As Ragna was about to kiss me, I slapped his hand away. "Hey, w…what do you think you're doing?"
Ragna had a puzzled expression on his face. "Huh? What's the matter Roberta? Are you sick?"
"What? No, I'm not sick! But you are laying your hands on me like that without my consent sure is enough to make me puke!"
"Hm, these must be one of those female mood swings my father spoke of."
"I just met you a second ago and you're already getting on my nerves."
"Huh? What are you talking about? We've known each other for almost a year now."
"Uhm…yeah, sure buddy."
"Man, you sure are acting a bit weird today. This must be one of those female mind games father warned me about."
"Would you cut that out?!" I yelled.
'Urgh, just who on earth is this weirdo?' I thought to myself.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing here. You arranged this whole thing last night, remember?"
"Huh?"
"Someone knocked you upside the head, didn't they? Was it the old geezer? Was it blondie?"
"What? No!"
"Roberta… please tell me what's going on. Y…you don't seem like yourself today. If it's about that attempt to kiss you then, I apologize."
"Sure, apology accepted. Can you please leave now?"
"You're the one who called me here, you dolt! Tell me, what's going on? We haven't had the chance to see each other for months. I can tell that you feel like your control over your own fate keeps slipping from your hands. I can't fully relate to your struggles but, I want to be there for you, Roberta.
So, why don't you just run away with me? We…we'll even go to the Dark Continent together like we promised. I… I can't bear seeing you like this. Cooped up in this hellhole! What's the point of you being in a house this huge when you feel like you are stuck in a prison?! Please, come with me and Bjorn. Sure, we might be some backwater hamlet. Sure, the house was small. But I could tell that you were happy when you were there. I don't know if whether it was the freedom that made you happy, or if it was the times you spent with me, but regardless, seeing you smile like that was more than enough for me. It was more than enough." A tear started running down his cheek. He wiped it away almost instantly out of embarrassment.
"I…I really don't know what you are talking about." I looked away. This was such an awkward situation to be in because he didn't realise that this wasn't the girl that he loves that he was speaking to. I was a complete stranger as far as he was concerned.
"Would you please cut that out? Just tell me what's wrong. Roberta."
Suddenly, someone unlocked the door to my room. "Huh? Someone's coming." The door was halfway open, I looked to my side to see how I could hide Ragna, but he mysteriously disappeared.
The middle-aged man entered the room.
"Alright, Roberta, it's about time you accompany, Sir Victor, to the banquet of the Luceal Family.
Hurry, come hither!"
I followed the middle-aged man downstairs. As I walked behind him, I was lost in thought, trying to dissect what was happening exactly. I still couldn't buy the fact that I was in the body of someone called Roberta. How on earth can I convince these people that I am not Roberta? How can I wake up from this dream? How can I see Michael again?
As we got downstairs, we found Victor waiting by the front door, getting ready to leave. "Are you ready to come with me, Roberta my dear?".
"Oh yes, she is indeed ready, Victor my friend." Said the middle-aged man before gripping me by the arm.
"You better not screw this up for me," He muttered under his breath.
"R…right." I answered in puzzlement. Before I walked out of the front door, one of the servants handed me a small sack. I had no idea what it was as she handed it over to me. It felt like a bag of jellybeans. "Here is your medicine, Lady Roberta."
'Medicine? What for? I feel just fine, though. If it's true, am I truly cursed to live in a cycle of illness at this point?' I thought to myself. I placed the bag of pills in my handbag, trying to disassociate from the possibility that I was still sick in this new reality.
The moment we exited the mansion and walked off the porch, Victor and I locked hands as we entered his carriage. As our arms were interlocked, I could feel his large biceps. If someone were to tell me that he could crush coconuts with those arms, I would believe it without a second thought.
His hands were huge. As he led me into the carriage, I could feel the calluses on his palm. As I slowly let go of his hand in a stroking motion, I could feel what one would describe as the texture of alligator scales across his palm, yet his hand felt so warm. I did not expect someone with such a pampered disposition to have hands like these.
The carriage drove off. The middle-aged man stood by the porch, waving us goodbye.
"So, are you ready for the occasion? Roberta, my dear?"
"W…What occasion again?"
"The banquet is being held in honour of my squire, Ryzel Luceal, who is being given the title of a Holy Knight. Oh, how proud I am of him! You should have seen his valiant efforts battling it out with the Sultan of the desert kingdom of Achaar. Because of him, the Spandex Road between our Kingdom and the continent of the East has at last been opened. Achaar is now a vassal state of our Kingdom thanks to his efforts."
Geez, this guy talks about war so casually! "So, why am I tagging along? This has nothing to do with me."
"Is it not obvious Roberta? You're my fiancée, of course it's necessary for you to come. Haha! Oh, I see, you want poor ole Victor to go on his lonesome and become the ire of the entire banquet hey?"
"Oh no, that's not what I…"
"I jest, Roberta, I jest." He laughs.
"Oh, haha… right."
Slowly, the carriage came to a stop. As I looked outside, we seemed to be in some sort of medieval era village. Eventually, the carriage came to a stop. "Oh, seems like we've arrived at the Blacksmith's shop. Do you wish to come with me, or would you prefer to stay in the carriage?"
"I'd like to come with."
"Very well."
Victor helped me exit the carriage. We stood in front of a house that looked a bit like an igloo made of stone. It was covered surrounded by an ambient scenery of luscious greenery and trees. On the roof it had a chimney which emitted a stormy cloud of smoke that appeared to almost rob the peaceful shire like scene of its ambience. The clanking of metal from the house didn't help either.
Victor and I entered the house, triggering mini church bell hanging right above the door to ring.
"Hello~.", yelled Victor. "Anybody home?" The clanking noises stopped.
Suddenly, a gigantic burly red-haired man wearing a horned helmet appeared from a set of curtains behind the shop counter. "Oh, Count Victor, you've arrived. Your sword is ready to be collected sir."
"Oh, I wasn't expecting to hear that this soon. I merely came here to check on the progress. This is splendid news! As expected from the craftsmanship of Bjorn, the Flying Axe."
"I do not go by that name anymore Count. I left that life over 20 years ago."
"Though, if we still had you among our ranks, her majesty's authority would spread across all 8 seas without any trouble at all."
"Sadly, I find no value in the art of war Count Victor."
"You utter such words, yet you craft tools of war with such love and passion."
"Hmph. That is simply because war is all I know. However, you shouldn't thank me for crafting your blade good sir."
"Oh? If not you, then who is worthy of my praises then."
"Hmph! Hey, Ragna! Bring out Blade 640!"
"Alright, I'm on it!"
Hm? Did he just say, Ragna? I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before. And as to confirm my speculations, a familiar figure appeared from the curtains behind the counter.
"Count Victor, this is my son, Ragna. The one responsible for crafting your blade."
"Ah! You!"
Ragna and I made eye contact. Ragna just gave off a smile as he acknowledged my presence.
"So, you are Ragna huh? Interesting."
Ragna gave Victor a stinky look and answered back in the most uninterested way possible.
"Oh…hey. Here's your sword."
"Oh, thank you.", said Victor as he took his sword.
"Oii! Show respect to your customer you brat!" said Bjorn as he whacked Ragna upside the head.
"Hey, ouch!"
Victor laughed it off. "It's okay Bjorn, such minor things don't bother me whatsoever."
Victor unwrapped his sword, held it up, and analysed it from different angles, staring at his reflection while stroking the stubble on his jaw. "Hm, this is a mighty fine sword. Your son is a prodigy Bjorn.
You've taught him well." He then began to swing his blade around.
"Thank you. He is a hard worker indeed."
"Well then, here is your commission sir Bjorn. I am satisfied with the product," said Victor as he gave Bjorn a sack of Gold minted coins.
"Thank you, Count Victor. Please come again."
Victor and I exited the shop. As we were about to enter the carriage, a voice called out to us. "Hey! Victor!" We looked behind us to find Ragna standing with a sword in hand.
"Ragna, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Bjorn.
Ragna slowly lifted his sword and pointed it at Victor. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"Very well, I encourage," said Victor.
A few moments later, in the backyard of the Blacksmithing shop, the two of them stared each other down in preparation for the duel. "Ragna why are you doing this?!" cried Bjorn.
"Silence father… you would never understand."
"Oh, Ragna… it couldn't be because of that, could it?"
Ragna ignored the question. Bjorn gave off a heavy sigh in acceptance of his son's decision.
"Very well. However, should things get out of line, I shall step in. Do I make myself clear?"
"Fine by me," said Ragna.
Eventually, everything came to a standstill. Every bird and critter stood by to observe the battle along with the residents of the village. A tiny squirrel on top of a giant oak tree nearby dropped its nut to the ground. The moment the nut touched the grass, Victor and Ragna dashed towards each other at incredible speeds. As their blades clashed, they created a blinding spark. I watched them trying to push one another with their blades like it was an arm-wrestling competition…just with their swords instead of their arms. A small part of me was hoping that Victor would beat that Ragna jerk.
Suddenly, the two warriors jumped backwards and propelled themselves forward for another clash.
As the swung their swords and colliding their blades repeatedly, hundreds of sparks started to flash repeatedly. From what I could see, Victor used one-handed fencing. The type we would see in those cheesy Pirate films. Meanwhile, Ragna fought using both of his hands to swing his sword. They swung their arms around so fast that all I could hear was clanking and all I could see were sparks flying everywhere. Victor used the back of his blade to knock Ragna onto the floor. The crowd and I cheered for Victor.
"I believe that this is my victory." Victor walked up to Ragna and reached out his hand to help him up.
Ragna slapped Victor's hand away. "Let's go again!" Ragna shouted, his voice filled with determination.
"Very well, I encourage."
The cycle repeated itself again. As the fight carried on, Ragna started to come across as clumsy with the way he swung his blade around. Part of me couldn't help but scoff a bit. On the other hand, Victor remained cool, elegant, and collected. In a lot of ways, it seemed like he was just toying with Ragna. Seeing him look so cool as he toyed with Ragna made my heart skip a beat. I couldn't stop admiring him. I thought to myself. "If this man is to be my fiancée, then I must be the luckiest woman on Earth." Ragna kept getting knocked down over and over, with each loss being more violent and brutal. No matter how bloodied and bruised he got, he kept rising to his feet. This lasted for three hours. The sun had even begun to set. The audience of villagers even started to get tired of this.
Some just left with only a few remaining.
"Hey, don't you see that you're going to lose? Why do you keep fighting like this?! It's pointless!" I yelled.
"Isn't it obvious? How can you not see as to why I keep fighting? Huh?!" Yelled Ragna.
I was confused about what Ragna was alluding to. Victor and Ragna clashed blades a couple of more times, during this collision something surprising took place. Ragna, hit Victor on his hip bone using the hilt of his sword and used the impact as a means to propel himself to swing his sword in a circular motion, allowing him to slash Victor on the chest diagonally, following it up with a mid-air slash. However, Victor immediately blocked the mid-air slash and bounced Ragna up into the air.
Before Ragna could even fall to the floor, Victor punched him in the stomach, sending him to collide into the oak tree. Ragna was on the floor, out for the count. The outcome has been decided. "That's my victory." Victor walked away. You could tell that he too was tired.
"I'm…not…done yet."
Victor's eyes widened in bewilderment upon hearing these words. As he turned around, there stood Ragna, with his legs shaking uncontrollably as the desperately tried to hold the weight of his upper body.
"I'm starting to get sick of you! Aaargh!" Yelled Victor in irritation of this cockroach of an opponent that stood before him. Victor dashed toward Ragna, ready for a finishing strike. As he was about to finish off Ragna, Bjorn stood in the way. It seemed as if he had blocked Victor's strike.
"Victor… that is enough! You won. This is a mere duel, not a battlefield."
"R…right. I apologize for losing my composure, sir Bjorn."
"It's okay. I apologize for my son's insolence. Please, allow me to tend to your wounds."
"Fret not Bjorn, these are but shallow wounds. Well then, I better get going then. Farewell."
"Farewell, Count Victor. Have a safe trip."
As Victor walked away, the oak tree behind Bjorn and Ragna collapsed. All that was left in its spot was a stump that was cleanly sliced. Victor and I entered the carriage, leaving the small hamlet behind as we continued our journey to the Luceal mansion.