TFYSWG 09

Chapter 9

How much time had passed?

Olivia no longer knew.

When training began at dawn and continued relentlessly until the moment she closed her eyes to sleep, she gradually lost all sense of time.

During one of the brief breaks between training sessions, Bennett—her current sparring partner—flopped down beside her.

“Olivia. Did you know it’s already been two months since training started?”

“Already?”

That meant it had already been two months since Olivia had overcome Aiden’s countless attempts to drive her away and joined the Lux Knights as a trainee.

“I’m kind of proud of myself…”

“Huh?”

“For enduring all of Assistant Instructor’s torture without giving up.”

“…You?”

Bennett looked at her as though the words you endured well? were written all over his face.

Olivia genuinely couldn’t understand.

Didn’t I handle it pretty well?

Granted, she had committed a little insubordination along the way…

But that much was harmless.

She’d heard there had been senior trainees who had done far worse.

Conveniently, she’d completely forgotten that every one of those seniors had dropped out shortly afterward.

“You seriously don’t remember marching up to Assistant Instructor with your sword while he was taking a break? It was a real sword!”

“I was simply requesting a proper duel. Live-blade sparring creates healthy tension.”

“You think that’s all? What about when you looked him in the eye and asked, ‘Are you actually insane?’ I—I seriously thought training had finally driven you crazy!”

Why does the word “crazy” appear so many times in a single sentence?

Olivia frowned.

Bennett was a good friend.

He just had a habit of exaggerating.

“And starting the very next day, I must’ve seen a hundred people come over and tell you to calm your temper!”

He also couldn’t keep a secret.

The reason all of their fellow trainees knew about everything between Olivia and Aiden was none other than Bennett himself.

Olivia shot him a glare before shaking her head.

This is why it was better hanging around with Panya.

…Panya. I miss her.

Apparently Panya had been assigned to an excellent squad.

While Olivia spent every evening collapsing after training, Panya was always busy socializing with her teammates.

The training might have been difficult, but she’d said everyone got along well.

In fact, Panya had teased Olivia more than once by bragging that their assistant instructor was buying the squad dinner.

…I should spar with Panya sometime soon.

Olivia grinned to herself, imagining Panya fleeing in horror if she heard that thought.

Watching her suspicious smile, Bennett leaned closer and covered his mouth as he whispered,

“Anyway, Olivia… be careful. The way Assistant Instructor looks at you is seriously unusual.”

“Why? Is he looking at me like he’s in love?”

“What? Are you actually sick? How does that look like someone in love? If anything, it looks like he’s deciding which lazy student to kill first.”

Bennett discreetly tilted his head toward where Aiden was standing.

Olivia naturally turned her gaze that way.

Shimmering blond hair.

Eyes that sparkled like blue gemstones.

His engagement ring still proudly resting on the ring finger of his left hand.

Even now, he stood there with his brow furrowed against the harsh sunlight—or perhaps because he was glaring in their direction.

“He looks the same as always.”

“Look closer. Doesn’t it seem like one eyebrow’s raised a little higher than usual?”

“You’re imagining it. His eyebrows are the same. If anything, he’s frowning a little more.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“And I don’t think he’s looking at me…”

He’s looking at us.

Normally, after no more than three seconds, Aiden would have looked away.

Instead, today he met her gaze head-on without the slightest intention of backing down.

Why?

What’s different today?

Tilting her head, Olivia leaned toward Bennett and whispered,

“Hey, Bennett… have you been marked by Assistant Instructor too—”

“Hm?”

“Wait.”

Aiden’s frown had deepened.

Even the corners of his mouth looked noticeably tighter.

Olivia thought for a moment before a smile tugged at her lips.

Right.

We decided we’d start over from the beginning.

And surely…

The sweetest beginning to a relationship was when someone started feeling jealous.

“How much time until the next session?”

“About ten minutes. But… do we really have to whisper?”

“Of course. Speaking quietly is a basic combat skill. Consider it part of our training.”

“I… guess that makes sense. Though… isn’t Assistant Instructor glaring at us even harder now? Or am I imagining it?”

“Probably not.”

Standing atop the platform, Aiden now looked as though someone had forced him to chew dirt.

Thunk.

He slammed the sheathed sword against the ground.

Olivia knew exactly what that meant.

He was in a bad mood.

He wanted them to separate.

Unfortunately for him, she had absolutely no intention of obeying.

Smiling even wider, Olivia leaned back toward Bennett.

“It’s fine.”

“I won’t die.”

“…Are you sure? Assistant Instructor looks furious.”

“No, no. It’ll be fine.”

Truthfully…

She was a little nervous.

Aiden could be surprisingly petty.

Whenever he saw something he didn’t like, the following training session somehow became twice as brutal.

But the thrill of knowing his attention was focused entirely on her outweighed any fear she had of what awaited afterward.

For this moment alone…

Olivia was more than willing to sacrifice the version of herself that would exist ten minutes from now.

Bennett shuddered at her quiet giggling and tried to shove her away in disgust.

Then…

A shadow suddenly fell over both of them.

“A-Assistant Instructor?”

It was Aiden.

Olivia calmly stepped away from Bennett and stood directly in front of him.

“You seem awfully free.”

“It’s our break time. I was just talking with a friend.”

“Wouldn’t your time be better spent relaxing your muscles and reviewing what you’ve learned? Rather than wasting it f-fl-fl-fl-flirting?”

He stuttered four times.

Something completely unlike him.

“Hey.”

“You slacker.”

“…Excuse me? Were you talking to me?”

“Who else would I be talking to? Instead of wasting time standing around, why don’t you go train? I heard you passed out yesterday too.”

“S-Sorry!”

Bennett’s face turned deathly pale as he fled at top speed.

Aiden watched him leave with obvious dissatisfaction before lowering his voice and whispering to Olivia.

“…You don’t actually like that idiot, do you? You need to be careful when choosing who you spend time with.”

“I’m only saying this because I’m worried.”

“Worried?”

“That’s called love.”

“What kind of lo—”

Aiden instinctively raised his voice before immediately snapping his mouth shut.

This wasn’t the place for that conversation.

Over the past two months, Olivia and Aiden had become famous throughout the training grounds as sworn enemies.

They trained while glaring at each other as though they wanted to kill one another.

Every meeting inevitably turned into another argument.

There was even a rumor going around that, if they hadn’t each already had fiancés, the two of them might actually have ended up together.

Of course…

The people spreading those rumors had no idea that they were already engaged—to each other.

Aiden bit down hard on his lip.

The surrounding trainees watched the pair with obvious fascination.

Olivia smiled at him.

Then, matching his whisper, she asked softly,

“Assistant Instructor…”

“Do you like me?”

“W-What?”

“Or is this…”

“Jealousy?”

“…Are you seriously insane?”

Aiden exploded before storming back onto the platform.

His gaze swept over the trainees with several times more killing intent than before.

Why is he taking it out on everyone else?

He really was impossible to understand.

Olivia lightly poked the still-frozen Bennett and dragged him back toward the training grounds.

Seeing the two of them still standing close together, Aiden clenched his jaw before shouting,

“Today’s training will consist of one-on-one live-blade duels against me.”

“The first participant will be—”

His icy blue eyes flashed.

Not at Olivia.

More precisely…

They locked onto Bennett, who was standing directly beside her.

“Yes.”

“Student Bennett.”

“M-Me?”

“How admirable.”

“So eager to volunteer.”

“Pick up your sword and step forward immediately.”

“I volunteered?!”

Watching the scene unfold, Olivia thought to herself,

He’s terrifyingly intense when he’s jealous…

Then she immediately shot her hand into the air.

“I’ll volunteer instead.”

Bennett, who had been white as a sheet only moments ago, turned toward Olivia with tearful eyes full of gratitude.

But Bennett had misunderstood one thing.

Olivia wasn’t stepping forward to save him.

There was only one reason she volunteered.

I absolutely refuse to give up the first match.

She didn’t want to let anyone else have Aiden’s first.

That was all.