DCHWT 11

Chapter 11

Alec disliked Maya.

‘Honestly, this is more comfortable.’

It was a familiar kind of hostility, and he didn’t bother to hide it, so she knew right away.

She preferred this to Tristan’s polite demeanor.

Frankly, she thought Alec was a bit of an idiot.

‘His brain doesn’t seem to work faster than mine.’

Seeing how he flailed around, it was obvious that he knew she and Tristan had to cooperate.

‘And yet he openly shows his hostility?’

That was an act of defiance against his own master.

A knight wasn’t just about strength.

Serving as the Commander of the Imperial Knights, Maya had learned thoroughly that a knight had to behave with dignity and propriety.

To openly show hatred toward someone your master is working with, like Alec was doing, was foolish.

‘Someone like that needs to be beaten to come to their senses.’

Maya cracked her knuckles, the sound echoing. Just imagining picking up a sword gave her a thrill.

Alec flinched at the sight of her smiling slyly.

Maya walked through the corridor and eventually reached the outdoor training grounds behind the castle.

The area, covered in snow, was filled with people—presumably knights—shoveling snow together.

‘It’s really cold.’

Her current body had never experienced this kind of cold before—it chilled her to the bone.

‘Guess I’ll get used to it.’

She assumed they’d be training outdoors, but that wasn’t the case.

“This is the outdoor training ground. We usually use it in summer, but sometimes in winter for endurance training. Ah, I suppose that’s a foreign concept for someone from the capital.”

Was that discrimination?

Well, it was a familiar attitude.

Maya stared at him and responded flatly.

“I haven’t married the Grand Duke yet, so I’ll speak formally.”

Once she married Tristan, she’d become the Grand Duchess.

That meant she’d outrank the man in front of her.

She disliked abusing power, but pretending to be polite to someone who openly hated her was exhausting.

Maya shrugged.

“Since you’re so worried, I’ll take it as you finally recognizing me as one of your own. I’ll make sure to use that when dealing with guests later.”

“If you have someone like the Grand Duke by your side, of course you’d fall in love with him. But don’t. I can’t tolerate anything that might block his path.”

If someone overheard, they’d think Alec had his lover stolen by Tristan.

Maya smiled serenely.

“I’m the future Grand Duchess. Such insubordination is problematic.”

Even if it was just a contract marriage, it was better for outsiders to think of them as a perfect couple.

‘Someone with that kind of mindset needs to learn the hard way.’

Maya picked a sword from the nearby rack that suited her height.

It was unfamiliar, but that wasn’t an issue.

Before becoming a Knight Commander, she had been forced to wield swords that didn’t suit her size or strength.

“If you can’t accept me, let’s settle this with a duel.”

One thing she had learned through those years of experience was that fists suited her better than words.

“…A duel with swords?”

“Yes. I swear on the name of House Pendragon.”

She nodded nonchalantly—after all, she knew she wouldn’t lose.

The training ground slowly came into full view. Even in the dead of winter, it was filled with red-faced knights drenched in sweat from rigorous training.

“Commander! Who is this person…?”

As Alec stepped onto the grounds, knights quickly gathered around them.

Their curious expressions and soft demeanor felt unfamiliar to Maya.

‘This place is run differently from the imperial palace.’

As she scanned the crowd, her eyes suddenly widened.

‘That person is…’

Before she could dwell on it, a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

“I’ll put my family name on the line.”

“Understood.”

The moment she agreed, Alec’s face lit up with confidence.

‘So gullible.’

Maya gave him a pitying look.

She had been disowned from the Pendragon family, so putting that name on the line meant nothing. But apparently, that news hadn’t reached here yet.

‘No need to tell him.’

She happily let him believe what he wanted.

“These people here will be our witnesses.”

“Fine by me.”

He wanted to publicly humiliate himself in front of his subordinates? No reason to stop him.

Maya smiled and accepted the condition.

“I’ll finish in five minutes.”

“Are you underestimating me?”

“No, I’m just cold.”

“So you are underestimating me.”

Why didn’t he believe her even when she was being honest?

Why twist her words?

‘It’s not even wrong.’

“Then let the duel begin.”

“As you wish.”

“Haaaap!”

With a fierce shout, Alec charged.

Wielding a sword as big as his body, his form was undeniably intimidating.

Maya twisted her body and dodged the blade.

Kaang! The sword carved through the snow with a thunderous crash.

“Commander! Are you serious?!”

The surrounding knights gasped in shock.

“Who is that woman?!”

There were still many who didn’t know who Maya was, and the backlash was strong.

Female knights were rare.

Which is why Maya had fought harder and more desperately to survive.

Even though she had perished in her past life…

This time was different.

Focusing her mind, Maya exhaled slowly. Her eyes sank into a deep black.

Though she hadn’t awakened as a Swordmaster, the countless battles she had fought were still vividly etched into her memory.

Even the unwanted fights—she remembered every moment in her bones.

That massive sword was indeed threatening—but also slow.

‘Too slow.’

An ordinary person wouldn’t see it, but to Maya, the gaps were obvious.

Her sword wasn’t a real blade, and she lacked her full strength, so she couldn’t inflict serious harm.

But at this distance, a misstep could get her sliced in two.

Maya ducked and dodged Alec’s attack with ease. Her fluid movements were reminiscent of an assassin.

“W-What…?”

No—more like a madwoman ready to die.

“Is she insane?!”

She couldn’t avoid having a few strands of hair cut off by the blade.

‘To defeat an opponent, you must be willing to risk your life.’

That was why she could surpass human limits.

Her brown hair, fallen on the white snow, looked like dried twigs.

Like they’d come from a tree deeply rooted for years.

Without blinking, Maya slipped through Alec’s swing and jammed her blade under his neck.

“I win.”

What made Alec shudder wasn’t the blade pressing against his throat—it was Maya’s clear, calm eyes staring back at him.

“From now on, please refrain from speaking carelessly in front of me, Commander. We’ll be seeing each other often, and there’s no point in creating unnecessary friction.”

Her calm voice was like tea being sipped.

But more terrifying than her words were those clear, unblinking eyes that had faced death without flinching.

“Answer me.”

Was this the madness behind those pure eyes?

“Or shall we duel again?”

The blade pressing into his pulsing neck vein was so vivid it might as well have been his own heartbeat.

She was overwhelming.

From the age of four, when he first picked up a sword, Alec had trained relentlessly to become a commander.

But he had never felt such a crushing defeat before.

She wasn’t holding back. He had thrown away his pride and gone all out to drive her away.

Tristan was a friend he genuinely cherished.

‘But I still lost?’