“Has your brother still not shown up?” On the stands, a girl clad in heavy armor asked, her tone dripping with boredom.
Beside her stood a girl with a high ponytail and vivid red hair.
She was focused on warming up for the upcoming Practical Examination, her entire body radiating youthful energy, with beads of sweat already glistening on her forehead.
“Nine hundred ninety-seven.”
“Are you listening?”
“Nine hundred ninety-eight.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“Nine hundred ninety-nine.”
“Yi Chen!”
“One thousand.”
After finishing the last set of warm-ups, the girl named Yi Chen finally stopped.
She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow and flashed a bright smile at her chattering best friend beside her.
“Sorry, Julieanna. I was so into my training just now that I didn’t catch what you said. What were you saying?”
Julieanna let out a resigned sigh, clearly long accustomed to her best friend’s carefree demeanor.
Looking at this laid-back girl, who would have guessed she was the only precious daughter of the illustrious Adams Family in the Kingdom of Ankat?
An ordinary noble lady would either be busy mingling at high-society gatherings or desperately studying magic to squeeze into Kantaier Academy and take full control of her own life.
But this Duke’s Daughter had chosen a completely different path—
She chose the sword.
Julieanna glanced at the sword hanging at Yi Chen’s waist and silently grumbled to herself.
But then she thought, she had no right to criticize—after all, a Female Knight like herself, clad in armor, was also a rare breed in the kingdom.
“I mean, hasn’t your brother shown up yet?”
As soon as Yi Chen heard who she was referring to, the smile on her face vanished, and her disgust for the topic was plain to see.
“I don’t know.”
“But he’s still your brother, isn’t he? Aren’t you worried that he hasn’t appeared at all? What if something happened on the way and he didn’t make it in time?”
Yi Chen turned her face away and replied sullenly.
“He’s him, I’m me. What do I care if he made it or not?”
Seeing her obvious resistance, Julieanna tactfully stopped pressing.
This best friend of hers was perfect in every way—beautiful, kind-hearted, warm, and full of a sense of justice—but whenever the topic of that long-lost brother of hers came up, she changed completely.
It hadn’t always been like that, though, had it?
Julieanna wondered silently, but asking Yi Chen would get her nowhere.
Bored, Julieanna let her gaze wander. Her eyes casually swept across and accidentally caught sight of a black-haired little girl sitting on the opposite stands.
Because the chair was too high, the little girl’s short legs, unable to reach the ground, were dangling and swinging lightly. Even from a distance, unable to make out her expression, one could tell she was in an excellent mood.
‘So adorable…’ Julieanna couldn’t help thinking to herself. But those blue-violet eyes and that black hair…
She poked Yi Chen, who had just sat down to rest. “Hey, look at that black-haired little girl over there.”
Yi Chen was busy maintaining the sword in her hand, her head bowed.
At the remark, she only glanced briefly in the direction Julieanna pointed.
“I see her. What about it? It’s impressive that someone so young can sign up for the exam.”
“Oh, that’s not what I mean! I mean, look closely at her face!”
Yi Chen had no choice but to stop what she was doing and study the opposite side carefully.
Still, her face was full of confusion—she had no idea what Julieanna was getting at.
“Come on, don’t you think her features look a lot like your brother’s? Both have black hair and blue-violet eyes.”
“…”
Yi Chen was rendered speechless by her friend’s shocking remark.
“You’re really stretching it… Even though I don’t get along with that guy, there’s no need for you to vent my anger like this.”
“Besides, even if he’s only a little over five foot three, he wouldn’t just shrink down into a little girl, would he?”
“I just think there’s a resemblance. What if he really got hit by some strange magic or curse and turned into this?” Julieanna continued speculating with great enthusiasm.
“Alright, stop daydreaming. We still have to go down for the exam later.”
Yi Chen truly admired her best friend’s wild imagination. She could never come up with something so absurd even if she racked her brains.
And even if that guy really did transform, she wouldn’t dare acknowledge it. Calling a delicate little girl “brother”? That scene was way too weird. People would probably think she was some kind of crazy pervert.
Wait… if he really turned into a girl, wouldn’t she have to call him “sister”?
The thought suddenly popped into Yi Chen’s mind. Come to think of it, if that guy turned into such an adorable little sister… maybe it wouldn’t be entirely unacceptable? At least it would be much more pleasant than his annoying, smug face from before.
‘Forget it. There’s no way that guy would make such a cute leg-swinging motion.’ Yi Chen quickly shook the frightening thought out of her head.
“Next up, number 1221, Sewei Adams!”
Just then, the examiner’s booming voice from the Arena echoed across the entire venue.
“Hey, they called your brother’s name! Looks like he made it after all.” Julieanna excitedly patted Yi Chen.
“Oh.”
The red-haired girl didn’t even lift her head, pretending to be indifferent as she continued wiping her sword. But the moment she heard that name, her movements involuntarily paused for a split second.
‘See? Not completely indifferent after all.’
Julieanna covered her mouth and snickered, finding her best friend’s stubbornness quite adorable.
However, the next second, the smile on Julieanna’s face froze.
“Uh… Yi Chen…” Julieanna poked Yi Chen again, her voice trembling.
“What now?”
“Whatever I’m about to tell you, don’t be scared.”
Yi Chen lifted her head in exasperation.
“I’m not a three-year-old. What could I possibly be scared of? Why are you so jumpy today? That’s not like you. Just spit it out.”
Julieanna swallowed hard and pointed a trembling finger at the opposite side.
“I just… saw that black-haired little girl stand up after hearing the name…”
Yi Chen was baffled by her friend’s words and looked at her as if she were an idiot.
“Huh? So she stood up. What’s so scary about that—”
Mid-sentence, Yi Chen’s voice cut off. She finally realized what Julieanna meant.
They had just called the name of her missing brother, and the one who stood up on the opposite stands was that black-haired little girl who looked so similar.
The coincidence was telling enough.
‘No, no, wait! I can’t let myself get led astray by this idiot’s train of thought!’
There were plenty of examinees in the exam hall. Maybe the little girl just had to go to the bathroom—there were several others getting up and moving around at that moment too.
Yi Chen let out a long breath and rolled her eyes at the Female Knight beside her, who was already letting her imagination run wild.
“You’re way too much. I told you to stop daydreaming. How could he possibly turn into a little girl?”
“But…” Julieanna was clearly not ready to give up.
“But what? Look, she’s not even entering the testing area. She’s turning around and walking out.” Yi Chen pointed at the petite back that was already disappearing into the corridor.
“That guy you’re talking about is probably already waiting downstairs. He’s never liked noisy places like this.”
“Huh… now that you mention it, I guess you’re right. You sure know him well. As expected of siblings.” Julieanna suddenly enlightened and blurted out a compliment.
But as soon as Yi Chen heard that, her pretty face instantly stiffened. She turned away in a huff.
“Why are you talking nonsense all of a sudden? I’m not talking to you.”
With that, she went back to wiping her sword.
Seeing that her friend seemed genuinely upset, Julieanna quickly leaned in with an apologetic smile, unscrewed a water bottle, and offered it ingratiatingly.
“I’m sorry, okay? Maybe I’m just too nervous about the exam and my brain short-circuited. Good Yi Chen, don’t ignore me~”
Yi Chen let out a cold snort, took the water bottle, but said nothing.
Julieanna placed both hands on Yi Chen’s shoulders from behind and gently shook her while acting coy.
So she didn’t notice that at that moment, a faint blush had quietly crept onto Yi Chen’s fair cheeks.
‘That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that…’
She shook her head, cutting off the thought.
‘I must be losing it. Why would I waver over such a ridiculous remark? That bastard has nothing to do with me. Forget turning into a little girl—it’d be best if he got lost on the way here.’
To hide her inner turmoil, Yi Chen tilted her head back and gulped down a big mouthful of water, as if in a sulk.
Yet even as she thought that, she couldn’t help but quietly lift her eyes, staring at the entrance below the Arena, trying to catch a glimpse of that annoying figure.
But the entrance remained empty. No one appeared.
“Number 1221, Sewei Adams? If you don’t show up, it’ll be considered automatic withdrawal!” The examiner on the Arena had clearly lost patience.
“I’m here, I’m here!”
A crisp, soft voice—even a little breathless from running—rang out from the contestant corridor under the gaze of the entire audience.
Then, the black-haired little girl who had been swinging her legs on the stands earlier dashed out of the shadows and into the venue.
“Pfft—!”
The water in Yi Chen’s mouth hadn’t even been swallowed yet when it all sprayed back onto Julieanna.
Where the hell is my big, annoying brother?!