The murmurs of the gathered cadets barely registered in my mind as my gaze remained fixed on the stage. Lilia stood at the center, her posture poised, her crimson eyes burning with determination. But it was clear—painfully clear—that she had walked straight into Selene's trap.
I sighed inwardly, resisting the urge to shake my head. This is exactly what happened in the ga.
Lilia had made a mistake, and for soone as cunning as she was, it was a frustratingly careless one. She knew her sister. She knew how Selene operated. And yet, she had let herself be provoked, letting Selene dictate the terms of the encounter while thinking she was the one in control.
Predictable.
Lilia's mistake wasn't in challenging Selene—it was in thinking that she was the one leading the ga. She should have seen it coming the mont she made her move. The way Selene had smoothly pivoted the situation, deflecting the challenge onto Adrian while keeping herself perfectly untouchable, was textbook manipulation.
And now, here we are.
Adrian stood nearby, his smirk practically radiating satisfaction. He wasn't just the opponent—he was the executioner. Selene had played the role of the gracious benefactor, setting up the match, while Adrian was here to humiliate Lilia. If things played out like the ga, this match would end badly for her.
Not because Lilia lacked skill. In terms of pure talent, she was undoubtedly one of the best cadets in this academy. But Adrian was a senior after all.
He was stronger, he was faster, and in terms of physicality he was better. That is a given and there is no need to make this any different.
But at the sa ti, there was also sothing else that Adrian possessed.
He was smarter in these situations.
This wasn't a competition of pure archery skill—it was a staged event, carefully orchestrated to make sure the outco fell in their favor.
I let out a slow breath, adjusting my posture as I leaned against one of the pillars, watching the scene unfold with detached interest. Lilia, you should have known better.
Her mistake wasn't in stepping forward—it was in thinking she could win this battle through brute force alone. That was never how Selene played. Selene never fought where she could be outmatched. She made sure the battlefield itself was hers before the fight even began.
And right now? This entire arena belonged to her.
I glanced briefly at Selene, who stood near the edge of the stage, her expression perfectly composed. Her brown eyes shimred with sothing between amusent and satisfaction, her arms crossed in a way that suggested she already knew how this was going to play out.
Of course she does.
Adrian turned slightly, addressing the crowd with his usual effortless charm. "Now then," he said, his voice smooth, authoritative. "We'll be keeping things fair, of course. Standard rules—no external mana enhancent, no interference. A simple test of skill."
Lilia nodded once, firm, unwavering. But I could see the faintest flicker of tension in her jaw, the subtle tightening of her grip. She was angry. Not just at Adrian or Selene, but at herself.
She knew she had walked into this.
She knew she had slipped.
And now, she had to fight her way out.
******
Lilia's breath remained steady despite the intensity of the fight. She had already figured out how to control the battlefield, how to manipulate the moving barriers to her advantage—but it wasn't enough.
Because Adrian wasn't relying solely on the environnt anymore.
He was fast. Too fast.
The mont she forced him to move, he adapted. His raw physicality was superior; his footwork sharper, his dodges more refined. When it ca to sheer speed and reflexes, he outclassed her.
Twack!
An arrow whizzed past her cheek, close enough that she felt the mana hum against her skin before it buried itself in the barrier behind her.
'Tch. That was close.'
Lilia pivoted, drawing another arrow, but Adrian was already repositioning. His shots ca rapidly—precise, relentless, filled with power.
He's pushing into a corner.
And worse—he knew exactly how to do it.
Lilia's mind worked frantically, analyzing every detail. Adrian wasn't just overwhelming her with brute strength; he was predicting her movents, countering her techniques before she could fully commit to them.
'How?'
She wasn't easy to read. Even the instructors would struggle to anticipate how she fought because she never fought the sa way twice, yet alone the cadets.
But Adrian—he knew.
Every ti she tried to maneuver into a better position, the barriers shifted in ways that worked against her.
Every ti she attempted to mislead him with a feint, he ignored it, striking at the real point of weakness instead.
Every ti she thought she had an opening, his arrows ca faster, stronger—forcing her on the defensive, keeping her reactionary.
She gritted her teeth.
'This… isn't normal.'
She ducked behind a half-broken panel, pressing her back against it as another of Adrian's shots struck just above her shoulder. Her heartbeat was steady, but her irritation was growing.
She wasn't losing yet.
But she was being controlled.
Lilia's crimson eyes flickered, tracking Adrian as he took up a vantage point.
He was confident—too confident.
As if he had already figured out the best way to handle her.
As if…
'Selene.'
Lilia's grip tightened on her bow.
Of course.
Adrian wasn't this smart. He wasn't this precise.
But Selene was.
She exhaled sharply, resisting the urge to glare at the woman watching from the sidelines.
'She told him about .'
Lilia had always known that her sister studied her. Selene was observant, intelligent—she liked to know things.
And now, that knowledge was in Adrian's hands.
'This is why he knows my tendencies. My weaknesses. My tells.'
Selene had fed him the perfect way to counter her.
Lilia's jaw clenched.
That was infuriating.
Not because Adrian was stronger.
Not because he had an advantage.
But because she knew that this wasn't entirely his doing.
Adrian was smug, arrogant—but he wasn't this ticulous. He couldn't have figured all of this out on his own.
Selene had helped him.
And that pissed her off.
Fine.
Lilia's mind sharpened, the growing frustration narrowing into focus. She knew what she had to do. If Adrian was confident—too confident—then she needed to make him overextend.
'You think you've got figured out?'
Fine.
She moved, quick and calculated, her body twisting low as she darted toward the leftmost barrier. Her posture scread desperation, her motion erratic. A deliberate mistake.
Adrian's eyes flickered.
He took the bait.
He loosed an arrow, aiming not for her directly—but for the spot he thought she would dodge to.
Predictable.
The mont his fingers left the string, Lilia abruptly changed course.
Twack!
The arrow buried itself into empty space as Lilia slid into her real position.
'Got you.'
Not wasting a second, she channeled mana into her bowstring, feeling the pulse of energy gather within the arrowhead.
[Sliding Curve]
This wasn't just any shot—this was one of her specialized skills, one that required precision, a controlled charge—
And then the cover before her vanished.
Her entire body froze for half a second.
'What—?!'
A flicker of mana surged through the air, unnatural, forced.
Lilia's eyes widened as she caught the slight ripple along the edges of the battlefield—the telltale sign of outside interference.
And Adrian, of course, took advantage of it.
His next shot was already in the air.
Lilia had no choice—she abandoned her skill, rolling to the side just as the mana-infused arrow slamd into the platform where she had been standing, leaving a scorched mark in its wake.
'That wasn't him. That was—'
Her thoughts snapped into clarity.
And, as if to make it less obvious, the sa thing happened to Adrian monts later.
One of his barriers suddenly collapsed right as he began to reposition.
Lilia saw it. The hesitation in his step, the small delay in his draw. He had noticed it too.
But unlike her, he wasn't at risk.
His position was still solid. His shot was still viable.
She, on the other hand, had no choice but to dodge again—leaving her without an opening to fire back.
Lilia gritted her teeth as she landed behind a new cover, the unfairness of it all grating against her every instinct.
She already knew who was responsible.
And as she glanced toward the sidelines, her gaze t Selene's.
Her sister, standing perfectly composed.
Watching.
And smiling.
Lilia's fingers curled into a fist.
'You smug—'
She really wanted to show this sister of hers that smugness.
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