"I am Rowland," the boy replied, drawing his elegant rapier in one fluid motion. He assumed a composed stance—rapier pointing skyward, right hand resting gracefully behind his back. His green hair swayed gently in the morning breeze, and his brown eyes gleamed with quiet determination.
Across from him, Ruvia twirled her twin blades with practiced precision, crossing them into a defensive X-stance. Her white-blue hair rippled like silk in the wind, and her piercing blue eyes fixed on Rowland with sharp intent, measuring, calculating, waiting for the slightest opening.
The air between them crackled with tension, the crowd holding its collective breath as two heirs of noble houses prepared to clash, elegance and lethality intertwined in every measured movement.
"Here I go," Rowland whispered, launching three rapid, precise thrusts—clang! clang! clang!—each strike aimed with deadly intent.
Ruvia met them effortlessly, her twin swords parrying all three attacks without a hint of wasted movement. The crowd murmured in awe at her fluid control.
Rowland smirked under his breath. "That was merely a bait, Miss Icy Flower." He drove his rapier into a fast, downward thrust, and a surge of force erupted outward like a miniature storm.
Smoke and sparks filled the air for a brief moment—but when it cleared, Ruvia's twin swords were crossed, intercepting the strike as though the attack had simply folded into her defense.
"I see that move from miles away," Ruvia said coolly, her blue eyes glinting, the slightest curve of a smirk forming on her lips.
Ruvia spun, propelling her body upward, her right foot aimed squarely at Rowland's cheek. He barely managed to step back, muttering with a smirk, "For a lady, you sure favor… barbaric methods."
Before he could react further, Ruvia twirled mid-air with astonishing speed and landed lightly on the ground. Her leg muscles flexed like coiled steel as she charged toward him. Rowland steadied himself, drawing back his left arm and rapier, his stance resolute.
"Charging head-on without a plan is reckless, Miss Icy Flower," he called out, his voice calm yet sharp.
With a sudden flick of his wrist, Rowland thrust his rapier with lightning precision. "Direneedle!" The blade shot forward, aimed directly at Ruvia as she closed the distance.
A screech of steel rang out—Rowland's rapier clashed against Ruvia's twin blades, sliding along them in a shower of sparks. She moved with a fluid grace, every strike and parry executed as if she could see his intentions in slow motion.
The crowd watched, spellbound, as two heirs of noble houses danced their deadly ballet, each move a careful blend of strategy, speed, and raw skill.
From the sidelines, Lionel's eyes followed the duel with a quiet fascination. Impressive… for a child to thrust with such speed. He has undeniable talent. Yet as his gaze shifted to Ruvia, he thought, But it is only talent. He may surpass the others, but not the one blessed by the gods themselves. Sister Ruvia carries a divine gift, and that gift… it shines through her eyes.
Ruvia's blades moved in a flawless storm, releasing a rapid flurry of slashes that left Rowland with no choice but to defend, each strike cutting into him. "Gkhh…" he grunted as the edge of her twin swords left marks across his body.
Suddenly, Ruvia's foot shot forward toward his stomach. "Kughh!" he stumbled backward, rapier still in hand, struggling to regain balance.
"You dare speak to me while this is all you can muster?" Ruvia's voice rang sharp and cold. Her stance unwavering, she added, almost softly, as if recalling a private memory, "And know this… I have no intention of ever marrying any of you. He… he is still the one I'll choose."
Rowland rose slowly, blinking in surprise. "He?" he murmured, his curiosity piqued. Then, forcing a casual tone, he added, "I thought you were indifferent to everyone, since they call you The Icy Lily. Yet the way you speak… it seems someone matters to you, even at your age."
Ruvia's expression hardened again, blue eyes glinting with icy resolve. "So what? Know your place. It doesn't concern you."
Ah… hahaha! Rowland laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I can't believe I've already lost… without even doing anything," he muttered, eyes glinting. "To think… The Icy Lily has already set her eyes on someone else."
He adjusted his stance, casual yet unnervingly precise. Ruvia frowned, murmuring under her breath, What kind of stance is that?
Rowland's posture seemed careless, almost sloppy—but in truth, it revealed nothing. His left side was a mystery, his rapier completely hidden; only a faint hint of his right body could be perceived.
Ruvia narrowed her eyes, thinking, Let's see how this goes. With a sharp pull, she sent her twin swords spinning toward Rowland with perfect precision and deadly force.
Rowland smiled. Clang! The twin swords struck—yet for a brief moment, his rapier seemed to vanish, as if swallowed by the air itself.
Ruvia froze mid-step. "What!? I… I didn't even see anything!"
From the sidelines, Lionel's eyes widened, and Lilia's voice rang out, worry tinged with excitement. "Hey, Young Lord! Are you okay? Young Lord!?"
Lionel muttered under his breath, clenched fists tightening, eyes burning with recognition. "That strike… that stance… in my past life… I remember now! You bastard I thought you have a twin brother or something… but... you've just changed your name!., and your real name… is Rowland!?"
---
"Oi, Lionel! Are you being a lonely owl again?"
Lionel didn't look up, muttering, "Mind your own business, Roderick. I'm just thinking… what weapon I could forge with the materials I've gathered."
Roderick sat on a large log nearby, brown eyes glancing at the campfire as he added another piece of wood. His hair swayed gently in the breeze. He let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, right. You really didn't waste anything, huh? Just pick anything off the floor and call it important?"
Lionel's eyes flicked toward him, sharp but calm. "Every piece is important to me, dumbass."
Roderick laughed, shaking his head, while Lionel went back to analyzing the scraps of metal and wood, already imagining the shape, weight, and balance of the weapon that could rise from them.
After a moment, Lionel paused, scratching the wood with a small knife. "Now that I think about it… when we first met, you spoke to me like you already knew me. Did we… ever meet before?"
Roderick let out a small sigh, his eyes tracing the flickering firelight. "You probably won't remember… but yeah. It was an intense event. I was utterly defeated… completely overwhelmed."
Lionel's grip on the knife tightened slightly, his mind turning over the memory. "I see… that explains a lot. I suppose some things stick with you, even if you can't recall them at first."
Roderick chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Stick with me, huh? More like I was lucky enough to survive meeting you."
---
"Hey, Lionel!" Roderick's voice rang out sharply. "Get up and get out of here, man!"
He glanced at the massive wave of monsters surging toward them. Their eyes glowed with hunger, claws raised, and it was clear… they weren't after him. "By the looks of it… these monsters are targeting you. Did you provoke them somehow?" he asked, chuckling despite the chaos.
"What are you saying, Roderick?" Lionel groaned, trying to push himself up, blood dripping from cuts across his body and face. "If there's someone who needs to run, it's you. I'm the one they're after… it's obvious I'll be the one left behind!"
Roderick let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Man, just trust me. Aren't we brothers?"
He shifted into a stance, exposing only his right side to the monsters, hiding his left entirely. His movements were precise, almost graceful, despite the tension in the air. As the first monster lunged, the clash of steel rang out with a sharp clang, and holes appeared in its body from Roderick's blade. More monsters followed, and each time, the sound of tearing flesh echoed as his thrusts found their mark.
"W-what… what are you?!" Lionel stammered, staggering as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
"Surprised?" Roderick grinned, eyes sharp and focused. "I've been practicing this technique since I was a kid. It was incomplete… until now."
Lightning-fast, Roderick thrust his blade again, slicing through another monster as if it were nothing. He explained in the middle of the chaos: "It's nothing hard. You just focus all your mana and strength into a single point in your arm. When you strike, you concentrate it into your wrist and hand like this. The rest… you let your eyes and body guide it."
Another reckless monster charged at them, overconfident, only to collapse with a neat hole through its chest.
"Pretty amazing, right?" Roderick said, panting slightly, though his movements never slowed. He readied another lightning-fast thrust. "So trust me, Lionel… trust this friend of yours."
He shifted stances again, muscles tensing as he muttered under his breath, almost to himself, "Trust… your brother. Don't worry—I will survive and come back to you guys."
Meanwhile, hands from their comrades clutched at Lionel, dragging him away from Roderick. The distance between them grew with every step, yet Roderick never faltered, never once showing fear.
"Roderick!! Nooo!!!" Lionel screamed, straining against their grip. "You bastards! Let me go! I have to help him! Let me gooooo!!!"
Even as the monsters continued to rush forward, Roderick's calm focus never wavered. His blade moved with unmatched precision, each strike tearing through the advancing enemies as he bought time, not for himself, but for his brother to survive.
And that was the last time I ever saw him. Lionel's gaze drifted, settling on Rowland. He muttered under his breath, a mix of realization and surprise in his voice, "So… your real name is Rowland, man. I thought you had a twin or something…"
Lionel sighed, gazing at the sky as the breeze flowed gently past him. "I remember what you said in the past… 'The bravest thing a person can do is fight for someone else's life as if it were their own.' I failed to live up to that before, and your sacrifice… it meant nothing, brother."
He clenched his fists, resolve burning in his eyes. "But I will complete it this time, in this life. So don't worry, brother. This time… if anything happens, I'll protect your present self, just as you protected me in my past life."
His gaze shifted to Rowland, steady and unwavering, filled with determination and the silent weight of a promise kept across lifetimes.