Chapter 197: Ill-fated Relationship(4)
Chapter 197: Ill-fated Relationship(4)
When Isaac comforted Adelia and immediately headed to the Public Training Ground, the area was already in a state of commotion due to Hiriya’s appearance.
Naturally, it was because of Hiriya, the princess of the Ters Kingdom—the nation known as the rival of the Minerva Empire. Isaac had heard she was working as a martial studies teaching assistant, but this was the first time he had seen her at the training ground.
Status, skill, and on top of that, a beauty like a single flower blooming precariously in the depths of winter. She lacked nothing, and she exuded a natural charisma that made her difficult to approach.
"Wait, isn't that Teaching Assistant Adelia?"
"You're right. Didn't they say she became a knight after graduation?"
"What brings her here?"
A moment later, when Adelia appeared alongside Isaac, the stir in the crowd redoubled. Like Nicole, she possessed a striking beauty that belied her commoner roots, an unbiased gaze, and formidable martial prowess, making her very popular among the students.
Above all, her personality—friendly and approachable to everyone—made it impossible to dislike her. In particular, the anecdotes of her playing mischievous pranks and getting scolded by Nicole every time were quite famous.
Because of this, many students had felt regretful, thinking they wouldn't see her anymore. Her sudden appearance at the Academy, and at the training ground of all places, was bound to be a surprise.
But there was something even more shocking.
"Those two are going to duel?"
"That's what I heard. Let's watch."
It was the fact that Hiriya and Adelia were about to duel. To a third party who didn't know the circumstances, the reason behind this match was a complete mystery.
Except for one person. Isaac, who was sitting in the spectator seats.
As he fixed his gaze on the training ground where the duel was about to begin, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of unease.
To borrow the words of his father, Hawk, Adelia’s talent could be called genius, but what was even more terrifying was her effort. It was a tenacious, venomous persistence that went beyond mere hard work.
Considering that only those who stood out among the countless geniuses in the martial studies department could become teaching assistants, one could guess just how much effort she put in.
However, that was Adelia’s story; he knew nothing about how strong Hiriya was. There were even indications that, in their youth, Hiriya had beaten Adelia to the point of near-assault.
Of course, that was possible because the royal family provided Hiriya with abundant support, but considering the age difference between the two, it was certain that Hiriya possessed extraordinary talent.
I hope she’ll be okay...
Most importantly, Adelia harbored a trauma buried deep within her heart. It was possible that her body might flinch instinctively before she could even think.
To alleviate that trauma, Isaac had even made her an irresistible offer, but he couldn't help the anxiety gnawing at him.
If Adelia claimed victory, it would be the best possible outcome, but if the opposite happened, things would get complicated.
The trauma would only worsen, and it would be like driving a nail into Adelia’s heart. He truly hoped she would win.
"I figured you'd be here."
"Hm? Ah, Prince Leort."
While waiting for the duel to start, a handsome young man with golden hair approached Isaac. It was Leort, the Crown Prince of the Minerva Empire and one of the people who visited the training ground every weekend.
As Isaac started to stand up to greet him, Leort held out a hand to stop him. Then, with a bitter smile, he spoke in a voice tinged with complex emotions.
"There's no need for that anymore, is there? It’s starting to make me feel burdened."
"If it were just the two of us, perhaps, but there are people watching right now."
"Your personality is as consistent as ever."
Leort said this as he took a seat next to Isaac. Once seated, he shifted his gaze toward Hiriya and Adelia, who were facing each other while holding training swords.
After watching them for a while, Leort glanced sideways. Isaac also hadn't taken his eyes off the training ground where the duel was to take place.
Leort then asked Isaac a question in a somewhat cautious voice. It was a question possible only because there were almost no other people sitting in the nearby spectator seats at the moment.
"Do you know what kind of relationship those two have?"
"Yes. I know it well."
"Then, by any chance..."
"Princess Hiriya doesn't know who I am. She just thinks I'm Adelia's master."
"That's a relief."
Leort felt relieved, though he had suspected as much. Indeed, if Hiriya had known Isaac was Xenon, she probably wouldn't have challenged Adelia to a duel.
Furthermore, from the perspective of Leort and the Minerva Empire, this was an ideal situation. Though the parties involved didn't know it, Isaac’s reputation for the Ters Kingdom was being chipped away in real-time.
Sometimes, doing nothing is the best course of action. This was a lesson Leort had learned after experiencing the historic hiatus protest incident a few months ago.
Thanks to that, they were still maintaining a fairly good relationship. Their rapport had been strained after the protest, but Isaac had shown leniency, allowing it to be restored.
"...Prince Leort. May I ask you something?"
"What is it? If it's a question from you, I'll answer to your heart's content."
"Is the Ters royalty originally... how should I put it..."
Isaac stopped mid-sentence and looked around. Once he confirmed there was no one nearby, he continued in a cautious tone.
"Are they... a bit lacking in manners?"
"What?"
"It's just... even if she is an illegitimate child, seeing what they did to Adelia, it felt like too much. Denying that they're family right to her face seems a bit extreme."
"Hmm..."
Hearing that question, Leort turned his gaze back to Hiriya. The Minerva Empire and the Ters Kingdom were rivals at each other's throats, but paradoxically, their exchanges were quite active.
One had to know their opponent to take proper measures, and one had to grasp the political situation correctly to strike at weaknesses. It was natural for both sides to interact frequently, and even more so for the royals to meet.
In Leort’s view, the Ters royals certainly had strong individual personalities. He didn't know the first princess well since she had married into the Duchy of Bellua before he could meet her, but he knew the Crown Prince and the other two princesses quite well.
"There might be differences between individuals, but I don't think of them that poorly. The issue regarding the illegitimate child is their problem, not mine."
"Then what do you think about illegitimate children? Do you also consider them half-measures who belong nowhere?"
"If you're going to blame someone, you should blame the father who went around doing as he pleased. What sin does the child have? If Lord Luminous, who presides over life, saw such a thing, He would surely sigh in grief."
Isaac wore an expression of surprise at Leort’s nonchalant yet direct answer. Leort was a noble—the Crown Prince, someone to be looked up to second only to the Emperor.
Despite that, his view of illegitimate children didn't seem bad at all. In fact, it was closer to having no interest whatsoever, but even that was something.
Leort smiled inwardly at Isaac’s expression. It was true he didn't have much interest since there were no illegitimate children in his own imperial family, but it was good to score points like this.
As the saying goes, 'row when the tide is in.' Since the Ters Kingdom was self-destructing on its own, all he had to do was row along.
"Come to think of it, didn't you say Nicole went to take the Navy Knights entrance test?"
"Yes. She should be coming back soon..."
CLANG!!
Before Isaac could finish his sentence, a loud noise erupted from the training ground. He turned his gaze away from Leort and toward the arena.
The first thing he saw was Hiriya, fallen on the ground. And then...
"...What?"
It was Adelia, standing tall and pointing her sword at the fallen Hiriya, as if she had washed away all her trauma.
*
About three minutes before the situation occurred.
Unlike Hiriya, who had a smirk on her face, Adelia was holding her stance with a stiff, frozen expression. They both held training swords in their hands.
Since they were dueling swords, the edges weren't sharpened, but being made of steel, their weight was similar. Moreover, while they lacked lethality, they were still sufficiently threatening weapons.
Normally, a duel begins with a bow or by clashing swords as a sign of mutual respect, but there was none of that here. Only a chilling atmosphere hung between them.
Adelia stared at the overconfident Hiriya before glancing slightly to her left. Isaac was watching her from the spectator seats.
"Where are you looking? Looking at your little prince again?"
Noticing that Adelia was looking at Isaac, Hiriya sneered in her characteristic mid-to-low-pitched voice. She had already realized that Adelia harbored romantic feelings for Isaac.
That made it even more pathetic to her. A half-measure who was neither noble nor commoner harboring feelings for a noble.
She was just like her mother, who had wandered through brothels before blindly seeking out the royal family to try and live like a human being. In the end, she would surely be abandoned just the same.
"Why don't you just give up? You know better than anyone, don't you? What happens when you just cling on. It's no different from grabbing a rotten rope."
"... ..."
At Hiriya’s continued insults, Adelia’s expression began to turn grim. Her brow furrowed, and her usually lively impression became as fierce as a tiger's.
They say a kind person is even scarier when they get angry, and that was exactly Adelia’s current state. It was an expression even Hiriya had never seen before, causing her to flinch slightly.
But soon, memories of the past resurfaced, and her smirk returned. Memories of receiving support from the royal family and beating Adelia to a pulp under the guise of a duel.
Was there any difference between then and now? She had become much stronger than before, while Adelia had fled the Academy as if being chased out and hadn't learned anything properly.
This duel was her guaranteed victory.
"So you can make a face like that. That's why..."
"Hiriya."
Adelia, who had been silent until now, quietly called Hiriya’s name. Hiriya frowned, interrupted mid-sentence.
That a mere illegitimate child dared to cut her off—she wanted to strike her down immediately, but she listened in silence as Adelia continued.
"I've thought about it for a long time. Why a girl who used to follow me around so well suddenly started hating me... like that."
"What ancient history are you..."
"You were jealous of me. I could mimic anything I saw once, but you couldn't. Isn't that right?"
It was a blatant provocation. Moreover, it was a statement that forcibly dragged out the emotion Hiriya had hidden deep within her heart.
To describe that emotion... it was inferiority. A sense of inferiority.
Just as Adelia said, Hiriya wasn't particularly talented in swordsmanship or martial arts. If not for the secret techniques and support passed down by the royal family, she would have been a mediocre knight at best.
But Adelia was the complete opposite. Because of her status as an illegitimate child, she couldn't receive proper support, but what she learned just by watching over someone's shoulder was enough.
Thanks to that, several knights who highly valued her talent had secretly passed on techniques to her, and Hiriya was inevitably overshadowed by Adelia.
First came envy, then jealousy, and finally, inferiority.
There were many reasons why Hiriya hated Adelia, but the inferiority of always having to look at her back was the primary one.
"Wha... what? Me? Jealous of someone like you?"
At Adelia’s Fact Bomb, Hiriya’s first reaction was absurdity. That she would envy a mere half-measure like her—it was unthinkable.
But though she hadn't consciously acknowledged it, her heart was pounding wildly, and her hands gripping the sword were trembling.
Adelia checked Hiriya’s reaction and turned her head once more to look at Isaac. In the meantime, Leort had sat down next to him and they were talking.
She used to exhibit symptoms of extreme anxiety whenever she faced Hiriya, but not anymore. When Isaac was nearby, her heart felt calm, yet fluttered in a different way.
I shouldn't be like this, but...
What could she do when just looking at him made her feel good? A single kind smile from him made all her worries and anxieties melt away like snow.
To the point where the family she had been so obsessed with felt insignificant, she could feel happiness just by being with him.
Adelia gave a truly happy smile before facing Hiriya again. She suddenly wondered: was Hiriya happy in her current situation?
"Hiriya. Let me ask you one thing."
"Shut up!"
Whether she was enraged to the limit by the previous Fact Bomb, Hiriya charged fiercely. She had reinforced her body with mana to the point where the wind whipped violently around her.
However, Adelia remained calm and predicted her attack until the very end. In the past, her body would have frozen, allowing the attack to land, but not today.
The person she loved was watching, and if she claimed victory in this duel, she could tell him what she wanted. For that reason alone, she could not lose.
CLANG!!
As Hiriya swung her sword down with great force, Adelia blocked it simply by holding the scabbard with one hand and the back of the blade with the other.
Then, without hesitation, she kicked Hiriya’s leg hard. Hiriya was already so consumed by rage that she couldn't maintain her composure.
THWACK!
Ultimately, having her leg struck caused her balance to falter momentarily, and Adelia didn't miss the opportunity, pushing her back while maintaining her defensive stance.
Immediately after, she quickly broke the defensive stance and thrust the tip of her sword into Hiriya’s solar plexus. It was a perfect sequence of offense and defense, and all these movements flowed smoothly in just one second.
She had perfectly replicated the 'softness' that Hawk, the knight famed as the Red Lion, had emphasized repeatedly.
"Gah!"
THUD!
Hiriya let out a groan of pain from the sharp agony in her solar plexus and fell ungracefully. The solar plexus is one of the human body's vital points, and if struck properly, it makes even breathing difficult.
Therefore, defending one's vital points is one of the most important basics, but Hiriya had failed to do so. It wasn't that she was stupid or hadn't considered that Adelia might target a vital point.
It was simply that the difference in skill was overwhelming, leading to this result. It was the fruit of receiving various basics and techniques from Hawk.
Point—
"Hah... ugh... you..."
Hiriya looked up at Adelia with eyes full of half-confusion and half-rage. Her expression showed she couldn't grasp what had just happened.
Adelia slowly leveled the tip of her sword at her and spoke. It was the question she hadn't been able to ask a moment ago.
"Hiriya. Are you happy?"
"Hah... what on earth..."
"Unlike me, you have status, family, wealth, and even fame. So I asked if you're happy."
"What kind of bullsh— ugh."
Hiriya couldn't finish her sentence because of the pain in her solar plexus. Adelia watched her silently before slowly turning her head.
She saw Isaac’s face, looking this way with a stunned expression, as if he couldn't process what had happened. His face, which brought a smile to her lips just by looking at it.
Her true happiness was not far away. No, to be precise, she had found it by chance.
Just because blood is shared doesn't mean you become 'family.' Family wasn't something that could be defined by mere blood.
"I'll tell you now, Hiriya."
With that thought, Adelia spoke as if making a declaration, a truly happy smile on her face.
"I'm much happier now."
Especially when I'm with that man.