Chapter 6: A Challenge from the Fair Daughter of the Red Moon

Mia wasted no time putting her plan into action. She immediately dialed up the intensity of her riding practice. The next day, and every single day after that, she made a beeline for the riding grounds after class, whereupon she’d practice until nightfall. Her body ached all over as a result, but she wasn’t at leisure to care.

“Hey, miss, you’re here today too?”

As she approached the stable, Lin Malong came out and greeted her with a grimace.

“Really putting your back into it, aren’t you? I think you’ve been here more often than even the princes lately.”

“Oh, please. That’s not true,” she replied as she glanced at increasingly-familiar figures of her equine friends.

Saint-Noel’s stable housed about twenty horses. Mia’s favorite happened to be a white one with a gentle disposition. It was a good horse that even relative amateurs could ride well, and she was particularly fond of its beautiful hair.

“I mean, I can’t fault you for practicing more, but... Hm? Hey, miss, is this about that thing coming up—”

“Excuse me.”

Malong was cut off by the assertive voice of another girl.

“Ah, that must be...”

Mia recognized the voice. She turned in its direction.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Ruby Etoile Redmoon respectfully bowed her head, short red hair fluttering gently with the motion.

“My, Ruby... What brings you here?” Mia cocked a brow at her. The two of them were certainly acquainted. As princess, she had no shortage of opportunities to visit the Four Dukes at their residences, and while Ruby had always been a genial host when she’d shown up...

We haven’t exactly talked... Not as friends, at least. I can’t really say we’re all that close.

Consequently, Mia’s impression of Ruby was...neither good nor bad. In fact, she didn’t have much of an impression of the girl at all. As for the Redmoons as a whole, their reluctance to provide military assistance in the previous timeline certainly soured her opinion of them a tad.

Admittedly, it was sort of an “every noble for himself” situation back then. Everyone was desperately trying to protect their own domain. Still, the Redmoons are known for having a powerful private army. If they’d committed those soldiers to the conflict, the war might have ended differently... Oh, but then again, by that time, the enemy already had Sion and murder-machine Dion on their side. I can’t imagine Redmoon reinforcements making much of a difference when up against people like them...

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost missed what Ruby said next.

“As a matter of fact, I’ve come to challenge Your Highness to a duel.”

“...A duel? What?”

With an even smile, Ruby walked toward the horse stalls.

“Rumor says that you’ve been rather enthusiastic in your riding practice lately,” she said as she patted a horse on its muzzle. The motion was easy and practiced, suggesting a deep familiarity with the creatures.

Mia remembered that she’d heard the House of Redmoon made their daughters study swordsmanship and horsemanship. She nodded in response to the question.

“Well, I suppose you could say that. What about it?”

“I assume that means you’re going to enter the Horsemanship Tournament in the fall?”

“...The what?”

Mia tilted her head. “Horsemanship Tournament” was not a pair of words that sounded particularly familiar. She vaguely recalled that Abel and Sion might have alluded to such an event at some point and indicated their intention to participate. That must be why they’d been coming here as frequently as she had lately. Of course, having had so much on her mind, she’d paid no attention to the matter and had no plans to take part.

“Oh! I knew it! I figured that was why you’ve been practicing so much recently,” exclaimed a pleased Malong.

Okay, hold on, people. I haven’t agreed to anything yet.

Before she could give voice to this thought, Ruby declared, “I formally challenge Your Highness to duel me in the speedriding event of the tournament.” An incendiary smile flashed across her calm expression before she took a knee. “Will you accept?”

And so the challenge was officially made. Mia stared at the kneeling Ruby.

There is...literally not a single reason for me to accept this “duel,” is there?

She felt a profound desire to decline and shoo the girl away so she could get on with her business. Mia had no obligation to duel people just because they challenged her. While she did appreciate Ruby’s straightforwardness—this certainly beat Esmeralda’s behind-your-back nonsense—the list of problems she had to deal with was long enough; she wasn’t minded to add another one.

Besides, it’s obvious that there’s more to this than just a simple challenge...

If Ruby only wanted to see who was better at horseback riding, all she’d have to do was enter the Horsemanship Tournament. Since she was under the impression that Mia was going to compete as well, they’d naturally have to race each other that way. Instead, she’d come here and formally challenged Mia to a duel. The “duel” part was what made her wrinkle her nose. There was something very fishy about that word.

Mia’s nose was promptly proved correct.

“I request that should I win this duel, I am permitted to take one of your soldiers for myself.”

“Ah, right. You Redmoons and your headhunting. You’ve always got your eyes on good soldiers...” muttered Mia, feeling like a nagging question had been answered.

With close ties to the Ebony Moon Ministry, which governed military affairs, the House of Redmoon was always focused on strengthening its private army. They spared no effort or expense, recruiting promising soldiers from far and wide, both at home and abroad. So persistent were they in this behavior that it was widely known and even had a name, “Redmoon Headhunting.”

Too bad for you though. I have no reason to accept your challenge—

“Well, miss? What’re you waiting for? It’s an honorable duel, fair and square. When someone respectfully challenges you like that, no ruler worth their salt can possibly decline, right?”

“...Eh?”

She stared at Malong, who grinned with the look of someone who didn’t have a shred of doubt that she’d say yes.

“Uh... But... Huh?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. The horsemanship club’s got your back. I’m sure Abel will be there to cheer you on too.”

His grin widened, and Mia was suddenly seized by a familiar sense of helplessness.

I... I know what this is! She stood there dumbfounded, sensing an invisible current surging toward her, about to sweep her up in its flow. Th-This is one of those situations! Where I don’t get to say no! Ugh, here we go again...

Reflecting on her past mistakes had led her to constantly scrutinize the people she considered important to her so she could analyze them. Based on her understanding, this senior classmate of hers named Lin Malong had a serious soft spot for anyone who liked horses. Which made him super susceptible to manipulation! Furthermore, she’d noticed him looking fondly at Ruby when she gently stroked the horse’s muzzle. That had hit him right in his horse-loving heart! He also had a frank personality with a bit of a chivalrous lean, so stuff like honorable duels and formal challenges were exactly the kind of things that made his eyes sparkle. Therefore, walking away from Ruby’s challenge right now would undoubtedly dent his impression of Mia. When it came to riding horses, his advice was always useful, which made it extremely valuable for her practice. Indispensable, even, considering the effectiveness of her practice might spell the difference between survival and doom. She’d prefer to stay on his good side as much as possible. Moreover, he was also something of an older brother to Abel. If she wanted to flirt with Abel to her heart’s content, then Malong’s unqualified blessing was nothing short of necessary!

She proceeded to enter a period of silent contemplation, during which she carefully gauged the risks and rewards.

Okay, let’s figure this out. If I decline the challenge, then I won’t risk losing my soldiers, but this comes at the cost of negatively affecting my friendship with Malong. I’d prefer to avoid that if possible. So what happens if I accept?

Should she win the duel, she would of course keep her soldiers. On top of that, she would probably gain some yet-to-be-determined reward as her part of the deal. For example, she could request to pull over some soldiers from Redmoon’s private army for her own purposes. But what if she lost?

Chances are, the soldier Ruby’s got her eyes on is Dion. I think that much is obvious...

She got a brief mental image of a knight with a vicious smile, followed by him easily cutting through a spear of steel. The man went around calling himself “The Empire’s Finest,” and he had the skills to back it up. It was hardly surprising that the Redmoons would want him for their army.

“Hmm... You know, honestly, if it’s Dion, I think I might actually...” she murmured, ruminating on how she felt about the knight.

He did chop her head off. Of course, she couldn’t be sure whether he’d agree to being poached by Redmoon, but even if he did, she didn’t think she’d lose much sleep over it. Something still bothered her though. The logic seemed sound, but she had a nagging feeling she was forgetting something...as if losing this particular knight would be a devastating blow to her.

Mmm, on second thought, I guess he did save my life a couple times... If one head chop is made up for by one life save, then he has definitely earned more than his fair share of redemption... Now that I think about it, he might actually be sort of a...pretty loyal subject? But ugh, I just can’t stand having him stand near me with a sword... It feels like he might chop my head off at any moment. So stressful...

As she continued deliberating, muttering her thoughts under her breath, Ruby frowned.

“Huh? Dion? Who’s that?”

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips for a moment. Then she lightly pounded her palm with her fist as the name finally rang a bell.

“Oh, I remember there was some guy by that name. I heard he was a pretty skilled knight... Something about being the empire’s finest? Pretty famous fellow, I guess. But...” She narrowed her eyes at Mia. “Unfortunately, that’s not who I’m after.”

Like a seasoned warrior standing in the ring, she fixed Mia with a fierce look and...

“I mean, he’s...”

With unabashed confidence, said...

“Sort of short, isn’t he?”

“Uh...”

Mia summoned an image of Dion in her mind.

“Not...really? He’s...on the taller side compared to most men, I’m pretty sure?”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Oh, Your Highness, you clearly don’t understand. Knights, you see, have to be bigger. Strong and large. The bigger the man, the bigger his heart. The size of their body is the size of their soul. It’s not enough to be strong. They have to be big!”

Thus declared Ruby Etoile Redmoon. The fair daughter of the Duke of Redmoon, who held immense sway over the imperial army...

“They have to be big!”

...Was known to be mad for muscles and harbored an unparalleled love of big men.