She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

After the final training at the training camp, everyone prepared to return to their dorms and pack their belongings.

As I packed my things, I pondered about the letter.

If what Mirocagon said was true, and Passabea had traveled to another dimension and met the prophet, learning about my situation… then it made sense for me to seek out Iris and Cassius instead of Persis. They were the only ones capable of defeating Hestia.

It also made sense why he warned not to reveal the letter until he appeared. It could cause unnecessary trouble.

I understand all that… but why hasn’t he come to Flotina?

If he’s a traveler like he said, shouldn’t he return home after his journey?

‘Well, whatever the case, it’s fortunate that she’s alive. If he does come back, Floa will be thrilled.’

After finishing packing, I left the dorm, and the knights rushed towards me and asked, “Milady, we heard that you missed the training. What kind of training are you going to do?”

“There’s an unmanned training program at the Acsenter. They say if you succeed in that, it’s equivalent to actual training.”

“Oh, I know that one! You have to apply magic to a designated area within a limited time and evade attacks for 30 minutes to succeed.”

“It’s considered quite challenging, but since you’re strong, milady, you’ll succeed easily.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to succeed in one go if possible. It’s tiring to repeat it.”

Suddenly, I felt someone’s gaze, so I stopped walking and turned around. Behind the knights who were with me, Jed was standing still, looking at me.

What is it…? Is he eavesdropping on our conversation?

As Jed turned and walked away immediately, I found it suspicious but continued on my way.

* * *

May visited the Acsenter for the replacement training and tried to adapt to the unmanned training program.

The unmanned training program was designed for the knights who wanted to train their magic skills. It couldn’t be used every day, and there was a specific period available for free use, limited to training within the Acsenter facility.

By pressing the button attached to the central pillar, one could start, stop, or restart the program.

“The attack positions and timings are the same. If I practice a few times, I’ll get used to it and succeed easily.”

She had decided that after practicing alone, she would set a date for the confirmation test and send a letter to the assistant. The assistant would then come to verify her progress.

Within a day, May had mastered the program perfectly, so she immediately sent a letter requesting confirmation.

The next day, May came to the Acsenter to get confirmation for her replacement training, but instead of the assistant, she unexpectedly encountered someone else.

“…What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to confirm. I told the assistant that I would come instead.”

Upon learning what May’s replacement training was, Jed sought the assistant’s permission to go to the Acsenter in his place, wanting to create an opportunity to be alone with her.

“You, haven’t you noticed that I’ve been avoiding you for the past few days? Don’t come near me. It’s uncomfortable being with you. Why are you like this? Are you so clueless?”

He was trying to strike up a conversation during breaks, partner up during training, and always stay close during meals.

Although May felt uncomfortable, she endured it because there was still a day or two left before the dormitory training would end.

But now, she couldn’t avoid being alone with him, even after the dormitory training was over.

May was fed up.

“I won’t get confirmation from you. I’m going back home, so you stay here or do whatever you want.”

Just when May was trying to leave with a stern expression…

Bang!

An intense silver aura shot out from behind her and forcefully closed the entrance. It even formed a silver barrier in front of the door.

It was all Jed’s doing.

“What on earth are you doing…!”

As May turned around in anger, Jed quickly approached her and threatened her.

“May, there’s no one else here. Got it?”

And I’m strong enough to keep you trapped here.

A wicked smile formed on Jed’s handsome face.

May’s face wrinkled in annoyance.

“So, you’re going to keep me trapped here?”

“I’ll open it once you pass the replacement training. I came here to verify that.”

She was astounded by his audacity. How could a person be so shameless?

But now was not the time to argue about his audacity. He practically imprisoned me here. I wanted to leave right away because I didn’t want to be with him, but I hesitated.

He said he’d open it once I pass the replacement training.

‘What should I do…? Should I just endure the training and get it over with? I don’t want to be verified by Jed, but if I endure this moment, I can go home right away, and I won’t have to come back to the Acsenter for verification later, which would be troublesome.’

Since I couldn’t leave right now anyway, I decided to endure for just 30 minutes.

“Make sure to send it once I’m verified.”﹤confirmation﹥

“Of course.”

May walked to the central pillar and pressed the start button to activate the unmanned training program.

Since she had practiced and mastered it completely, she was confident she would succeed on her first try.

Beep! When the start sound rang out, May shot her magic into the green-lit space and easily evaded the incoming attacks.

The lights generated from all directions attacked May, but she skillfully avoided them.

25 minutes passed, and she only needed to endure for another 5 minutes to succeed. Then, an unfamiliar attack came from somewhere.

Shwoong―

“Huh?!”

May’s eyes widened in surprise as she almost got hit by an attack she wasn’t familiar with.

‘What? There were no attacks coming from the west stands in the latter part.’

Dodging the continuous attacks, May shifted her gaze to the west stands. There, Jed was sitting, generating magic.

‘That son of a bitch…!’

Thanks to him, she was too busy avoiding his attacks, so she couldn’t strike back in the designated area and ended up failing.

She only needed to endure for 3 more minutes to succeed.

“Jed…”

May, furious, clenched her fists and went straight up to the stands where he was sitting.

He looked at her as if asking when she was going to attack, hiding his magic as he approached.

“Too bad. There wasn’t much time left.”

May felt the urge to grab him by the collar, but she restrained herself.

“Are you here to torment me? What do you gain from doing this?”

“If you don’t pass, we can spend more time together, just the two of us.”

He spat out such ridiculous words with an unchanging expression. May wondered if he was truly insane.

“Let me go home. I don’t want to waste meaningless time with you here.”

Even though she spoke calmly and seriously, Jed seemed not to hear a word, deaf to her words.

“May, let’s date.”

It was a preposterous statement, so she wasn’t surprised.

“If you say you want to date me, I won’t interfere. Absolutely not.”

“…You’re really out of your mind.”

Though he hadn’t been drinking, he was acting as if he were drunk. May felt nothing but contempt for him.

“I can’t stand seeing you with another guy, especially if it’s Diego.”

“So you want to date me? Without even loving me?”

“I have feelings for you. You’re the only girl I have feelings for.”

“I don’t have feelings for you. I don’t even have a tiny bit of desire to date you.”

As soon as she spoke, Jed’s expression turned cold.

“Then stay here.”

May felt her blood pressure rising, but she tried not to show her anger. She didn’t want to worsen the situation and didn’t know what he might do in his crazed state.

Calmly, May asked, “Jed, do you know why, despite once liking you, I don’t want to date you?”

“You said you felt like you were playing with my heart. You don’t like people who play with your feelings.”

Jed casually mentioned it as if he hadn’t played with her heart. May didn’t let it slide and drove the point home.

“Not at all. Even though I know you don’t genuinely like me, I used to like you.”

“…”

“But still, do you know the reason why I don’t want to date you?”

Because I have feelings for someone else.

His eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope as he asked, “Diego?”

Though the question was cutting, she kept a cheerful tone.

“Nope. I like myself.”

It might have sounded like a joke, but it wasn’t.

“I almost died because of Hestia. Thanks to Iris’s healing magic, I barely survived.”

She would have died, leaving behind unresolved issues with her father and Floa.

She wouldn’t have been able to laugh and chat with the people she liked.

“I learned the value of my own body thanks to that incident. That’s why I like myself the most. I lost the intention to treat people who treat me poorly with kindness. So how could I date someone like that?”

I won’t beg someone who treats me rudely, like you.

“You know, I used to dislike you. Because you drew more attention from people, because you were favored by the guardian deities, because it seemed like you were better than me.”

“……!”

“Just a tomboyish girl.”

Jed’s gaze, which had been unresponsive, finally began to waver.