About two minutes later, Aurelian stood motionless in the middle of the pool of blood.
Her eyes were wide open as she stared at her trembling hands in disbelief.
The monster before her, the one powerful enough to crush her again and again, was… dead?
It was the first time she had ever seen so much blood, and the first time she had ever killed a monster in such a brutal way.
But she didn't feel the slightest bit of discomfort.
Instead, what rose up inside her was something she had never felt before, a strange thrill.
Her brain, which had been wound tight with tension, suddenly relaxed. Her entire body trembled, unable to contain the excitement within.
'Refreshing!'
Because she had personally defeated an enemy she once believed to be completely unbeatable.
After so many failures, so many "deaths," Aurelian had been left with only one thought,
She had to defeat it. And then, kill it.
It felt as if only by doing this could she vent the emotions of dying again and again, as if only this could prove that she was not some weak, decorative flower.
Aurelian completely relaxed. She sat on the grass without caring about her appearance, letting the stench of blood soak her entire body.
This was her trophy, the proof of her victory.
The Royal Knights stood in the distance, lowering their weapons. Each one of them stared in shock.
What… had they just witnessed?
"Her Highness the Princess, only fifteen years old, personally killed a Forest Fiend!?"
They knew this kind of monster very well.
Every week, the knights were assigned to sweep the areas around the capital, to keep the monsters from breeding too quickly and causing disasters.
And among all of them, the Forest Fiend was the most troublesome. Even the smallest subjugation required at least a dozen knights to safely bring one down.
Who would've thought that the little-known princess possessed such absurd strength?
And she was only fifteen.
The female guard, still in shock like everyone else, rushed forward to support the princess.
"Your Highness! Are you alright!?"
When she had first entered and seen the monster lunging toward the princess, she'd nearly fainted from fear. She had even thought about where her grave should be dug after her inevitable death.
Yet what she saw next lifted her straight from despair to the heavens.
'Her Highness Aurelian had killed the monster instead!?'
Having guarded the princess for so long, she naturally knew exactly how strong the princess was.
Though her magical talent was unmatched, able to learn any spell her tutors taught her with just a glance, talent didn't equal combat strength.
Everyone in the palace knew that the princess, who had never fought in real combat, even with her magic, was destined to be nothing more than a pretty "vase."
But now, Aurelian had slapped all their faces.
What kind of "vase" could single-handedly defeat a Forest Fiend at fifteen?
Even Erica, the so-called youngest genius of the capital, probably couldn't do that.
As the guard helped her up, Aurelian shook her head and said, "I'm fine."
She hadn't expected her guards to actually find her together with the knights.
A flame suddenly appeared in the air, and from within it, Viktor slowly emerged into view.
The moment the female guard saw Viktor, she was furious.
If not for Viktor whisking the princess away without any explanation, she would've already lost her head by now.
How could she not be angry?
Viktor had almost gotten them all killed.
"Viktor! Kidnapping the princess is already a heinous crime! And you dare bring her to such a dangerous place! You..."
Viktor didn't react, but the princess frowned and cut her off.
"Celia."
"You're being rude to my teacher."
Hearing that, the guard called Celia stammered, "But, Your Highness, he..."
Before she could finish, an invisible force pushed her backward against her will.
She looked up to see Viktor's fingertip glowing with light.
[First-tier Magic: Repulsion]
After doing this, Viktor nodded at the princess and praised her, "Your final Repulsion spell, nicely done."
Receiving Viktor's praise made Aurelian beam with joy.
It meant her hard work hadn't been in vain.
A light flashed down, sweeping over her body and cleaning away the blood on her clothes.
The monster's corpse was collected, though Viktor left the body itself, it was, after all, Aurelian's trophy.
He looked at the Forest Fiend's Heart in his hand, then glanced back at Aurelian.
Though it was his student's loot, still…
Viktor slipped the heart into his pack and turned to her again.
"Well then, today's lesson is over. Tomorrow, you may take a day off."
Saying that, he nodded to Gwen in the distance. A blue magic circle lit up beneath his feet, and he vanished into sparkling motes of light.
Gwen watched Viktor leave, then waved his hand at the knights.
"Seal off this area temporarily! No one goes in or out!"
———
The princess was safely escorted back to the palace, surrounded by her guards, along with her trophy, the "Forest Fiend."
Emperor Aubrey was overjoyed and loudly declared before everyone that Aurelian would be rewarded.
Very soon, the news of Aurelian single-handedly slaying a Forest Fiend spread throughout every noble circle in the capital.
Some nobles took it as a signal from the royal family, that this previously unknown princess was finally being presented to the world as a "genius," a move to strengthen royal influence.
Others, however, became interested in Viktor's methods of teaching.
After all, everyone now knew that Viktor was officially appointed as the princess's private tutor.
'But to think that letting a student fight and kill a "Forest Fiend" was part of his curriculum…'
'What in the world was Viktor thinking?'
———
Erica had been troubled lately. Ever since she'd met Professor Viktor yesterday and impulsively blurted out that she wanted to become his disciple, she'd been wondering how to convince her father, Duke Levi.
Just as Viktor said, she was her father's only heir. There was no way he would allow her to do something so dangerous.
But when she recalled what Aurelian had said to her at the banquet, she felt uneasy.
"You want to steal my teacher?"
"I won't let you succeed."
Erica quickly shook her head, trying to shake off those unpleasant thoughts.
The sound of a door opening came from outside, a servant's voice.
"My lord duke."
Her father was back.
Hearing his voice, Erica went out to greet him, only to see Duke Levi looking grim.
She immediately held back the words she'd prepared.
If her father was in a bad mood, this was definitely not the time to talk about anything else.
But hadn't he gone to the palace? Could it be someone had offended him there?
Erica asked curiously, "Father, what's wrong?"
"It's outrageous."
Duke Levi glanced at her, sighed, and said, "Viktor, who was appointed as Her Highness's teacher, actually used large-scale teleportation magic inside the palace to take the princess outside."
"When the Royal Knights found her, the princess was facing a Forest Fiend."
Erica covered her mouth, stunned.
A Forest Fiend, of course she'd heard of that kind of monster.
They were lord-level creatures that lived deep in the woods, violent, ferocious, and extremely hard to kill.
Normally, only the knight order or passing adventurers would hunt them down, and the kingdom even offered bounties for their corpses.
'But the princess… why would she face one alone?'
Yet what shocked Erica even more was what her father said next.
"Even if she defeated that monster, letting the princess take such risks was completely unacceptable!"
There was anger in the duke's tone, directed entirely at Viktor's "reckless teaching."
The princess was the emperor's daughter, deeply loved by His Majesty.
If anything had happened to her because of Viktor, how could he continue to live in the Empire?
Everything he had built would collapse instantly.
Did he really not understand that?
But Duke Levi didn't notice how Erica's expression changed upon hearing this. She took several steps back in shock.
'What? The princess actually defeated that kind of monster!?'
'Alone? By herself!?'
She suddenly remembered the words the princess had said.
'To surpass me, to become someone even more talented than I am.'
Now, what Aurelian had accomplished engraved itself deeply into Erica's heart.
'…A genius?'
Duke Levi blinked, looking at his daughter.
For some reason, Erica was bowing her head, her face hidden.
"Erica? My dear, what's wrong?"
"N… nothing."
Erica let out a soft sigh.
In that moment, she seemed to understand something.
Staying by Viktor's side wouldn't necessarily make her fall further behind the princess.
In fact, it might shorten the distance between them.
Besides…
She already knew her father would never agree to let her take Viktor as her teacher. So why bother fighting it anymore?
'Erica, it's time for you to grow up.'
She told herself that silently.
Then, taking a deep breath, Erica made a request to her father.
"Father, during the academy's two-month admission break, I'd like to…"
Duke Levi looked at her. Her eyes were firm, and within them was a new kind of confidence.
"I'd like to train with your Mage Corps for a while."
The duke stared blankly at her for a moment.
"The tedious study of magic books won't help me improve much anymore. I need real training."
"And since the Mage Corps belongs to you, I won't cause you any trouble."
Between childish admiration and true maturity, Erica chose the latter.
It wasn't that her admiration for Viktor had lessened.
On the contrary, the closer she got to him, the more she felt the quiet charisma beneath his cold exterior.
She realized how ridiculous she had been before, thinking that to catch up to someone, she had to become their student. But that would only widen the gap between them.
Erica wanted to shine on her own, to make everyone look at her with new eyes.
Unfortunately, Viktor's light was so blinding that everyone else seemed dim in comparison.
It had almost made her forget…
That the strongest genius under twenty in the capital... could only be her.
A gentle satisfaction flashed in Duke Levi's deep eyes as he slowly said, "I have an old friend in the far north of the Empire, a powerful magus."
"If you can endure the northern cold, then in a while, you can go there with my Mage Corps and train for some time."