The outdoor courtyard was illuminated by dozens of floating fire-crystals. A ring of white marble served as the dueling stage, surrounded by hundreds of eager nobles and royal guards.
Catherine stood on the opposite side of the ring, discarding her heavy cloak to reveal light leather dueling armor. She drew her rapier, the silver blade gleaming with a sharp, lightning-attribute mana.
I stepped onto the stage wearing my heavy silk dress, pulling a lightweight ornamental rapier from the weapon rack.
"You aren't even going to change into dueling gear?" Catherine mocked, raising her weapon into a high left guard—exactly as the original novel described.
"It won't take long enough to warrant a wardrobe change," I replied calmly, adopting a low, defensive stance.
"Arrogant brat!" Catherine yelled, her feet bursting with lightning mana as she lunged forward at terrifying speed.
*THUM-THUM-THUM!*
It was her signature move: the Triple Northern Thrust. Three lightning-fast strikes aimed at my shoulder, chest, and hip in under a second. To the watching nobles, her weapon was nothing more than a silver blur.
"She's too fast!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Lady Rosel can't block that!"
*Ting!*
[System Predictive Vision Activated!]
[Trajectory Tracked: Left Shoulder -> Center Ribs -> Right Hip]
I didn't try to block. I didn't even raise my sword to clash with hers.
Instead, using the minimal physical enhancement spell I had memorized, I leaned my upper body three inches to the right, letting her first thrust pierce harmlessly through the air next to my cheek. I spun my heels on the marble floor, dodging her second strike by a hair's breadth.
"What?!" Catherine gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief as her momentum carried her forward.
Before she could adjust her stance for the third strike, I stepped inside her guard, using the heavy hilt of my rapier to strike her right wrist with precise force.
*CRACK!*
Catherine's rapier flew out of her hand, spinning through the air before embedding itself deep into the stone floor outside the ring.
Before she could recover her balance, I placed the dull tip of my rapier directly against the base of her throat.
Silence fell over the entire imperial courtyard.
"Match over," I said, my voice cold and steady, without a single trace of breathlessness. "You rely too much on momentum, Lady Catherine. In a real battle, relying on speed alone makes your path entirely transparent."
* **[User_OrangeCat]:** *PARRIED AND DISARMED IN FIVE SECONDS FLAT! QUEEEEN!*
* **[User_YuriSimp]:** *LOOK AT CHLOE'S FACE! SHE IS PRACTICALLY DROOLING IN ADMIRATION!*
* **[User_LocalObserver]:** *A flawless execution of minimalist combat.*
Prince Leo started clapping slowly, a look of unbridled fascination in his golden eyes. Catherine collapsed to one knee, staring up at me in absolute shock and humiliation.
I lowered my sword, turning my back on the stunned crowd. But as I took a step off the stage, a sharp, burning pain shot through my chest.
*Ping!*
[WARNING!]
[Spatial Mana Overload Detected!]
[System Core Unstable!]
My vision blurred, and the world began to tilt violently beneath my feet.