Chapter 240: Back to Holy Trinity [4]

Tristan Amaury de Bellacourt received Ilya’s letter shortly before breakfast.

The invitation was brief, courteous, and contained nothing that could reasonably be considered offensive. Nevertheless, Tristan read it twice before setting it beside his plate.

Belozersky wanted another match.

Under ordinary circumstances, accepting would have been a straightforward decision. They were both preparing for the Magic Department’s practical assessments, and sparring against a capable opponent was one of the best ways to improve.

The problem was that Tristan knew Ilya.

A polite invitation from that fellow was almost more suspicious than an outright challenge.

"Is something wrong, my lord?" one of his companions asked.

"Nothing. Someone has requested a practice engagement."

"Lord Belozersky?"

Tristan gave him a look.

The student wisely returned to his breakfast.

After another moment, Tristan instructed an attendant to deliver his reply.

He would accept, provided the match took place under the same restrictions as their previous engagement.

There was no need to give Ilya an excuse after losing again.

* * *

Meanwhile, the person responsible for the invitation was enjoying a far less dignified morning.

"Ilya, explain yourself."

Anastasiya Valentinovna Belozerskaya was sitting across from him at the breakfast table, holding a document bearing the academy’s official seal.

Ilya recognized it immediately.

A notice concerning the upcoming practical assessments.

"Explain what?"

"Why am I hearing from the academy that you’ve been participating in unsupervised competitions?"

"They’re supervised training engagements."

"Don’t play with words."

"I’m not. There’s an instructor present, a reinforced formation, and restrictions on dangerous spells. It’s about as safe as magical combat gets."

Anastasiya looked thoroughly unconvinced.

Their relationship had improved enough that they could occasionally share a meal without arguing, although Ilya suspected his sister still considered scolding him an important part of her duties.

"You were involved in a major Imperial incident only recently," she continued. "And now you’re already looking for another opportunity to get yourself injured."

"Would you prefer that I stop attending classes?"

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"Then we’re in agreement."

"We most certainly are not."

Ilya decided to concentrate on his breakfast.

Anastasiya had never possessed much patience for his attempts at humor, particularly when she believed he was avoiding a serious conversation.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

He had returned from Saint Aurelia exhausted, and the last thing he needed was another incident that would leave him confined to an infirmary.

Still, ordinary training was necessary. His magical abilities had improved, but experience had repeatedly demonstrated how much he had left to learn.

Anastasiya eventually set the notice aside.

"You’re being careful?"

"Yes."

"Properly?"

"I’ve even started listening to my instructors."

"How revolutionary."

That one actually made him smile.

For a moment, their conversation almost resembled something between ordinary siblings.

Then Anastasiya returned to discussing his academic responsibilities, and the moment passed.

Before leaving, she reminded him that his recent accomplishments would attract greater attention from the northern nobility. His performance during the previous examination had already complicated matters within the family, and another public display would undoubtedly invite further speculation.

Ilya understood what she meant.

His success in magic had given certain relatives an excuse to question the succession, despite his complete lack of interest in challenging Anastasiya’s position.

He had no intention of making her situation worse.

But neither would he deliberately underperform simply to satisfy the expectations of people who had spent years dismissing him.

"Don’t worry," he said. "I’m not interested in your position."

Anastasiya’s expression hardened.

"I know."

Her answer came quickly enough to surprise him.

She rose from her seat before he could respond.

"Just make sure you don’t embarrass yourself."

And with that, the future Grand Duchess departed.

Ilya finished his breakfast in silence.

His sister remained a difficult person to understand.

Then again, he supposed she would say exactly the same thing about him.

As he prepared to leave, Ilya noticed that Anastasiya had barely touched her breakfast. A servant was already clearing the table, but the documents his sister had brought downstairs remained beside her empty chair.

He knew better than to interfere with her work, especially when it concerned the family. Still, he instructed the servant to prepare something for Anastasiya to eat later.

"Don’t mention that I asked."

The servant gave him a knowing smile.

Ilya sighed.

Apparently, even a simple request was enough to make him look suspicious these days. Well, whatever. Anastasiya could complain about it if she wanted.

By the time Ilya reached Holy Trinity, the Magic Department was already preparing for the assessments.

Students crowded around the newly posted schedules, comparing their assigned exercises and discussing possible opponents.

The first stage would evaluate individual control, spell efficiency, and the ability to respond to unexpected disturbances.

The second stage involved controlled engagements, with restrictions adjusted according to each participant’s abilities.

Ilya approved of the arrangement.

A straightforward contest of magical output would favor students with greater mana reserves, while the department’s chosen system offered opportunities to demonstrate technique and judgment.

He had barely finished examining the schedule when Garen approached him.

"You’re participating, right?"

"That’s the plan."

"Good. Solveig says we’re all going to embarrass ourselves."

"That’s not what I said."

Solveig appeared behind him, accompanied by Ma?lle.

"I said some of you are going to embarrass yourselves if you keep practicing the same three spells."

Garen looked offended.

"They’re reliable spells!"

"Then I’m sure your opponents will appreciate knowing exactly what you’re going to do."

Ilya found it difficult to disagree.

Their conversation continued as they headed toward the lecture hall, where several instructors were already preparing demonstrations for the upcoming exercises.

Professor Eklund began by explaining the importance of adapting to unfavorable conditions.

Rather than demonstrating overwhelming magical force, he presented a simple defensive formation and asked students to identify ways of disrupting it without exceeding a limited mana allowance.

The class offered several suggestions.

Most involved attacking the formation’s supporting nodes or interfering with its circulation.

Ilya listened until Eklund introduced an additional restriction.

The formation would automatically reinforce whichever node received the greatest pressure.

That changed the problem.

Attacking a single point would accomplish little, while distributing mana across multiple nodes would consume more energy than the exercise allowed.

Eklund invited volunteers to demonstrate possible solutions.

Elise was among the first to step forward.

She examined the formation before preparing two spells with different activation timings. The first forced the defensive array to redirect its reinforcement, while the second struck another node before the system could fully respond.

The formation flickered.

A clean result.

Several students applauded, and Elise returned to her seat looking thoroughly satisfied.

Ilya congratulated her when she passed.

"Nicely done."

"Of course."

There was the Elise he remembered.

Eklund then invited another participant.

Ilya volunteered.

He approached the formation and examined its circulation. Elise’s solution had been effective, but he suspected the exercise permitted another approach.

Rather than forcing the system to reinforce one node, he introduced a small disturbance into its outer circulation.

The defensive array immediately attempted to compensate.

Ilya repeated the disturbance at a different location.

The formation adjusted again.

After several exchanges, the repeated corrections created a brief imbalance between its supporting nodes.

Ilya directed his remaining mana toward the weakened connection.

The formation collapsed.

Eklund examined the result with interest.

"You exploited its correction mechanism."

"Yes, Professor. The array responds to every disturbance, even when the disturbance itself isn’t dangerous."

"An efficient solution. Although your timing would need improvement against a faster formation."

"I agree."

The professor nodded before inviting the next student forward.

As Ilya returned to his seat, Elise regarded him with an amused expression.

"You’re becoming rather good at that."

"At what?"

"Finding strange ways to solve perfectly ordinary problems."

"I’ve had plenty of practice."

She laughed.

Their conversation ended when the next demonstration began, and Ilya returned his attention to the exercise.

The lecture continued for another hour, with students attempting different approaches under increasingly restrictive conditions.

By the time it ended, Ilya had acquired several ideas for improving his own technique.

More importantly, he had received Tristan’s reply.

The southern nobleman had accepted his invitation.

Their rematch would take place the following afternoon.

Ilya examined the letter before folding it away.

He had already made adjustments to the circulating currents of Niflheim, but Tristan would undoubtedly arrive prepared to exploit whatever weaknesses remained.

That was precisely why Ilya wanted another engagement.

A capable opponent was worth far more than a dozen victories against opponents who couldn’t challenge him.

He would need to prepare carefully.

Fortunately, he had a useful advantage this time.

Tristan had already revealed how he approached the original technique.

Ilya intended to make sure the same strategy wouldn’t work twice.