“Have you considered entering the Martial Tournament? I feel like you could defeat most of the opponents in the Preliminary Competition with sheer strength alone…”
“Ah~ I don’t think I’m quite at that level yet~”
Lian could only respond to the guards’ expectations with an awkward smile.
Through their conversation, she learned more about the detailed rules of the Martial Tournament.
As the scale of the Crown Festival grew year after year, the Martial Tournament had become one of the most popular events of the celebration.
Competitors face off one-on-one using provided weapons, abiding by the rule of stopping before causing real harm—simple as that.
There were no restrictions on who could enter, so every year a wide range of quirky, unpredictable participants joined in—but that didn’t mean the matches would be filled with nothing but boring showdowns.
The Preliminary Competition held in the days leading up to the festival would weed out those who simply wanted to stretch their limbs or show off, pushing the real contenders—those seeking the Duchess and Royal Princess’s recommendation letters and a shot at fame—into the Finals on the last day of the celebration.
Right now, Lian and the guards were assembling the Stands that encircled the Coliseum for the Finals.
This round venue, including the Stands, was integrated with the Banquet Zone, and together they occupied nearly half of the entire festival grounds.
…Maybe I should just lose on purpose in the Preliminary Competition?
After putting down another load of building materials and weapons, Lian’s work came to a pause.
She climbed onto a newly finished section of the Stands, sitting at the top and gazing down at the whole venue.
For some reason, she felt no desire to compete with Vera at all right now—even she was surprised by the change in her own thoughts.
“…Compared to that person, is it really me who changed first?”
As her thoughts wandered, two familiar figures gradually emerged in the center of the Coliseum—her memories of Lian and Vera as youths.
The two of them wielded their swords, exchanging clumsy attacks and defenses that now seemed terribly immature.
Back then, Lian truly couldn’t understand why the Empire had assigned him a Swordsmanship instructor who looked even younger than he was.
Only after being effortlessly knocked to the ground with the sword hilt a dozen times did he realize how foolish he had been to judge her by appearance.
“Hurry up and get on your feet. Do you really have the nerve to call yourself Hero like this?”
“I never wanted to be a Hero in the first place… It was all you lot who slapped that title on me!”
At that time, Lian hadn’t fully accepted his identity as the Hero.
He only forced himself up from the ground to attack her again, all because he couldn’t stand the mocking of a girl younger than himself.
“Still relying on brute force. If you keep that up, you’ll never beat me, not in this lifetime.”
When Lian charged at her, body reinforced with Magic Power and moving at full speed, the young Vera simply stuck out her leg and tripped him, sending him face-first into the dirt.
“Hey, get up. Stop playing dead.”
Seeing him flop there like a salted fish, unmoving, the young Vera kicked him in the rear a couple of times with a cold expression.
“…”
“Hey? You’re the Hero… Hurry and get up!”
When Lian still didn’t respond, unease flickered in Vera’s eyes. She crouched down and reached out to touch his body—
“Gotcha!”
The moment she made contact, Lian, who had been playing dead, suddenly struck.
He grabbed Vera’s hand, unbalancing her and pulling her to the ground, then locked her wrist with all his strength until she, pained, dropped her sword.
“You—! You shameless, despicable scoundrel!”
Pressed to the ground by Lian, Vera’s face turned crimson as she lashed out, struggling desperately to break free.
But the gap in their Magic Power meant her strength was no match for his.
“You said that if I only relied on brute force, I’d never beat you. So I had to win with cunning—now it’s one win to twenty-four losses.”
“Liar! Idiot! Bastard! That’s not how a Knight wins! I refuse to count that as a victory! If you have the guts, let me go and we’ll fight again!”
“Whoa… That’s pretty harsh language. Are you really the Royal Princess of this country?”
“Go die… ugh… uuuu…”
“Hey, don’t cry… I get it, it’s my fault, you win this time, alright?”
As soon as Lian released her, Vera sprang to her feet and snatched up her fallen sword, glaring at him with teary eyes.
“Use whatever dirty tricks you want this time. I swear on the King’s honor… If I lose to you again, I won’t bear the name Yilansiya!”
“Isn’t that a bit much?! And does your King even know you’re betting his honor on something like this?”
This time, Vera’s sword strike was wreathed in a blade of Magic Power. Lian could only desperately search for an opening as he scrambled to escape.
The memory faded from Lian’s mind, her recollection of those days echoing with the youth’s indignant protests.
The first days of their Swordsmanship training together—by any account, not particularly happy memories—
But why do I keep recalling that scene? Why, even after all these years, does that woman still insist on settling the score with me?
Lian didn’t notice the faint smile that crept onto her lips.
…
……
…………
“You’re way too slow! Again! At this rate, you’ll never land a hit on her!”
“What’s the use of speed without strength? If you can’t break through her guard, you still won’t win!”
Even Milin began to grow frustrated as another confident attack was casually deflected by Vera.
The only reason you won that day—was because that maid was going easy on you.
If she’d fought seriously, you wouldn’t have been able to take even a single move.
After being told that by her teacher, Milin’s pride was fiercely stung.
She wasn’t the type to believe everything her teacher said, but she couldn’t stop brooding over how that girl had dodged her very first strike that day.
She was holding back for me…
As her mother’s daughter and her teacher’s disciple, she’d actually been shown mercy by that man’s illegitimate child during a duel—
I can never accept that!
At this thought, Milin tightened her grip on her sword and charged at Vera again.
This time she was faster and stronger… but Vera still blocked her with ease.
“Not enough, not enough. If you keep this up, you’ll never win…”
Vera murmured emptily, looking down at her sword, then at the bewildered Milin before her, as if she’d resolved herself to something.
“Seems I have no choice but to teach you this technique… It might be a bit early… but I believe you’ll be able to learn it.”
Milin was a bit startled by the look in Vera’s eyes. It was as if her teacher wasn’t seeing her, but rather someone who wasn’t there.
“If you master this move, you’ll even be able to defeat me… That way, that child’s sacrifice will finally have meaning.”
“T-Teacher?”
Vera slowly approached Milin, the wooden sword in her hand now coated in a thin Frost Layer.
As she raised her sword, the temperature of the entire training ground seemed to drop a few degrees.