Stella had been training herself to exhaustion daily for the past several months, seeking the acknowledgment of both her family and the world.
Her father, Drakan, was once considered for a Great Noble position given his immense strength and deeds on the frontlines. He filled his father's shoes so well that he was basically indistinguishable from the man his late father was. That man served in the army with Jurnick during his campaign to take the throne from his siblings. The previous emperor considered giving Drakan the seat of a "Grand Duke", a title that would have elevated House Ayried to rival even the royal bloodlines. But just like Marcus von Berkley who wanted to remain a countryside noble ruling his own city and territory, Drakan declined, choosing instead to remain a sword on the battlefield rather than an official in the court.
Whenever people talk about the future of the Ayried House, they envision the successor to Drakan. This naturally draws their eyes to the heir of said House. This is a normal occurrence.
But so far, only Hans had been considered the heir by many for a long time, even before he began using Aura. This isn't something decided by Drakan alone but the heirloom, Fire Lily.
In comparison, Stella felt left out. She never wanted for anything in life before the academy.
Why would she? Drakan showed genuine love to all his children. To others, he may not seem like it, but he is a gentle father.
Stella knows that despite loving her, he didn't acknowledge her strength or see her as a potential heir to the House. Despite being 18, she had never achieved a great feat before. Of course, she is known to be a talented but growing swordsman but it was the type of talent you can find anywhere and not the kind that comes every century or so.
The one who fits this description the best is Arnold—a man who even Drakan was consider marrying into his House. She knows this because he called her into his office one night to discuss a possible engagement between the two.
So, what was Stella's response to this?
-"I will do it… But only if I lose to him."
When asked what this means, she replied.
-"He is my rival. And the day I challenge and lose to him is the day I accept my mediocrity and strive for strength for myself and not others."
The only reason Stella was training so hard was to surpass Arnold—the genius born once a century.
No matter how many said she couldn't, she pressed on.
She bled. She broke bones. She cried into the dirt. And each time she stood, she whispered his name under her breath as a vow.
Arnold.
He had everything handed to him by the world—power, prestige, potential. And yet, he still worked as if the gods were breathing down his neck. That was what scared her the most.
She didn't want to be like him.
She wanted to defeat him.
She wanted the world to see her not as a daughter, not as a second cousin to greatness, not as a 'respectable swordswoman'—but as Stella Ayried, the one who surpassed the untouchable.
Her knuckles bled every night, her sword was heavy every morning, and the shadows under her eyes grew darker by the week.
But still she trained.
Still, she fought.
"Hah!" Stella swung her sword, then stopped before it hit the straw puppet, dodging down, imaging to herself that the enemy was quicker. She then bent down and slashed sideways.
Instead of imagery training, she was training her mind to react to invisible attacks so that she can time her reflexes right and improve upon them. Most young swordsmen don't train like this since only experienced swordsmen actually benefit from it but Stella is trying to make herself used to this form of training.
She was currently in their estate's training grounds, wearing clothes she hasn't taken off in three days.
Yes, she smells awful and pee stained her legs, probably from when she was too exhausted to seek privacy and wet the flowers. Such a thing wasn't that rare for knights or soldiers on the field so she had long since gotten used to this sort of living. In addition to never taking breaks unless necessary, she had been sleeping way less than before she got serious about training.
For the last several days, she slept under the stars right here, eating only food she caught herself during her time in the forest.
Their estate was nowhere near the west gate that led out of the capital city so she had to run far just to get to the forest. While there are laws that prohibit unlicensed hunting of game, she was able to get away with this with her father's status, if she only caught one boar and nothing else.
Turns out that lasted her a while. But since then, she hadn't eaten anything in a whole day.
Stella's stomach growled as the sunlight touched her skin. For the first time in a while, she craved food made in the house.
The sword, though just a tenth of her body weight, weighed as heavy as a mountain since she had been swinging it around since last night with only water breaks in-between.
"I should get ready for school." She collapsed on her butt and leaned back on the grass.
**
Stella got back to the house, bathed herself then finished putting on her clothes. She used to wear light makeup but over time, she just didn't care anymore after spending a prolong time outdoors without it. She no longer wanted to look pretty and presentable—just a strong warrior who made a name for herself.
Starting today, Arnold won't be in her class (A Class, Year 5) any longer even though he is supposed to be an untouchable genius. But it can't be helped since he failed all his final exams because he was missing for a month.
Even if he made it back a week before vacation started, they wouldn't allow him to take the tests. In the end, he was placed in Class D, the class where all the troublemakers and "dumb" students are. Calling them dumb doesn't necessarily mean they aren't up to academy standards. No, they aren't up to Ardark's specific standards. Any average grade below a 50% gets you in that class. Only 85%+ students are allowed in the A-B class.
Stella barely got straight A's, netting her an 89% average so she was in the A class again this year.
Since the two are now separated by class, it will be hard to keep track of his progress, the sole motivator for her training.
Stella began to eat the breakfast the servants quickly made for her. Normally breakfast would be done for the whole family but not everyone was at the table for breakfast this morning. Her father got a summon from the palace and had to leave a few days ago. She found out that most of the nobles were summoned to the palace as well so the emperor might be preparing a big announcement.
It couldn't be related to his birthday since that's a month away. Since so many nobles gathered there, people naturally assumed the worst. The last time this happened in such short notice was days before the Civil War.
"—You still haven't left, huh?"
While she was lost in thought, Stella heard a voice coming from the entrance of the dining room.
Hands stood there, leaning against the doorframe.
"…I'm waiting for the servants to pack my things." She always stays over at the dorm since the academy has better facilities suited to training, "What did the Knight Order say?"
She asked Hans about his invitation to one of the knight orders, which he got right after graduating.
"I just need to pass a few physical tests before they accept me as a squire." He approached one of the chairs and sat down, "What about you? Shouldn't you also have approached various institutions by now?"
"I haven't yet…"
"What does Father have to say about this?"
"He hasn't asked…"
Hans isn't Drakan's biological son, but Stella's cousin, who he adopted into the main family. Most assumed this was to make it easier to make Hans his successor. It's not the first time this has happened in a noble family, though. Just recently, the Berkley House did something similar.
"Stella, you need to realize that becoming the head of a household shouldn't be the only goal to strive towards. There are steps that need to be climbed. Training is one of many."
"…"
"Even a city lord understands that his children must have sufficient qualifications before he hands his title to them upon retirement. Strength isn't the only thing society cares about. Hasn't been for thousands of years. If it were, any fool could become a noble or city lord. But these titles hold value that needs the right pair of hands to uphold that value. This is why soldiers are seen as expendable, because they have nothing to their names. They are merely sons who failed to meet the standards of inheritance, oftentimes second and third sons who were inferior to their eldest brother."
"They already lost when the eldest brother was born." She shot back at him, "The title is considered theirs since birth while the rest are given a chance to fight for it."
"You're not wrong. This became the norm centuries ago when some famous shaman found that a person's genes stretches thinner with each child born, with the eldest inheriting most of it which in turn makes them better than their younger siblings. There are exceptions and various things to consider like age gap and education but this is generally the norm. even though Crown Prince Julius is a few years older than Ronia, she is unable to keep up with him in various things, as recorded back when they were still in the academy. The two were always compared. Neither excel in combat but show incredible talent in other fields, including pulling people to their cause."
Despite being older, Julius didn't inherit the throne immediately since it was obvious Ronia could put up a fight.
"Ronia proved herself through her qualifications and talent, never focusing on improving one single thing. The rest of the world sees this, and naturally sees her as an opponent Julius can't underestimate. And then there's you, little sister," Hans calling her his 'little sister' made her look back up at him, "Your rivalry and mindless training won't grant you anything worthy of praise. Not by Father, the branch households or the world itself. Father only admires your determination for growth, not the growth itself since compared to a year ago, you are still the same person."
She clenched her fists under the table but kept a straight face while still looking at him.
"Just become a knight like me." Hans stood up and turned on the spot, about to leave, "You can prove your worth through actions out on the field. This is how imperial knights are both loved and feared even though not all of them are so powerful as the world paints them out to be."
"…Was strength always never important to you?"
"It was always important since I know what I'm striving to become. But I never only saw strength as my goal, just a stepping stone, like I just told you." He turned back to her, "Become Head isn't what's important to you, is it?"
"…."
"Nor is wielding Fire Lily."
"…." She lowered her head.
He was right about that.
She didn't care about the prestige that comes with the sword, only gaining the power to be able to wield it. But one obstacle stood in her way, and is her current goal.
Arnold.
"I won't be around for a while but let me help you understand something Father told me long ago. You can't just have one goal then focus on several later on. There needs to be an endgame with branching paths. Strength might be somewhere in those branching paths while things like acquiring leadership skills, excelling in academics and buildings connections are around it. Never make strength your sole motivator."
So instead of a straight path, it should be like a tree, with the tallest branch being the endgame goal? When she imagined her growth, she always ever saw a straight path with many obstacles along the way. But in Hans' explanation, the path to the endgame is shut until she learns to achieve other things.
"...Why are you telling me this?"
"I'm telling you this because you care more about your rivalry than you do your future. Do you still want to wield Fire Lily despite this single goal you have?"
She nodded slowly.
"Then you have no choice but to take my advice and focus on your future because that sword will never be in the hands of someone who can only see tunnel vision, someone who will never be head of this House. And frankly," he shook his head slowly, "I do not see you as my rival even if Father is impressed by your determination."
With that said, he left the dining room, leaving Stella to contemplate on her own.
Hans' words resonated with her.
Focus on a single goal—learn many things but master only one. Like a swordsman who learns to swing the sword, learn foot techniques, sword skills and martial arts. The endgoal is to become a knight.
She had been doing exactly that for years now but is it time to change the way she thinks?
Will that bridge the gap between her and Arnold?
A small smile formed on her face as excited grew in her heart.
Yes, she will surpass Arnold one day.
…
Burst of unfathomable power shot into the sky, brighter than even the sun. From afar, the citizens wondered what was going on but the hole in the clouds indicated that it was something abnormal.
Panic struck their hearts as they ran, thinking someone was attacking the capital, the most guarded city of the five cities.
Stella arrived at the source of that incredible power, standing blankly.
She fell into a daze, watching how someone she once considered her motivation, slaughtered an Ancient Dragon in a single attack, looking bored throughout the whole process.
Stella learned that day that she misunderstood how high that ceiling, she wanted to surpass, really was.
Her legs felt weak. The excitement in her chest turned to lead. She stood at the academy gates, unable to breathe, unable to blink.
Stella collapsed on the ground, the weight of her arrogance forcing to crush her.
She was trembling and pale.
The ceiling she had to reach… frightened her.