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“……”

Blanshe took a step back.

Bella continued to close the distance between them.

“Tell me. Where are you going every afternoon?”

“That… I can’t say.”

Blanshe couldn’t bring herself to mention the 800 million Kael debt.

With the Duke’s family already in a tough spot, she didn’t want to burden them further with money problems.

As Blanshe took another step back, Bella took another step forward.

“Why not?”

“…It’s a personal matter.”

Bella’s footsteps halted.

“That’s disappointing, Blanshe.”

“I’m sorry.”

Blanshe bowed her head deeply.

Bella, knowing full well that this was Blanshe’s firm refusal, couldn’t press further. She quietly smiled.

“Huhu… Do you remember? The day we first met.”

“…Of course.”

Blanshe nodded.

How could she forget that day?

Shot by Tristan and thrown into the sea, Blanshe had washed up on some beach.

In deep despair, waiting only for death, it was Bella, strolling along the beach, who had saved her.

“I almost passed by. Who would have thought someone would wash up on a private beach only accessible to nobles?”

“If it weren’t for you, I would have died there.”

Blanshe gave a bitter smile.

Truthfully, she had wanted to die there.

She had believed without a doubt that she would live her life as Ruelberta’s assassin.

But a single bullet shattered her future.

Blanshe, who had once lost her life entirely, felt as though her second chance at life had been stripped away.

She no longer knew how to live.

For days, she did nothing there.

She decided to die slowly.

Though her vitality, fueled by demonic magic, was resilient, it wasn’t invincible.

Hunger and cold came, and she waited only for death.

It was Bella who pieced together Blanshe’s broken heart.

“You’ve changed so much… our Blanshe.”

Bella continued, sword in hand.

“When we first met, I couldn’t believe you were human. You didn’t smile, didn’t speak. Just breathed.”

“Yes…”

“Why were you even there?”

“I wonder. I can’t remember anything about why I was there…”

Blanshe had no choice but to lie.

The truth was, she had been waiting to die on that beach, lost in despair. And she couldn’t drag Bella into her dark past.

“You… are my savior.”

“Huhu… Then will you tell your savior where you go every afternoon?”

“…If you can beat me, I’ll consider it.”

Blanshe raised a hand, taking a stance.

Her hesitation was gone now.

“Confident, aren’t you? Our Blanshe.”

Bella adjusted her wooden sword.

Her posture was so perfect it almost felt like she was wielding a real sword.

Seeing this, Blanshe realized Bella was serious about winning.

“Yes. As I said earlier, I’m confident.”

“Hoh…?”

Blanshe gestured to Bella with a flick of her hand.

Then, she smiled slightly.

It was a clear provocation.

“Consider this your last attack. I’ll show you just how strong your bodyguard knight is.”

“That’s… delightful!”

Bella’s wooden sword slashed through the space where Blanshe had been.

With her quick reflexes, Blanshe leaped into the air.

But Bella didn’t miss the afterimage Blanshe left behind.

Her wooden sword gleamed like a snake.

[Izakhel Style]

[Second Strike: Light Strike]

The sharp edge of the wooden sword thrust forward.

Blanshe, mid-air, had no way to dodge.

All she could do was block Bella’s sword with both hands.

Or so she thought.

“…!”

The next moment, Bella’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected to win, of course.

Bella knew her own skill level.

She just wanted to give the confident Blanshe a little taste of defeat.

But the wooden sword she had swung was gone.

She could still feel it in her hand.

When she looked, only the hilt remained, the blade cleanly severed.

The hilt fell from Bella’s hand.

“…I lost.”

When she turned around, Blanshe was holding the blade of the wooden sword.

The edge was as smooth as if it had been cut by a sharp blade.

“How… how much training did you do to get this strong?”

“I just exercised a lot.”

“Come on… even kids wouldn’t believe that…”

Bella stared at Blanshe, dumbfounded.

“But this… isn’t this cheating? Who cuts their opponent’s weapon during a spar? Are you bullying a beginner just because you’re a veteran?”

Blanshe smiled softly at that.

“Cheating? That’s hardly fair. If anything, you were the one who cheated, weren’t you?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Bella awkwardly touched the side of her head.

When she had swung her wooden sword earlier, a faint trace of magic power had leaked out.

It was the result of her desire to win.

“Total defeat. Should I be happy that my bodyguard knight is this strong… or disappointed in my own lack of skill?”

“Don’t be disappointed. Your skill is quite impressive. It’s just that I’m too strong.”

“Blanshe, you’ve grown so much. You even know how to tease me now.”

“Wha-? I wasn’t teasing! I was just stating the facts.”

“…You’re teasing me twice now, you know? Sigh… Blanshe, what’s wrong with me? Is it lack of training?”

“Hmm…”

Blanshe pondered Bella’s lament.

It was hard to compare someone like Blanshe, who was almost superhuman, to Bella.

So Blanshe chose her words carefully.

“First… you have talent with the sword.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You learn quickly. You can mimic any swordsmanship you see just once. And when you wield a sword, you’re unpredictable. You mainly use the Izakhel Style, but you’re not confined to it.”

“…That sounds like flattery.”

“I’m not good at flattery. Anyway, you have no stubbornness in your swordsmanship. You could say you have no hesitation. That makes you a swordsman who can adapt to anything.”

Blanshe spoke clearly, looking at Bella.

“So don’t worry. You can definitely become stronger.”

“Enough to beat Blanshe someday?”

“No. That’s impossible. I’m just too strong.”

“Really… you keep showing off… Is there anyone stronger than Blanshe?”

Blanshe gave a bitter smile and answered.

“Yes. There is.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“That’s a secret.”

At Blanshe’s firm answer, Bella puffed out her cheeks.

“Ah, then at least give me a hint. Is that person famous?”

“It’s not one person. It’s two.”

“Two?!”

“Yes.”

Bella couldn’t help but be surprised.

Two people stronger than Blanshe?

It sounded like a lie, but Blanshe’s eyes were serious.

“How strong are those two?”

“One of them… if we fought again, I wouldn’t lose.”

“And the other?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“Not sure…?”

Bella couldn’t help but be puzzled.

She had never seen Blanshe, who seemed invincible, look so defeated before.

“Yes… even if I fought that person again, I can’t guarantee I’d win.”

Blanshe remembered.

That day, when she woke up, Marco was gone.

He had said he left first, but Blanshe knew Marco wasn’t the type to back down so easily.

Marco was the kind of man who would force the Count to come with him, even if it meant using strength.

But for him to leave without a fight was unthinkable.

‘Right. There’s only one conclusion.’

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place in Blanshe’s mind.

Marco had been defeated.

By that man, Count Tristan Ruelberta.

Blanshe spoke with a bitter expression.

“…I still need more training.”

“Huh… The world is truly vast.”

“Yes…”

Both Bella and Blanshe reflected on how small they were in the grand scheme of things.

A brief silence followed.

Then, something occurred to Blanshe.

“Bella. How about taking on a disciple?”

“A disciple? Out of the blue?”

“Yes. Teaching someone else isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s a form of training in itself.”

Blanshe thought of Wendy, who was teaching at the Ruelberta Mansion.

“To teach someone else, you need to reflect on yourself. If you had a disciple, it could be an opportunity to discover aspects of yourself you didn’t know.”

“Hmm… When you put it that way, it sounds convincing.”

Bella nodded involuntarily.

But it was only for a moment.

“But taking on a disciple is on hold for now.”

“Why is that?”

“The person who becomes my disciple might one day inherit the Izakhel Style. And to inherit the Izakhel Style, they must first be from the Izakhel family. They need to be able to wield light magic.”

“Then…”

“Yes. Ideally, it should be my child. Well… as long as they meet the qualifications, even an outsider could do it, since the God would grant them light magic.”

“Eh? Is that allowed?”

“Yes. After all, the reason the Izakhels have light magic is because the first Alonso Izakhel was granted it by the God.”

Magic with attributes is like a bloodline passed down through generations.

That’s why the Izakhels are praised as descendants of the God.

“Still, Blanshe’s idea seems good. So even if it’s not a disciple, maybe I should take the opportunity to teach someone.”

“An opportunity to teach…? Do you have something in mind?”

“Of course. Huhu…”

At Blanshe’s question, Bella chuckled.

“Blanshe. You haven’t forgotten, have you? The Izakhels are a ducal family. Surely we have connections in the Empire?”

 

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