"Your Highness, where are you going?"
Aiglon stopped.
This familiar voice made him know who was calling him without turning around.
After creating chaos and carefully dressing up, he still couldn't completely avoid his eyes... He sighed in his heart.
He subconsciously touched the pistol in his arms, then turned back and looked at his swordsmanship teacher, Captain Foresti, and the outline of his body slowly emerged in the darkness.
This tall swordsman and soldier was looking at him with a solemn expression.
Snowflakes drifted around him, but they couldn't hide his bright eyes.
Then Aigron discovered that the other party was actually chasing him alone.
Captain Foresti came within a few steps of him, then stopped.
"That's right, I came here alone, Your Highness." Perhaps he saw what Aigron was thinking, so he explained. "On the one hand, time is tight and it's too late; on the other hand... I don't want to make things irreversible."
Then, he sighed again, "Your Highness, I haven't told anyone yet. Now you just encountered an accident... Go back and pretend everything didn't happen."
"What if I say no?" Aigron asked.
He was ready to shoot at any time to catch the opponent by surprise, but he knew that with the teacher's reaction speed, it would be difficult if the first shot missed, so he decided to wait for the opportunity first.
Anyway, since the captain was the only one who noticed it and chased after him, he still had time.
"Your Highness, don't be willful anymore!" The captain interrupted him sharply, "Can't you think about it, is it worth paying all this price? You finally turned around and won the favor of Archduke Karl. You are so prosperous... but you put all this aside and embark on the hard road of escape. Even if you succeed in escaping, so what? Your surname is no longer welcome in Europe! "
Then, he sighed again, "Even if you don't take this to heart, have you ever thought about what will happen to Her Highness Sophie? How much punishment she will bear because of you! In addition, she has such a deep relationship with you, and you abandon her How uncomfortable it would be for her to leave her! Can you forget her crying? Think about it again, is it all worth it? "
Aiglon held back the pain in his heart, then raised his head and answered him with arrogance.
"Sorry, I think it's worth it."
"...It seems that I can't persuade you with words after all." The captain smiled sadly, and then looked at His Highness again, "Then...I will teach you like a teacher."
He pouted provocatively at Aiglon, "How about we compete one last time? If I lose, you can step on my body and leave with swagger. I have fulfilled my obligation to the motherland; if you lose, then you can also Don’t even think about making your way into the world, because you can’t even deal with a little captain, let alone a marshal king!”
The teacher's words aroused the anger in Aigron's heart.
However, on the surface he remained extremely calm.
There's no point in intimidating the captain. He can't let him go like this, so... it's probably just a fight to win.
"I'm not armed." He replied deliberately.
"I just took advantage of the chaos and took a handful from the person next to me." the captain replied.
Then, he took off the sword he carried with him and threw it directly to Aigron. "For the sake of fairness, you can use mine. Maybe you will be more convinced..."
"It seems that you have put yourself in the position of the winner." Aigron remained calm and bent down to pick up the sword on the ground. "I think that's too arrogant."
The reflection of the metal made the falling snowflakes in front of him shine brightly, and also caused Aigron's blood vessels to cool down.
"This has nothing to do with arrogance... Your Highness, I have always said that you are my best student, and you will definitely surpass me in time. It's just that you are still too young to defeat me now." The captain replied, "Your Highness, if If you lose, please don’t force yourself too much, otherwise I’m afraid I won’t be able to control it and you will get hurt.”
"It's too late to say this at this time." Aigron laughed, "I will definitely fight for your life, Captain, you'd better put your own safety first and don't shrink back, otherwise you will definitely die. .”
The captain's expression froze, and after a moment he sighed dejectedly.
"Then I'm sorry, Your Highness. Then please wish yourself well. I hope I can win more easily."
He has felt His Highness's determination, which means that he cannot solve it easily no matter what.
In this case, Austria is more important than His Highness, and he can only make a cruel choice.
The two men drew their swords and then faced off.
Snowflakes were like elves, falling on them and between them, but they did not affect their sight.
With the dim light, Captain Foresti carefully looked at the "girl" standing in front of him.
The face is serious and delicate, the long golden hair is swaying slightly in the cold wind, the skirt is also swaying slightly with the movement of footsteps, and the eyes are shining with cold light like sharp blades.
"Hey... it would be great if you were really born as a princess. Maybe this can save everyone trouble." The captain sighed again, "And you don't have to bear so much pressure, you can go as much as you like. Find your own happiness.”
Aiglon frowned slightly.
He and his teacher have been together for so many years and know each other too well. The captain is not just being sentimental or making fun of himself, he is trying to disturb his mind.
Now that the distance between the two people was very close, he could conclude that if he drew his gun and fired directly now, there would be more than 90% chance that the other person would be shot.
But...his pride prevented him from doing so.
Now that you have been pointed by the sword, let's say goodbye to Austria with the sword!
Let me show you how a real sword master holds a sword in his hand and hides a gun in his arms!
"I'd be scared if I were you," he said slowly. "Because...you know what your opponent has given up for this, and what awareness he has made."
The captain did not answer, but narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at His Highness, and moved slowly, ready to take action at any time.
However, after a moment, his eyes slowly opened wide.
He was shocked to find that His Highness actually handed the sword from his right hand to his left hand, then raised it slightly and pointed it at him.
"My left hand is more proficient - teacher, please comment on it yourself!"
You kept it from me for so many years! ?
The captain was immediately horrified.
When he became His Highness's teacher, His Highness was only seven or eight years old, but he actually started to deliberately hide it from himself since he was a young boy... How terrible.
Before he could calm down, Aigron stepped forward and launched an attack.
As he took one step forward, the snow on the ground made a soft sound like sand, and a semi-arc sword shadow was waved in the air.
The captain turned sideways, then swung his sword to block. The two swords collided heavily, and the blades let out a crisp whine.
Aigron twisted around and used his waist strength to sweep his sword at the opponent's shoulder again, and then continued to attack the captain.
The captain swung his sword to block while secretly assessing his opponent. He found that His Highness's left-hand sword was almost impeccable in terms of speed, strength and even angle. It was obviously much stronger than what he had shown when practicing with him before.
It seems that His Highness is indeed not lying. He is better with his left hand.
Now his assessment of His Highness is completely different, and he is not sure that he can defeat the opponent at all.
Through the reflection of the sword blade, he saw His Highness's expression at this moment.
The other party had a slight smile on his lips, seemingly full of fighting spirit and excitement, and his eyes were filled with bloodthirsty cruelty. As he keeps moving, his skirt and wig are also swinging fiercely, as if he is dancing to death.
Then go for it! The captain also made a decision.
He couldn't care less about showing mercy, and now he only had victory in his eyes.
He swung away the sword that was stabbing him, and then launched an attack.
In the snowy night, the two of them were fighting selflessly, leaving behind all other selfish thoughts.
In order to win as quickly as possible, Aigron opened and closed his sword widely, constantly using strength and speed to force the opponent to block, while waiting for opportunities to find fatal gaps.
The captain, on the other hand, has a steady style. Even when attacking, he pays great attention to defense and constantly uses skilled blocking and footwork to defuse the opponent's offensive.
Aiglon knew that he had hit the teacher hard psychologically with his unexpected left-handed sword. At the same time, his left-handed sword also made the opponent very uncomfortable, so the opponent was already at a disadvantage and could only insist on defense and wait for his strength to be exhausted.
The fight between the two people entered a stalemate for a while.
To the Captain's surprise, His Highness's offensive lasted longer than expected. Perhaps because of the mental trauma, he had fallen into madness and was almost desperate to defeat himself.
Secretly frightened, he braced himself to resist, looking for any possible loopholes he could exploit.
Under his gaze, His Highness took another step forward and stabbed himself with the sword without reservation.
The captain quickly raised his sword, and then pressed it down heavily when the blades met, causing the opponent's sword to slide towards his guard, trying to twist the sword in this way.
Aigron, who sensed the captain's intention, suddenly lowered his shoulders, and then heavily used his sword to jump towards the captain's chin diagonally above.
The captain happened to step back and avoid this sharp blow.
This is the moment!
Eggron knew that when the captain used this attack, he would immediately take a step back, allowing him to quickly defend against the enemy's counterattack.
The captain has used this action thousands of times during normal classes, and it has almost become a conditioned reflex.
Everything was predicted. He had already sunk down, lowered his knees forward, closed his eyes, used all his remaining strength, and stabbed diagonally to the left front with incomparable courage.
At this moment, blood burst out, and the originally white ground was suddenly sprayed with a layer of red dye.
The two people stopped moving.
Captain Foresty slowly lowered his head and stared at the cold sword blade that pierced his stomach.
"Beautiful...what a beautiful blow." The captain's face became distorted in pain, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.
But even so, he still forced an ugly smile, seeming to be pleased with the student's progress.
Aiglon said nothing. He let go of his hand but did not draw his sword.
Obviously, if he drew the sword from the captain's body now, the blood spurting out would quickly cause the captain to bleed to death.
Of course, even like this, he might die soon in the ice and snow.
The excitement burning in his blood during the battle had dissipated at this moment. He looked at the teacher standing in front of him wordlessly, his expression calm, even a little indifferent.
And as he watched, Captain Foresti fell to his knees, breathing painfully and covering his wounds.
His hands were soon soaked in blood, and his chest was heaving violently due to pain, but even so, he did not let out an unpleasant groan.
As expected, he was a true swordsman. Even if he was defeated, he would not lose his dignity. It seemed that Aigron couldn't help but respect him in his heart.
How could two people not have any feelings after being together for so many years?
But...this is a price that can be paid.
"I won," he said quietly.
"Yes, I lost... Your Highness, you defeated me in a head-to-head confrontation." The captain endured the pain, looked up at His Highness and said tremblingly, "In this case, I keep my promise, you go... I wish Good luck to you in the future, and I hope that the price you pay now will eventually...eventually prove to be meaningful."
Aiglon did not walk away immediately, but continued to stand looking down at him.
He picked up the sword that the captain had just used from the ground, then cut a piece of cloth from his skirt and threw it in front of the other party, indicating to him to bandage it himself.
"I won't say sorry to you, because this is the choice of the two of us - but, Captain, I wish you good luck, I hope you can survive, and I hope we can see each other one day."
Then, he raised his hand, straightened the wig that had been scattered during the duel, and prepared to leave.
"Your Highness...!" Just as he was taking steps, the captain who was lying on the ground softly called out. "Can...can you not start a war against Austria?"
Even when you are on the verge of death, can you still not forget your motherland? It's really admirable.
Aigron turned around and showed a gentle smile.
"It depends on God's will, but... I hope not."
Then, he turned around and left without any nostalgia.
Everything was thrown behind him, whether it was white snow or anything else.
When he reached the end of the alley, just as he expected, there was a carriage parked here.
He approached the carriage and soon heard a surprised call.
"Your Highness!"
Following this call, the girl Chanel walked up to him and said to him with great joy, "You... you finally came over. I thought... I thought something had happened..."
Then, she was surprised to find that her master was not in a normal state at this moment - the skirt was covered with sword marks and blood stains.
At the same time, Aigron also collapsed and collapsed on the ground.
The battle just now consumed almost all his energy. In the cold wind and heavy snow, he just wanted to sit around the fire and have a good rest.
"Yeah!" she screamed in horror. "Are you okay?"
"It's nothing, Chanel... that's not my blood." Aiglon mustered up his last strength to reply, "I'm just a little tired, help me up to rest."
Shanel hurriedly held his shoulders.
Aiglon closed his eyes slightly.
He really needed a break.
