Everyone focused their gazes on the superior as he spoke. Opposite their line of sight, there was a group of people entering through the gate. Elaine’s gaze then fell on the man walking at the front of the group, leading the other five knights.
White skin and jet-black hair that was dark as ebony. A strong body and broad shoulders, like a knight should have, all below a delicate jawline. There was a cold and sharp atmosphere looming over the man that matched his tall stature.
Then there were his vividly shining eyes that were unique in this world.
Her breath stopped. When she looked into his eyes, her mind went blank. Forgetting to even breath, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the eyes that were the exact same color as Bella’s. For a moment she even had the thought that Bella came back to life. The appearance was so similar to her, the man could easily have been mistaken for Bella at a glance. His dark black hair and purple eyes were Bella’s.
Although his appearance was very different from the young Ash that she had known, she could still recognize him in an instant.
‘Is that really Ash? I’m not dreaming, am I?’
Her body had reacted before her head could even comprehend the situation. Her fingertips trembled and her knees buckled. She felt both overwhelmed and heartbroken at the same time, unable to take her gaze off of the man. She wanted to reach out and touch him.
At that moment, she then heard a voice that snapped her out of her trance.
“Elaine? Are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”
“Are you hurt somewhere? You suddenly stumbled and fell for some reason.”
“No, its okay. I’m really fine.”
“Whew, I almost thought you were going to run away.”
Elaine shook her heat at Cezanne and let out a sigh of relief. If Cezanne hadn’t called out to her, she might really have run forward. But that was not an option right now.
She felt like she wanted to embrace Ash right away and make sure this wasn’t a dream, but she knew she couldn’t do that. It was known to the public that the witch had died 20 years ago. However, if a woman who was only 20 years old came forward and said she had known the witch, no one would believe her. Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, there was a risk that they would consider her as someone suspicious and kick her out of the estate.
In order to reveal that she was a close companion of Bella, she would also have to reveal that Bella’s heart was now hers. But she was afraid to reveal the truth. How would he react when he found out that his mother had died because of her? If he knew that Bella’s heart was now beating in her chest?
Would he show fear? Apprehension? Contempt? Hatred?
No matter what, there was no doubt that there would be a negative reaction. Just thinking about it made Elaine’s heart sink. Ash was the only person left in this world who was precious to her. Someone she never wanted to lose. Would she be able to keep living if she saw contempt towards her in his eyes?
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms painfully. Elaine took a deep breath and looked at Ash, who had now arrived in front of the group along with the trailing knights.
“Welcome, Sir.”
Ash nodded at the supervisor’s greeting and pulled out his sword from its sheath. He lazily held his sword with his right hand and glanced at the group of applicants standing before him. Soon a cool voice flowed from his mouth.
“I’m sure everyone here already knows who I am, but today I am here, not as the Duke, but as your examiner. So, feel free to give it your best shot, alright?”
“…”
There was only silence. Many of the applicant had become nervous when they came face to face with the Duke of Killiard, whom they had previously only heard rumors about. It was also because of the cold atmosphere that seemed to surround his entire body and the tremendous pressure that naturally flowed from him.
He raised his eyebrows at the unresponsive crowd.
“Answer.”
“Yes!”
A loud cry rang throughout the training grounds in response to the Dukes command.
The superior then called for the first applicant.
“Heather Teige, please step forward.”
“Yes!”
The applicants whose name was called rushed forward. The remaining applicants sat in the waiting area at the edge of the training grounds and watched the exam take place.
The first sparring match of the final exam had started. The two people entered the circle side by side and soon the stating bell rang. As soon as the bell rang, the first applicant stabbed his sword directly at Ash.
It was quite exciting to be able to witness a preemptive attack launched right from the start. It was a fast movement. They indeed possessed skills that were worthy of making it to the finals. Ash watched the scene before him, with his sword hanging down not moving, even when the sword was close enough to almost cut him.
Eventually, when the sword was right in front of his face, did he make his move.
Clang-
Just one swing and the applicant’s sword clashed loudly against Ash’s blade and few from his hands. The applicant tried to grab his sword, but it was too late. Suddenly, the tip of Ash’s sword stopped under the applicant’s chin.
The match was over in an instant. Even before half of a minute had passed. The sound of shocked gasps could be heard all over.
Ash looked back at the waiting are with an unimpressed look on his face.
“Next.”
Even after dropping the applicant with a single swing, there was no change in his expression. The merciless appearance sent chills down the spines of the others waiting. As soon as he finished speaking, the supervisor called the next competitors name. His face was extremely calm, making it obvious that this was a familiar scene.
Cezanne scowled as if he was fed up.
“He’s so relentless. Are they planning to reject all of the applicants this year? What is their reason for doing something like this?”
“Well…”
Elaine answered with a blank expression.
The 33rd candidates name was already being called. Meanwhile, out of all the applicants who had already had their matches, all but 5 had been eliminated. As Cezanne had said, there was not a single trace of mercy in Ash’s actions.
He did not tolerate even the slightest mistakes. The applicant held out until the 59th second and then stepped on the line with only one second remaining. Many people would have taken into consideration the skills of the applicant to have made it this far, but even for this, there was no exception.
She had finally met Ash, whom had grown up to be surprisingly strong and handsome, but had turned into a cold-blooded person.
From Elaine’s perspective, who had been asleep for 20 years, it had only been 15 days since they had last seen each other. It was shocking for her to learn that the child she remembered smiling brightly not long ago had turned into a cold person. Of course, no matter what Ash was like, she would still always take his side.
It is said that after the Seveka incident, Ash was referred to more as the child of a murderer than as a noble member of the royal family. She couldn’t even imagine what kind of life he had lived beneath those cold gazes.
She had wanted him to be bright and pure his whole life, only seeing the clean and good things in life. But he could not have lived an easy life. He must have had a lot of difficult and painful experiences. This was what bothered her the most.
Elaine’s name was then called loudly from the mouth of the supervisor.
“The next competitor is Elaine. Please prepare.”
Elaine jumped up from her seat and, putting her thoughts aside, started walking toward Ash.
***
Ash fixed his gaze on the silver haired woman who entered the circle in the middle of the training grounds. The moment he saw her, her appearance reminded him of someone and he froze for a moment. Bright silver hair sparkled and fluttered in the afternoon sunlight, green eyes blinking gently.
Wasn’t this what he had imagined that person looked like? However, their names and appearances were just coincidentally the same. She had only briefly reminded him of a person from the past who had already passed, there was no further meaning.
Ash watched the woman standing in front of him with a stern gaze. She was the woman he had heard about from Lowell that morning. He said she had come through the Solv Mountains to take the entrance exam. Moreover, she said she had entered the monsters’ nest, albeit briefly.
Although Lowell appeared to be clumsy, he was in reality a person who completed all of his duties flawlessly. If he had thought there was anything suspicious, he would have reported it to his Lord, Ash. If this person had been strong enough to cross the mountain range single-handedly, their name would have been spread all over the continent by now.
However, he had never heard of this person called Elaine. Additionally, the career experience section on the application had been left blank. In any case, the fact that she had made it to the final exam, still proved that she was a very capable person.
All that was left to do, was to see whether this woman named Elaine was the real deal or just another fly buzzing around.
Elain was so stiff that she hadn’t noticed Ash observing her with eyes narrowed. She had thought she’d calmed down already, but when Ash was right in front of her, her mind turned blank again. She couldn’t hear what the supervisor was saying anymore. She bowed almost mechanically and raised her sword reflexively.
When the stating bell rang, Ash took a step forward, approaching without hesitation, swinging his sword. It was a simple frontal attack, however, there were more than 5 applicants who had been defeated with this single blow. The technique itself was simple, but the power contained in the swing was enormous.
She took the attack head on without thinking. Even though the blow was strong, she was not pushed back nor did she let out any sound. She still had a calm expression on her face, as if she had been struck with a feather.
Everyone who had witnessed this dropped their jaws in shock. They had seen how many people had been knocked down by this single blow, yet she was fine. However, unlike her calm face, Elaine’s thoughts were a mess.
As the distance decreased when their swords clashed, his face could be seen in more detail. Every time he blinked his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttered, casting a shadow. His eyes followed the path of their swords and his hair fluttered in the wind, rising and falling with every movement. Shallow lips opened while exhaling. The movement of his muscles revealed through his uniform were clearly visible.
The memory of people dying, losing their lives in the burning castle, and the last moments of Bella bleeding to death were overshadowed by the appearance of Ash.
She was mesmerized. Her eyes constantly following his every move. As if she was trying to engrave every single one of them with her retinas. And the expressions of the other applicants who were following Elaine’s movements gradually turned into looks of astonishment. It wasn’t because she wasn’t fighting back against Ash at all, that was the same for most of the applicants. Just being able to block was difficult enough, but counterattacking? That was something none of them even dreamed of being capable of.
There was another reason for their surprise. No matter how they looked at Elaine, she looked like she was only half paying attention. Despite this, she was able to counter all of his attacks without fail. She even almost lost her sword a few times. It was like it was a skill of hers to be able to adapt without missing a beat, even in her dazed state. In this situation, it wouldn’t have been surprising even if she had stepped on the line, but she never left the circle, moving back and forth.
At that moment, her sword collided with Ash’s and vibrated strongly, letting out a strange noise similar to a groan. Elaine who had suddenly come back to her senses at the sound swallowed her moan of frustration.
‘Uh oh, now we’re in trouble.’
