuri’s expression remained serene, without a trace of change.
He couldn’t easily imagine her smiling at someone else.
But… what if, by some miracle, by some one-in-a-million chance, his fiancée were to smile at another man─
‘That would piss me off.’
He hated having things taken from him. NTR was a sin.
Even if it was a childhood engagement, being robbed was still being robbed.
“Mother-in-law.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t worry.”
Having observed the party hall today, Kyle was confident.
At this moment, among all the noble children of his age gathered here, he was the strongest.
In this other world where might made right, this was an enormous advantage.
“No one can make Yuri happier than I can.”
After hearing his words, the Duchess closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly in thought. Then, she carefully opened them and spoke.
“Very well. I’ll keep my daughter safe and sound. Let’s see if you can take her away from me.”
Leaving behind those ominous words, the Duchess boarded her carriage and disappeared. Kyle watched her go before boarding his own carriage with the Count.
As soon as they were inside, the Count subtly smiled and asked,
“Kyle, you really seem to like Yuri.”
“Huh?”
“You wouldn’t have been so openly defiant in front of the Duchess if you didn’t like her that much, would you?”
“Ah, yes. I like her. She’s beautiful and has big breasts.”
Such a beauty was rare even on Earth.
A beautiful face, and presumably, breasts that would grow even larger. He wasn’t foolish enough to refuse such an offer.
He had challenged the Duchess because he had a gut feeling that she would favor someone like him.
She was the wife of the Northern Duke, and exuded an aura of preferring masculine men.
‘She’d probably like someone who talks back to her.
Saying things like, ‘He has spirit,’ and whatnot.’
However, the Count, upon hearing his words, hardened his expression slightly, as if he had misheard.
“…Beautiful face? Big breasts? Is… is that all?”
“Huh? What else does a woman need?”
“Well, um… nothing, I suppose.”
“Oh, and I’d like her to have wide hips, too.”
“…He’s my son, but he’s so simple.”
The Count sighed deeply, looking out the window.
Kyle thought he might have heard his deceased mother’s name mentioned.
Tilting his head in confusion, he simply leaned back against the cushions. He should have taken off this stuffy tuxedo and left it behind, but he hadn’t been able to, mindful of others’ gazes.
‘Once I become a Master, I’ll just wear whatever I want.’
If he became a Master, he could walk around shirtless, and no one would dare say a word.
No one would want their head smashed in for talking back to a Master.
Unable to bear wearing the suffocating tuxedo until they reached the Count’s territory, he unbuttoned the top buttons around his neck.
The Count, having finally regained his composure, asked,
“By the way, I saw you talking with His Highness. What were you talking about?”
“Ah, that. The Prince and I decided to be friends.”
“……What?”
The Count stared at him, frozen in place.
Kyle looked back, wondering what the problem was, then belatedly realized he had left something out.
“Oh, right. We also decided to drop the formalities.”
“Uh, uh…!”
“……Father?”
The Count, already seemingly at his limit, clutched his chest and collapsed upon hearing those words.
That day, Kyle learned that even Aura Expert knights could collapse from high blood pressure.
***
“Come on.”
“Yes.”
At Sir Leon’s words, Kyle channeled Aura into his body and weapon.
His Aura-infused sword began to resonate with a low hum.
Seeing Kyle’s charged sword, Sir Leon also channeled Aura into his own, preparing for the imminent clash.
Moments later, they charged at each other, swords meeting in a flurry of sparks.
‘Clang! Clang! Clang!’
Dozens of strikes exchanged in a single second. Sparks flew from their swords, creating a scene reminiscent of a furnace.
After several minutes of exchanging blows at full power, Kyle reached his physical limit, and so did Sir Leon.
‘Clang!’
With a final clash, they both retreated, taking deep breaths.
The unique Aura breathing technique passed down in the Meyer family quickly replenished Kyle’s depleted stamina.
Sir Leon, having also recovered his breath, stood still and taunted him.
“Is that all, Young Master?”
Kyle smirked at Sir Leon’s provocation and deliberately took the bait.
The foundation of all martial arts was defense and counterattack. To strike the opponent unilaterally without taking any damage oneself.
In that sense, it was easier to defeat an oncoming opponent than to charge and defeat them.
He knew it in his head. He knew rationally that he shouldn’t do it, but…
‘If I can’t even overcome this much, how can I become a Sword Saint?’
The Sword Saint he aspired to be wasn’t someone who stood still, waiting for enemies to approach and then exploiting their openings for a counterattack.
He wanted to be the embodiment of the sword, capable of charging anywhere with a single blade and crushing all opposition.
He had to be able to crush a knight of equal rank head-on, even in unfavorable situations.
“Here I come.”
“Yes, come on.”
After politely giving a warning, he kicked off the ground, his leg strength amplified by Aura.
He arrived in front of Sir Leon like a launched projectile, but Sir Leon calmly swung his sword, attacking him.
Waiting until the last possible moment, Kyle deflected the blow and slammed the pommel of his sword into Sir Leon’s face.
“Ugh!”
With Sir Leon’s nose crushed and bleeding profusely, Kyle followed up by tripping him with a leg sweep and then pointed his sword at him.
“How about it? My win?”
“…Where did you learn such mercenary tactics?”
“I just thought of it. Is it not allowed?”
“Well, everything’s fair in a fight. Winning is all that matters.”
Sir Leon, getting up, added a pointed remark.
“Young Master, remember this well. Dead men tell no tales.”
“And losers talk a lot?”
“……Young Master, you seem to be enjoying yourself. Shall we have another round? I won’t go easy on you this time.”
“Yeah, Sir Leon, you’re really bad.”
“─Young Master? Young Master? Come at me right now.”
Ignoring Sir Leon’s threats, Kyle headed towards the private training grounds.
Five years had passed since the Prince’s party.
He still hadn’t reached the level of Master.