Chapter – 15
A slender body and thin frame. On top of that, his hands were smooth without even the slightest calluses, making it impossible to think he was someone who handled weapons. Of course, there were people who fought bare-handed or used martial arts, but since that didn’t seem to be the case either, the mystery only deepened.
And so—
“I don’t think you should. You might get hurt,” Ferdia had refused.
But instead, he provoked her with, “I think you might get hurt,” and in the same instant snatched her practice sword before she could even react, gripping it in his own hand.
The shocking sight left a strong impression.
Ferdia stared blankly at the man who had approached without her even noticing and taken her sword. Then she gave a small nod of acceptance and stood facing him, holding another practice sword.
“I’ll let you have the first move.”
Because you’re a lady.
He bowed slightly with a faint smile. Ferdia narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her stance.
“If you get hurt, don’t blame me.”
“You said that earlier too. But you might be the one who gets hurt.”
How ridiculous.
His words, subtly scratching at her pride, made Ferdia raise an eyebrow. After quickly reading the atmosphere, she lowered her upper body and lunged forward.
She had resolved to end it in a single exchange.
Her fast and sharp strike, filled with that determination, seemed certain to hit his leg—
But her sword cut through empty air.
“Huh?”
A startled sound escaped her without her realizing it. She was sure the blade had touched his clothes, yet it had sliced nothing but air. At that very moment, right beside her, the tip of his practice sword slowly rose toward her chin.
Her eyes shifted toward his face.
He smiled softly.
“Did I win?”
In that instant, her pride crumbled.
The cold sensation lingering on the surface of the practice sword made Ferdia’s eyes tremble. Hearing his voice so close beside her, she slowly spoke while staring at him.
“…How?”
“What exactly are you asking?” he replied calmly.
“How I moved? How I easily avoided your sword? Or how my blade ended up at your throat?”
The sword that had touched her chin lowered. He stepped back, spun the blade gracefully, and shifted his grip.
His smooth bow and the way he handled the sword made it impossible to believe he was someone unfamiliar with swordsmanship.
“Shall we try again?”
Ferdia admitted her mistake of judging him only by appearances and readjusted her stance. As her focus changed, the man grinned.
A smile that reminded her of someone.
As her brow furrowed, he shifted his sword again and beckoned with his fingers.
A signal to come at him.
Responding to the gesture, Ferdia gathered her energy and dashed in instantly.
Using mana to enhance the body was the most basic foundation for knights. But how far one could push that foundation to its limits was extremely important.
And Ferdia understood that better than anyone.
It was the result of choosing the best possible method to overcome her physical weaknesses.
By compensating for her lack of strength and stamina, and combined with her genius-level talent, she had become an overwhelming fighter.
Someone who would never kneel before anyone.
The only person she acknowledged was Ereve. Other than him, she believed she would never lose.
But that conviction shattered in an instant.
“You have a lot of openings.”
His sword struck from diagonal angles, constantly bending its trajectory to aim for her vital points.
She avoided a few strikes by twisting her body, but even that was barely enough.
What had started as her attack had now turned into her desperately trying to block his.
What kind of monster is this?
She couldn’t help but feel admiration watching him swing his sword with a smile. His style seemed completely unstructured, yet every single angle of attack was threatening.
“There’s another opening here.”
“Kh—!”
As she barely deflected a strike aimed at her side, his foot suddenly lashed out and struck her ankle.
Thud.
As she began to fall, she kicked him back as well, and the recoil pushed them both apart.
The man glanced at the clear footprint on his white shirt and grinned, nodding.
“Let’s go again.”
His polite tone was irritating. It felt like he was looking down on her.
Ferdia narrowed her eyes and charged again, holding her sword low. For someone confident in offense, this was the best approach.
As her blade swept upward from below, he dodged fluidly and drew an S-shaped trajectory with his sword, sharply targeting her vital points.
Clang! Clang!
After deflecting his attacks, Ferdia finally spotted an opening. As his arm and torso extended from the deflection, she moved to strike his vital point with the edge of her hand—
But her movement stopped at the dull sensation against her abdomen.
“Is this my victory again?”
“……”
Ferdia glanced down at her stomach, then looked back up. His face was suddenly close, his breath brushing her skin. Her expression tightened slightly.
He studied her face with moving eyes, then smiled and stepped back.
“That was a good spar.”
After bowing politely, he stuck the practice sword into the ground and walked away leisurely.
Ferdia could only stare silently at his departing back.
***
“Do you know who that man is?”
The unexpected question came while Sandia was brushing her hair. Seeing Ferdia looking upset all day, Sandia wanted to answer—but had no useful information.
“I’m sorry, but there are quite a few men in this estate with light brown eyes…”
“He’s someone I saw for the first time today. And he was strong enough to toy with me.”
“If that’s the case, there probably aren’t many like that… but unfortunately I don’t know all the knights either. I wish I could help, my lady.”
Sandia closed her eyes apologetically.
Ferdia shook her head slightly as if to say it was fine and sighed. Seeing her troubled face, Sandia carefully spoke again.
“If someone is strong enough to subdue you, perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask the Duke.”
“Ereve?”
“Yes. If he’s that strong, surely the Duke would know him.”
“That’s probably true…”
But it felt uncomfortable.
She thought it looked pathetic to go searching for someone just because she lost.
What would she even do if she found him? Ask for a rematch? Fight to the death? What was she expecting?
Even if it was just sparring, Ferdia couldn’t easily accept the fact that she had lost.
She had been certain she wouldn’t lose to anyone except Ereve.
In the end, that had just been arrogance.
Biting her lip, she seemed deep in thought before finally standing up.
Sandia skillfully draped a slip gown over her shoulders.
“You worked hard today, Sandia. Go rest.”
“Have a good night, my lady.”
Still wearing her stiff expression, Sandia bowed slightly. Ferdia gave her a faint smile before leaving the room and heading to Ereve’s study next door.
She stood quietly before the door, then knocked softly. After a moment, the door opened and Ereve appeared.
“You’re here?”
Meeting his black eyes, Ferdia felt strangely reluctant to speak, as if she were leaning on him.
Noticing her state, Ereve tilted his head and opened the door wider to let her in.
“Tea? Or maybe milk tea?”
As he skillfully handled the hot water, she turned her head and sat down.
“Tea.”
“Something sweet is better.”
Smiling, he dropped two sugar cubes into the cup and handed it to her.
“Thanks.”
She accepted the cup and watched the rising steam before glancing at him.
As if asking what was wrong, he tilted his head. Seeing him like that, she was suddenly reminded of the knight from earlier.
She slowly spoke.
“…Is there anyone in this castle stronger than me besides you?”
“Besides me?”
His eyes widened slightly. He leaned back in his chair and thought.
“To be honest, if we’re talking about whether someone could beat you, there are probably at least ten people on the continent. But purely in terms of skill, there’s probably no one in this castle who could beat you except me. And even then, that’s only if I release the power of my blood. Under normal circumstances, subduing you quickly would be nearly impossible.”
“…Really?”
Then who was that man?
As she pondered, Ereve tilted his head.
“Did something happen?”
“Huh? Oh, no… it’s nothing.”
“What is it? If you need something, tell me. I’ll help with anything I can.”
His sincere offer made her hesitate, but she shook her head.
What was the point of telling him?
It would feel like she was asking him to get revenge for her.
Instead, she just drank her tea.
Seeing her suddenly show up and then refuse to speak, Ereve frowned slightly in concern.
Just then—
Click.
The door opened without a knock.
Both turned toward the rude intruder entering the Duke’s study.
At that moment, Ferdia’s expression froze.
“There you are, brother.”
“Yuren. You arrived?”
“This morning. I was looking around the castle and forgot to come see you.”
“That’s fine. Mornings are busy anyway.”
As the man approached while chatting familiarly with Ereve, he glanced at Ferdia. Noticing her stiff expression, Ereve narrowed his eyes slightly and asked:
“Have you two met?”
“Hm? Ah, oh? We meet again here. Haha, what a coincidence. Nice to see you again.”
The man smiled casually and extended his hand toward Ferdia.
She stared at him blankly, frowning.
Despite her displeased expression, he simply smiled back.
“My name is Yuren.”
“…Yuren?”
“Yes. Yuren Grixia.”
His brown eyes shimmered.
“I’m the second son of the House of Grixia.”
Ferdia looked at him in a daze.
Second son? There were more family members in the Grixia house?
As she failed to respond, Yuren shrugged.
Ereve looked between the two.
His younger brother looked like he was greeting an old friend, while Ferdia looked at him with clear hostility.
Unable to understand the completely opposite atmospheres, Ereve finally clapped his hands.
Clap!
Both turned toward him.
“I didn’t realize you two already knew each other. Let’s just sit and talk. Yuren, want some tea?”
“I don’t really like that stuff. I’ll just have water.”
He laughed cheerfully and sat down, glancing again at Ferdia.
As their gazes refused to separate, Ereve frowned slightly and placed a hand on her shoulder.
