To be honest, I was quite taken aback.
It wasn’t that I was surprised by winning against Noel in our duel. Undoubtedly, she was a genius, but she wasn’t out of my league in terms of skill.
The difference in our abilities was clear, and I knew I would erge victorious in the duel against her. Perhaps Noel also knew that fact but still challenged with her sword.
However, what surprised was the process of our duel.
I saw the sword that Noel had dropped. That sword was, without a doubt, a misshapen piece lacking the proper form of a true blade. It was a scene I created, yet it still felt absurd.
I never thought the training sword would break. Could it have been of poor quality? Father oversees everything delivered to Kraus’ workshop, so such a thing shouldn’t have happened. Besides, if the condition of the sword wasn’t good, Noel wouldn’t have chosen to use it from the beginning.
In the end, it was my doing. Does that make any sense?
Certainly, wielding the sword with that intention was correct. I didn’t do it out of arrogance, but rely because I could. However, after the duel ended, upon careful consideration, it didn’t make sense anymore.
It was true that there was progress because of my practice in rohim.
I could fully understand that through Sir Gwen’s duel with . So, I know exactly where I stand now. It wouldn’t have broken in our first clash.
For a swordsman, the sword was like a lifeline. Minimizing the damage to the sword was directly linked to the skill of the swordsman.
It wasn’t too difficult to slice through a training sword in a duel, but if I were to hand a sword to any knight here and ask them to do the sa as I did just now, it would probably be challenging to achieve within one strike.
If I truly grasped her skill, I should have been able to deflect the sword without breaking it. If there was truly nothing wrong with the sword, then it was her own choice. But why did Noel deliberately break the sword?
Many questions kept lingering, but as I looked at Noel standing before with her bright smile, even though I couldn’t find the reason, I could easily sense that my action of breaking the sword was the answer she wanted.
Noel’s blue pupils sparkled like burning blue flas, showing a determination that she hadn’t revealed before. Though I initially thought she might be suggesting another duel, contrary to my thoughts, the words she offered were nothing but a word of gratitude.
“Thank you, Sir Damian.”
In those few words, her voice resonated gently in my ears, carrying a grace befitting a princess. The way she looked at , her tone—everything was different, almost making question if she truly was the Noel Estelia I knew.
“This was the first ti I had such an enjoyable duel.”
What kind of fun could be found in that short sparring, which only lasted for one strike.
However, I could tell that Noel’s words were not just a formal thank-you. In her words, I could find what she desired and what I had fulfilled for her.
I looked at the small girl before . She was an imperial princess, yet the look in her eyes as she t mine was that of a knight.
I never expected I would say sothing like this...
I spoke to Noel, who was about to leave the training ground, just like that.
“If you found it enjoyable, wouldn’t you like to do it once more?”
In response to my question, Noel stared at blankly for a mont, then took a step forward, approaching closely. She looked up at with a faint smile.
It wasn’t as radiant as the smiles she usually showed everyone, but this small smile was the most beautiful one I had ever seen from her. In an instant, Noel’s face transford into the familiar Noel Estelia that everyone knew.
After turning away from , Noel chuckled as she had done before.
“Hehe... later, okay? I’ll practice a little more and challenge you again.”
“Do you think I might break the sword again?”
“Hmm? Hehe, well, even so, I won’t back down so easily the next ti I apply for a duel! Maybe I’ll keep challenging you until I win.”
“Then it’ll never end.”
In response to my remark, Noel energetically replied, “Who knows?” and walked away. I also handed the training sword back to a knight who was waiting behind and followed her.
Co to think of it, I had thought about Elena’s eting with Noel, but I had never considered the significance of my eting with her. Considering the contents of the novel, Damian and Noel were not on very good terms. I wonder if there was a person with whom Damian was a good friend.
Nevertheless, for the current , eting Noel felt like a not-so-bad start. The first button seed to be well fastened, so I hope it leads to a good fate.
“Huh?”
An odd voice ca from Noel, who had been walking ahead. I also stopped walking and looked ahead as she suddenly paused.
There, a familiar white light was shining.
‘How long has she been watching?’
Elena. The sight of her, always welco to see, ca into my eyes. She was sitting next to Alphonse, intently watching Noel’s return. Noel sent a warm gaze to Elena, recognizing her, but Elena didn’t look back at her.
She was looking at .
Why is that? Today, her once warm and beautiful violet eyes felt oddly cold.
***
When one experiences regression, sotis one encounters similar experiences, albeit different.
That was the case with Noel and his eting. They first t during the allocation test for the Knight Departnt at the Estelia Academy. Although I, as a student of the Mage Departnt, wasn’t present there, I had already heard about it several tis from Noel.
The test for the Knight Departnt at the ti involved simple dueling between students.
Certainly, fate should have disappeared, so it was truly puzzling why such an event was happening.
As I arrived at the training ground, I saw Noel’s figure. Despite being twins, she exuded a completely different aura from Orcus. When I saw her bright smile, I felt joy at the reunion with a long-lost friend.
However, this was the second ti I turned back ti, so I wondered if that was why it felt different. I didn’t feel the sa emotions as when we first t. Of course, I already knew this would happen. Farewells in the first life and the second life were distinctly different.
On the training ground stage, he and Noel stood facing each other with swords. Seeing this, mories from the past were involuntarily triggered. Despite knowing that many things had changed from before, I couldn’t completely break free from the past.
“Ah, Noona!”
“Hello, Alphonse. It’s been a while.”
Alphonse greeted with a cheerful voice, but I simply replied and sat down, looking at the training ground. I couldn’t even properly understand what emotions I had while gazing at the training ground.
Fear. No, it wasn’t fear. If anything, it was closer to curiosity. Was this soone’s prank or, like the previous regression, would Noel’s first encounter and duel with him happen again, yielding the sa outco?
Of course, it wouldn’t change anything, but it was rely within the realm of curiosity.
However, while I was observing the two as they assud their stances, I noticed sothing strange. It was his attire that caught my attention. He was wearing the sa clothes as this morning, but I could see traces of cuts and slashes that were not there before. On the other hand, Noel, who stood opposite him, had pristine clothing. I felt sothing was off and asked Alphonse, who had been watching their duel continuously.
“Alphonse, did Damian have a duel with soone before?”
“Yes! He had a duel with Sir Gwen. Oh, did you know, Noona? My brother finally defeated Sir Gwen completely!”
Alphonse answered with an excited face to my question, but upon hearing his answer, shadows clouded my expression instead.
I knew who Sir Gwen was without needing an explanation. He was the commander of the Black Dragon Knights, the most formidable force of Kraus, and the Sword Master, aside from Wilhelm. His skills were sothing I had witnessed before the regression, but because Damian had continuously dueled him here, it was impossible for not to know.
So far, Damian and Sir Gwen’s record was a draw. Hence, naturally, I should be pleased to hear that Damian won, but I felt a bit angry.
“I stopped the sparring him with Sir Wilhelm that morning for so reason, but as soon as I returned to Sarham, Sir Gwen…”
“Who…Noona?”
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just his clothes that weren’t unscathed. It had beco a common sight for him to have injuries all over his body after every duel with Sir Gwen, but today, I couldn’t just brush it off like before. He had been knocked down once during his duel with Wilhelm that morning, and it hadn’t been more than three days since he got up again.
So, the duel this morning was also not excessive.
As I pondered on these thoughts, the result of the duel was already secondary. Who cared about it? For now, this was a more pressing matter.
--- END OF CHAPTER ---
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