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Early morning.

In the training grounds of the House of Edelweiss, the sound of swords clashing could be heard, just like always.

As the sword of a duke’s house, their training was absolutely essential.

Though they were overshadowed by the Edelweiss magical brigade, which garnered more attention, they were still knights, sharpening their blades for their lord.

The ground of the training area was hard and frozen, perhaps due to the cold climate of Merohim. However, even so, the ones currently running upon it left clear footprints on the frozen earth.

At present, only two individuals wielding swords occupied the vast training grounds of Edelweiss.

Damian and Gilliard.

The duel between the Lesser House of Kraus and the promising newcomer of the White Wolf Knights Order was already well-known within the Knight Order. It was also well known that Gilliard was always the one to lose. Nonetheless, this duel was one that all the knights had gathered to watch.

As Damian was soon to return to Sarham, Gilliard had a fervent determination in his eyes like never before.

“Haap!!”

With a fierce shout, a cold strike filled with winter’s wind rushed toward Damian.

Although the aura that symbolizes a knight wasn’t resolving on the blade, even without it, the sword retained its edge. Their skills, honed through hard training, made the swords sharper. The blade swung with physical strength that transcended human limits, slashing through the air and generating a fierce wind.

It seemed that Gilliard’s sword was swung with the intent to cleave everything in the world, completely forgetting that they were engaged in a duel.

However, those watching knew this fact and did not try to stop him. Instead, they simply watched Gilliard with eyes that already knew the outcome.

Gilliard had attacked a total of ten times.

And during those ten attacks, Damian had not once raised his sword to block.

He dodged each strike with a mere hair’s breadth between them.

Though Gilliard’s swordsmanship was at its peak, the difference between them was far too clear for it to reach Damian.

Sure enough, with another vigorous swing, Gilliard’s sword again cleaved nothing but air.

With just light footwork, Damian effortlessly dodged Gilliard’s sword.

But this time, unlike previously where he maintained some distance from Gilliard’s attacks, he suddenly plunged into Gilliard’s space all at once.

Gilliard tried to hastily adjust his posture at Damian’s suddenly close appearance, but it was already too late to block the attack.

Bang!

“Cough!”

With the sound of air bursting forth, Gilliard fell over.

One strike.

That single clash ended the duel.

Gilliard, struck precisely in the solar plexus, lay on the ground, struggling to breathe. Watching this, Wilhelm stepped forward into the training ground where only Damian stood, declaring his victory, and cheers erupted around them.

“Indeed, it’s Kraus. Even though he’s a newcomer of such young age, he can defeat a knight.”

“But would the results have been slightly different if he had used an aura? Isn’t Gilliard’s amount of magic quite remarkable in the Knight Order?”

“Is your eyesight just for decoration? In that recent duel, he couldn’t touch even a single hem of Gilliard’s clothes. How could the results have changed had he used an aura? If he did, I bet the same result would’ve come from just the first strike.”

Though some lamented Gilliard’s loss, they nevertheless offered praise to Damian, celebrating his triumph. It was unreasonable to merely regret Gilliard’s defeat when his skills were so firmly established. These swordsmen, gathered under the name of Edelweiss, were warriors who revered strength, and they would not deny Damian’s skills.

Damian took Gilliard’s hand, who lay on the cold ground, and helped him up. Gilliard, with a reddened face and panting heavily, appeared in no state to speak, but managed to stammer out in a trembling voice.

“Ugh… I lost again…”

“Is it really that upsetting?”

“That’s… not the issue. At this rate, I’ll have to wait until the next time you return…”

Damian chose not to answer Gilliard’s words filled with disappointment. He merely looked down at him with a cryptic expression. As Gilliard exited the training grounds, Damian began to prepare to leave as well, but someone caught his attention.

“Sir Wilhelm.”

With a friendly smile, Wilhelm seemed ready to say something that Damian already anticipated. He pointed towards a group of people watching from the training grounds.

As Wilhelm turned to look, his complexion began to change.

The spectators of the duel were not only members of the Knight Order. Elena and her maid, Hailey, were also watching Damian and Gilliard’s duel.

Seeing Hailey’s contorted face staring this way, Wilhelm appeared to hesitate momentarily before seemingly deciding something. He picked up the practice sword Gilliard had left on the ground.

“Are you really going to do this? Hailey will scold you.”

“Sir, I cannot leave the North. Moreover, I am already quite old and frail, and I have no idea when the young lord will return, so how could I let this opportunity slip by?”

There were clearly thick muscles visible through his clothes, contradicting his frail claim, yet Damian refrained from making any retorts.

Wilhelm continued, eyes shining as he spoke to Damian.

“And I’m sure the young lord is curious as well, right?”

At Wilhelm’s words, the previously calm demeanor of Damian shifted.

His face mirrored Wilhelm’s, now filled with interest.

The duel with Wilhelm, which he had not been able to finish. Although he still couldn’t fully recall the memories of that day, he was undeniably curious about battling him again.

Unlike back then when he couldn’t gauge the finish, he now felt that he had successfully tamed his senses entirely.

Then, how strong was he now? Wilhelm was the perfect opponent for testing that.

However, Wilhelm did not raise his sword.

As if she felt the strange atmosphere flowing in the air, Hailey, who had been standing behind Wilhelm, called out to him in a chilling tone.

“Grandpa?”

“Ha, Hailey! This is a serious matter!! And I told you, the last incident was all a misunderstanding!”

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?! Grandpa Ken said it was the first time he’s ever seen the young lord look so exhausted. Just how badly did you push him around for him to end up like that?! What on earth would you do if something happened to the young lord?!”

Exhausted…

At Hailey’s words, it felt like a dagger was lodged in Damian’s chest.

While he thought he might not have been at his best at that time, had it really been that bad? Of course, he hadn’t been feeling well even before the duel, but he felt it wasn’t to the point he should be worried about.

It seemed that the sight of Damian overwhelmingly winning previously had negatively affected Hailey’s impression of him.

Just how much had Grandpa messed with him that he fell like that while being such a big guy.

Until just a moment ago, Wilhelm didn’t seem to care, but now, amid Hailey’s harsh words, he appeared reluctant to step in. He looked to Damian for help with his eyes, but he wasn’t alone in wanting to be there.

“Not happening.”

A clear, melodious voice quietly echoed through the training grounds.

As the voice reached their ears, even Hailey, who had been venting against Wilhelm, fell silent, and upon seeing the owner of the voice, Wilhelm showed her respect.

Elena approached Damian, taking his hand and spoke once more.

“The duel ends here. Damian. Let’s go now.”

As such, Damian was led away from the training grounds by Elena’s hand. None in the area could comprehend the scene as Damian, unable to say a word in opposition, was pulled along by her.

Despite feeling regretful, Wilhelm could not go against the orders of a lady of the House of Edelweiss, so he didn’t dare pursue her. Instead, he merely anticipated getting into trouble with Hailey for his actions moments ago.

Once outside the training grounds, Damian, noticing some distance created between him and Elena, asked her,

“Elena. There’s still plenty of time until we need to leave.”

“I know.”

“So why did you do that?”

Elena paused for a moment at Damian’s inquiry.

Truthfully, she could see how much he had grown since that day, thanks to her experiencing a regression. Even if she hadn’t stopped the duel, he surely wouldn’t have been harmed. In fact, he might have even won against Wilhelm.

But perhaps it was due to the events of earlier?

The image of Damian collapsing suddenly in front of her kept flashing in her mind, prompting her to act this way.

“…What would you do if you collapsed again like last time?”

Thus, Elena had no choice but to borrow Hailey’s words.

In the subtext of her response lay the meaning of ensuring that she would lose, and Damian gave a bitter smile, yet soon changed his expression to one of faint mirth.

“Yes, that’s true. I’ll be going home soon, and if I return in tatters, my father will definitely scold me.”

As he murmured somewhat gloomily, Elena quickly turned her head, worried he might have been hurt by her words, but seeing the smile on his face made it evident it was all a jest.

Damian stood beside Elena, matching his pace with hers. Elena too began to walk in step with Damian.

As they walked along, catching the gleam of Winter Castle reflecting brightly under the sunlight, Damian asked Elena.

“Don’t you feel regret?”

“For what?”

“Leaving Merohim.”

For her, it would be like leaving a beloved home. Seeing that Damian had always wanted to return to Sarham after staying so long in Merohim, he wondered if Elena would wish to stay here just a little longer, even if only a bit.

Yet, Elena smiled and replied to Damian’s question.

“Aren’t you asking a bit late?”

“Eh?….Ah.”

At Elena’s words, Damian finally recalled why he had come to Merohim. His arrival here was merely due to Joachim’s whims, and it wasn’t because she had wished to come.

Realizing he had asked an erroneous question, heat crept onto his face.

“Don’t worry about that. I prefer flowers over snow.”

“When winter comes, Sarham is cold too.”

“Is it worse than here?”

Elena’s bright and cheerful answer left Damian speechless.

If Joachim, who didn’t want to let her go, heard this, he would be quite shocked. As these thoughts ran through his mind, he couldn’t help but smile at her words.

*

“Yap!”

In the Count Kraus’s Lord Castle located in Sarham.

In one of the rooms, the determined shout of a young boy filled the space.

The small boy, wielding a wooden sword, was mercilessly beating on a large doll placed before him. Although he struck it enough that it might burst, the boy was unconcerned. At this moment, the only joy he felt was in having a sword in his hand.

The crack—

“Hik!”

Upon hearing footsteps passing by outside the room, the boy hurriedly hid the wooden sword under the bed and concealed himself behind the doll. But thankfully, contrary to his worries, no one entered the room. The boy retrieved the sword he had thrown under the bed with a sigh of relief and gazed out the window.

“When will my brother come back…?”

The second son of the Count Kraus House, Alphonse Kraus murmured as he gazed at the empty front yard of the Lord Castle.

The week that Damian had been away from the castle was truly a relentless nightmare for Alphonse. The reason being an agreement he had made with Damian before he departed for Merohim.

The wooden sword currently in Alphonse’s hands.

That was a promise he had with Damian. It may appear as nothing more than a small stick to adults, but considering Alphonse’s small stature, it could be perfectly said to be a sword made just for him. Before leaving Sarham, Damian had handed over this wooden sword to Alphonse and promised to teach him swordsmanship when he returned.

Having grown up watching their father, known as one of the strongest swordsmen in the continent, and hearing him praise his brother’s exceptional talent, Alphonse had always wanted to be an extraordinary swordsman like them.

However, although he was born into the martial family of Kraus, he had never been taught swordsmanship by his father or brother, making the promise he made with Damian more significant than ever.

The greater his eagerness, the more Alphonse found himself awaiting the day Damian would return, and he realized for the first time that time could feel this slow. It had felt like a whole night passed every time he took a nap, but now he was staring out the window the entire day without any rests.

In his mind, he wanted to visit the family’s training grounds, where his father and brother always practiced, and even touch a real metal sword, but he well knew that if he went to the training grounds without Damian’s return, his father’s wrath would fall upon him.

But today, all that waiting comes to an end.

During breakfast last night, he heard from Arthur that Damian would return to Sarham today.

“Hehe… When brother returns, what should I ask him to teach me? Surely the Dragon Slayer Sword is the best, right?!”

Having never actually learned proper swordsmanship, Alphonse was currently engulfed in imagination, dressed in splendid armor and battling a dragon with his sword.

As he was lost in thought, ready to strike the doll again with his wooden sword, he saw a carriage approaching the castle in the distance.

He rushed to the window to get another look, and to his surprise, it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

With excitement, Alphonse cheered and kicked open the door, dashing outside. Although it wasn’t yet fully warm out, he knew he should wear an outer layer, but he forgot all about it as he sprinted forward.

Upon stepping outside, the carriage stood directly in front of him.

To Alphonse, the carriage now appeared as a large gift box. As he approached to open the present, however, what lay inside was not the gift he had longed for.

As the carriage door swung open, golden light spilled out.

Just like Alphonse had dashed out of the castle, a figure sprang from the carriage. A girl, glowing with golden light illuminated by the sunlight, landed gracefully and raised both hands in the air, exclaiming joyfully.

“Yay!!!! Brother!! We finally made it to the House of Count Kraus!!!!!”

“N-noel! You can’t just run out like that all of a sudden!”

Something strange had come.

 

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