Chapter 10
A full week had already passed since Levy and Ayla began spending every afternoon training together at the Academy’s abandoned practice hall.
Today, as always, the two of them devoted themselves to their training in the deserted arena.
Clang!
The clear sound of wooden swords colliding echoed throughout the hall.
The surge of mana running through the impact made Ayla’s wrist sting.
Even so…
She smiled brighter than ever as she blocked Levy’s strike.
Because Levy had patiently corrected her again and again over the past week…
The constant fear that she might be doing everything wrong had gradually been replaced with confidence that her stance was finally correct.
“You’ve gotten the basic defensive stance down.”
Whenever Levy praised her with that gentle smile…
Ayla felt as though she had become a great swordswoman.
“Even so…”
“Blocking a Heron sword is still difficult.”
She lowered her practice sword for a moment and lightly shook out her aching wrist.
Her body was exhausted.
Yet her heart had never felt so alive.
When she’d first entered the Academy dormitory under her uncle’s orders…
She had never imagined she would experience happiness from something so simple.
Suddenly…
The carriage accident that had claimed her parents’ lives resurfaced in her mind.
After that accident…
Ayla’s life had become a living hell.
“Ayla.”
“Your parents must have left a will like this because they knew you couldn’t shoulder the family’s responsibilities alone.”
“A true heir doesn’t ignore starving relatives.”
“Sharing the inheritance has always been the custom of our family.”
Her parents’ will clearly stated…
That the inheritance deposited in the bank could only be claimed after Ayla graduated from the Academy.
The moment her uncle and aunt learned about it…
They suddenly volunteered to become her guardians and appeared at the Liner estate.
Then they claimed they needed cash to pay for raising her.
They sold the perfectly good estate…
Dismissed every loyal servant…
And pocketed everything.
…And then they took me to that country estate.
They wanted to isolate me from everyone.
At first…
Ayla had sought help from relatives she believed she could trust.
But once they discovered the contents of the will…
They began fighting each other over the inheritance.
Eventually…
Some even staged “accidents” and murdered one another.
After that…
Ayla could only watch in terror as her uncle and aunt ruled House Liner as though it belonged to them.
But Levy Heron…
Had nearly had her own life controlled by her uncle as well.
Yet she’d overcome it.
That was why Ayla had accepted the hand Levy offered her…
Even though she had no way to repay such kindness.
She wanted to stay close to someone…
Who had experienced despair so similar to her own…
Yet had risen above it so brilliantly that it was as though she’d become an entirely different person overnight.
Others mocked Levy as House Heron’s defective heir.
But to Ayla…
Levy was a hero.
Every time she watched Levy steadily change people’s opinions through sheer determination and relentless effort…
Hope blossomed somewhere deep inside her heart.
“Levy…”
“Thank you.”
The moment the trembling words left her lips…
Her vision blurred.
Seeing Ayla’s eyes suddenly redden…
Levy couldn’t help asking,
“Ayla?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…”
A tear slipped from Ayla’s blue eyes…
Rolling down her flushed cheek.
Levy quietly patted her shoulder…
Listening as Ayla poured everything out through her tears.
…I already knew it, but her uncle really is complete trash.
Stealing the inheritance that Baron Liner and his wife had left for their daughter was shameless enough…
But this?
“Don’t listen to anyone who blames you, Ayla.”
“You were only seven years old.”
Calling a seven-year-old child incompetent…
Saying she wasn’t worthy of being an heir…
After she’d just lost both parents…
Levy’s anger flared.
It reminded her of her own uncle…
Who had ended up behind iron bars after trying to seize House Heron.
“They wanted you to feel powerless.”
“Because they had no legal right to inherit anything themselves.”
“Levy…”
“The louder people shout…”
“The more they’re trying to hide the fact that they’re the ones who aren’t qualified.”
“So instead of listening to your uncle…”
“Let’s listen to actual professionals.”
Watching Levy become even angrier than she herself was…
Ayla couldn’t help smiling through her tears.
“I’m really glad I met you, Levy.”
If she’d remained trapped in the dormitory…
Living every day alone…
She would only have sunk deeper into self-loathing.
But now…
She chatted with a new friend.
Walked through the Academy beneath the warm sunlight.
Little by little…
She’d begun seeing her own situation from a calmer, more objective perspective.
Her uncle intended to take everything from her.
…In fact…
He’s already taken everything I had.
Once she graduated from the Academy…
He would undoubtedly swallow the inheritance that rightfully belonged to her…
Then quietly dispose of her afterward.
If Levy hadn’t reached out…
She might never have forced herself to face that terrifying truth.
“As long as I’m living in the dormitory…”
“There’s at least some distance between me and my uncle.”
“I’ll find a way.”
“Once I become an adult…”
“I’ll never acknowledge him again.”
Levy quietly met Ayla’s eyes.
Now.
Now is the time.
Now was the perfect moment to tell Ayla the method that could grant her wish much sooner.
“Ayla.”
“Yes, Levy?”
“If there were a way…”
“To invalidate that condition in your parents’ will…”
“And receive your inheritance much earlier…”
“Would you do it?”
Ayla blinked.
“Receive it earlier?”
She wondered if she’d heard correctly.
When Levy nodded…
Her answer came immediately.
“Of course I would.”
“Really?”
“If I had my inheritance…”
“I could hire my own lawyer.”
“Buy another proper estate.”
“I wouldn’t have to let my uncle control my life anymore.”
It wasn’t that Ayla didn’t know what she wanted.
She had merely buried those dreams…
Because everything that would have made them possible had already been stolen from her.
After confirming that…
Levy smiled softly.
“Then…”
“I think I have a pretty good idea.”
After finishing their training…
Levy escorted Ayla back to the dormitory before walking alone through the Academy grounds.
I hope Ayla accepts my proposal.
Training together with someone who possessed such overwhelming holy power…
Had already doubled her physical stamina.
Granted…
Her body had originally been so frail it was practically made of paper.
Even doubled…
She was still absurdly weak.
But the improvement was undeniable.
The proposal she’d offered Ayla…
Was her way of expressing gratitude.
My stamina has recovered quite a bit…
Maybe I’ll train a little longer before heading home.
Her performance during Demonology class had convinced everyone that House Heron’s bloodline wasn’t to be underestimated.
But…
That had only been a temporary deception.
Thinking of everything still waiting ahead…
She couldn’t afford to move at a leisurely pace.
If I fail to change the future…
If I die young just like in the original story…
So many people will die with me.
Thinking of the loyal retainers of House Heron…
Who supported her with all their hearts…
Levy returned to the practice hall alone, just as she had every evening over the past several days.
But today…
Someone was already waiting for her.
“Levy Heron.”
A deep voice…
Low enough to be pleasant…
Yet so clear that every syllable settled distinctly in her ears.
Its calm, unwavering tone perfectly matched the crimson eyes watching her.
The man who had been leaning casually against the wall straightened himself…
Then walked toward her with long, elegant strides.
His face was so strikingly handsome…
That Levy found herself staring for a brief moment.
“…Your Highness Damian?”
She murmured without thinking.
At the same time…
Something felt terribly strange.
The Imperial Palace is only a wall away from the Academy…
But why is the First Prince here…
At this hour?
Ironically…
Damian was thinking exactly the same thing.
Why…
Am I standing here at this time of day?
“Someone besides me…”
“Actually uses this old practice hall?”
About a week earlier…
The moment Douglas had reported it…
Damian came to see the answer with his own eyes.
Concealing his presence with mana…
He observed the occupants of the hall without revealing himself.
Levy Heron.
Ayla Liner.
The same two young women who had become the favorite subjects of noble gossip even before the Academy entrance ceremony.
Did Lady Liner ask Lady Heron to teach her swordsmanship?
At first…
That was what he assumed.
But after escorting Ayla back to the dormitory…
Levy always returned alone…
Training until every last ounce of strength had left her body.
The image of her tying her long hair high before swinging her sword…
Continued lingering in his thoughts.
She was so frail that she even postponed entering the Academy…
So why is she pushing herself this hard?
House Heron has countless outstanding knights.
Why insist on training in a rundown place like this?
Those unanswered questions…
Made it impossible for him to focus on anything else.
So in the end…
Damian decided it would be easier to ask her directly.
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“During the first Demonology lecture…”
“Was it intentional?”
“Using every bit of strength you could gather?”
“…”
So…
His Highness really had seen through her little trick.
Well…
It would be stranger if someone like Damian hadn’t.
Levy knew exactly what kind of man he was.
Long ago…
Realizing that the great noble houses would never support a prince with no political foundation…
He had approached the newly rising noble families instead.
At only fifteen years old…
He had carefully selected the most promising among them…
And brought them over to his side.
His ability to weigh advantages and disadvantages…
And his political skill…
They’re extraordinary.
Not only that…
His mana and swordsmanship had both reached the highest levels.
Trying to hide her intentions from someone like Damian…
Would only make it seem as though she had something to conceal.
So…
Levy answered honestly.
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t continue living as House Heron’s defective heir.”
“It must have placed a great burden on your body.”
“…That’s true as well.”
The moment she admitted it…
Damian seemed to realize something.
“So that’s why…”
“Instead of training with House Heron’s knights at your family’s estate…”
“You chose this place.”
“…”
He’d hit the mark exactly.
Even after taking Ayla back to the dormitory…
Levy continued training here instead of returning home.
For precisely the reason Damian had guessed.
“The knights and retainers of House Heron worry about me.”
“It’s difficult…”
“To let the people who cherish me see how weak I really am, Your Highness.”
The instant those words left her lips…
Damian’s crimson eyes trembled.
Once…
Long ago…
He had heard almost those exact words.
“Damian…”
“Mother is fine.”
“Go wait in your room for a little while.”
His mother…
Smiling reassuringly at him…
Even as she coughed up blood.
…Is that why Levy Heron keeps lingering in my thoughts?
Because she reminds me of Mother?
He couldn’t answer that question.
But…
Watching Levy quietly struggle beneath the surface…
Doing everything she could to protect those precious to her…
Felt strangely similar to himself.
And so…
For the first time in a very long while…
Damian impulsively said something he normally never would.
