Chapter 37: Golden Pass
"Are you nervous about the duel, Your Grace?"
Aideen turned her face slightly to the left, fixing her golden-green gaze emptily on the space in front of her. The Duke’s coach steadily moved along the well-tended gray stone road leading to the Shopping District in the Central Capital, west of the Royal Palace.
Tillian, seated opposite Aideen inside the carriage, crossed his arms in front of his broad chest and shook his head.
"Should I be nervous, Your Highness? Is Count Crueder such a talented swordsman?"
The princess perceived his response as an attempt at mockery. She pouted her lips slightly and answered in a somewhat grumpy tone,
"You jest, Your Grace, but I am being serious. The duel of honor is quite a big deal for both participants, as it is a duel to the death. While Count Constantine is already old and has lost his grip on martial arts quite some time ago, you fail to remember one crucial thing – the participants can choose a champion to fight in their stead. Doesn’t that bother you at all?"
The coach fell silent again, only the distant chatter of passing Capital dwellers mixed with the slow but rhythmic clip-clop of the horses’ hooves filled the space between the two passengers.
Tillian scratched his chin, as if giving the lady’s response some serious thought, then shrugged his shoulders somewhat dismissively, and finally said,
"I am confident in my abilities, Your Highness. Even if the Count chooses someone else to represent him in the duel, I’m sure I can defeat them. After all, who can he even assign to be his champion? As far as I know, the strongest swordsmen of the entire Kingdom are employed by the Royal Order of Knights, and they are the people who cannot be bribed to fight for some low-class noblemen."