The next day at 4:30 AM.

“Ta-ran ta-ra-ran. Ta-ran ta-ra-ran. Ta-ra-ra-ra ra-ra-ra-ra ra-ra-ra-ra.”

A very loud alarm sound rang out in my head.

The holy sword would ring the alarm like this every day at this time.

Rukna covered both ears with a pillow and crawled into the blanket, but couldn’t block the link with just a pillow.

“Master? Are you going to keep lying there like garbage even though I’m ringing the alarm so diligently?”

‘Why are you ringing the alarm, not letting people sleep!’

In her past life as Kim Ha Yoon, she could pride herself on being extremely diligent. She even died from overwork.

But even then, she didn’t push her body this hard.

‘I’m going to die from overwork again at this rate!’

Rukna suddenly raised her upper body and pounded the blanket with her fists.

The wall clock hanging in the dim room was indeed pointing to 4:30 AM.

“Did you sleep well?”

‘How could I sleep well.’

“Master who didn’t sleep well, it’s colder today than yesterday. You have 6 minutes and 30 seconds to get to the training ground.”

‘School life is already hard enough, do I really have to go to the training ground at the crack of dawn every day!’

Rukna floundered on the bed like a freshly caught fish.

Since entering the military academy, Rukna had been doing early morning training every day because of this damn holy sword.

Apparently, to survive, she needed to build up her fundamentals.

It was somewhat true, so she participated diligently for a few days, but the intensity was too much.

Of course, thanks to the holy sword’s cheating effects, her physical strength and swordsmanship grew faster than others.

But at this rate, the day she’d become acquainted with the grim reaper would also come faster than others.

‘I’m really struggling, Bisbi. I’ll dodge on my own if anyone challenges me to a duel, so let’s stop.’

“Yes, Master. Then will you return me to sword form?”

‘Why?’

“So I can stand out to people. That way, even after you’re miserably murdered, Bisbi can find a new master.”

‘…Fine. I’m going, I’m going.’

What kind of curse is “get murdered”? Rukna sprang up from the bed.

Then the necklace flashed, and a faint light swirled around Rukna’s entire body before disappearing.

“I’ve enhanced your entire body to improve your physical abilities. You have 4 minutes and 12 seconds to get to the training ground.”

‘Damn it, it takes 4 minutes to run like hell from here to the northern training ground!’

Rukna ran quickly without even properly buttoning her shirt.

If she exceeded the time limit, the ill-tempered holy sword might increase the amount of training again.

Rukna found the empty northern training ground while panting heavily. And she started physical training as instructed by the holy sword.

From push-ups to running laps around the training ground.

And on the day when she had been building up her physical strength like this without rest for a month.

A figure loomed in the secluded training ground that was usually unused.

‘Isn’t that Matian?’

His shirt was so soaked with sweat that it was see-through, as if he had been training since very early.

The silhouette of his thick upper body revealed under the clinging shirt was impressive.

The densely woven muscles were perfectly shaped as if carved out of stone.

‘Somehow I feel like I shouldn’t run into him. Let’s use a different training ground today.’

As Rukna was trying to carefully exit.

“Who’s there.”

Matian was clearly far away, but his voice was heard right behind her.

The cool metal sensation felt on the nape of her neck was chilling.

‘Don’t tell me what’s touching my neck right now is a sword?’

She was scared that her neck might fly off if she moved even a little wrong. How precious is my life. I can’t die so pathetically like this.

But her tongue seemed to have stiffened like her rigid limbs, and she couldn’t speak properly. Then a question occurred to her.

‘Shouldn’t he have recognized me just from seeing the back of my head?’

She was the only person in this military academy with a small stature and platinum blonde hair.

Yet Matian deliberately asked for her identity without withdrawing his sword.

Judging by the stinging sensation on the back of her head, he was undoubtedly glaring at her with a cold gaze.

“Ah, hello, Matian.”

Her barely moved tongue uttered an awkward greeting. Her head turned creakily like a broken tin can.

It was a kind of survival instinct to deliberately check his expression.

She felt she could only survive by showing her harmless expression, like how the handshake culture developed in foreign countries to prove there were no weapons in one’s hands.

“Oh, it’s Rukna. You’re up early.”

A gentle greeting flowed out as if he had just recognized Rukna.

He was smiling kindly as usual. The motion of withdrawing the sword that had been aimed at her nape was strangely delayed by a beat.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

So Rukna couldn’t relax despite his friendly voice.

“This training ground is where I’ve been training all along.”

“Training? You?”

Matian, who had been expressionless, opened his eyes wide as if he had heard an incredible confession.

He mumbled softly, “I thought your soul had changed, but you’ve been training consistently.”

His face showed that if that was the case, he could somewhat understand how she had built up enough skills to defeat Hans’ gang.

“I wanted to escape being dead last before graduation. It’s embarrassing, you know.”

“The last magic exam too?”

“I studied so hard my nose bled. I worked to death, haha.”

Matian’s eyebrows twitched at the word ‘effort’. Yes, let’s solidify this diligent image with this momentum.

Then there will be fewer occasions to be suspicious. Rukna continued speaking.

“I came to my senses as graduation approached. But nothing was easy. I feel like I’m dying trying to come out for early morning training every day even though I don’t want to.”

It was sincere. She tasted blood in her throat every morning.

Those words seemed to resonate with Matian, and his blue eyes, which had been drier than the dawn breeze, curved into an arc.

“I didn’t know you were this diligent, Rukna.”

And the eye smile that flowed out had a sharp emotion mixed in.

Unintentionally, her limbs trembled. Why is this happening? Feeling like she had lost control of her body to him, a pointless stubbornness arose.

So she didn’t avoid his gaze at least.

“Lately, it seems I’m learning a lot of new facts about you for the first time.”

At the same time, Matian quickly struck Rukna’s left side with the scabbard hanging at his waist.

‘So suddenly?’

Whoosh. Even though it was just a scabbard, the sound of cutting through the air was threatening.

Rukna quickly ducked her head to the right, avoiding the incoming scabbard. It was a moment when the results of a month’s training shone.

Although her body lost balance and eventually fell flat on the dirt ground.

“Ugh! What are you doing all of a sudden?”

So this was why the holy sword had trained her like a dog all this time – to respond to such sudden attacks.

If she hadn’t trained as instructed, she might have lost consciousness after being hit by that strike just now. That’s how much power was behind Matian’s attack.

“You dodge well. Amazing, Rukna.”

Matian gave a bright smile and praised her, saying it seems she really hadn’t been training carelessly.

What’s this, giving the disease and then the cure?

Rukna, who had been sitting on the ground after falling on her bottom, brushed off the dirt on her hands and stood up.

Just as she was almost up, he held out his hand as if to help, but she didn’t bother to take it.

“How could you suddenly swing a scabbard at someone?”

“If I had done it properly, you wouldn’t have been able to dodge. I’m sorry if you were surprised, but it was just a simple duel since duels are allowed in the school.”

It doesn’t sound sorry at all, or is that my imagination?

“This was a duel?”

“All the conditions for a duel were met, weren’t they?”

The location must be a certified training ground with a referee.

Each person must enter the training ground with a weapon.

There must be mutual consent.

Matian listed the conditions for a duel while counting on his fingers. He added that, by the way, he was the referee.

“How can a participant in the duel be the referee? That’s unfair.”

“Unfortunately, that rule doesn’t specifically state the qualifications for a referee. So it’s fine for anyone to be the referee.”

Matian exploited a loophole in the school rules and presented his own logic.

“That’s because it’s so obvious that they didn’t need to specify it!”

“Where in the world is anything obvious, Rukna.”

Matian tilted his head with a gentle smile.

Who praised this Matian as a proper student council president?

She wanted to argue right away, but lacking proper grounds for rebuttal, she instead picked at another condition.

“I never agreed to a duel.”

“You did agree. When you made eye contact with me.”

Matian pointed his finger alternately at his eyes and Rukna’s eyes.

“Usually, people avoid my eyes at such times.”

This wasn’t wrong either.

There were times when Matian would emit killing intent while smiling, and then the other person would lose their fighting spirit, become scared, and avoid his eyes first.

Just now, Rukna had directly met his killing intent even though she knew it was dangerous.

But to say that was agreeing to a duel was pure nonsense.

“If eye contact once means agreement, I guess you’d marry a woman whose hand you’ve held.”

Feeling frustrated, Rukna muttered to herself.

But Matian’s reaction was strange. His composed, proper face that had been relaxed until just now twisted a little.

His flustered eyes lost focus and trembled slightly. As if he had been struck right where it hurts.

‘…No way.’

Although his reaction seemed innocent, there’s no way a family of grand dukes would raise their heir like that.

Nobles constantly hold parties and socialize to maintain power, they say.

Women wouldn’t have left such a sculpture-like man alone.

‘It’s not like he grew up seeing only men in some remote mountainous region where elves live, pretending to be innocent.’

Rukna, having brushed off the remaining dirt on her pants, was about to leave the training ground.

“Wait.”

At that moment, Matian grabbed Rukna’s wrist.