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The day was unforgettable for Siel.

It was a mission, but it was the first time she met someone her own age.

The girl who introduced herself as Stella felt incredibly cold and frightening.

Ironically, this cold demeanor captivated Siel. She looked like a beautiful star illuminating the night sky all alone.

The confidence in her eyes, saying she would protect Siel, contained a promise that she could do anything.

Siel wanted to admire her and become like her, but it wasn’t just that.

She wanted to compete and win. As a princess, her pride and competitiveness wouldn’t allow her admiration to end there.

When she first won against Stella in chess, she felt a happiness beyond words.

It was pleasing to see Stella’s eyes, which seemed indifferent to the world, filled with the thrill of competition.

That’s when Siel thought she had become friends with Stella.

Regardless of what Stella thought of her, Siel declared her a rival.

There were moments of resentment when Stella shared the story of her mother dying in her place.

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything as she embraced her mother and cried like a child.

Two years later, when Siel met Stella again, she had changed a bit.

Her icy, cold expression softened, and she even carried a youthful vibe for her age.

The reason was likely apparent. It was the man named Nova, who was always by her side, that had changed her.

Without his words, Siel would still have been consumed by revenge and anger.

Siel, having cleared her heart of ill feelings, approached Stella once more, but she was turned away.

Every time Siel tried to talk, Stella would ignore her, and when they crossed paths, she would avoid her—aggravation bubbled within Siel.

“Is this all you can do? You’re always so smug and relaxed, and now you’re saying you’ve already lost?”

“…What?”

When they met again, Siel studied hard and trained to show only Stella what she could do.

“The you I know… doesn’t sit around whining like this. You’re always confident, without a doubt in your own actions…”

However, Stella averted her gaze. No, she didn’t want to look, even apologizing for seeing Siel.

“Who asked you to apologize? Do you see me as your mother?”

“…”

“I’m just me, so don’t apologize for mistaking me for someone else.”

It was pitiful to see Stella, who was so wrapped in guilt, trying to escape and avoid her feelings.

“Try speaking with the same confidence you had back then! I could beat you with one hand!”

The only time they spoke face-to-face was when Siel tried to take her man from her.

“If you’re going to show such a pitiful side, I’ll just take your boyfriend from you.”

“…Hey, what do I think about this…?”

“Get it together! You are my rival, my goal, you understand?”

“…You…”

Stella’s wavering gaze firmly locked onto Siel’s.

Stella, whose cheeks were held in Siel’s hands and stared blankly, finally opened her mouth.

“…Who says you’re my rival? You think you’re my rival? That’s just absurd…”

Shoving Siel’s hands aside, Stella stood up and slapped her cheeks with both hands.

Life returned to Stella’s eyes, and her emotional turmoil was nowhere to be felt.

“Why don’t you talk so confidently like back then? I can beat you with just one hand.”

Stella had only spoken directly to Siel when she tried to lure Nova away from her.

“If you’re going to show such a pathetic side, I’ll just take your boyfriend.”

“…Huh? What’s my opinion…?”

“So get your act together! You’re my rival and my goal, got it?!”

“…You…”

Stella’s drifting gaze finally focused sharply on Siel.

Stella, blushing like a ripe tomato while covering the holes in her outfit with her hands, crouched down.

When she shot Siel a glare as if asking why she hadn’t warned her, Nova turned his head apologetically.

“Sorry I didn’t notice… want me to bring you a new outfit?”

“…No thanks…”

Stella snapped her fingers, and her body was enveloped in light.

When Nova turned back, her outfit had transformed into an academy uniform.

“That outfit… and your hair color changed back.”

“Ugh… I went to the trouble of disguising myself, and now this is happening… It’s a transformation spell, allowing me to wear a preset outfit immediately.”

“Why the academy uniform, though?”

“I saved it for when I go to the academy to be comfortable, though I guess that means my dyed hair is back to normal.”

“So you have no intention to keep hiding?”

Clearing her throat, Stella walked past Nova and approached Siel, who was prepared at the sparring hall’s center.

Standing before Siel, Stella took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes.

“…Yeah, you’ve definitely changed.”

No longer turning her head or avoiding her gaze, she spoke to Siel, who was watching her intently.

“…Thank you…”

“…What did you say?”

Siel asked again, having missed Stella’s whisper, but she shook her head and continued speaking.

“I’ll admit it—you’re definitely much stronger than before.”

The knights around them bristled at her condescending attitude, but Siel remained indifferent.

“Just as you wish, this time I’ll fight seriously and do my best. No complaints, right?”

“…That’s what I want.”

At that moment, the air around them suddenly felt heavy.

Siel tensed up and immediately assumed the basic stance of Gruwein-style swordsmanship.

Internally, she chuckled quietly. ‘I thought I had caught up a little…’

Using magic power, Siel felt cold sweat trickle down as her energy surged like a storm about to erupt.

Thinking back, it only made sense. Her foundation was as a mage, where outstanding skills and overwhelming power stemmed from an enormous reservoir of magic.

As ink spreads in water, the surrounding magic began to ripple around Stella like a mirage.

“You’re not the only one who’s awakened; I’ve already done so as well.”

Stella’s blue pupils bore a vivid cosmic glow that radiated light.

For Siel, it felt terribly unfair.

She had tirelessly trained and strengthened her body, merely to be crushed under the sheer volume of Stella’s magical power.

“…useless thoughts… I will never lose.”

With crystallized eyes, Siel exuded a cold aura that froze the space around her.

Like a coiled spring ready to burst forth, Siel compressed her stance.

Thus, they achieved a tense standoff.

A heightened state of sensitivity where any lapse in concentration could change everything.

Accepting each other as equals, they stood without any moment of negligence when suddenly—

“Blizzard!”

BOOM!!

Siel charged in with a whirlwind of ice swirling around her.

The spiraling vortex of ice concentrated around Siel’s sword.

Stella chose to grip her sword tightly, leaving the blade behind her waist.

‘Is she really just going to take that hit like that?’

Siel charged forward, unfazed and brimming with the intent to pierce.

As she entered a critical distance, Siel’s body unexpectedly became as heavy as lead.

Just as a sudden sense of weight caused her to falter, Stella deflected Siel’s thrust.

“Ugh…!”

Pain surged through Siel’s hand as it felt as if it had been struck by lightning.

Gritting her teeth, she unleashed a rapid thrust without giving Stella a chance to retaliate.

Still, Stella focused entirely on defense, unable to gather any counterattack.

‘Certainly, my speed is undeniable… if this continues…!’

In that moment, Stella’s eyes flared with a blue intensity.

SMASH!!! Blood!

As Stella deflected Siel’s attack, she left a thin line of injury across Siel’s chest.

Stella took a step forward to grasp Siel’s hand as she stumbled backward in shock.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Whoosh

“What the…?!”

Siel’s vision twisted upside down in an instant.

When she regained her senses, she was already spinning in the air, falling headfirst to the ground.

Stella executed a merciless stomp on Siel’s back while she lay sprawled.

“Ugh…! Get off!”

Siel swung her sword to shake Stella off. Had she been hit in the back of her head or spine, she would have been done for.

“Okay, I’ll admit you’re fast… but it’s okay. I just need to be faster than you for a moment!”

“Just a moment… Hah, does that even make sense?”

Creating a moment’s timing within an overwhelming flurry of attacks is no easy task.

Should one not strike back during the onslaught of relentless assaults, they find themselves utterly defenseless.

Stella chose to make her counters with each of her deflections—a seamless blend of attack and defense.

“…Doesn’t matter… I just need to go faster.”

At that moment, Siel, who was about to plunge forward again, suddenly jerked to the side.

BOOM!!

Meteorite fragments the size of baseballs fell onto the spot Siel had just occupied.

“I told you, I’m going all out… I won’t hold back.”

As she pointed her finger toward Siel, sharp-edged meteorites surrounding her began to swirl menacingly.

This barrage encircled Siel, rotating faster and closing in like serpents.

“Now, there’s no place left to run.”

“Hey Stella! This is a bit too much…”

Just as Nova tried to interject, the Duke restrained his shoulder, shaking his head.

“Don’t underestimate my daughter; she still has moves left.”

Siel’s crystalline eyes sparkled fiercely as she gripped her sword tightly with both hands.

Frozen Storm

A storm of ice exploded into a vortex. Like a volcano erupting, frost poured forth from the eye of the typhoon.

The moment the frost touched the ground, something extraordinary began as the surrounding soil and meteorites froze, halting their rotations altogether.

It was as if the entire Duke’s Manor had been buried in a wintry wonderland.

However, the ground where Stella stood remained unfrozen.

As the ground froze, it would shatter instantly, preserving her domain.

“I think everyone thinks my power is about dropping meteors, but that’s a misunderstanding.”

Stella’s unique ability summoned ‘Blessing of the Stars’, enabling her to create and manipulate stars.

She could adjust the temperature, gravity, and properties of the stars at will—a ridiculous power.

“Ha… ha…”

Frozen Storm was indeed a spell on the Tier 6 level, fit for an Archmage.

For Siel, who possessed nowhere near the mana capacity of Stella, merely casting it would drain her magic reserves.

There was no way she could freeze the gravity of space under the command of this Archmage—even her grand spells were ineffective against Stella’s domain.

“Now it’s over.”

The intense magic emanating from Stella felt like an assassin’s intent.

A tidal wave of magical energy, rarely seen even among high-level Archmages, flooded the area.

Siel felt a chill run down her spine, permeating her whole body.

“…As expected…still, I won’t back down.”

In that moment, she recalled that technique from the midterms, an unfathomable swordform she had displayed but once.

A strange form of sword that overwhelmed and pressed down upon its viewers.

Concentrating her magic, Siel prepared for a counterattack.

‘Before the attack comes… I’ll strike first!’

Siel burst forth with a whirlwind of ice surrounding her just as she charged at Stella.

Stella focused intently, immediately jumping upward at the exact moment Siel bolted forward.

WHOOSH… bANG!

As Siel lunged, a heavy gravitational force suddenly crushed her body.

“…….!”

“Too clumsy.”