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Between the inner castle and the girls’ dormitory, there was an open space cleared by cutting down a forest. Although not officially designated, it was a place within the Academy that only the so-called elite students could use.

Boribori was squatting in that space, near the overgrown grass, gazing at something with a deeply satisfied expression.

In Boribori’s palm were some pine nuts and beans, which a squirrel was eating. To be precise, the squirrel wasn’t eating but rather storing them in the pouches on both sides of its cheeks.

Boribori gently stroked the squirrel with just his thumb. Building trust and bonding with an animal, even one that couldn’t understand human words, was an emotional experience.

However, a sudden metallic sound startled the squirrel, and it darted away in surprise.

Clang!

Boribori also flinched and turned around. He saw Ricardt and Marie, along with a crowd of students watching the two of them.

Ricardt had easily intercepted Marie’s practice sword, which was floating in mid-air. Then, holding two swords in his hands, he twirled them playfully as he spoke to Marie, who was clutching her wrist in pain.

“Do you really have to be number one?”

Over the past month or so, this had already happened over forty times. Even combining the number of sparring matches with Ice, Volka, and other students, the number of times he’d sparred with Marie was higher.

In the past, she had brushed it off, but the idea of being first seemed to be something genuinely important to Marie.

“Ugh… I told you, that’s why I came to the academy.”

“Hmm… Then why don’t you just be the first place?”

“I don’t want that.”

“How about aiming for first place after I graduate?”

“That’s even worse.”

What exactly was she trying to do? Ricardt had no intention of losing, but deliberately throwing the match would be an even worse offense to Marie, which left him in a dilemma.

There was something that bothered him, he wanted Marie to learn something from this, but that wasn’t up to Ricardt.

Marie had a gentle and kind personality, but she also had a firm will and knew how to resist when faced with injustice. Moreover, when it came to swordsmanship, she had a certain pride and determination.

Ricardt wondered if he should break that pride and make her come to her senses.

“It’s not easy to throw away everything you’ve done so far and start something new, but it’s still better to start, even slowly. You’ll never beat me with just quick and strong attacks. What’s the rush?”

At his words about why she was in such a hurry, Marie bit her lower lip tightly. It seemed like there was some untold story, but Ricardt couldn’t figure it out.

“Let’s go again.”

Marie said, opening her characteristically fierce eyes.

Ricardt flicked the practice sword that had originally been Marie’s, tossing it back to her. Marie easily caught it with her uninjured hand.

Then she got into her stance again, and Ricardt also assumed a proper stance. At that moment, Marie felt as if her heart had stopped.

Because usually, Ricardt stood awkwardly as if he had no clue about swordsmanship.

But now, he was clearly different. He spread his legs forward and backward, angled his torso toward his opponent, and raised his sword beside his face.

Most of all, there was something chilling in his eyes, as if they were imbued with a mysterious power. Meeting his gaze made her feel like she was being pulled in, like her body was freezing.

And along the lines of Ricardt’s body, there was a fiery energy she could sense.

Marie bit her lip so hard that it almost drew blood. At the same time, she raised her mana to its limit. Her heart pounded vigorously, sending surging blood through her veins, fueling her strength.

The mana reached the tips of her fingers, and her sword, as if an extension of her own limbs, began to absorb the mana.

But mana was a force that had to be handled carefully. It was like rushing water and fierce fire at the same time. If mishandled, it could damage blood vessels and even internal organs.

For more powerful force, it needed to be handled roughly, but to avoid damaging the body, it needed to be handled carefully. Finding that balance point was truly difficult.

That’s why it was even more difficult to handle in actual combat where life was at stake.

Marie pushed herself to the very limits of her strength, then sprang forward with explosive force, swinging her sword from below toward Ricardt. It was as fast as lightning, and the power behind it was like solid rock.

However, in that brief moment, Ricardt moved slightly to the side and brought his sword down like a bolt of lightning onto Marie’s blade. His sword was not infused with mana.

Clang!

“Kyah!”

As the swords collided, sparks flew. The practice swords, which were blunt and had no edge, split in two. The impact was so strong that Marie squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees.

“Wow!”

“Gasp!”

The students watching couldn’t help but exclaim in awe or gasp. It was already difficult to break a sword with a sharp blade, but Ricardt had split the blunt practice sword in two.

Surprisingly, Ricardt caught the pieces of the broken sword midair without even glancing at them, handling them lightly.

Then, looking down at Marie who was kneeling, he said,

“There used to be a guy named Ice. You’re like a weaker version of him. Because Ice quickly realized that simply attacking fast and strong wasn’t the answer. He just couldn’t find the solution after that.”

Though he said this, his true feelings were different. In Ricardt’s eyes, there wasn’t much difference between Ice and Marie. However, the current Marie seemed to be chasing after something.

Being compared to someone else, Marie’s pride was thoroughly hurt. She hung her head low, hiding her face behind her long hair, and muttered,

“I don’t know who that is.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. Because you’re much worse than him.”

Ricardt intentionally spoke coldly. He felt guilty, but he wanted her to calm that impatient heart of hers, even if it meant being harsh. Only that way, she could make real progress.

Ricardt threw the practice sword and the broken pieces onto the ground and turned to leave.

Clang.

“Marie…”

After Ricardt left, Boribori approached Marie, who was still kneeling.

“Let me see your hand for a second.”

Marie, still hanging her head, listlessly extended her hand to Boribori.

Boribori, being even more careful than when handling a squirrel, examined Marie’s wrist. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be broken or seriously injured.

He pulled out an herb from his pocket, one that was good for bruises, and chewed it in his mouth. Then, gently, he applied it to Marie’s wrist.

But as he did, water began to drip onto Marie’s thigh. They were tears. It seemed the wound in her heart hurt far more than the pain in her wrist.

There was nothing Boribori could do about that.

“Do you really have to be number one? Sometimes giving up on a foolish dream early is the best option.”

Whether this was meant to be comforting or just a realistic piece of advice, Marie, who had been crying, couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief despite her sadness.

“Pfft… Don’t make me laugh, Bori.”

“Hehehe.”

Seeing that Marie didn’t seem too devastated, Boribori left her with her female friends and followed Ricardt.

Thanks to that, Marie was able to gather her painful feelings and barely stand up. When she looked up, the sky was filled with gray storm clouds.

Spring rain began to fall. Marie sat by the window, resting her chin on her hand, quietly watching the rain fall into the academy courtyard.

Streams of water formed and flowed into the drains, while some energetic male students ran around, laughing loudly, not caring that their clothes were getting soaked.

But soon, even those boys went back into the castle, leaving the rain-drenched courtyard filled with nothing but loneliness.

Some people say their mood changes with the weather, but Marie wasn’t one of those people.

However, right now, it felt as if the rain falling from the cloudy sky was also pouring down on her heart.

Unwanted memories from the past began to rise in her mind like smoke.

‘You have to become someone useful. If not, there’s no difference between you and a beggar on the street.’

Her grandfather’s cold words echoed in her ears. In truth, those remarks didn’t hurt as much, but there were other words—words she desperately wanted to erase from her memory.

‘It’s because of you that I’m living like this. You should never have been born. No one ever wanted you.’

Marie’s mother would often say those cruel words to her, despite Marie being an innocent child. Every time she heard them, it felt as if a knife was stabbing her in the heart.

Perhaps that’s why she had devoted herself so intensely to the sword—to become someone useful, to be someone needed.

Emperor Claudis, known as ‘Virile Emperor’ for his infamous virility, was renowned for his countless offspring, both legitimate and illegitimate.

No one knew exactly how many illegitimate children he had, with some estimates ranging from 150 to as many as 400. Marie was one of them.

Both her father and mother were of noble blood, but their union had not been a blessed one. Moreover, her mother was unmarried, making her birth unwanted by anyone.

Marie grew up in her maternal family, a renowned household of swordsmanship. Perhaps because she had sensed her unstable position from a young age, Marie worked harder than anyone. She never wasted a single moment, constantly honing her skills day after day.

Then, one day, as her skills were finally beginning to be recognized, she received news that her father, whom she had never met, had officially acknowledged her. That was how she finally gained a name and became part of the imperial family.

Martellia von Nibelinger. That was Marie’s full name and true name.

But did that make her happy? Not at all. Nothing had really changed—she was still just a tool of the family.

The higher the noble family, the more ruthlessly they used their members as tools, without any warmth or mercy.

The reason she was acknowledged wasn’t anything special. It was to show that even members of the imperial family were attending the academy, to encourage the enrollment of other nobles. That was all there was to it.

Only then did Marie have a thought. She wanted to escape. She wanted to escape from all of this.

When she asked her great-grandfather for help, he had laughed as if it was amusing and said:

‘There is a genius at Beringen Academy. If you defeat that child and become number one, you may do as you please. Conversely, if you cannot defeat that child, you must marry him. That is what will benefit me, the family, and the Empire.’

“……”

Marie half-closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of the rain falling heavily outside. But even that rain could not wash away the gloom and turmoil inside her.

The cold, piercing gaze of Ricardt seemed to linger in her mind. Every time she thought of that gaze, her heart ached.

Ricardt was a close friend to her, a swordsman she deeply respected, and an insurmountable wall at the same time.

It wasn’t just a matter of talent or effort. He had a strength that seemed to transcend the realm of humanity. Defeating him seemed impossible.

What’s worse, the fact that Ricardt couldn’t even use mana completely shattered Marie’s preconceptions, making her feel even more hopeless.

Then what did all my efforts mean? How could he say I shouldn’t rely on fast and strong attacks? What did that even mean?

Yet, that despair felt strangely exhilarating and made her heart flutter, even as it pulled her deeper into sadness. Because, deep down, she didn’t want to be connected to him in such a way. Not like this…

Her pride in her swordsmanship, her desire to escape her fate, and her feelings toward Ricardt all became chains that bound her, tightening around her.

The unspoken weight of truth pressed down on her, making her feel that Ricardt, who had done nothing wrong, was somehow unfair and deserving of her resentment.

Even her unhappy days didn’t bring her to tears, but whenever she thought of Ricardt, her heart felt tight, painful, and tears seemed ready to spill. Yet Marie couldn’t understand what this emotion truly meant.

The sky darkened early as the overcast day grew dim. The dormitory room quickly became shadowy, and the other girls began lighting lanterns one by one.

Marie was about to leave the window and head to her bed when something caught her eye.

She saw two figures entering the Academy through the main gates. Who could be arriving at this hour?

They were a man and a woman, both wearing cloaks that reached down to their feet, with the hoods pulled low, making it difficult to see their faces. Judging by their height and build, they both appeared to be adults.

The two figures, cloaked and soaked by the rain, glanced around the academy courtyard before heading towards the inner castle.

At that time, Ricardt was in his dorm room, joking around with Boribori and some of the other boys as they got ready for bed. Suddenly, someone banged on the door of the inner castle.

They heard the sound of another student running barefoot down the hall. When the door finally opened, the sound of an outsider entering the building echoed through the halls.

Then, one of the outsiders shouted loudly.

“Ricky! Ricky!”

All the boys who had been gathered around Ricardt’s bed turned to look at him. Then the voice called out again.

“Ricky! Get out here, you bastard!”

Who in the world could it be? Ricardt, confused, slipped into some light clothing and went outside. In the central hall, he saw two people standing there, drenched from head to toe.

When one of them turned and pulled back their hood, a huge grin spread across Ricardt’s face.

“Volka!”

As soon as he shouted, Boribori quickly rushed out as well, followed by other students who knew Volka. The ones who didn’t know him just stood there, puzzled.

Ricardt ran over to Volka, barefoot, and embraced him, not caring that they were both getting soaked.

Volka, who had always been large, seemed to have grown even more in the time they hadn’t seen each other. He looked as if he could easily overwhelm most adults now, and he laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! Why are you running at me like a kid?”

“Doesn’t Ricky look a bit taller now?”

The person standing beside Volka was Delphi. She had now fully grown into a fine lady, radiating a calm, mature grace.

“What brings you here? Aren’t you busy these days?”

Ricardt asked with a wide smile still plastered on his face. But at that question, Volka’s expression turned a bit awkward.

“Well, it’s because we’re from the same clan, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“We kind of need your help. Soon, Academy students might be drafted too. We wanted to take you before that happens.”

“…Ah.”

It seemed to be because of the guild war. There was no way the guild would let someone like Ricardt sit idle during such a critical time. On the other hand, the Viola Clan also desperately needed Ricardt right now.

With just Volka and Delphi, it would be impossible to accomplish anything significant in the war. They couldn’t afford to be pushed around by the other clans, joining battles where they would just get tossed about.

“Sorry it’s not good news. I should’ve waited until tomorrow to tell you. No… actually, it’s urgent. It’s raining, it’s late, and we need to leave.”

“No, it’s fine. Give me a moment. Bori, let’s pack our things.”

“Got it.”

Without any further words, Ricardt headed straight back to his room to gather his belongings. He donned his red cloak and slung his meteoric iron sword over his shoulder.

Then, along with Boribori, he followed Volka and Delphi outside. The other students stood around, bewildered, watching the scene unfold.

But just as Ricardt was crossing the courtyard, almost reaching the main gates, someone called out from behind him.

“Ricky!”

Ricardt turned around, and as expected, it was Marie, standing there in her pajamas, getting soaked by the spring rain.

“Marie?”

“Where are you going!?”

“Uh… It looks like I’m going to have to use my sword. I’m sorry about today. I’ll go easier next time. Sorry.”

“……”

Hearing his casual apology, the frustration Marie had been feeling seemed to wash away. Just a glance from him had made her heart ache, but now, with just a few words, it felt like a terrible illness had been cured.

Marie stood there, dazed, letting the rain fall on her. Then, snapping back to her senses, she suddenly shouted.

“Wait! I’m coming with you!”

With that, she quickly ran back into the girls’ dormitory.

“Who’s that?”

Volka asked, not understanding what was happening.

“Ah, she’s new this year. Her sword skills are decent, but I’m not sure about her combat skills.”

“I could tell right away.”

Delphi said.

“Huh? Tell what?”

“Never mind. This isn’t something to just say out loud. You really are a bad guy, Ricky.”

“Huuuh? Me?”

Ricardt was left baffled by being called a bad guy out of nowhere. Before long, Marie came back out with her things packed.

Even though Ricardt wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, Marie joined the group, and now there were five of them as they left the academy.

Spring rain continued to fall. Rain seemed to fall within their hearts as well. But the world gave no time for sadness or gloom.

*****

TL Note:

Hi everyone, I’ve been quite busy with work lately, so I couldn’t dedicate much time to translating. Although my schedule is tight, I’ll do my best to carve out some time for it.

I’m also considering starting a Patreon or Ko-fi to help support my translations. As things get busier, it might become difficult to provide regular updates without some form of support or motivation.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!