Luke Cruella

-Clang!!

“……I, I lost.”

“Winner! Ethan Richard Blackwood!”

“Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!”

“Ethan of the Twin Swords! It’s Ethan of the Twin Swords!!”

Two days after my Evaluation Duel with Luke ended, Ethan and Natalie’s duel took place.

Although it was a fairly fierce battle, the moment Ethan’s twin swords deflected Natalie’s Estoc and seized victory, the cheers of the spectating students echoed throughout the arena.

To me, who had already seen the two of them duel several times in Harold’s lectures, it seemed like an almost inevitable outcome.

‘Considering both their compatibility and skill. Ethan is fundamentally superior to Natalie.’

Ethan and Natalie. When the two of them faced off, Ethan’s win rate was approximately 80% by my estimation.

Natalie’s sword, which specialized in quickly thrusting into openings, showed a good win rate against blunt swords like Karaham’s, but against Ethan, who wielded twin swords, there were almost no openings for Natalie to exploit.

Ethan probably aimed for that when he nominated Natalie as his opponent for the Final Evaluation Match, and he indeed seized victory.

“Kyaaak! Prince Ethan-nim! Take me! Please take me!!”

“Hey, hey! Look, next to you, next to you!”

“Huh? Next to me…? Kyaaak?! Th-the Prince-nim’s, his fiancée-nim…!”

“…No, I’m not Young Master Ethan-nim’s fiancée or anything like that….”

“M-my apologies, Lady Lillith! That wasn’t my true intention!”

A Lady who had been fervently cheering for Ethan noticed me and instantly fled to another spot.

And the other students, who observed the scene a little belatedly, looked at me and began whispering among themselves about Ethan and me.

Why are they doing that again? This time, I’m truly being wronged.

‘…Somehow, no matter how I think about it, this doesn’t feel like Lillith.’

Where did Lillith Rosewood, who in the original story became Ethan’s Sex Slave and received pitiful and sympathetic gazes wherever she went, disappear to?

Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of becoming Ethan’s Sex Slave just to receive some sympathetic glances, but it was still hard to understand why things I didn’t do kept turning into misunderstandings and making people treat me like a strange woman.

Moreover, after the last duel, rumors were even circulating that I had actually stolen the Dagger the Princess had given to Luke as a gift.

I didn’t steal it. I’m going to meet him later and give it back.

It’s just that visitors are currently prohibited due to his injury treatment, so I haven’t been able to visit the Church.

As I was lost in thought, staring blankly at the arena, Karaham’s duel with another student seemed to have also concluded.

“Winner, Karham Samuel August!”

Seeing that the opposing student had completely vanished without a trace, it seemed Karaham had failed to control his strength and activated the Death Prevention Magic. The arena itself was already split in half as if an earthquake had struck.

Excluding swordsmanship or magic, if you consider pure physical strength, that guy is probably almost twice as strong as the Hero.

Incidentally, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, who had the right to choose his opponent first as the top-ranked student, instead of nominating Ethan or Natalie, chose a 5th-ranked extra student and easily secured victory.

Although Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot’s win rate in mock duels against Ethan was slightly higher, it was only by a small margin, so there was a good chance the outcome could have been reversed if he made a mistake.

The remaining individuals were also opponents against whom Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot couldn’t guarantee a 100% victory by his standards. Especially against Karaham, he was often pushed back by his brute strength.

For him, who wanted to secure points and maintain his position as Head of the Swordsmanship Department, the other three abnormal individuals, including Ethan, seemed like burdensome opponents for the Evaluation Match, so he ultimately shifted his target to the 5th-ranked student.

After all, he needed to maintain his position as Head of the Swordsmanship Department next semester to make the second-half events much smoother.

‘Ethan should be coming out soon, and I should head down.’

Ethan’s Evaluation Duel was now completely over, so I had to pack my bags to return from the Dormitory today.

The final grades wouldn’t be posted until a few days before the next semester anyway, so there was no reason to remain at school. With Ethan’s duel just now, my and Ethan’s first semester at the Academy was completely finished.

It was time to return to Blackwood Mansion after a long while.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Aurelia Church, Luminor Academy Branch.

This building, which had always exuded a quiet and solemn atmosphere, was quite bustling with the voices of busy priests and trainee priests, coinciding with the Evaluation Duel period, the busiest time of the semester.

“Next patient in Transfer Room 11! Cause of death: severance, splitting the entire body from head to side!”

“Quickly move them to a single room and apply protective measures to every single internal organ! Finish the procedures before the Death Prevention Magic wears off!”

“What kind of brute, who’s only strong, splits a person in half and activates Death Prevention Magic?! Are they insane?!”

“A few days ago, there was also some crazy bitch who exploded someone’s entire body with a super-large magic orb, so compared to that, being cut in half is actually better, I guess.”

Students were already busy receiving treatment for various injuries, big and small, from the end-of-semester Evaluation Match, but the condition of students being transferred by Death Prevention Magic was even more dire.

Students with all sorts of injuries were being transferred by Death Prevention Magic, to the point where they’d be grateful if it was just a stab to the neck or heart.

Two days prior, Luke, who had also been transferred to the Academy Church by Death Prevention Magic, was now recuperating as his body began to recover from his injuries.

However, his mind, as complicated as it was, refused to calm down.

‘What will become of me now?’

It was fine that he had nominated Lillith as his opponent for the Evaluation Match out of petty revenge. Until then, he had no doubt that he would win.

Although he was in the Engineering Department, a non-combat department, he was nonetheless a certified knight whose skills were recognized enough to serve as Princess Seraphine’s escort.

He was skilled enough to seize victory even in duels against Imperial Palace Knights who were two or three times his age, using twin daggers and a dagger.

Therefore, he had never imagined he would lose in an Evaluation Match against a top-ranked student from the Magic Department, no matter how skilled they were.

The result of his careless approach to the duel was a clear defeat for him.

An overwhelming defeat, to the point where it activated the Death Prevention Magic.

His state was so miserable that he couldn’t even make excuses.

‘There were no openings.’

It was as if she knew all of his techniques beforehand; her countermeasures to each of his attacks were executed as if they were the most obvious things in the world.

She had countered his initial charge with twin daggers by drawing a long sword hidden in her clothes.

The moment the distance widened, she blocked his vision with Blurred Light, then wounded his left arm with a Magic Arrow.

She had planned from the start to block his ranged attacks with an Arcane Shield. And in between, she had countered the daggers he threw with the long sword she was holding.

Even his last resort, a surprise attack, had been completely seen through.

It was truly a battle where she displayed an overwhelming difference in skill throughout the entire duel.

To the extent that he could even feel Lillith was going easy on him.

‘If she had intended to finish me off from the start, it wouldn’t have taken even a minute.’

If she had aimed only for his vital spots with a Magic Arrow when he was caught in the first Blurred Light, the match wouldn’t have dragged on for so long.

Even though she was capable of Triple Casting, all she aimed for was his left forearm.

A mage with that level of skill couldn’t have possibly missed her attack. She must have deliberately aimed to inflict only moderate damage, just enough to clearly demonstrate the difference in their abilities.

As a result, he ultimately suffered a miserable defeat, struck by a massive magic orb whose name he didn’t even know.

Luke had paid a harsh price for initiating a fight fueled only by hatred, without properly understanding his opponent.

‘What will Princess-nim say?’

A defeat so pathetic and miserable that he was ashamed to even call himself a guard dog, let alone an escort.

Princess Seraphine-nim must have been disappointed.

Not only would he no longer be able to remain in her escort position, but he might even come to miss his Exclusive Maid position instead.

Perhaps, due to his arrogant actions, he might even be completely abandoned by her….

“…Hoo.”

The tears he had been holding back welled up, wetting Luke’s eyes.

How much effort had he put in to stand by Princess Seraphine-nim’s side?

For five years, ever since the day he swore loyalty to her, he had made bone-grinding efforts to somehow protect and defend his place by Princess-nim’s side.

The thought that everything might scatter like mist due to a single mistake and defeat brought not only sorrow but also fear to the point of terror.

As if knowing or not knowing Luke’s feelings, Seraphine’s voice, heard from outside the hospital room, approached as if to constrict him.

-Knock, knock.

“Luke, how are you feeling?”

“……!”

“May I come in? I need to discuss some matters concerning the future.”

To say she wanted to talk about ‘matters concerning the future’.

It must have been about dismissing him from his escort position.

An escort who lost to a mere Exclusive Maid of a Ducal Family would be nothing more than an insignificant and unnecessary existence to her.

Luke wished he could send Princess-nim away without answering and remain her servant for a little longer, but…

“Yes, yes…. Y-you may come in, Princess Seraphine-nim….”

Luke replied, calling Princess Seraphine’s name with a trembling voice.

For not answering even after hearing Seraphine’s voice would have been an act of disloyalty, one that even his life couldn’t atone for.

-Creak.

As the door opened and Seraphine entered, Luke quietly lowered his gaze.

At that moment, he simply couldn’t bring himself to meet his Master-nim’s eyes.

Not only had he ignored his Master-nim’s advice and proceeded with the Evaluation Duel against Lillith, but he had also ended up defeated and in a miserable state.

“Luke, have your injuries improved?”

“Yes, yes…. Thanks to Princess-nim, I’m fine now….”

“Were there any precautions the priests-nim mentioned? Like, for example, not moving and resting for a few days?”

“…They said I need to stay at the Church for about five more days to treat my injured areas.”

“Hmm, is that so? So you’re saying you won’t be able to perform your escort duties for five days?”

“……!!!”

It was a mistake.

The moment he indirectly stated that he wouldn’t be able to perform Princess-nim’s escort duties for five days, it was practically the same as giving her a reason to fire him.

He should have said two days, not five.

No, he should have said he could move right now.

Luke Cruella hastily tried to get up from the bed to retract the slip of the tongue he had blurted out inadvertently, but…

Seraphine’s reply to him was an answer Luke had not expected at all.

“Ah, no, Princess Seraphine-nim! Actually, it’s not five days, it’s ju….”

“The tour of local villages that was scheduled to begin right after summer vacation, I’ll have it start five days from now.”

“……Huh?”

“Someone of my standing cannot travel through the imperial provinces without an escort. Right, Luke?”

“…E-escort, are you referring to me, Princess Seraphine-nim?”

“Hmm, did you perhaps want to quit your job, Luke?”

“Ah, no! Not at all! I didn’t mean it in that way…!”

Luke Cruella, still confused by the meaning of Princess Seraphine’s words to him, made another mistake.

Seraphine didn’t make a big deal of Luke’s slip of the tongue and calmly reassured him.

So that Luke wouldn’t panic, thinking he might lose his position.

“It’s fine, just rest, Luke. I never had any intention of firing you from the start.”

“I-is that so…? Princess-nim…?”

“I’ve always told you, Luke. I’m the type of person who can’t rest easy unless I keep capable people close by.”

“P-Princess-nim….”

“Get well soon, Luke.”

“Yes, yeshe…!”

Leaving behind her final words wishing for Luke’s swift recovery, Princess Seraphine exited the hospital room to attend to her remaining schedule at the Academy.

Thus, in the single hospital room of the Academy Church, where only one person remained, a single gray-haired girl was sobbing, unable to hold back her welling tears.

Though the meaning contained within those tears was distinctly different from moments before.