Millia stroked her forehead with her right hand. The two of us were in a massive room that somewhat resembled a gymnasium. Nervousness flowed through me. Sweat trickled down my brow.

  "Are you mad?" I asked, taking a quick glance into the hallway.

  The other students were almost here, but they hadn't arrived yet. There was still some time left for us to talk.

  "I am," Millia answered. "But not at you."

  "Who are you mad at?" I wondered.

  "Whoever reincarnated you here. Why would they reincarnate some noob who couldn't even beat the first boss as the MC of The Duke's Duplicity?"

  Dejection crashed into me like a freight train. Millia had a point. Still, I'd have to inform her of something else.

  "I...don't know if I was reincarnated. I remember details about The Duke's Duplicity, but nothing else about my old world. I also don't remember being Dante beyond a week ago," I said.

  Millia gave me a look of complete and utter dejection. She let out a deep breath, shaking her head.

  "Great. I don't even know what I can tell you about the game anymore," Millia stated. "This messes up all my plans."

  I tilted my head. Confusion had struck my mind.

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

  "You're a noob. If I tell you the wrong thing, it could end up causing you to do something stupid," she answered. "Although...it might be better if you don't know much about the game. Or at least if you don't have Dante's memories."

  That didn't help.

  "Oookay...well, what do you mean by that?" I questioned.

  "The Duke's Duplicity did not...no, I won't say anything else. I need to think this through. I'll tell you what you should know later," Millia said.

  I wanted to question her more, but the other students entered the room. So, I shut my mouth. Augusta stood nearby me. However, most of the people in the room kept their distance from each other. It had been giving me awkward new class vibes, and that feeling was only increasing.

  An old man walked into the gym. He was wearing a suit of armor that covered his entire body except his head. There was an eyepatch over his left eye, and his right scanned the room. A hint of concern crossed his face when he saw Augusta.

  "Good evening, class. I am Sir Ethan Penbrook, and I am your physical education instructor," he said. "To give some view of my past, I am a veteran of the Izmir Wars. I was knighted by the Queen of Poltost for killing 3 enemy officers in a series of duels. After my tour of duty, I went overseas to the New World. There, I administered a colony where I faced off against vile savages before returning here. Now, I serve as a teacher at King Casimir Academy."

  I was fairly certain that these supposed 'savages' were just normal people who happened to be less technologically advanced than whoever Ethan worked for at the time. They probably used the 'savages' label as an excuse to conquer them.

  Sir Ethan then turned to the wall and walked over to it. He opened a panel before pulling out several practice swords and pieces of armor. Afterwards, the old man addressed us.

  "Let's start out with fencing. We will have a few matches today, so I can see what you're all capable of. Now, who wants to go first?" the teacher asked.

  Augusta raised her hand right away.

  "I might as well get this over with," she answered.

  After a moment of hesitation, Sir Ethan nodded.

  "Very well, Your Highness. Grab a practice sword and some armor."

  Augusta took a training sword, but she didn't put on any armor. Sir Ethan scratched his beard.

  "Your Highness, while they are less dangerous than normal swords, a training blade can still bruise you," he said.

  "You can only get bruised if you're hit. No one here is going to hit me," Augusta replied without a hint of emotion in her voice.

  Dead silence overtook the training area after that. Still, it didn't seem like anyone disagreed with her.

  "If you insist, Your Highness," Sir Ethan let out a deep sigh. "Go onto the center of the sparring area."

  She did as commanded. Then, the instructor turned to the rest of us.

  "So, which one of you wants to spar with her?" he asked, a sympathetic look crossing his face.

  Everyone except me and a woman in a witch's hat who was sitting in a corner shifted nervously. I raised my hand, and a few students looked at me as if I was insane. Augusta noticed. Her eyes lit up. However, Sir Ethan's gaze fell upon Prince Boleslaw.

  "Your Highness, perhaps you'd like to show us what the crown of Katow can do? Comparing your kingdom's style to Calavonian swordsmanship would be interesting," he suggested.

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  "No thanks," Prince Boleslaw answered. "I'm not sure if I can win, and it would be humiliating for the Prince of Katow to lose to a woman. Even if I personally wouldn't mind, I must consider my position."

  Sir Ethan nodded. My eye twitched. Also, my hand was still raised but Sir Ethan overlooked me.

  "Very well. Millia, you're a woman. Perhaps you could spar with the princess?" he suggested.

  "Are you kidding me? She's undefeated! I don't stand a chance against her!" Millia said. "No way!"

  My eye twitched again. Dammit! Notice my hand already! It's in the middle of the air!

  Sir Ethan then turned to Robert, who spoke before the instructor could say anything.

  "I'm not stupid enough to fight someone like her," he said.

  My eye twitched a third time, and I let out a deep groan. I stepped forward. Pretty much everyone's jaws dropped upon seeing this. The exceptions were Millia, the instructor, that witch, and Augusta.

  "If none of you are going to spar with Augusta, I will," I declared. "If she's going to get better at sword fighting, she needs someone to train with."

  I put on some of the armor and grabbed a practice sword. Then, I walked to the center of the room, standing across from Augusta. A flicker of interest passed through her eyes. However, her expression remained stoic.

  "It wasn't an act. You really aren't afraid of me," she noted.

  "Should I be?" I asked. "We're just training, so it should be fine. Besides, fighting the strongest student will help me grow as a warrior too."

  Then, I held out the hand that wasn't holding a training sword. Augusta looked at it, a bewildered expression on her face. I gave her a warm smile.

  "I'm sorry that everyone else was too afraid to spar with you. Let's have a good match," I offered.

  After a brief pause, Augusta gave me a single nod. The girl clenched my hand in a firm grip and shook it.

  "I hope you give me more entertainment before your defeat," she said.

  "Sorry, but I don't do trash talk, even if it's fun for others. It's too disrespectful for me," I replied.

  "Trash talk?"

  "Never mind."

  Sir Ethan stood to the side of us. His gaze fell upon Augusta and then myself. He swung his arm through the air.

  "Match start!" he declared.

  I didn't waste time. My feet moved forward, and I thrust my sword. Dante's muscle memory flowed into me, allowing me to perform this attack decently well.

  A flicker of shock flashed through Augusta's eyes. However, it was brief. She batted my blade to the side and swung her sword at me. Augusta was slow, far slower than she should have been, so I parried with ease.

  My next move was a high feint, aiming at her head. Augusta stepped back, but she didn't step back far. The girl was almost hit by my attack, and an irritation built up in me.

  I kept up my momentum, turning my cut into a thrust mid-swing. Augusta stood her ground and swung her training weapon. This was where I saw my chance.

  With a quick motion, I flicked my weapon, aiming for her blade. My training sword knocked Augusta's implement to the side. She lazily swung it back at me, but I ducked under her attack while thrusting. I hit her in the chest.

  "Match to Dante," Sir Ethan said. "That was a good fight, both of you."

  There was a wariness in his eyes as he glanced at Augusta.

  I withdrew my blade. Augusta looked down at her chest. Her face was blanketed in an expression of complete and utter shock. While she was surprised, I felt disappointed and angry. My right eye twitched.

  Still, I extended my trembling hand to her. It was the honorable and respectful thing to do, even if I was a bit mad.

  "That was a good match," I said. "You fought well. So, don't be sad that you lost."

  "I'm not sad. I'm feeling something different," Augusta replied.

  The girl looked at my hand.

  "Dante, your hand is trembling. Are you afraid?" she asked.

  "No. I'm mad," I answered with my right eye twitching.

  "Why?"

  It should be obvious why. Did Augusta not understand this basic thing? How sheltered was she?

  "Because I know you're a lot stronger than this, Miss Undefeated. It was obvious you were holding back," I said. "I can understand holding back against an inferior opponent, but it felt like you were barely doing the bare minimum."

  I then pointed a finger at her face.

  "So, if you're mad at anyone for losing, be mad at yourself."

  A current of fear pulsed through the room. Millia's jaw dropped to the ground. Robert looked at me like I had gone mad. Janek clasped his hands together in prayer. Prince Boleslaw looked around with nervousness. Most of the other students whispered amongst each other. Sir Ethan got between Augusta and I.

  "That's enough. The match is over. Get..."

  Augusta interrupted him.

  "I'm not done yet," she said.

  Shock and horror came over the instructor's face. Fear tinged my body too. Did I mess up? Was the princess a sore loser? Did I scold her too much? Did I just make a powerful enemy? Worse, did I just anger the coolest character in the Duke's Duplicity?

  I looked at Augusta. Her gaze was fixed on me. There was a soft smile on her face. The girl's eyes looked slightly deranged and joyous.

  "Your Highness, the rules of the match say..." the instructor started.

  "I'm not done," Augusta said. "I have waited so long, so very long, for someone who would defeat me."

  She took a step forward, and the instructor moved to the side. I thought he could have defeated Augusta in a fight. But fear was still clear in his eyes. Was I wrong? Was Augusta holding back even more than I thought?

  "Dante, you are the first person to ever defeat me. No one else ever has. Even people who were far stronger than I am lost to me. Not even my fencing instructors could ever beat me when I was a little girl. Do you know why?" Augusta asked.

  "No," I answered. "Honestly, it sounds pretty stupid. Everyone loses in training. Even when someone is called an undefeated fighter, that's because people don't count when they were training. So, how are you undefeated?"

  Bitterness filled her voice. It was mixed in with a wellspring of frustration.

  "Because I am a princess. And no one would dare defeat me. They were all too terrified of my title. That's why, when you won our match, I was so happy that I could barely breathe," Augusta declared. "I finally found someone who wouldn't just let me win, someone who wouldn't hold back against me. I never thought that my first defeat would feel so good."

  Then, her expression turned sad. She placed her free hand over her heart.

  "And what did I do? I disrespected you. I disrespected the first person I'd met who was worthy of being my friend. Worse still, I did it in a way that makes me a hypocrite. I won't forgive myself or wallow in pity. Instead, I'll make up for what I did," Augusta said.

  Her sword erupted in flames. Fire sprouted from the ground under her feet, blazing around her. A wash of warmth flowed over me. While the heat didn't reach the students, I heard some of them scream in terror.

  "So, I will fight you in a rematch right now, not holding anything back," she stated, showing more emotion than I'd ever seen her. "I will show you why they call me the Bloodbath Princess!"

  I held up a single finger. Now, I was trembling with fear.

  "That's really nice, but I said there was nothing wrong with holding back against an inferior opponent as long as you don't take it too far. And in this enclosed space and with the distance between us, I think using your fire magic is a bit mu..."

  Before I could finish, heat blasted over me. I felt an incredible pain as the flames baked my body. Before I passed out from the pain, I heard Augusta's voice.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

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