Chapter 60

“No way…!”

A word of regret came out of my mouth.

It was mainly in regards to how careless I had been up to now.

Even if it was a waste of time, a person can’t help thinking ‘if only’. No matter how much you regret the past, time can’t be reversed. Humans make mistakes. Even a genius like me can make a mistake. That’s why when a mistake is made, it is worth asking yourself; ‘what should I do’, ‘How do I fix my mistake’. Instead of wasting time fantasizing of a future where you never made that mistake, it’s more constructive to think of what to do about your current situation.

Even knowing that, when I heard the what type of contest Endo had chosen for our match – I had some regrets.

“Mwuhahah hahaha! What’s up with that face? I thought you were full of cheek, but you’re surprisingly obedient!”

Seeing my expression, His Highness Endo laughed. It was an expression convinced of victory. Originally I had just wanted to smash his pride, but now I wouldn’t settle for less than his face twisted with tears.

However, right now I couldn’t answer back.

“Hahaha! What’s wrong Christina Noir? If that noisy mouth of yours has fallen silent, perhaps you seem even a little bit like the lady you’re rumored to be!”

“Urk…!”

I couldn’t stop the small sound from leaking out. Endo had chosen the one thing a prodigy like me had no chance of winning.

The mistake I had made? That was not deciding the game we’d compete in at the start. Even with my pride, signing a contract before reading the terms had been too hasty of me.

However- but- even if-

I had no excuse.

“…Your Highness”

“What is it, Christina Noir?”

“To choose a sword fight for our match. Is your head quite alright?”

Exactly. Out of all the things His Frickin Highness could have picked, he chose to challenge a lady like me to a sword duel.

I really wish he would use his head. Well, normally just having some common sense would be enough.

A guy who would challenge a much younger girl to a sword match? Surely such a thing is impossible. That is what I had thought.

Unfortunately, I have to tell you that in this wide world there is a shameless human being trying to do just that.

His Royal Highness Endo. Drop dead.

“Ha, it’s the grumbling of a loser. My head is the best out there.”

His Highness, who suggested such an unconventional match, wasn’t going to listen to my complaints. His face said he didn’t doubt his victory, or the appropriateness of this match at all.

“What’s wrong with choosing an advantageous game? The one who said we didn’t need to decide the game beforehand was you after all.”

“I am well aware of just how much of a malicious coward you are, Your Frickin Highness…!”

Even if it’s to win, normally a person would have some limit to how far they’ll go! In this world there are both clear rules and unspoken agreements that one followed whether consciously or unconsciously.

His Highness had smashed apart that system.

It was unexpected. His proposal went way beyond my expectations. Because it was His Highness Endo who acts like he’s so much better than other. I had been so sure it would be a reasonable match. If it were any other person, they wouldn’t suggest a game where they would wield a sword against a woman or child. It was an unspoken rule of this world that woman and children should not hold swords.

Which is why it is the best way to win against a genius like me.

“Your Highness. This is a warning, but if you really intend to have a sword match against me, the one who will suffer most would be you, correct?”

Mainly because what he was going to do was hardly the makings of a gentleman in the eyes of society.

If we really fight with the sword, I have no chance of winning. However, if His Highness Endo actually hits me with a sword, his reputation will hit the ground.

But he still ignored my warning again and again.

“How foolish. Whatever they say, it’s not actually going to hurt me. It won’t change the fact that I am superior.”

I think this guy is broken.

The only scary thing about Endo is how limitless his stupidity is.

This is what they meant in my previous life when they said someone was; ‘unable to read the situation’. Basically, Having grown up being surrounded by praise, he couldn’t understand that other people could negatively affect him in anyway. That’s why he mistakenly thinks anything he does will be okay.

Thinking like that will get you in trouble one day. So far he had been young enough to get away with his behaviour. But once he became an adult, those around him wouldn’t turn a blind eye anymore. At that time Endo will realise a thing called; ‘know your place’ for the first time.

But the future where that happened had nothing to do with me. So what if he’ll suffer in the future? I wasn’t going to suffer now because of such a far away revenge. Even if I could expect His Highness to suffer a lot at such a future, losing to him now would have no meaning.

The ball is in your court now, Endo.

“If you’re going to complain that much, maybe I should choose a different type of contest…”

“What?”

For him to say he would abandon his own advantage is beyond surprising. Rather than surprise my face has become a scowl.

“Isn’t this expected? To be extra sure I proposed a sword fight, but I am a supreme being. No matter what the game is, I will not lose to the likes of you. If you are opposed to a sword fight, then why don’t you pick a different game?”

This guy is too vain.

Even if it’s just a little, I’m still thankful. I will teach His Highness that arrogance can be fatal-

“So we’ll change the conditions of the game…but doing that would be betraying a promise made with the future king. We can’t have that. That wouldn’t be a good thing for someone as powerful as me. Indeed, indeed, to go easy on you because of your grumbling, now that would be foolish. I suppose all that talk about your pride was just crap, Christina Noir!”

“…what did you just say?”

The humiliation was too much, my brain stopped completely.

Pride.

The pride of a genius that my mother entrusted to me and the pride of my position as a noble is what makes the blue blood run through my veins. To a genius like me, the only emotion I had was pride from those two factors. Aside from Mariwa, no one had ever dishonoured my pride. ‘Pride’, to me, was sacred. It was what I was born into, held, and raised with.

He was trampling on that.

“Ha, haha, hahahaha”

What emerged as I perfectly understood the humiliation being forced upon me, was laughter. The voice was too smooth for the emotions, and as my laughter echoed endlessly in this place, I finally went past my limit.

“Hahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahahahahahaha! A sword match it is. The one who’s gonna get hit will be you, bastard!”

I am a noble.

Even if it put me at a disadvantage, I will hold onto my pride. I glared at His Smarmy Highness.

To a noble there are times when even if you know you will lose, you cannot quit.