Melissa's Story

Max took a deep breath.

He activated the Fire of Youth. The air inside the arena grew scorching.

Then he used Physical Strengthening. His body glowed with orange flames.

He advanced with impressive speed, but...

The Knight intercepted with a simple knee strike.

Max tried to react, throwing a powerful punch, the Knight caught it with just one hand.

Then he lifted him up with another blow and kicked him hard in the abdomen.

Max fell to his knees.

Outside, the silence was total.

— He really is amazing... — I murmured.

Koharu looked scared.

— It's impossible to beat him! — he said Koharu .

Shana watched closely.

Cassandra, however, did not look away.

Inside the arena, Max tried to attack once more, but the Knight moved as if anticipating every move. In an instant, he appeared behind him, planted his feet on Max's neck, and threw him off with a spin.

Max fell unconscious.

Grinn sighed.

— The fight is over. — he said. Grinn .

But Cassandra slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"I want to fight him!" Cassandra said in a firm, strong voice.

Everyone turned around, shocked.

“Then she realized...”

— Are you crazy?! — she shouted. Kairo .

Grinn stared at her.

"Are you sure?" Grinn asked.

— I do. — he answered firmly.

Grinn sighed.

— Okay. I'll check with the Knight. — he said . Grinn .

Shortly after, he returned with an unconscious Max. Shana quickly healed him.

"He accepted," Grinn then announced.

Cassandra took a deep breath.

—Then let's get this over with. — said Cassandra.

—Wait. Use this equipment, at least to withstand the impacts. — he said . Grinn .

She nodded, donned her protection, and entered the arena.

— Let's fight. — said Cassandra.

She reached out and conjured a gust of wind, but the Knight didn't even move.

The attack disappeared as if it had been swallowed.

The Knight then drew his sword from his back, swinging it in an arc that created a vortex of energy. The blow caused the barrier to vibrate.

— Cassandra! — he shouted. Kairo .

— Calm down. Wait. — he said . Grinn .

Cassandra rolled across the floor and got up unharmed.

Everyone was speechless.

She smiled, relieved.

— I knew it... that sword style... only one person would fight like that. — Cassandra said smiling.

"You can take off your helmet, Melissa. I already know it's you." Cassandra raised her voice.

The Knight of Judgment stopped. Slowly, he raised his hands and removed his helmet.

The entire hall fell silent.

Merechal Era Melissa..

Grinn raised his hand.

— Silence. This is a state secret. — he said . Grinn .

Everyone nodded.

"I see you haven't forgotten our struggles," Melissa said calmly.

— Never. — replied Cassandra.

Melissa dropped the sword on the floor.

"This time, I want to see how you've grown," Melissa said excitedly.

The two faced each other and began hand-to-hand combat.

The movements were fast, almost impossible to follow.

Melissa moved with elegance; Cassandra, with anger and technique.

"Is she... having fun?" Kairo whispered.

Grinn watched.

— Yes. They both are. — he said . Grinn .

Melissa smiled.

—You're still unpredictable, Cassandra, — Melissa said .

—And you're still annoying, — Cassandra retorted .

Melissa rushed forward, slid on the ground, and tried to knock her down with a low blow.

Cassandra jumped back and dodged, but Melissa spun in the air and landed a heel kick.

Cassandra shielded her face with her arms, but was thrown away.

— (Damn... what strength!) — thought Cassandra.

Melissa approached, worried.

"Cassandra, are you okay?" Melissa asked .

Suddenly, her legs were trapped, Cassandra had trapped her with her own.

"A fight only ends when the enemy is immobilized," Cassandra said , smiling.

Melissa laughed.

"You think I don't know that?" Melissa said with a smile.

With a gesture, Melissa activated a skill: Cassandra's boots shrank, releasing her prey. Immediately afterward, chains of light emerged from the ground and trapped her.

Melissa took a deep breath.

— I won. — said Melissa.

Cassandra looked at her and smiled, exhausted.

— Yes... you are strong. — said Cassandra.

Melissa undid the chains and returned the boots to normal. Then she held out her hand.

Cassandra hesitated ... but held on.

"We have a lot to talk about," Melissa said softly.

—I haven't forgiven you yet. But... I can believe you've changed, — Cassandra replied .

Melissa nodded, and then her gaze turned serious.

— Cassandra... I need to tell you something. — Melissa said.

— What? — Cassandra asked.

Melissa took a deep breath.

"We... are blood sisters," Melissa revealed to Cassandra.

The world seemed to stop for a moment.

Cassandra widened her eyes, unable to say a word.

Grinn opened the door to the private dueling room. As soon as the barrier disappeared, Kairo rushed to Cassandra and hugged her tightly. He began to cry, unable to hide the tremor in his voice.

— Please… don't kill us… — he begged, choking.

— Hahahahaha ! — Grinn let out a short, unexpected laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Kairo seemed more confused than angry.

"Who said I'm going to kill you? It's not me who decides your lives. It's the Knight of Judgment who decides," the king replied calmly.

Grinn turned his gaze to Melissa. She held his gaze and smiled slightly.

"Why would I kill my little sister?" Melissa said .

I got stiff. Everyone else froze too, except Grinn , who already knew.

— What do you mean?! — Kairo almost choked.

"She told me the same thing. Explain. Now." Cassandra took a deep breath and turned to Melissa.

"Let's go to the main hall. I'll change and meet you there, okay?" Melissa said .

— Okay. — he nodded. Grinn , leading us.

Shortly afterward, Melissa arrived and sat next to Grinn on the throne. She touched the pendant around her neck, just like Cassandra's.

"Like I said, we're sisters, Cassandra. The person who gave me this necklace… was our father. Your biological father." Melissa began.

I felt a shiver . The air became thick.

— So… my father is Tostoff ? — Cassandra asked, in a whisper.

— Yes. — confirmed Melissa.

Cassandra let out an incredulous, hurt laugh.

"I thought you were just putting on an act. That Ros or Tostoff himself told you this 'secret' and that, out of regret, you wanted to treat me well..." he said.

Melissa tilted her head sadly.

—That stubbornness is your mother's, — Melissa said .

“What?” Cassandra straightened up defensively.

"Calm down. My mother was like that too. Maybe Tostoff liked strong-willed women…" Melissa raised her hand.

Cassandra frowned, not understanding.

"I discovered this secret when we were at Magicschool . And that's why I hated you. Our father was always comparing me to you. He told me I had to be better, that I should be 'like Cassandra.' When I messed up, he'd tell me I should work hard like you," Melissa continued , her eyes shining with tears.

Cassandra lowered her face.

— I heard him say to my mom: 'Melissa has to stop acting useless and work hard like her sister, because Cassandra shows new skills every day.' It hurt. It hurt so much to find out that you were my sister like that.— Melissa wiped away her tears.

—(If my mother had told me the truth, I could have helped Melissa deal with this.) — Cassandra murmured, more to herself than to us.

"Two years ago, Tostoff died. In his last minutes, he told me he'd been using the wrong words his whole life. He told me to find Ros and… he told me all about you. I regretted what I did. I shrank the school. I closed the doors," Melissa said firmly.

"And then he disappeared for two years. Did you refuse his proposal?" Cassandra glared at her.

Kairo cleared his throat, embarrassed:

"I… I kicked Melissa out when she came looking for us. I didn't believe a word she said. Ros found out and… went after her," Kairo revealed.

— Why didn't you tell me?! — Cassandra snapped.

Kairo was silent. I only heard the sound of my breathing.

"Your reaction would be hatred, Cassandra. And I understand. In the end… I stopped at Omeron ," Melissa said , without accusing him.

Her voice softened.

"I slept on the floor for days . They tried to rob me, they tried to rape me. I ran away. I fought back. A month later, a girl gave me a job selling apples at her stand. And I was... excited to sell apples," Melissa revealed .

— Who would have thought… Melissa Merechal excited to sell apples. — Cassandra laughed through her nose and said in surprise.

“One day, the king of Omeron passed by. The saleswoman said he could take as many as he wanted. I chimed in: ‘You can take them if you pay.’” Melissa glanced sideways at Grinn .

Grinn smirked.

— She caught my attention. I said I was surprised someone would talk to a king like that. — he said Grinn with the shining.

"I replied that 'royalty' is often prejudiced and cruel. He replied that I was right, and that his job was to end this prejudice in Omeron . He said I could be the hope for that." Melissa continued, firmly.

— I asked if she was Merechal Melissa, because I had seen her in Gagardrel . I offered my condolences and said: "If a noblewoman became what you became and didn't give up, then other noblewomen can change too." — he concluded Grinn .

"He invited me to be the king's assistant," Melissa breathed.

"I accepted on one condition: Omeron would be a fair kingdom. He agreed. We worked. We fell in love. We got married. I told him my story. One day, Ros found me. We talked about you two. I wanted to help, but… because of the theft crimes, I couldn't officially intervene. So I made sure, behind the scenes, that other kingdoms wouldn't investigate you," Melissa revealed.

Cassandra broke down. She cried, ran to Melissa, and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry I doubted you'd changed," Cassandra said , crying.

"You don't owe me an apology. If I were you, I would react the same way." Melissa stroked her hair.

"Stay at the palace for a few days. Talk. Heal what you can." Grinn cleared his throat gently.

— Especially since we need to talk about something serious. — Melissa nodded, serious again.

— What? — Cassandra wiped her face.

— Who killed Ros ? — Melissa said .

The joy in the room vanished. I felt my stomach turn cold.

“We know who did it,” I said , almost automatically.

— Us too. — he said . Grinn .

“So… have they found Alisiya yet ?”

— It was Astophorus Roman, — announced the king.

I blinked.

"… What?"

I looked around: everyone was as lost as I was. In my mind, Alisiya 's face and Roman's alternated, along with the blood in the inn's hall, the knife, the trail that never closed.

If Roman killed Ros … why did Alisiya tighten the noose so much? And why did she always seem to get there one step early?

"I'll show you the evidence. But first… I need you to breathe. What comes next is worse than it looks." Melissa clasped her hands together and stared at us.

I swallowed hard.

“Worse than it seems? So… Ros ’s case isn’t just a murder. It’s a plot.”

And I knew for sure: the next step would change everything, about Omeron , about Alisiya , and about who was moving the pieces in both worlds.