— Mock Training Ground: Spectator Stands —
The duel ended so suddenly that Liliana did not react at all.
She blinked clumsily.
Just a few seconds ago—or perhaps a dozen seconds ago, her sense of time having completely blurred—a blinding white light had erupted from the center of the training ground. Blazing red flames and silver-white mana had devoured each other, and the shockwave had kicked up coarse sand that rattled sharply against the backs of the spectator seats.
She had instinctively raised her arms to shield her face, the contents of her canvas bag nearly flying out.
Then, slowly, everything returned to silence.
Liliana slowly lowered her arms and looked over, only to see two people standing in the center of the training ground.
No, to be precise, one person was standing, and the other was kneeling on one knee.
Loris von Aldheim, the young lady, still stood tall on the training ground.
Her pale-gold drill-tails were somewhat disheveled, a few strands of hair escaping from her hairpins to cling to her cheeks and neck.
The collar of her dark-blue Magic Department uniform was slightly open, revealing a sliver of collarbone. Her cuffs were slightly singed, and her skirt was stained with sand, dust, and black scorch marks.
Her chest heaved, her breathing uneven.
But she wasn't the only one panting.
Waldenburg was in even worse shape.
The black-haired swordsman knelt on one knee in the sand, the broken half of his sword plunged into the ground before him.
His white uniform was no longer recognizable in its original color, and his short black hair clung damply to his forehead, with a few strands still dripping.
He kept his head lowered, his shoulders heaving violently.
Liliana's gaze lingered on him for a moment before shifting back to Loris in worry.
Looking closely, the blonde girl stood there with an easy posture, her chin slightly raised, her emerald-green eyes calmly looking down at the opponent kneeling before her.
It seemed... she was in much better shape than Waldenburg. In fact, she appeared completely unharmed, merely having exhausted a great deal of physical strength.
And Liliana felt as if she had seen that expression of hers many times before.
For instance, at the entrance of the Magic Department building, or in the ritual hall during the mana test—it was just like every time Loris walked past her without looking back, her skirt lightly brushing against the edge of her desk.
It was the look of a victor.
The imposing aura of the villainous daughter, Miss Aldheim.
“I lost.”
Waldenburg's voice came from the center of the training ground, hoarse and exhausted.
Yet, it was remarkably calm.
It was as if he had held those words in his mouth for a long time, and now that he had finally spoken them, he felt a sense of relief instead.
Liliana's mouth parted slightly in astonishment.
Although she had vaguely anticipated this outcome from the scene, she still found it hard to believe, let alone hearing him admit defeat with his own lips.
Lost...?
The Waldenburg had lost?
The rumored strongest freshman of the Swordsmanship Department, the genius magic swordsman with Level Ten mana capacity—the very Waldenburg who had been watched with expectant eyes by all the teachers during the entrance ceremony—had lost.
He had lost to the Magic Department's, the ducal family's, villainous daughter, whom everyone assumed “must only be running rampant by relying on her family background and mana capacity”—ah, of course, Liliana didn't think that way, but it was the general consensus among most of the freshmen.
She didn't know if she should go down now to see if they were injured, not caring about anything else.
But the atmosphere between the two of them...
seemed so intense that it was hard to intrude.
Liliana felt a bit at a loss.
She could only sit in the second row of the spectator stands, clutching her canvas bag, silently waiting for the two of them to resolve their dispute, as if waiting for the plot to progress.
Sure enough, the two who had finished fighting continued their conversation.
Waldenburg said, “I will keep my promise.”
Loris asked, “...What promise?”
“?”
“?”
Liliana didn't quite understand.
The voices of their conversation echoed so clearly inside the mock training ground. So it wasn't a joking promise after all? This made Liliana think of some unpleasant things she had heard before.
If Waldenburg...
Then the winner...
Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Loris.
The blonde girl remained silent for a long moment, merely lowering her head slowly as if confirming something.
Then, she raised her head.
Her emerald-green eyes looked over.
Liliana ultimately failed to utter a single syllable.
Her fingertips tightened instinctively.
Reason urged her to flee this troubled place immediately, but her legs felt as if they had taken root, pinned to the spot and unable to move even a fraction of an inch.
Next was the moment to fulfill the contract of victory and defeat.
Waldenburg froze not far away, silent.
When he had stepped onto the dueling ground today, he had clearly carried a determined momentum to turn the tables. Yet now that the dust had settled and his defeat was irreversible, he could only watch helplessly as the victor dominated the field.
That condescending yet unfathomable expression.
Loris's oppressive presence drew closer with each step.
Deep within Liliana's mind, her reason sounded an alarm: I should stand up right now.
She should get up immediately, perform a flawless, polite bow, offer a courteous “Thank you for your hard work, Miss Loris,” and then make a dignified and swift exit.
That was the correct way to handle this.
That was what a normal person should do.
But as Loris drew closer and closer, Liliana sat frozen in place, utterly at a loss.
“...”
The training ground wasn't large to begin with, spanning barely twenty paces from the center to the spectator stands.
Every step Loris took seemed intentional, as if deliberately giving Liliana enough time to run, yet also deliberately letting her know that even if she were given all the time in the world, she wouldn't be able to escape.
Liliana reflected in inward agony. She knew that because of these past two weeks, Miss Loris had left a deep enough impression on her. Loris might be a bad person, but more often than not, she had genuinely helped her out of goodwill...
The more she thought, the more confused she became. Even though she knew it was wrong, her mind was mostly filled with uncertainty; she simply didn't know what kind of attitude she should adopt toward Miss Loris.
Waldenburg, as one of the male leads, still stood on the spot. He stared at Loris's back, his dark-gray eyes holding no anger, but only an indescribable, complex emotion.
He stood up exhaustedly.
His knees let out a soft click.
His gaze swept past Loris and landed on Liliana.
It was only for an instant, and then he shifted it away with a complicated expression.
He began to brush the sand and dust off his uniform.
He stopped looking.
Because he already knew the outcome.
Just like that day, that was their bond.
The footsteps stopped right in front of her, and Loris's shadow fell over her.
Because of their standing and sitting positions, the otherwise petite villainous daughter naturally occupied the high ground, looking down and casting a breathtakingly oppressive aura.
Liliana had no choice but to lift her face and meet her gaze.
The moment their eyes met.
“M-Miss Loris...”
“Thank you for your hard work... The duel just now was r-really wonderful...”
The moment those illogical, polite words left her mouth, Liliana fell into a fresh wave of regret and helplessness.
Meanwhile, Loris, standing above, merely knit her brows slightly in thought for a moment, then tilted her head gently in apparent confusion.
Just a slight tilt.
Her blonde hair slipped from her shoulder, tracing a pale-gold arc in the air.
Her expression didn't change—it was still that playful, wicked smile that made one want to turn and run—but the head tilt suddenly added an indescribable flavor to the scene, as if she were sizing up an amusing toy.
She took a soft breath, as if organizing her words.
Then, Loris spoke, her voice neither high nor low, carrying a lazy, nonchalant tone, “Who did you think would win at first?”
“...”
Liliana was choked up by the question.
Actually, at first... she hadn't thought Miss Loris would win.
But now she had witnessed the entire process.
She had seen Loris condense a fire sword with her mana, seen Waldenburg's iron sword get sliced in half, and seen Waldenburg drop to one knee and admit his defeat.
So the answer was no longer important.
Thus, this question wasn't about who would win at all.
Instead, the meaning of this question was: You know I won, right? You know what this means, right?
Liliana trembled.
“You...”
She wanted to run away!
(Due to censorship, 2,350 words of text description have been omitted here.)
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