Of course duels in the court had to be approved by the top dog, the King himself. Experiencing several types and levels of hunger, all the way from actual starvation to a want of justice, we left the dinner venue straight to the King's sitting room. Mirina was worried but all those years of strict Royal training and discipline showed their worth. She was in full denial. The [Princess] could be going to a flower viewing event or to a funeral with that face. She was truly inscrutable. And completely out of herself.
I, on the other hand, strutted like I owned the place or was shooting an 80's pop-rock video about ex-cons or gangs. Any of them. Until we reached the small meeting room, then I stopped at the proper distance for a foreign dignitary. Despite being later at night, the room was crowded with nobles and courtiers that, by the hurried state of their clothing, must've used magic to get here in time.
Mirina's old man stared at me as I stared back and flicked my two tails, one chasing the other.
"Your Highness Haru Stouthammer, I wish we've met in more adequate conditions. Anyway, welcome to Lonid. I hope you find your stay pleasant, despite recent incidents," he stately stated.
"Your Majesty," I curtsied perfectly. "I'm Haru Stouthammer, first [Princess] of Vugh Tarim, as well as your daughter Mirina's friend, classmate, and confidant. It can't be helped, though. I arrived road sick and had to sleep through the afternoon," I replied. "However, I wouldn't call what just happened 'recent incidents'. The offensive utterances by His Grace the Duke of Whatever were most aggravating and offensive. I would've him beheaded if we were anywhere else but in your court."
"I hope you can settle your differences amicably. The Duke is ready to issue a formal apology," the placating King offered an olive branch.
"Oh, I too hope we can settle this issue in the way honor demands, Your Majesty. The Duke committed the crime of Lese Majeste. As I stated before, anywhere but in your court, he would lie dead where his tongue betrayed his scarce wits."
"The Duke will give you proper compensation," the mediating but overbearing King insisted. His forceful attempt at convincing me failed.
> Contested Charisma test won.
"The Duke will give me proper compensation as you said, Your Highness. His life, or that of his champion," I added.
"I hope we can settle this the civilized way, without bloodshed," the irritated but still pacifying King reinforced.
What I really hoped for was to castrate your nation, but I wouldn't say it out loud.
"Honor duels are the epitome of civilized dispute-solving, Your Majesty. Compared to a full-blown war for such an issue, only one person dies instead of an army and a half. But blood will be spilled today regardless. A little or too much, that remains to be seen. I promise you this, someone is dying tonight over this issue."
I could see his jaw move toward his mandible by an eight of an inch, even though his mouth was closed. The King glared at me.
"I won't allow a duel," he declared with finality. "Give it up!"
> Contested Charisma test won.
Yes, squirm, human.
"Then war it is," I sighed and checked my fingernails. "Vugh Tarim shall declare war on Lonid. Let's decide on the field. Tonight. Choose any location within two leagues of this palace."
Mirina swooned. Her younger brother kept her from falling to the ground. The [King] used his {Royal Aura} at full power. I used mine. The Duke, the Fiancée, the courtiers, the guards, the seneschal, and everyone else but us Royals fell to the ground. I got a kill notification, a poor maid that zeroed too many Attributes. I stored her body and kept the soul with me.
I found a lock of hair to play with while the King fumed. Inside, I was riding high on my endorphin rush.
"I can have you executed for that!" He shouted.
"That's a solution, right there, Your Majesty. Not the one anyone wanted, but a solution nonetheless," I commented with a yawn. "But you can only try to execute me. Have is too strong a verb for the current circumstances. I can guarantee you the Duke and everyone else you send after me will die before your order is carried through. Seeing that your guards are incapacitated, no, in fact, everyone not of Royal blood is, you'll lose more than what you bargained for. At this point, I would stop trying to shelter your bigot of a Duke and let him have his just desserts. Even without dining first."
Damn, my heart was racing with excitement at how far I could drag him. But he deactivated his aura, so I did it too.
"You impudent child!" He shouted. "I should kill you myself!"
I lit up (not literally), "I believe I'm wrong in my assumption but are you championing for the Duke yourself, Your Majesty?" I asked with barely suppressed awe.
Mirina, who had recovered her senses moments before my inquiry, cried languishingly and fainted again. Her reliable younger brother still held her protectively.
Grinding his teeth to my concealed delight, he directed his catoblepish [1] deathly glare to the Duke. "Lord Richstein, I command you to kill that girl, here and now."
I clapped my hands. The enraged duke took a sword from a guard and walked toward me.
"What are the rules of engagement, Your Grace?"
The idiot was coming at me with an Aristocrat's build. He couldn't swap Paths that fast because he lacked the proper Perks.
"Shut up and die, filthy beast!" He charged.
"{Overcharge Magic}, {Dessicate}!" I cast.
> You dehydrated Duke Richstein for 71.3M HP of damage. (Base 250 x28,24 Skill x4,26 Attributes x34 Overcharge x3 glissando x2 Fortissimo x1.5 affinity x1.25 tail focus x1,5 favored enemy x1.5 pinnacle of willpower x1.45 Spell-singer x1.9 Moon Magic).]
>
> For killing level 152 Duke Richstein, you gained 3.8B Exp (Base 1,785,965 x625 fast-learner x3,38 Favored enemy)
>
> This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The Duke became a mummy instantly as every single molecule of water in his body violently sublimated without heat and left his body as wisps of faint and cold mist-like vapor. The corpse was carried forward by his momentum, hitting the marble floor of the throne room and shattering like porcelain [2]. I bound his soul as the largest pieces vanished into the item box...
"Father!" The fiancée fell on his knees.
"You committed murder in my throne room!" The yelling yellow King pointed at me. As he breathed and before he could continue, I fast-talked.
"Your Majesty surely wouldn't deny me the right to defend myself," I stated back dispassionately. "He was clearly attempting to kill me."
> Contested Charisma test won.
>
> Diplomat proficiency increased by 3.
I had plenty of fast-growth points to burn into actual proficiency.
"Are you satisfied now?" He growled.
Disappointed, I answered, "Not at all, Your Majesty. I wanted a proper honor duel, not an execution."
"I accept that duel! I'll avenge my father!" The dumb Fiancée pried the sword from the mummified fingers of his father.
The King facepalmed. "Make sure to kill her or don't bother breathing anymore," he growled through his teeth. "But do it outside!"
----------------------------------------
The crowd went to the courtyard. They even brought the unconscious Mirina. In the circle created specifically for duels, stood Fiancée and me.
"I already settled my score with your father, heir to the Ducal house. If you wish to challenge me to avenge your honorless cur of a progenitor, you'll have to agree to my terms!"
"No magic," He said.
"Agreed. That's another one on you. As the challenged one, I get to pick the weapon but I grant you this grace. I won't cast any spells except for counterspelling. Your father died dishonorably, I can't help but consider that someone will snipe at me."
"Counterspelling is fine."
"Then, the odds. If you wish to come at me to kill or be killed, I wish double of what the Duke owed me for Lese Majeste."
"I don't have two lives to give!" He spat back.
"Then I'll take everything you or the former Duke owned. Your name, your title, your estates. All that and much more shall become mine and I'll auction your possessions. The title, I'll gift it back to the King that kindly granted me my wish of an honor duel. But I'll own everything else that was ever promised, granted, owned, won, or given to you."
"It doesn't matter! You die tonight!" He boldly and foolishly declared. "I accept your terms!"
I directed my gaze at the King. "Your Majesty? Are those terms acceptable?"
He nodded. "Granted as stated."
I curtsied, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Would you kindly select two swords, then ask the blonde lady in the red gown over there to choose one for each of us with her eyes closed? I think that's fair enough."
They did as asked. The woman knew nothing about weapons so the King had to get two equal swords. I checked mine and it was as flawless and sharp as it was ordinary.
> Knight's longsword.
>
> Price: 80 silver coins.
>
> Base Damage: 3d10+5 (13d10+58 with Proficiency)
>
> A standard-issue mass-produced longsword for Lonid's knights. It is of acceptable quality.
That would do. I picked a rather hard patch of the dueling stage and drew a circle of a meter radius around myself with the scabbard. With the sword in my right hand, I nodded to the King and to the Fiancée. "I challenge you! Come!" I shouted as I activated the Perk of the same name.
> Champion's Challenge
>
> Contested Ego test won.
>
> Contested Charisma test won.
"Begin!" The King shouted.
Fiancée charged with a mighty shout and his sword held high. I moved sideways and used the tail guard. My gown's skirt hid both the sword and my footing. He swung in a downward arc, overextending and losing balance. I dodged by just shifting my footing, deflecting the blade with the scabbard. I executed a rising cut against his exposed flank. I didn't use my Perks with visual effects like {Arcane Smite}. But using {Acapella} in ultrasonic frequencies was fair game. It wasn't a "spell" but a combat Perk.
> You slashed Fiancée for 1,040,573 HP. (Base 128 x11,68 Skill x5,52 Attributes x3 Mana Strike x2 Blood Sacrifice x3 Challenge x1.5 Favored Enemy x4,67 critical).
>
> Your opponent is bleeding for 20,800 HP per second for 48 seconds.
>
> Your opponent is stunned for 1.67 seconds.
He lost a quarter of his HP in one blow, and another quarter was bleeding out.
I dodged the spray of blood from the hideous gash on his flank and let him fall on the ground, sliding outside my circle. I spun around as I swung the blade to clean it and waited for him to regain his footing. I set my blade above my head in the ox guard.
"{Second Wind}!" He shouted and his bleeding ended. He had quite a few Perks invested in that tree. Glowering at me with all the hate he could muster, he cursed, "You damn bi--"
"{Silence}!"
He attacked again, this time in the more defensive and straightforward plow stance. He stabbed and I deftly dodged, staggering him. When I attacked after the {Mind Blank} delay, he also attempted to dodge but still got cut even though my blade missed him. {Reach IV} gave me sixteen centimeters beyond my physical blade. An automatic critical, another million HP lost, and more bleeding.
Panting but unable to speak because of my {Royal Order}, he took his time to use another Perk to stop the bleeding.
"A swordmaster as well?" The King mused under his breath but it was nearly impossible for me not to hear. "No, that's already in grandmaster territory."
He was wrong. I was a {Sage} with all blades, not only swords.
"Who is her?" The oldest [Prince] wondered.
Fiancée wanted to fight but my {Challenge} forbade that. He stood outside my circle, figuring out I wouldn't step outside of it.
"Come at me, coward," I taunted. "Come or forfeit your life."
He was shaken and shaking.
"If I leave this circle, your head comes off."
He dropped his weapon and fell on his knees. The stupidly bold usually crumbled into despair when faced with the undeniable truth: They were just schoolyard bullies.
"{Flash Step}!" I shouted before vanishing from where I stood and reappearing behind him, an impossible angle normally. Another morsel for the King.
This time, with the multipliers from my charge attack, his head cleanly detached from his neck. A slice of said neck ended up in the Ethereal but nobody would notice it. I prevented the item box from claiming the corpse and head this time. No need to show my whole hand.
> For killing level 138 Fiancée, you gained 10,2B Exp (Base 1,425,942 x625 fast-learner x3,38 Favored enemy x3,38 challange)
"Winner! First [Princess] Haru Stouthammer of Vugh Tarin," The King declared with a commanding but devoid of excitement voice.
I sheathed the weapon and extended it to one of the guards. The small crowd cheered. Mirina was still unconscious. I curtsied to the King.
"As promised, Everything belonging to House Richstein is yours. For your extreme display of swordsmanship, you can keep the title too. It's unusual for the Royalty of one country to hold a noble title in another, but it happens. I name you Duchess…"
"Not interested, Your Majesty. I'm fine with the titles I have already," I cut him off in the most terrible faux pas in Lonid's modern history. "What I want is their assets, all of them. The Richstein family is to vacate their demesne and holdings tomorrow morning. I trust your Knights will execute your will properly. I'll let Julia, Her Highness Mirina's lady-in-waiting auction their property. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds will be tithed to the crown as both tax and gift. I'll keep ownership of all other promises held by the Richstein family. Including Mirina's betrothal. She's my fiance now."
The angry, pissed, and super incensed King couldn't shoot Omega Beams from his eyes, that's the only reason I didn't die. Because he was as furious as some alien god after getting beaten by a guy wearing blue-and-red tights.
The King looked at the knights and gave a single order. "Guards! Arrest her!"
I didn't resist and went to the palace dungeon with a smirk plastered on my face. I later learned that Mirina was bedridden with grief for days. Lonid believed she was mourning Fiancée, but I knew she was that sick out of worry for her Kingdom and family.
A rumor spread that Lonid had kidnapped the dwarven [Princess]. It happened spontaneously but I couldn't have planned better.
----------------------------------------
[1] adjective. 1. of or like a catoblepas. 2. Extremely Deadly. This neologism (google had zero hits for it until now) follows the same construction as doggish, goatish, or sheepish.
[2] Yes, bone becomes ridiculously brittle if thoroughly desiccated, especially when the water exits quickly. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941695/figure/F4/