Chapter 28

When Elena lifted her head, she saw Felix’s usual sullen face.

He approached, brushing his sweat-drenched hair back from his forehead.

“Felix, what are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m practicing swordsmanship.”

Ah, right. Felix’s hobby was practicing swordsmanship. 

The Earl Christian had been a knight, and Felix had learned the sword from him since childhood.

Perhaps that was why Felix had such a sturdy build for a mage.

A mage with a hobby of swordsmanship. It was a bit contradictory. After all, most mages were imagined as pale and frail, avoiding sunlight.

Felix had probably just finished a round of swordsmanship practice.

“I’m learning the sword too.”

“You? All of a sudden, why?”

“For self-defense.”

Cedric, who had appeared at some point, answered on Elena’s behalf.

“Here, water and a towel.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Elena hastily opened the water bottle and drank deeply. Only then did she feel a bit more alive.

After drinking more than half the bottle, she wiped her sweat with the towel. That’s when she noticed Felix’s expression. He wasn’t wiping his sweat but instead glaring at her hands with a dissatisfied look.

‘Is he thirsty?’

Elena offered him the still-open bottle.

“Thirsty? Want some?”

Cedric responded instead of Felix.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Oh, you must know each other since you’re in the same department.”

“We’re childhood friends.”

Felix interjected. Elena’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Did Felix just admit we’re childhood friends?’

They had known each other since birth, but Felix had never openly acknowledged their connection while attending the academy.

It was the first time he had used the term “childhood friends.”

Cedric looked surprised and asked again.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Our mothers are close friends, so we’ve known each other since we were little.”

“Do you think I’d lie about that?”

Felix muttered under his breath. Elena ignored him and asked Cedric.

“But how do you two know each other? You’re in different departments.”

Cedric answered again.

“We took a swordsmanship class together once. After that, we occasionally sparred.”

He glanced at Felix before extending a hand to Elena.

“Alright, have you caught your breath? Shall we continue?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Elena took Cedric’s hand and stood up. He then taught her how to hold the sword and how to swing it downward from above.

After Elena swung the sword downward ten times as Cedric instructed, Felix approached.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Without waiting for her response, he left the training ground. It was baffling, but Elena obediently followed him.

They stopped behind a quiet building where no students were around. Felix turned to her and asked,

“Why are you suddenly learning swordsmanship?”

“I told you. For self-defense…”

“What made you decide to learn self-defense all of a sudden? Is it because of Anguis, that bas… I mean, that guy?”

Elena thought she heard an odd word slip by, but she decided to ignore it.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. As long as you’re at the academy, you’ll be safe.”

“That’s true, but I need the strength to protect myself.”

Felix seemed not to understand her words. Elena watched him raise an eyebrow in confusion and added more explanation.

“Like you said, I didn’t know how to do anything back then. If I find myself in that situation again, I’ll just have to helplessly wait for someone to save me. I don’t want that.”

Felix didn’t say anything. After a silence that lasted longer than expected, he finally replied.

“…Alright. If that’s what you want, then go for it.”

At first, she thought he was being sarcastic, but he wasn’t. Watching Felix walk away, she muttered softly,

“What’s his deal?”

He was so hard to figure out.

* * *

After meeting Elena, Felix resumed his swordsmanship practice. But even as he swung his sword, his thoughts kept drifting back to Elena.

More specifically, to Elena with Cedric.

‘Why is she suddenly learning swordsmanship?’

Elena clearly didn’t understand how hard swordsmanship was.

She had been frail since childhood. Her stamina was so poor that she caught colds every winter.

How could someone like her decide to learn swordsmanship?

He wanted to tell her to just stay by his side if she was so worried about Anguis, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

It might come across as him looking down on her.

That day when Elena and Little One had been taken hostage by Anguis, Felix still regretted the words he had said to her.

What he had meant as words of concern had ended up belittling her.

Elena might have been gentle and physically weak, but she rarely cried.

Yet she had cried because of what he said. Seeing her tears fall down her cheeks had felt like his world was falling apart.

Since then, he had tried to be mindful of his words. That’s why he held back from saying, ‘Learning swordsmanship won’t be of any use to you.’

What he had really meant was, ‘It’s not worth the effort since you won’t use it often. You’d be better off practicing magic.’

Not that Elena would understand.

Just then, Cedric adjusted Elena’s posture by holding her hand. The sight of him standing so close behind her was unsettling.

Elena, too, seemed uncomfortable, her body stiffening.

Did he really have to teach her like that? 

Felix had never been taught that way by his father, who had been his master since childhood.

“Sigh.”

Felix swung his wooden sword harder.

No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t like it.