Elizabeth did not hesitate to punch him and landed the first clean hit either of them had so far.

He activated his newest magic as soon as he was hit by the punch and sent backwards.

The fireball above soon started to wrap around them and they quickly became surrounded by a veil of fire.

Elizabeth looked around in surprise at his magic trick and stopped momentarily to appreciate it. She walked up to the veil and placed the remains of the stick against it. It almost instantly became engulfed in flames and there was no hole in the flame veil.

“Hoh, when did you get this?” Elizabeth asked.

“Huh? Didn't Grace tell you about it?” He asked as sweat started to pour on him. (“That's right, keep talking. You probably won't even realise the heat’s sapped most of your strength till it's too late.”)

Now, you might think using this move as a final gambit against Elizabeth might be a bit much. And it is. However, a win over Elizabeth is a win over Elizabeth and Tibaut wasn't going to let this go. The trauma he had to go through while training with her wouldn't let him.

“I see. Well, I suppose I can ask about it later. When did you first use this?”

“Uh, the night we were with the officers?” Tibaut responded, sounding unsure. This wasn't how he thought this would play out after using this move. Though he was glad that wasn't the case as he imagined a desperate Elizabeth using every ounce of strength she had to deliver a single solid blow.

“Huh, I wonder if the defensive magic training had anything to do with it. Well then…” she wiped some sweat off her brow. “How do you interact with the flames?” She asked.

“I never tried…(I know this isn't a spar but it's kinda weird how casual Elizabeth is being about this.)”

He put his hand to the veil and quickly brought back his hand after going wrist-deep outside.

“Jeez that's hot!” he said as he flicked his hand. While he could resist his own magic, to him it still felt like he ran his hand through uncomfortably hot water. Not boiling but certainly not a temperature you'd shower in.

“Are you telling me you can't even create a hole for yourself?” She said, sounding disappointed. “Let's discuss more of this later. After all, this heat is getting quite annoying.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

She instantly ran towards Tibaut and started throwing punches. She was breathing heavier than before but it seemed like her movements hadn't changed.

(“I have been trained in similar conditions by my master but those were very interspersed. I think it's been years since I've been in temperatures like this. I have to admit, this would have slowed me down. If I was going all out. I was hoping he'd notice but I'm surprised he thought he could hold his own against me while his body was like that.”)

As she continued her assault, Tibaut held hope she would be affected by the heat, not realising she already was.

They were both sweating but it was obvious Tibaut was at a disadvantage. He kept backing away until he backed into the flame veil. He instinctively stepped forward and Elizabeth ended there with one solid punch to his chest. She heard cracking and quickly moved as his body fell limply to the floor. The flame veil around disappeared and the cool night breeze was all that was left.

She grabbed him by the chest and healed him.

“It seems his durability is down as well. It's lower than I expected.”

He began to limply open his eyes.

“Did you… always hit that hard?” He weakly asked in her arms.

“For the time being, you should get some rest,” she commented as she stood him back up. She supported him on her shoulder and brought him back to his room.

…

Tibaut woke up to something nice smelling beside him. He remembered Elizabeth beating him, as always, then dragging him back to his room while he was dazed. Did her scent linger in the room? No way, despite how she looked, she constantly had the faintest undertones of sweat following her around. It wasn't potent enough to be bad but the only times Tibaut would say she smelt uninteresting. Like the olfactory equivalent of the colour white. However, she did smell of a subtle rose perfume in the mornings and late at night (presumably after she showered). Which is why it came as a shock when he saw blonde hair when he woke up. As he backed away, Elizabeth noticed his movements and soon woke up.

“I hope you aren't planning on going anywhere.” She commented while yawning.

“Um, Elizabeth…”

“If you're wondering why I'm in your bed, it's because I'm keeping a watch over you. I can't help but wonder if those cultists would ever think about coming back to finish the job.” She said, sounding tired. She yawned while stretching in the bed. By the way, the bed was queen-sized, so there was a comfortable amount of space for both.

“The same bed though?” He asked.

“Are you a young maiden or something?” She bluntly asked. (“Maybe it was a bit much sleeping on the same bed as him. I can only imagine the way Father would react if I said I casually slept on the same bed as a man.”)

She quickly got off the bed as she felt her cheeks start to be flushed with embarrassment. She turned away to hide her face.

“By the way, the ritual is said to only last from sunrise to sunset.”

“Really?” He asked. “I felt hungry so I was wondering how long this thing would last.”

“If it went for a whole day you would have died of hunger in your sleep.” she coldly commented.

“...you know, maybe we should hold off on that spell.”