3.1 – In a Dream

The sound of swords clashing echoed through the air.  

Normally, Leon would have attacked first, but he couldn’t this time. Instead, the sword in his hand slipped out and fell to the ground.  

“Up to here!”  

With Max’s shout, the match came to an end.  

“I’ve finally beaten you, Leon.”  

Logan looked down at Leon with a smile on his lips.  

Leon, who had always won during practice matches, had lost to Logan. His focus had been off recently, making it impossible for him to concentrate on the match.  

A knight who couldn’t focus on a match… Winning or losing aside, it was a shameful situation.  

Was it because of the dream? Or because of the breakup?  

Ellen still appeared in his dreams. And in those dreams, she constantly tempted him. Torn between his conscience and his desires, Leon would always choose the latter, waking up from the dream in frustration.  

Every night was torment. And because of that, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly for days.  

The worst part was that even on the day he said goodbye to her, he dreamed of her.  

Why on earth….  

Would it have been better if he had just slept with her once? Maybe then he wouldn’t dream of her anymore. Regret flickered in his mind, but Leon quickly dismissed it.  

What nonsense.  

He had vowed not to become a shallow man, and here he was, scolding himself for nearly sinking to that level.  

“Leon, where is your head these days? Can’t you focus properly?”  

Max, clearly displeased with Leon’s recent behavior, shouted at him.  

“I’m sorry.”  

Leon removed his helmet and got up from the ground.  

“You’ve really changed since you started dating. I don’t know if I should call this a good thing or a bad thing for you.”  

“….”  

Logan scoffed, mocking him, but Leon didn’t respond.  

Logan had been simmering with frustration ever since Leon started dating Ellen. He had wanted to see Leon get dumped by a woman, but since that didn’t happen, his anger only grew.  

To make matters worse, despite their efforts to keep it quiet, rumors about the bet involving a woman had begun to spread. They had made sure there were no witnesses, yet somehow, the story got out.  

The problem was that only Logan’s name was mentioned in connection to the bet, while Leon and the woman’s names were conveniently left out.  

Because of this, Logan’s reputation suffered, and women stopped associating with him, believing he treated them lightly.  

No matter how much he tried to explain otherwise, it was no use. If he told the truth, it would only confirm the rumors, so he couldn’t do that either. It was frustrating.  

Some people couldn’t even talk to women, while others ended up with a girlfriend. How unfair!  

At least today’s practice match helped him vent some of his pent-up anger.  

Judging by Leon’s unusual behavior, it seemed like there was some trouble between him and his girlfriend. Seeing Leon act out of character made Logan smirk.  

Logan was pleased to have another chance to exploit Leon’s weakness. So he spoke in a flowing manner.

“I thought she was just a plain country girl, but she’s more impressive than I expected. To shake someone like you this much, Leon….”  

“Have you said enough?”  

Logan often made provocative remarks, and Leon usually ignored them, finding them unworthy of a response. If the bet hadn’t involved Mia, he would have dismissed it entirely.  

But not this time. For some reason, he was angry. Was it because she was the woman he had broken up with? The woman he had hurt? That must have been why he responded to words he normally wouldn’t have.  

“Did I say anything wrong? Anyone can see she’s dripping with a rustic vibe, and because she seems so easy, guys like Jacob end up clinging to her.”  

Logan, either oblivious or indifferent, continued saying things he shouldn’t. Even though he was no different from someone like Jacob, he pretended otherwise.