"Your Majesty," suggested Lloyd. "Do you have any desire to torture and beat me into a bloody pulp?"
"What...?" Slightly widened eyes. Knitted brows. Lloyd was convinced the moment he noticed these changes in her expression.
It worked.
Lloyd held back his smile. He knew that the offer he had just given the queen was too tempting for her to deny. Of course, it is. She secretly, no, obviously hates me. I wouldn't be surprised if she's wanted to hit me more than once throughout all my visits to her.
That was something Lloyd had noticed for a long time. The queen's gaze toward him had a fierceness reminiscent of a wild animal at times.
Well. I was pretty unruly toward the queen quite a few times. I've leeched off her without bothering to hide the fact before too. Though, of course, it doesn't mean that she lost anything because of me.
It was the exact opposite. Queen Magentano gained countless things thanks to his achievements. But that didn't stop her from spiting Lloyd, and he was aware of her feelings. It was for this reason that Lloyd devised this plan, which involved intentionally exploiting her emotions and desires toward him. He then offered her a deal that would be too attractive for her to deny.
Lloyd rattled on, "As such, Your Majesty, I, Lloyd Frontera, would like to dare raise my sword at you at the training hall."
She was thoroughly piqued. "A duel? Against me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Are you challenging me to a duel?" Suddenly, the corners of her lips rose.
"Yes, Your Majesty," affirmed Lloyd.
"Could you mean now?" There was excitement in her voice. "Immediately?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Why is that?"
"It's my way of providing a more special response to your earlier question," replied Lloyd, vaguely dodging her question. But Alicia Magentano was a ruler of a kingdom at the end of the day. She immediately deciphered the hidden meaning behind his ambiguous response.
"You are bothered by who will be able to hear your response here," she guessed. "Am I right?"
Lloyd was impressed. "I am thankful for how well you understand me, Your Majesty."
"Is this conversation something that can't be overheard by others?"
"I ask Your Majesty to make that judgment after hearing me out," replied Lloyd.
"How impertinent," huffed Queen Magentano, giving a tap to the desk with a finger.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Truly?"
"Forgive me, Your Majesty..."
"Tsk... You always have a response to everything."
"I am filled with gratitu... no, I mean, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
For an instant, she wondered if he was behaving this way on purpose to provoke her into beating the filth out of him. Her pupils constricted. "Your suggestion appears to be an invitation to beat you if I can even dare do it. Did I understand you correctly?"
"How could I-"
"You have become a swordmaster. Did you not?"
Lloyd suddenly felt exposed. "You realized... Your Majesty?"
"Of course." Queen Magentano nodded. She noticed it as soon as Lloyd appeared before her in the hall. She was amazed and stupefied by his elevation to the status of a swordmaster.
He was only a mid-level sword expert the last time I saw him. However, he became a swordmaster within a few months of our previous meeting.
She felt a sense of curiosity and competitiveness rise in her. At the same time, she was resentful.
"Good," she finally agreed. "I appreciate you recognizing my desire to beat you to death whether you are a swordmaster or not. It also wouldn't be right for me to turn down your heartfelt plea as a ruler of a country."
"Does that mean," asked Lloyd excitedly. "You will accept my request for a duel?"
"Only if you are ready to be slashed to death by my wooden sword."
A look of horror came over Lloyd's face.
"Let us go." Queen Magentano stood up, her heart racing at the prospect of releasing all her stress with this opportunity. She had been under a lot of mental strain recently from managing the kingdom. She and Lloyd left her office and went to the training hall, where she ordered all the guards and their commander to stay away from the area and all the nearby premises.
Whoosh...
There were only two of them in the training hall tonight. Queen Magentano stood directly below the moonlit sky, holding a wooden sword. She laughed after glancing at the knights who had retreated far into the distance from her. "Will this do?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Lloyd replied as he opened his mobile foldable shovel. "Even if their ears are sharp, the clanging noise from our weapons will prevent them from hearing our conversation."
"Certainly, and I'm sure that's what you want to happen."
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty, for only being able to give you a response through such an inconvenient method."
"Do not be, for you can pay for your guilt with your body instead of your mouth.
"I hope your skills won't let me down. Now, come at me."
Step. The energy around her changed even though all she did was slightly change the angle of her foot.
Grrrr...
Her mana rotated and reverberated with the force of a powerful, seasoned fighter, filling the air with a thick energy of hostility. Lloyd nervously swallowed. The queen wasn't anyone to look down on, as expected. It was evident that she had no intention of going easy on him.
Her intensity is on another level from Javier's.
With Javier, there was surprisingly less pressure on him due to their enormous difference in skill. However, because the queen was only marginally better than him, the fight felt more combative between them. Regardless, Lloyd did not let himself become intimidated.
I'm a swordmaster too, after all.
Despite their disparity in skills, he believed he could manage quite well as long as he made an effort to fight with everything he had. He would at least be able to talk while blocking her attacks.
This is the only way I can secretly make a deal with the queen away from the countless royal guards who stay by her side for 24 hours a day.
The queen's security had been ramped up ever since the assassination attempt against her. As such, this kind of opportunity didn't come easily.
So, I must endure her attacks and say what needs to be said. If I can pull this off, my grand plan will come true. I will really be able to get my hands on the Tears of Summer.
Lloyd made a firm decision. Exactly half a second later, his new resolve was shattered with a single strike. Fwoosh! Lloyd saw a tsunami charging at him. That was how her aura storm looked in his eyes.
Ack!!
Lloyd's heart sank, and he instantly lifted his shovel and blasted out mana. Boooom!
It was only a clash between a wooden sword and a shovel. However, the force produced the same sound as an exploding grenade and shoved Lloyd about six yards backward.
Ack!
He was afraid his hands would wear away from the force. The massive impact moved through the body of his shovel to his hands in an instant, numbing his senses. The problem was that this wasn't the final attack from the queen.
Slaaash! Boom!
"...!"
The wooden sword rained down on Lloyd like an unstoppable storm even before he had been fully pushed backward.
Ack! Come on! Wait! Wait a moment!
He wanted to shout at her to stop, but there was no chance for him to do so. From that moment on, he busily moved his shovel to make it out of the fight alive.
Head! Shoulders! Knee! Feet! Knee! Feet!
He blocked, dodged, evaded, resisted, defended, and bounced off the queen's attacks. In the process, he caught a glimpse of her face.
She's happily smiling! Dammit!
While Lloyd was struggling to keep from getting hit and dying, Queen Magentano was beaming like a joyful newlywed who had just bought a new house in Manhattan.
"Lloyd Frontera," she breathed out. "Did you not request a duel because you have something to tell me in secret?"
Clang! Boom! Crash!
"Argh! Umph! Ack!"
"I am sure you did not request for a duel to have me listen to your strange grunts."
Thwack! Crash! Boom!
"Argh..! Ahh! Ack!" squealed Lloyd.
"Should I go easy on you if you're having trouble answering?"
"Yes! I love you, Alicia!" Lloyd shouted.
Queen Magentano's went wide-eyed in horror.
"No, Queen Alicia, that is!"
She felt a shaft of repulsion.
"N-no, that's not what I meant! Your Majesty! Please!" begged Lloyd, correcting himself.
"I think I just heard something eerily absurd."
Crack! Clang! Boom! Clang! Crash!
"Aaack! Ehek! Gyack! The thing is!"
"Speak to me softly." Her attacks relaxed a little, but they were still lethal enough to leave a serious injury if he let his guard down. Closely defending and dodging each blow, Lloyd spoke.
"Th-the, urk! The thing is the angel back there! Emph!"
Claaang! Thwack! His words were silenced by the collision and shock waves between them. As a result, Lloyd was able to continue freely speaking without worrying about the royal guards overhearing them.
"You are right. I called the angel down to the palace."
"What?"
Crash! Her attacks suddenly grew fiercer for a moment. Managing to closely wield his shovel to parry the incoming sword against him, Lloyd responded, "To cut the story short, I am in dire need of the Tears of Summer, one of the divine items of the imperial family, Your Majesty."
"Ack!! Gack! Ack!!"
Boom! Crash! Boom!
"Please let me explain myself, Your Majesty," begged Lloyd. "You will not lose anything from heeding my request, either."
"I won't lose anything from this? Me?"
"Y-yes... Ack! Yes, Your Majesty."
"Continue."
Clang! Clang! Slash! The wooden sword swung forward, aiming for Lloyd's throat. A total of 112 thrusts swept the air, with seven strands of aura glinting between the sixteen brilliant shifts. Lloyd was able to block each attack with a small step back.
Clang Clang Clang!!! Amid the shock waves that burst in series with each collision, Lloyd continued his response.
"The thing is, the, ack! It's because of the Heart of Winter I came to possess a while ago."
"Because of the Heart of Winter?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Lloyd leaped a little to avoid another attack. "The divine item I absorbed is slowly killing me."
"Killing you? How?"
"Its frigid energy is slowly accumulating inside my heart. Even if I try to discharge some, it is only a temporary solution. If anything, it spreads further across my body."
"And so, you are dying?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Clang! Clang! Lloyd gave his first counterattack against the queen after blocking all of her 112 blows toward him. His move wasn't anything spectacular, a slight swinging of his shovel. However, he was able to cover a large area with his shovel with the help of a large amount of mana and a strong aura. Swoosh!
Queen Alicia's face hardened for the first time during their fight. Realizing that this was a duel wherein Lloyd was allowed to attack back, she held her sword up and wielded it upward. Clack!
The sword strike neatly cut through the shovel's force. The queen took advantage of that split-second of time to leap forward and slash into Lloyd's neck. But it was obstructed by his quick repositioning of his shovel. Clatter!
When the two weapons collided, Queen Magentano threw her sword into the sky, stretching her free hand, and grasped the back of Lloyd's neck.
"...!"
Without any chance to react, Lloyd was winded by her quick knee-kick. Thwack! "Argh!"
Lloyd's body bent forward. A satisfied smile appeared on Queen Alicia's face.
"Let me confirm whether you are telling the truth." She immediately placed her other hand on Lloyd's chest. Swoosh! Swish! She then pushed out mana through her hand, quickly studying and inspecting Lloyd's heart and its surrounding organs. The look in her eyes changed.
"You are telling the truth..."
"Please believe... Ack! Words fall short of my gratitude toward you, Your Majesty. Ugh. Haa..."
Lloyd stepped back as he panted heavily. The knee-kick he received made it difficult for him to breathe. But the conversation was far from over. He had to deafen his words with the shock waves, which meant the duel had to keep on. Lloyd pointed his shovel at the queen. She quickly understood and extended her hand as well. The sword that had been thrown into the sky fell right into her grasp.
Clang! This time, they both charged at each other. The sword and shovel collided with aura, knocking each other back a step.
Queen Magentano smiled fiercely, "Okay, I understand that you are telling the truth. But so what? Why should bestow you this divine item simply because your life is in danger?"
"Of course, I know nothing is free in this world." The House of Magentano was not a charity. It didn't matter whether he was sick or not. Even if he was dying, it wasn't enough of a justification to be bestowed the Tears o Summer. "As such, I have an offer."
"Tell me."
"How about I outline what incredible benefit there is for you to give me the Tears of Summer, Your Majesty?"
"Incredible benefit?" She attempted to pierce his chest.
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Lloyd, dodging it sideways.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The wooden sword and shovel then collided once more in series. Sweat beads that began to form on his brow splattered into the air and landed on her shirt sleeves. Lloyd's cheek was hit with the sweat droplets on her jaw. Lloyd looked her in the eyes and spoke while slowly adjusting to the style of combat between them, which involved the use of auras, something unique to swordmasters.
"If you give me the Tears of Summer... I promise to do a construction that will ensure the Magentano family's hegemony over the kingdom for the next thousand years."
