"A battle-tested warrior against imperial arrogance."
The bell rang—sharp, clear, final.
The Fourth Princess rushed forward without mercy.
*Hiss, hiss.*
The sound of her blade cutting through air was violent, threatening—a promise of swift violence.
Medea's hand trembled slightly as she gripped her sword. Her body appeared rigid, tense.
The crowd assumed she was afraid.
But no one noticed how her eyes tracked the Fourth Princess's every movement with the cold precision of a predator sizing up prey.
'Angelique, I know all your weaknesses. You never deviate from the pattern.'
As expected, the Fourth Princess charged forward with a confident smile.
Medea stepped back diagonally, letting the princess's blade slip harmlessly past.
The Fourth Princess had received the finest elite training the imperial family could provide—but perhaps that was precisely why she was vulnerable to improvisation.
She was accustomed to structured combat, formal techniques. Against someone battle-hardened like Medea, it was the worst possible matchup.
'Why won't you just get hit already?!'
The Fourth Princess, utterly oblivious to her disadvantage, grew increasingly frustrated as her attacks missed by hair's breadths.
That insolent girl had challenged *her* to a duel—and now it seemed the wretched thing had been hiding her skills all along.
"You're quite skilled at dodging, aren't you? I suppose your brother's talent runs in the family. Then take this as well!"
The Fourth Princess's blade suddenly blazed with malicious intent, dancing erratically. A bright orange light bloomed between them, casting harsh shadows across the hall.
"That's an Auror!"
Someone in the crowd recognized it and shouted.
Auror manifestation required not just initial training but a further stage called awakening—a threshold few ever crossed.
The difference in power between an Auror user and an ordinary swordsman was as vast as that between adult and child.
It was an unspoken rule never to employ Aurors in a duel unless both parties agreed beforehand.
Yet when the duel hadn't gone according to plan, the Fourth Princess had drawn upon her Auror without warning, without honor.
In the world of the blade, such conduct was considered petty and despicable.
'Now is the time.'
Medea's eyes sharpened.
She hesitated deliberately, turning her body as though flustered by the approaching torrent of scarlet light.
Each strike from the Fourth Princess became visible as though time itself had stretched—slow, predictable, clear.
Medea evaded them all.
Except the last one.
*"Tsk."*
The blade grazed Medea's arm. Blood splattered across pale skin.
"Aaaah—!"
"Medea!"
A scream tore through the hall.
The Queen Mother could bear it no longer—she cried out her granddaughter's name.
Sissair clenched his fists so tightly his nails bit into his palms, drawing blood.
Not only had Katzen's princess insulted the former king, but now she had drawn blood from the princess who'd risen to defend her father's honor—all while concealing that she was an Auror user.
Was this merely the Fourth Princess's personal arrogance?
No. This was overt provocation from the Empire itself to Valdina.
You will never be our equal. Remain silent. Obey.
Sissair burned with rage that he could only watch such shameless, petty cruelty without being able to retaliate. He swore he would never allow his country to be this weak again.
He would strengthen Valdina. He would never forget this humiliation.
And it wasn't only Sissair who felt the sting. The Valdinian people clenched their fists in silent fury.
While everyone else had endured Katzen's shamelessness in silence, their young princess had stepped forward proudly to face them—and that defiance lodged in their chests like a drop of blood that would not fade.
The atmosphere among the Valdinians grew so hostile that even the Katzen delegation began to notice.
'You let that last strike hit you on purpose—but why?!'
The Fourth Princess was equally startled.
She had only meant to display her superiority, to frighten the arrogant girl into submission.
And while she stood frozen in confusion, Medea moved like the wind.
Instead of retreating from the Auror the Fourth Princess wielded so recklessly, Medea surged forward—straight into her guard.
The deadly intent of an assassin closing for the kill radiated from her.
A silver arc drawn from low to high flashed before the Fourth Princess's eyes.
A single moment.
A single strike.
Light and heavy, both at once.
*"Tsk!"*
The Fourth Princess gasped, her grip faltering. The sword slipped from her hands.
It was not easy to execute a strike both swift and crushing simultaneously. Only the mercenaries of Façade recognized its depth.
"Ahaha. This girl doesn't even have proper fundamentals. The outcome was decided from the beginning."
Gallo chuckled with amusement.
*Clang!*
A heartbeat too late, the Fourth Princess's sword clattered to the floor.
"I hope this has been an instructive lesson, Fourth Princess."
Medea spoke calmly, her blade poised at the princess's throat—steady, unwavering.
"She won! Our princess won!"
"Valdina prevails!"
After a stunned pause, cheers erupted throughout the hall.
Our princess has humbled the arrogant Princess of Katzen!
The roar was so thunderous the chandelier lights swayed. The sweet scent of violetta blossoms wafting through the air heightened the Valdinians' euphoria.
On the other side, the Katzen delegation remained mired in shock. Some even rubbed their eyes as though they couldn't believe the Fourth Princess had been defeated.
"This is a foul!"
Belatedly, the Fourth Princess protested, her face flushed crimson.
"Princess, you deceived me! Why did you conceal your skills and trick me into this duel?"
But her words rang hollow—absurd, even.
What kind of duel required both parties to reveal their abilities beforehand? If she had wanted only a fight she could win, she shouldn't have accepted the challenge in the first place.
"Do it again!"
Unable to accept defeat at Valdina's hands, the Fourth Princess resorted to shameless demands.
"This time, let us fight on equal terms and settle this in a *real* duel—not this pathetic farce."
It was hardly something to be said by the person who had resorted to an Auror to win said "pathetic farce," but the Fourth Princess knew no shame.
Only stubbornness and petulant rage remained.
Medea's lips curved faintly upward.
"Did the princess forget the oath you swore?"
Her voice was calm, measured—yet carried an edge of mockery.
"This is not a child's game where you may demand a rematch simply because you lost. That is precisely why I warned you beforehand."
Her tone carried a cheerful lilt that was almost taunting.
"You staked Valdina's rightful relief supplies on this wager—and now you wish for a rematch 'in the proper spirit of a duel'...?"
A low ripple of laughter echoed through the hall.
Not only the Fourth Princess's reputation but that of the entire Katzen delegation was tarnished by criticism that they operated in bad faith.
"The Katzen Empire's accounting methods are truly bizarre. Valdina is not the only nation that understands this peculiar arithmetic. Perhaps we should share this story across the continent."
The faces of the delegation members hardened.
Though Katzen was powerful, it could not afford to alienate every other nation.
If word of today's events spread across the continent, the Katzen Empire would inevitably be condemned for faithlessness—and it would complicate future treaties with other kingdoms.
Nevertheless, the Fourth Princess trembled, her hands clenched into fists.
'How can I possibly accept losing to that Valdinian wretch?!'
She could not return home bearing this humiliation—not with her own reputation at stake. Moreover, she couldn't even imagine the glee her rival brothers would feel if word reached the empire that she'd been defeated by some arrogant half-blood from an insignificant backwater nation.
"Twice."
Desperate, the Fourth Princess threw out a massive incentive.
"Twice the original amount. If you win this time, we will provide double the relief supplies we promised. Surely that makes the wager fair now, does it not?"
A prize so enormous even the Valdinians could not easily refuse—and one even the princess herself could scarcely authorize.
"Double the relief supplies!"
The crowd stirred with agitation.
With such resources, they could not only alleviate the capital's suffering but also send substantial military supplies to the king on the plains.
"I am making this offer knowing full well I may face the Emperor's rebuke. Surely the princess will not refuse such generous terms?"
But it had been the princess who accepted the initial challenge.
This duel had been a narrow victory—there was no telling whether fortune would favor her a second time.
Moreover, with the Fourth Princess offering such lavish conditions, who knew what underhanded tactics she might employ to secure victory with her venomous cunning?
Hadn't she already drawn blood from the princess's arm?
And so they could only wait in tense silence for Medea's decision.
Silence stretched through the hall like a blade held at the throat.
Medea's green eyes darkened—
her intentions unknown.
---