CH 19

Ethan opened his mouth.

“You don’t like anyone else touching your stuff, yet you let Lucia keep it?”

“Huh?”

Lucia cocked her head.

“Didn’t you know? We do a lot of sharing in the dorms, and Herwin has never done it.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t like his stuff touched. He’s as picky as he looks.”

“Mmm…he’s never done that to us.”

Herwin glared at Ethan and Brian, then met Lucia’s quizzical gaze.

“You and Lucas are fine, I’ve known you since were little.”

For a moment, Lucia wondered if it was because she was special, but she quickly agreed with him.

“Sure. You say that about my brother, don’t you?”

“Lucia, do you have a brother?”

Ethan’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, I have one brother.”

“Wow, you had a brother? I didn’t realize that.”

“You know what? I’ve never heard of him.”

Lucia shuddered as Christine and Bianca also looked surprised.

“Didn’t I ever tell you?”

“No, we haven’t talked about it. Lucia’s brother, I’d love to meet him.”

“How old are you and your brother? Isn’t he attending the academy here?”

“Yeah, he’s two years older than me, so he’s a senior now.”

Bianca’s acceptance of the joke was met with surprise from her friends.

“Wow, I can’t believe it. Lucia’s brother. Herwin, what is he like?”

“Is he short and sweet like Lucia?”

Ethan and Brian asked Herwin, curiosity piqued.

“Not really. He looks a lot like Lucia, but he’s different. He’s a little more playful.”

“I want to see him.”

“I’d love to.”

While Ethan was still picturing Lucas’ face, he heard a familiar voice.

Ethan turned to see Arista, who could have come at any moment. No wonder Ethan screamed and freaked out.

“You, you! When did you get here?!”

“Just now. Lucia, you have a brother?”

Lucia, as stunned as Ethan, nodded, clutching Bianca close to her.

“What’s his name?”

“Lucas Agnes.”

“Lucas…….”

Arista’s eyes widened.

“What’s going on all of a sudden, do you have something to tell me?”

Arista stared at Lucia for a moment, then looked away.

“I’m here to make a declaration, and I’m the one who’s going to take the lead in this practice evaluation, just wait and see!”

Arista pointed at Herwin and declared war.

The two of them were rivals, always fighting for first and second place.

Herwin smirked, red eyes flashing.

“The sea you’ve always wanted. Try your best.”

Sparks flew between Herwin and Arista. Her eyes were filled with unbridled pride.

“Look at that, it’s obvious that Princess Lydia is in love with Herwin.”

Beside her, Bianca whispered in a low voice that only Lucia could hear. Lucia only smiled wryly.

* * *

Rumbling bang!

Thunder flashed outside the window and then disappeared.

“Okay, focus.”

As the classroom stirred, the professor spoke up.

“It’s only May, and it’s raining like it’s the rainy season.”

“Yeah, well, today’s the day of the swordsmanship practical assessment, and I don’t know if it’s going to be okay there.”

Bianca and Christine talked while looking out like rain.

“……I’m worried.”

Lucia also looked out the window with a worried expression on her face.

Today was the most important practical assessment in swordsmanship.

Herwin had told her that they would be practicing in the wilderness right next to the academy, but with this much rain, she couldn’t help but worry.

‘I hope nothing happens.’

If it had been raining since the morning, the academy would have delayed the practical evaluation, but the rain came without warning.

If it rained so suddenly, they might slip on the mountain and get into distress.

‘Herwin is strong, so he’ll be fine…….’

He may be 16 years old, but he’s a knight on the verge of becoming a Sword Expert.

He’ll come back safely.

“Well, that’s it for today’s lesson.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Lucia stood up with Christine and Bianca.

“Shall we go pick up our friends?”

“Now? It’s raining hard outside.”

“Yeah, we should go. They probably don’t have an umbrella, so we should at least bring one.”

By now, all the classes must have finished. Christine offered to pick up Herwin and the others.

Bianca was reluctant at first, but when Christine and Lucia insisted, she reluctantly joined them.

Lucia’s group packed umbrellas, towels, and other things just in case. They grabbed what they needed and headed to the area where the swordsmanship practical assessment would be held.

The torrential downpour rendered the umbrellas useless and soaked the hems of their clothes.

Bianca clung to Christine, trying to stay dry.

“Ugh! This is why I didn’t want to come!”

“Bianca, hang in there, you can see the tents over there.”

Bianca looked where Christine was pointing and saw the tents the academy had set up in advance.

It was probably filled with failed students and professors.

Lucia and the others hurried to the tents.

“We have to go save them now!”

As they approached the tent, they heard Brian shouting from inside.

Suddenly, they had an ominous feeling.

“There are monsters in the mountains! Only Herwin and Arista aren’t here right now! Will you, professors, be responsible if they run into them?”

Brian was getting angry at the professors.

“Wait until the rain stops. If we go now, we won’t even be able to find the two of them, and this monster thing makes no sense. There are no monsters here…….”

“Professor, I’m not lying, I saw a monster too, and it’s not a beast, it’s an ogre!”

This time it was Ethan who shouted, his limp backing up Brian’s words.

The professors’ faces darkened as they realized that two people had seen monsters.

“And think about it. The only people who aren’t coming back here right now are Herwin and Arista. They’re two of the most talented people here. How is it that they’re the only two who can’t come back when everyone else can?”

“Professor, you’re putting them both in danger!”

Brian and Ethan hoped that the professor, or whoever it was, would move as quickly as possible to find Herwin and Arista, who hadn’t come yet.

Thud.

“Hey, what the hell does that mean…….”

“Herwin is missing?”

They heard the students who had just entered the tent exclaim.

“Lucia……!”

Bianca hurriedly turned around, remembering Lucia.

Suddenly, Bianca felt a chill run down her spine.

The blue eyes, which had been as vibrant as the clear sky, were suddenly empty. It was as if she was facing a doll, and there was not a soul to be seen.

Lucia staggered over to Brian and Ethan. The two men, who had been arguing with the professor, were startled by the unexpected arrival.

“How did you guys get here…….”

“What are you talking about? You’re saying Herwin is missing……?”

Lucia’s eyes narrowed as Brian hesitated to speak.

“Just say it right now!”

“It…it means…….”

Please don’t, she wanted to say, she’d misheard, but Brian could neither confirm nor deny.

The look on his face seemed to sum up the current situation.

Lucia took a sharp intake of breath, and Brian and Bianca rushed to catch her, thinking she might collapse.

But Lucia didn’t collapse.

No, she couldn’t. Collapsing here would not bring back the missing Herwin.

“Lucia, don’t worry too much. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been raining so hard, maybe he hid somewhere for a while.”

Her friends rushed to comfort her. No one can stay sane when they hear that their childhood friend is missing.

Knowing that nothing she could say here would make a difference, Bianca wrapped her arms around Lucia’s shoulders and stroked her.

A feeling of helplessness and deep despair settled over her body. Lucia squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands together.

In her heart, she wanted to run through the rain right now to find the missing Herwin, but the reality was different.

Lucia could not wield a sword like Brian or Ethan, nor could she use magic, nor was she physically strong.

All she could do now was pray that Herwin would return safely. That was all she could do.

“Hey, I see someone out there!”

A student suddenly exclaimed, pointing outside the tent.

Lucia opened her closed eyes and peered outside, barely able to see through the heavy rain.

In the distance, she saw two black shadows on the gray landscape.

“Arista, Herwin!”

As soon as they realized who it was, several people jumped to their feet, Lucia among them.

“Herwin!”

Lucia could barely see through the thick raindrops, but she was busy running to Herwin.

As she got closer and closer to the two shadows, she could make out his form.

“Hmph,……”

Arista was walking with difficulty, supporting Herwin, who was bigger than him, in a mess of mud and rain.

As soon as she saw the runners, she stopped walking and let out a sharp breath.

“Arista, we’ll help him now.”

Brian and Ethan hurried over and took Herwin from Arista.

Herwin was in bad shape. He was half-awake and limping as if he were going to collapse at any moment.

“Herwin!”

Lucia hurried over to him, and he looked up at her through squinty eyes and shook his head.

“Holy geez, get me a stretcher now!”

“Herwin, stay with me, we can’t lose it here!”

In the distance, a stretcher could be seen coming. Lucia wanted to cry herself to sleep right now.

No, she was already crying. But no one could tell because her face was already wet from the torrential rain.

“Ah, Arista!”

Just then, Arista, who was behind Herwin, staggered and tried to fall forward.

Lucia, seeing Herwin being carried out on a stretcher, hurried to catch her.

“Lucia… thank you…….”

Her voice was barely strong, but she didn’t let go of the sword in her right hand.

She was still so nervous that her knuckles were white.

“Arista, you can rest easy now.”

Lucia carefully placed her hand on top of Arista’s to help her release the sword.

“……?”

But something was wrong. Something faint emanated from her sword.

But it only lasted a moment, and when Arista released her hand, it disappeared.

‘Did I see it wrong?’

Shaking her head in disbelief, Lucia felt Arista’s weight against her and hurried to check on her.

Just then, the rest of the men who had carried Herwin approached, scooped Arista up in their arms and hurriedly carried her to the tent.

Inside the tent, they were busy tending to Herwin, who had been carried in first.

“Lucia, you’re soaked!”

“You’ll catch a cold.”

Bianca and Christine handed Lucia a towel.

Lucia took the towel roughly and looked at Herwin.

“Ethan! How is he? Is he okay?”

“No major injuries. He’s got a few concussion symptoms and a swollen ankle, so it looks like he rolled once, but I’m glad it’s over.”

Ethan said, toweling off his hair.

“Arista’s fine, too, I think she’s just exhausted from pushing herself too hard.”

Lucia relaxed as a wave of deep relief washed over her.

As she slumped to the floor, Ethan and Brian rushed to catch her.

“Ha, thank God. You’re not hurt…….”

“Now that you’re relieved, you guys can go back inside.”

“Yeah, we’ll keep an eye on Herwin.”

Ethan and Brian helped Lucia back to her dorm.

She’d been through an incredible amount in a very short amount of time, and they knew she needed to get some rest.

In addition to being traumatized, Lucia was soaking wet from the rain.

Lucia’s lips turned blue, and her body began to tremble involuntarily.

“I can’t ……No, not until Herwin wakes up.”

“But, Lucia, if you pass out, we’re in trouble.”

“You’re right, let’s at least get dressed.”

Lucia’s attitude was stubborn, no matter how much they tried to convince her otherwise. Her friends sighed as they realized she wasn’t going to budge.