A week had passed since the trial.

Life within the palace had slowly returned to normal.

The whispers surrounding Soul Art had not disappeared, but they had grown quieter with each passing day.

The suspended royal audience was eventually held once more.

During the gathering, King Valerius made an important announcement.

On Princess Luna’s seventeenth birthday, a Coming of Age Ceremony would be held.

It was a tradition observed by the Arondain royal family, usually taking place between a royal descendant’s sixteenth and eighteenth birthday.

Many nobles had expected such a ceremony years ago.

However, it had never been held for King Valerius.

At the time, the former King and Queen had been murdered.

Valerius and Commander Kael had spent those years hunting down those responsible and delivering justice.

As a result, the ceremony had been quietly abandoned.

The announcement quickly became the talk of the kingdom.

Nobles began preparing gifts.

Merchants discussed the celebrations.

And rumors spread about what the King might reveal during the ceremony.

As for me…

My injuries had finally healed.

Which should have been good news.

Unfortunately, Vice Commander Ren had other plans.

“Hey, kid! How’s your stamina?”

A familiar voice echoed across the training grounds.

“Back in my day, people would run until sunset without taking a single break!”

Vice Commander Ren stood with her hands on her hips, looking far too energetic for someone who had been tormenting me since sunrise.

“Huff… Huff…”

I bent over, struggling to catch my breath.

“D-Dame Ren…”

Sweat dripped from my face.

“I’ve been running for three hours…”

The moment I stopped moving, my legs gave out beneath me.

I collapsed onto the ground.

“Not bad.”

Ren nodded approvingly.

Then she immediately ruined the compliment.

“But we’re just getting started.”

Before I could protest, she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and lifted me onto her shoulder.

“W-Wait!”

“Nope.”

She carried me toward the center of the training grounds.

“Now then.”

She pointed at the dirt.

“One hundred push-ups.”

Her grin widened.

“Get started.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“Dame Ren…”

“What?”

“I can’t feel my legs.”

“Good.”

She gave me a thumbs up.

“That means the training is working.”

What kind of logic was that?

Seeing my expression, Ren laughed.

“Did you forget already?”

She crouched beside me.

“I chose you as my apprentice.”

Her playful expression faded slightly.

“That power of yours is dangerous.”

For the first time that morning, she sounded serious.

“We don’t understand Soul Art.”

“We don’t know its limits.”

“We don’t know what it can become.”

She poked my forehead.

“So until we figure that out, I’m going to train you.”

Her grin returned.

“Whether you like it or not.”

I let out a defeated sigh.

“And before you complain…”

She pointed toward the palace.

“The King and your father already gave me permission.”

Of course they did.

Traitors.

“Ren!”

A familiar voice suddenly echoed across the training grounds.

Both of us turned.

Princess Luna was marching toward us.

A storm seemed to follow behind her.

The moment she reached us, she pointed accusingly at Ren.

“How dare you kidnap Az!”

Ren blinked.

“Kidnap?”

“You dragged him out of his room!”

“Training.”

“You carried him away while he was changing!”

“Details.”

“Those are not details!”

Ren immediately burst out laughing.

Luna’s face turned red.

“Give him back!”

“Aww.”

Ren placed a hand over her heart.

“Is the Princess lonely without her personal attendant?”

Luna froze.

“W-What?!”

The vice commander grinned.

“Don’t worry.”

She patted my shoulder.

“I’ll return your little butler this afternoon.”

Luna’s face became even redder.

“H-He isn’t—”

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

Unfortunately, that only made Ren grin wider.

“By the way.”

Ren pointed toward the palace.

“The King gave me permission.”

Her smile became smug.

“So if you have complaints, feel free to discuss them with His Majesty.”

Luna’s eye twitched.

Meanwhile, I simply stood there.

Caught between a princess and a vice commander.

Both of whom seemed determined to make my life difficult.

For some reason, I had a feeling this was only the beginning.

A few minutes later, Ren dragged me to another section of the training grounds.

Several weapon racks stood nearby.

Wooden dummies filled the field.

Only after reaching the area did she finally release my collar.

“Kid.”

She crossed her arms.

“By looking at your build and constitution, I think you’re suited for a katana.”

I blinked.

“A katana?”

“Yep.”

She rested a hand on the weapon at her waist.

The next moment..

Shing.

A beautiful blade emerged from its sheath.

The sword was unlike anything I had ever seen.

A gently curved, single-edged blade.

A long hilt designed to be held with both hands.

The sheath was decorated with white and gold markings while faint green patterns ran across its surface.

Even standing still, the blade looked elegant.

Beautiful.

Ren walked toward a suit of steel armor placed nearby.

Without warning…

Slash.

The blade flashed.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the armor slowly slid apart.

The steel had been cut cleanly in half.

My eyes widened.

“See?”

Ren rested the katana on her shoulder.

“This is a katana.”

She carefully sheathed the blade.

“It is one of the sharpest weapons in the world.”

Click.

“But it is also fragile.”

She tapped the sheath.

“Use the wrong angle.”

“Swing carelessly.”

“Force your way through everything.”

“It breaks.”

I stared at the weapon.

“So it’s difficult to use.”

Ren nodded.

“Very.”

A grin appeared on her face.

“Most people look down on it.”

“They call it fragile.”

“They call it weak.”

“They say it cannot stand beside their greatswords and broadswords.”

Her hand tightened around the hilt.

“But if mastered properly…”

Her emerald eyes gleamed.

“You can cut through a boulder as easily as butter.”

There was genuine pride in her voice.

Then she looked directly at me.

“I’m going to teach you.”

I blinked.

“Teach me what?”

“The Ryuken Style.”

Her grin widened.

“A swordsmanship passed down for generations.”

I frowned.

“Why are you teaching me something that important?”

Ren rested her hand on the hilt of her katana, her usual playful grin fading slightly.

“Kid, do you know why I chose you as my apprentice?”

I shook my head.

She slowly drew the blade.

The elegant, curved steel gleamed beneath the sunlight.

“Back when I left my homeland and traveled across the kingdoms, people laughed at this sword.”

Her grip tightened.

“They called it fragile.”

“They called it weak.”

“They said it could never stand beside their greatswords and broadswords.”

A bitter smile appeared on her face.

“I heard those words for years.”

Then she swung.

Shing.

A beautiful silver arc flashed through the air.

Several meters away, a wooden training dummy slid apart before collapsing into two pieces.

“But every time I swung this blade,” she said, her voice growing firmer, “it proved them wrong.”

She sheathed the katana with a sharp click.

“That’s why I’m teaching you.”

Her emerald eyes met mine.

“I want to prove them wrong again.”

She tapped the sheath.

“That this style isn’t weak.”

“It’s simply misunderstood.”

The fire returned to her eyes.

Then she pointed directly at me.

“And you’re going to help me prove it.”

I blinked.

“Wait, what?”

“Good.”

She grabbed my collar.

“Glad you agreed.”

“I didn’t—”

“Training time.”

“Dame Ren!”

“No complaints.”

She began dragging me toward the center of the field.

“Today we start with stance training.”

My face paled.

“That’s all?”

“Until sunset.”

“…”

“Then we start running again.”

I immediately considered escaping.

Unfortunately, Ren seemed to read my thoughts.

Her grin widened.

“Don’t even think about it, kid.”

My suffering had only just begun.