Welcome to Hell! - Chapter 254: What Happened in the Detached Garden

While Antares and Lieselotte were talking, Leo was holding a drawn sword with a pale look on his face. There was only one reason why he looked so pale as he faced a certain person in the detached garden. It was because of that certain person he was facing.

“Well, this is quite exciting. It’s been a while since I’ve held a sword like this.”

“Please exercise restraint, Your Majesty.”

That’s right, the person Leo was facing was none other than King Carl himself. And why did Leo find himself in such a predicament? That required a slight rewind in time.

Right after Lieselotte agreed to go and persuade Antares, an envoy from the palace arrived with a letter. It was a statement from the senior ministers declaring that Antares must be tested before they could acknowledge him serving his Majesty the King.

Upon reading this, King Carl contorted his handsome face in displeasure, but he couldn’t ignore their argument. Given the circumstances of his ascension, Carl held almost as much power as the founding king, and he certainly had the authority to enforce his will.

However, behaving too recklessly risked straining the relationships with his vassals. Among them were those who despised demons, and notably, the most influential among these were capable and loyal nobles devoted to King Carl. They were the kind who would never betray him, yet Carl hesitated to impose his will upon them.

Moreover, as a significant concession, they had proposed assessing the demon’s abilities and, depending on the outcome, they were willing to acknowledge them. Rather than dismissing the idea emotionally, he was challenged to demonstrate their utility, which was a proposition even King Carl could not refuse. He promptly accepted the proposal, wrote a reply saying he would leave the preparations for the test to them, and sent the messenger back with his answer.

The frustration that accumulated due to the postponement of something Carl had been looking forward to acquiring was perhaps because he was young. Leo’s misfortune lay in his capability to bear this burden and in Lappy’s courage to speak her mind without fear.

“I never expected the count’s servant to be a demon. I must admit, even I was taken aback… But are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“It’s fine… Leo can easily defeat someone of the king’s caliber…”

King Carl, who had urged Liselotte to negotiate with this understanding, suddenly noticed that she was accompanied by an unfamiliar servant. King Carl, who could tell from his demeanor that he was skilled beyond his age, asked Liselotte where she had hired him.

She was waiting for that question and answered with her usual smile that he was indeed a demon. King Carl didn’t anticipate a demon’s presence so close at hand and let out a surprisingly loud gasp, which was unusual of him. Lieselotte continued to smile, but inwardly she was happy that she had managed to surprise him.

However, Carl’s shock was short-lived. He was more delighted by the precedent set that a demon could be employed as a servant than by the surprise itself. He then questioned Lieselotte about her interactions with the demons.

Lieselotte simply explained that she had treated them with the same courtesy as anyone else. Faced with a situation where he had no choice but to act without such courtesy, King Carl, though visibly annoyed by the criticism, had to admit that her advice was helpful.

The conversation should have ended there, but Adelheid who had been silently observing the unfolding events interjected, “It seems that he is much stronger than His Majesty.” She said.

Upon hearing this, King Carl’s face broke into a fierce smile, reminiscent of a predator sizing up its prey. Originally intended to serve the kingdom as a general, Carl was so renowned for his bravery that few of his own royal guards could match his skill in battle.

Feeling frustrated and eager to engage in some physical activity, he directly asked Leo and Lappy how they assessed his strength.

Leo who was unsure how to respond to a question from such a lofty figure remained silent, while Lappy nonchalantly replied, “Just so-so”.

Lappy’s blunt and sharp reply made the vassals there, including Lieselotte, to grimace, Adelheid to laugh until tears formed in her eyes, and King Carl to give a wry smile. Given that the comment came from a cute young girl, no one could bring themselves to be angry.

Instead, King Carl seized the opportunity to ask Lappy if she and Leo would fight to defeat him. Lappy boldly claimed that while she would have to resort to killing, Leo could subdue him without harm. With his desire to engage in some physical activity, Carl suggested a mock battle, to which Lappy confidently responded that Leo would have no trouble.

“Why has it come to this…”

“Leo, was it? Care to spar with me? After we’re done… let’s see, I’ll grant you any one wish you have.”

To coax some enthusiasm out of the clearly reluctant Leo, King Carl offered to grant him a wish. However, this proposal didn’t seem to appeal much to Leo. He barely reacted and was simply checking the weight of the sword he held.

Having failed to persuade him, King Carl decided to try a different tactic to motivate Leo. He brought up Antares.

“By the way, Leo, what do you think of Antares?”

“Big brother… no, Mr. Antares is a strong and kind leader.”

“Is that so? You respect him, then. Don’t you think that by showing us your strength, you could indirectly demonstrate his power to us?”

Encouraged by King Carl’s words, Leo seemed to brighten up a bit. And sensing an opportunity, King Carl pressed on.

“Besides… you must be a bit annoyed at being dragged into fulfilling my wishes, right? Why not take this chance to vent those feelings?”

King Carl was not a foolish king who believed everything revolved around him. He was aware that his desires could be a burden to others and he felt it was his duty to offer a fitting reward for their troubles.

This time, however, the actions of his vassals placed an undue burden on Antares and his companions. Understanding their displeasure, he urged Leo to direct his frustration at him, the root cause.

“…. Please, don’t regret this later.”

“Ah, I never will. Now… let’s go!”

Given permission to unleash his anger at the injustice, Leo finally seemed motivated. He gripped the sword he was given with both hands and took a proper stance.

As if Leo’s readiness was the signal to begin, King Carl surged with fighting spirit and charged on. His advance was sharper than Leo had anticipated, and the thrust he launched aimed mercilessly at the throat.

“Yo.”

“Ha! Wahah!”

But Leo was not so easily overwhelmed. He knocked down King Carl’s thrust from above and, sliding his sword along the king’s sword, aimed a horizontal slash at his torso. A less skilled swordsman would have been pinned by the pressure and unable to move, leaving them open to the cut.

Fortunately, King Carl was no ordinary swordsman. He swiftly leaped backward, freeing his sword from being pinned and dodging Leo’s blade in the process. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Leo’s sword merely grazed his clothes.

“How was that move, Lappy?”

“Hm? The king’s movement wasn’t bad. But if Leo had been using his usual sword, it would have been split in two.”

Adelheid, who had come to watch the mock battle from the garden pavilion, fed sweets to Lappy sitting next to her while asking for a commentary on the duel. Being a complete novice in martial arts, she couldn’t make much sense of the fight herself. Therefore, having a commentator was essential for her.

The guards, including Leila, could have taken on this role. However, they would likely hold back from speaking frankly due to their deference to King Carl. Furthermore, Lappy was the only one who truly understood the extent of the young boy Leo’s skills, which is why she was asked to act as a commentator.

Offering sweets as a reward, Lappy agreed to take on the role of commentator. The reason she sat next to Adelheid was because the latter liked Lappy, though not as much as Liselotte. It seemed that Lappy had a charm that appealed to noblewomen, similar to that of a beloved pet.

Lappy met Adelheid’s expectations and offered unreserved critique. Leo, who greatly respected his father Tigar, typically wielded a great sword similar to his father’s. Although it was shorter than Tigar’s, his weapon was significantly longer than the current sword he was using in the mock battle, which would have surely impressed King Carl.

“Oh dear, had this been a real battle, His Majesty would have been struck down at the outset.”

“True. But it seems the king was just testing the waters. Plus, Leo hasn’t transformed into his ‘demon form’ yet. Neither of them is fighting seriously.”

“Demon form…? Come to think of it, I recall that demons are said to look like a hybrid of human and beast, right?”

“Yes, but Lappy and the others are a bit different. The person who turned us into demons is different. For the difficult stuff, you should ask big brother.”

Adelheid gazed intently at the young girl munching on sweets before her. Given King Carl’s long-standing obsession with demons, she had been gathering information about Antares and his companions. Her research indicated that these demons were considered failures within the empire’s ranks of the demon race and were receiving unfair treatment. However, she also discovered the paradox that, despite their status as failures, they were among the most successful in their battles.

Although the empire seemed to be covering it up, the testimonies of soldiers from other nations who had witnessed them on the battlefield could not be silenced. It had become well-known among many countries that, within the ranks of the empire’s demons, the special operations unit was indeed the strongest unit.

Could it be that offhand comment made by Lappy might just be the key to unraveling this mystery? Adelheid decided that she would discuss this with King Carl after he had fully exerted himself in the mock battle.

“Shh! Hah!”

“Ho! Yah!”

Meanwhile, Leo and King Carl continued their swordplay. To an onlooker, it might seem as though King Carl was aggressively pushing forward, with Leo constantly on the defensive. And indeed, that’s how it appeared to Adelheid.

However, Adelheid was aware that her judgment when it came to combat was not reliable. That’s why she turned to Lappy for an update on the situation.

“How does it look now?”

“The king is strong. In terms of swordsmanship, he’s on par with Leo. Honestly, it’s surprising.”

“Oh my, I might just fall for our king all over again.”

“Neither is fully serious, but Leo seems to be enjoying himself.”

The encounter between King Carl’s refined, battle-tested blade and Leo’s battle-hardened warrior’s sword was a sight to behold. It was like a sword dance of breathtaking beauty, but with an intensity that sent shivers down the spine of the viewer. Adelheid found herself completely captivated by the mock battle, unable to tear her eyes away as she listened to Lappy’s commentary.