Chapter 53: Morning Star (10)

To be honest, I was quite taken aback.

It wasn’t that I was surprised by winning against Noel in our duel. Undoubtedly, she was a genius, but she wasn’t out of my league in terms of skill.

The difference in our abilities was clear, and I knew I would emerge victorious in the duel against her. Perhaps Noel also knew that fact but still challenged me with her sword.

However, what surprised me was the process of our duel.

I saw the sword that Noel had dropped. That sword was, without a doubt, a misshapen piece lacking the proper form of a true blade. It was a scene I created, yet it still felt absurd.

I never thought the training sword would break. Could it have been of poor quality? Father oversees everything delivered to Kraus’ workshop, so such a thing shouldn’t have happened. Besides, if the condition of the sword wasn’t good, Noel wouldn’t have chosen to use it from the beginning.

In the end, it was my doing. Does that make any sense?

Certainly, wielding the sword with that intention was correct. I didn’t do it out of arrogance, but merely because I could. However, after the duel ended, upon careful consideration, it didn’t make sense anymore.

It was true that there was progress because of my practice in Merohim.

I could fully understand that through Sir Gwen’s duel with me. So, I know exactly where I stand now. It wouldn’t have broken in our first clash.

For a swordsman, the sword was like a lifeline. Minimizing the damage to the sword was directly linked to the skill of the swordsman.

It wasn’t too difficult to slice through a training sword in a duel, but if I were to hand a sword to any knight here and ask them to do the same as I did just now, it would probably be challenging to achieve within one strike.

If I truly grasped her skill, I should have been able to deflect the sword without breaking it. If there was truly nothing wrong with the sword, then it was her own choice. But why did Noel deliberately break the sword?

Many questions kept lingering, but as I looked at Noel standing before me with her bright smile, even though I couldn’t find the reason, I could easily sense that my action of breaking the sword was the answer she wanted.

Noel’s blue pupils sparkled like burning blue flames, showing a determination that she hadn’t revealed before. Though I initially thought she might be suggesting another duel, contrary to my thoughts, the words she offered were nothing but a word of gratitude.

“Thank you, Sir Damian.”

In those few words, her voice resonated gently in my ears, carrying a grace befitting a princess. The way she looked at me, her tone—everything was different, almost making me question if she truly was the Noel Estelia I knew.

“This was the first time I had such an enjoyable duel.”

What kind of fun could be found in that short sparring, which only lasted for one strike.

However, I could tell that Noel’s words were not just a formal thank-you. In her words, I could find what she desired and what I had fulfilled for her.

I looked at the small girl before me. She was an imperial princess, yet the look in her eyes as she met mine was that of a knight.

I never expected I would say something like this...

I spoke to Noel, who was about to leave the training ground, just like that.

“If you found it enjoyable, wouldn’t you like to do it once more?”

In response to my question, Noel stared at me blankly for a moment, then took a step forward, approaching me closely. She looked up at me with a faint smile.

It wasn’t as radiant as the smiles she usually showed everyone, but this small smile was the most beautiful one I had ever seen from her. In an instant, Noel’s face transformed into the familiar Noel Estelia that everyone knew.

After turning away from me, Noel chuckled as she had done before.

“Hehe... later, okay? I’ll practice a little more and challenge you again.”

“Do you think I might break the sword again?”

“Hmm? Hehe, well, even so, I won’t back down so easily the next time I apply for a duel! Maybe I’ll keep challenging you until I win.”

“Then it’ll never end.”

In response to my remark, Noel energetically replied, “Who knows?” and walked away. I also handed the training sword back to a knight who was waiting behind and followed her.

Come to think of it, I had thought about Elena’s meeting with Noel, but I had never considered the significance of my meeting with her. Considering the contents of the novel, Damian and Noel were not on very good terms. I wonder if there was a person with whom Damian was a good friend.

Nevertheless, for the current me, meeting Noel felt like a not-so-bad start. The first button seemed to be well fastened, so I hope it leads to a good fate.

“Huh?”

An odd voice came from Noel, who had been walking ahead. I also stopped walking and looked ahead as she suddenly paused.

There, a familiar white light was shining.

‘How long has she been watching?’

Elena. The sight of her, always welcome to see, came into my eyes. She was sitting next to Alphonse, intently watching Noel’s return. Noel sent a warm gaze to Elena, recognizing her, but Elena didn’t look back at her.

She was looking at me.

Why is that? Today, her once warm and beautiful violet eyes felt oddly cold.

***

When one experiences regression, sometimes one encounters similar experiences, albeit different.

That was the case with Noel and his meeting. They first met during the allocation test for the Knight Department at the Estelia Academy. Although I, as a student of the Mage Department, wasn’t present there, I had already heard about it several times from Noel.

The test for the Knight Department at the time involved simple dueling between students.

Certainly, fate should have disappeared, so it was truly puzzling why such an event was happening.

As I arrived at the training ground, I saw Noel’s figure. Despite being twins, she exuded a completely different aura from Orcus. When I saw her bright smile, I felt joy at the reunion with a long-lost friend.

However, this was the second time I turned back time, so I wondered if that was why it felt different. I didn’t feel the same emotions as when we first met. Of course, I already knew this would happen. Farewells in the first life and the second life were distinctly different.

On the training ground stage, he and Noel stood facing each other with swords. Seeing this, memories from the past were involuntarily triggered. Despite knowing that many things had changed from before, I couldn’t completely break free from the past.

“Ah, Noona!”

“Hello, Alphonse. It’s been a while.”

Alphonse greeted me with a cheerful voice, but I simply replied and sat down, looking at the training ground. I couldn’t even properly understand what emotions I had while gazing at the training ground.

Fear. No, it wasn’t fear. If anything, it was closer to curiosity. Was this someone’s prank or, like the previous regression, would Noel’s first encounter and duel with him happen again, yielding the same outcome?

Of course, it wouldn’t change anything, but it was merely within the realm of curiosity.

However, while I was observing the two as they assumed their stances, I noticed something strange. It was his attire that caught my attention. He was wearing the same clothes as this morning, but I could see traces of cuts and slashes that were not there before. On the other hand, Noel, who stood opposite him, had pristine clothing. I felt something was off and asked Alphonse, who had been watching their duel continuously.

“Alphonse, did Damian have a duel with someone before?”

“Yes! He had a duel with Sir Gwen. Oh, did you know, Noona? My brother finally defeated Sir Gwen completely!”

Alphonse answered with an excited face to my question, but upon hearing his answer, shadows clouded my expression instead.

I knew who Sir Gwen was without needing an explanation. He was the commander of the Black Dragon Knights, the most formidable force of Kraus, and the Sword Master, aside from Wilhelm. His skills were something I had witnessed before the regression, but because Damian had continuously dueled him here, it was impossible for me not to know.

So far, Damian and Sir Gwen’s record was a draw. Hence, naturally, I should be pleased to hear that Damian won, but I felt a bit angry.

“I stopped the sparring him with Sir Wilhelm that morning for some reason, but as soon as I returned to Sarham, Sir Gwen…”

“Who…Noona?”

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just his clothes that weren’t unscathed. It had become a common sight for him to have injuries all over his body after every duel with Sir Gwen, but today, I couldn’t just brush it off like before. He had been knocked down once during his duel with Wilhelm that morning, and it hadn’t been more than three days since he got up again.

So, the duel this morning was also not excessive.

As I pondered on these thoughts, the result of the duel was already secondary. Who cared about it? For me now, this was a more pressing matter.

--- END OF CHAPTER ---

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