At that moment, imperial guards emerged from the surrounding courtyard, silently taking positions along the perimeter.

  Thanks to Akashic Sight, I had known of their presence long before they revealed themselves. Still, I put on a suitably surprised expression to feign ignorance.

  “Imperial guards?”

  “Hehe, don’t worry, Prince Valemont,” Sir Ronan said lightly. “They’re only here to observe the spar.”

  I frowned deeply and looked at him with barely concealed anger.Sir Ronan merely smirked, casually waving the wooden sword in his hand.

  “Shall we begin?”

  I nodded and lowered my stance, adjusting my grip on my sword. Before the match started, I glanced briefly toward Daphne and offered her a reassuring smile.

  She returned it, though the worry in her eyes was impossible to hide.

  “I wouldn’t want to bully Your Highness,” Sir Ronan said mockingly. “I’ll suppress my mana to your level. That should make things fair, don’t you think?”

  I gave a confident nod and began circulating my fourth-layer mana throughout my body.

  In this world, cultivation was divided into magic and martial arts, each consisting of twelve layers. At eighteen, reaching the fourth layer placed me above average—but hopelessly inferior to Ronan, who stood firmly at the eighth layer.

  Within the empire, the first prince was hailed as a genius for reaching the sixth layer at twenty-one. My elder sister Marielle Valemont had reached the fifth layer at nineteen.

  By comparison, my level was considered mediocre among the Valemont siblings.

  Even worse, Sylvia Valemont, only fifteen, had already reached the fourth layer as well.

  As for Rowan Valemont… he was twenty and still stuck at the first layer. Fortunately for him, everyone already regarded him as trash, so no one found it surprising.

  Despite my unimpressive mana cultivation, I was still recognized for one thing.

  Swordsmanship.

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  I was known throughout the empire as a sword fanatic. Even the best sword instructors had admitted they had nothing left to teach me.

  Unfortunately, that reputation meant little against someone like Sir Ronan .

  At that moment, he spoke again.

  “Very well. Here I come!”

  He thrust his sword forward.

  His body accelerated explosively, and within seconds, the wooden blade was already aimed at my chest. A confident smile curved his lips—he clearly intended to end the fight in a single strike.

  Unfortunately for him…

  I waited until the sword was less than a breath away, then sidestepped narrowly.

  At the same time, my sword moved—slow, almost lazy—and slashed toward his arm.

  Sir Ronan smirked at the sluggish motion, but his expression changed when he realized the blade was following him no matter how he shifted. The tip crept closer and closer to his wrist.

  Momentary panic flashed across his face. He raised his sword to block, but with a slight twist of my wrist, I bypassed his defense entirely.

  My blade swept toward his chest.

  Sir Ronan’s eyes widened.

  Before the sword could touch him, he roared.

  “ARRRGHHH!”

  His speed suddenly doubled.

  He leapt backward in a flurry, barely evading the strike. Sweat dripped down his face as he stared at me with an ugly expression.

  I frowned inwardly.

  He was now using strength equivalent to the fifth layer.

  The courtyard fell completely silent.

  No one could believe what they had just witnessed. I had forced the captain of the imperial guards to retreat—and he had only survived by breaking his own restriction.

  After all, even if I was known for swordsmanship, Sir Ronan was an experienced eighth-layer warrior. Suppressing his strength should have been more than enough to crush me.

  “Fuu…” Daphne sighed in relief and took a step forward, clearly hoping to end the confrontation.

  But Sir Ronan moved again.

  “ARRRGHHH!”

  His rage exploded as he lunged forward, sword aimed straight for my shoulder. The force behind the strike was unmistakably at the fifth layer.

  I deliberately showed surprise and dodged awkwardly. Sir Ronan pressed the attack relentlessly, his strikes growing wilder.

  Around us, the guards whispered nervously.

  They could all tell this was spiraling out of control.

  Even if I had fallen out of favor, I was still a prince of the Valemont Family. If something happened to me, heads would roll.

  Before anyone could intervene, I countered.

  Using Sir Ronan’s rage against him, I circled to his right and extended my leg.

  He failed to react in time.

  Sir Ronan stumbled and crashed to the ground in a thoroughly embarrassing fashion.

  “Stop it, Sir Ronan,” I said calmly, my tone indifferent. “This is unbecoming.”

  The words were the final blow.

  Humiliation washed over his face—humiliation before his subordinates, and under the distant gaze of the empress.

  Instead of calming down, he completely lost control.

  His mana surged violently, and his speed increased yet again. To most of the guards—and even to Daphne—he vanished into a blur.

  His sword appeared directly in front of me.

  I put on a pale, panicked expression and retreated frantically, my sword barely keeping up as I blocked strike after strike. It looked as though I was moments away from collapsing under the pressure of a sixth-layer assault.

  Sir Ronan grinned sadistically.

  He enjoyed this.

  But just as it seemed I could no longer endure—

  I disappeared.

  My speed hadn’t increased. My strength remained unchanged.

  I simply slipped into his blind spot, exploiting the momentum of his own attack.

  The next instant, my sword rested against his back.

  Sir Ronan froze.

  The courtyard went deathly silent.

  Even the soldiers stood pale, cold sweat running down their backs.

  As for me, I panted lightly, a victorious smile on my face.

  I was genuinely smiling.

  Not only because I had humiliated Sir Ronan —but because Akashic Sight had revealed something… interesting.

  Smirking inwardly, I spoke.

  “It’s my win.”

  In the next instant, Sir Ronan moved.

  His power surged to the seventh layer as he spun around and punched my chest. I feigned shock and raised my sword to block, but the force sent me flying straight into the wall.

  “Your Highness!” Daphne screamed and ran toward me.

  Sir Ronan was still not satisfied. He prepared to strike again—

  But before he could, a sharp voice rang through the courtyard.

  “Ronan Blackmere! What do you think you’re doing?!”

  I smiled faintly as I lay against the wall.

  It seems… my next prey has arrived.