Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Villainess Met After Two Years
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Ban Pellion Ducal Family candidate exam.
Ision washed himself more reverently than ever before for this occasion, straightening his clothes and hair.
Even the Training Commander asked who he was upon seeing Ision—he had transformed that much.
He absolutely could not fail this candidate exam.
With that in mind, Ision stepped forward, armed to the teeth with perfect etiquette.
His heart pounded fiercely.
The Lady he hadn't seen for a full year since his regression.
The thought of facing her again made his heart feel like it might burst.
'It's not like I'll get a proper look at her.'
It was merely the process of going to see her.
But it was undoubtedly an essential course he had to pass no matter what.
Sweat beaded in his palms from the tension.
How long had it been since he'd felt this nervous?
His throat tightened, and his chest felt constricted for the first time in ages.
Yet this was also the moment he'd been waiting for so desperately.
He had trained relentlessly for today alone.
The door opened.
The guest room in the training hall.
One familiar face came into view.
Straight-backed and upright.
A neat and tidy old man, the very model of a butler, stood there.
Bor Gang, butler of the Ban Pellion Ducal Family.
It had been a long time since they'd last met.
Ision lowered his posture before him and offered a formal knight's salute.
"It's an honor to meet you for the first time. I am Ision Calrad, here for the Exclusive Knight candidate exam."
He was a completely different person from the one who had taken the imperial exam before.
"Your manners are impeccable. A pleasure to meet you. I am Bor Gang, butler of the Ban Pellion Ducal Family."
"The honor is mine. What areas will the exam cover?"
He showed his determination to go above and beyond in etiquette as well.
Bor Gang turned around with a satisfied smile.
"Unfortunately, I am not the one testing you today, young Ision."
Not Bor Gang?
A question mark appeared on Ision's face.
After all, Bor Gang had tested him in the past.
Perhaps a knight from the ducal family had come instead.
"Please follow me."
Ision followed behind Bor Gang, vaguely recalling a familiar face.
And then his eyes slowly widened as they fixed on someone.
There sat a petite girl on the sofa.
Her snow-white hair fell straight down like eyes holding the light.
Even in the wind, it didn't scatter but slid slowly like cold waves.
Her skin was as pale as snow, with no flush of color even under sunlight.
Her large, clear red eyes held no childish sparkle of excitement.
Ser Noxia Ban Pellion.
Ision's Lady was right there.
"La…dy…."
He barely swallowed the words that almost slipped out.
Why was the Lady here?
Confused, he pulled himself together.
Instead, he straightened his posture and offered a polite greeting, as if meeting her for the first time today.
"It's an honor to meet you. I am Ision Calrad."
He could hardly remember how he'd greeted her at their first meeting long ago.
It was too far in the past now.
Besides, their initial greeting had been at the estate, not here.
This was the first time greeting her in this place.
"Ision Calrad."
Ser Noxia repeated his name and rose from her seat.
"I've heard of you. They say you're the top talent in the training hall."
Ah, so that's it.
In the past, Ision had only been in the upper ranks at the training hall, never first place.
First place had been Airen, with Ision far below.
He'd won against children by reading adults' intentions, at best.
But against truly talented kids? No chance.
That's why he hadn't particularly caught Ser Noxia's interest.
To her, anyone would have sufficed as an Exclusive Knight.
But this time was different.
Training Commander Macdram took great pride in the Exclusive Knights he raised.
And for that pride, he shamelessly boasted whenever an outstanding one emerged.
No wonder even the First Princess had taken interest and visited.
Despite his appearance, Macdram had a silver tongue.
The pinnacle of this batch was naturally Ision.
So the news had naturally reached Ser Noxia's ears.
Ser Noxia gazed steadily at Ision.
She, already hailed as a candidate for Sword King, possessed exceptional skill and shining talent.
Until the male protagonist Leharion Perzan appeared later, she had been the undisputed strongest.
Her eyes were equally extraordinary.
She had an appraising gaze that pierced through talents others missed.
With it, she could roughly gauge an opponent's level.
Tanned skin like a country youth.
The scars, wounds, and honed muscles on his hands.
'Average, or perhaps slightly better.'
That was Ision's talent level.
Nothing far beyond the ordinary.
His only standout trait was his sturdiness.
But that meant little to a swordsman.
No matter how sturdy the body, it was worthless against aura.
It would just make for a slightly tougher kill.
Yet he was first in the Exclusive Knight training hall.
Was this batch just that weak?
Or had the Training Commander overhyped him?
Who knew.
She hadn't expected much anyway.
To Ser Noxia, everyone was just ordinary.
"Shall we check your skills, then? If that's alright."
Ision's eyes lit up the moment he saw her.
Ser Noxia's name was already renowned.
He must have heard it too.
That eagerness before her warranted some credit.
Or perhaps he was just a frog in a well, ignorant of the world outside.
Either way, testing him would settle it.
To Ser Noxia, who didn't care who became her Exclusive Knight, it hardly mattered.
"No."
But his next words were utterly unexpected.
Ser Noxia looked up, wondering if she'd misheard.
She hadn't.
Ision, who had just spoken, grinned brazenly.
"I refuse the duel."
Ser Noxia's eyebrow twitched.
She hadn't imagined he'd refuse a duel.
Yet there was no lie in Ision's eyes—pure sincerity.
"Why?"
As Ser Noxia questioned him, a mix of pathos, resignation, and bitterness filled her eyes.
"...If it's because I'm a noble…."
"No. I've already dueled Her Highness the First Princess."
First Princess Erje Escarion.
A woman with decent sword talent in her own right.
Higher in status than Ser Noxia.
Dueling her proved his earlier words weren't false.
But that only deepened Ser Noxia's puzzlement.
If he'd dueled a princess of higher status, why refuse her?
"I'm not yet worthy of dueling Lady Ser Noxia."
Ser Noxia's eyes widened slightly.
This was another total surprise.
She'd already pegged him as below her level the moment she saw him.
But for him to recognize it himself was another matter.
It's not easy for a frog in a well to realize its limits and leap out.
Yet Ision had kicked the well aside as if it were natural.
His steadfast gaze felt like that of a knight who'd crossed countless battle lines.
The Ban Pellion household had many knights who'd survived death's door repeatedly.
Ision's eyes now resembled theirs.
No nine-year-old child should have eyes like that.
Ser Noxia was nine too, but she was certain of it.
"...Are you admitting defeat before we even duel?"
Honesty was good.
But it could also point to a lack of self-esteem.
Ision shook his head.
This conversation wasn't about conceding defeat.
"Give me one year."
One year.
A long time if long, short if short.
"In one year, I'll defeat you, my Lady."
Ha.
Ser Noxia swallowed a scoff that nearly escaped.
Even so, she couldn't help thinking it absurd.
Not befitting a proud noble of the empire.
"Ahem."
She cleared her throat to cover it and straightened her back.
A boy still around her height.
One day, age might make her look up to him, but their eye levels matched now.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, completely serious."
"And if you lose?"
She'd taken the bait first.
Ser Noxia had no intention of letting the provocation slide unanswered.
Provocations demanded consequences.
"Then I'll give up becoming your Exclusive Knight."
Not the words of someone who'd come to take the exam.
For Ser Noxia, it was hardly a loss.
Yet looking into Ision's eyes, she felt an odd pang of regret.
It was a foregone victory anyway.
No matter how hard Ision trained for a year, she'd grow stronger too.
His year wouldn't equal hers.
That was the gap in talent.
If he couldn't win now, he'd have even less chance later.
Ision seemed unaware, fixated only on his current self.
Well, he was just a nine-year-old boy.
To a boy, one year felt like an eternity.
The nine-year-old Ser Noxia thought so.
'Still, for me to feel regret….'
Perhaps after the stifling ducal house, this amusing person had caught her interest a bit.
The match was set, but she could steer things differently.
"Very well. Let's do it."
"Yes. Then I'll see you again in one year."
Ision finished his final greeting and left.
Ser Noxia quietly watched the spot where the peculiar boy had departed.
"My Lady, you seem intrigued."
Bor Gang spoke up then.
True to the butler who'd served her all her life, he'd already seen through her.
It was hard to hide from Bor Gang.
"Yes, he's unusual. But he made the wrong choice."
Bor Gang let out a short chuckle at her words.
"Is that so?"
A genius she may be, but still a child.
Even her appraising eye had its limits.
The elderly butler, Bor Gang.
He viewed her from a wholly different perspective.
"Don't get too complacent, or you might regret it later."
Ser Noxia gave him a puzzled look, but Bor Gang only smiled silently.
One year later.
The day Ser Noxia and Ision would reunite again. Awaiting that day.