For Lirienne, these duels were an opportunity.
An opportunity to see where she was standing in this institute filled with monsters and geniuses.
If it were she of the past, she would probably have rushed at the girl who always stood proud and tall while looking down on others.
She would attack the girl like a savage and would want to rip her pointy ears off, would want to erase that mighty expression on her face.
In fact, she still wanted to do it.
She wanted to destroy the girl before her; she wanted to show to this world that she was not someone to be looked down upon.
However, nowadays, she was feeling slightly different. She wanted to duel with that girl, but she couldn't, as she had witnessed her strength on the first day when another higher-ranking student from the empire challenged her.
'Everyone was looking at her with awe. And I just stood there and couldn't do anything.'
When she saw that two-faced girl, she wanted to say a lot of things; she wanted to speak. But, seeing the people surrounding her, the people of her own race….
She couldn't.
And she knew why.
'I am still not ready.'
Because she was not ready.
"We are the mighty warriors of Elven Forest. You, pathetic human, disappear from my sight."
It was those words that made even her tremble.
With only one arrow, the person that had been assumed as one of the best in the Empire was defeated.
The pressure that the princess of Elven Forest, the princess of Elven Kingdom, the rare class of High Elf…. The pressure that such a girl emitted was so strong that even she could feel it.
Then, her inferiority kicked in.
She wanted to prove herself, but she couldn't.
However, naturally, she got the chance to prove herself.
In the end, the people that tried to torment her appeared before her once more.
The girl she had taken her vengeance on that night.
She appeared in front of her once more.
Then, she beat the girl in a duel. After all, she was nothing but a spoiled brat, and she knew it too.
However, at that moment, when the duel was finished, she heard the girl saying.
"No matter where you go, I won't forget this humiliation until the end of my life."
Those words…They sounded familiar…
And then she dueled with another bunch of students that were ranked a lot higher than her, and she got a lot of praise from both her friends and her teachers.
The sparring sessions she had done with Callius made her experienced enough to handle those little kids that had yet to mature their swords.
Even though she could see they were talented, none of their swords felt like his.
He was like an unmovable mountain, but at the same time, fierce like a storm.
Then she saw his duel with his sister.
'Diana Augustride. The girl who is the reason I can't approach him.'
Even though Diana was not the sole reason, she was one of the reasons why Lirienne needed to be on alert whenever she wanted to get close to him.
However, the existence of Diana normally would never make him annoyed. Normally.
But, while she was watching the duel, she somehow felt annoyed.
She didn't know why or how. But she felt that this girl was dangerous.
The fact that she could go toe to toe against Callius and could even beat him in such a manner was something she needed put her respect.
And the spell Diana had used was something she knew. After all, it was something only that woman could teach others.
But she still felt a weird feeling when she saw Callius with Diana.
A feeling that she had never felt before.
A feeling she could not put the name on.
Something was bothering her, but she couldn't understand why.
So, she decided to follow him. Since it was the time of duels, she couldn't spar with him for a long time, but she was eager to speak with him.
She had made new friends in her class, just like he had wanted from her, but none of those friends felt close.
To put it in words, it was like they could never understand her. She knew if they learned her real identity and what she was like, they would instantly turn their backs on her.
So, she knew that in this world, the only person that could understand her was him.
Then, on that night, while she was following him after his training, a realization dawned upon her. Well, it was a little different.
She had been thinking about her magic for a while and was searching for it. As per Callius' instructions, she researched her moon magic and its past records, but her knowledge was limited. Thus she was mostly alone on that part.
However, then, while she was following him, she felt like her feelings (?) were responded to. It was like she somehow understood a way that she could use her magic.
A way she could erase her presence.
Under the moonlight, she was following the person she wanted to see.
The light of the moon was something that should have obeyed her will, but as Callius have always said, humans' senses were something that could easily be manipulated.
And the light was only a tool to see.
Then, from this moment on, Lirienne followed him wherever he went. Nobody ever looked at her; they hadn't even noticed her. She had managed to use her magic for the first time, and she wanted to celebrate with him.
And she found the opportunity.
Rather, the opportunity itself had found her.
"How long are you going to follow me for?"
A simple and calm voice entered her ears as the person she had been following turned back.
Even though the face was different, she could see the same demeanor. The demeanor she was familiar with.
"So?" She could see those crimson-red eyes overlapping with the ones that were before him normally.
"I-I am sorry." She replied. She felt herself losing her confidence when she was before him.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I-I am sorry for…."
"For? Following me for the past two days?" As he asked like he knew everything from the start, she raised her head.
Annoyance filled her heart as she felt like she was being played.
"You knew."
"I knew, of course. You do know I have a talent for detecting people. Especially those that I am familiar with. And, did you think you could trespass my senses just like that?" He shrugged while saying those, and it scratched her pride slightly.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to see how long you could wait."
"…."
"Then again, I should congratulate you for your first magic?" As Callius spoke with a serious but slightly sarcastic tone, she could feel her annoyance growing further.
For some reason, she couldn't help but compare his treatment of his sister and herself. Then she felt like he was being too harsh with her whenever they were together.
"Thank you."
She said with a scoffing tone, and she turned her head back. Then, started walking further. Normally she was not like this, but nowadays she had this weird feeling.
She was annoyed by the people close to him.
However, by doing so, she missed the small smile that appeared on Callius' face.
"It seems you learned how to thank."
As she heard Callius speaking from her back, she didn't stop in her tracks as she kept moving for a little more.
"Are you really going to leave like that?" Callius asked, that small smile never leaving his lips.
Though he didn't really know what caused Lirienne to feel annoyed specifically, he knew how to solve her. At the same time, he didn't intend to control every little bit of her thoughts.
In the end, such a thing was impossible, so he only wanted her to play the parts he had envisioned.
"….." However, Lirienne didn't answer as she kept going. Though she wanted to be with him, at the same time, she felt like she didn't want to.
It was a feeling even though she couldn't put a name.
"Do you really think this is enough for your vengeance?" Until she heard his last words.
TOK
The words 'vengeance' was enough to put her other thoughts down, as well as to stop her tracks.
"Didn't you see?" His tone slowly lost its playfulness.
FLINCH
"The strength of your enemy." As it turned into the cold and serious one that she had always heard.
SHIVER
"Do you really think you are strong enough?" That cold voice sent shivers down her spine. A cold voice that lacked emotion.
A voice that she hadn't heard for a while after that night when he let her do however she wanted.
"Do you really think, just by using one little stealth magic, you could feel proud?"
With every bit of his words, she felt reality hitting hard. To be honest, for the first time in quite a while, she felt like she had accomplished something.
She was able to use her magic after all this time, and that made it look like she could exact her vengeance now.
But now that she heard his voice, she felt like she was being childish.
"I-"
TOK TOK TOK
Callius approached Lirienne slowly and steadily.
Even though he didn't activate his trait, subconsciously, he was releasing his pressure. While he was trying to train Lirienne for a killer, he was also training himself after all.
He slowly and surely transformed himself into a person that was in the form of a master before this girl, and subconsciously he also started fitting a certain role whenever he was close to him.
His hand slowly reached Lirienne; his aura was shining and compressed on his fingers. A small blade was formed on the tip.
CUT
And he slightly moved his finger, in a motion, scratching her cheek slightly.
It hurt, but not that much. Lirienne also knew that it was not his intention to hurt him.
DRIP
As the blood fell to the ground from the small wound he had made, Callius caressed her cheeks.
"Wasn't it your drive to spill their blood? Now, can you afford to be distracted?"
With his questioning eyes looking at her, Callius slowly moved his water mana onto his hands and washed the small wound.
"Come. It is time to train."
And led her to the training grounds.
No words left her mouth….Neither did they need to.
She followed slowly, touching her cheek.
For some reason, the cut he made on her cheek felt good….
-------------------A/N------------------
Hope you liked the chapter. You need to know that, as much as Alicia, Emma, Celia, and Arthur had importance to the story, the other heroines do also have, like Selanne.
Thus, all of them will have their own arc in the future.
And, I really like writing Lirienne.
You can check my discord if you want. You will be able to see the illustrations here and engage in a conversation with me if I am available.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only