Suspicioun

A murmur ripples through the surrounding crowd of students from Class 1-A, 1-D, and 1-F. For a second, no one seems to know how to react.

“I’m sorry about this, Prince Lucius. It wasn’t my intention to mock the royal family or your spirit pacts. I needed to gain experience fighting multiple enemies so I can protect the people I love. I’ve failed multiple times in the past.”

Lucius freezes, his eyes wide as Spirit Queen Athena dissipates into glowing golden particles beside Vulcan. His face flushes red with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. Deep down, he knows it—bringing out a Spirit Queen-tier contract against an unarmed opponent who wasn't even using a weapon would be considered a stain on royal pride, win or lose.

Glenn walks toward me, respect written plainly across his face. “Lady Luminera, you’re surrendering?”

“I am… I can’t win in close-quarters combat against Lord Glenn using only one arm. And fighting against Spirit Queen Athena barehanded is practically impossible at my current level. Besides, I already got what I needed out of this exercise. From both my fight with the principal and now, I've learned that I need to take extra precautions if my enemy has two spirits.”

“A magnificent demonstration!” Principal Orphus claps his hands together as he steps forward to address the crowd. “As you can see, this is why mock battles are so vital. If you never fight someone, you will never truly know your strengths and weaknesses. I must agree with Lady Luminera's observation: teamwork is indeed the most difficult aspect of combat, especially if you don’t understand your allies’ spirits. Rather than fighting as a cohesive team, you risk becoming a burden to one another. Should you find yourselves in a squad, you must thoroughly discuss and understand each other's capabilities.”

Glenn reaches out his hand, and I extend mine to shake it. “Thank you for the match, Lady Luminera. I learned so much today.”

“Likewise. I learned a great deal from you as well, Lord Glenn.”

I cannot stand seeing my little brother looking so downcast, so I walk toward him.

“Please don’t be so down, Prince Lucius. You did great in our mock battle.”

“You were fighting us barehanded without even using a spirit…” Lucius stares at me, his mouth slightly open. The angry blush on his cheeks slowly fades, replaced by a quiet, contemplative stillness.

“In a real battle, no enemy is going to wait for you to organize or give you a fair duel. Even if they possess high intelligence, they will attack you with your worst matchup possible. I learned many things from you in this fight: using my own technique against me while I was off guard, and keeping your second spirit hidden until the perfect moment—that was brilliant. Those chains would have completely bound me.”

“I was so hyper-focused on beating you that I didn't even notice Glenn rushing into my trajectory,” Lucius mutters, his voice dropping low enough that only I can hear.

“See? Prince Lucius learned something too, just like me. We’re still thirteen; we have many things left to learn.”

I extend my right hand toward him, and he does the same.

“Which is why, rather than just gathering information about the swordsmanship club, why don’t you join?”

“I’m thinking of joining the student council and the painting club. I cannot…”

“We hold our club activities early in the morning, unlike the student council and the painting club. There’s no harm in giving it a try.”

“…Okay, I’ll think about it.” He then looks me dead in the eye. “I do wonder… why do you remind me so much of my late sister?”

“Why so?”

“Those eyes…”

I can only touch my eyes—glimmering green, just like my mother’s. I grit my teeth and clench my right hand as memories of her surge back…

“Well, I think green eyes are pretty common in this kingdom.” Ignoring the ache in my chest, I bow to Lucius. “Well then, I will excuse myself.”

I’ll definitely protect you and this kingdom, Lucius… I mutter under my breath as I make my way to my class row, where Amelle quickly darts toward me, carrying my tachi.

Amelle hurries over and summons her spirit, gently touching my left arm.

“Aion, please heal Lumi’s hand…”

After a few seconds, I can feel my left arm again. I flex and unflex my hand, and seeing that, Amelle beams. “I will go heal the other students too…” With that, she darts off to tend to the other injured students across the field—especially the ones who took the brunt of my attacks.

I take a seat near the edge of the school grounds, watching as the rest of the students search for partners to battle. They are clearly inspired by our duel and the principal’s speech.

Even after our match, Lucius throws himself into his regimen, refining his spirit techniques with far greater precision and discipline. Seeing Lucius train on the campus grounds reminds me of what he used to do back when he was seven…

“Big Sis! Big Sis! Look! I made a huge sword! It’s cool, right?”

I can’t help but chuckle as I watch him now. Because of our duel, Lucius has started using his spirit to manifest smaller swords instead—allowing him to support his companions in combat without the risk of friendly fire.

“It seems the mock fight has yielded a good result, hasn’t it?”

“Principal Orphus? Could you please not just appear out of nowhere and read my mind?”

“That was not my intention…” He adjusts his glasses smoothly. “As you can see, even the educators are now contemplating the realities of combat.”

Following his glance, I notice Ms. Kilia standing with the two other homeroom teachers of Classes 1-A and 1-D, locked in a serious discussion at the far end of the field.

“Read these.” He pulls a stack of papers from his pocket and hands them to me.

I take the documents, glancing at them briefly. “What are these?”

“My initial hypothesis on combining spirit power and martial arts… the culmination of four years of research. If possible, I want you to read them tonight so we can see the results either tomorrow or in two days.”

“…I will.”

“I shall take my leave for now. I will see you tomorrow morning.” With an enigmatic smile, he turns and walks toward the clock tower.

It is only now that I truly understand what the principal saw—how witnessing Master Long Kai’s style of combat just once drove him to resign as General, choosing instead to become an educator and a scholar…

I see Amelle walking toward Lucius while he trains…

Wait? Is she trying to heal Lucius?

“Prince Lucius, are you alright?” Amelle asks him softly.

“It’s no problem… I sustained no injuries from the mock battle. Thank you for—”

“Hey, back off, commoner!” Eliza steps in between them, her long golden hair swaying sharply. “He is my fiancé! Don’t you dare come near him!”

“I am terribly sorry! But I was also checking on the others…” Amelle stammers, flinching at the harsh tone.

“He just said that he has no injuries. Are you deaf?!” Eliza snaps, raising her chin haughtily as she glowers at the gentle healer. “Or are you trying to steal the hearts of these nobles? Have you no shame?!”

“Eliza…” Lucius tries to stop her, stepping forward with a furrowed brow.

“Please do not interject, Prince Lucius! You need to remember your standing as the future monarch, too! If you touch this commoner, the noble faction won't deem you fit to become the next monarch!”

Lucius clenches his right hand into a tight fist, forcing a strained smile onto his face. “I know, Eliza… Let’s go. We have drawn far too much attention already.”

As the two of them leave the field, I appear right beside Amelle just in time. She is on the verge of tears…

“Amelle! It’s alright!” I soothe her, gently placing a hand on her trembling shoulder as I watch Eliza walk with Lucius to the far end of the field.

I think I need to investigate this quietly. What exactly happened between those two while I was gone?

I don’t really have many connections in the Lemania territory. I don’t think asking Grandfather would be useful, either; while espionage against foreign nations is acceptable, intelligence operations directed at neighboring duchies within our own kingdom are strictly prohibited.

From Lucius’s gestures, it’s clear that this bothers him… But how can I ask him without revealing my real identity?

Which is why I need to investigate this on my own…

Just then, Ciel and Seranova come running over toward us.

“Mademoiselle Amelle! Are you alright?!” Seranova shouts, his face pale with concern as he rushes to check on Amelle.

“Please don’t listen to something negative like that!” Ciel says softly, gently patting Amelle's back.

“Thank you, everyone… I am truly fine,” Amelle murmurs softly, wiping the corners of her eyes as she manages a small, grateful smile.