Chapter 3.1

At Rewan’s words, Ignis focused once more.

Celestine slowly lifted his sword. His form looked unusual.

He raised the sword slowly and swung to the side of the log instead of cutting the log…!

It was a total disaster. The sword fell from Celestine’s hand with a clang and he looked like he could not carry the heavy sword and had almost dislodged his arm trying to do so.

He gave out a sound of pain and didn’t even think of picking up the dropped sword.

Rewan’s face crumpled “I would’ve preferred it if at least one person excelled in this class.” He clicked his tongue in anger as he said so.

Ignis closed his eyes for a moment. It meant that he was not a person of interest.

“Let’s go see something else. There is nothing more to see here.”

Ignis, who had still not taken his eyes off Celestine, nodded slowly and fell in line with Rewan’s footsteps as he left.

In a few seconds, he turned his head and looked at Celestine smiling brightly. He had a sudden thought that Celestine missed the target and dropped the sword on purpose.

‘Did he do it deliberately?’ Ignis thought as he walked away

***

Her goal was to live quietly

Selena laughed sheepishly as she picked up the fallen sword. Countless eyes were staring at her back.

“Next!” The overseer exclaimed as he snatched the sword from Selena’s hand.

Selena winced and took a step backwards, having an expression as if she couldn’t help it.

Her steps were followed by the jeering eyes. Those eyes were filled with ridicule and mockery.

Some of them were surprised to hear the name ‘Celestine Evans’ as they watched him. Many of them were deeply curious about his skills; since he was the son Simon Evans who was called ‘the Dragon Slayer’.

But the skills that he displayed were very poor. It was as if he had never held the sword before. Was he really Simon Evans’ son?

The overseers quickly diverted the interest of the soldiers that was aimed at her.

Selena on feeling the mocking gazes moving away breathed a sigh of relief. And then he sat down on the sand floor and wiped off the cold sweat. That was not a knight exam that was a mess.

She was ordered to run laps around the training grounds as a punishment for her poor performance.

Selena did not regret her action of missing the target when swinging her sword. It was clear that things would’ve been the same as in the novel if she hadn’t.

‘Is he gone?’ Selena thought as she quietly turned her head and took a look at the place where Prince Ignis had been standing.

Fortunately Ignis was not standing there anymore. She breathed another sigh of relief as she held her chest.

Before taking the test, Selena had found Ignis standing in the distance when she looked around. Of course she knew this because of the cheat that reading the novel had provided her with.

However, she could immediately recognize him as Prince Ignis. This was because his external appearance was just as how it was described in the book.

He was best described as someone who was like dawn.  Selena was quite impressed by his red eyes and silvery hair and the intimidating aura that surrounded him.

Even though he had stood quite far away, his piercing gaze could still be felt. It was like a sun shining through the cloudy sky. She had gotten scared. Such eyes can only belong to ‘the villain.’

Going by what happened in the book, Celestine had stood out for his exemplary sword skills after enlisting, but had left without being promoted.

Then he had become a mercenary, which had fallen right in with Ignis’ plans. By backing Celestine into a corner, Ignis planned to emerge as his savior. As a result, Celestine fell right in Ignis’ trap and became his right arm.

Celestine, who did all sorts of dirty work after that, will be killed by the male protagonist in three years.  Thereby, a befitting end to the man who served as the villain’s right hand according to everyone.

Selena swallowed the spit that had gathered in her mouth again. That was why showing off her sword skills right now was like committing suicide, which will lead to her being grabbed by him.

So Selena had deliberately botched up her sword examination, to avoid catching Ignis’ eyes and fortunately the idea worked.

Ignis left and she became ‘a bloke who had nothing worthwhile to see’ to everyone around her.

“Thank God” Selena murmured “that I am established as useless in everyone’s eyes”

Embarrassment was fleeting anyway. It would be best in all ways to avoid people’s attention at all costs. So that she could avoid Ignis’ attention and there was also the fact that nobody will notice that she was a woman instead.

It seemed best to live a quiet life like this and then get discharged after completing the mandatory training. And have nothing whatsoever to do with Ignis. As long as she maintained this, there will be no problems for her in the future. She affirmed to herself once more.

‘I will surely and absolutely live like a dead rat. So please let me live quietly.’ She prayed earnestly.