Thanks to Katerina's guidance, Lucas and Sequoria quickly reached the Royal Knights' training grounds. Situated at the rear of the tree palace's sprawling garden, the grounds featured a small barracks with a shaded veranda. In front of it, the grass had been cleared to create an open dueling area, ideal for training sessions and sparring matches.
Beneath the veranda—offering an excellent view of the training field—stood Ministers Lucrio, Scuro, and Aurola.
Out on the field, Aislyra and Fortore already stood poised with wooden practice swords in hand, ready to begin at a moment's notice. Aislyra held a wooden replica of her signature weapon, Ice Burn, while Fortore gripped a plain two-handed European-style sword, fashioned from sturdy wood.
As Lucas, Sequoria, and Katerina approached, Scuro was the first to acknowledge their presence.
"Welcome, Your Majesty, Lady Sequoria, Katerina. We've been expecting you," the Defense Minister greeted with a courteous bow.
"Thank you, Scuro. They haven't started yet, have they?" Lucas asked.
"Not at all," Scuro replied. "Fortore would never begin without your arrival. But as you can see, they're ready to start the moment you give the word."
"Good," said Lucas, and followed Katerina toward the two combatants.
So focused were Aislyra and Fortore on their upcoming match that neither had noticed the trio's arrival—until Lucas spoke.
"Aislyra, Fortore, we're here. You can begin if you're ready."
Both elves turned their attention to the queen.
"Welcome, O splendid Majesty. We shall begin at once, and I promise to offer a spectacle worthy of your divine beauty," said Fortore in his usual refined voice.
"Oh! Sister, you're here! Great, now we can begin!" exclaimed Aislyra enthusiastically.
The two fighters prepared to face off, but just as they were about to start—
"Wait," said Katerina, her calm voice cutting through the air.
Both paused immediately.
"Your Majesty," she continued, turning to Lucas, "may I serve as referee for this duel? Even though they're only using wooden swords, if these two go all out, there's a real risk of injury. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be an issue, but with the Golden Tree Tournament approaching, I believe it's best to take precautions."
"If that's what you'd prefer, of course, Katerina," Lucas agreed.
"Thank you. Please return to the shade—I'll take care of the rest." She gave a respectful bow.
Lucas nodded and returned to the veranda where Sequoria and the ministers were waiting.
"Can we start now?" asked Aislyra, irritation creeping into her voice.
"No, Lady Aislyra," Katerina replied firmly. "You may begin only when I give the signal."
Aislyra let out an exasperated snort.
"First, I must explain the rules of this match," the lynx-eared maid began, maintaining her composed authority.
"This match will end under any of the following conditions: if one of you yields, if I deem the situation too dangerous to continue, or if a clear victor emerges. Are these terms acceptable?"
"All right," Aislyra replied, still slightly annoyed.
"Certainly, beautiful flat-chested Lady," Fortore added with a elegant smile.
Even from the veranda, Lucas could swear he saw a vein throb visibly on Katerina's temple.
Still, the maid maintained her professional demeanor and ignored the compliment?.
"Very well," she said, raising one arm. "Begin when I lower my hand."
The two nodded and returned to their starting positions.
"Ready..." began Katerina.
"Go!" she declared, lowering her arm.
In that instant, two of the strongest elves in the kingdom clashed their wooden swords, generating a powerful shockwave that swept across the training field, reaching everyone present. Within less than a second, their blades had collided more than a hundred times in a flurry of rapid, precise strikes.
The intense initial clash ended without either landing a decisive blow.
"I see your immense brute strength hasn't diminished during my absence," said Fortore, his voice sweet and teasing. "In fact, it seems to have grown. Are you sure you're not a man after all?"
"Shut up, Fo!" Aislyra snapped. "Besides my sister and my mother, I'm confident that I'm the most feminine woman in this kingdom!"
She flashed a sharp grin. "Anyway, enough warm-up. Time to get serious."
Suddenly, she vanished from sight, reappearing instantly behind Fortore and slashing through him with her wooden sword—at least, that's what it looked like. But instead of collapsing, his body evaporated into a cloud of steam, dispersing into the wind.
A moment later, Fortore reappeared behind Aislyra, poised to strike.
Reacting in the nick of time, Aislyra released her sword from her left hand and blocked his attack with her armored right forearm.
"You're as fast as ever," she said, gritting her teeth.
She swung her broadsword at him with just her left hand, but Fortore leapt back with a fluid, near-teleporting movement, landing several meters away.
Lucas stood with wide eyes.
'What kind of magic was that?'
"As usual, it's Fortore's steam magic. It seems really complicated to deal with," said Sequoria, trying to help Lucas noticing his doubt.
"Yes," Scuro added. "Between his steam duplicates and the boiling mist he can generate, not to mention his unnatural speed, he's one of the most difficult opponents to face in our kingdom."
"Hey, dog," Lucrio interjected. "That title should belong to me."
"Sure—when you're using your speed light magic, which, however, lasts only a short time. Fortore can keep up that pace for an entire day without breaking a sweat, and he hasn't even gone all out yet," Scuro replied bluntly.
Lucrio huffed and turned away.
Lucas, still trying to process the mechanics of steam magic, returned his focus to the fight.
Fortore was now fully on the offensive. His incredible speed made it nearly impossible for Aislyra to block all his attacks. She quickly adapted, deciding to only guard against blows that could actually incapacitate her, while watching for an opening.
After several minutes of intense back-and-forth, that opening finally came.
Fortore aimed a decisive strike at her head—a blow that would have ended the match. But Aislyra shifted subtly, allowing the attack to land on her armored shoulder instead. It hurt, but she endured it, gritting her teeth through the pain. Then, with all her strength, she counterattacked.
Her wooden broadsword slammed into Fortore, launching him backward several meters. He managed to recover and land with grace, but the damage was visible.
This blow was certainly important for Aislyra. With that single blow, she practically returned all the damage she had suffered so far. However, even though she avoided being knocked out, the damage she had received up to that point was not minor.
"Fo, you really need to train more. If just one of my hits does this much damage, you're slipping," Aislyra taunted, her grin returning.
"Don't worry, Ais," Fortore replied with an elegant smile. "I'm fairly certain that most people couldn't land a hit that damaging with a single blow. It's only because of your extraordinary strength—something you clearly use to compensate for your lack of elegance and femininity. Moreover you know as well as I do, there are very few people besides you who can actually hit me."
"That's it," Aislyra muttered, her voice low and dangerous. "That's the second time you've insulted my femininity today... So I take it you want to die."
A torrent of mana surged around her sword.
"ARTIC CUTER!" she shouted.
Her wooden blade instantly froze over, doubling in size as ice engulfed it.
Meanwhile, Fortore calmly raised his hands as though grasping an invisible sword.
"Vaporizing Sword," he whispered.
Nothing seemed to appear in his hands. Nevertheless, he held his hands as if there were a sword between them, making him look like a child playing with an imaginary sword.
With excited grins, both elves charged, their enhanced swords prepared for a climactic clash.
But just as they were about to collide—
"Infinite Natural Cage," Katerina intoned.
In an instant, thick branches erupted from the earth, weaving into a tight dome around the duelists, cutting off the final clash before it could occur.
But Aislyra was too immersed in the heat of battle to notice the match had ended—unlike Fortore, who had stopped immediately. She swung her ice-bladed sword at the branches imprisoning her, trying to cut her way out. However, they regenerated so quickly that by the time her blade severed one, another had already grown in its place.
"What are you doing, Katerina?! Free me now!" Aislyra shouted in frustration.
The maid ignored her outburst. Stepping calmly forward and approaching the two caged elves, she spoke with her usual composed tone:
"As I warned before the match, I alone would decide when to stop the duel. Since the spells you were about to use could have resulted in injuries that might affect your performance in the Golden Tree Tournament next week, I decided to intervene."
She gave a small, respectful bow.
"You are absolutely right, Lady Katerina," said Fortore, bowing his head with genuine gratitude. "I let the excitement take over and nearly turned this friendly duel into something much more dangerous. I truly appreciate your intervention."
Aislyra, on the other hand, pouted for a moment, then sighed and muttered:
"Yes, you're right. I overreacted... Could you please let me out now, Katerina?"
The maid nodded and, after another slight bow, dispelled the branch cages, which vanished instantly.
Freed, Aislyra stretched and muttered to herself:
"Duels with Lo are always fun… but damn, they hurt."
She then sniffed the air, wrinkling her nose at the unpleasant odor.
"I definitely need a bath..." she murmured quietly. Her eyes then wandered until they stopped on Lucas.
Meanwhile, Fortore had made his way back to the veranda, where Lucas and the ministers stood. Once in front of the queen, he knelt on one knee.
"Your Majesty, I hope I offered a duel that met—if not exceeded—your expectations. I apologize for nearly spoiling what I intend to show during the Tournament of the Golden Trees," he said with his usual melodic voice.
"Don't worry. It happens to everyone to get a little carried away when they're enjoying themselves," Lucas replied with a polite, slightly strained smile.
'Yeah, things like that happen... But could you maybe stop staring at my breasts while apologizing?!' Lucas thought, stunned.
"Thank you for your kind understanding," Fortore said graciously, though before he could continue, his attention shifted—Lucas was being pulled away by Aislyra.
Lucas looked at her, confused.
"What's going on, Aislyra?"
"I need to take a bath. And I want you to come with me, big sister," the silver-haired elf said expressionlessly, pulling him along.
"I see…" Lucas replied, surprised by the sudden request from his new sister, but choosing not to object.
Just as they were about to leave, Sequoria began to rise, clearly intending to follow them. But Aislyra turned and shot her a cold glare.
"And you, Mother—don't follow us."
Sequoria froze mid-motion, then slowly sat back down, pouting in an adorably exaggerated manner.
With that, the two sisters, accompanied by Katerina, made their way to the royal bath.