Ch.198Resolved (1)

The mock duel, if it could even be called that, ended quickly. Hyria got up from the floor and immediately left.

I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed about being defeated so easily or if she had some other reason, but her steps seemed rather hurried. The glare she shot me before leaving was just a bonus.

With the duel ending so abruptly, the spectators lost interest and went back to their own business. A few people asked Adelia for a duel, but she declined them all and returned to me.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness. Have you been well?”

“Yes. You seem to have improved your skills.”

“You flatter me.”

Upon returning, she first greeted Leort who was sitting next to me. Leort welcomed her greeting with a pleased expression.

Adelia politely bowed and then looked me directly in the eyes. At first, she hesitated, then smiled shyly and said:

“So? Did you see?”

“Yes. You were amazing.”

In truth, I didn’t see how Adelia defeated Hyria because I was talking with Leort. I just heard a loud noise and then saw Hyria lying on the floor.

Unaware of my lie, Adelia’s smile brightened. With her hands behind her back and her head slightly bowed, she exuded the innocent charm of a young girl.

I decided there was no reason to stay any longer now that the duel was over, so I stood up.

“We’ll be going now.”

“Alright. Have a good day.”

“Thank you. Sister, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t even break a sweat, so there’s no need for her to shower. I plan to finish the workout I couldn’t complete earlier.

I’m not sure what Hyria might do next, but she won’t harm Adelia for a while. Even if she tries, I’m confident I can return the favor several times over.

“Sister, if Hyria approaches you separately and says anything, let me know immediately. Understand?”

“Don’t worry. Hyria isn’t that unreasonable.”

Adelia cut me off firmly, suggesting she knew Hyria well. That would be ideal, but human hearts are unpredictable.

Especially after such a humiliating defeat, she’s likely grinding her teeth in anger.

As I was worrying about the future, a question popped into my mind, and I glanced at Adelia. It might be a sensitive topic for her, but I felt I should ask.

“Um… Sister.”

“Yes?”

“Was the skill gap between you and Princess Hyria always this big?”

“…It was, originally.”

Adelia smiled bitterly at the question. She maintained that bitter smile, perhaps thinking of the past, before quietly speaking.

“She pretends to be calm on the outside, but she’s actually quite hot-tempered. She has a weakness where she can’t control her emotions well if provoked even a little. Even setting that aside, there is a skill gap between us, but…”

“Weren’t you constantly beaten by Princess Hyria?”

“Back then, I thought it would be okay if I let her hit me. I thought if I went easy on her, we could go back to when we were close, when she would call me ‘big sister’ and follow me around. I soon realized it was all a futile hope… but it was hard to let go.”

As she spoke, a wistful look settled in Adelia’s sky-blue eyes. Hope is called hope precisely because it seems just within reach yet remains elusive.

Adelia tried to hold onto that hope, but it shattered at the exhibition. If I hadn’t been there for her then, she would have collapsed beyond recovery.

It’s much better for me to become her hope instead. To comfort the now-gloomy Adelia, I called out to her.

“Adel, Sister.”

“Yes.”

“So what do you want to ask of me?”

“…Huh?”

At that question, Adelia blinked her sky-blue eyes and stared at me blankly. At first, she seemed unable to grasp the situation.

“Have you already forgotten? I said I’d grant whatever you want if you won.”

“Ah… that…”

“It doesn’t matter what it is, so don’t feel burdened and just tell me. Oh, but nothing inappropriate is allowed. That’s something Marie would have to permit.”

“Ugh…”

Adelia’s face rapidly reddened, and she made a pained sound. Though I explained it indirectly, she surely understood what I meant.

I inwardly chuckled as I watched her face turn as red as a ripe persimmon. It’s always refreshing to see Adelia being shy.

Though she has a cheerful and easygoing personality to hide her wounds, she’s a gentle woman at heart. Like a flower blooming after being nourished, she becomes more beautiful the more love she receives.

Again, Adelia is not someone who deserves to be unloved. Had she been born into an ordinary family, she would have grown up receiving more love than anyone.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. I’m the one who told you.”

“T-Then…”

After I spoke again, Adelia hesitated, showing signs of wanting to say something.

She looked around, then lowered her head and quietly made her request.

“…H-hug… pat…”

“Hm? What did you say?”

I couldn’t hear well because she was mumbling with her head down. I moved my face closer and asked again.

When I brought my ear closer, Adelia flinched but then spoke so I could hear.

“Hug me… and pat my head…”

“…”

“That’s… okay, right?”

Adelia slowly raised her head and timidly made her request. Her sky-blue eyes, now meeting mine directly, were moist and sparkling.

As an athletic person, Adelia is tall like Nicole. However, due to my recent growth spurt, she now has to look up at me.

I froze momentarily as I faced Adelia’s expectant expression. How could she be so lovable? Compared to her usual behavior, I could hardly believe she was the same person.

Perhaps it’s her reverse charm, or maybe this is Adelia’s true self.

*Swish*

“Ah…”

Adelia let out a soft gasp as I wordlessly embraced her slender body with both arms. There’s no need to worry about anyone seeing us since no one is around.

Then I gently caressed her brown hair as if handling a precious craft. Her body trembled slightly each time I stroked her head.

“How is it? Is this okay?”

“Haah…”

She exhaled a heated breath when I deliberately lowered my voice to whisper. As I’ve felt before, she has quite a cute side to her.

After holding and patting Adelia’s head for a while, she buried her face in my neck and spoke in a small voice.

“…Issac.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“Thank you. Really.”

*Squeeze*

Adelia, who had only been receiving the hug until now, seemed to gain courage and hugged me back. Her actions were increasingly pushing boundaries.

Still, since it wasn’t completely crossing the line, I remained still. Adelia, sensing my permission, tightened her arms around me.

“I don’t know if I should say this. But I feel like I must.”

Her uniquely husky yet charming voice penetrated my ears.

“I’m so happy right now. I’ve never felt this kind of happiness in my life.”

A settlement from her unfortunate past.

“I’ll definitely protect you.”

A firm resolve. And…

“I love you, Issac.”

A sincere confession. But a feeling I can’t reciprocate right away.

Instead, as if asking her to wait just a little longer, I gently stroked her head and quietly spoke.

“That’s good.”

If she’s broken free from the dark shadows of her past.

“As long as you’re happy, Sister, that’s what matters.”

From now on, she can paint a bright future.

*****

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! To think I would be defeated by such a half-wit…!!”

Meanwhile, around the same time, in the female students’ dormitory.

After her humiliating defeat by Adelia, Hyria was venting her intense anger in her room.

The once-clean interior of the dormitory was now messy, as if she had thrown objects around randomly, and there were clear marks of fist impacts on the wall from her uncontrollable rage.

Damaging facilities could lead to expulsion in the worst case, but her status as a princess meant such damage could be overlooked with some flexibility.

“Huff… Huff…”

Hyria was breathing heavily, having apparently vented all her internal anger. Her once-neat hair was roughly disheveled, and her cold beauty was marred by anger.

Nevertheless, her beauty remained striking, like a painting, even with an angry face. The only flaw was the broken objects scattered around.

After regulating her breathing for a while to calm her burning chest, she sat down heavily on the bed.

“When did she… get such skills…”

She recalled what had just happened to her. She understood up to the point where Adelia defended against her sword strike.

But the flowing movements that followed were enough to give Hyria a great shock.

She could have somehow blocked the kick to her leg that anticipated her next attack, but she never expected Adelia to seize that opening and strike her solar plexus.

She knew that at the time, she was swayed by Adelia’s provocation(?) and couldn’t control her emotions. She had always tried to maintain her composure to hide her hot-tempered nature, but it wasn’t easy.

Moreover, she never expected Adelia, whom she had easily crushed in the past, to have grown so much.

In reality, Adelia had deliberately lost to improve their relationship, but Hyria had no way of knowing that.

‘When did she start growing?’

Hyria gritted her teeth and tried to predict the catalyst for Adelia’s growth. The most likely possibility was that she had accidentally awakened her talent at the academy.

Otherwise, such a gap in skill couldn’t have developed. But setting all that aside, there was one thing that bothered her the most.

‘She said she’s happiest now?’

Adelia had proudly declared to her as she lay on the floor with a sword pointed at her that she was happier now than before. And asked if she was happy.

She had become a knight to avoid being treated as an ‘object,’ and had even acquired the skills to match. But when asked if she was happy, she couldn’t easily answer.

The reason she became a knight was to defeat Adelia. At first, she had followed Adelia, calling her “big sister,” but at some point, she began to hate Adelia for having exceptional talent despite being a bastard.

So she tried to defeat Adelia and make her feel the difference between a true royal and a half-blood. Thanks to the royal family’s support during her childhood, she was able to easily suppress Adelia.

But now? She was easily subdued before she could do anything. It meant the skill gap had widened immensely.

More than that, the question of whether she was happy turned her inside out. It was almost like denying her entire life.

‘Come to think of it…’

Before anger consumed her mind, Hyria thought of Issac, the object of Adelia’s affection.

A distinctive combination of long red hair and golden eyes. His appearance was also outstanding, likely to charm many women.

According to rumors circulating in the martial arts department, he was already dating the daughter of Duke Reckyless. Yet he had also charmed Adelia, giving some indication of his great appeal.

‘Adelia’s eyes changed whenever she saw that red hair.’

This meant that the source of happiness lay with Issac. As these thoughts occurred to her, Hyria raised the corners of her mouth.

If she could make the source of happiness disappear, wouldn’t Adelia collapse again? Hyria knew well how much despair a woman falls into when she loses love.

Of course, she wasn’t talking about eliminating Issac. That would not only cause severe diplomatic losses but could even lead to war, as he was the son-in-law of Duke Reckyless.

The best method was to somehow bring Issac into the Teres royal family. In other words, a political marriage.

Novels are filled with beautiful stories, but reality is always ugly. Even if Issac was dating the Reckyless daughter, things would change if the Kingdom of Teres officially proposed marriage.

Son-in-law of the Teres royal family versus son-in-law of the Reckyless duchy. The choice was predetermined.

Even if the Empire of Minerva and the Kingdom of Teres were at odds, they wouldn’t interfere with a marriage.

‘The Mayshall family is a baronial house, so there’s no problem bringing him in as a son-in-law. And he’s handsome too.’

Considering each point, it wasn’t a bad option. Hyria herself could maintain her knight position, and Issac was attractive enough to live with just for his looks.

Crucially, she could take the man Adelia loved away from her. She looked forward to seeing how desperate Adelia would be once the marriage was decided.

‘First… I need to find out who he is. This will be fun.’

Around the time Hyria was inwardly plotting her malicious plans…

“Achoo!”

Issac sneezed loudly due to an inexplicable chill while writing.

“Ugh. Damn it.”

The ink smudged because of his saliva.