Chapter 4

【4】3

Creak-!

The door to the Flove family mansion opened.

There, the people of the Zerdinger family stepped in.

The servants of the Flove family who had come to greet them swallowed hard.

A palpable sense of intimidation, befitting a family renowned as heroes and contenders for the continent’s hegemony, could be felt.

Flurrr- Flurrr-

The family crest embroidered with flaming flames fluttered in the wind.

At the forefront, the griffin-led carriage stopped.

As the door opened, Giese and Celia got out.

‘Why is Uncle here of all places?’

In truth, when Celia had heard that they would be staying with an aristocratic family, she had been unhappy.

Celia had no intention of being satisfied merely by getting admitted to Lumeran.

Her goal was to be the top student.

Thus, she wanted to focus solely on preparing for the entrance exam.

But coming to a noble house like this would bring on many annoyances.

Especially a minor kingdom’s aristocratic family, who were surely desperate to form a connection with the Zerdinger.

She had wished they could just rent an entire high-end hotel.

Although she did not openly express her complaints since it had been arranged by Giese, she still did not like it.

Chalang-

Celia straightened her back after sweeping her long black hair, which reached her waist, behind her ear.

Whether she liked it or not, she was the daughter of the family head.

It was important to maintain her public image.

It was necessary to show courtesy to the master of the house as a representative of her family.

Thinking this, Celia was momentarily flustered.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t just her.

The other Zerdinger people also murmured.

Standing at the entrance of the mansion were two men and women.

Deid and Reina.

To be precise, it was seeing Reina that surprised her.

‘Father and Uncle look alike.’

And she bore resemblance to Celia herself.

“Please greet her, Celia. This is Lord Flove.”

“My name is Celia Zerdinger. I’ll be imposing on you for a week.”

“Welcome. Feel at home here.”

Deid gave a simple welcome.

There was no attempt to curry favor because of the hero family status.

“And this is Lady Flove.”

“Hehe, I’ve heard much about you.”

Reina greeted her with a soft smile.

Celia looked at Reina in confusion.

“Aunt, who is this?”

“Reina Flove. Your aunt.”

Celia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Knight Whittan, do you know anything about my aunt?”

Celia asked Whittan, who had been the loyal knight of the family head since before she was born.

“Reina is the predecessor of the ‘Flame Storm’ you possess, young lady.”

Flame Storm.

One of the heirlooms that possesses the power to maximize the ‘Flame Aura,’ the symbol of the Zerdinger family.

Just knowing she was the owner of Flame Storm gave an idea of what kind of person she had been.

“So, what brought such a person to renounce the family name and stay in this remote kingdom?”

“Reina lost her flames in an unfortunate accident. Afterwards, wishing to live a normal life, she left her family name behind.”

The moment someone renounced the family name, whether justified or not, their records disappeared from the family archives.

“I never imagined I’d meet Reina here.”

‘Seeing Knight Whittan say this, she must have been quite remarkable. I wonder if I could ask for a sword training lesson from her later?’

While pondering how it might be to witness Reina’s sword skills, they had already arrived at the Flove family’s training ground.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Hmm?”

The sound of wooden swords clashing could be heard.

Someone was practicing swordplay at the training ground.

Unfamiliar white hair and familiar crimson eyes caught Celia’s gaze.

“Are you Leo Flove?”

Leo looked at Celia with a puzzled expression.

“So? Who are you?”

“Ahem.”

After an awkward cough, Celia straightened her back and introduced herself.

“My name is Celia Zerdinger. Your cousin.”

Celia thought Leo would be surprised.

After all, she was the girl rumored to be the top candidate for entrance to the prestigious Lumeran Academy, where the world’s greatest talents gathered.

Celia was world-renowned.

Especially among her peers, she was an object of admiration, a literal idol.

“Is that so? Nice to meet you.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Leo’s reaction, however, was completely apathetic.

He didn’t even stop his sword.

Celia frowned at his obvious lack of interest.

Attempting to speak again, she saw Leo pause in his training.

“Hmm.”

As he took deep breaths to wipe his sweat, Celia asked,

“How old are you?”

“15.”

“You’re my age, then. Meeting like this must be fate, so I’ll specially give you sword guidance. How’s that sound?”

Celia offered with a kind smile.

‘If I treat this kid well, Aunt Reina might give me special guidance.’

While her proposal was self-serving, Leo showed no interest.

‘Who are you?’

Sword guidance?

Clearly, this person didn’t know their place.

Unbothered, Leo swung his sword again.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Celia carefully observed the movement of the sword this time.

And she exclaimed inwardly.

‘Not bad.’

There was no excess movement in how the sword was wielded.

It was clearly filled with substantial power.

‘So, this is the lineage of our family. You’re better than I expected.’

Cr- cr-

‘But, what is that bracelet?’

An irritating sound followed each sword movement.

After a while, Leo sheathed his sword.

“Come on, swing for real now. Based on what I’ve seen, you seem to have potential.”

Celia’s curiosity was slightly piqued.

Leo, however, wiped his sweat and left the training ground.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Isn’t my training done for today?”

“I said I’d watch you!”

“I’ll pass.”

“Why?”

“I don’t really want lessons from someone less skilled than me.”

“Wait… Are you saying you’re stronger than me right now?”

“For now, you’re stronger. I can’t use Aura.”

There was no way he could win in a fight to the d*ath against Celia.

“But I would win in a sword practice match.”

Seeing Leo’s calm assertion, Celia’s lips twitched.

“What a bold confidence.”

Her crimson eyes narrowed.

“Seeing you wield your sword, I get it now. Are you the strongest at your school?”

All knight trainees at the Delan Royal School handle Aura.

But Leo would easily surpass them all.

Aside from Aura, his foundation was far superior.

‘This kid hasn’t learned Aura probably because Aunt wants him to practice the high-tier Aura Method.’

High-tier Aura Method.

For example, an Aura Method exclusive to the Zerdinger bloodline.

‘So what? Are you saying if you learn Aura, you could become stronger than me? So arrogant!’

The children of the Zerdinger family started their intense competition from a young age.

Even the children of the family head were no exception.

And Celia had always been the best.

Her pride stemmed not from being a Zerdinger but from the confidence in herself.

“Alright. If you’re so confident in your skills, let’s have a practice match.”

“Practice match?”

“Yes. If I win, you will serve as my servant during my stay in the Flove family.”

“And if I win, you’ll serve as my maid?”

“Of course. It has to be equal conditions to be fair, right? But there’s no way that’ll happen.”

Celia pushed her hair behind her shoulder and smiled mockingly.

“Ah, miss.”

Knight Whittan tried to intervene.

“Don’t worry, Knight Whittan. I’ll win anyway.”

Celia confidently turned to Leo and said,

“I’ll show you that you’re just a frog in a well.”

The two stood in the middle of the training ground.

Leo handed a wooden sword to Celia.

“By the way, you can use Aura.”

“What?”

‘This guy is serious!’

“Hmph! Then I’ll let you attack twice. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Celia’s body radiated a red glow.

Aura Armor.

A technique that wraps the body in aura like an armor.

“Alright, I won’t pass up this chance.”

“Feel free to try.”

Celia smirked.

She was confident that Leo’s attack, done without aura, wouldn’t break through her Aura Armor.

As Leo took a deep breath gripping the sword with both hands,

“Hu-!”

The veins popped in his arms.

Leo’s crimson eyes glinted.

Bang-!

The wooden sword precisely struck Celia’s temple.

Her head whipped to the side, and her brain buzzed from the sudden blow.

The pain traveled up her neck, making her face pale with the overwhelming force.

“That’s pretty solid.”

Leo looked impressed.

“Hmph! Do you really think your attacks can break through my Aura Armor?”

‘Wh-whatever is this monstrous strength!’

Even though she forced a smile, she was close to being knocked out by the blow.

It was powerful enough that the reinforced wooden sword was almost worn out.

‘But even so, I can bear this.’

Celia exaggerated her composure with a smile while Leo loosened the bracelets on both his wrists and threw them aside.

Bang-!

“…”

“Then let’s see a real swing.”

As Leo stood smiling, Celia thought he looked like a demon sent from hell.

Weight magic applied bracelets.

Ordinarily, it would be seen as outdated and ridiculous to practice with such primitive methods.

And yet, she couldn’t help but laugh it off now.

The scene before her went far beyond rudimentary; it was insane.

“One more hit.”

“Oh… wait a min…!”

Bang-!

A sound incomparable to the previous struck the air.

An overwhelming shock hit her head.

While losing consciousness, she caught sight of Leo tossing away his broken reinforced wooden sword.

‘How… can this…’

Celia’s eyes rolled back.

‘Is this madness?’

——————==