The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Younger Sister’s Place

“It went south again?”

Lloyd, who had been sitting polishing his sword, was deeply fed up with the man who spoke to him with a sly smile on his face.

It was good that he had come to the knights’ training hall, but he was only halfway sweating and getting even more frustrated. None of the knights in the training hall would approach Lloyd.

In contrast to Lloyd, who had his long silver hair tied back in a loose ponytail and was wearing a simple shirt, trousers, and boots, the man who spoke to me was dressed as if he had just come straight from the royal court.

He was dressed in an elegant, long-sleeved coat, pale trousers and shoes covering his slender frame, as well as brown curls and a sweet face with dark circles around his drooping eyes and a beauty mark, making him very familiar with the noble ladies.

“Is that what you came all the way out here to tell me, Ed?”

“Well, yes. I must congratulate my good friend on breaking yet another record in his history with the ladies. So, how was it? So, even you couldn’t endure it this time?”

Lloyd ignored him.

“You are as cold as ever. Poor Miss Esther. She was a different kind of girl, and I thought maybe this one would last longer.”

“…It’s already over. For her sake, don’t talk so vulgarly.”

“Oh, come on, I’m just talking to you as a friend. But it’s so cold to say that it’s already over. Or are you actually heartbroken? Hmm??”

Lloyd didn’t answer, but continued to polish his sword.

“…As always, you switch lovers too quickly. Did you really love Miss Esther? How can such a cold-hearted person be called our country’s finest young lord…?”

Ed made a dig at him, sighing dramatically, but on the contrary, it didn’t sound malicious.

Lloyd remained silent, as answering would get another troublesome response.

Esther’s weepy, wet face and last words flashed across his mind and vanished.

She wasn’t the only one. He asked the same question to all his lovers who had broken up with him in the same way.

(What do you want me to do?)

At the very least, he didn’t hate them. He had something he liked about them. He accepted those of the opposite sex who vigorously approached him with their affections as his lover as long as there wasn’t any big issues.

Even though he couldn’t return the same kind of passion, Lloyd was sincere enough to be called an ideal lover. It had always been that way.

Nothing was left desired, they said. But in the end, they asked for the most incomprehensible thing from Lloyd, were devastated one-sidedly, and left.

Suddenly, he felt a faint tremor in the ground beneath his feet. The sound of footsteps approaching–a presence.

He looked up to see an unfamiliar man approaching, sword in hand. While all the other men in the training grounds were concentrating on their own business, the man was clearly seeking Lloyd.

Lloyd had a hunch. He stood up quickly. The corners of his mouth turned up at the appearance of something that might finally relieve his boredom.

The man with the sword in his hand stopped in front of Lloyd, as expected.

The height of his line of sight wasn’t different from Lloyd’s, who was tall. However, the man’s whole body was covered with muscles and he looked bigger than Lloyd.

The large man did not even try to hide his arrogant, mocking eyes.

“Are you Lloyd Allen Reuning? The son of the Duke of Reuning, and the greatest magic swordsman in all of Marcialle.”

“Yes, I am. And you?”

“Hermann Aube Arturo. I came from Folces to study abroad here a few days ago.”

Next to Lloyd, who was calmly receiving him, Ed suddenly became discomposed.

Folces was a country located to the north of Marcialle. They were of the same size in terms of land area and national power, and they had a relationship where they must be aware of each other’s presence.

——And <Aube>, which signified Folces’ aristocracy, and the <Arturo> family, was a renowned military family.

“You’re Arturo’s young star, Hermann? It is an honor to meet you.”

Lloyd replied with the bare minimum of courtesy.

He had heard of Hermann, the up-and-comer of the Arturo family. They would have heard similar rumors about each other, as they were close in age and could share the same martial arts name.

“I’ve heard that you are known as ‘Reuning’s masterpiece.’ Recently, we Arturos been trying to combine magic and swordsmanship. I’d be delighted to have a match with you.”

Hermann said. There was a cold light in his eyes that was not only provocative. Lloyd knew exactly what that meant.

——The contempt for a man who only had his looks was adorned with excessive rumors.

He would rather take a woman’s hand than a sword, or at best, chase after a woman——that was probably what he thought.

However, within this country, there were no longer people who looked at him in that way, which was a little refreshing to Lloyd.

Hence, he responded with a smile.

“I’d be honored, Lord Hermann.”

——Let me have some fun at the very least.

He added in his mind.

A large number of red grains, similar to sparks, were frolicking on the sword’s broken blade.

The sword, colored by the red light, was positioned snugly between his muscular shoulders and neck.

Kneeling on his knees, Hermann looks up at Lloyd with a piercing gaze, his face contorted in unbearable humiliation.

Still, the outcome could no longer be reversed. The sword was no longer in Hermann’s hand; it had fallen away. The blade was snapped from the middle.

Mustering his last bit of pride, Hermann said, “I admit defeat.”

Lloyd accepted the declaration quietly.

His breath came in faint gasps, and a good deal of heat was circulating in his body. Soon, however, his breath calmed and his elation quickly subsided, as if a dying fire had been extinguished.

Before long, there were spectators all around. The cheers had stopped.

Turning his back on Hermann and the audience, Lloyd left the training grounds.

Hurried footsteps followed him and someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Ed, who was scared of Hermann and was in the middle of running away.

“You’re as ridiculously strong as ever, Lloyd! Your movements themselves are like magic! Even Lord Hermann must have been using magical swordsmanship, and yet…”

——You can’t even call that magical swordsmanship at that level.

Lloyd laughed inwardly, but he had the prudence to not say it aloud.

The strategy of combining magic and swordsmanship required a high degree of training. There were only a few who have mastered it, but Lloyd was outstanding even among them. There were not a few who heard of his reputation and challenged him, but Lloyd had never once been forced onto his knee.

Ed let out an exasperated sigh.

“Can’t you do anything about that face of yours? You don’t look like the son of Lord Bright at all.”

“What kind of face is it?”

“The look of boredom. That’s why His Highness the Crown Prince calls you the monster of Reuning, isn’t it? If you make a face like that after a bout like that, Lord Hermann would be disgraced.”

My easily elated friend sometimes says sensible things, Lloyd thought.