Aina thrust out her shield and blocked the ‘Lightning Bolt’ spell flying toward her.
POP.
A small explosion erupted the moment the spell struck the shield.
Magic and wood alone would not produce a reaction like that.
She had clearly coated the shield in mana and used it to deflect the spell.
It was a technique commonly used by warriors capable of manipulating mana, but it was by no means easy enough for an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl to perform so effortlessly.
‘Impressive.’
While Saul was admiring her skill, Aina hurled her axe.
The attack was too fast and precise to block easily with his sword.
Saul erected a Magic Barrier in front of himself.
The axe struck the barrier, stopped in midair, then immediately flew back into Aina’s hand.
Saul cast another spell.
Thanks to his grueling training, he could now cast basic spells rapidly even without the assistance of his Magic Sword.
Aina defended herself against the barrage of spells flying toward her.
At the same time, she hurled her axe or charged forward in an attempt to bring Saul down.
Magic, axe, and shield clashed back and forth, yet neither side could easily seize the advantage.
Until Aina’s situation changed.
“……!”
A flicker of alarm passed through Aina’s eyes.
Saul immediately understood what it meant.
She appeared to be running out of mana.
In her effort to avoid exposing an opening against Saul, whose magical ability surpassed her own, she had used her mana too aggressively and reached her limit.
Having spotted the opening, Saul did not rush.
Haste could lead to unexpected mistakes.
It was the desperate side that tended to rush.
And right now, Aina was the one running short on mana.
The more urgently she moved, the greater her openings would become.
Just as Saul expected, Aina began to hurry.
As though sensing that this was her final chance, she charged with all her strength, swinging both her axe and shield.
Aina hurled her axe first.
As though she had forgotten that this was merely a spar, the axe carried tremendous force as it slammed into Saul’s Magic Barrier.
The barrier, already weakened after blocking several previous attacks, shattered with a sound like breaking glass.
Catching the returning axe, Aina swung both her shield and axe at once.
Her strategy was to block as many incoming attacks as possible with the shield while bringing Saul down with a single decisive blow from the axe.
For the first time in this spar, Saul felt genuine danger.
‘This is dangerous.’
This was no time to hold back.
Losing because he had gone too easy on her would be the lesser problem.
What if the daughter of the lord governing this region seriously injured a prince during a spar?
It might not be something they could simply dismiss as youthful recklessness between two young people who had only just come of age.
Saul prepared and cast his magic as though facing a genuine enemy.
Accepting the strain, he cast two spells simultaneously without the aid of his Magic Sword.
First, ‘Lightning Bolt’ struck Aina.
The moment the lightning hit the shield she was swinging, the shield was blasted from her hand.
Even so, Aina did not retreat in the slightest and raised her axe.
At the same moment, Saul released the sword in his hand, thrust out both palms, and spoke the activation word.
“Mana Blast.”
Mana itself transformed into physical force and slammed into Aina.
“Ah!”
Aina, who had nearly reached Saul, was hurled into the air.
Even Saul realized immediately that he had gone too far.
She had seemed so threatening that he had instinctively used his full strength.
Just as Aina’s body, thrown several meters away, was about to hit the ground, something caught her.
Saul recognized that Kastel had discreetly used magic to help her.
Breathing a sigh of relief inwardly, Saul ran toward Aina.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m... fine.”
Fortunately, she did not appear to be seriously injured.
After checking her condition, Saul relaxed and apologized once more.
“I’m sorry. I lost control of my strength....”
“No. I lost the match.”
The knights of House Hopkins who had been observing the spar soon rushed over.
“My lady. Are you all right?”
“We will take you to your room immediately.”
“I’ll summon a physician!”
Apparently, this was not the first time something like this had happened, because the knights moved quickly.
Two brought a stretcher and carefully lifted Aina onto it, while another ran off to fetch a physician.
Saul checked his own body.
He had not suffered any major attacks, but several places were bruised from glancing blows and minor impacts exchanged during the fight.
Then he looked at Aina.
Aina, lying on the stretcher, did not seem badly hurt either.
Instead, tears were gathering in her eyes from sheer frustration.
Apparently unaware that her eyes had filled with tears, she remained visibly upset until one finally spilled down her cheek. Only then did she startle and hurriedly wipe it away.
Saul was watching her when Gray’s voice drew his attention.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? That young lady is truly outrageous. How dare she swing a weapon at Your Highness....”
“That’s what sparring is.”
“There are limits! I will speak to the Royal Inspector and....”
Saul had expected this from Gray.
With a small sigh, he stopped him.
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t make this into a bigger issue.”
“But....”
“I appreciate you worrying about me. But I was the one who suggested the spar. We can’t let relations between the royal family and House Hopkins deteriorate because of that, can we?”
Faced with Saul’s perfectly reasonable argument, Gray could no longer insist.
After calming Gray, Saul thanked Kastel as well.
“Thank you. Because of you, Aina wasn’t seriously injured.”
“I merely did what was necessary.”
Kastel’s response was lukewarm, but Saul was relieved.
If she had found anything particularly displeasing, she might have immediately pointed it out and ordered him into another nighttime lesson.
“What did you think of the spar?”
“Your Highness performed exactly as I expected.”
“And Aina?”
“She exceeded my expectations. Even considering that she has accumulated considerable experience for her age, possessing that degree of skill at her age indicates significant aptitude. With better instruction, she may someday become strong enough to surpass Your Highness.”
“She certainly was skilled.”
Saul understood why Kastel rated her so highly.
Saul possessed decent natural aptitude, memories from his previous life, and Kastel, the finest teacher he could possibly ask for.
It was only natural to think highly of a frontier girl who had managed to push someone with such ideal conditions into a difficult fight.
‘Come to think of it, they said Kalland, the future lord, is intelligent too. There are quite a few talented people in this frontier region.’
Aina’s skill was one thing, but the sight of her crying out of frustration remained on Saul’s mind.
After changing clothes, Saul prepared a small gift and went to Aina’s room.
Normally, it would not have been easy to visit the injured daughter of a lord.
But Saul was hardly an ‘ordinary person.’
“Your Highness.”
“How is the young lady?”
“Fortunately, her injuries are not serious.”
“May I see her?”
“Please wait a moment.”
Saul phrased it as a ‘request,’ but refusing a prince’s request was no easy matter.
Before long, the door to Aina’s room opened.
“Your Highness.”
Aina was standing beside a chair.
Apparently, she had been sitting there rather than lying in bed.
Saul could see bandages wrapped around one arm and one leg.
Fortunately, Aina’s face was clean.
It did not appear that she had spent the entire time burying her face in a pillow and sobbing because she had lost.
“You don’t have to stand. How are your injuries?”
“They are not serious enough to cause Your Highness concern.”
“That’s good.”
Saul then gestured for his maid to present the basket she was carrying.
“Your Highness, this is...?”
“A gift. Consider it both an apology for injuring you and my thanks for giving me such a good match.”
“…….”
Aina almost bristled before stopping herself.
Apparently, she thought Saul was mocking her.
Saul noticed it clearly but did not rebuke her for disrespect.
Instead, he smiled leisurely and teased her.
“If we have another opportunity next time, perhaps the Lady will be the one who wins.”
“...Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Here. Accept the gift.”
The cloth covering the basket was removed, revealing its contents.
They were all famous confections from the royal capital.
Premium sweets made generously with expensive ingredients such as butter, cream, sugar, and dried fruit.
Even the daughter of a lord would have difficulty tasting such delicacies in a remote frontier like this.
Aina’s eyes lit up at the sight of them.
“Your Highness. These are...?”
“They’re some of my favorites. Don’t hesitate. Take them.”
“...Thank you.”
“How about we try them together?”
Understanding Saul’s meaning, Aina had her maid prepare tea.
Steam rose from the translucent tea, which had an unusual silvery sheen like polished metal.
Saul recognized it.
“Platinum Tea.”
Aina looked slightly surprised.
“You’ve had this tea before?”
Her surprise was understandable.
Platinum Tea was not widely consumed in either the Kingdom of Darsen or the Kingdom of Gamelda.
It was the sort of tea drunk in impoverished frontier regions.
This was also Saul’s first time drinking Platinum Tea in his current life.
But he remembered tasting it several times while stationed on the frontier in his previous life.
In truth, it was somewhat strange for a prince to know about Platinum Tea.
After all, it was considered a drink for people from the frontier.
Fortunately, Saul knew a convenient excuse for situations like this.
“I once received some as a gift from a frontier region. It was unusual enough that I remembered it.”
“I see. In our territory, it’s considered a high-quality tea.”
Soon, a simple tea table was prepared with the confections Saul had brought and the Platinum Tea Aina served.
Saul tasted the tea first.
Despite its appearance, there was not the slightest metallic taste.
Instead, it possessed Platinum Tea’s distinctive astringency and faint sweetness.
It was certainly not the sort of sophisticated flavor that would become fashionable in the refined royal capital.
But in his previous life, he had been grateful even to drink tea of this quality.
If he thought of it as a flavor that brought back memories of the past, it was not bad at all.
Saul smiled faintly and placed one of the sweets in his mouth.
The strongly astringent tea paired wonderfully with the intensely sweet confection.
When he looked at Aina, she too appeared impressed by the sweets.
If she had not been sitting before a prince, her expression might have completely melted with delight.
Looking at her like this, Aina truly was very different from the ordinary young noblewomen Saul had known.
Despite already doing her part as a soldier at such a young age, she cried because she had lost a spar and could still delight innocently over delicious food like a child.
Saul knew perfectly well that his growing closeness with Aina was not entirely coincidental.
It had probably been made possible because House Hopkins had deliberately created the opportunity.
But regardless of her house’s intentions, Saul personally found Aina likable.
They were the same age.
Perhaps they really could become friends.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s wonderful, Your Highness.”
“This tea is excellent too. It’s something you can hardly even find in the capital.”
Saul and Aina continued talking for some time.
They had not known each other for long, but conversation came easily, and they seemed to get along well.
It was almost as though a single spar had brought them considerably closer.
Saul and Aina continued their conversation for quite some time.
Only after a considerable while did Saul finally rise.
“Then I’ll be going. Take good care of yourself.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you for visiting me.”
Saul rose and stepped out of the room.
Neither Kastel nor Gray, who should have been waiting outside, was there.
“Where are Teacher and Gray?”
“Lord Hopkins came by a short while ago. They are currently speaking with him in the next room.”
“Lord Hopkins?”
Duncan would hardly have come specifically to see Kastel and Gray.
More likely, he had come to visit his daughter, learned that Saul was there, and moved to another room instead.
‘So the lord really does want his daughter and me to become close.’
Saul headed for the adjoining room.
Duncan, Kastel, and Gray were seated together in conversation.
When the lord saw Saul, he rose from his seat.