Elara searched for a red-haired girl until she saw one together with Cavalry Captain Brodveth.

The red-haired girl was a rookie knight, but she had the scars and bruises of a veteran. No matter how many times the cavalry captain knocks her down, she stands up.

She wanted to prove herself worthy of her sword to honor her family and her country. She was not afraid of pain or injury. She welcomed them as signs of his progress.

She never gave up, never backed down, never surrendered. She was a worn-out rookie knight, but she had the spirit and determination of a hero.

But that’s not what Elara sees in her. What she saw was a future of pain and suffering that she’ll soon regret. What she saw was a pointless effort.

Her fists clench and shake as her loud breathing amplifies. Her lips flatten in the solitude of darkness as she drowns in frustration. The energy she gathered in her sleep exploded and leaked.

“Why? Why did you allow her!?” Elara shouted with her flaring nostrils.

Though everyone around her caught their attention, the princess didn’t. She’s too focused that a mere distraction won’t hinder her goals.

But instead of replying, Ellyn smirked. She turned the wheelchair away from the princess as they go out of the barracks.

“Are you mocking me, senior? Why aren’t you answering!?”

Ellyn shakes her head before speaking with a smile. “It’s just rare seeing you angry after these years. You really found a place you belong to.”

“You shouldn’t have allowed her! She’s only killing herself! There’s no reason for a little girl and a noble like her to undergo this hell.”

A flash of memory obstructed Elara’s vision. There once appeared her little sister hyperventilating while being a subject of hazing.

Knights being paddled to death and soldiers losing their breath before their battle is what Elara and her sister experienced in their childhood.

Ellyn knows it all, even how Elara’s sister died full of bruises. It’s a taint in Elara’s memory that made her protect what’s precious to her.

But Ellyn didn’t care at all. She looked at the sky with a smile.

“Elara, you see, I’m the ally of children and the guardian of the future. I present them with the wish they long for. Showing them their path is my responsibility.”

“The princess is my responsibility, not yours! Allowing her to suffer doesn’t get close to your dream of building an orphanage, so jerk off!”

“T—The two are completely unrelated! What you’ve seen earlier is what the princess wished for.”

Elara pressed her lips, doubting what Ellyn had said. “T—There’s no way! You’re lying!”

“And what would I benefit from lying!?” Ellyn replied as she opens her narrowed eyes which is rare. She sighed afterward and continued.

“Fine, you can do what you want, but don’t order your senior. You can face her directly, but don’t appear like that in such a pathetic state. Fix your feet first. She’ll pity you if you don’t.”

Looking down, Elara presses her lips. She paused for a second before muttering.

“I—I won’t accept it.”

“And I won’t accept any other words either. Let’s go back to Brodveth. We have something we should work on.”

***

A hundred swings…

Ever since I started my training, I always do a hundred swings with a wooden sword every day. It helped me feel that it was an extension of my body.

It’s been three months and a half now…

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Every month, the quota increases by another hundred. My slim arms look weak in appearance but have bulk when touched.

I showered with bruises, marks, and bandages across my body. The face isn’t an exception. I tainted Veniara’s face with a warrior’s soul.

No one dared to treat me like a special little girl inside the barracks. Because the royal family relationships of Ravelgrace are private, I didn’t bother any special treatment.

I’m only focused on my goal: to strengthen myself and to show Elara and the other important people that I can protect them.

I don’t possess any cheats or lifehacks that will boost my progress. I only have my most important asset: Time.

I’m racing against time. A second to pass is sure death. Time management is necessary. Before I die, I need to establish routes for my escape.

Every four in the morning until the afternoon, the wooden sword lives in my hand as we both suffer from fatal blows.

If Brodveth is absent for some reporting, patrolling, or supervising, other knights spar with me. Even with the lowest-ranking knight, I can’t lay a hit on him.

As blood crawls down my head, various hurtful words stab my heart in despair. Even though it makes me cry, I should hold it.

Because of my lack of stamina, I’m occasionally experiencing dizziness and nausea. Partnered with a fatigued body, I’m slowly losing the balance of my body every day.

I don’t feel like progressing at all. But I need to rush myself to recreate another fate that will save me. My mind is already set on going through this pain.

Thankfully, healing wounds wasn’t very complicated. Healers are stationed in the barracks, so I only need to visit them to patch myself up.

But it only heals me physically. What I experience inside my body is a separate thing.

I’m already used to how my mind spins when I overwork, but there are random times that I throw up. Most cases were after eating, that’s why I eat in my room alone.

From the afternoon until midnight, I gather information from the books in the grand library of the castle. Except for Ellyn, no other maids accompany me.

That information-gathering time taught me most things I need to learn to survive this world from its history, culture, and technology.

But there are times that nothing enters my mind when I read. To solve that, I read the book again until I get a glimpse of the ideas.

But what made me interested in this place is magic. Like healing, this makes living convenient. But every person has a mana aptitude.

Even though I don’t know what mine is yet, I continued to study books relating to magic. Because of that, I asked my father to request me a magic tutor after four months.

I only need one month to wait so I can utilize my magical abilities. What I did to Elara is a hint that I’m capable of doing it.

Like every other day, I ended up sleeping in the library. Ellyn is tasked to wake me up at four. She’s just following orders from me.

Speaking of my capability, I tried searching for hundreds of books in search of that mysterious light that appeared at my hand.

That abnormal regeneration I did for Elara doesn’t count as healing. What I encountered the closest to it is the Saint Magic.

There are currently seven elements of magic in this world, including light and dark. According to the books, Saint Magic possesses the highest affinity for the light element.

Sainthood is the climax of one’s power for light affinity. There’s also another quote that the same applies to the dark affinity, but the one who reached it is called the Dark Lord.

In the novel, Veniara reached sainthood before she died. That’s a tragic fate for the protagonist’s nirvana— and a useless one.

But having the mysterious ability in my hand gives it a possibility.

On the other hand, the dark lord in the novel didn’t reach nirvana. The first prince has a hole in his heart that made the loose soul of the previous dark lord enter it.

Filling that hole in his heart might be possible, but I don’t wanna. I’ll throw up to death if I catch all of his corny pickup lines.

“I will never flirt with a stale person!” I declared as I read a report book about Elara and Ellyn’s past group, the Grayrats. Honestly, I can’t focus at all.

There’s a timeline of the reports with a detailed image of the outcome. Even my parents’ reaction after the outrageous battle is painted here.

But the most catchy information I got is why they created the group. I never knew its essential backstory.

Dvarzoth is the name of the demon that possessed the first prince in the novel. Everyone he possesses achieves nirvana in an instant in exchange for their soul.

Dvarzoth is the demon that the Grayrats wanted to revive. This is the demon that will kill me soon.

He had already long lived in the past lives of the dark lord candidates, destroyed countless civilizations, and reigned the underworld.

That explains why the dark magic users in the academy are treated as outcasts as per the novel. They’re the depiction of an evil goon.

But the Grayrats, Elara and Ellyn included, are once involved in this incident. It might be unlikely that the group didn’t disband yet.

There might be a possibility that Ellyn is spying inside the caste, but Elara…

I palpitated, nearly crying soon. My hands went numb and trembled. I can’t catch my breath even if I breathe excessively.

After overloading my thoughts which my brain can’t handle, I fell to the floor from my chair. I slowly lose consciousness as the world says goodbye.

A dream…

I dreamt of the same dream I had three months ago. I, Sachika Fujimoto, stand beside my original mother, crying from repenting my sins.

But Mom patted my head with her frail hand, struggling in raising it. She said to me in her warm voice,

“Don’t pressure yourself too much, Sachi.

“Take your time.”

“Mom!” I suddenly woke up breathless. I finally came back to my room after spending my nights in the library.

But seeing the sun rays in my window on my right made me miss my practice.

I’m still feeling the same touch in my head just like in my dreams. When I looked at my left, my eyes suddenly watered.

A girl in a maid’s dress rubs my head. Her face is blank, but from her tingly lips, I can feel that she’s holding her tears.

“Elara.”