“What do you want from me?”

If he needed money to support the poor living in the Northern White Territory, he could just give her the money, as she had earned enough from hunting monsters. But his request was completely different from what she had expected.

“I will resolve your curiosity, and in return, I hope you can resolve mine.”

What does he mean? Can’t he just say it directly? Ariel felt irritated.

“Just tell me without beating around the bush.”

“Let’s spend some time together.”

Ariel looked at Noah with a suspicious gaze.

Somehow, a smile crept onto Noah’s lips at her innocent expression. He thought it was because of the cuteness and loveliness that came from Ariel’s beautiful appearance.

“In what way?”

“Eating together, having tea, or if you don’t like that, then we can have a swordsmanship contest.”

Anything would be fine as long as he could face Ariel and get to know the person behind that face.

“Is that all?”

It’s too easy, assuming Ariel stays at home.

However, she would likely enter the imperial palace today or tomorrow, and she couldn’t guarantee that it would be possible to meet Noah after entering the palace.

“I was preparing to enter the imperial palace.”

Noah’s expression darkened abruptly at the unexpected variable.

“It hasn’t been announced yet, but you will know soon. I am going to marry His Majesty.”

He had planned to appear at an appropriate time, but he missed her actions due to Ariel’s decision to study in Kolnman. After learning that she had lost all her mana and returned, he had been timing his appearance for the right moment. But all of this had backfired.

“That’s great news.”

Noah replied sarcastically and let out a long sigh.

‘What should I do? I can’t let it go like this.’

A shadow fell over his brow as he pondered deeply.

Noah felt a pang in his chest. It was a different kind of emotion from the regret he felt for Ariel Clark’s past life. A strange emotion that he had not felt even in his dark past washed over him like a wave.

Like a mischievous dark cloud gathering in a sunny sky, he felt a surge of desire to deny the relationship between Ariel and Leopold.

Ariel getting married to Leopold. If he had known this would happen, he would have appeared in front of her sooner.

It was useless to regret the past. Noah took a slightly hurried breath.

“You seem quite surprised.”

She had only seen his casual demeanor so far, so she never expected him to be so startled by the news of her marriage to Leopold.

Ariel was surprised but did not show it.

“To retrieve my mana, I need to track the actions of the dark sorcerer. His Majesty requested it. Please don’t interfere with whatever I do.”

She tilted her head to the right.

“But if the Duke provides his information, it would save me some trouble.”

Ariel spat out words that seemed to imply she was accepting his offer.

They had already promised to marry each other, and they would soon be married. Did she have any room for him? As Noah pondered, his gaze fell on her long, white neck.

Because of that, Noah didn’t properly hear Ariel’s words.

‘Leopold might have already kissed that neck.’

They had promised to marry, so there was nothing strange about it. But Noah felt as if his blood was boiling.

Noah suddenly closed his eyes tightly, trying to escape from the visual stimulus.

As a result, his sense of smell became more sensitive. A fragrant floral scent mixed with a musky odor entered his nostrils along with his breath.

He opened his eyes again.

‘Marriage. It doesn’t matter. As long as I can find a way to slip in. Maybe this time… it’s possible.’

He felt ambitious. An ambition to make her his.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Ariel asked him, seeing Noah looking dizzy.

“Oh, no. I was listening. So, did you accept my proposal?”

“Yes. After the engagement, I will send people as soon as the situation is settled.”

Satisfied with her answer, Noah nodded. His lips curled into a smirk.

“Understood.”

Noah captured Ariel in his golden eyes. Her image flowed into his heart.

After Noah left, Ariel went up to her room.

Why did he come to make such a proposal all of a sudden?

It seemed like she had nothing to lose. He wasn’t asking her to do something difficult either.

Ariel sat down on the floor, where her belongings were scattered.

‘A swordsmanship contest.’

She picked up the sword placed next to a large bag.

As she caressed the worn hilt of the sword, her grip tightened gradually.

Memories buried in the chaos of events, forgotten sensations, resurfaced.

The sensation of mana filling her entire body as she swung the overlapping strikes with the sword, the feeling of the sword piercing through the flesh of monsters, and even the sound of bones splitting in half, all came back vividly as if it happened yesterday.

The disgustingly yet hot rush of energy that surged into her nostrils when the monster’s blood splattered in all directions, and the habit of furrowing her brows in concern about staining her clothes and shoes, why did she miss those everyday occurrences?

Ariel drew the sword from its leather sheath.

Inside the star-shaped gem embedded in the hilt, red liquid shimmered.

‘Just once, should I draw it just once?’

She longed to feel how dazzling the sunlight reflected off the silvery blade was after so long.

As Ariel drew the sword from its scabbard, a faint scraping sound emanated from the blade.

Thud.

After putting away the sword, she took out a new hunting outfit from her bag and placed it on the bed.

‘I should change my clothes first.’

Ariel untied the ribbon at the back of her waist and took off the dress alone.

Fortunately, she hadn’t worn a corset, so it was easy to undress.

‘Shall I loosen up for a while?’

Since meeting Leopold, she had put down her sword, since there was no room in her body or mind to wield it.

Although the ingrained swordsmanship in her body wouldn’t disappear overnight, she needed to prepare for the day when she would regain her mana. Once in a while.

After changing into hunting attire, Ariel took hold of the sword.

It was a different weight from when she held the sword while sitting on the floor.

With no floor to support the sword, all of its weight had to be borne by Ariel’s arms, but she had no mana left.

So, she lifted the sword to about knee height as if holding an iron axe.

“This won’t work.”

Considering that she hadn’t removed the scabbard, it was still too heavy.

Practicing swordsmanship with a sword she couldn’t properly hold was impossible.

Ariel gently placed the sword on the ground.

‘Where is the practice sword that older brother Evan gave me in the old days be…’

As Ariel looked around the room, she found federschwert hanging on the wall.

When she gripped the sword, it felt comfortable in her hand.

“It’s just right for now.”

The weight of the sword was neither too heavy nor too light, which satisfied Ariel.

Ariel quickly descended from the second floor and headed to the training ground.

It was created for older brother Evan’s swordsmanship practice.

Her steps were light, and her heart was willing.

It was a given that her body was not as it used to be.

But that was okay. She couldn’t explain why it was good in detail, but it just was.

As soon as she arrived at the training ground, she took deep breaths to regulate her rough breathing from running.

Soon, her erratic breath found its rhythm.

As if waiting, Ariel swung the sword into the air.

Every part of her body moved naturally, like water flowing.

She extended her left foot forward and raised the sword high enough for the tip to point upward.

Then she spun around and leaped toward the air.

Ariel extended her right arm straight and slashed from top to bottom as if piercing a monster’s heart.

The tip of the blade struck the ground, and Ariel collapsed, falling.

She realized that even with a practice sword, it wasn’t easy.

‘Still, let’s continue.’

Ariel used techniques she often used when hunting after adjusting her posture.

About an hour passed. After repeating it several times, her arms became sore, and eventually her strength gave out.

Ariel let go of the trembling blade and it clattered to the ground.

She stared at it blankly before sinking to the ground without strength.

“Ha… It’s tough.”

Only after everything was over did she feel sweat trickling down her back.

Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead and fell down her chin.

Ariel wiped her chin with her hand and then, relying on the sword, staggered to her feet.

“I need to go wash up.”

Her legs felt heavy due to exhaustion.

‘It certainly motivates me to regain my mana.’

She had never felt such exhaustion even after catching dozens of monsters many times larger than herself.

But just how much did she do to make her whole body scream like this?

She stumbled into the house. Until then, Ariel had no idea that she would meet Leopold with a body soaked in sweat.