True Love's Seventh Kiss

Ch.29 Duke Highwall Enters

As the night crept on, the gathering had fewer dancers and more sofas and chairs for gathered socializing. The second course of food had been brought out with the good liquor and snacks, so everyone was settling into a socializing mood.

Novak and Marion were sitting on a sofa and entertaining guests while Delora was eagerly enjoying the spirits. Someone had convinced Marion to tell the story of how he met Delora and cured his mother so after glossing over most of the technical boring details he managed to spin a tale that enraptured everyone's attention.

And whether by noble strategy or by the natural charm of the Cliffgards, Marion and Novak spun their adventure and managed to capture and sway the hearts of the noble ladies and maidens.

A field of flowers was eagerly enticed by the story Marion unfolded like a professional bard. They gasped and paled at the description of the monsters, they stood dazzled at the imaginary swordplay Marion pantomimed, they gasped at the fight with the dragon with their daring escape, and they swooned at the pure romance shared between Novak and Irina.

Marion was also happy to see that the princess was off doing her own thing with her clique of friends, so he didn't have to bother with them. As he was told by his mother and Corsair, he was the prize to be won so they had to make the first move and approach him. He had no obligation to seek them out if they were perfectly happy doing their own thing. He also chalked up some of the credit to the glasses. He had this unnatural purple eye color that often got strange looks but with the glasses nobody seemed to notice or remark on them. Since his purple eyes were a dead give away as the capture target bachelor, they had done their proper job and he was growing found of what they brought to his ascetic.

The mood was set up spectacularly and the Cliffgards even got a round of applause from the court of flowers and the other spectators.

Of course, all good things can only last so long in this world.

"Announcing Duke Gurrand Highwall." Shouted a knight from the entrance that was wearing black armor. This black knight had wings on his helmet proving that he wasn't one of the knights of Cliffgard and instantly everyone was on edge who recognized the man who entered as announced.

A handsome man who oozed danger stepped into the ballroom. His clothes were black with heavy white fur decorating the fringes of his outfit. He was clean shaven, and his hair was combed back in an attempt to contain the wild black mane. Without being overly bulky he was the picture of health and held himself like a trained soldier ready for battle at any time. His heavy cape only moved when he did like a dark shadow and the shimmer of a sword at his waist only increased the air of danger this man presented. His face was the perfect representation of tall, dark, and dangerous, as even his glower could not detract from his masculine charm. It was as if he were the perfect mix of an incubus and a war god.

If left to his own devices this man would take somebody's life before the night's end and all in attendance knew it. When the duke locked eyes with the count the air filled with bloodlust as he stalked directly towards him like a man on a mission.

"Marion, help me stand." Novak said solemnly.

The room was quiet as Marion helped his sickly father to his feet.

"Hold this," Novak handed Marion his cane. "Kaliban, fetch my lovely wife, would you? Ladies if you will excuse me. That man is here for me." Novak then straightened his back and approached the duke as the ladies scooted out of the way.

Novak's sickly walk quickly shifted into a measured prowling stride and somehow managed to match the duke's bloodlust. It was to the degree that the floor was cleared between them so that no one would be caught in the crossfire.

"Do you even know what time it is?" Novak said as he drew his sword causing everyone to gasp. In front of the infamous black beast of the north and one of the six sword saints from a genius generation, this sickly count from nowhere had drawn his weapon with every intent to use it.

The duke unclipped his heavy cloak and drew his own sword. "Can you even fathom how busy I am?" the duke long sword was meant for slaying monsters, so it was thick and tapered to a point that longer than standard issue longswords. This design choice along with a hilt that was four palms long made this curious weapon look like it was either a thinned great sword or an extended long sword. "You would call me here for a trivial party."

The duke's voice contrasted Novak. Where Novak had a healthy tenor laced with manners and scholarly etiquette, the duke's low growl rumbled like a stampede of orcs, heavy with bass that would shake hearts and limbs alike just from speaking a few words.

"I'll show you how trivial this party is." Novak surprised everyone once again when he lunged at the duke with his sword. A glint of light and a blur of motion was all most people saw. Despite how sickly he looked, Novak's body remembered how to fight and was able sneak into the duke's guard and nicked his check.

The duke grimaced and swung his arm with enough strength to create a wave of air pressure. Luckily the seemed to have an unwritten agreement not to use magic or auras so the entire building didn't come down.

"You are still so annoying!" The duke roared as he swung his arm.

However, Novak proved how close he came to being a sword saint as his agility and speed. It allowed him to dodge and parry the dangerous blows from the war hardened duke.

"Come on, you are better than this Gurrand." Novak taunted as he hopped on the balls of his feet. Then he lowered his stance and had his sword behind him like he was cocking his arm. He then raised his bloodlust to max with a wide grin on his face.

"I was holding back for your health, but it seems you need to be taught a lesson." the duke rolled his shoulder. He switched hands to a southpaw grip using his left hand as his dominant hand. Then took his own battle stance holding the sword raised above him with his left hand next to the hand guard and his right hand on the pommel. Then he matched Novak's blood lust with a sneer that could have passed for a smirk.

The crowd could only watch. Some part of them acted like this was expected and the other part was completely horrified and wondered why nobody was stopping them.

When they collided the only thing that anyone could see was the sparks created by their swords. If there was any doubt about Novak's combat prowess it was now erased. The Duke of Highwall had a territory that was even more dangerous than the Cliffgard forest. The cold climate and huge expanse made it a haven for some of the largest and most aggressive monsters in the empire. Everyone knew that the duke was as battle hardened as they came as he protected his territory and the empire. And he was a part of a long history of monsters said to have been blessed with dragon blood from their first ancestor who was given a dragon heart transplant.

They were one of the old kingdoms that were instrumental in establishing the empire back in the day and have always produced the greatest warriors from a standing army that are constantly sharpening their blade to a fine point through constant battles with strong monsters, bandits, and some things worse.

Not only did they seem to be on par with one another, Novak had landed his first strike and now their swords met blow for blow. What started as wild flailing slowed to a rhythmic dance that now enraptured everyone's attention. Duke Highwall had attained the rank of sword saint, becoming one of the six sword saints in the empire, that meant watching him fight was a novelty. And even more so since he was such a recluse few saw him anyway, so being able to pull him down from his mountains to attend a ball was an event on its own.

On top of that duke highwall was considered foul tempered since he hardly ever smiled. The fact that he was smiling from ear to ear like a school boy caught most of the ladies off guard and soon he would probably receive a new influx of marriage requests.

However, their fight was brought to a sudden stop when both combatants suddenly floated up in the air and out of sword reach. That didn't stop them and together they threw their swords at each other one last time one last time in protest. They clattered in the air and fell to the ground, and everyone turned to see who the spell caster was that dared interrupt one of the greatest sword duels to date in high society.

"Honestly, you boys. Can't you ever just hug or shake hands like adults." Irina said from across the room as she walked down the steps from the second floor.