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“What did you just say?”

In the air, the gazes of two women met.

Stella asked with the intent to give her another chance to speak, but her expression seemed ready to pounce on Siel at any moment.

The atmosphere was so cold, it made the surrounding mana feel heavy, yet Siel maintained her composure and countered.

“Didn’t you hear? I asked if I could take Nova.”

“…”

In that instant, Stella nearly lost her grip on reason, but she managed to collect herself.

This was a provocation. A straightforward and obvious one at that; it was an entirely nonsensical tale anyway.

Siel must know that no matter what she did, Nova wouldn’t come to her side.

Yet, why go for such an obvious provocation? Stella asked.

“Just say what you want to say, don’t beat around the bush.”

“Fight me with everything you’ve got.”

Arriving at the training grounds of the Duke’s knights after following Siel, Stella surveyed her surroundings.

In a training ground that could easily rival a normal garden, knights were fiercely swinging their swords.

A middle-aged man, presumably the knight commander, spotted them and quickly approached, bowing respectfully to Siel.

“Princess, what brings you here?” “I’m about to duel, clear the area!”

“W-well, not that far…” Stella thought to say it wasn’t necessary to move aside for her, but the knight commander accepted Siel’s request without complaint. Other knights followed suit.

As someone who had met plenty of knights, Stella found their behavior baffling.

‘Even without being the Duke’s daughter, they should scoff at her since most of them would claim their rights as knights…’ Normally, in such cases, there are two patterns: either they get crushed by the Duke’s prestige or… “…that doesn’t seem right at all.”

The gaze of the knights directed at Siel didn’t show mockery or fear of authority.

To put it simply, it was an admiring gaze, as if they were looking at a respected superior.

Perhaps she proved herself through skill against the elite guards here; otherwise, that kind of look would be impossible.

“What will you use for your sword?”

Stella looked at the row of weapons Siel pointed to, asking if that was really it.

“…you’re saying you want to use a real sword?”

“The protective barrier is up for sparring, so you won’t die. If you’re scared, you can use a wooden sword.”

“…you’re seriously annoying.”

Looking over the lined-up weapons, Stella picked up a seemingly average sword.

It wasn’t even something to ponder; she was confident in handling any weapon.

Now, the two girls faced each other, each holding a sword.

Stella grasped the sword with one hand, angling it towards the ground, while Siel held her rapier vertically with both hands.

“Just so you know, whether I win or lose, I’m not handing Nova over.”

“…You think you’ll lose?”

“That’s not what I meant! The important thing is Nova’s feelings…” At that moment, Siel cut Stella off with an exasperated tone.

“I know…! Something like that.”

“…”

“Still, I don’t want to hide this feeling, even if I’m not in her heart…”

Kiiing!

Just then, an intricate icy pattern appeared above Siel’s pure white eyes.

“I’ll show you everything. At the very least, I won’t regret it.”

Kwan!

Siel sprang forward with explosive force, and Stella prepared herself in response.

Activating her mana perception, Stella’s eyes widened as she sensed it.

‘This feeling… no way.’

Siel’s rapier lunged sharply towards her.

Simply turning her body sideways and holding her sword at an angle, Stella deftly twisted the trajectory.

Paan!!

A sound resonated as the air burst from the tip of the rapier.

The thrust, concentrated with all its power, showcased an extraordinary level of technique.

Thanks to her long experience, she evaded it; any average fighter wouldn’t be able to stop such a blow.

Swish. To get inside, Stella stomped the ground.

In close combat, fists were often better than swords, so she planned to end this quickly.

However.

“Icicle Wall!”

Kwang!

A gigantic ice pillar erupted from the ground, shielding Siel.

Stella had no choice but to create distance and separate herself from the ice.

Was she trying to turn this into a magic battle? But Stella’s eyes widened at the sight of Siel behind the ice wall.

Siel knelt, raising her weapon high.

The snowflake-like crystals in her eyes began to shine even brighter.

A blue light rapidly coalesced around the sharpened blade.

The temperature plummeted, and ice crystals bloomed in the air.

Harnessing mana into the weapon reached a level only those who attained mastery could use.

“This is the end.”

Stella immediately conjured a shield.

“This is dangerous…!”

Kwaaaang!!!

In an instant, an intense aura burst forth from Siel.

The cold energy surged, shattering the ice pillars between them and striking Stella’s shield.

The ultra-low temperature frost spread beyond Stella’s barrier, freezing the ground around them.

Knights watching their fight felt as if both space and time had frozen in that moment.

Stella barely withstood the blow, but felt an icy chill creeping deep into her bones.

“Hah… it’s cold… that hit was somewhat effective… but.”

“Cold?”

Suddenly, a small voice spilled from Siel as if she was scoffing.

“Since my mother died, I’ve always felt this cold.”

“What kind of situation is this…”

Upon hearing the tremendous noise, she came down to check, and sure enough, they were fighting while making all that racket.

Considering how poorly they got along, they hadn’t even spoken at the Academy,

Yet here they were, facing each other like sworn enemies with swords drawn.

More surprising than that was the fact that Siel was the one on the dominating side, not Stella.

“I’m… certain. This is ‘Awakening.’”

In the realm of unique abilities exists the domain of Awakening.

Generally, unique abilities do not have a specific method of growth.

Mages study magic, and knights grow through training; naturally, their unique abilities evolve and grant them new powers.

When Stella showed her awakening by capturing the ancient beast ‘Mobydick’ that nearly destroyed the previous Academy.

Determining awakening is simple.

The unique color of one’s eyes signifies a permanent change and is marked with special patterns.

“The fact that you’re using sword energy means you’ve achieved the rank of 3-star, becoming a Sword Master?”

Currently, those known to be Sword Masters number only a select few, including Duke Gruwein, the Swordmaster, homeroom teacher Amelia, and my former mentor Arhen.

Back when we sparred at the previous Academy, Stella had barely reached the peak of 2-star.

Yet, through mana enhancement, Stella’s physical specs ranked at the peak of 3-star, two levels ahead of Siel.

Nonetheless, that meant they both met the minimum conditions for a fair fight.

When I think about it, it makes sense. Stella is the heroine of this world, but so is Siel.

Each heroine with their respective routes grows and ultimately plays a pivotal role in defeating the Demon King.

It’s essentially impossible for her to remain ahead of the other heroines forever.

“Still, why is this happening? This shouldn’t be…” While dodging Siel’s fierce attacks, Stella struggled to retaliate.

With equal physical specs, the fight would hinge on their skills.

It was true that Siel demonstrated a remarkably rapid growth rate in a short time.

However, based on experience and technique, Stella should undoubtedly have the upper hand.

Stella, appearing somewhat restless and anxious, was not like her usual self.

As Siel pressed her attack, she suddenly halted and questioned her.

“What are you doing? Are you messing around?”

“Wha-what’s the problem?”

“You’re not being serious at all, are you looking down on me?”

At that moment, the temperature around them seemed to plummet even further.

“This is your final warning. If things stay like this, you won’t come out unscathed.”

With a voice as cold and sharp as ice, Siel warned Stella.

“So, fight me seriously.”

Yet Stella continued to show signs of being unable to focus on the battle.

Frowning, Siel kept her sword steady, aimed at Stella.

“Stella? What are you doing?”

“I’m not that helpless child who couldn’t do anything back then anymore.”

As if Siel’s words struck deep into her heart, Stella’s eyes began to shake violently.

“I am… I am…”