We were walking towards the training ground, and every lady in the garden earlier was following us…At the training ground, the knight and the armies there were shocked by the commotion and the crown prince arrived with everyone behind him…Especially it wasn’t because of the Crown Prince, rather it was because of Lady Octavi…Milo immediately went to the commander of the training ground, to halt all the training sessions, with the reason, there would be a sparring between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi…He granted it…

Lady Octavi asked Lady Hillaria, “Do we need to use a real sword or a training sword?”

“Of course, real sword…” answered Lady Hillaria.

They took the swords on the stash of sword side of the training ground…Before they took a step to the platform of the training ground, I said to them the basic rule of this spar, “NO TRANSMUTATION FOR BOTH OF YOU…”

They nodded, and they walked towards the platform…Everyone was gathering around the side of the training ground…Fabian, the Crown Prince, invited me and Lady Clara to the front of the ground...There were already some seats in there...We took a seat in there, as I was looking around the training ground, a lot of ladies were already taking a spot and watching the sparring between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria...

They went to their side and started to show a small swing of their sword as if they were warming up with their sword... The crowd grew more excited as the sparring began, with cheers and applause filling the air, especially from the ladies after showing Lady Octavi was playing with her sword...These ladies surely idolised Lady Octavi a lot in my mind...

Lady Octavi took the Alber or Fool's stance, in which she opened her upper body wide open, and gripped her sword between her lower body in one hand with her sword pointed at the ground...Yet, she took her right foot back, it was different from the first time she showed me the stance seven years ago...On the other side, Lady Hillaria raised her sword with her two hands high, as if her sword were in front of her face...I sensed Lady Octavi being more relaxed about this spar than Lady Hillaria, who was more excited...

The spar began with Lady Hillaria who plunged first...She dashed with fast, precise movements, her sword slicing through the air with a powerful grace. I saw Lady Hillaria focusing on the throat of Lady Octavi, as like Lady Octavi told me back then, Alber's stance was provocative...The response from Lady Octavi was just a simple move...When Lady Hillaria's sword almost touched her throat, she quickly swung her sword upward vertically, diminishing the plunge from Lady Hillaria...

Lady Hillaria's sword got neglected upward and wasn't giving up; she regained her grip from a strong swing from Lady Octavi...She took back her sword and spun her body...As she tried to deliver another swing to Lady Octavi's right side...Her swing was quick, yet I saw Lady Octavi's eyes quick-dart to the attack...Her eyes and hands were well coordinated in just a second and again blocked Lady Hillaria's swing...Their steel sword sparked like fire, and the sound echoed through the training ground...The crowd began to cheer, their excitement filling the air. They witnessed some seconds of the duel between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi, which was captivating in their eyes...

Lady Octavi didn't show any expression, yet Lady Hillaria showed some excited expression as if she were enjoying the spar...Lady Hillaria took some steps back after her plunge got denied...Letting Lady Hillaria take some steps back, it could tell Lady Octavi wasn't on the offensive side yet, but on the defensive side...

As the duel continued, Lady Octavi's defensive manoeuvres grew more impressive, skillfully deflecting Lady Hillaria's attacks with ease...I looked at her feet was like she didn't move a single inch from her spot... Lady Octavi's footwork was so precise and controlled that it seemed as if she were rooted to the ground...The intensity of the duel grew as Lady Hillaria started to barrage her swing towards Lady Octavi...Above, bottom, left side, and right side, she swung her sword with relentless fury, determined to break through Lady Octavi's impenetrable defence. The clash of their blades echoed through the air, each strike sending sparks flying in all directions...I didn't know who was the most amazing one, the defence of Lady Octavi or the relentless offence of Lady Hillaria...

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The training ground held their breath, and I saw Fabian seem to be talking with Milo...I moved my seat a little bit to hear what they were talking about...I heard that they remembered the past as seeing Lady Octavi on the ground right now...

Lady Hillaria seemed out of breath with her nonstop swing towards Lady Octavi...I sensed a tingling in my spine as I looked at Lady Hillaria at the corner of her side...

Adel who was beside me, said to me, "I think you need to stop the duel right now, my lady..."

I kept watching Lady Hillaria on her side of the ground...I realised why Adel asked me to stop the duel, cause Lady Hillaria started to use her transmutation. Against my words in this duel...When I wanted to get up and halt the duel, all of a sudden, Lady Octavi plunged towards Lady Hillaria in a quick dash...She brought a simple swing towards Lady Hillaria's sword and Lady Hillaria's sword was thrown away...Lady Octavi swiftly disarmed Lady Hillaria, leaving her defenceless with her sword pointed at Lady Hillaria's head...

Lady Octavi's movement was caught off guard by the crowd...As I looked at everyone, especially Fabian, Milo, and the training ground commander, their expressions were unbelief and shock, with their eyes wide with astonishment... Some seconds later, after the crowd processed what was happening, they realised Lady Octavi had won the spar, so they erupted into applause and cheers. Lady Octavi gracefully sheathed her sword and bowed to the crowd, acknowledging their admiration. Meanwhile, Lady Hillaria stood there...Seeing that, Lady Octavi offered a hand as a gesture of respect...Both of them took a handshake, and the crowd became more louder...

~~

After the spar ended, the crowd of ladies started to disperse...They walked towards us... As soon as they were in front of me, Lady Clara immediately went to Lady Hillaira, it seemed she was concerned about her condition after the spar...I saw a great friend relationship between them...I changed my eyes towards Lady Octavi, and said, "You have shown me a great spar, and I am honoured and grateful that I can become closer to you, Lady Octavi..."

Lady Octavi smiled warmly and replied, "It's not my lady's honour to become closer to me, but it's my honour to stay side by side with you, my lady..." her view changed towards Lady Hillaria, "I know it's your dream to have a spar with me...Lady Hillaria, I hope you are feeling better after our spar..."

Lady Hillaria nodded, her eyes filled with admiration. "Thank you, Lady Octavi. Our spar was indeed a dream come true for me. I am feeling exhilarated and grateful for the opportunity to test my skills against the famous Golden Sword of the Aurelius Family...It's an honour..."

I looked at Fabian and Milo, they seemed to try to avoid Lady Octavi after the spar... I wondered if they were intimidated by their past with Lady Octavi or not, yet I still didn't know what their relationship was when they were in the academy... As I pondered their behaviour, Lady Octavi approached them with a warm smile and said with a warm tone, "Milo, how about we do a spar like the old times?"

Milo hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Lady Octavi and Fabian. Eventually, he replied, "It's an honour to have a spar with you, Lady Octavi, like the old times, but I can't How about you have a spar with your royal highness? You have more spar with him than me, right?"

Fabian quickly replied, "WHAT! How dare you suggest such a thing? I am not worthy of sparring with Lady Octavi. She is far superior in skill and experience."

Lady Octavi chuckled, "Oh, don't be so modest, Your Royal Highness. Milo and I have sparred countless times before, but it would be a refreshing change to spar with you instead..." Hearing their conversation, I only assumed Milo and Fabian were a little bit scared of Lady Octavi...

Out of a sudden, a big man was approaching us... He had a menacing look on his face, and his muscular physique seemed intimidating...Caught off my guard, Lady Hillaria called him, "FATHER!!". She immediately walked towards her father, and started to introduce him, especially me, saying, "He is my father, his name is Kaeso Antia, and he is the commander of this ground..."

I started to show some respect towards him, "It's an honour to meet and know Lady Hillaria's father..."

Kaeso Antia nodded in acknowledgement and replied, "The pleasure is mine. I've heard much about you..." Suddenly his eyes showed some menace, and he continued, "I heard that His Royal Highness said he not worthy to spar with Lady Octavi with her vast superior skill...It just doesn't sit right with me. I believe in equal opportunities and fair competition... How about we arrange a sparing equal skill with Lady Octavi on this ground?"

Fabian replied, "Equal skill with Lady Octavi, whose is the one that is capable of doing it?"

I knew what he wanted to do...He said, "Well, Your Royal Highness, the one who is capable of doing it is with us right now..." His eyes went to someone from one of us..."It's other than her..." He pointed at someone...