The morning sun spread across the guild courtyard like a golden blanket, illuminating the cold stones still damp with dew. The fresh air carried the scent of newly awakened earth and the polished wood of their training swords.
In the center, two figures moved in almost hypnotic synchrony. The dry sound of wood clashing echoed, matched by the slithering of their boots on the ground. It was as if they were dancing: attack, defense, retreat, advance.
Kael wielded the training sword naturally, his blows in clean arcs, each movent calculated down to the last detail. There was no visible effort, only lethal precision disguised as simplicity.
On the other side, Irelia watched seriously. Her brow furrowed, her eyes fixed on him, her breathing steady. She wasn’t just reacting—she was studying, seeking to understand, to improve with each clash of blades.
The training continued in silence for long minutes, until Kael broke the cadence with a low voice and a slight smile on his lips.
"You’ve improved a lot in such a short ti," he praised, parrying another of her blows without difficulty.
Irelia gasped, taking a half step back, but quickly advanced again. The gleam in her eyes betrayed the satisfaction she tried to hide.
"I had a good teacher," she replied, her tone almost casual, yet filled with pride. Her blade streaked toward his shoulder, only to be deflected as if it were nothing. "General Exelia gave so advice when I t her in the capital."
Kael arched his eyebrow in surprise, but the smile on his face widened.
"Exelia, is it?" He let out a short laugh, effortlessly deflecting another of her attacks. "That explains a lot. She’s always been demanding... but she’s undoubtedly one of the best trainers I’ve ever known."
The words slipped out naturally, but the effect was imdiate.
Irelia felt a strange tightness in her chest, sothing warm and uncomfortable that had nothing to do with the physical exertion. Her arm wavered for a mont, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Her lower lip trembled before curling into a pout.
Good trainer, huh?
And why did the way he spoke seem... too intimate? As if he carried mories that didn’t belong solely to the battlefield?
"...Hmph," she muttered, biting the corner of her lip lightly, trying to hide it.
Kael noticed the subtle change, but didn’t have ti to ponder the reason.
The next instant, Irelia advanced.
Not like before, with a training cadence, but with a sudden, aggressive vigor. Her wooden sword descended in a swift, heavy arc, forcing Kael to react.
"Hey, wait—!"
The blade sliced through the air, and Kael jumped back. The blow grazed his chest, the wind ruffling the strands of his hair.
He landed in a defensive stance, sword raised, heart pounding.
"Irelia!" he called, his voice thick with surprise. "What the hell was that?!"
She didn’t respond with words. Just another attack, diagonal, faster than the last. There was no intention to truly hurt him—Kael could feel it. But there was also none of the controlled gentleness of before. It was sothing more brutal, almost personal.
He dodged again, his boots scuffing the ground, and gave her a look sowhere between incredulous and irritated.
"I just said you’re doing well!" he exclaid, parrying another blow. "Then why are you—"
A flashing warning appeared in the corner of Kael’s vision.
[System Notification]
[Irelia Ainsworth is in "Jealousy" state]
He froze. Ti seed to stand still for a second, only the sound of rapid breathing echoing in the silent courtyard. His amber eyes blinked in disbelief, staring at those words as if the System had completely lost its mind.
"...You’ve got to be kidding ," he muttered softly, almost to himself.
But Irelia’s sword didn’t give him a chance to laugh.
A swift blow sliced through the air toward him. Kael instinctively raised his practice blade; the impact echoed in his arms like dry thunder, and the wood creaked under its force.
"Irelia!" he exclaid, holding his guard tight. "What happened all of a sudden?!"
Her eyes, half-closed, burned with intensity. She leaned so close that Kael felt her hot breath against his face.
"Nothing," she replied dryly, forcing her sword against his.
Kael raised his eyebrows, surprised by her tone.
"Nothing?" — Disbelief escaped his voice. "This feels like anything but ’nothing’!"
He pushed her blade aside and backed away, trying to gain space. But Irelia advanced again, without hesitation.
The blows fell in succession—quick, firm, charged with an energy that had nothing to do with simple training. Kael blocked, dodged, backed away, his boots scraping against the stones of the courtyard. He could sense there was no real intention to harm him, but still, the fury contained in each movent was uncomfortable.
And then, as if mocking him, the damned warning flashed again:
[Irelia Ainsworth is in a state of "Jealousy"]
Kael nearly choked.
"...Jealousy?!" he blurted out in disbelief.
Irelia’s blade wavered for a brief mont, but she quickly disguised it, advancing with another attack. A blush was already beginning to color her cheeks.
"Shut up and defend yourself!" she snapped, her voice firm, but with a hint of nervousness evident.
Kael stifled the laugh that threatened to escape. He dodged with a sideways pirouette, the wooden sword skidding through the air.
Now everything made sense.
The cross look when he ntioned Exelia. The sudden aggression. The insistence of the blows.
He raised his sword in another precise defense, but the amused smile couldn’t be hidden.
"So that’s it..." he murmured softly, almost provocatively. "You’re jealous."
"I’m not!" Irelia replied too quickly, as if the words were burning in her mouth.
Kael laughed nervously, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Of course not. Attacking your training partner out of nowhere is just... your normal way of saying good morning, right?"
Her face burned.
"Idiot!" she roared, and the sword ca down in a sharp arc.
Kael blocked, the shock reverberating between them, and instead of getting angry, he laughed. The whole scene was too absurd.
"Hahaha... I never thought I’d see you lose your composure like that!"
"I didn’t lose my composure!" Irelia snapped, her face turning redder and angrier—and embarrassed.
Kael, seizing the montum, made a swift move: he parried her blade aside and then spun around, bringing the tip of his wooden sword to rest against her shoulder.
The impact ceased. The courtyard fell silent.
They stared at each other closely, their breaths quickening, their faces only inches apart. Kael’s teasing smile contrasted with Irelia’s embarrassed look, still blushing to the tips of her ears.
In a low, mischievous tone, Kael blurted out:
"If it’s any consolation... I think you’re a better teacher than Exelia."
The words struck her like a blow straight to the heart. Her blush took over, and for a second, her posture faltered.
Kael took advantage. The wooden blade pressed firmly against her shoulder.
"I won," he declared, a triumphant smile shining on his lips.
Irelia snorted, looking away, still flushed.
"Cheater..."
Kael chuckled softly, lowering his sword.
The System appeared once more, discreetly.
["Jealousy" state dissipated.]
He sighed deeply, shaking his head.
"...This System has got to be ssing with ," he muttered, exasperated.
Irelia pretended not to hear. Her heart was still beating too fast, and embarrassnt still burned in her cheeks.
Kael, amused, returned to his initial training stance.
"Again?" he asked, raising his sword.
She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. Then she raised the blade, her gaze defiant despite her still-evident blush.
"...Let’s go."
Kael raised his sword with a calm smile, as if nothing had happened—as if he hadn’t just shattered Irelia’s entire composure with a single sentence.
The sun was already higher, warming the stones of the courtyard and casting sharp shadows around them.
Irelia straightened her posture, her feet firmly on the ground, and took a deep breath. The blush still burned in her cheeks, but she forced the muscles in her face to harden into a serious mask.
She wasn’t going to give Kael the pleasure of laughing at her again.
"Ready?" he asked, twirling the wooden sword in his hand, a gesture too lazy for soone who had just won.
"Always," she replied firmly, even as she scread at herself inside not to falter again.
The first attack ca from her. A straight, clean blow, testing whether he would fall into the sa trap as before. But Kael parried naturally, as if anticipating every move.
The dry sound of wood echoed.
"Better," he comnted, still smiling. "Less emotion, more control."
"I don’t need your lessons," he retorted, his eyes narrowing.
He arched an eyebrow.
"Don’t you?" So why do you get happy every ti I tell you you’ve improved?
Her blow ca faster than Kael expected, diagonally. There wasn’t the sheer force of it before—but there was intensity. He dodged it by a hair’s breadth, feeling the wind from the blade brush against his temple.
"Hah... almost," he murmured, chuckling softly. "I felt that one."
Irelia didn’t respond. She simply advanced again, letting the rhythm speak for her.
The two of them fell into a rhythm: attack, defense, advance, retreat.
With each clash of swords, dust rose in small clouds around their feet.
Kael studied her as she parried. He could see the way she adjusted each strike, how she observed her own mistakes and tried to correct them imdiately.
She was fast. Too fast.
And this wasn’t just training—it was a silent conversation, a battle of wills.
"You’re holding back," he said, blocking another attack. — There’s sothing you haven’t shown yet.
Irelia gritted her teeth.
Of course he would notice. Kael always did.
"You talk too much," she replied dryly, twisting the blade in a bolder motion.
Kael smiled, raising his sword in his ward.
"And you’re a bad liar."
The next clash was strong enough to echo through the courtyard. Irelia quickened her pace, increasing the speed of her attacks. There was no more hesitation: each blow was firm, asured, accurate.
And Kael, even though he was accustod to holding back any offensive, began to feel the weight of her determination.
"She’s not just reacting anymore... she’s hunting ."
His amber eyes flashed with challenge.
A genuine smile ford on his lips.
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