Eternity
Floria’s Side
As Floria Florence crossed swords with Lux, she reflected as she watched his technique.
What an astounding rate of growth… It must be Lux-sama’s straightforward nature that allows him to learn so quickly, but to think he has advanced this much since the last time we trained together… Could it be that someone highly skilled has been teaching him directly?
“Tch!”
When Floria deflected his blade, Lux lost his balance.
With her past opponents, that alone would have been enough… but Lux seemed to have anticipated it. The moment he faltered, he rolled to absorb the impact and immediately raised his sword again.
“As I thought, Florence-san, you are incredibly strong… You feel many times stronger than when we fought with wooden swords.”
“Thank you… but right now, I can also feel your strength very clearly, Lux-sama.”
As the two faced each other once more and exchanged those words, the stands erupted in cheers.
“What was that clash just now!?”
“I couldn’t even see it!”
“He lost his balance but recovered instantly!”
The cheers filled the entire arena, yet in Floria’s eyes there was only Lux, and Lux too saw only Floria.
That earnest gaze of Lux-sama’s… Thinking back, ever since the very first time I saw him…
Lost in thought, Floria barely caught Lux’s strike as he swung at her.
Each time Lux-sama’s blade meets mine, I feel him more strongly… For someone like me, who never had any interest in men before, to desire you this much as a man and to find myself longing for you so deeply…
Floria caught herself thinking such things, but Lux was not weak enough for her to let her attention drift and still prevail, so she quickly refocused on the blade.
“I’ve been far too defensive… From here on, I’ll be the one to attack.”
“…!”
With those words, Floria shifted her rapier’s stance and launched into rapid thrusts, driving the blade toward Lux at high speed.
“The rapier is a weapon that takes time to master, and only a select few can truly draw out its merits… So even for you, Lux-sama, I doubt you are accustomed to handling thrusts from a rapier, are you?”
Just as Floria had said, Lux was barely able to defend and had no chance to counterattack.
“That’s true… Even though you’re thrusting so quickly, you still have the skill to avoid striking any place that would be fatal to me. That alone shows how deeply you’ve mastered the rapier, Florence-san. Right now, I don’t have the ability to deal with it… but still.”
Lux suddenly retreated a great distance, pulling himself out of range of the rapier, then swung his sword again at Floria… forcing her to catch his blade with her own.
“As long as we’re crossing swords like this, you can’t thrust!”
“I see… A truly straightforward tactic. Very much like you, Lux-sama… If it were possible, I would wish to spend eternity in this moment, crossing blades with you, sharpening each other, seeing only one another… but it cannot be helped.”
With those words, Floria stepped back just as Lux had earlier, retreating beyond the reach of his blade, then once again lunged at him with thrusts.
Lux fell into defense again, biding his time to retreat just as before.
“…There.”
With that declaration, Floria drove her rapier powerfully not at Lux himself, but at his defending sword. Lux’s blade flew from his hands.
This happened because when receiving thrusts, the way one applies strength to the hands differs from when crossing blades in standard exchanges.
“…!”
As Lux quickly moved to retrieve his sword, Floria pressed her rapier to his throat and spoke.
“This was truly enjoyable, Lux-sama… More than anyone, I can vouch for your growth and effort.”
“…That’s enough! The victor is Floria Florence! And at the same time, the champion of this swordsmanship tournament is Floria Florence! Furthermore, in ten minutes, the exhibition match between the champion Floria Florence and myself, First Princess Rezamiliana, shall begin!”
As Rezamiliana declared this, the loudest cheer of the day erupted from the crowd… At that moment, Floria lowered the rapier from Lux’s throat and sheathed it.
Then Lux spoke with a bright expression.
“Thank you very much, Florence-san! If you ask whether I’m frustrated about losing, then yes, I am… but more than that, I had so much fun!!”
Seeing Lux’s cheerful expression, Floria smiled warmly, extended her hand, and spoke.
“I too was able to spend such a wonderful time. Thank you very much… If you don’t mind, shall we shake hands?”
“Ah! Yes!”
Lux answered joyfully, then took Floria’s hand, and the two shook firmly.
In response, thunderous applause rose from the stands.
A short while later, they released each other’s hands. Lux returned to his seat, while Floria walked down the corridor beneath the stands to exchange her sword.
“…My next opponent is the First Princess, then.”
She did not know exactly how skilled her opponent was, but considering that she had hosted this tournament and from the rumors surrounding her, her ability was without doubt among the greatest in the world.
Lux, whom she had just fought, was undeniably a formidable opponent, but Rezamiliana was expected to be even stronger.
“There is also the matter of my dealings with Violet-sama… In the upcoming exhibition match, I must remain all the more focused.”
Rezamiliana’s Side
“…That’s enough! The victor is Floria Florence! And at the same time, the champion of this swordsmanship tournament is Floria Florence! Furthermore, in ten minutes, the exhibition match between the champion Floria Florence and myself, First Princess Rezamiliana, shall begin!”
Standing in the royal family’s box, Rezamiliana declared this in a commanding voice, then stepped back.
Elizalina, seated to her left, then spoke.
“Ah~ Lux lost… But but! Isn’t second place amazing in this country’s swordsmanship tournament, where the level is so high!?”
To that, Rezamiliana nodded and replied.
“Indeed. I do not intend to show favoritism toward my own nation, but even so, for Rodwell to achieve second place in our kingdom’s swordsmanship tournament means he can undoubtedly be considered one of the foremost swordsmen in the world.”
“Right, right! Ahh, he worked so hard for today, and all that effort paid off. That’s wonderful, Lux, you did great~!”
“…”
Casting a sidelong glance at Elizalina as she spoke, Rezamiliana instead addressed Felisiana, who was seated on her right.
“Felisiana, I will entrust to you the signals to begin and the declarations to end the exhibition match.”
“Understood, Onee-sama.”
Felisiana quietly nodded, while Elizalina exclaimed loudly in contrast.
“Eh!? You mean the ‘Begin!’ and ‘That’s enough!’ stuff, right? I want to do it too!!”
“Felisiana, due to her duties, rarely has the chance to appear publicly as royalty. But you are not the same… This time I am entrusting it to Felisiana so that she may have the opportunity to appear in her role as royalty.”
“Ehh~!… Oh well, I still have something fun to look forward to later anyway.”
Surprisingly, Elizalina accepted this without complaint. Rezamiliana found it curious, but for now chose to focus on the upcoming exhibition match with Floria. Leaving the royal box, she began walking toward the center of the arena.
As she gripped the hilt of her sword, she thought of Lux, who was absent, and spoke in her heart.
Rodwell may have been defeated by Florence… but do not worry, Rodwell… In your place, as your destined partner, I will defeat Florence… Please, watch my sword.