The story of the black silk female knight

After saying that, she gave Tia a provocative look, with the eyes of a victor.

"Ha ha……"

Seeing this, Diana smiled and quickly explained before Tia could get angry:

"While that is one of the reasons, the more important one is... that I'm running out of black dye. Now, not only are black stockings in short supply, but all kinds of black underwear are also out of stock."

The black dye I used has an ingredient that is the ink of a certain octopus-like monster found in the sea. This kind of octopus-like monster is very rare in the waters of Fran, and is more common in the Four Islands Alliance area.

The next merchant fleet from the Four Islands Alliance won't arrive for another seven days. Adding the time I need to prepare the dyes and make the product, the earliest I can restock will be ten days away.

There's nothing anyone can do about the temporary shortage of raw materials, and Valensa and Tia both expressed their understanding.

Anyway, since we're good friends, we'll have plenty of opportunities to go shopping together on weekends in the future, so we can come back then.

After leaving Diana's shop, it was already past four in the afternoon; it was time to go find Melina.

Valensa and Tia quickly returned to the carriage driven by Enori and headed towards the Adventurers' Guild.

The Adventurers' Guild headquarters in the royal capital was much larger than the small building in Sergin Town. It looked like a magnificent castle, with adventurers of all kinds coming and going at the entrance.

Valensa was about to go in to find Melina when she discovered that someone had gotten there first.

And those people are...

Valensa's expression changed, her face quickly turning grim, and she rushed toward the roadside where Melina was.

"Quick, follow up!"

Tia quickly called to Enori to join them in chasing after them.

Valensa had just rushed to Melina's location when she heard the sound of an argument.

Woman: "I'm sorry, Mr. Bill, I've said it many times, I'm just Miss's personal maid, and what you're saying has nothing to do with me."

Man: "How could it be unrelated? As long as you're still a maid in the Badr family, these things are your responsibilities! You must come back with me!"

Woman: "...What if I insist on refusing?"

Man: "Then don't blame me for being impolite... take her away."

The woman in the argument is Melina, and the man is a young man in his twenties.

As soon as the young man finished speaking, two rather burly women beside him immediately surrounded Melina, clearly intending to forcibly take her away.

Melina remained quite calm, even putting her hands inside her clothes as if she had some self-defense tools, though her eyes still held a hint of hesitation.

But Valensa didn't care about any of that anymore.

"Stay away from her!"

With a roar, she accelerated and rushed to Melina's side, mercilessly kicking the two women who were trying to forcibly take Melina away.

The two women were not weak; one of them even suddenly unleashed a strong aura after sensing the threat of attack.

But they quickly recognized the newcomer, gave up resisting, and obediently let Valensa kick them away, then lay down on the ground and didn't move.

"M-Ms.?"

The other guards around the young man were about to make a move, but they immediately recognized Valensa's identity. After a moment's hesitation, they pretended not to know anything.

"Humph."

Valensa glared at the two women again before turning her gaze to the young man, hands on her hips, her face contorted with anger.

"Cousin Bill, what do you mean by this? Didn't we agree on this before? I've already given up my position as the family heir, and you still want to steal my sister Melina? Have you no shame? How can you be so greedy?"

"...Times have changed, cousin Valensa."

Despite Valencia's anger, the young man remained calm.

“The family is in dire need of talent right now, and Melina is an elite that the family has carefully cultivated. I cannot stand by and watch her talent go to waste.”

Chapter 26 This duel is absolutely fair

"Don't try to fool me with those grand principles!"

Valensa ignored Bill's words and stood firmly in front of Melina:

"If the family is short of talent, then you should train them! Just don't you dare lay a finger on Melina! Melina is mine!"

"...I think you may have misunderstood me, cousin Valensa."

Bill's temples seemed to throb twice, and he looked quite helpless.

“I don’t mean to take Melina away from you. She is still your personal maid… but you will be at the War Academy for the next three years, and there will be very few opportunities to use a maid, right?”

It's such a waste for someone as talented as Melina to work in the Adventurers' Guild... She received training from a young age on how to assist the head of the family, and her grades were outstanding.

Since she has to work anyway, the Badr family is clearly a better fit for her, isn't it?

If you're still worried, I can sign a formal employment contract with her. As for the salary... let's calculate it at 20 times the Adventurers' Guild's salary, how about that?"

"Ha, you're talking nicely now, but weren't you just planning to force yourself on me?"

Valensa sneered dismissively:

"Based on your performance just now, don't expect me to believe a single word from you again! I'll say it again, Melina is mine, and you're not allowed to have any designs on her!"

"...I did rush things a bit just now...Never mind."

Bill gave Valensa another long look:

"Anyway, I won't give up. You still have to go to school, and you can't keep stopping me... Let's go."

"You stop!"

Valensa was furious when she saw Bill turn around and leave with his men.

She sped up and circled in front of Bill, drawing her alloy longsword:

"So, in the end, you're just after Melina, aren't you? Then there's nothing more to say. Let's settle this according to the custom among nobles: a duel!"

"A duel, huh..."

Bill observed Valensa's fighting stance, lost in thought:

"If I remember correctly, three years ago you knew nothing about swordsmanship, but now... it seems the rumors about the War Academy weren't exaggerated after all."

To be honest, I've always looked down on your behavior of abandoning responsibility and choosing to run away back then, but now it seems that perhaps you were the one who... well, you know.

Bill also drew his sword.

It was a sword that was slightly shorter than an alloy longsword, but much wider.

"Cousin Valensa, how do you want to duel?"

"It's very simple."

Valensa snorted:

"We're all relatives after all, so we can't have a life-or-death duel. Let's just stop here... If you lose, you're never allowed to bother Melina again!"

"can."

Bill readily nodded, then asked with a smile:

"What if I win?"

"If you win... tsk."

Valensa bit her lip, feeling somewhat conflicted.

Although she was confident that she would never lose, she still couldn't bring herself to say that if she lost, she would give up Melina, not even just let Melina work temporarily.

The situation with the Badr family is too complicated now. Once they take control, it's hard to get out. Valensa absolutely cannot send Melina into the mire.

But apart from Melina, Valensa didn't really have many other bets to offer at the moment.

...If all else fails, we'll have to stake our profits from the partnership with the Nora Chamber of Commerce.

Just as Valensa was about to speak, Tia's voice suddenly came through:

"If Valensa loses, I will represent the Britannia family in supporting your bid to become the next head of the Baldr family. What do you say?"

"So it's Miss Britannia, it's an honor to meet you."

Upon seeing Tia, Bill quickly bowed and gave a wry smile.

“This promise is certainly enough…it’s even too heavy, I’m afraid I can’t bear it.”

"Then why don't you just increase the stakes?"

Tia's expression remained indifferent, showing no intention of returning the gift.

"If Valensa wins, not only will you be prohibited from harassing Melina yourself, but you will also do everything in your power to prevent other members of the Badr family from harassing Melina and Valensa. How about that?"

"This……"

Bill really wanted to refuse, but Tia's expressionless face put a lot of pressure on him.

In the end, he nodded helplessly:

"Okay, I agree."

"...Words are meaningless; even if a written agreement is made, it can be torn up and the debt reneged on."

Tia remained as indifferent as ever.

"Do you dare swear an oath to Her Majesty the Sun Goddess?"

“…Understood. I swear to Her Majesty the Sun Goddess…”

Bill gritted his teeth and swore an oath to the sun goddess exactly as Tia had asked.

"Hmm, that's more like it..."

Tia then smiled and looked at Valensa:

"Alright, you can begin the duel now... Don't worry, I will personally act as the referee, and in the name of the Britannia family, I guarantee that this duel will be absolutely fair!"

"Then that's settled... You don't have any objections, do you, Cousin Bill?"

With Tia's support, Valensa had no more worries and became even more confident.

"...It doesn't matter."

Bill, surprisingly, remained completely calm, offering no complaint about this clearly unfair duel, and simply pointed his sword intently at Valensa.

"Let me see how much you've grown in the three years since you left the family, cousin."

"Then I'm not welcome!"

Valensa knew Bill well enough.

Six years ago, when Bill was sixteen, he reached the Pearl level and had also participated in the War Academy's entrance exam. Unfortunately, he was not lucky and failed to pass the third stage.

To this day, although there has been no news of Bill breaking through the Lighthouse, he is certainly at least at the peak of the Pearl level, stronger than Valensa who has just entered the Pearl level.

In a life-or-death battle, Valensa could use assassination rings and divine runes to pull off some dirty tricks, but not in a nobility duel where it was just a friendly match.

This is a contest of pure strength, and Valensa must win fair and square.

But this "fair and square" is relative; Valensa certainly wouldn't go all out right from the start.

Even nobles who harbor deep hatred for each other will give each other face, let alone two relatives.

Valensa was certain that Bill wouldn't go all out right away and would, out of chivalry, let Valensa make the first few moves.

This is Valensa's chance.

Valensa didn't expect to win in those few moves, because Bill was no weakling either, and he certainly wouldn't be careless; he would be on high alert and defending with all his might.

Valensa's goal was to mislead Bill.

Without using any mental enhancements, she unleashed her agility to its limit, her alloy longsword leaving afterimages as it pierced Bill's entire body at a tricky angle.

"Well done!"

Bill's eyes lit up, and as expected, he didn't immediately retaliate, but instead focused on defense.

As expected, he was unable to break through to the Lighthouse level. He was a little less agile than Valensa and soon began to fall behind the pace of the alloy longsword.

But Bill remained unfazed until Valencia's thrust was unavoidable, at which point he roared and a bright white light appeared around him:

"Body care!"