Grand Ambition

Klaus let out a cold snort.

With a flick of his right hand, a slender wand slid out of his sleeve, about twenty to thirty centimeters long.

The way he gripped the wand was ninety percent similar to how he used to pick up straight wooden sticks by the roadside as a child. Of course, the wand in his hand was much more advanced; though made of wood, it was engraved with magical patterns and capped with a glittering silver crown.

A wand was also one of a mage's signature pieces of equipment.

However, since the first-years had only just enrolled less than a week ago and had not even fully understood the basic introductory magic, wand class had naturally not yet begun.

Still, there would always be diligent and studious students who chose to overachieve—previewing lessons in advance was quite common in prestigious schools.

Student A: “He's actually using a wand already?”

Student B: “Isn't that kind of cheating for Klaus?”

Student C: “He was hiding his true colors.”

I, on the other hand, was completely unfazed, even having the leisure to rest my hands on my hips and look around at the scenery. A wand was like brass knuckles in boxing—while it was a good piece of equipment, it wasn't of much use if your skills were mediocre.

Noticing my dismissive attitude, Klaus gritted his teeth, his face turning red with anger. “Very well!”

“I don't care whether you're an Aldheim or Loris—this world is a cruel place where the strong prey on the weak!” he declared resoundingly. “I'll say it again: even if you are a lady, I won't show any mercy! Defend against this strike of mine!”

Klaus shouted, his momentum surging.

It was as if waves were rippling around him, even his hair swaying gently in the wind.

“Gathering mana, condense into a bullet! Obey my will and pierce through what lies ahea—”

After a brief flurry of action.

“The winner: Loris von Aldheim.”

Ms. Elena calmly announced the result of the match. I casually lowered my right hand as the glow of mana dissipated. The duel was already over.

“I-Impossible...”

Klaus's eyes were completely hollow, his face deathly pale.

He fell to his knees, his hands clutching the dirt on the ground.

“Kuh...”

He had lost.

He had lost utterly and completely.

He had frantically chanted a whole eighteen-word incantation, only for Loris to effortlessly block it! The gap in their talent seemed much larger than he had imagined!

He slammed his fist against the ground. “Dammit!”

This ill-mannered lady hadn't even spared him a glance. He could already imagine his reputation in the eyes of others plummeting!

The brilliant, handsome, generous, and romantic genius Klaus Heller—had lost to this prodigal daughter!

A tragic defeat!

“He lost.”

“It's only normal. After all, the Aldheim family's daughter has a mana capacity of ten. The gap in talent is just too wide.”

“Just having the courage to challenge that woman makes him pretty strong in my book. Good job, Klaus.”

Huh?

Although Klaus was depressed, he was secretly listening in. He hadn't expected his classmates not to be disappointed... No, this was actually wonderful.

He silently climbed to his feet.

...

Shifting the focus back to me.

I patted the non-existent dust off my hands. “Student Heller.”

He looked up, his grayish-blue eyes filled with resentment and complex emotions, his lips pressed into a tight line as if waiting for me to say something harsh.

“Thank you for holding back.”

My personality was never actually bad; that villainous persona was just an act—let me emphasize that. So, facing a classmate who was somewhat amusing, I figured I should respond in an equally amusing way.

Unfortunately, in the very next second,

cold sweat began to break out on my forehead.

【Warning: Worldline fluctuation! Detected changes to the class members' established impression of Loris!】

As for Klaus, he didn't seem to expect me to tease him like this—in a sense, it was giving him an out, suggesting that he had held back, allowing me to win by luck.

He could certainly claim that.

But in his heart, he knew he had lost completely. Recalling his previous arrogant words, a trace of shame actually welled up inside him.

“No... Lady...”

Klaus's lips twitched.

But just as his repentance and shame began to sprout, they vanished, replaced by a rising flush of anger and a terrible impression of Loris!

Because my next words were dripping with sarcasm.

“After all, chanting an eighteen-word incantation must be quite exhausting,” I said.

A warmth in my throat forced these harsh words out of my mouth. I was speaking venomously, but the situation was still under my control. I couldn't panic!

It seemed that under the watchful eyes of the entire class, giving him an out with “thank you for holding back” was completely inconsistent with my villainess persona. At a time like this, Loris was supposed to mock him ruthlessly.

So, I swallowed hard.

My apologies, Steak Bro.

During the battle just now, my incantation had also been shortened like Clara's, though the content was naturally different. Thanks to my past experience practicing magic, I had already achieved minor mastery of the Mana Bullet, which I naturally put on display.

As for other aspects, I made sure to hide them well.

Klaus's shame turned to rage, and he barked in frustration, “That was an official incantation! The full version written in the textbooks!”

“The full version is written in the textbooks to help you understand the magic and find the right feeling, not for you to recite word-for-word in actual combat...” I took a deep breath and smiled. “True magical talent is like mine—being able to master it rapidly.”

“Every extra word is just making things harder on yourself.”

“A combination of talent and hard work—surely you can comprehend at least that much?”

Klaus opened his mouth. He was shaking with anger and wanted to retort, but nothing came out.

It was as if his head was about to boil like a kettle, his face turning red and bubbling with steam from sheer rage.

Yet, he still didn't talk back.

Because he knew I was right.

Ms. Elena had mentioned when teaching the Mana Bullet that the full incantation used for learning was just the entry point. In the weekly tests, one had to shorten it as much as possible; casting speed was crucial.

“And another thing,” I wasn't finished yet. “Your movement when drawing your wand is incredibly childish. Sliding it out of your sleeve and then catching it leaves a gap in your defense. If I were an opponent you encountered in the wild, that gap would have been more than enough for me to strike you.”

“A wand is not a toy for showing off.”

“...Kuh.”

What a venomous tongue!

Klaus's head was practically boiling over with rage.

From start to finish, from his carefully planned pose to his combat methods, she had ridiculed every single thing!

But... he couldn't refute it at all!

The classmates below couldn't bear to watch any longer, feeling a sense of helplessness and pitying Klaus for a second. This kind of humiliation was enough to make any young boy's face burn with shame.

As for Ms. Elena,

she pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. After all, she knew what 'Student Loris' was like, and her words did contain some genuine guidance, not just pure degradation.

More importantly, they had to shake hands after the duel before leaving the field.

The two of them hadn't shaken hands yet.

“You could have just laughed at me,” Klaus said, so angry that his face had gone completely numb and expressionless. “Why did you bother teaching me?”

“...Because your steak theory was quite amusing.”

This line was spoken of my own accord... Since my villainess persona had been salvaged, I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness; being able to survive to this day was truly thanks to my sweat and hard work.

Fortunately, I understood the art of language. Although it was a put-down, there was at least some room for recovery. After a long silence, Klaus turned around, no longer even willing to shake hands.

He simply turned, leaving behind a determined back as he spat out each word through gritted teeth: “Just you wait! One day, I will defeat you and treat you exactly the way you treated me today! I'll make you taste what it feels like to be on the receiving end of such sarcasm! Lo! Ri! S!”

Having said that, he suddenly whipped his head back, extended his hand, and shook the empty air.

Then, his arm vigorously pumped up and down!

“Just you wait!”

Wait... if he wanted to act so cool, why did he have to turn back? Wouldn't it have been better to just walk off? Why bother with etiquette at a time like this?

But summing up his speech, it was basically "Do not look down on a poor youth," right? "The tides of fortune will turn."

Did another Xiao Yan just pop up?

But in the plot, he was just a minor background character. Forget about having any relationship with Liliana, he currently had nothing to do with me either. His revenge would probably take forever; at most, he could only be considered a comic relief.

A joke character.

Ms. Elena adjusted her glasses at the perfect moment: “Now, prepare yourselves. Next group.”

I turned and walked back to the group, greeted by a flurry of extravagant praise from the lackeys crowding around me.

“Lady Loris is truly amazing!”

“As expected of your reputation!”

“Please, use this handkerchief!”

I felt like the only thing missing was me extending my right hand for them to kiss. This feeling of being revolved around by everyone was quite dizzying. Our family really is awesome, isn't it?

In contrast, on Klaus's side, a few young lords patted him on the shoulder to show their approval. To think he could stand so firm in front of the Aldheim family's young lady—one had to remember that her family was one of the top grand noble houses in the kingdom.

Klaus: “Huh? What did you say? That little sprout's family is one of the top in the entire kingdom?”

Because Klaus's family had struck it rich through mining, he naturally wasn't as well-informed as the locals in the capital, possessing the unique aesthetic of a nouveau riche.

“Yes, indeed,” a blue-haired classmate said. “Their family's territories, when put together, account for a sixth of the kingdom. They even have several thousand private soldiers. Even the royal family has to weigh the pros and cons when dealing with them.”

Klaus's expression shifted unpredictably.

“And you just called her a little sprout? Haha, you've got guts! Fortunately, she's too far away to hear you. Brother, I support you!”

“No... No, no...” Klaus's hands trembled slightly. “I never called her that. I said 'Lady Aldheim'... Yes, that's right.”

The male classmates around him: “...”

He changed his tune so quickly.

Klaus was merely embarrassed. His father seemed to be negotiating a business deal recently; he hoped it wouldn't involve this villainous daughter's family.

Meanwhile, there was one more person who was about to step up to duel—the true heroine of this game, Liliana.

...

She was sitting nearby, hugging her knees, having watched the entire match.

As I thought, Lady Loris is a kind-hearted person, she thought.

When they first met and Liliana accidentally bumped into her, Loris had been so fierce that Liliana thought she was going to prison. Later, after the prince spoke up for her, although Loris's words remained harsh, she still let Liliana go.

Since then, they had ended up in the same class, even sitting at the same desk, and were rivals with the exact same mana capacity.

Yet, while she had expected Loris to aggressively target her just like during the mana test, their interactions... had actually been quite friendly!

Very friendly!

She would compare homework grades with her, as if supervising whether she was studying well. If Liliana did worse, Loris would mock her a bit but would often end up telling her the correct answers anyway.

And then there was the cafeteria...

And the dormitory...

And the riding ground and the training field...

Of course, these were just Liliana's own thoughts. Most people, including those around her, still viewed Loris as aggressive and ill-natured.

She wouldn't speak up either, still observing. After all, they had only known each other for a week.

“Next group,” Ms. Elena's voice echoed from the center of the arena. “Student numbers twenty-four and nine.”

At those words, Liliana bounced up. She was number twenty-four.

Her friends also cheered her on.

As for her opponent—

She walked to the center of the practice area, her light-pink hair shimmering with a soft glow under the morning sun.

She took a deep breath and looked up.

Standing opposite her was Alden Cross, a boy with light-brown curly hair. His bangs covered half his face, and a smile he deemed incredibly handsome hung on his lips.

In other words, he was the pestering villain who shared the same antagonist positioning as Loris.

“Miss Liliana.”

Alden gave a bow with a dramatic flourish, like taking a curtain call on stage. “Please guide me. Although I do not wish to raise my hand against a lady, this is a classroom sparring session, so I have no choice—”

“Student Cross,” Liliana's voice was very soft but steady. “Can we begin?”

Alden's smile stiffened for a split second.

Then, he straightened up. “Ladies first. You attack first.”

—Birds of a feather flock together; there was a reason he and Klaus got along so well.

Ms. Elena announced calmly: “First round: Liliana attacks, Alden defends.”

Liliana also possessed the innate talent of a mana capacity of ten—in less than three seconds, a pale blue ball of light was compressed to the size of an egg, its edges shimmering with a very thin, silver-white glow.

Then, she released it.

Its trajectory was not a straight line, but an arc that bypassed Alden's frontal mana defense shield, flying toward his left shoulder.

Alden went pale with fright!

Fortunately, the Mana Bullet merely grazed his uniform as it flew past, crashing into the mana-absorbing stone wall behind him.

This was an intentional miss, but it still counted as a point, since a direct hit would have resulted in injury.

Gulp. He swallowed. An interesting... woman.

Ms. Elena wrote in her record book with great satisfaction. Currently, her favorite student was this commoner. She was exceptionally talented and worked hard, infinitely better than the other problem children in the class.

Next, it was Alden's turn to attack.

Liliana defended.

Alden raised his hand and chanted, “Gathering mana, condense into a bullet! Obey my will and pierce through what lies ahead!”

Liliana successfully blocked it.

Alden blinked. “...Why is your mana shield so hard?”

“Because I concentrated my mana on the front,” Liliana answered honestly. “I thought that defending evenly would waste too much mana, which is something Ms. Elena also mentioned. However, controlling it takes a lot of effort, so it's not actually that impressive...”

The implication was that it wasn't her shield that was too strong.

It was that his attack was just too pathetic.

Alden's lips twitched.

He probably wanted to say, “Of course I know the teacher mentioned it,” but facing an opponent who was sincerely telling him the correct answer, he really couldn't find a way to argue.

Naturally, without any surprises, Liliana won.

A moment later, the dust settled.

“I never win against women, because ladies first.”

Alden bowed politely, then stepped down to sit next to Klaus, chatting and laughing as if he hadn't even exerted a fraction of his strength.

In reality, his hands were trembling, and his heart was still pounding with lingering fear.

Liliana could only offer a subtle but kind smile. She was truly gentle.

As she turned and walked back to her small group, her light-pink hair fell past her ears. She let out a small smile; she had won against a capital resident for the first time.

Beside her, Fiona gave her two thumbs up.

Sarah pushed up her glasses and whispered to her.

Liliana felt a bit overjoyed, but she kept the happiness to herself. I can't get arrogant, Liliana, she thought. Humility and friendliness are what matter most.

“No way, you have to practice with me at lunchtime!” Fiona hugged her.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Liliana could only say.