Chapter 280: Three swords, Two fists

It was with great honor and pride that I could finally announce that the joint-training session was back in session!

Lionne helped me hunt down whoever was free, and Leila managed to snag our usual practice chamber, which meant the second I stepped through the doors, I actually felt a wave of relief. After everything, it was starting to feel like home again.

Granted, the turnout was pretty pathetic.

Besides both of me, it was just Kyro and Villius ready to spar. Lionne hung around on the sidelines, happily declaring herself a spectator and assistant.

Clarissa and Eve were both MIA; they were taking advantage of the break to head home and see their families. It was a bummer; I’d really wanted to bug Clarissa about her last opponent, but whatever, she’d be back soon. She had a tournament to fight in, after all.

As for Eve, Lionne filled me in on her scores before she left.

Apparently, Eve didn’t make the cut. She scored only five points out of her matches, failing to pass the qualification requirement to enter the second phase.

I, for sure, thought she would at least qualify. She always kept a calm head, and I had no doubt she was more than capable of handling most of the students in our year. Did she just get hit with terrible match luck, or what?

Speaking of participants, there were also my failed attempts at securing new sparring mates, Myura and Ravilenna. I actually did find them yesterday after spending the entire morning looking for them, however…

—

When I met Myura as Feyt, she was rather energetic and introduced herself with a warm smile.

“You’re Lady Carine’s friend, right?” she said with a hand on her hip. “Tell her I’m sorry about last time, alright? I… don’t know what came over me that day.”

I waved my hand, offering a warm smile of my own. “No need for that! I’m sure Lady Carine is just worried about you! Speaking of, Lady Carine and I are hosting a joint-training session tomorrow; if you’d like, I can help—”

Myura offered an instant bow. “Forgive me, but I have urgent business to attend to!” She turned on her heel and bolted away.

“...Huh. Kyro really wasn’t exaggerating about her at all.”

…

As for Ravilenna, I ran into her as Carine not long after seeing Myura bolt away.

She was walking out of a practice chamber. From what I could tell, it seemed that she was training alone, so I gave her a proper greeting, then a formal invitation to my joint-training session.

But the moment I laid it out…

"I don't know what that boy toy of yours said to you, but I must set one thing straight: You and I are enemies. The next time we talk, it'll be on the battlefield. That is all."

She walked past me, my mouth stammering, trying to refute that boy toy comment. But she was gone by the time I regained my composure.

—

I let out a heavy sigh on both bodies. Having both of them, or just one of them, amongst us in this joint-training session would be a great addition. Their fast, relentless pace from being dual-wielders was something we could all use for our training.

But there was no point in lamenting about spilled milk. Best I could do was just drink the fresh milk.

So, I turned my attention to Villius and Kyro, who were just finishing up their warm-up.

“Hey, Sir Villius,” I called out as Feyt, stepping toward him with a casual roll of my shoulders and a warm, big smile. “You down for a quick round to kick things off?”

Villius froze mid-stretch, then slowly turned to face Feyt. He didn't answer right away. Instead, he folded his arms, adjusted his posture, and gave me a soft grin.

“I believe we each have our own time to clash, Feyt. Save your strength. We shall speak through our blades when the time is right.”

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I just stared.

What in the world is he blabbering about?

Did he join a theatre club while I wasn’t looking?

“Uh... right. Sure,” I blurted out, scratching the back of my head. I turned my attention to the other sparring partner who hopefully didn’t have some weird line practiced. “Sir Kyro? You up?”

“Always!” Kyro said with a grin, already rolling his shoulders as if he was winding up a punch.

“Great!”

As Feyt stepped onto the training mat alongside Kyro, starting their one last set of warm-ups, Villius strode over to the sidelines and sat down right next to Carine, leaving a respectful distance between us.

I flicked Carine’s vision over to check on him. Villius offered her a soft, genuine smile, his tone warm and relaxed.

“It is good to see you in high spirits today, Lady Carine,” Villius said gently, resting his hands on his lap. “It feels as though it’s been far too long since our last joint-training session.”

“It really has,” I replied. “Between the preliminary matches and our own busy schedules... I’m merely glad we could secure a session today.”

Villius nodded in agreement, his gaze shifting slowly toward the mat where Kyro and Feyt were standing. “Indeed. With the tournament drawing closer every day, everyone is feeling the pressure. How are you feeling about your upcoming matches, if I may ask?”

“I’ll simply do my best,” I said smoothly. “Whatever the outcome, I intend to make every match count.”

I promised the Third Prince that much, at least.

Villius smiled softly at her answer, though a brief flicker of curiosity crossed his face.

He leaned slightly closer as his voice lowered. “Tell me, Lady Carine... have you given thought that you and Feyt… might clash in the arena? If that were to happen, would you go all out against him?”

The question stunned me for a moment.

Lionne even sneakily leaned in from behind us, seemingly interested.

Actually, it was something I had considered for a while now. What would I do if the tournament paired Carine against Feyt? Be it in the finals or an early elimination round, having that happen to me would cause quite the conundrum.

Should I purposefully throw a match as Feyt before that could happen? Keep Carine's standing intact while bowing out from the tournament early as Feyt? I mean, my promise with the Third Prince only related to Carine, after all.

But… throwing away a genuine match felt wrong. I would be no better than those who forfeited right in front of my face, even after I spent my precious free time waiting for them. And honestly, I wanted to give it all in both bodies, not just one.

So, the only real answer, the answer Carine would give regardless of the situation, was:

“Of course,” I delivered with conviction. “If we were ever to meet in battle, we would treat each other as true opponents. Going soft on each other would only deliver disrespect to both of ourselves.”

As soon as I said those words, Villius flinched.

His shoulders tightened, and his breath hitched before his gaze dropped to his lap, his knuckles tightening into silent fists against his knees.

Huh? What’s up with him? Did I say something weird?

Before I could dwell on his strange reaction, Kyro’s voice boomed across the chamber, cutting through the quiet.

“Alright, Sir Feyt! Let’s do this!” Kyro yelled, already dropping into a low, swaying stance in the middle of the mat. “I’ll warn you though, I’ve improved since the last time we met!”

I took a deep breath and focused all my attention on Feyt and the opponent before him. I flashed a smirk as I adopted my stance as well.

“Well, whaddya know. Same here!”

Lionne stood up with vigor. “I’ll be the referee again! Hold up!”

And so, the first match of our training session began.

Things went pretty smoothly after that.

Kyro and Feyt went at it, and I finally got to test out my hearing techniques again.

Kyro’s muscles somehow grew even louder than the last time I had fought him. And what's more, his breathing pattern was so loud, I didn’t even need my ears to read into it. Kyro had won eight points in the preliminary rounds, and his performance in front of me didn’t lie. He was fast and relentless with his approach.

Seeing a giant like that approach you at a rapid pace was bound to make anyone panic, especially if all they had were wooden weapons.

Though I had learned from my fight against Myura and Ravilenna to not toy with my opponent, so the moment I spotted my opening, I took it.

The same was true when it was time for me to spar with Villius as Carine. The moment I began drawing lines again felt so freeing.

As expected of Villius’s mixed style, the lines I drew from his moves were rather erratic. Not in a chaotic sense, but in an aggressive, mixed way, befitting of his style. I tried my best to move slightly more than necessary to avoid another incident like the one with Myura, but it was still fun fighting him.

But when it came to swapping partners, Villius strictly chose to spar with either Carine or Kyro. Whenever Feyt was up, Villius politely declined, claiming once again that he was saving their clash for "when the time was right" in the tournament.

I see… he’s saving the best fight for last…

But why Feyt, though? Did I do something to offend or amaze him to make him see me as his rival?

Well... who was I to judge? In fact, I actually stole his excuse to cover my own.

With only four of us actually swinging swords—or fists, in Kyro’s case—the pairing options were already painfully limited. Yet, I was also trying my hardest to steer clear of fighting myself, so I just parroted Villius's grand speech, telling everyone that Carine and Feyt were also saving their duel for the grand stage.

Thankfully, everyone bought it without a second thought.

By the time we finally called it a day and wiped the sweat from our brows, my muscles were aching across two completely different bodies. But as I glanced over at the rest of our weary group, I couldn't help but smile.

I was sure that whatever this tournament had in store for us, we would be ready.

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