"The winner of this duel is... Miss Rosalina Valentina!"
The professor's voice rang out clearly across the arena.
The stands exploded into cheers, some loud and excited, others a little hesitant, but the noise rolled in like a wave anyway.
"It's already decided," one student muttered to his friend.
"Right? It's Rosalina Valentina, after all. No one can take her down."
The whispers and chatter spread fast through the crowd.
Alia stood frozen for a second, teeth clenched so hard her jaw hurt.
Her face burned with humiliation.
Without saying a word, without looking at anyone, not even Rosalina, she turned sharply and marched out of the arena.
Rosalina calmly sheathed her sword with a smooth motion. Then she snapped her fingers once.
The beautiful blade shimmered and vanished into thin air, like it had never been there.
She started to turn away, ready to leave the arena like the fight had been nothing more than a boring chore.
But her gaze caught on Julius.
