Her composure contrasted with her cousin’s visible nervousness. Tessandra was restless, her eyes going back and forth between Cessilia and her opponent, but the Princess was calm and resolute. Everyone in the arena was now excited to see what this was about. Was the Princess overestimating herself this time? Or underestimating her opponent? Most didn’t ignore that Ashra was a praised Yekara daughter and one of the very best warrior women in the Kingdom. Perhaps even the very best, but she seldom fought in public. A fight between her and Tessandra of the Dragon Empire would have been impressive for sure, but now, all the attention was on the Princess.

They saw Cessilia close her eyes for a second and take a deep breath. She did seem a bit nervous. With a slight hesitation, Tessandra threw her sword, and Cessilia caught it, effortlessly moving the weapon around.

“…Be careful, Cessi,” she muttered.

Cessilia nodded and took a step back, her eyes riveted on her opponent. The tension in the room was palpable.

Tessandra slowly sat back, her hands joined and her upper body leaning toward the arena, nervous. Naptunie felt nervous as well, and scooted a bit closer to her.

“...Lady Cessilia will be alright, won’t she? Maybe she still learned a thing or two... She should know how to put up a bit of a fight, right...?”

Tessandra turned to her with large eyes, and finally, let out a long sigh, shaking her head. She directed her dark eyes to the arena again.

“Cessi isn’t the one I’m worried about, Naptunie. Really not. I’m more worried about what she’s capable of doing to that dumb bitch...”Nana’s jaw dropped a bit, and she slowly moved her gaze back to the arena. Looking at the slender, tall, and graceful figure of Lady Cessilia, she had a hard time imagining how she could be such a fighter that Tessandra would be worried for her opponent. She had only ever seen the gentle and caring Cessilia, who sometimes did get quite fierce and harsh with her words, but she couldn’t remember seeing her actually wield a weapon. Every time, Tessandra had been the quickest to draw hers. Unlike her gentle-natured cousin, Tessa had always seemed to be the hot-blooded one, and not shy with her weapon, so much so that Naptunie hadn’t even thought Cessilia could also be a fighter...

“So she’s... actually really good?” muttered Nana.

“More than that,” scoffed Tessandra. “She’s only ever lost to her older brothers. Her dad’s trained her himself since she was young. Cessilia never liked to fight, but she’s really, really good regardless. After what happened to her, she picked up her training again and got even better. I know I wouldn’t be able to win against her.”

Cessilia was an even better fighter than her cousin? Naptunie was speechless again. She knew Cessilia was the War God’s daughter, but that didn’t mean she had chosen to follow his steps and learn how to fight! From what she had seen, the Princess was already very proficient in many domains, mostly medicine, but she also knew things like trade and politics, and even how to understand people’s needs. Naptunie had thought Tessandra was mostly the other half of Cessilia, adept in what the Princess wasn’t, but now, it seemed like she had underestimated her once more.

Even now, Cessilia’s figure seemed pretty harmless. She seemed to be barely holding the sword with the ends of her fingers, and not in a position to start fighting at all. However, she was standing very straight, and her green eyes were following her opponent. Naptunie looked around. Everyone around the arena was holding their breath, all eyes on the two young women. The Yekara Clan members were grinning, feeling confident. As expected, they all thought Cessilia’s strength would mainly rely on her dragon blood. Now that she knew they were wrong, Naptunie felt a bit more excited, goosebumps appearing on her forearms. After she had witnessed Tessandra’s fighting skills, she was all the more curious to see how her cousin could compare. If she had been trained by the War God himself, the Yekara candidate was about to learn quite a painful lesson about underestimating opponents...

“Grand speeches and gold coins won’t save you this time, Princess,” smiled Ashra. “The Yekara Clan doesn’t use mighty titles calling ourselves gods to show off. We only rely on our strength to best our opponents. Our clan takes pride in centuries of hard training, ancient fighting techniques, and unique weapons crafted by the very best blacksmiths!”

Just as she said this, she took off the skirt of her dress, revealing pants with two strange blades attached to her hips. The blades had been cut in unique shapes that added a hook before the tip and were clearly sharpened. Naptunie felt a chill just from looking at them. Compared to Cessilia’s weapon, Ashra’s were made to injure the opponent multiple times. Tessandra suddenly clicked her tongue next to her.

“That sadistic bitch... Those are torture swords,” she grunted. “Those swords aren’t made to kill in one go, she wants to make a show out of this.”

“Is it very bad?”

“It’s strange, considering she knows about our skin. She most likely wants to show off. She wants to show she can injure us despite our dragon skin, and make the fight last. Cessi won’t have it, though...”

Indeed, Cessilia didn’t seem to care at all about Ashra’s speech. She hadn’t moved since before. Naptunie realized her sword seemed completely still as well, and almost like it was part of Cessilia’s body. Ashra’s sword had a handle with a long, red ribbon, and symbols carved into the blade, while the Princess’ sword had a simple leather handle, without any other kind of flourishes. Strangely, it seemed much more noble.

“...You should use a d-different sword,” Cessilia said. “That one isn’t s-suited for c-combat.”

“Oh, I know. But to a specific monster, one shall adapt their weapon, Princess. Those scars on your neck mean your dragon skin cannot completely save you from cuts, hence I want to see how long it takes for you to bleed...”

“It’s a fucking test,” muttered Tessandra. “This isn’t even about the fight. The Yekara Clan is experimenting with what it would take to kill us...”

Naptunie, who had been looking forward to this fight, was back to worrying again. The Yekara Clan was truly too much. They left nothing to fate; they were targeting the Princess on a long-term basis. They definitely had planned this fight, and to use Lady Ashra to test if she could kill the Princess... Now, it was all down to Cessilia. Despite Tessandra’s words, she couldn’t stop worrying about her. Cessilia seemed like such a kind-hearted person, it was hard to imagine she’d attack her opponent as fiercely and recklessly as they knew Ashra would.

“Your Majesty!” claimed Ashra with a wry smile. “I shall show you this Princess isn’t right for our Kingdom. Our Kingdom needs a real queen!”

Right after that, she jumped forward, aiming right at Cessilia. The next movement was barely believable.

Ashra launched herself at full speed toward her, yet Cessilia seemed to simply step to the side. It was so quick, yet each movement was absolutely perfect. Ashra seemed to be blown aside, although they had clearly seen Cessilia be the one to move. The Princess was swift and quick, and her opponent’s blade found absolutely nothing when she crossed the air in front of her. Ashra herself seemed to be completely speechless for a moment, blinking twice as if she had just been hit by reality.

Cessilia left her no room to catch up, though. The Princess made a simple movement with her wrist, and suddenly, a long, red ribbon flew into the air. Her sword wasn’t even stained, but it was clearly blood that splattered the ground. The movement had been so perfect, swift, and silent, everyone in the audience looked for the injury with confusion. Even Ashra herself looked down to find her flank crossed with a long cut. She then screamed one second too late, holding the bleeding injury with a panicked expression.

“There you go,” muttered Tessandra. “Cessi is gonna give her a taste of her own medicine...”

“She won’t look for a quick victory?” asked Naptunie.

“No. Not now that she’s seen and heard what Ashra had planned for her. Cessilia might be kind, but she is no fool. She especially has no mercy for sadists with a thing for torture... We are not science subjects. Ashra should have faced a dragon instead. She would have gotten a quicker death...”

Down in the arena, the Yekara candidate seemed to be slowly catching up with what had just happened. She was still holding her bleeding flank, glaring at Cessilia with all her might. All of her earlier boastings were gone. Even if she had just been bested, the young woman was a good enough fighter to realize this was no mere luck from Cessilia. She had just realized how much she had underestimated her opponent. Quickly, she adjusted her position, holding her sword with both hands and getting ready, clenching her teeth.

“You... cursed freak,” she grunted.

“I’m j-just getting started,” said Cessilia.

Naptunie felt a chill. This Cessilia was so different from everything she had seen before. She was cold, calculative, and focused on her opponent. No, those were the eyes of a predator focused on its prey. The Princess was now really looking like she was standing with all her might, towering over her opponent with the fierceness of a warrior. The fight was only just beginning, it seemed. Ashra too had adjusted her position to leave no openings. She had made a mistake once and didn’t want to risk it again. Her entire clan was watching like one body leaned forward with serious expressions on.

Ashra moved first again. This time, her movements were much faster, and her sword appeared above her head, ready to cut down her opponent, but before she could, Cessilia’s sword blocked her halfway. Ashra had both hands on her handle, while Cessilia used only one to keep her from slicing her head in two, which spoke volumes about the strength difference. The two women glared furiously at each other, and their blades loudly clashed again. Ashra was trying to break Cessi’s defense, but the Princess blocked her each time. Each movement was so fast, it was like they could read each other’s minds. The audience didn’t even dare to blink, as each movement was happening so quickly. Their blades would be pushing against one another for several seconds, trembling from the pressure on both sides and would suddenly clash again loudly without warning. The violence of the fight was impressive, yet it had some strange beauty to it. The two women were wearing incredibly elegant outfits that contrasted with the almost bestial way they went at each other. It would have seemed like choreography if they weren’t so clearly bent on hurting their opponent. Pearls of sweat had appeared on Ashra’s forehead, and Cessilia’s hairdo had come undone. Each time she moved and spun, her curls went flying around her like a furious flame. The contrast of the red and blue dresses was hypnotizing, but everything was happening way too fast.

Ashra hadn’t lied about her own fighting skills; anyone who had once wielded a weapon could tell this much. Her movements were precise, full of strength, and clearly determined to hurt her opponent. Facing her, Cessilia was leaving no room for mistakes; she seemed to be effortlessly deterring each attempt of Ashra’s blade to come near. Her dance was perfect and beautiful, but something about this Cessilia was scary. Naptunie felt like she was watching a different person. A cold-blooded daughter of the War God’s Favorite. When Ashra’s blood flew in the air again, a surprised gasp took the whole audience. Once again, Cessilia had gone for a light but painful injury, slicing her opponent’s hip. Ashra’s anger increased with her pain, and she began attacking again, but her injury was hindering her. Cessilia spun beautifully and found herself behind her right after. Her sword drew a perfect line in Ashra’s back, and a scream echoed in the arena.

“Cessi...” grunted Tessandra, frustrated.

Naptunie, who had been so focused on the fight, just now noticed how angsty Tessandra looked. The young woman was leaning forward, frowning and studying her cousin’s expression more than the fight itself.

“...Is everything alright?” muttered Naptunie.

“I hope so,” said Tessandra. “If Cessilia can remain calm...”

“She seems very calm, though? More than Lady Ashra, anyway...”

“Don’t be fooled. Just because she looks calm doesn’t mean she is. Cessilia still has the blood of a dragon... One of the reasons she hates fighting is because the bloodlust can get the better of her.”

“You mean she could make mistakes if she gets too excited?”

“No.” Tessa slowly shook her head. “It’s much worse than that... She could get into a hunting mode. She would toy with her opponent for a long while, like a dragon would with its prey, and make her agony as slow and painful as possible.”

“That’s... terrible.”

“Yes, and not what Cessilia wants at all. But she can’t help it. With what happened to her when she was younger, her own instincts are now mainly focusing on self-preservation. She is so focused on this fight, I bet she has forgotten pretty much everything else going on. Who she’s fighting, why, and who is around. For now, she still looks pretty much in control, but if Ashra doesn’t concede defeat soon, that idiot is heading toward a very slow and painful death.”

“We can’t allow that,” muttered Naptunie. “Lady Cessilia would hate such a thing! Even if she doesn’t like the Yekara Clan, she wouldn’t like someone to endure such terrible torture!”

“I know, Nana. That’s why I’m watching carefully, but I doubt we can simply convince Ashra and her stubborn clan to simply give up. That idiot is about as fierce as one can be. She’s good, but at this rate, she’s just going to push Cessilia past what she can actually handle...”

Naptunie looked down at the fight again, with a very different view this time. This no longer felt like a fight between equals, and perhaps it never had been. Now, it was like they were watching a tragedy unfold. Lady Cessilia’s green eyes did seem colder than ever, unlike what Naptunie had seen before. Meanwhile, Ashra was focused on the fight, and as Tessandra had said, completely unwilling to give in. Plus, her whole clan was behind her. The Yekara people weren’t losing one second of the fight, looking so focused yet so blind as to what their candidate was really going through. Some were shouting to support her or scold her for the smallest mistake. They wouldn’t allow Ashra to lose, let alone give up. Their candidate knew there was no option other than winning, and she was fighting for this. She had abandoned her plan to slowly injure Cessilia, and she was now fighting to kill her for real.

“...What can we do?” asked Nana. “Should we intervene before it’s too late?”

“I think it’s already too late,” muttered Tessandra. “It was too late the moment that stupid bitch decided to pick a fight with Cessi, Nana. Cessilia would have been able to hold back if Ashra hadn’t really aimed to hurt her. But this crazy bitch will not back down, and she isn’t even admitting she’s going to lose. If we stop the fight now, the Yekara will accuse us of trying to save Cessilia, regardless of how much she’s been winning over her opponent.”