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Even after Tristan and Bella’s sparring ended, the students couldn’t easily open their mouths. The swordsmanship they displayed had far exceeded their expectations.

At first, it was just simple curiosity. The Chairman was an uncontrollable man. No one knew what he was thinking when he challenged Bella to a spar. The result was obvious.

The students expected Tristan to be utterly defeated by Bella. They also looked forward to it. The scene of an arrogant nobleman crossing swords with a beautiful swordswoman was a good picture in itself.

And the result was, as they expected, Tristan’s defeat. However, the process completely defied their expectations.

Tristan’s swordsmanship was as elegant as Bella’s. Every slashing motion was dignified and upright. He was no beginner.

None of the students noticed that it was the Izakhel Style of swordsmanship. It was their first time seeing the Izakhel Style in person. That’s why the two’s skills seemed evenly matched.

‘Why…?’

Sia, who had watched the spar, couldn’t help but have questions. Tristan was a man who had never shown any particular talent in swordsmanship. Moreover, he was cursed and couldn’t use magic. There was no way the swordsmanship he displayed was a fluke.

Now, there were only two conclusions left. Either Tristan had hidden his exceptional talent in swordsmanship, or he had been putting in grueling effort in secret. The more plausible one was…

Sia looked at Tristan. His appearance had changed significantly since she first saw him. Upon closer inspection, there were many traces of effort on his body.

‘Could it be that he’s been losing weight…?’

At a glance, even his slender arms showed the contours of solid muscles. It was undoubtedly the result of relentless sword practice. Perhaps he had trained to the point of not caring if he hurt himself. The bandages around his eyes added credibility to Sia’s speculation.

‘Hmm…’

Sia scrutinized Tristan’s body. His androgynous appearance might have made it easy to overlook, but his broad shoulders and back highlighted his masculine features. Ah, now that she looked, his Adam’s apple was like a tempting fruit…

‘No. That’s not it.’

Sia desperately shook her head. If she kept admiring him, she might start having strange thoughts.

“You did well.”

The two ended the spar with a mutual bow. Then, as if she had noticed something, Bella spoke to Tristan.

“Oh my…? Chairman, your bandage has come loose.”

“Hmm.”

“You should probably go to the Health Room right away.”

The Chairman nodded and disappeared through the back door of the gymnasium, passing by the bench where the students were sitting. His demeanor was the same as usual, but the students’ gazes had changed significantly. It was because he was no longer just the arrogant Chairman who only talked big.

At that moment, Bella clapped her hands.

“Everyone, please pay attention. The spar took longer than expected, so we need to proceed with the class quickly. Please sit on the benches and listen carefully to the lesson.”

At her words, the students began to gather and sit on the benches. Sia was about to find a seat when someone called out to her.

“Miss Sia.”

“Miss Luna? Where have you been?”

Luna, wearing glasses, awkwardly replied.

“I got lost on the way back from the bathroom… Haha…”

“You missed it. Professor Bella and the Chairman just had a spar…”

“Really? Ugh…! If only I weren’t such a directionally challenged person!”

Luna, filled with regret, suddenly tilted her head.

“Huh? But Miss Sia, why are you alone?”

“Huh?”

At those words, Sia realized that the short classmate who was always by her side was nowhere to be seen.

“Miss Wendy…?”

*

Finally reaching the Health Room, there was no one inside. It wasn’t a high school, and it would be strange for someone to always be stationed in a university Health Room. And in my current situation, it was actually a relief.

“I survived…”

I sighed and sat down on the Health Room chair. The result of overusing ‘Patience’ and ‘Jealousy’ during the spar had brought me to my limit. Although I pretended to be fine on the outside, my internal organs and muscles were screaming in pain.

As expected, the clumsy swordsmanship I mimicked using ‘Jealousy’ couldn’t defeat Bella. Even my secret technique, the Ougi, didn’t work on her.

But it wasn’t a meaningless spar. Crossing swords with Bella, I had taken a step closer to mastering the Izakhel Style. Compared to before the spar, it was a significant improvement. The swordsmanship, which had only been an image in my mind, now felt like it had a tangible form. Now, no one would see Tristan as a beginner in swordsmanship.

Just as I was feeling relieved for a moment…

“…!”

Unbearable pain caused blood to spill from my mouth. My body, having reached its limit, was begging for rest. No matter how good ‘Patience’ was as a trait, the side effects of pushing beyond my limits were no joke. Even with my slimmer and more trained body, the spar with Bella had been a close call. If the spar had continued, I might have ended up in an even more pathetic state.

I unwrapped the bandage around my eyes and wiped the blood from my mouth. My head was spinning. I hadn’t lost much blood, but I felt dizzy and had trouble keeping my body upright. I should lie down on the bed… Thinking that, I barely made it to the bed before collapsing.

That’s when it happened.

Creak!

The Health Room door opened noisily. Standing there was a girl who seemed to have been running at full speed, breathing heavily.

“Haa… Haa…”

Although she was in gym clothes, unlike usual, I recognized her immediately. Just as I was about to call her name, our eyes met.

“…!”

Her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing me.

“Eek?! C-Count…?!”

Wendy, who had let out a shrill scream, rushed towards me.

“A-Are you okay?!”

“Yeah. I just felt a bit dizzy.”

I spoke, trying to maintain my composure. My body would recover quickly with a little rest. But Wendy wasn’t convinced.

“B-Blood! You’re bleeding!”

In my hand was the bandage I had used to wipe the blood earlier. Before I could think of an excuse, Wendy grabbed another bandage and started wrapping it around my left eye.

“Sniff… Count, your eye… You hurt your eye…”

Thinking I was seriously injured, Wendy began to sob. For someone as timid and fragile as her, this was quite a shocking event.

“How did you get hurt like this… Sniff…”

“It’s mostly healed, so it’s fine.”

Despite her tears, Wendy diligently wrapped the bandage. But unexpectedly, her next words were filled with resentment.

“N-No, it’s not fine…! You got hurt like this and didn’t say anything to me… And then you recklessly had a spar! You’re too much!”

Of course, Wendy had never been angry with me before. Given our status, no servant would dare to be angry with me. Moreover, Wendy’s personality wasn’t the type to get angry with anyone. She was a kind-hearted girl who had never been angry with anyone in her life. And now, that girl was angry with me.

“You’re really too much… Too much, Count… You always push yourself too hard… If something happens to you, I, I…!”

I looked into Wendy’s teary eyes. What filled her eyes wasn’t fear of me, but worry. A genuine concern that the original Tristan would never have received.

“Sniff… Sob…”

Wendy finally burst into tears.

“If you get hurt like last time… Sniff… and end up in the hospital, I, I…! I’m so worried. I’m scared. If something happens to you… I really… Sob…”

I wiped the tears from Wendy’s eyes with my fingers. What could I say to reassure her? But no words came to mind. In the end, all I could say was something Tristan would usually say.

“Wendy.”

“…Count?”

“I won’t die.”

Wendy looked up at me intently. There was no basis for it. Just an absurdly arrogant statement.

“No trial can kill me.”

It was a kind of vow. A vow to survive in this thorny game no matter what. But saying it out loud, I wasn’t sure if Wendy would believe it.

“Sniff…”

Wendy’s large eyes were looking up at me. I felt a pang of guilt for deceiving such an innocent girl. Slowly, her lips parted.

“If you say so, Count… I really believe it…”

She could have doubted me at least once, but Wendy didn’t. Her tear-filled eyes held no trace of doubt. Wendy simply spoke with the pure, unadorned gaze of a young girl.

“I, I know… You always keep your promises…”

Wendy wiped her tears.

“You always accomplish the impossible… That’s the kind of person you are… So I’ll believe you…”

The face that wiped away the tears showed a faint smile.

“You’re… like magic to me…”

Thud.

At that moment, I heard footsteps. The sound was getting closer.

I had to make a decision. If someone caught Wendy and me alone together, things would get complicated.

Creak-

Just before the door opened, I quickly embraced Wendy and lay down on the nearby bed.

 

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