“Now, what’s wrong? Fight me!”
In the middle of a practical training session for self-defense, a female student dressed in riding clothes, like a knight’s uniform, pointed the tip of a wooden sword at a girl in her school uniform who was observing the practical lessons every time.
The girl who had the sword pointed at her was Sandra, from the Viscount Mars House.
The Mars House itself was a neutral faction, neither Royalist nor Aristocratic, a noble family of warriors who became viscounts during the war with the Evil Race several decades ago, thanks to their war efforts.
Sandra didn’t like this Pink-Haired Girl, Aria.
According to a story she heard from someone, Aria was originally a commoner, and by becoming the adopted daughter of a lower noble family, she became a handmaiden to Princess (Your Highness), allowed to be by the Princess’s side without any hardship.
It was common practice to make a talented commoner an adopted child of a lower noble and make them a servant. However, Sandra thought that the reason Aria became the Princess’s attendant was because of her appearance.
Shining, pinkish-gold hair. White skin as if blue blood flowed through it… Despite being of commoner origin, her unique atmosphere, which involuntarily attracted attention, was probably the result of someone, even if not the Princess (she), wanting to make her a noble and keep her by their side.
Sandra didn’t like that.
Even though they were called a neutral faction, it was ultimately the result of hedging their bets, and they were in a position where they were not valued impartially. Since the last war, the Mars House, which had no remarkable achievements or merits, was gradually falling out of the mainstream.
Sandra couldn’t forgive Aria, who had become the Princess’s favorite with just her appearance and atmosphere, and had shamelessly risen to the same middle-class nobility as herself thanks to that favor.
If the neutral Mars House were to become an ally, the Princess (she) would surely value her more than this woman who was all looks. Believing so, Sandra, with the backing of a certain person, set out to eliminate the girl named Aria.
“W-Wait!”
The teacher in charge noticed the commotion and rushed over.
However, the teacher was just a lower noble who used to be a knight, and he couldn’t possibly interfere with Sandra, who had the backing of a high-ranking noble.
“Miss Sandra Mars, what are you doing? To engage in something akin to a private fight in class!”
“No, teacher. This is the pride and way of life of a noble. Surely a fellow noble like you understands?”
“But still…”
For some reason, the lower noble teacher clung to Sandra, the viscount’s daughter, desperately trying to stop her. His desperation felt like the intensity of a battlefield where life and death were at stake, which only irritated Sandra even more.
“Isn’t it fine? That’s what the nobles of our kingdom should be like, the daughter of the Mars House, a family of warriors. I recommended Miss Sandra. You don’t mind, Elena, do you?”
The person who interrupted in the middle of that arbitrarily concluded the story, turning his well-featured face into a smile and directing it towards the Princess (she) and Sandra.
“Prince Amor (he)!”
“Amor-sama!”
The teacher knelt on the spot, and Sandra’s face turned into that of a maiden, dyed with joy.
Prince Amor (he) – there were rumors that he had taken a key position in the academy, but in this case, he didn’t like that there was a lowly person by the Princess’s side, and he was the one who recommended the noble Sandra as more suitable as the Princess’s confidante.
If it was a recommendation from the beautiful Prince, the Princess (she) would surely nod in agreement. Thinking so, when she turned her gaze to Princess Elena (she), she smiled gently and nodded quietly.
“Yes, Uncle.”
Princess (Your Highness)’s beautiful smile. But was it just her imagination that she felt a chilling coldness from that smile…?
“However, that’s only if that person is superior to the one I have chosen.”
“That’s fine, Elena. The one who fights and wins will be Elena’s confidante. Miss Sandra and you over there don’t mind, do you?”
“Yes, Amor-sama!”
Clack…
At that moment, that Pink-Haired Girl, Aria, started moving.
“A-Are you finally motivated?”
While thinking that she could finally show her true abilities, Sandra felt sweat seeping into the palms of her hands.
The wooden sword that Sandra held had a Demon Iron Core inside, which Amor (he) had prepared so that she could win for sure. It looked like a wooden sword, but its power was comparable to that of a steel sword.
She thought that such a thing was unnecessary, but she also thought that it was Amor’s trust in her, and Sandra gripped the wooden sword tightly and went towards Aria. But—
“You’re in the way.”
“Hii…”
Suddenly, Aria felt a cold shock from Aria, and without even realizing that its true nature was Intimidation and Killing Intent, Sandra collapsed as if her legs had given way. Aria passed by her leisurely and stood behind her master, Princess (Your Highness).
“Uncle… I’m sorry, but I don’t need a guard who would be rude in front of their master.”
“…I understand.”
Amor (he) nodded as if he had bitten into a bitter bug at Elena’s words.
“Oh? You didn’t kill her…”
One girl, who had been watching such a training ground from the shadows in the distance, tilted her head adorably at the development that was different from what she had imagined.
According to the plan, Aria was supposed to fight with a long sword that she was not good at, and by struggling, she would become serious and kill Sandra in public, making it impossible for her to stay in the academy.
At the very least, she thought that if she brutally hurt the young lady, it would be difficult for her to move around in the academy, but as a result, it didn’t even come to a fight.
“Oh, well.”
The girl turned around, shaking her reddish-dark golden hair.
The girl had no wisdom or cunning. It was because she had not received the education to do such things. However, the half-missing “Magic Stone” that she possessed contained the memories of Villainess who had risked their lives in another world line, and the “malice” of another world.
This incident was also a fragment of her “malice” that, disguised as innocence, approached Amor (he) and distorted his inner darkness in a warped way.
“I wonder what I can do next.”
“What is… that person?”
Sandra had locked herself in her room in the academy dormitory and was unable to go outside.
She was spoken to by Prince Amor (he), who was the longing of many noble daughters, and was also recommended as a guard for Princess (Your Highness).
If she could eliminate the commoner-born confidante who Amor (he) said was not suitable for the Princess (she), and become the Princess’s guard, the Mars House, which had not made any achievements since the last war, would be remembered favorably by the Royal Family, and Sandra would have been able to marry into an upper-class noble family. Not only that, but Sandra sincerely believed that if things went well, she could become Amor’s legal wife, just like the current Queen (she), even though she was a viscount’s daughter.
She was confident in her swordsmanship. Thanks to her blessed physique due to her bloodline, she had never lost to a man of the same age.
She was confident in her appearance. Although she lacked femininity, she was treated like a flower in the training grounds where the knights were, and she received admiring glances from the younger girls.
Although they were not in the same class after entering the academy, she felt that she had been blessed with a good opportunity to show her abilities, as she had the opportunity to be with the Princess (she) in joint classes.
But next to the Princess (she), there was always that “Pink-Haired Girl”.
She heard that she was originally a commoner, but there was a certain aura about her demeanor, and her elegance and beauty did not pale in comparison even when she stood next to the Princess (she). It was no wonder that the gazes of her classmates passed over her and went to them.
However, the fact that Sandra herself thought so severely hurt her pride, and that feeling turned into hatred towards Aria.
She thought that she would at least pretend to be a guard, but there was no way that she could win against Sandra, who had been concentrating on strength training with such a slender body. She judged so from her appearance, and she was an opponent that she should not have lost to, even without using the Magic Steel Core wooden sword that she had received from Amor (he).
But looking at the result, she lost her nerve and even made a blunder just from the Intimidation and Killing Intent that was released without even fighting.
She couldn’t face Amor (he) anymore. She couldn’t face the classmates who had seen her disgraceful appearance. She couldn’t believe that such a thing could happen.
“…………”
She wondered how many hours she had been crouching down without eating. Sandra suddenly noticed that a piece of paper had fallen under the door of the room she was looking at.
Slowly, but surely, her spirit, dyed in negativity, sought hope and picked up the paper, and Sandra’s expression brightened.
“Amor-sama…”
The paper indicated that he had expectations for Sandra, and only Amor’s initials were written on it.
The fact that he had expectations meant that Amor (he) believed that Sandra could eliminate the Princess’s guard.
“Amor-sama still believes in me, even like this…”
But why would the Prince only contact her with just a single piece of paper? How did he send the paper to the women’s dormitory, where not only men but also outsiders were prohibited?
Her sick mind made her believe that mere “malice” was in her favor, and more than the fear she felt at that time, Sandra moved again to avenge the Pink-Haired Girl who had embarrassed her and to be of use to Amor (he).
Several lower nobles from the Mars Viscount territory also attend this academy. I chose those who seemed to lack a sense of chivalry, used my maids to summon them, and planned a group assault targeting the pink-haired girl when she was alone in the evening.
On a deserted academy path, the pink-haired girl walked alone without any companions, and upperclassmen from the knight division ambushed her with wooden swords.
It should have been a quick resolution. There was no way she could remain unharmed after being attacked by four apprentice knights.
However, Aria calmly evaded the attacks, quietly putting on black gloves on both hands. With a speed that seemed to blur, she shattered the sternums of her attackers with palm strikes, and in a fluid motion, she felled the boys one after another.
“…What?”
Seeing Aria fight for the first time, Sandra’s face turned pale as she glimpsed the true strength that she couldn’t grasp from just the Killing Intent.
(I-I didn’t hear she was this strong!)
I’ve heard that with Martial Arts alone, one can defeat a martial artist one rank below, even if they have a weapon. If that’s the case, how much skill does Aria possess?
Sandra hurriedly threw away her wooden sword, drew her steel sword, and raised her head. But what she saw and heard at that moment was the palm of a black-gloved hand approaching her face and the distorted sound of her jaw being crushed.
“We’ve captured those guys. But there was no evidence of the mastermind Shadow or Prince Amor’s involvement.”
I returned to Elena’s mansion to report to her, the client.
I apprehended the attacking students and confirmed they were Shadow Knights, but I couldn’t identify the source of the strange gaze I felt in the training grounds. However…
“They had a strange memo. At first glance, it looks like Prince Amor wrote it, but…”
“It’s not proof of anything. Besides, this handwriting… is it a woman’s?”
“And there was a faint scent of roses.”
It’s not evidence, but it might be a clue. But it wasn’t the decisive factor Elena was looking for to silence Prince Amor.
Perhaps Elena thought the same thing, as she gave a faint wry smile and moistened her lips with tea.
“I’m sorry for making you act as bait, Aria. Things really aren’t going well… But while you were out, some interesting information arrived.”
As Elena said this, a butler brought a sealed letter on a silver tray. She took the contents and showed them to me as if spreading them out.
“Grave… the noble who is harboring that Weirdo has been identified.”
Finally, the fateful battle with Grave is at hand.