She was tense. Her guards allowed her to use the training grounds in the castle courtyard for the upcoming duel. In yesterday's dinner, after the events, Lord Fortis said she could rest a day before the duel. Elise had come from a long journey, after all. Like she could even think about resting. The duel was tomorrow afternoon, and she was dueling with Lord Avir Fortis. The Avir Fortis. The very man who fought on the frontlines of the 20-year Borderline War against three other kingdoms surrounding the south-east corner of the Alethani Kingdom. The very man who fought off the Barbarian Raiders in the North-East mountains, along with her father. The captain of the King's Guards and the Head of the military. One of the closest aids of the King. He won countless duels and was considered the best warrior of the Kingdom. Yeah, she could rest.
CRACK!
Another one had broken. She threw the remaining hilt of the wooden training sword into the woodpile she had created since morning. They didn't let her train with her sword, of course, so she had to use these wooden things, but they were not holding out well. It was mostly because of her. She was having a hard time controlling her strength and Energy because of the tension. Her head was full of thoughts and possibilities, and they were eating away at her mind.
She went to get another wooden sword from the rack. Fewer eyes were giving her awkward looks compared to the first few times she had broken a sword. Soldiers and guards were also training in the courtyard, constantly shifting along their schedules. Every time she broke a sword, she felt their confused looks on herself. Most of them didn't even know who she was, but it didn't take long for the word to spread. The young Lady of House Vandenberg was going to duel with Lord Avir Fortis. They had swarmed the courtyard to see who she was. Lord Fortis wouldn't accept any duel request; she must have been a great fighter.
The number of those watching her increased with every wooden sword she broke. They even started to cheer her when it happened. Elise even saw some of them exchanging money after she broke one. She also saw them betting while she was doing her regular daily training. She forced herself to exceed her limits many times and made them lost as much money as possible. All these continued until she got irritated out of control and flew the dummy she was training on with one hit and crashed it into the opposing wall. The cheers stopped and turned into timid whispers. Their numbers gradually decreased, leaving only the ones that really came to train. She did apologize to the trainers for the dummy, though.
Her father had also come to see her. He would always bring comfort with him ever since she was a child. Even the hardest thing would seem possible when her father was there. He was a strong pillar for her that she could always lean on, whatever happened. But this time, she had to take care of this situation on her own. He came and watched her training, sparred with her a little, gave some advice, and left. There was nothing he could do more, and he was a busy man.
He was still against this whole situation; it was written all over his face. Last night, after the Traveler left, he tried to oppose the duel again, and Elise had to convince him. She was understanding; he was just worrying about his daughter, but this was probably their fastest way to settle things. Her father was a fearsome person for most, but always had a soft spot for his one and only daughter, so convincing him was not that hard.
But there was another reason for him to be here. They went to see the Traveler in the dungeons after dinner. She was not surprised to see him casually lying inside his cell. Elise knew; if he wanted to escape, he would have long ago. Their conversation was... not that comforting.
"It was a bold move." Her father said to him. But he only had responded with a smile.
"Do you believe I can win against him?" Elise had asked. "He is someone I look up to ever since I held my sword. Fighting a duel against someone like him... is something I have never imagined."
She was feeling anxious at that time. Her only hope was that the Traveler had planned all this, and he was trusting her skills. This had put a lot of pressure on her, but if he believed her, that meant she could do it. That was what she hoped, until he looked at her face with a confused expression...
"Oh, you have no chance of winning." He said.
"Eh...?" After a moment of silence between the three of them, "WHAT!" She shouted. "What do you mean I have no chance? Why do I even fight then?"
"I thought you realized. That guy is a beast. I believe you got the upper hand in terms of raw strength and speed, because of my training, but he has more talent and experience than you. Not to mention his so-called 'blessing' is more combat-oriented than yours."
Elise couldn't even say anything; instead, her father got involved. "If that was the case, why did you even put my daughter in this situation?" He had grabbed the bars of the cell in anger and pulled himself closer while talking. He was already tense, and the current situation was not helping at all.
"Well, because she doesn't need to win."
"What do you mean?" Elise asked behind her father.
"You only need to show them your capabilities. You didn't get the chance to unleash since you came here. If you keep fighting weaklings, you'll never get the chance to either. So, go in there and go all out. Show them what you can do. That would be more than enough. You could get roughed up a bit, but you will be fine. I trained you for it, after all."
After listening to him, both Elise and her father had calmed down. He had a point; it really could be enough. But something was still bothering Elise. After she gave this plan some thought, she realized there was a hole in it.
"Well, even if I prove myself to be your apprentice, Lord Landa could still say I am both your master and lover. The Crown Prince will also follow his words and can be a hindrance. What are we going to do about that?"
But the Traveler didn't seem to be bothered by it. "That is why you must catch the guy who escaped and the one who helped him. He most likely is associated with that Landa guy you mentioned. He seems to be someone cautious. If there was even a chance of him being exposed, he would leave this city as soon as possible. So, no problem on that part. Your King has already accepted this deal; I believe he also wants this situation to be settled quickly. So that child, the Crown Prince, can't open his mouth without any backup. Now stop worrying about these things and don't even think of neglecting your training because of this."
Was he always this thoughtful of things? He came up with this plan and even thought it through many variables. Elise knew he was a smart man, even though he acted like he was more of an impulsive person. She discovered another unexpected side of him that night.
That conversation was still bothering her. She tried to devote herself to training all she could for a fight that she had no way of winning. Too many things all at once, so much pressure that she felt like she was about to explode. She needed to focus if she was thinking of achieving anything in this short time. She needed to hone her sword skills, as well as her Energy control. But she couldn't use most of the Energy she could draw in with a wooden sword against a wooden dummy. Even if she could, it would only attract more unnecessary eyes. On top of that, she learned from her father that her mother was expected to arrive at the capital right before the duel, so she was most likely going to attend!
CRACK!
She only tried to use a little bit more Energy but quickly got it out of control. She was losing focus too quickly with all that in her mind. She went to get one more wooden sword and saw an unexpected spectator looking at her.
The Head Magician, Gustave Vorony, was watching on top of the walls surrounding the courtyard. He had an excited look in his eyes that Elise couldn't understand the reason until she reached to pick up one more wooden sword. She was glowing.
More like she was smoking out Energy. She didn't even realize the amount of Energy she drew all this time. She was overflowing with it. She hoped only the ones that affiliated with Energy could see this, but her hopes quickly crashed. More people were looking at her in the courtyard with surprised expressions. Well, that was it for not attracting more eyes. She tried to release the access Energy she got, and the glow faded away as a result.
This was the first time something like that happened to her. She tried not to panic and decided to ask the Traveler at the first chance. She took a glance at where that old man Gustave Vorony was and saw him leaving. Why was he even there? He was only getting on her nerves more.
She grabbed her wooden sword and decided not to train with dummies anymore. The last one was also badly damaged, and it was best to leave it be before breaking another dummy. She took her stance against an imaginary foe and kept training until she couldn't lift her arms anymore.