The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 806: Katerina Scares Him

"I think that would be for the best. I will inform him after the ceremony. Will you be hosting a dinner?"

Dominic nodded. "Yes, for all the grads and their families. It’s tradition."

"Then we will see you there."

The pair of Nobles split up to go join their families, and Dominic went to give Katerina the bad news. She knew the moment that she saw him, he could see it in her face. The disappointment was clear, but Katerina was flexible.

If she couldn’t have him as a husband, Dominic knew that she wouldn’t object to having him as a Paladin on her team.

Though, calling them "Paladins" was a bit of a stretch. Most of the Wistover Paladins were not Paladins by trade skill core. They were mostly Battlemages, as was Katerina. The only concession to being "Paladins" was that all the members of the order were taught to use at least one basic healing spell.

After the graduation ceremony, Dominic led Katerina and the boys back to the house, where he found that they had an unexpected guest.

A tall and muscular young man in polished armour, leaning against a two-handed sword, was standing by the gates, while the Daves smirked like kids who found the hidden cookies. There was definitely something up that they weren’t concerned that this young knight had his sword drawn.

"Duke Dominic. I do hope I am not inconveniencing you. I have come for a very specific purpose," the young man began.

He paused for a second, and when Dominic didn’t stop him, he continued.

"I would like to ask your daughter’s hand in marriage, and I am willing to prove my worth in battle to get her to accept."

Dominic smiled, while Katerina’s eyes lit up with joy. Someone thought that they could impress her enough with their combat skills that she would accept them as a husband?

She liked that idea.

Either she was going to find a worthy partner who didn’t cry to his father when she expressed interest, or she was going to get to beat the arrogance out of some Princeling.

Behind them, Alexis laughed, and whispered into Dominic’s ear.

"That’s Prince Jacob Witry, Eldest son of the King of Chip. He’s the head of their Royal Knight order, and only twenty-four."

That was a fairly large age gap still, but given the longevity of powerful magic users, it wouldn’t matter long. After all, even after more than sixteen years married, Alexis still looked to be in her mid-twenties.

Every child, her aging seemed to slow. A great win in Dominic’s books.

Katerina was already in her armour before Dominic could answer, so he just gestured to the left.

"Come in. You can make your challenge on the training grounds. I know your father and family, and I won’t object to your proposal, if you can impress the Princess."

A crowd of staff members and Paladins gathered to watch the match, and then a few of the guests, including Prince Tommy, who was frantically trying to warn the other Prince that he was making a terrible, life altering mistake.

They entered the training grounds, and Prince Jacob flipped his visor down, then casually spun his massive sword to his shoulder with a motion that spoke of immense strength.

Clearly, he was not a low level magic user.

Katerina laughed, and then rocketed forward on powerful legs, leading with her shield.

The Prince parried and spun, moving straight to using Smite on his blade. He wasn’t holding back in this challenge, treating it like a proper duel and not a sparring session.

The glowing golden blade crashed into the barrier over Katerina’s shield, and she released a barrage of magic missiles from her sword that Prince Jacob rolled to avoid, then charged with a flurry of blade slices.

Katerina was still the faster of the two, but he had the reach, so she couldn’t easily close the distance.

That forced her to fight mostly with magic, where she excelled. But without being able to get close enough to knock his guard away, the older Paladin wasn’t having too many problems parrying her magical attacks.

Magic shook the grounds as spells collided and exploded, briefly blinding most of the spectators as the two fought.

Dominic hummed in appreciation. He would say that Prince Jacob was also at the level of an Archmage, at least level twenty on his core combat skills. He was very close to on par with Katerina, who was taking a bit to adjust to fighting someone as an equal.

She sparred too much with the trainees and younger knights, not the instructors, who were on her power level.

A smile was spreading over her face under her helmet as they fought. This Prince was not only good, he was willing to go all out against her, and risk his own safety. This was much better than the cute Prince who was fun to tease.

The speed of the two-handed blade made up for the slower movements of the wielder, and Katerina found herself actually struggling to fight in her usual style.

That wasn’t the only one that she knew, though.

The Prince was a tall man, nearly 190 centimetres. Compared to her, he might as well be an Ogre, so she could fight him like one, and duck under his blade to attack low and inside.

Prince Jacob backpedalled as the Princess got under his guard, and her blade slammed into his side, sending him rolling across the ring.

Katerina pressed her advantage, and Prince Jacob dropped his sword to put a shoulder into her shield and flip her over his shoulder, disarming her blade. The Princess dropped her shield, and the two of them turned the match into a wrestling match.

"She flirts like her mother," Colonel Wilkes noted.

Alexis scoffed as she watched her daughter brawling with a Prince. Surely, she wasn’t that bad?

Finally, Jacob managed to pin her arms, only to have Katerina spread her wings and flip them over. Her arms were still pinned, but she used mage hand to pull his helmet off.

Whether she was going to kiss him or headbutt him was still up for debate when Dominic cleared his throat.

"I do believe that this match is settled. Princess Katerina, has Prince Jacob proven himself to your satisfaction?"

"Hmm, I think so. We might have to do it again to be sure."

Dominic laughed. "Well, if I approve this marriage alliance, you have the rest of your lives to settle the score. Your mother still likes to beat me up when we spar."

The Paladins laughed. It had been so long, and Dominic still couldn’t beat Alexis in a sword fight. It wasn’t even close. No amount of magical aptitude had managed to make up for his lack of skill with a sword. He was still much better at making them than using them.

Prince Jacob stood up and brushed the arena dust from Katerina before straightening his clothes and holding out a rolled scroll to Dominic.

"My Royal Father had faith in my skills, and prepared the alliance proposal in advance. Naturally, there will be some delay before the ceremony, but with your permission, I will secure my bride’s agreement today."

Katerina changed into a comfortable and elegant red dress. "Father, I agree to this arrangement. We will certainly make fine, strong grandchildren for you."

Dominic turned to Alexis. "She gets that from you. I’m pretty sure."

Alexis didn’t buy that for a moment. That primal and hormonal response to excitement was definitely from her father.