26. Too Harsh for Her (2)
“Regina, don’t you like Ivan?”
Right before her eyes, a flaming sword whooshed past, cutting through the air. The flame blade slid over the ice-shield she had created, and in its wake came Liam’s voice. Regina froze in her tracks at the sound.
“That, uh… What… All of a sudden…”
“You’re making it pretty obvious.”
Liam, showing no intention of continuing, retracted the flames running along his sword blade. He drove the sword into the ground and crossed his arms, asking Regina a question.
“Obvious… What do you mean…?”
Regina felt her face grow hot. Healthy and rosy as she always appeared, her cheeks now blushed even redder.
“That’s right. It’s pretty obvious. And don’t worry, I won’t go around telling anyone, but even so, I was quite popular back in my hometown.”
Liam cleared his throat with a “hmm” and then plopped right down onto the ground. Regina sighed deeply and carefully took a seat next to him.
Self-guided practice, a nicely named lesson, had been assigned by Lorenzo, who disappeared along with Emil. Likely for some consultations, though that wasn’t really important.
So, practically, it was free study time now. Pairing themselves up, Carla and Ivan were off to one side — though Ivan had approached Carla first, which left Regina feeling a little hurt internally. Still, she didn’t dislike Liam either, so things were okay. Nevertheless, Liam’s unexpected words caught Regina off guard.
“In my hometown, thousands of maidens would follow me wherever I went. When I said I was heading to the academy, thousands of them wanted to join me too.”
“Erm… Really…?”
Liam had mentioned before that his hometown was in the south. Regina had heard that men from the south were known for their exaggeration. This was likely one of those.
“So, back home, if someone mentioned romance, they were always talking about me, Liam Pucos. Let me tell you, Ivan clearly has affection for you, Regina.”
“What?”
“I mean it. No doubt about it. I’m pretty sure Ivan avoided sparring with you because he was embarrassed.”
“That, that’s not… possible…”
Regina knew Ivan’s nature well. He spoke plainly and always revealed his inner thoughts honestly. Therefore, the idea that he avoided her didn’t make any sense.
“Exactly, Regina. Contrary to what you think, guys like him, simple and honest, often have trouble expressing their feelings.”
“M-maybe…?”
Regina felt convinced by Liam’s words. Somehow it made sense. Besides, there was that moment when Ivan blushed after she grabbed his hand before.
“Should I help you out, Regina?”
“Huh? R-really?”
Regina’s eyes sparkled. In truth, wasn’t it exactly this situation? — Born into a noble family, Regina was destined to be married off to someone whose face and name were unknown to her. To marry the man she had secretly admired all this time, Ivan, she had applied to and gotten into the academy as the only viable path to advancement.
In terms of love, Regina still knew nothing. Though it was her first love burning secretly inside her, Ivan’s surroundings held no other woman — only Regina. She had a vague hope that before reaching their destination in the Magic Corps, things would work out somehow. Luckily, even as a noble, she belonged to the lower tier, making a marriage with a commoner not a significant issue.
But all this changed the moment Carla appeared. Regina had the sense that if things continued as they were, disaster would strike, and she might lose Ivan. However, even with this looming crisis, she had no idea what to do.
Moreover… Given how easily Liam had discerned her feelings for Ivan, it seemed unlikely that his words were entirely false.
“I’ve already said it. When it comes to romance, I know everything. I’m the flame wizard who melts women’s hearts — that’s me.”
“R-really… Liam, then, c-can you… help me?”
Regina’s face flushed red as her fingers wriggled nervously. Her voice was so soft and hesitant that she couldn’t even look Liam in the eye.
“Of course, absolutely. If you’re serious about wanting help, I’m more than willing to assist. With me by your side, Ivan will be as good as your fiancé.”
“F-fiancé…!”
What a sweet word it was! Regina let the word roll off her lips again and again, hoping it would somehow come true.
*
“Hey, can you just watch me spar?”
Karla’s voice, laced with thorny sharpness, made Ivan flinch and avert his gaze.
Fact was, he had no choice but to watch… Karla simply couldn’t beat Ivan even if he held back — even when he didn’t hold back at all.
It was a mismatch. When she punched, she lost her balance entirely. When she kicked, her legs barely rose halfway. Add some technique, and her movements became awkward and tangled.
Just moments ago, Karla had lunged toward Ivan but tripped over her own feet, nearly falling.
“Hmph…”
A long sigh carried much meaning within. Ivan thought he had an inkling of what it signified but chose not to expose it.
Ivan hesitated before reaching out to catch Karla as she fell, and in the end, he didn’t. She ended up covered in dirt.
The reason Ivan couldn’t catch Karla was simple. The lingering, squishy, and soft texture of her hand from before… He feared another misstep with Karla if he touched her again.
“Here, take my hand.”
Ivan pulled Karla up by her hand, brushing off the dirt from her clothes in a long sigh.
“Let’s stop, Karla.”
“Why? Do I seem insignificant to you? Have you grown so disinterested that you don’t even want to fight me anymore?”
“No, it’s not like that. I thought, isn’t your priority to recover somehow…?”
Karla scowled upon hearing that.
Did Lorenzo tell him something? Or what was it? Where had he overheard something like this to blurt out now?
“Did Lorenzo say something? That there’s a way to fix your arm?”
“No, I never had a private chat with Instructor Lorenzo.”
“Then how do you know about my arm and its recovery?”
Ivan took a deep breath. With a frowning Karla in front of him, saying the wrong thing could only provoke her anger further.
“…Instructor Lorenzo dismissed everyone and had a conversation with you, right? He mentioned prosthetics and such. So, he must have told you that there’s a way. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure there’s something. I just want to help you. That’s all. Just that.”
Karla’s lips moved as if she intended to say something but ultimately remained unspoken.
“It’s not pity; I get that. I’m not a terrible person. But there’s no reason for you to help me. Drop the nonsense about being friends.”
“It’s not like that. You said you wanted to beat me, right? I think it’s better if you recover your arm quickly. There might be a way I don’t know about, but surely something can be done. You need to get better to challenge me again, right?”
“That… is true.”
Karla was at a loss. In truth, she wasn’t entirely closed off. She recognized Ivan’s words as straightforward logic. But still, it felt odd to straightforwardly acknowledge that he was right when she’d been wrong.
“I don’t want your help. But if you insist on helping me, I won’t reject it completely.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Ivan could barely hide his bewilderment. What kind of statement was this — she didn’t want his help but wouldn’t reject it either?
“That’s—”
Karla’s lips moved to say something, but just then, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
“Is class over? We should head for lunch, then?”
came Liam’s loud voice.
“That guy seems to have come to the academy just for food.”
“Indeed.”
As Karla grumbled, Ivan smiled and nodded in agreement. It felt like it had been quite some time since they had a positive conversation, and Ivan was in rather high spirits.
“All right, class is over.”
No sooner had the bell rung than Lorenzo appeared.
Despite his somewhat irritating demeanor, the sight of Emil trailing timidly behind him ensured all students stayed silent.
“Emil, go back to your seat. Class is over. Go have lunch, everyone. We have class this afternoon, so don’t skip it. Understand?”
“Yes—”
“Alright then, see you later after lunch.”
With that, Lorenzo swiftly exited, carrying his attendance book and textbooks. The students gathered one by one and proceeded to the cafeteria for lunch.
“Ivan, I’ll be fine walking by myself, dummy. I don’t have arms missing, do I?”
“Oh, right.”
Ivan brushed the dust off Karla’s shoulder, reaching out casually. Karla glanced at his hand resting on her shoulder and looked up at him.
“Let’s go have lunch, Ivan.”
“Sure.”
“Attend to my needs too.”
At Carla’s overly casual command to serve her, Ivan couldn’t help but chuckle. Nobles are always nobles, even when they act this way — it seemed to suit her after all.
“Alright.”
“Let’s go.”
Without looking back, Karla started walking. Just as Ivan was about to follow her towards the cafeteria…
“Karla, Ivan!”
A voice called out, stopping them. Turning around, they saw Emil standing awkwardly with his hands clasped together, hesitating to say something.
“What is it? If you called, just spit it out.”
Her voice clearly showed irritation.
To Carla’s cold response, Emil gave a somewhat awkward smile before speaking.
“So, how was today’s practice, Karla? You seemed to struggle a bit.”
Karla’s face instantly scrunched up.
At this point, Ivan intervened, shaking his head at Carla and gently holding her wrist.
Caught by surprise, Carla momentarily froze but quickly regained her composure, nodding slightly.
“Got it, got it… Emil, thank you for worrying, but you’re worrying too much. I’m perfectly fine.”
Despite her compliance, her reply still carried an evident chill.
“Well, if you need anything, let me know. I also hope for you to become strong again.”
Emil quietly offered a smile and assured her with those words.
