Editor : Amethyst00



Tap—tap—

Abad wandered the hallway aimlessly.

With the appearance of Abad, widely regarded as the most handsome man at Lumene Academy, the mood in the corridor shifted.

Even the most handsome face eventually loses its novelty when seen every day.

Normally, girls would just admire Abad's face and move on, but now, the female students passing through the corridor couldn't stop stealing glances at him.

It was because Abad's aura was distinctly different from usual.

Always composed and smiling, Abad now wore a troubled expression.

'Why did Celia decide to go to the dance party with Duran?'

What tormented Abad's heart was something he had heard from his younger sister Chelsea that morning—something he hadn't seen coming at all.

He had planned to ask Celia to be his partner for the dance party.

Of course, he knew there was a slim chance she would accept.

Although there had been a strange tension between him and Celia recently, they weren't officially in a relationship.

Zerdinger and Lewellin—he couldn't ignore the public images of their two families.

As the heir to Lewellin and Celia being a direct descendant of Zerdinger, Abad knew all too well the kind of ripple effect their scandal would cause within the Empire.

Still, his feelings for Celia were sincere.

And it seemed like Celia wasn't entirely indifferent to him either.

That's why he thought asking her to be his dance partner might help them grow closer.

He never imagined that she would go with a partner, let alone with Duran.

'Even if she did go with someone, I thought it'd be Leo… but Duran?'

Celia and Duran.

They had been in the same class since their first year, but their relationship was far from friendly.

They were practically enemies, often requiring Chen Xia and Chloe to mediate between them.

But in their third year, their animosity seemed to have subsided a bit.

Ironically, Abad himself had also once been at odds with Celia.

"……"

Abad felt his insides burning with frustration.

He was the heir of Lewellin and a perfect honor student.

Thanks to his looks, he was used to receiving affection and admiration.

But this was the first time he had truly loved someone.

"Is this… jealousy?"

He gave himself a self-deprecating smile.

"How pathetic."

He had never felt such inferiority toward anyone before.

Even if it had been Leo, he would've seen him as a rival, not someone to be jealous of.

But now, Abad was undeniably jealous of Duran.

They were close friends, but at this moment, he felt like picking a fight.

He stopped walking and took a deep breath.

"Calm down, Abad Lewellin. You're nothing to Celia."

He reminded himself: Celia wasn't his.

Which meant she was free to go to the dance with whomever she wanted.

"I need to respect her decision."

Just because there were mutual feelings didn't mean they had to become a couple.

He himself had turned down countless girls.

"I must not act disgracefully."

Just as Abad steadied himself and began walking again—

Duran appeared from the opposite corridor.

"Good morning, Duran."

"Good morning."

Abad greeted him with his usual smile. Duran returned the greeting.

"I heard you're going to the dance with Celia?"

"It's already spread? That was fast."

Duran sighed as Abad asked,

"How'd you end up as her partner? You two don't exactly get along."

"We were just talking, and it sort of happened."

"I see."

Hearing that, Abad felt a bit relieved.

So it was nothing serious—they just happened to become partners.

"I wonder if I was too hasty in agreeing."

Duran sighed, thinking of Nella.

Abad chuckled and said,

"If you don't feel up to it, why not cancel?"

"I can't do that. That'd be rude. Besides, Celia Zerdinger is a pretty good partner."

"……"

At Duran's indifferent response, Abad's eye twitched.

The jealousy he had just suppressed was rising again.

"I even made a promise with Celia Zerdinger."

"A promise?"

"Yeah. You know the Best Couple Contest? The name is cheesy, but we agreed to win and become the top couple."

Whatever the reason, both Celia and Duran hated losing.

So they decided that if they were entering, they'd aim to win.

And as knights, they both took promises seriously.

Duran had no romantic feelings toward Celia, but since it was a competition, he intended to give it his all.

Normally, Abad would have brushed off such words, but today, every word from Duran irritated him.

"Duran."

"What is it?"

"Want to fight me?"

"With you? Hmm. Not a bad idea for a morning workout."

"No."

Abad pulled out a glove from his subspace.

A rather old-fashioned noble custom.

Rarely practiced nowadays, but for families like Abad's and Duran's, its significance remained.

Flick—

Abad threw the glove at Duran's chest.

"Winner gets one wish."

"Oho…?"

Duran's eyes gleamed with battle lust.

"Interesting."

He smirked.

A normal person might be taken aback by a sudden duel challenge.

But Duran was more excited about the chance to duel Abad than curious about the reason.

This wasn't just a spar—it was a serious duel.

A fight where everything was on the line.

To duel someone like Abad thrilled him.

So he put aside his questions.

Duran's golden eyes lit up.

"When?"

"Twenty minutes from now. Training yard behind the clocktower dormitory."

"Good."

The two shared brief words before turning around and walking off.

Students nearby were stunned.

It all happened so fast that they couldn't process it.

The reason for the duel was a mystery, but one thing was clear—

"Abad and Duran are going to duel!"

They had to spread the news of this big match—quickly.

bl

[Ladies and gentlemen! Good day! This is Runeba Tess, your commentator for the long-awaited return of academy duels! Welcome to the big match: Duran from the Knight Department versus Abad from the Magic Department!]

Runeba, excited to be on commentary again, spoke into the mic with energy.

The training yard was packed.

Since duels were public by nature, this was no surprise.

And this wasn't just anyone—it was Abad and Duran.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Hm… probably Duran?"

"Yeah. Even if Abad's a well-rounded mage, Duran's got the edge in a one-on-one."

Opinions were divided, but most thought Duran had the upper hand.

Unless there were terrain advantages, knights naturally had the edge in wide open spaces like this.

Meanwhile—

Celia strode toward Duran, who was already on the field.

"Duran! What the hell is this? Why are you dueling Abad?!"

"I don't know the reason. He challenged me first. I must've done something wrong."

Duran smirked.

"Duran?"

Chen Xia, who had followed Celia, tilted her head. Duran nodded.

"That must be why he challenged me."

"Still, assuming you're in the wrong seems harsh, doesn't it?"

"I probably am."

Duran knew he had a difficult personality.

He also knew Abad was a kind person.

So if Abad was the one who initiated the duel, Duran figured he must be at fault.

"Surprisingly self-aware, aren't you?"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Duran replied calmly, and Celia looked dumbfounded.

"What?! If you don't even know what you did, shouldn't you talk it out first?! Why accept the duel?!"

"This is a chance."

"Huh?"

"A chance to seriously fight him."

Seeing Duran's usual fighting spirit, Celia grabbed her neck in frustration.

No matter the reason, Duran was just thrilled to seriously fight Abad.

"You're insane…"

"Now, now. Miss Celia. Let's use kinder words," Chen Xia soothed.

At that moment—

Abad appeared from the other side, with Chelsea by his side.

Chelsea glared at Duran and clenched her fist at Abad.

"Brother! I don't know what he did, but please blow him away!"

"Hey! You're supposed to stop this, not cheer it on!"

Celia shouted, but Chelsea retorted sharply.

"If Brother is challenging him, Duran must've done something wrong!"

"No, he didn't."

"My brother is just too kind, that's his problem!"

"Hm. What did I do wrong, I wonder?"

Hearing the siblings argue, Duran tilted his head, genuinely curious.

Still, he quickly shook off the thought and stood up.

Seeing this, Celia tried to approach Abad to clear the misunderstanding.

But Duran stopped her.

"What now?!"

"Don't interfere. Abad needs to get this off his chest too."

"No. I'll talk to him—"

As Celia tried to push past, Duran grabbed her wrist and made her look at him.

"Don't get in the way, Celia Zerdinger."

The crowd gasped.

"Wow, is Celia trying to stop the duel?"

"Is she worried Duran will get hurt?"

"Something's definitely going on between them…"

At the crowd's reaction, Abad's expression darkened even further.

As Celia tried to speak, Chen Xia held her back.

"What the—?"

"Let's just watch for now."

Chen Xia smiled sweetly.

Celia scratched her head in frustration and muttered while glaring at Abad—

"That idiot, seriously…"

bl

"Leo. Want to go to the dance party with me?"

Off to the side of the training yard.

Nella approached Leo, who was sitting alone, and smiled awkwardly.

Leo glanced at Eliana hiding behind her and replied calmly.

"Sorry. I already have a partner."

"Huh?! Who?!"

Eliana jumped out, shocked.

Leo replied flatly,

"Eliza."

"Whoa! That's unexpected!"

Eliana's eyes went wide.

Leo pinched her nose and said,

"Don't push others into things you don't mean."

"Wha—? What do you— Ow! Ow! President!"

"You pushed Nella to ask, didn't you?"

"H-How did you— Ow! Stop it!"

Eliana barely escaped Leo's grasp, holding her nose.

"Still, that's a surprising pairing."

Nella commented, and Leo replied plainly.

"Yeah."

Even he thought it was unexpected.

"Hehe! Serves them all right! I love this!"

Eliana cheered gleefully.

Watching her, Nella tilted her head.

"By the way, where's Carl? He'd love this kind of drama, but I haven't seen him."

"Maybe Elena-sunbae sent him to hell?"

Leo chuckled and pointed.

"There."

There sat Carl, completely dazed.

"Wow… he must've been through a lot."

Eliana clicked her tongue. But Nella tilted her head again.

"I don't think that's it…"

She glanced at Carl's mood and turned to Leo.

"Do you know something?"

"Who knows."

Leo gave a soft smile.

"It's probably just youth."

"You sound like an old man again," Nella sighed.