The Princess's Gambit
“Show us everything you’ve got. Let’s see your true skill!”
Professor Akan grinned from ear to ear.
Professor Lee, on the other hand, had nothing to say.
He had claimed he would fix my stubbornness, yet here I was, the one who needed to fix him.
A skilled swordsman should have gauged the gap between us from that single exchange alone.
“Words are pointless. Here I come.”
I launched myself forward in an instant.
Every muscle in my body, the angle of my leap, the resistance of the wind—I accounted for it all.
In that brief moment of flight, I caught a flicker of fear in Akan’s eyes.
From the way he braced his lower body, he intended to dodge sideways the moment I struck.
The method itself wasn’t bad, but he had revealed it far too early.
By telegraphing his intent, he had already told me exactly where he would go.
I swung my sword horizontally without mercy.
“What—!”
Akan jerked his body backward to avoid the blade.
But I had swung slowly on purpose, giving him time to dodge.
Had I struck in earnest, he would already be split in two.
After evading once, Akan drew his right arm back, preparing to thrust at me.
‘I won’t even give you that chance.’
The horizontal swing had left my left side closest to him.
The nearest target was his elbow.
I drove my elbow straight into his chest.
While he staggered from the unexpected follow-up, I spun my tilted body and delivered a powerful kick.
“Guh—!”
Akan’s body lifted into the air before crashing backward.
I immediately leaped after him, raising my sword high.
The downward strike was already in motion.
Terrified, Akan couldn’t even think to raise his arms in defense.
I brought the blade down without hesitation.
“Aaaagh—!”
A scream echoed through the hall.
“Ugh… huh? Eh?”
Akan, who had squeezed his eyes shut, slowly opened them.
My sword was embedded in the floor right beside his head.
“I win, Professor.”
“You said this was swordsmanship.”
“Don’t separate the sword from the body. As long as they’re connected, the sword and body are one.”
Our blades had clashed only once.
Yet my victory was absolute.
While Akan still trembled on the ground, unable to rise, I pulled my sword free and sheathed it.
“Examiner, is this gentleman truly the academy’s most skilled swordsman?”
“Ah… unfortunately, he is.”
“This is as much as I can show you today. I trust you’ll keep your promise to arrange a match with those two seniors later.”
I bowed at the waist, signaling that my demonstration was complete.
The stunned expressions on the examiners’ faces were quite the sight.
One thing was certain now.
Finding an opponent worth facing would only grow more difficult from here.
The match might have been harrowing for Akan, but to me it had been duller than morning water.
“Well done. You may leave. The results will be announced later.”
I walked out of the testing hall without looking back.
I had shown everything I needed to show.
With no lingering attachment, my steps felt light.
“Brother, you worked hard!”
The moment I rejoined the stands, Lua—who had been watching my exam—bombarded me with questions.
She had watched the entire thing, yet her fists were clenched tighter than mine.
“I never expected you to defeat the academy’s best swordsman so easily.”
“It’s not just anyone. It’s your brother.”
“I believed in you! I knew you’d be at least third-year level!”
“By the way, you’re next. Think you’ll be all right?”
“Of course. I’ve thought about it more since we talked. As long as I don’t get nervous, I’ll be fine.”
Lua claimed she would be fine if she stayed calm, but I knew she was the type who performed even better under real pressure than in practice.
So I simply patted her back in quiet encouragement.
“Please wait a moment. The examiners said they need to hold a meeting immediately.”
When Lua tried to enter, the guide blocked the door.
“Hmph. I would’ve rather finished quickly.”
“Can’t be helped. They cooperate during the exam, but before it starts, it’s their call.”
“They must be in shock. An examinee defeating a professor…”
As Akan trudged out of the hall toward the stands, our eyes met.
I gave him a light nod, but he bowed deeply at the waist.
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
“No… thanks to you, I think I received help instead.”
“Then I’m glad.”
That single exchange changed how I saw Akan.
At first he had looked down on me as a mere student, yet now he could sincerely express gratitude to one.
He had simply needed a moment to face reality.
“He lost, yet he thanked you. What does that mean?”
Lua asked the moment Akan passed.
She was still too young to understand.
“His tone changed, didn’t it? He was arrogant at first, but now he’s respectful. He’ll become an even finer swordsman from now on.”
“But it’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Brother, when exactly did you train your swordsmanship to that level? I thought you only learned from Uncle Guilford.”
“No need to hide it from you anymore, is there? It’s thanks to my helper.”
“Ah!”
There really was no better excuse than the existence of a master.
“If you’re grateful, buy me those Lyongse sweets again.”
‘Before, it was with my own money, but now I can buy them anytime in the name of the royal family.’
“The special invitation was basically thanks to me, yet you used it only with your sister. How mean.”
‘Now that I’ve revealed my identity as a prince, I no longer need the invitation. If I ask for the limited menu, they’ll serve it anytime.’
I wanted to eavesdrop on the examiners again, but the stands were too noisy after my match for me to hear anything.
I worried I might have raised expectations so high that Lua would seem less impressive by comparison.
Fortunately, even with the atmosphere I had created, Lua showed no signs of shrinking back. She was calmly reviewing the exam content in her mind.
Soon after, the guide stepped aside from the door he had been blocking.
“The meeting has concluded. You may enter now, Princess Lua.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
She was still just an eleven-year-old girl.
Yet Lua walked into the testing hall with her usual cute steps.
Standing alone in the vast, empty space, she looked small.
I had thought I would be fine trusting her, but before I knew it, my chest tightened with a brother’s worry.
‘So this is how Lua felt when she was clenching her fists earlier.’
“Then let us begin the second exam.”
At Aipman’s declaration, Lua’s test began.
The examiners’ seating arrangement was the same as before.
“Princess Lua von Soleil of the Knight Kingdom of Solea, please step forward.”
Lua advanced and greeted the examiners with impeccable imperial etiquette.
Gone was any trace of nervousness; her expression was calm, even offering a gentle smile with her eyes.
“Show us what you can do. No need to be nervous.”
He hadn’t offered me that kind of encouragement.
Apparently, cute little girls received special consideration.
“I can think.”
“Think?”
Laughter rippled through the stands at Lua’s opening words.
It was the indulgent sound adults made when watching a child’s antics.
Even one of the examiners chuckled.
“The others may laugh, but please refrain from doing so, imperial examiners.”
The cold, sharp words from the young girl’s mouth instantly froze the hall once more.
“With the power of my thoughts, I will solve the empire’s greatest problem right now.”
“And what problem would that be?”
One examiner took her words seriously.
He had quickly grasped what Lua intended to demonstrate.
“The eastern front is hardening. I can tell you how to end the war against the Parta coalition in victory.”
“Interesting. Continue.”
“There are three major approaches. The first is concentrating military force. The empire’s army, if focused on a single point, is strong enough to overwhelm any opposing power. Isn’t that right?”
“That is correct. However, with fronts spread across multiple locations, it’s impossible.”
Lua nodded leisurely.
“But deploying even half the troops currently idle in the capital would completely shift the tide.”
“That, too, is impossible. The capital defense force must protect the capital, after all.”
“Then what if the Parta coalition begins to push even slightly?”
“An imperial army superior in both quantity and quality will never be pushed back.”
“Oh my. Then why, conversely, is the imperial army—which is superior in both quantity and quality—failing to win?”
The examiner who had been answering stiffened, and gasps erupted from the stands.
An eleven-year-old girl had bested an elderly examiner in debate.
I felt immensely proud of my sister, yet it felt anything but natural.
Just like when she had stood before the emperor without the slightest intimidation, her demeanor was far beyond her years.
No matter how I thought about it, Lua had displayed far too many moments that made it impossible to believe she was only eleven.
Suddenly, a thought struck me.
‘Could Lua also be affected by her past life?’