Chapter 27

“Elly, say hello. This is Cedric.”

Alice smiled warmly as she introduced the person who would be Elena’s swordsmanship instructor. However, Elena couldn’t bring herself to smile along with her.

It was because the person who would be her instructor was completely different from what she had anticipated.

‘A boy?’

Since Alice was close friends with him, Elena had naturally assumed it would be a girl. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined it would be a boy.

While she was too stunned to even greet him properly, the blond-haired boy named Cedric stepped forward.

“Hello?”

“Uh… Oh, hi.”

“I’m Cedric Kaine. You’re Elena Bellote, right?”

“How do you know my name?”

Startled, her voice rose slightly as she asked. Cedric waved his hand dismissively and smiled as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors.”

“Rumors? What rumors?”

Instead of answering, he simply smiled slyly, leaving her curious about what the rumors entailed.

What kind of rumors about me could possibly have spread to the Swordsmanship Department? I wasn’t even part of it.

Was it that I was Alice’s well-connected roommate from the Magic Department? Or worse, was I known as a problematic student who struggled with practical magic?

The former would be fine, but the latter would be deeply embarrassing.

However, Cedric didn’t seem inclined to explain further. Thinking it would be foolish to press him any more, Elena decided to let it go. Still, she couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

‘Well, judging by the mood, it doesn’t seem like a bad rumor.’

When Elena simply smiled without saying anything further, Cedric smiled back. His gentle gray eyes curved softly.

‘Gray?’

It was an uncommon yet familiar color. Felix had gray eyes too, and so did Little One.

Perhaps that was why Cedric’s face overlapped with the image of Little One in her mind.

‘Now that I think about it, they do look a bit alike…’

Noticing her gaze, Cedric gave an awkward smile. The way his lips curved upward was charming. Embarrassed, Elena averted her eyes and shook her head.

“Huh? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something to say?”

“No, I just thought your gray eyes were interesting.”

“Everyone says that. I didn’t realize they were so unique until I came to the academy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. My family’s territory is in the north. Gray eyes are pretty common there. Look, even my hair color is lighter compared to yours.”

“That’s true. That’s fascinating.”

Elena nodded as she observed his light blond hair.

The Bellote Barony in the south was relatively warm and received plenty of sunlight, whereas the northern regions of the Kingdom were cold and saw little sunlight.

Perhaps because of this, northern people were said to have lighter hair and eye colors compared to southerners.

Oh, Felix also had gray eyes, but surprisingly, he was from the south. His home was just a two-hour train ride from the Bellote Barony.

‘No wonder his skin is so fair for someone from the Swordsmanship Department.’

Though darker than hers or Alice’s, Cedric’s skin was much lighter compared to the other boys in the Swordsmanship Department, whose skin was typically tanned.

“Wait here with Alice for a moment. I’ll go grab some wooden swords and other equipment.”

“Ah…”

Before Elena could protest, Cedric had already dashed off to where the wooden swords were stored. She hadn’t even had the chance to refuse the lesson.

‘How do I turn this down?’

Elena wasn’t good at rejecting people. And it was even harder to refuse Cedric’s kindness, which he offered without expecting anything in return.

But still, no meant no.

“Alice, don’t you think we should reconsider this?”

Elena whispered quietly. Alice leaned in and whispered back just as softly.

“What’s the problem?”

“He’s a boy.”

“So what?”

“He’s a boy.”

“And?”

“Because he’s a boy…”

Unable to come up with a clear reason, Elena stammered. Just then, Cedric, carrying the wooden swords, caught her gaze from a distance.

As he smiled at her without avoiding her eyes, Elena awkwardly smiled back and tugged on Alice’s arm.

“Are you worried the training will be too hard? Don’t worry. Cedric is very considerate and won’t push you too hard.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Elena decided to be honest.

“I just feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“What’s there to feel uncomfortable about? It’s fine. He’s not going to bite you. It’s just for self-defense, so the training won’t be too intense.”

“Still…”

After hesitating for a moment, Elena closed her eyes tightly and mumbled.

“If I practice swordsmanship, he’ll probably adjust my posture from behind and stuff.”

Alice, who had been listening seriously, suddenly burst out laughing.

“Is that what this is about? So what? That’s just how swordsmanship is taught. Don’t overthink it.”

Elena was momentarily stunned by Alice’s casual response.

Was I overreacting? Was I the one making it weird when it was just a simple act of teaching?

‘No, but still…’

As she tried to protest further, her eyes once again met Cedric’s. His angelic, kind smile made it impossible for her to say, ‘Sorry, but I’d rather take lessons from someone else.’

In the end, she gave up and changed the subject.

“By the way, Cedric said he’s heard rumors about me. What kind of rumors could there be about me in the Swordsmanship Department?”

“Rumors?”

Alice thought for a moment before exclaiming, ‘Ah!’ She then grinned mischievously. Elena felt a little uneasy; Alice’s smile looked suspicious.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look suspicious.”

“This is just how I smile.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is. Oh, Cedric’s coming. Good luck.”

“Alice!”

Alice winked at her.

“I just meant good luck with the swordsmanship lesson. See you back at the dorm later.”

With that, Alice left Elena alone in the training ground and walked away.

Cedric, who had come to stand beside Elena, watched Alice leave before asking,

“Where’s Alice going?”

Elena made up an excuse.

“She said she had something urgent to do.”

“Really? I was thinking of teaching her some swordsmanship too.”

What a cunning friend, Elena thought. Alice had probably fled because she didn’t want to learn swordsmanship.

“I brought the lightest one, but I’m not sure if it’ll suit you.”

Cedric held out one of the two wooden swords he was carrying. It was noticeably smaller than the one he kept for himself.

“With your slender arms, I wonder if you’ll be able to handle it…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s not important.”

How dull.

Elena muttered to herself as she took the wooden sword he handed her. It felt heavy but not unmanageable.

‘Interesting.’

In her 19 years of life, this was her first time holding a wooden sword. While her father had taught swordsmanship to her two older brothers, he had forbidden her from even stepping into the training ground.

‘Would he be angry if he found out I was learning swordsmanship?’

The thought crossed her mind briefly, but she quickly concluded he wouldn’t care. To be precise, her father didn’t seem to care much about what she did.

As she stared at the wooden sword in her hands, Cedric, apparently misunderstanding her silence, gave an awkward laugh.

“It’s a communal practice sword, so the quality isn’t great. It’s probably rough to the touch. Sorry about that. Most people have their own wooden swords, so the communal ones aren’t well-maintained.”

After hearing that, Elena noticed the splinters sticking out of the sword. When she tried to pick them off with her fingers, Cedric took the sword back and smoothed it out for her.

“Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“I just feel bad. Here, it’s better now.”

After inspecting the sword one last time, he handed it back to her.

“Alright, this should be fine now.”

Alice’s comment about Cedric being considerate turned out to be true.

“So, Elena. Have you ever held a sword before?”

“No. This is my first time. I’ve never learned before.”

“I thought so. Your hands don’t have any calluses. Are you okay with that? Learning swordsmanship will give you calluses.”

Having smooth hands was a point of pride for noble ladies. It was one of the reasons her father had never taught her swordsmanship.

But ever since entering the academy, Elena had resolved to live as a mage rather than a noble lady.

A few calluses wouldn’t bother her.

“It’s fine.”

“Alright. Then let’s start by assessing your basic physical fitness. Put the wooden sword down, and let’s run around the training ground.”

And so, Elena began running laps around the training ground with Cedric. But before long, her heart felt like it was about to burst, and she was gasping for breath.

As a noblewoman and a Magic Department student, she rarely had any reason to run. In other words, her environment didn’t allow her to build any stamina.

After just one slow lap around the training ground, she was already panting heavily. Cedric looked at her, clearly unsure what to say.

“Hmm, you’re a bit…”

Wiping the sweat from her chin with the back of her hand, Elena cut him off.

“Terrible, right?”

“I wouldn’t say that. I just think your stamina is a little lower than I expected.”

“That’s the same thing.”

Elena placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward, panting heavily. She felt like she might throw up.

Cedric hesitated as if he wanted to pat her back but then withdrew his hand.

“I’ll go get some water.”

“Thanks.”

While Cedric stepped away, Elena sat on a bench at the edge of the training ground, trying to catch her breath.

‘This is going to be a long journey.’