HDGD 3

Chapter: 3

The northern training grounds of the dormitory were packed with cadets who had gathered after hearing the rumors.

Someone came rushing over as Sia stretched out her arms to warm up.

“Sia! What on earth is going on?”

“…Riana?”

A female cadet with neat short hair and blue eyes grabbed Sia’s hand. Sia noticed tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

“Are you really going to spar with Drake again? Please don’t. Did you already forget what happened three days ago?”

Riana Promuth—one of the few female knight cadets at Rivendell Knight Academy, and one of the only people Sia spoke with.

In the future, she would become a personal swordsmanship instructor to a count’s daughter, and later be imprisoned for speaking up on behalf of Sia when she became a prisoner.

The last thing I heard was that she came down with a fever while in prison…

The reunion was something Sia was happy about, but she didn’t have the luxury to feel pure joy right now.

Across from her, Crion, snorting like an angry bull, urged her impatiently.

“Hey, you wench, hurry up!”

Both of them were holding real swords they had taken from the armory.

Sia tapped the blade against the ground a few times to test its durability.

This happened too suddenly for anyone to sabotage the weapons.

“Riana, move back. You’ll get hurt if you stay close.”

Realizing nothing she said would change Sia’s mind, Riana wiped her eyes and backed away.

As soon as she sat down, a cadet—without being asked—stepped forward as referee and blew a whistle.

“Then, begin the spar!”

Fweeeet!

Before the whistle even fully faded, Crion charged forward.

With a swoosh of the blade slicing through the air, cheers erupted.

It was Crion’s gang, along with the group that always resented female cadets.

They shouted encouragement and jeers all at once.

“Go, Crion! Show her what’s what!”

“This time, don’t cut the hair—snap the sword instead!”

Hearing their cheers, Crion’s sword grew faster.

His specialty was strength.

With his naturally large build and muscles, when he put weight into his swing, even most men dropped their swords.

Three days ago, he used that same strength to cut Sia’s hair. Of course, he planned to defeat her the same way today.

But after confidently swinging five or six times, Crion realized something was wrong.

Throughout all his attacks, his opponent had not clashed swords with him even once.

Instead, she effortlessly dodged with light movements.

“What kind of slippery trick did you learn…?!”

Meanwhile, despite moving lazily, Sia was already fed up.

Not with Crion.

But with her past self from three days ago—no, from five years ago.

I lost to this slow, clumsy idiot? Me?

Back then, Crion’s sword terrified her.

The shock from blocking his attacks had made her instinctively flinch.

But today, his movements were painfully obvious.

Where his hands would move, the angle of his blade, which part of her body he was aiming for—

He probably thought he was fighting strategically, but it was pathetically simple.

Even a bear she once encountered while camping in the wilderness would be more agile than this.

“What are you doing, Crion! You’re not landing a single hit!”

“Press harder, you slug!”

“S-shut up! All of you, shut your mouths!”

The spectators egged Crion on.

He was getting anxious, and the more anxious he got, the harder it became to keep up with Sia.

Watching his meaningless attacks, Sia let out a faint laugh.

Seeing that smile, Crion finally snapped.

He raised his sword high.

“You dare…?!”

He never finished the sentence.

In the blink of an eye, Sia rushed in close and struck his armpit hard with the guard of her sword.

Caught off guard, Crion dropped his sword.

It clattered pathetically across the training field.

Before he could regain his senses, Sia punched him straight in the face.

“Uaaaaah!”

Crion staggered and lunged forward with both arms spread open.

It was hard to believe he had taken two years of knight training—he was reckless to a ridiculous degree.

Sia simply stepped back, slid her leg out, and lightly lifted her sword.

Crion tripped, and as he fell, the tip of Sia’s sword sliced off a chunk of his messy hair.

The exact same spot he had cut from Sia three days earlier.

Everyone finally realized it.

Crion Drake was nowhere near Sia Ermodian’s level.

No matter how wildly he flailed, he would only embarrass himself.

The once noisy training ground fell eerily silent.

Then the door suddenly slammed open.

“Instructor Liegless!”

One of the cadets shouted.

Sia also turned toward the unexpected visitor.

The instructor had come upon hearing the news of the fight.

The moment their golden eyes met, memories of her first duel with Crion resurfaced.

Her weapon broken. Her hair chopped off.

And she had been helplessly beaten.

He had been there then too.

She didn’t expect kindness like asking if she was okay.

She could endure even being disciplined for breaking academy rules.

But at the very least…

He shouldn’t have looked at her with such cold eyes.

Like she was a useless, disgusting insect.

She had been calm just moments ago.

With years of battlefield experience behind her, dealing with a cadet like Crion felt like child’s play.

But facing Gilead again, the anger she had buried welled up.

“Why are you in such a rush? I simply trimmed Cadet Drake’s hair a little since it was long. Isn’t that right, Drake?”

Gilead’s brows furrowed.

Seeing that, Sia knew he remembered Crion’s excuse from three days ago.

“What nonsense…”

“So when Drake says it, it’s a valid excuse. But when I say it, it’s nonsense? Isn’t that what’s truly ridiculous?!”

Her emotions exploded like a fountain. Every time she swung her arm in anger, her blade flashed dangerously.

Everyone watching instinctively shrank back, but Gilead simply stayed silent, watching.

That unchanged indifference infuriated her even more.

“You always knew I was the one getting beaten, yet you only punished me! What did I ever do wrong?!”

“On the battlefield, a superior’s orders are law. If you cannot accept that already, then leave immediately.”

While the tension between them crackled, Sia noticed Crion slowly trying to sneak away.

There was no way she would miss that.

“Stop right there, Crion Drake!”

Her voice boomed through the now-silent training ground.

Crion froze as if invisible chains had wrapped around his ankles.

Step. Step.

As Sia approached, Crion began trembling like a leaf.

“We’re not done with our little barbershop session yet, dear customer.”

“S-Sia… We’re classmates, right? Please, anything but the hair…”

He must have really thought he was about to go bald, because he begged desperately.

If only he had hesitated even a fraction this much when bullying her before.

Thinking that, Sia felt no need to show mercy.

She raised her sword.

“One, two, three—!”

“Wait! Wait! Aaaah!”

Crion curled into a ball, clutching his head.

Just as Sia brought her sword down—

Clang!

What it struck was not soft flesh, but metal.

Two pairs of eyes met over crossed blades.

A black-haired man spoke in a calm voice.

“That’s enough, Ermodian. You’ve done plenty.”

“No.”

She hadn’t made him bald yet.

And she certainly wasn’t in the mood to obey.

Hearing her firm refusal, Gilead pushed forward with strength.

With a sharp clash, Sia staggered back from the recoil.

His shadow stretched long across the ground under the sun.

“Ermodian. As your guardian, I am duty-bound to protect you to the very end. So this time as well, I will not avoid you. I will face you head-on, until the moment I meet my death.”

Sia froze for a split second at the word death.

What was this feeling?

Was it simply because he chose a word that weighed on her mind? Or was it…

Silence settled around them as the instructor slowly raised his sword.

The sharp blade aimed straight at his student glinted coldly.

“So from here on… I’ll ‘educate’ you myself.”