Lucia looked at Merlin, then back at herself.
“Of course it’s for our competition. The original plan was to pick one person from each discipline and randomly form three-person squads, but… it’s become a solo event this time, and the difficulty of the exam has been reduced.”
“Just for the competition between the three of us?”
Merlin suddenly felt the wooden sword by her feet was in the way and kicked it aside listlessly.
The innocent wooden sword spun across the sandy ground, tracing a spiral path until it rolled into the distance and hit a tree with a clatter.
“It’s no big deal. Either way, the content and location of the competition weren’t made public. It would be more of a hassle if we went back on our word after announcing it.”
Lucia turned around, the silhouette of her silver-white hair outlined by the afterglow of the setting sun. The intense contrast momentarily dazzled Merlin.
Lucia gave Merlin a sly smile, one tinged with a bit of self-indulgence.
“But I’m still worried about you acting alone, which is why I came to teach you swordsmanship, isn’t it? You have a good foundation. Before the exam, you should be able to reach a point where you won’t suffer even if a first-year from the Swordsmanship Department gets close to you. Whether you can win or not is hard to say.”
“Better safe than sorry. Thank you for taking the time to practice with me.”
“Although the location can’t be fully determined yet, since it’s a solo exam, the students’ entry will likely be deliberately staggered. At the very least, you won’t see me or Mahina during the first stage, so I’m more worried about you being on your own.”
Merlin responded in a low voice. A warm current surged through her heart, yet it was accompanied by a deeper sense of unease.
“Thank you…”
Although she had gone along with Mahina’s mood at the time and accepted, Merlin couldn’t imagine a scenario where she won, because she had seen Mahina use magic in the academy.
Lucia shrugged nonchalantly and shook her head.
“It’s nothing. This whole thing started because of me anyway.”
The training ground fell into silence once more. The wind kicked up fine dust.
Mary was still by Merlin’s side, carefully wiping the sweat from her brow with a towel soaked in cool water. She gently massaged Merlin’s aching wrists and tended to the bruises left by the wooden sword sparring.
How gentle…
But Mary only took care of her, and Lucia also seemed quite indifferent. What were this master and servant thinking?
Lucia spoke. Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a strange weight that pierced through the evening breeze.
“Merlinlia Helier, I guarantee that you will win this time, no matter what happens.”
Merlin’s eyes began to flicker with great confusion.
“What? Why say that all of a sudden? We don’t even know the location or content of the exam yet. How can you suddenly conclude that I’ll win? Are you going to cover for me during the exam?”
“That’s part of the plan. You wouldn’t know since this is your first time, so let me tell you. You’ll conservatively spend a few days and nights there. I might not be able to find you right away; that’s just something that needs to be done.”
Lucia’s voice paused again, and then she looked directly into Merlin’s eyes with tenderness.
“So what? Either way, you’ll win in the end, Merlinlia.”
The exam’s content, location, time, and rules were all unknown.
Excluding the three of them who were the top of their grades, the strength of the third-year Magic Department representative and the second-year Swordsmanship Department representative certainly wouldn’t be poor.
With all these factors added up, wanting to conclude that Merlin would win was completely groundless.
Merlin had checked Mahina’s grades from the entire previous year.
Whether it was theory or practical, she was first in every major academic exam.
She maintained a top-five position across four comprehensive major exams. As a first-year student, her results were quite brilliant. In the final major exam, she even took second place, surpassing Lucia.
It was exactly because of that momentum that she became the Student Council President.
To beat Mahina, one would have to be prepared to enter the top five. Furthermore, Merlin was just a freshman, while Mahina frequently visited battlefields and had undergone a year of tempering at the academy.
How could this be a guaranteed win? Merlin even felt that a draw would be good enough.
“You’re certainly confident.”
“It’s you who’s too lacking in confidence.”
Merlin shook her head from side to side, looking at the blue sky as if expressing her unease.
“Um… I don’t mean to be offensive, but didn’t you lose to Mahina in the last comprehensive major exam? You’re much stronger than me and even you couldn’t guarantee a win, so how can you say I’ll definitely win this time?”
Lucia was poked in a sore spot. She clenched her teeth, her slender shoulders trembling slightly. She wanted to say something, but in the end, only one word escaped from between her teeth.
“Dammit.”
Lucia actually felt that the previous exam didn’t matter. She didn’t care about having to fight for first place to maintain royal dignity or anything like that, especially since her reputation wasn’t good to begin with.
Becoming the Student Council President was only because the cowardly students were afraid of offending the royal family and pushed her into the position. She didn’t actually care.
But why did being criticized by this blue elf make her so angry?
Especially when she was clearly trying to help her.
Lucia walked up to Merlin and began to vent by kneading Merlin’s cheeks with her fingers.
“Mghhh…! Lu—Lucia!?”
Caught off guard, Merlin could only let out muffled protests, her eyes welling with tears from the pinching.
Mary, standing nearby, hurriedly tried to persuade Lucia.
“Princess Lucia, please be gentle. You know how much strength you have.”
“Hmph.”
Only after seeing Merlin’s soft face flush and her eyes tear up did Lucia feel her anger dissipate.
Lucia released the hand that was ravaging Merlin’s cheeks.
Merlin covered her hot, red cheeks, intending to glare at her with those watery eyes, but Lucia suddenly dropped her aggressive posture and changed the subject.
“In any case, all you need to do is trust me and then work hard on your own tasks. You will definitely win.”
Listening to Lucia’s confident words, Merlin couldn’t help but be influenced by her and nodded in agreement.
“Just consider it a favor for helping me relieve my headaches. I feel like my emotions have stabilized a lot lately. At least I don’t have those thoughts of showing aggression at the drop of a hat anymore.”
“Haha.”
“But I want to ask you for one more small favor. As a reward for ensuring you beat Mahina, it’s not too much, right?”
“Is it a new medicine?”
“Well, that’s important too. But what I want to talk about is the Starry Rose.”
Merlin’s expression tightened.
“Don’t be nervous. It’s just a flower, isn’t it? Although it has indeed been selling very well lately. You were the one who bred it, right? As expected, alchemy is truly remarkable.”
“Yes, but how did you know?”
“You, even though you were grounded, you still wrote letters to your friends, didn’t you?”
“Ah… that’s an invasion of privacy!”
Lucia shrugged.
“I didn’t read the content. I just know you sent them to that shop. I was just testing you a moment ago.”
“Honestly.”
“Let’s collaborate. You can think of it as me returning the favor, Merlinlia. In the eyes of the nobles, that shop of yours is just a bunch of commoners huddling together without a backer, something that could be crushed with a single squeeze. Even if things are normal now, there’s no guarantee it won’t be snatched away in the future.”
“Okay.”
“Oh? I haven’t even discussed the terms yet.”
Merlin lowered her head, toyed with her fingers, her small face blushing slightly.
“Because didn’t you tell me to trust you?”
Lucia looked at the little elf with her head bowed.
Her outstretched hand froze in mid-air for a moment before she eventually pulled it back weakly.
Finally, as if giving up on something, Lucia let out a long, long sigh.
“Fine then.”