The next morning, I headed straight to the gymnasium instead of the classroom.
Today was a special class day.
Elena had told me yesterday that the Imperial Knights would start participating in our lessons from today onward.
I should’ve been excited—this was the kind of rare opportunity most cadets would kill for.
But the moment I stepped through the gymnasium doors... my good mood evaporated on the spot.
"...Brother?"
"It’s been a while, Louis."
Of all people, the first face I had to see was Julian’s—smiling so refreshingly that it somehow made him even more irritating.
He was surrounded by a flock of squealing female students, putting on his usual flawless act.
I felt my brows scrunch together the moment our eyes met.
The second I saw that annoyingly perfect face, something ugly and hard to explain surged inside me.
I forced myself to swallow down the rising negativity and quietly slipped off to a corner, avoiding his gaze entirely.
"How old are you?"
"Your arms are like rocks!"
"Do you have a girlfriend...?"
"All right, all right," Julian said with his practiced gentle smile. "I’ll take questions later. For now, please return to your seats."
He handled their questions smoothly, almost too naturally, and managed to guide all the girls back to their positions without breaking a sweat.
Then, stepping up onto the platform, he swept his gaze across the entire gymnasium—confident, relaxed, and shining as always.
And just like that, his presence dominated the room.
"As you may have already heard, I’m Julian Vermoore. I’ll be in charge of your practical combat lessons for the time being. Pleased to meet you all."
"Kyaaaa!!"
"So handsome!!"
The girls erupted in cheers, and even though the guys were glaring daggers at him, Julian maintained that infuriatingly calm smile.
"Vermoore?"
"So he’s from the same family as Louis?"
Some students who caught his surname began sneaking glances at me, clearly curious about how I’d react.
But I didn’t have the luxury to care about them.
Julian.
Of all people, Julian.
The very thought of having to keep seeing the one person I absolutely didn’t want to encounter at the academy made my head throb.
This was the worst possible scenario.
"Louis. Step forward."
Completely ignoring my inner turmoil, Julian called my name and gestured toward the dueling platform.
...What is he trying to pull now?
Feeling like a cow being dragged to slaughter, I dragged my feet toward the stage.
Julian casually threw a practice sword my way. I caught it, though my expression was probably dark enough to bring rain.
He simply nodded at me, as if everything was perfectly normal.
"We will now have a demonstration duel. Pick up the sword, Louis."
...What?
Did I hear that right?
He wants me—someone who just entered the academy—to fight an Imperial Knight?
That wasn’t just unreasonable... it was outright insane.
But refusal wasn’t an option.
I slowly bent down and picked up the sword lying on the ground.
Julian watched me with a calm smile, almost amused.
"Come at me."
"Hah!"
Before he even finished speaking, I pushed off the ground and shot forward.
FWOOSH!
From left to right.
SWISH!
Then from top to bottom.
WHOOSH!
My sword cut through the air in wide, sharp arcs—yet Julian dodged every single strike with effortless steps, as if he’d seen them long before they came.
"Give it your all," he said.
"...I always do," I replied through clenched teeth.
"Then that’s the extent of your ability."
CLENCH.
Those words—mocking, dismissive—stung deeper than any blade.
And with them, Louis’s suppressed emotions surged up violently from inside me.
A heat rising from my chest.
A tremble in my grip.
A sharp, pulsing anger I could no longer suppress.
"Inferiority. Helplessness."
Louis’s poisonous whispers echoed in my head—the same words he always used to tell me I could never defeat Julian.
I clenched my teeth and forced the illusion away.
Julian stood relaxed, almost bored, as if simply waiting for me to entertain him with another pointless attack.
"Haah...!"
I pushed off the ground and sprinted toward him, mana rushing through my limbs.
I swung, again and again.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Every strike hit nothing but empty air.
Julian slipped between my attacks like water, his expression unchanged.
Then he raised his fist slowly, almost lazily, and asked:
"Do you have no intention of defending at all?"
His fist shot toward my face.
Thwack!
"Ugh...!"
My head snapped to the side.
I couldn’t dodge—couldn’t even react.
Pain burst across my cheek, hot and sharp.
Damn it.
The sting spread, and with it, whatever rationality I had left scattered.
Anger swallowed everything—thinking became impossible.
I’ll cut him down.
I’ll cut him down no matter what.
Driven only by that single, desperate thought, I gathered the remaining mana in my body.
My muscles tightened with a familiar surge as I raised my weapon and hurled myself at Julian once more.
Crackle—!
Mana flared violently around me.
I swung at him with everything I had.
But....
Thud.
Julian easily slipped past my attack, stepped in, and grabbed my collar.
Before I even understood what happened, he hurled me upward.
My body suddenly floated—my vision spinning wildly.
WHOOSH!
And then—
THUD!
By the time my senses returned, I was already sprawled out on the cold floor.
"Are you back to your senses?"
Julian’s voice came from above me.
I opened my eyes and saw him looking down, calm as always.
I closed my eyes again, tighter this time.
I lost.
Only then did the coldness of the ground seep through my back, forcing reality to settle in.
A sharp, bitter frustration began to twist in my chest—an emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time.
"Your fundamentals have deteriorated a lot since I last saw you."
I knew that.
He didn’t need to tell me.
Until now, I’d been relying on overwhelming firepower to push through everything.
But the truth was obvious: my foundation was shaky.
And against someone like Julian, that weakness was exposed instantly.