The Devil In The Cage (3)
“Ack!”
Lenore screamed and fell backwards as she tried to use all the rough techniques and movements that she had seen done by mercenaries and knights on the battlefield to catch herself.
At the same time, Altair quickly rolled in front and struck the back of her neck, knocking her out, as she tightly clutched at her now motionless frame.
She mumbled as she wiped the sweat off her body and dragged Lenore out of the bathroom.
“Ah…I’m not a good actor…”
Of course, she could have knocked Lenore out the moment they stepped into the bathroom but Altair wanted to create a natural situation which makes it appear as if Lenore knocked herself out.
It is not a bad first attempt.
With a satisfactory nod, she roughly wiped herself down with a wet towel before changing into a sky blue dress prepared by Estarrot.
After tidying herself up, she lowered herself and moved to the terrace before moving towards a railing.
When she made sure no one was down there, she quickly fled past the side terrace.
Making sure she landed quietly, she whispered into the room to make sure no one was in the connected rooms.
“Nameless.”
Her voice rang out, it could be heard from both upstairs and downstairs.
“Master.”
“Have you secured a safe route to the annexe?”
“Yes.”
“Lead me to it.”
Nameless.
These are spies that only carry out orders from those in the Chernobog house in secret. They were given that title by the first owner of the Chernobog.
However, Altair had the experience of being served by them in her past life, when she was the Duchess of Chernobog.
So she knew how to get them to show themselves from where they were hiding.
She had given them instructions that were as clear as day the day before.
[ Take advantage during the battle between the Count and me to secure a safe route to the detached house. ]
And today, they succeeded in carrying out her orders faithfully.
However, contrary to its name ‘detached house’, Ahin’s room where he was staying, was inside the mansion.
From the outside, there was just a space between the walls. But it was possible to get into the room and get past the windows by moving through the vents.
After ordering the nameless to examine and keep track of Arsene’s movements, Altair moved further inwards, her feet trembling.
Entering the open space, she could see a garden blooming with flowers surrounded by artificial rain and sunlight.
There were a variety of well-kept ornamental trees and short benches every few metres. It gave the impression of visiting someone’s prized garden.
‘I don’t think Arsene is completely neglecting his son.’
Heaving a sigh of relief, she took a step inside. Then, her heart sank.
A sensation that she would always feel whenever she met him but never got used to.
Ahin Estarrot. He was here.
Taking a few steps closer, her hands shaking as she looked at him. As if she were completely bewitched by him.
‘That little boy is… Ahin.’
He looked much older than Altair last remembered.
Now that she is 12 years old, Ahin is supposed to be 2 years younger than her so… is Ahin 10 years old?
There he was, sitting on a tree stump and taking a break for a while.
He must have been outdoors all day long, considering his fine black hair was now a mess in the wind. His short and shirt were covered with blades of grass.
His eyes, twinkling as pomegranates, rolled back as they took in the white butterfly flying busily through the garden.
In the past, Altair had been accustomed to the appearance of him dressed in white-painted boots and neat uniform. So when she first took sight of young Ahin, her heart went soft.
How could a devil possibly look so like a baby angel…?
She smiled, thinking as she shook her head and whispered.
“Ahin.”
As soon as his name was called, the boy who was looking far away quickly turned back and looked at her in surprise.
He looked as if he were a scared little rabbit looking at her. Altair smiled back unintentionally.
“Ahin, what were you doing?”
“What, you…”
His way of speaking was unrefined as if he were a wild beast.
It is said and taught that one must still treat each other politely among the aristocratic children who are not said to inherit the title, yet his father seemed to have missed out on educating him of such basic information.
But what about in the past?
‘I’ll just need to set a good example for him in the future…’
Isn’t the best teacher a friend?
Altair, now motivated, lowered her head and smiled.
“Oh, pardon my intrusion, I’m Altair Chernobog. The eldest daughter of the Duke of Chernobog. Ahin Estarrot, I’m pleased to be able to finally meet you.”
“You’re pleased to meet me…?”
He looked as if there were a huge question mark plastered across his face.
She smiled gently and nodded. He thought for a moment, chewing his lips before nodding his head slowly.
“…Estarrot, Princess.”
“Yes, I am. But putting aside formalities, please just call me Altair.”
“What kind of a dream is this? Or did father send you here?”
He asked once more, sending a sharp glance my way.
It was then Altair realised, Ahin had spent most of his childhood days confined in the annexe without ever knowing the warmth of affection from his parents. As such, he could not get used to and be familiar with the interests of others.
“No, I lied to the Count and sneaked inside here. I’m sure he still believes I’m washing up in my room.”
“What? So you don’t even know about me yet.”
He murmured cheerfully.
Ever since young, Ahin had to follow Arsene around from place to place until he could use his hands. Even still, should Ahin have been kept in captivity this whole time, there is no way he could not have heard of her before.
Now, in a calm voice, he was questioning the fact that she was not afraid of the said devil’s child.
Closing her eyes, she replied coolly.
“I know.”
“What do you know.”
“Ahin Estarrot. I already know you are the devil.”
Silence surrounded them.
From calmness to astonishment, from astonishment to bewilderment. There, it changed to silent rage.
‘Why…?’
Altair tried to recover by saying something as she flashed an awkward smile filled with embarrassment. However, before she could try to remotely salvage the situation, he suddenly put his hand into his pocket and fished out a thin summer glove and threw it towards her.
‘Is he asking for a duel…?’
She thought this first meeting had gone pleasantly.
In her previous life, he had mentioned how he had wanted to let her know that he was the devil. Hence, Altair just did what she thought he had wished for.
So, why would she be given gloves and be challenged to a duel?
Altair was dumbfounded, but she could not refuse such a duel request.
“Since it’s a duel request from you, I’ll accept it. Instead, if I win, I will tell you why I am doing this.”
Sighing, she pulled out the sword at her waist and took up her stance. Similarly, Ahin too took up a fighting stance, but not before glaring at her with fiery eyes.
“Why don’t you tell me after I win, princess.”
It was a title that completely ignored her request to call her Altair instead.
She sighed again and then gestured at him.
“You’re the one who asked for the duel, so you go first.”
“With all due respect, princess.”
No sooner had he spoken did he lunge forward. His sword meeting mine with great speed.
Altair was embarrassed to see him running at her at such an unimaginable speed in the body of a small boy.
Such physical athleticism that a young human body is unable to exert even after awakening.
…He is a demon, right?
But no matter how fast he flew or crawled, he was no match for Altair, who remembers the old swordsmanship techniques that she had trained on the battlefield.
With little effort, she let his preemptive strike slip away and immediately turned around and stuck back.
In order to win as soon as possible, she aimed to strike straight at his neck.
But at that moment, his lighting reflexes kicked in and quickly jumped out of her range.
…
Altair, who had seen the distance that he had just jumped, was once again convinced.
He is the devil.
The space that he had put between them, the distance he had jumped, is so large that even adult men struggle to hit such distances. And yet, a ten-year-old child managed to do so easily.
At this point, I was confused.
He would not be angry for being falsely accused of being the devil, so why did he request for a duel?
If she had wanted to threaten him with the knowledge and information she has, she would have used a stealthier trick that simply entering his annexe and telling him, “I know that you’re the devil.”
Even if she tried to use such tricks, it would not have been enough to push him past the edge. So much so to want to duel.
To make matters worse, since rumour that he was the devil was still a secret from the public, a lot of substantial evidence would be needed to support the claim that he was the devil.
Of course, Altair did not have any of that.
Seemingly lost in thought, Ahin raised one eyebrow as if angry.
“Huh. You have the room to think about something else right now? Then take this attack as well!”
After he quickly got into a stance, he attacked ferociously with a strong spirit.
A powerful but underhanded blow.
At that moment, Altair quickly thought of the shortest and quickest method to subdue him and immediately stabbed at him.
This time, she aimed to return a blow which would overwhelm his superior physical abilities.
Clank.
Fireworks erupted as iron struck.
Striking his sword, Altair’s arm paused, his sword now clearly aimed at the middle of her neck.
Needless to say, this was a perfect victory.
Nevertheless, she was sweating profusely. The tip of the pointed sword was cleanly cut off.
The narrow section of the blade was also polished and heated due to the momentary friction.
“Come on…”
Most of all, she could tell as she was a swordmaster herself.
The blade that could not handle the heat from Altair’s sword hitting against Ahin’s sword would be severed.
There was no other explanation.
“Ahin, when did you become a swordmaster? Since when?”
“A swordmaster? Me?”
Ahin looked just as puzzled upon hearing those words.
He was staring at the section of the sword that he severed, confused. Trying to understand what he had just accomplished.
Altair felt her head throbbing.
Ah, what should I do with this little devil?
Had she simply been an average normal skilled swordsman, her throat would have been cut off cleanly.
If Ahin Estarrot, who was already not in a good position, had taken the life of Princess Chernobog, it would be obvious how things would then play out accordingly.
Altair was terrified as she remembered her father’s face when she went up against Arsene.
‘In the absolute worst case scenario, a civil war would occur…’
As soon as one negative thought popped up, other concerns soon began to raise up their heads.
Ahin was originally scheduled to reach the stage of swordmaster at the age of 13.
But by stimulating his potential, she somehow managed to speed up this process by three years.
What would she do if he was not able to control this power and ended up hurting others?
Additionally, there are now more weaknesses and vulnerabilities that those accusing him of being the devil can use for their benefit.
However, it will now be easier to lure out those who seek to use the young swordmaster’s powers.
With a sigh, she lowered her now broken sword and said,
“Haa… Ahin, you’re going to have to learn to control that power of yours. Who’s the teacher teaching you swordsmanship? I’ll go and talk to them.
“… There’s no such thing…”
He quickly turned his head and blushed.
“That’s incredible. So you’ve managed to achieve such talent and skill all by yourself?”
He answered her question of pure admiration.
“Why do you want to know that? It’s obviously because I’m the devil.”
She nodded in agreement.
“Ah, of course. I wouldn’t be able to accomplish such a feat since I’m no demon.”
“…”
His face turned red as he gulped down his anger.
Altair was wholly convinced that his looks could kill her, even without having to ask for a duel.
With his eyes wide open, he growled.
“I. Am. Not. The. Devil. Princess. Chernobog. Do you understand?”
“Ahin.”
“I. Am. Not. The. Devil.”
There it was. Those were the eyes of someone who truly believed that he was not a devil.