Kank!
Kank!
The sun was just rising.
And the sound of swords hitting each other echoed throughout the training ground.
Zani, now fully grown into a beautiful young lady with flourishing black hair, was battling with the second commander of the Astral Legion.
The fight took place in the open, where grass spread as far as the eye could see.
As such, many of the soldiers who were also supposed to be training paused to witness the once-in-a-lifetime scene playing before them.
Many of them were curious to see who would come out on top.
Their fight had been going on for a while, and even then it was difficult to tell who was winning.
The second commander was known to be quite powerful, but Zani was feared by many because of her reputation.
Landing on the ground, Zani was quick to raise her wooden sword, hastily blocking her opponent's attack.
From the impact of the two swords clashing came a loud boom in the air.
Leaning his whole body to overpower Zani, the second commander uttered,
"So the rumors are true—you fight as though you have awakened your title. I can tell you are not going all out here."
Zani quickly took a leap back, creating a bit of distance.
Their age gap was vastly different.
While Zani was only 16 years of age, the commander was far older, having a beard and long black hair.
As such, she never understood why the second commander was so desperate to have a duel with her.
"If you are trying to recruit me to join the Astral Legion, then you already know my answer."
Her voice was cold and calculating.
The second commander grinned.
"Even if I wanted that, I doubt the third prince would give us permission to take his princess from right under him. We all know that won't go well."
Zani grimaced slightly at the comment.
"It's well known that the prince gives you all the protection you need. It's bad enough he chose a girl to be his Mystero, but you getting all the praise for doing literally nothing in the kingdom is kind of disheartening, don't you think?"
Funny, this was the first time the second commander dared to say something like that to her face.
For the past year or so, Zani had been practicing with the military personnel in order to improve her fighting capabilities.
During her time at the training ground, she did notice the treatment she was getting from the other soldiers.
Some praised her for being the third prince's right-hand woman, showing their respect for her title as his Mystero.
And some had other opinions, deeming her unworthy to have such titles.
So naturally, she assumed the reason the second commander had been asking her for a duel was to truly test if she was worthy of being by the prince's side.
To think it was born from hatred and jealousy instead.
"If you believe I am unworthy of being by my lord's side, then I can assure you, none of you here are any less worthy."
Her words sparked gasps amongst the crowd.
"What?" The second commander had a frown on his face, his fist tightening around the hilt of the wooden blade.
"Were my words not clear enough?" Zani pointed her blade at him, not a single hint of hesitation on her face.
"I am far stronger than any of you in this field. Showing you is not an issue; I will gladly do that. My position by his side will not be questioned by the likes of a puppet."
Instantly, all eyes fell on the second commander, all waiting to see how he was going to react.
For the first time, the usually reserved and quiet girl Zani spoke back.
Wanting to avoid getting embarrassed, the commander uttered with a smile,
"You really think highly of yourself, don't you?"
"..."
"Perhaps you are not aware of my star blessing. The howling wolf, I can easily cut you open with my ability. Are you sure you want to underestimate me?"
"..."
Getting no response from her was starting to trigger him.
"You think I was going all out when I was sparring? Think again; my star blessing is not something you want to—"
Woosh—
In the blink of an eye, Zani had closed the distance.
Not a single soul was able to follow her movement.
Her purple glowing eyes were fixed on the commander as she slammed the hilt of her blade into his gut.
It was so powerful, the commander's feet lifted from the ground a bit before he fell to his knees.
Touching the ground, he immediately wrapped his hands around his gut, his eyes almost popping from his skull as he grunted in pain.
Meanwhile, Zani stood there, gazing down at him as if looking at a lesser creature.
Gossip began to parrot through the soldiers—
"Did she just knock the second commander out with one hit?"
"No way…"
"I-I can't believe I wanted to fight her in the commander's stead."
Zani sighed in response to their words.
In truth, she wanted to avoid battling with any of the soldiers by any means. Sylus advised her against it.
She knew she was strong, and there wasn't any need for her to prove it.
Still, something about people questioning her position beside Sylus always got to her.
Suddenly, Zani looked to the side, noticing the sun was already out.
She then turned her attention back to the second commander—
"I'm sure you don't want whatever happened here to get to the first commander, just as I don't want this getting to Prince Sylus. Do what you will, and I'll respond accordingly."
She then walked away.
Leaving the second commander on the ground, gritting his teeth as if about to explode from his own rage.
…
Once Zani had arrived at the castle, the first thing she did was head toward Sylus's room.
It was a daily routine.
Once she was done training in the morning, she would resume her duty as his assistant, making sure he wasn't lazing around.
Now changed from her training outfit into her casual wear, she slowly knocked on his door.
Bang bang!
"Good morning, my lord."
She waited for a while; getting no answer meant he was still fast asleep.
Slowly, she opened the door.
As she walked in, she was met with something she didn't expect.
While Sylus was truly asleep on the bed, someone else was present as well.