‘When did he get this close?’
She hadn’t sensed Eain’s presence at all. The shock from the teleport stone had completely thrown her off.
‘One wrong move and I’m dead…!’
Her mind spun rapidly as danger instincts kicked in. The blade was pressed against a vital point. If it dug in even a little deeper, she’d be in immediate danger.
She had absolutely no intention of shedding blood before things even started.
Though this wasn’t the meeting she had expected, she was prepared for it.
“I heard the young duke was searching for a sparring partner.”
A strangely neutral voice flowed calmly from beneath her robe. Careful not to sound suspicious, she spoke as slowly as possible while subtly moving a hand toward the sword at her waist.
Then—
Shing!
In one swift motion, she drew her blade, knocked aside Eain’s sword, and slipped away to the side.
‘Whew… I really thought I was going to die.’
After taking a short breath, she straightened her stance and immediately proposed a duel.
“How about this? The first one to lose their sword loses.”
“…An uninvited guest, and rude as well.”
Fortunately, the weapon she carried was an ordinary Imperial Knight sword. Seeing the imperial crest engraved on the sheath, Eain slightly lowered his guard, which was the only reason she had managed to escape unharmed.
Silently, she waited for his answer.
A presumed imperial knight sneaking into his estate just to request a sparring match—honestly, for Eain, this was probably welcome.
‘Because no one ever wanted to spar with Eain.’
So he would accept this absurd duel.
Without question.
“…Follow me.”
Blue eyes carrying the color of dawn studied her for a long moment. Even though her robe concealed everything, he seemed to be observing something carefully before finally turning away toward a nearby training hall.
“Let us begin.”
Shrrng—
As Eain drew his sword, the clean sound of steel echoed throughout the spacious room.
After exchanging brief formalities, the two pointed their blades at each other.
‘He caught me off guard earlier, but I’m pretty skilled with a sword too, you know?’
Clang!
Their swords collided with a clear, ringing crash that lingered in the air.
Though her strength still fell somewhat short, she didn’t feel overwhelmingly outmatched against Eain’s monstrous power.
‘Drinking three bottles of enhancement potion was worth it.’
She might not possess the same swordsmanship talent as a true knight, but she excelled in something else—
Dirty tricks.
The kind of petty, underhanded techniques traitors specialized in.
Pretending to be hit before suddenly thrusting.
Acting like she was retreating only to trip the opponent.
Things like that.
‘Well… my former profession was “final hidden boss,” after all…’
Whether magic or swordsmanship, most of her skills resembled those of a backstabbing villain.
Others might call it cowardly, but that was simply her fate.
As her shameless fighting style continued, even Eain let out an incredulous laugh.
“That is certainly… an unusual sword style.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
The moment she finished speaking, she aimed for an opening in Eain’s guard and immediately thrust her sword forward.
Unfortunately—
He was faster.
Easily evading her attack, Eain countered toward her waist instead.
‘If I hadn’t dodged that, my waist would’ve been cut clean off.’
Far from slowing down, his movements only grew faster.
Somehow, she got the chilling feeling that Eain was genuinely enjoying this.
To enjoy this…
He truly was insane about swords.
Clack! Clang!
Their blades collided again midair, blue sparks scattering between crossed steel.
As she gradually began losing in raw strength, she swept low with her sword, but Eain effortlessly redirected the impact and stepped back.
‘He doesn’t even look tired. He’s seriously a monster.’
After several heavy clashes of steel—
After seven failed attempts to catch him off guard—
Her legs finally began to weaken.
It wasn’t physical exhaustion so much as mental fatigue.
Constantly calculating, searching for openings, and adapting on the fly drained twice as much energy.
She had tried reading his movements, but unexpectedly, Eain often deviated from textbook swordsmanship, making him difficult to predict.
‘So this is why the knights hated sparring with him?’
It wasn’t simply because defeat was inevitable.
Trying to strike an opponent whose next move couldn’t be predicted at all created immense pressure and helplessness.
‘Though… it’s probably the same for him.’
It wasn’t as if her swordsmanship followed any logic either.
Underhanded swordplay had no fixed patterns by nature.
The real problem was that Eain seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her dirty tricks.
This was driving her insane.
“You shouldn’t be distracted during battle.”
Suddenly, a sword flashed before her eyes.
Startled, she stepped back—
But as if waiting for exactly that, Eain twisted his blade downward.
Wait.
That’s my technique!
Pretending to aim elsewhere before attacking the legs—
There was no way for her to avoid it.
He copied her swordsmanship in the middle of combat.
So this was what true talent looked like.
‘Damn it… I can’t dodge this…!’
When she returned to the palace, she’d probably have to drink an entire bottle of recovery potion.
It would hurt, but she had come prepared for injuries.
If necessary, she could always use healing magic.
“Ugh—!”
Unable to withstand the pressure driving into her, she finally collapsed onto the floor.
At the same time—
Clang!
Her sword slipped from her hand and crashed loudly against the ground.
Honestly, losing against the Empire’s strongest swordsman was only natural, so she wasn’t too upset.
Lasting five whole minutes was impressive enough already.
Of course, that was only because Eain hadn’t fought seriously.
But then—
‘Wasn’t this supposed to be a sparring match?’
Eain climbed on top of her with a terrifying expression, pointing his sword directly at her.
W-wasn’t this a duel?!
Why was he trying to kill her?!
Panicked, she immediately raised both hands and shouted surrender.
“Aaaah! I lost! I said I lost!”
“That is one matter. Trespassing is another. And I have the right to eliminate intruders.”
Eain smiled kindly.
While saying something completely unkind.
Holding the sword in a stance ready to stab at any moment.
Ah.
So he was separating those two issues.
For a moment, her vision blurred.
‘I came here to cheer up my fiancé and now I’m going to die…’
“…Ugh.”
While seriously considering begging for her life, sudden pain shot through her body, forcing her head back.
During the duel, Eain’s blade must have cut her arm more deeply than she realized.
But the instant she let out a pained groan—
A brilliant light flooded her vision.
The intense brightness pierced her eyes, making her frown instinctively.
What is this? Did I really die and go to heaven?
“Lady Sierra, are you alright? Let me see.”
“…Huh?”
Instead of heaven—
A heavenly face filled her sight.
Under sparkling golden hair, anxious blue eyes hovered incredibly close to her.
W-wait…
Eain’s face should not be this close and this clear.
‘M-my robe!’
Where did it go?!
Finally regaining her senses, she hurriedly touched her face—
Only to realize nothing covered it anymore.
Eain had removed the robe.
Whether she panicked or not, he grabbed her injured arm with a grave expression and continuously poured recovery potions over the wound from his sleeve.
Until the swollen red injury became pale white.
“I tried to be careful… This is entirely my fault. Are you hurt anywhere else? Please allow me to examine you.”
“Huh? N-no, wait a second—”
Looking utterly restless, Eain breathed unevenly in anxiety while inspecting her body all over.
Lifting her arms, touching her legs—
He unleashed a lifetime’s worth of physical contact all at once.
Only after she grabbed his shoulder and insisted she was fine did the nearly pure-evil level of skinship finally stop.
“Eain… you knew it was me?”
“Of course.”
“H-how? My hair and eyes were hidden, and the robe concealed my height too… I even changed my voice.”
She had perfectly hidden every identifying feature.
So how did he know?
If it were Kanyak, he might have sensed her mana—
But Eain wasn’t even a mage.
“…Do you know how long I’ve been watching you?”
At her puzzled stare, Eain smiled softly and lowered himself, gently pulling her into an embrace.
…Though he also seemed to be discreetly checking her back for injuries.
“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you. I’m just relieved you’re safe.”
