The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster

At dusk, two men clashed, staking their lives on the battle.

“You look pleased.”

As Lorenz lowered his stance and spoke, Belial curled his lips into a smirk.

Yes, he was pleased. This was better. He had grown sick and tired of the empty process of hunting and whatever else.

Though he was not born with a particularly benevolent or compassionate nature, Belial had cherished the knights who had trained and grown up alongside him since childhood. The thought that they might all die was far from welcome.

And every time he recalled that their deaths would not even be honorable as knights, his chest felt suffocating, as if he had swallowed a handful of gravel.

“You’re not wrong. I was getting rather bored of these shallow tricks.”

“I’m not someone who can’t kill you, Belial.”

“I know. And I’m the same.”

“…….”

“Instead, let’s make one promise to each other.”

Belial raised his sword straight.

“If one of us dies, the other won’t touch anyone else.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no need to.”

Belial answered, feeling Sen’s gaze on him.

Sen Langde.

At first, she was just a clever maid he had encountered in the North. Seeing that Kyle seemed to trust her quite a bit, he had wanted to take her for himself to gain an advantage.

Then, upon learning that she was the legitimate daughter of Baron Langde and seeing how his mother showed clear discomfort every time she laid eyes on her, he decided to use that situation to his advantage.

It was around the same time Lorenz and his mother were maneuvering to push him out, and if he was to avoid being cast aside so easily, he needed to use Sen.

At first, that was all. There was no reason or intention to care about her beyond that.

When had he started to feel drawn to her?

He pitied her. He lamented that she had stepped into this wretched battlefield for the sake of revenge. He wished that, unlike Baron Langde and his wife, Sen would ultimately survive and seize what she desired.

Even if there was no place for him in her future. Even if his own life was part of her perfect revenge.

Ah, perhaps he was just tired.

Tired of endless struggle, tired of this imperial castle where he had to turn even those around him into enemies.

And yet, the thought of giving up or falling behind by his own hand was worse than death, so maybe, deep down, he had been hoping for someone to drag him down at the right moment.

“You’re lost in thought for too long!”

Lorenz’s voice rang out. In the next moment, Belial saw his opponent’s sword rushing toward his right eye.

Belial stopped thinking and raised his sword to block the attack. The fierce impact of metal against metal surged up his wrist, reverberating through his elbow and shoulder.

The two brothers had sparred often since childhood.

Though they had never wielded real swords against each other, they would occasionally fight in the training grounds until they were too exhausted to continue. At first, it had seemed like mere practice, but as they grew older, Belial realized that it had always been a form of rivalry.

When it came to swordsmanship, Belial was unquestionably superior. But Lorenz was relentless and never missed an opening when his opponent let their guard down. If they fought five times, Belial would win four, and Lorenz would barely claim victory once or twice.

However, in their final duel, Lorenz always won.

As if to say, “I let you win those previous matches just for this moment.”

As if his previous victories had merely been him dancing to Lorenz’s tune, and that thought often left Belial feeling disgusted.

But this time would be different.

Belial’s green eyes turned ice-cold.

The fumbling young princes who had tested each other’s intentions with wooden swords were long gone. Now, only the next emperor remained—a man who would drive his blade into his enemy’s heart to survive and count his remaining days atop a pool of blood.

“Haaahp!”

Neither man waited for the other. With a simultaneous shout, they charged.

Blades slashed horizontally, feet shifted, shoulders twisted, and swords thrust toward vital points.

Clang!

Before the ringing of steel had even faded, the blades clashed again, filled with murderous intent.

If he couldn’t cut the neck, he would stab the heart. If not the heart, then the stomach, the shoulder—at the very least, the thigh. Their ruthless attacks left no room for hesitation.

Lorenz’s sword nicked the tip of Belial’s ear, and in return, Belial’s counterattack grazed Lorenz’s side.

Drip. Drop.

In the chilling silence, the sound of blood splattering onto the ground echoed sharply, unnaturally loud and distinct.

“Not bad.”

Belial smirked mockingly.

“You don’t seem to remember, but I always won in our duels, Brother. There is such a thing as win rate, you know.”

“But in the end, I always won the last match. Do you know why?”

Belial’s eyes, no longer pretending to acknowledge Lorenz as his brother, turned cold again.

“Should I care? Or is that going to be your last words?”

Lorenz merely smiled.

After a few more exchanges, he spoke again.

“You overestimate yourself. You think you’re different from everyone else.”

Belial’s expression twisted.

Why wouldn’t he be? Was Lorenz trying to say that he was the same as the others? That was an insult to Belial Serena Meinhardt’s entire existence.

He had fought fiercely for his place. Born of noble blood, he had done whatever was necessary to ensure that his lineage would never lose its luster.

His entire life had been a constant competition—striving to be smarter than Lorenz, refusing to be crushed under the ambitions of the nobles, and above all, becoming stronger than Kyle.

“My mother is rather ruthless. You have no idea how harshly she tormented me every time I fell behind you.”

Lorenz spoke as he swung his sword.

The sharp blade slashed across Belial’s cheek and the back of his neck, leaving long, crimson wounds. Blood trickled down his sweat-soaked skin, staining his collar before seeping into the fabric, leaving dark blotches.

At that moment, Belial realized that his vision was beginning to blur. He clenched his teeth.

“You filthy—!”

Poison.

The toxin Lorenz had coated on his blade was seeping into Belial’s body through the wounds. It was likely some form of paralytic poison, given the way the pain spread in dull waves from the injuries.

It probably wasn’t lethal. A single dose of the antidote carried by knights might be enough to purge it—just a minor hindrance at best.

But in a battle where a single move could mean life or death, even a minor hindrance could decide the victor.

Belial gritted his teeth hard enough to crack them.

“So you’ve decided to throw away even the pretense of honor!”

Sswaeek! A sharp strike sliced through the air.

But his strength was already weakening. The attack was not as powerful as before. Lorenz effortlessly tilted his head, dodging it. A few strands of his hair were severed and drifted away.

A dark, sneering smile spread across Lorenz’s face.

“There’s no honor greater than survival, Belial. You might have hoped to avoid dying like prey, but… unfortunately for you, you’ll die in exactly the way you fear most.”

His voice was laced with contempt.

“You’re arrogant and hypocritical. You mocked Kyle for being the son of a maid, yet you’ve fallen for his maid yourself. Ha! How laughable. The great Belial, in love!”

“Love?! Who said I—!”

Belial’s voice exploded in fury.

He no longer cared about defense. Even if he had to lose an arm, he was determined to drive his sword through Lorenz’s heart.

But he did not kill Lorenz.

No, he couldn’t.

Belial’s sword never reached him. Something more urgent had arisen.

“Look, Belial.”

Lorenz’s soft-spoken contempt almost sounded like pity.

“See how love becomes the most absurd of weaknesses. Ah, don’t worry—you won’t have to regret it for long.”

“…….”

“You’ll be dead soon, my foolish brother.”

***

Strictly speaking, not much time had passed.

But within that brief span, too much had already happened.

“No.”

I tried to move, but Kyle grabbed me, stopping me.

“If you’re about to tell me not to interfere, save it. Is this really the time for that?”

Kyle responded in a low voice.

“If it wasn’t the time for that, you would have already shaken me off and run ahead, no matter what I said.”

“…….”

He was right.

I let out a shallow sigh.

The situation was growing worse. I was itching to jump in.

And yet, at the same time, I was afraid.

If Belial won, Lorenz would die. If Lorenz won, Belial would die.

Could I bear the death of either of them? Did I even have the right to decide who lived and who died?

Kyle had told me before—once blood was spilled, it could never be erased.

“As I said earlier, this is between them.”

“Can you say that while dying? Can you really face death and calmly say, ‘I chose this, so I have no regrets’?”

“Then make a choice, Shu.”

Kyle’s voice was a growl.

“Go. Kill Lorenz to save Belial. Then you’ll understand why I stopped you.”

“…….”

“I would regret ever bringing you into this war, and you would never forget that you played a part in someone’s death.”

His words were fierce, almost savage.

But precisely because of that, they struck deep.

As we stood frozen in silence, Belial and Lorenz fought desperately to kill each other.

Even someone like me, who had never witnessed a proper duel, could tell how brutal their battle was.

Belial took a stab to the shoulder to drive his sword through Lorenz’s thigh.

In return, Lorenz sliced open Belial’s chest.

But instead of retreating, Belial closed the distance further, thrusting his blade toward Lorenz’s heart.

Yet, as time dragged on, Belial’s movements became sluggish. His complexion turned deathly pale, the poison clearly taking its toll.

While I hesitated in fear, in that single moment of indecision—everything happened.

“Sen!”

The knights who had been standing by behind Lorenz finally moved.

Instead of joining the battle between Belial and Lorenz, they came straight toward us.

No, toward Sen.

They knew.

They knew that Sen loved Belial, and that Belial felt the same.

They knew that if they wanted to break Belial’s focus, they had to kill Sen first.

And just as expected, Belial’s attention shifted from Lorenz to Sen.

A look of dread crossed his face.

Kyle swiftly drew his sword and stepped forward to intercept the knights, but he couldn’t stop the archers positioned further behind.

An arrow flew toward us.

There was no one left to stop it.

And I didn’t have enough time to reach Sen.

“Shit!”

I made my decision.

I would interfere.

[Ice, Freeze! Sunflower Seed Chocolate | Miracle Points 5% Used | Time Will Be Stopped for 1 Minute.]

Whether it was 5% or 10%, none of that mattered now.

I bit into the floating chocolate.

I must have bitten the inside of my cheek in my haste—sharp pain spread through my mouth.

And then, like a lie, the entire world froze.