Chapter -09.
Chapter 9.
Dorian, since childhood, was interested in swords; however, due to his family circumstances, he gives up on it and turns to studies so that he can become something and help his elder sister who has been left with the responsibility of the whole house at a very young age.
But this path chosen by Dorian does not last long; because if a person wants to make a name for himself or make money by studying, which was Dorian's goal, he ultimately has to graduate from an academy recognized by royal decree; which is not everyone's cup of tea as the seats for common people or commonly called peasants are already very limited.
And Dorian, who was already weak in studies, fails his entrance exam, which does not give him a chance to even show his fencing skills and he is eventually forced to return home; Because living in cities like Capital City requires a lot of money, which a peasant like him did not have at all.
However, upon his return, his older sister secures a lucrative position as a maid for the Crowfield family, and with her support, Dorian eventually returns to what he had given up for her.
"Dorian, where are you lost? Come forward, and have a duel with this good for nothing waste. Anyway weren't saying earlier that you wanted to join us in the hunt that is to be held after three days, if you defeat this Good for Nothing, then I will talk to the battalion commander to include you in the hunt." Abraham looks back and finds that Dorian had not taken a single step from his place after taking those initial two steps, seeing this he gets a little angry at first; thinking that how a newly arrived calf can dare to disobey his orders, but then realising that it was more important to teach Lucian a lesson and show him his place, he calms down his anger and gives him a good offer, which Dorian could not ignore under any circumstances.
Abraham's offer wakes Dorian from his trance, who also was engrossed in the details of his past.
Abraham's invitation prompts him to reflect because he was unable to participate in the hunt that the Crowfield family had planned because he had just recently joined the Battalion.
At the same time he also understood that by participating in the hunt, he can gain multiple accolades and raise his level of swordsmanship.
His earlier pity for Lucian wanes a bit when he considers joining the hunt, even though he was already prepared to combat Lucian to avoid being the bullying target of Abraham and his crew.
He walks past Abraham, who whispers in his ear, "Remember, you must defeat him thoroughly, so that he can never dare to look at us again; do you understand?"
Unaware of the gravity of Abraham's remarks, Dorian bobs his head, approaches Lucien, and murmurs, "I hope you will not take offence, for me accepting this duel."
"Is there anything to be offended about?" Lucian asked confused; he wasn't interested in what Abraham was cooking up, and anyway, he was going to duel a level 1 swordsman, and he was somewhat confident that even if he lost, it wouldn't be that bad.
In this moment, the most important thing for him was to get some real-world experience. And who better to practise with than this level 1 swordsman that Abraham had pushed forward?
"That's good then, now please draw out your sword." Without noticing any hesitancy on Lucien's face, Dorian grinned and remarked as he drew out his own sword and glanced at him.
Seeing Dorian draw his sword, Lucian looked towards the crowd standing behind Dorian, who suddenly started cheering for Dorian; although he didn't care about this obvious discrimination; but he couldn't help but feel that if someone stood behind him and cheered for him, he would feel a little better.
Anyway, putting aside the need of his heart, Lucian drew his sword forward, making a loud noise to calm his beating heart; although he was ready to face his opponent; however the realization that he was a normal earthling the day before started to play in his mind again.
'What if you die?' The thoughts that would make a soldier laugh out loud started to play in his mind, making him realize that not only his swordsmanship, but also his mentality needed proper adaptation to this new environment.
"I'm coming, Mr. Lucian!!" Lucian, who was trying to calm his wandering mind, suddenly heard a loud shout, and the next moment he saw Dorian running towards him at a great speed.
"All right, just take a few deep breaths and you'll be fine." Giving himself the mental support he needed at the moment, he concentrated on Dorian's hand gestures, which might allow him to predict his attack strategy right away.
Though he was unable to determine whether this was the best course of action, but it was the only thing he could do because his predecessor had not been gracious enough to provide him any helpful information regarding the situation.
As he had anticipated, this tactic, albeit slow, still works because, as soon as Dorian, who was approaching him holding a sword in one hand, was a metre away, he pulled his hand back slightly. Then, at a faster pace, the same hand began to move towards his throat, which gave the sword more speed.
Lucian wanted to react when he saw the sword's trajectory, but he had to duck as he could not overcome his heart which was beating faster while making him nervous.
'Could I have stopped that attack?' he thought, lunging a few steps back to create distance and clear his thoughts, but that was not the case with Dorian, as his only goal at the moment was to deal with Lucian as quickly as possible, because that way he might be able to increase his chances of getting the right to join the official hunt of the Crowfield family; So he pounced upon Lucian once again like a mad bull; the only difference here was that this mad bull was able to think through his every action.