The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom, page 13
Not even he could argue his way out of this. Judging from how red he was as he glared at me, I guessed he was too overcome with emotion to be capable of much rational thought.
“Don’t you have anything to say? You could apologize to my uncle Gok for starters,” I taunted him. I wouldn’t normally behave like this, but I figured it’d be for the best if I acted like an actual child at least a little.
“No! It’s not fake! They replaced it with another one!”
“No, you brought it to us yourself. No one else touched it; everyone here saw that.”
“Someone broke into my room last night and stole it! It must have been altered before I got it back!”
He sure knows how to think on his feet.
“If you knew someone had taken it, then why didn’t you mention that before the test? You didn’t have anything to say about this supposed theft then. In fact, you sounded quite confident that it was the will you’d brought to us when Satsuki asked you. Honestly, it sounds like something you just made up.”
He was only mentioning things that worked in his favor while trying to gloss over everything else. That wasn’t going to fly here.
“Gr... You little shit!” Rakunu gnashed his teeth.
“This ‘little shit’ just had you dancing in the palm of his hand. I’d hate to think what would become of the Ho family if the next head is tricked that easily,” I retorted.
No reason not to rile him up a little. He looks bad because I’m just a kid.
“You’ll regret this. I won’t forget you, you despicable brat!”
Now he’s real mad. If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under right now. I feel a little guilty, but I can’t be blamed for his personality.
The reason he fled in the face of the enemy wasn’t because he was scared of dying—he was plotting to claim Gok’s position the moment he thought Gok was going to die in a desperate attack.
No one captured by Kulati soldiers ever came back from the battlefield alive. Anyone who was taken prisoner became a slave, or—if they couldn’t be taken away—they were executed instead. If Gok’s attack had failed, the remaining troops in the fortress would have all been killed or enslaved, and no one would have ever known that Rakunu had fled in the face of the enemy. Without anyone to accuse him of deserting, there was nothing to stop him from using his influence as a powerful noble to secure the headship for himself.
Even the will that Satsuki brought to us might’ve never made it back from the battlefield.
But Gok’s attack had been successful. That must have been an unexpected piece of terrible news for Rakunu. He might’ve been able to deal with a handful of survivors from the fortress, but almost every single soldier had made it back. That made it impossible for him to deny the circumstances of his desertion. Fleeing in the face of the enemy was a serious offense that would lead to his execution if he was found guilty.
There was no backing down from his situation. That was why he doubled down on his plan and tried to overpower Satsuki. He was even willing to threaten the lords in order to win their votes.
I might’ve been willing to look the other way if he’d fled out of fear of participating in a suicide attack, but someone who was clearly capable of such a despicable plot was more than likely to make an attempt on Rook’s life. I would’ve gladly let him win if this was an ordinary election, but I couldn’t let trash like him have his way.
It was a horrible situation. Now no one was happy. With this, I’d have to attend the Knight Academy, and Rook wouldn’t be able to dedicate himself to the ranch. And while Rook was at least educated enough to handle this outcome, I had no idea what would become of Suzuya. If anyone had benefited from all this, it was Satsuki.
How will we get through this? My head hurts.
“Now then!” Satsuki said, all smiles as she clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. She was clearly pleased to see everything go to plan.
“It seems you have nothing further to say, Rakunu, so I suggest we begin the vote. Do you accept?”
“I will be heard! This is a plot against me!” he protested.
Of course he’d say that.
“Anyone who believes Rakunu to be an appropriate head of family is free to cast their vote for him. But first, I have something to say—rather than accepting a noble death befitting one of my husband’s knights, Rakunu seized the opportunity to flee. Not only that, he also desecrated my husband’s dying wish when he produced a fake will. That was an unforgivable act. While no one here can be blamed for having been fooled before we were able to ascertain the will’s veracity, anyone who’d side with him now that his forgery has been exposed will be recognized as a scoundrel. And it will, of course, be evidence that you are unworthy of knighthood. Think carefully on that point before you cast your vote,” Satsuki warned.
She wasn’t giving Rakunu time to argue with her. That was smart.
“Absolute drivel! She lies to—”
“Very well. Then explain yourself now. Is that what you want?” Satsuki declared suddenly.
“Grrr.”
Rakunu was lost for words. He’d made plenty of loud objections, but in the end, he had no further excuses beyond the ones he’d already given me.
“Well then—”
“Wait!” he cried.
As expected, Rakunu wanted to delay the vote. He had to be able to feel the room turning against him. His tricks had worked for him up to this point, so he couldn’t be completely naive.
“I, uh... This...” he stuttered. He tried to speak, but it was as though his thoughts were too disordered to be turned into sentences.
Satsuki kept her mouth closed as he fumbled for words. She wanted everyone to witness his pathetic attempts to explain himself. No one else spoke a word either.
It seemed Rakunu was desperately trying not to lose the opportunity to speak as he opened and closed his mouth, filling the silence with groaning sounds. Eventually, he bellowed, “I’m...!”
What’s his story gonna be now?
“I’m worthy of the headship! Especially more so than a youngster without so much as a knighthood! Think for a moment. You’d appoint a man who isn’t even a knight himself as the head of a chieftain family—as the leader of your knights!”
So that’s his new line of attack? He’s not completely stupid after all.
“That’s—” Rook started.
“Rook. Let Rakunu speak,” Satsuki’s piercing voice silenced him.
Whatever Rook said here would just serve as fuel for a lengthy counterargument from Rakunu. Now that his forgery had been exposed, Rakunu’s position had gone from the most powerful man in the province to a crook who made counterfeit wills. Words could lose all of their power depending on who spoke them. Unlike the day before, Rakunu would have to do more than criticize Rook to make himself look worthy of headship.
“Well? Do go on,” Satsuki said.
“Grr...”
“What’s wrong? If you’re finished, then I’d like to continue the proceedings.”
Satsuki may have learned from her mistakes the previous evening and reconsidered her approach. Rakunu only had something to say when there was someone to argue with. Otherwise, all he had were cheap insults. An argument over the validity of each of Rakunu’s insults against Rook would be exactly what he wanted. That would lead to Rook’s qualifications being the subject of the debate.
“I... I got here through my brave deeds, ever since the crusade before last! Since two generations ago...”
“The lords in attendance here are well aware of such things. Now let us hold the vote.”
“W-Wait!” He must have felt how heavily the odds were stacked against him.
“We can wait two more minutes,” Satsuki said. “If you think of nothing to say, we’ll begin the vote.”
In the end, Rakunu made two more statements, but then he was all out of arguments.
✧✧✧
With everything cleared off the table and the room back in order, Satsuki declared, “Now we will begin the vote. Those in favor of Rook Ho, younger brother of Gok Ho, as the next head of the Ho Family, please raise your hand.”
Do I get to vote too? I raised my hand just in case.
Every hand was raised. No one wanted to show hesitation. Some of these were people who’d once been sympathetic toward Rakunu.
On the opposite side of the adjoined tables, Rakunu looked aghast, like a man who’d been abandoned by the world itself.
“Now those in favor of Rakunu Ek, please raise your hand.”
Every hand shot down; none were raised.
A guard who’d been summoned by Satsuki earlier waited behind Rakunu.
“Arrest this traitor,” Satsuki declared.
Now that it was certain his will was a forgery, he could be arrested for the crime. Anything less would spell trouble later.
At Satsuki’s command, the guard grabbed Rakunu’s shoulder. “This way, Sir Rakunu.”
But Rakunu didn’t respond. He didn’t even budge when the guard touched him. He kept his eyes closed and stiffened up. The atmosphere was tense—it looked like he was going to be difficult.
The guard became impatient. “Sir Rakunu!” he yelled.
Rakunu’s reaction was instantaneous. He brushed the guard’s hand off his shoulder, and in the same movement, pulled something from his pocket that he then swept across the guard’s throat.
“Wha—?!” Another guard stationed some distance away blurted out.
He thrust his spear at Rakunu before the blood even had time to erupt from the first guard’s neck, but Rakunu was ready for him. As he’d cut the first guard’s throat, he’d bent his legs and turned his body sideways, enabling him to dodge the spear at the last second.
“Nh!”
The guard had attempted to strike Rakunu with his spear as he drew it back, but Rakunu simply cut through the shaft with his billhook as if he were hacking a branch from a tree. Without a pause, Rakunu sliced the hand that held the spear. Then, he effortlessly opened the guard’s throat before the man could recover from the shock of having his hand injured.
I watched this play out before my eyes, but none of it felt real. Two people had died in a matter of seconds. They’d been murdered.
The guard fell to the ground with his half-severed head at an unnatural angle. Bright crimson blood gushed from his open neck like a fountain and splattered across the white tablecloth.
“Yuri! Get back. You too, Satsuki!” Rook called out. His voice was incredibly calm and reassuring.
With Rakunu between us and the door, we had nowhere to run. As Rook spoke, Rakunu, his eyes wide with rage, charged toward us.
The lords remained seated. No one appeared willing to give their life to defend Satsuki.
“Out of my way!” Rakunu yelled as he charged at Rook.
Rook faced Rakunu and formed a wall that kept him away from me and Satsuki. He crouched slightly with his arms crossed in and held out in front of him, and he also appeared to be hunched over at a glance. It was an odd stance, but it also seemed well honed.
The short blade that had just killed two men now approached Rook.
“Hah.” Rook let out a small breath and drew back slightly as the short blade shot toward his abdomen.
Meanwhile, his right hand followed the blade and approached it from the side. Rook didn’t appear to think at all. It was as if he’d trained so much that these movements were now instinctive to him. When the base of Rook’s thumb reached Rakunu’s wrist, Rakunu suddenly halted his attack and moved his whole body back to keep his arm away.
“You bastard.” Rakunu glowered at Rook.
Whatever Rook had just done, it was incredibly effective.
Rakunu looked toward the exit. The room was now in turmoil and, although no one openly attempted to suppress Rakunu, several of the lords had run outside. Satsuki had a greater number of guards under her command, so help would soon arrive. Rakunu must have foreseen this, because he thrust his blade at Rook once more without delay.
But his attack never reached Rook. My dad’s hands formed a defense that Rakunu found impenetrable.
It looked to me as though Rook was trying to grab Rakunu’s wrist so that he could pull the assailant toward him without letting the blade come too close. Rakunu, however, wanted to keep his distance, so he withdrew whenever he sensed his wrist was about to be captured. The reason was beyond me, but the two of them appeared to share a mutual understanding that Rakunu’s blade would become useless if Rook was to successfully grip Rakunu’s wrist.
Even so, Rook was walking a narrow tightrope.
Rakunu made repeated attempts over the course of five seconds or so before realizing that it wasn’t working. He tried to approach once more, this time using his empty left arm as a shield over the right hand that held the billhook.
If they got close enough to grapple each other, Rakunu could win by simply burying the blade into Rook’s flesh, which may have made him feel like he’d have the advantage.
But Rook calmly stepped back to maintain his distance, avoided Rakunu’s makeshift shield arm, and then dodged the blade as it was thrust forward. This time, Rook’s palm followed the other man’s weapon-bearing fist.
I’d initially taken Rook’s movements for a simple parry, but there was more to it—Rook had directed the blade away from his abdomen, and in the process, he’d given the attack more momentum. Rakunu’s weapon thrust into the backrest of the chair Rook had been sitting on.
Rook must have understood that the blade would cut through the chair’s stuffed backrest before the events had even happened, because—without a hint of hesitation—Rook aimed a powerful kick at the chair’s legs. The principle of leverage led to the billhook twisting out of Rakunu’s grip.
Rakunu moved to retrieve the blade that was now embedded in the chair—his haste must have led to poor decision-making.
Rook waited for a moment instead of stopping Rakunu. It was as though he’d broken the rhythm of the fight. Rook didn’t act until Rakunu had turned enough to reveal his shoulder, exposed and defenseless. In a series of rapid movements, he grabbed Rakunu from behind and captured his neck within his arm. At the same time, Rook kicked the chair and sent the weapon flying out of reach. The scuffle ended with Rakunu in a stranglehold as Rook’s elbow joint gripped his throat.
All of this had taken place in a span of less than ten seconds.
The crushing pressure against Rakunu’s carotid artery drained him of his strength and left him limp within seconds.
“Phew...”
Once Rakunu was completely unconscious, Rook released the other man with a sigh—the same one he used whenever he’d finished a daily chore on the ranch.
“You all right, Yuri?” he asked.
“I’m fine... But I didn’t know you were so strong, dad.”
I was stunned. It was the first time I’d witnessed an act of bravery from my dad. I’d always assumed he could fight since he’d attended a school for soldiers in the past, but I never thought he was capable of something like this. He really is incredible.
“Rook is such an adept fighter that he once participated in the Knight Academy Combat Tournament,” Satsuki explained. “And it appears he hasn’t neglected his training.”
No, no, no, no, no. He never trains at all. Sure, he keeps in shape with all the manual labor on the ranch, but he’s never practiced martial arts even once. I’m sure of it.
“Uh, yeah... I’m just glad that a few of my old skills still come in handy every now and then,” Rook mumbled.
Your old skills...? He sounds like he took a few kendo classes in high school, but this is something else. Now I’m really curious about why he gave up on becoming a knight.
Interlude — The Night following the Turmoil
I
Now that the curtain had fallen on the series of tumultuous happenings, the attendees returned to their allotted rooms.
For a while, the corridors were noisy with the sounds of busy people running back and forth. There were many tasks that kept the manor busy—the guards’ corpses had to be moved, the area needed to be cleaned, and everyone who’d been splattered with blood needed a fresh set of clothes.
I was fine, but Rook’s clothing had gotten dirty while he’d fought Rakunu. So while Rook himself was unharmed, the maids insisted that he put on a new outfit.
The hustle and bustle died down as the night grew late, which suggested that most of the urgent tasks had been taken care of for now.
Rook and I had nothing in particular to do at that time, so we simply sat at a table and relaxed. Rook had a glass filled with alcohol in front of him. Rather than the clear glass you’d commonly find in Japan, the cup was made from a cloudy blue glass. It’d been designed in a way that made its translucence seem intentional, and the effect was actually quite beautiful.
“Dad, did you learn to fight like that at the Knight Academy?” I asked.
“That’s right,” he replied.
This was confirmation that the Knight Academy had taught him his combat skills. I’d assumed that the school was for pampered little noble kids who merely swung some wooden swords around and called it training, but I clearly needed to rethink that.
It’s going to be tough training, isn’t it? What if it’s the sort of place where someone gets killed every few weeks?
“Do you wish you could fight like that, Yuri?”
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.
“A little.”
“A little? So not a lot?”
“It would be nice if I could do it, but I’d need to think about it if training means ten or twenty years of blood, sweat, and tears.”
I couldn’t do it anyway. I’m terrible at sports.
“It’s not so tough. Once you’ve grown a little, it’ll only take about five years of hard work before you’ll be able to fight like me.”
Wait, only about five years...?
“Would it involve running from morning until night?”
“No, just half a day. Exercise sessions at the academy rarely go on beyond high noon.”
Half a day? Can I handle that?
The no-lifer in me already felt sick at the thought. Then again, I was already used to a half-day’s worth of manual labor—I often helped Rook on the ranch. But at the academy, I might be accompanied by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and a bunch of spoiled noble brats rather than my dependable dad. I didn’t like the thought of that.
