Chapter 61: An Unexpected Encounter

The carriage arrived shortly after; the royal castle wasn’t too far from the capital.

Although Will had often seen the castle from afar, standing tall on the hill, actually arriving there left him somewhat astonished.

It wasn’t the rugged, stone-built fortress he had imagined, perched on uneven slopes. Instead, the royal palace sprawled across the entire hilltop behind the capital, incorporating extensive renovations, lush gardens, and various palace sections.

The castle visible from the capital was merely one-tenth of the entire palace.

The largest part of the royal palace was its natural forests and gardens, taking advantage of the hill’s terrain.

In total, the palace grounds were four to five times larger than Will had anticipated.

“Welcome, Young Master Will. Please follow me. This way leads to Princess Treya’s palace and her usual garden for walks. There’s still some time before the banquet begins, so you’re free to explore this area.”

Oh, great.

They were already guiding him straight to Treya’s quarters.

Were the servants already preparing for their married life together?

Will remembered that the banquet’s purpose was relatively secretive; only a select few knew it was meant to announce the engagement.

“Alright, no problem. You don’t need to follow me.”

This was an opportunity.

According to the original story, Treya would still be training in her private training grounds up until two hours before the banquet.

Perhaps wandering around here…

He might just “accidentally” run into her.

—

Treya’s world was bright.

Treya’s world was colorful.

Treya’s world had no room for the bleakness of black.

In the gentle afternoon sunlight, within the training grounds…

Treya wasn’t wearing armor but rather loose training clothes.

Instead of a wooden training sword, she wielded her real silver sword—her most trusted weapon.

Standing in the training grounds, she faced ten training dummies positioned at varying heights. She stepped forward and struck.

“Entark Sword Technique, Eleventh Form: Slash.”

Whoosh.

Silver hair trailed behind her as she left afterimages in the air.

In an instant, all ten training dummies were sliced into pieces, falling to the ground.

Treya stood still, one hand sheathing her sword and the other brushing her bangs aside, her posture upright.

“Huff.”

To Treya, everyone in her world had a color.

For example…

Her elder sister, the one who taught her the Entark Demon Swordsmanship and had made a name for herself as an adventurer in the dungeons—the Red Demon Sword, Eugenie—was like the warm red of the sun.

Her father, the king who had watched her grow up while diligently managing the affairs of the Entark Empire, was like the calm blue of the sky.

One day, she too would be like them—a princess capable of standing on her own.

Like the drifting clouds in the sky, pure and beautiful.

“One more time…”

Treya fetched new training dummies, carefully positioning them in the spots Eugenie had marked for her, then returned to her starting point.

She usually trained until nightfall, but…

Today was the day she would meet her fiancé. He would surely be someone with a vibrant color.

She was excited.

What kind of color would he have?

“I must say, your swordsmanship… tsk tsk tsk, it’s really not up to par. Hard to watch.”

A sharp critique suddenly came from behind her.

“Who’s there?”

She turned her head, her tone calm and devoid of anger. She seemed genuinely curious about the person’s identity, showing no particular emotion toward the unsolicited criticism.

Behind her stood a brown-haired boy wearing glasses.

He was slightly shorter than her, though his features suggested they were about the same age. Due to her half-elf bloodline, Treya’s growth spurt had come earlier, making her appear taller than her peers.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, exuding elegance. Treya hadn’t met many boys her age, but perhaps because of the suit, she found him rather handsome.

“Hmm… just a passerby with a little knowledge of swordsmanship,” the boy said, spreading his hands and shrugging as he approached her, showing no regard for the distance that should exist between a princess and a commoner.

Today’s banquet had brought many guests, including young heirs from various families. Some of them had arrived early and were allowed to roam the public gardens before the event.

Realizing this, Treya felt less uneasy about a stranger appearing in her training grounds.

“Alright. Could you tell me what’s wrong with it?”

“Uh…”

The boy seemed caught off guard by her earnest and polite response to his harsh critique. For a moment, he didn’t know how to reply.

“If you know a bit about swordsmanship, you should be able to offer some reasonable advice.”

“Aren’t you even a little suspicious… that I might be lying, just boasting about myself?”

“…Lying?”

Treya’s expression didn’t change, but she tilted her head slightly.

She understood the concept of “lying” as something inherently bad—a dull, grayish-black thing devoid of brightness or vibrancy.

As such, she never assumed she would be deceived.

“Sigh, honestly.”

The boy sighed and walked over to the training dummies Treya had just set up.

“Miss, may I adjust your dummies a bit?”

“Go ahead.”

“Alright.”

The boy circled the ten dummies, seemingly studying their positions. After walking around twice, he stopped between two of them and moved them slightly.

Treya watched him quietly.

The dummy positions had been set by Eugenie to train her. The “Slash” technique was designed to test her speed and range, and the correct placement of the dummies was crucial for honing her ability to strike within a short time frame.

It had taken her months of practice to reach the point where she could destroy all ten dummies in one go. Her incredibly skilled sister, however, had achieved the same feat within ten days of learning the technique.

“Alright. How about trying your swordsmanship again?”

The boy didn’t seem to have done anything particularly remarkable. He had simply adjusted the positions of two dummies. The ten dummies were still tightly grouped in the center of the training grounds.

“Alright.”

Treya nodded, raising her sword.

“Please step aside. I’m using a real sword today, and I wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Got it.”

The boy waved her off and stepped aside, crossing his arms as he watched her with interest.

Treya assumed her stance, taking a deep breath.

“Entark Sword Technique, Eleventh Form: Slash.”

The sword flashed, her silver hair trailing behind her.

Crash.

The dummies shattered into pieces, their fragments scattering across the ground.

But…

Only eight dummies were destroyed as before. The two dummies the boy had adjusted remained intact, standing proudly in the training grounds, gleaming under the midday sun.