“Leila,” Lady Reyna said, her sword still pointed up. “Step. Aside. I won’t ask you again.”
Leila looked at the tip of her sword. It was pointed straight at her neck, but knowing her, the blade would twist itself before she could even realize where it was.
She kept her posture up, making sure she wouldn’t make any unwanted noise. Taking a deep, quiet breath, she thought back to how this all started.
Leila had arrived to meet with the Duke in his office. Sir Feyt and Anton were inside, reporting to him everything they had uncovered. Their report traced the path of Lady Reyna, from her sudden outing after Yeremiah’s attack to her suspicious interaction at the Scented Rose inn.
From how Sir Feyt puts it, it would seem the man whom we only knew as ‘Sebastian’ had Lady Reina tricked, using her own conscience as the catalyst for his deceit. Leila remained steady as she heard the report from the sides, but her mind was stirring. How long had this been happening?
Lady Reyna had not been herself for some time now. Leila assumed it all started that day, when she and Lady Carine went for a walk at night. The day her relationship with Lady Reina took a turn.
In some ways, Leila understood why Lady Reyna acted that way. Her anger that night could’ve been nothing more than her real thoughts leaking through.
And yet… could Lady Reyna have been influenced even earlier than that? They had met ‘Sebastian’ long before the attack on the castle. Could he have planted the seeds then?
How would someone even influence Lady Reyna? Leila asked herself. Sweet words alone wouldn’t budge someone as steel-minded as her. She had seen her dismiss merchant flatteries and tricky barterings and sent them out the door scurrying.
If it wasn’t words that got to her, could it be blackmail? No, even if she was coerced, she would’ve called it a bluff and moved the house’s knights on the offensive.
Then what, precisely, had ensnared her mind?
Even after spending the entire time thinking it through in the silent dance hall, she couldn’t pinpoint it with absolute certainty. No one knew for sure.
But of course, assumptions weren’t Leila’s strong suit.
What mattered to her at the moment was only one thing.
To protect Lady Carine. And to protect Sir Feyt.
Leila exhaled slowly, her focus returning to the present.
Lady Reyna hadn’t moved, nor had she. But she knew that if she were to go for a frontal attack, she wouldn’t last a second.
It hurt, somewhere deep inside her, to turn her fists against the woman who once took her hand and guided her. But she wouldn’t let that hold her back. The trained knights of their household had all crumbled under it. She wouldn’t do the same.
Leila placed her right foot a half step back, and the tip of her shoes created an echoing tap against the marbled floor. Then, she pushed herself with her right foot and lunged to the side, her eyes locked on Lady Reyna’s movements.
She took a wide enough step to avoid a direct attack from her sword. And in a split second, she was behind Lady Reyna.
Lady Reyna tracked her movements too late. Leila had already raised her foot for a decisive kick.
But then, her foot hit the floor, causing a large boom to echo. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
She withdrew in a breath, her footfalls quieter than a whisper, leaving only a small fading crack in the marble as proof she’d struck.
Lady Reyna had distanced herself further away from the small group of knights encircling Lady Carine and Sir Feyt.
This was the second-best outcome of Leila’s attack. The best would have been ending the confrontation right then and there.
“Quiet as ever,” Lady Reyna said, brushing marble dust from her torn dress without looking down. “You’re making me regret ever teaching you.”
Leila could only give a faint smile at the comment.
[Phantom Step], a rare Talent. The number of people known for having this Talent in Setus numbered only in the tens. With it, footsteps became inaudible, movements harder to track. In the right hands, it turned a person into a living shadow.
Using this Talent, along with [Enhanced Agility], Leila had achieved the perfect blend of stealth and speed no one could predict and had slipped behind her opponents’ backs before they even noticed.
Leila knew Lady Reyna couldn’t be taken out by such a cheap method. After all, she was the one who taught Leila how to utilize her Talents together this way. Still, she hoped things would resolve easily.
The Duchess rushed for her. The steel in her hand flashed like a mirror. Leila barely leaned back as the blade skimmed just over her hair.
In response, Leila dropped low and swept with her leg, hoping to unbalance her. Lady Reyna simply lifted her foot and stepped over it. She countered with a sharp jab with the hilt of her sword, forcing Leila to roll away.
There was no wasted motion in the Duchess’s moves.
It wasn’t exactly elegance, but you would think that as the case. But it was clear to Leila what was happening.
This was efficiency at its peak.
Despite not having [Spatial Awareness] like the Duke, nor any Talents that related to perception, she could predict attacks almost as efficiently as he did.
Leila ignored the pain in her cheek and stood up, facing her directly.
Lady Reyna raised her blade once more. “This is your final chance, Leila. Walk away. Against me, you are nothing.”
“Indeed, but you’ve taught me countless ways to deal with situations .”
Lady Reyna paused, her eyes narrowing.
“Lady Reyna…” Leila placed a hand behind her back, gripping her dress firmly as she locked eyes with her. “Work, etiquette, loyalty, and combat. Every skill I have learned, I owe to you. And I know now—you taught me everything so I could protect Lady Carine.”
Reyna stood eerily still.
“So please, let me do just that.” Leila gave a slight bow. Then, she slowly raised her head, meeting Reyna’s gaze once more. “And forgive me in advance…”
Leila acted. She pulled her grip away from the back of her dress, a small knife flashed in her hand. It flew straight to Lady Reyna.
Steel met with steel with a ring. It was deflected easily.
But Leila wasn’t done. Another knife flew, faster. Another ring, another deflection.
Leila advanced as the knives flew from her palms, each throw faster than the one before.
Step by step, Lady Reyna’s expression became clearer and tighter. And her expression told Leila, that this was a pathetic display of desperation.
And that… was the final step that she needed.
Leila was almost there. Her last step hit the marble loud and hard, and with it, her hand came from behind her back.
A small object flew through the air, smaller than the knives, clearer than them as well.
Reyna swung again on instinct.
Yellow mist burst out, covering the air around her.
Reyna staggered full steps back, her blade wavering in the yellow mist, coughing and swaying.
“Forgive me… for wielding your lessons against you.”