Heartsworn

Two weeks had already passed since the imperial siblings had arrived.

Two weeks since Medrauta had been wrenched from Viviane's side.

'If there is something that you want, then you must seize it with your own hands.' Viviane sighed as she ran Amelia's words through her head again. She'd spent every day since her conversation with the older girl mulling over what exactly it was that she could do to stand next to Medrauta again, but she just couldn't come up with a single idea.

Of course, the easy solution was to simply challenge the princess. As a member of the imperial family, Princess Gwenhwyfar had no right to refuse a challenge. However, a challenge required that she have a knight in her employ, and given her status at the academy, that was a hurdle she would never be able to overcome as she was now.

Viviane sighed yet again as she walked through the academy gardens. Ever since she started going back to class, daily walks in the garden gradually became a habit. It helped her keep her mind off things and stave off the desire to hole up in her room. It was the least she could do to emulate the perseverance that Amelia spoke of.

Yet, no matter how hard she racked her brains, there was no solution that she could come up with.

"Hey, hey! Did you hear!? Those students from Higashi are here!"

"Really!? How many of them came? I wanna see! I've never seen anyone from Higashi before!"

Higashi...? That's the country to the east. Then... those must be the foreign students that Dame Trista was talking about back when we were in the archives!

Higashi was a country with a storied history that predated even that of the Avalyne Empire. It was said that they were one of the greatest contributors to the witch hunts of old and were once humanity's sole bastion against the machinations of the Witch Queen and her many covens.

In fact, some historical treatises mention that Emperor Soleil actually trained under the legendary swordsmen of Higashi for several years before the final showdown that freed the world from the Witch Queen's tyranny.

Viviane adjusted her route, moving closer to the chatting students. Though she knew that eavesdropping was terribly rude, she couldn't help herself. She was curious about these mysterious students from Higashi. More than that, Viviane couldn't help but think that perhaps meeting them might be able to open up a new perspective when it came to solving her problem.

After all, it wasn't as if she had all the time in the world. Once the foreign students left, so too would the princess. And as her knight, Medrauta would be bound to follow.

"Apparently, they're having a match with the princess and her new knight right off that bat!"

Viviane froze.

Medrauta's okay...? Thank Aluvsha...

"What? No way! Didn't Dame Medrauta just recover from those terrifying injuries? I watched her match against the prince, you know. There's no way anyone can recover that fast!"

The other student shrugged. "The match is getting set up right now, so we'll be able to see if it's the truth or not. Besides, I heard it was the princess' idea. Apparently, she wanted to give them an 'Avalyne welcome', but I bet she just wanted to show off. She's pretty spoiled, don'tcha think?"

"Shh! You can't talk about the princess like that! A-Anyway, let's go watch!"

Viviane tailed the two ladies as they continued to speak excitedly about the foreign students as well as Medrauta's impromptu match. She still hadn't figured out what she should do to get her knight back, but at the very least, seeing Medrauta would be a good first step.

Hurriedly, Viviane made her way to the arena, only to find an already large crowd gathered outside. Though the academy's students usually formed orderly lines when attempting to enter the arena as spectators, the mass of people that crowded around the arena's entrances could only be described as pure chaos.

Left with no other option, Viviane joined the sea of students, attempting to squeeze herself through the crowd to no avail. Instead, she was knocked around and jostled by the endless waves of people who were attempting to witness what would no doubt be one of the most interesting matches ever held at the academy.

After all, it was the first time that Avalyne Academy had actually hosted foreign students. Usually, visiting students from other countries would attend the Imperial Academy instead which made this quite the rarity. Not only that, but it would be the princess' first match where her knight was someone other than the prince.

C-Can I not even do something as simple as seeing her!? C-Come on, Viviane!

Just before Viviane could attempt to push through the horde of people with all her might, a sudden and powerful force pulled her to the side. A force so strong, she never could've stood a chance at resisting even if she had put her all into it. And it reminded her of...

"Brigitte!" Viviane exclaimed as she was dragged out of the crowd and into a more open section of the stadium bleachers.

"That's me," the red-haired knight grinned. "It's been a while, so I thought I'd help you out since I saw you struggling in the crowd there. That aside, the princess is quite the taskmaster, eh? Med's only barely recovered and she's already being made to fight."

Viviane nodded, a tinge of worry in her eyes. She glanced at the wide-open arena before her, finding Medrauta and the princess easily. They had come out into the arena earlier than their opponents, and Medrauta stood near the arena's center dressed in her ever-familiar half-plate.

Her hair had regrown over the course of her treatment, but it still hadn't reached its former luminous glory yet. Instead, it was cut short, hanging just above her shoulders.

Viviane thought it looked nice and gave Medrauta a cool aura, but she vastly preferred the longer hairstyle that the knight wore before.

Meanwhile, Princess Gwenhwyfar stood on the dais with an imperious look on her face. She was clothed in a rather elegant yet still extravagant dress that was decorated with various jewels and accouterments. Viviane guessed that the princess' especially gaudy sense of fashion today was driven by her desire to show off the empire's wealth to the foreign students who she was about to battle.

"Medrauta!" Viviane shouted after managing to summon her courage. Even so, her voice was painfully weak in the midst of the crowd's incessant chatter. "Ahaha... She probably can't hear me..."

But Medrauta could.

The second Viviane shouted her name, Medrauta turned, her sharp vision searching the crowd before locking eyes with her former lady.

Then, Medrauta did something completely unexpected.

Shiiing!

The sharp sound of steel slithering against leather rang across the stadium, and the chatter of the audience fell to a hush. Though the match hadn't even begun, all spectators felt their eyes drawn to the glittering steel of the sword and the noble knight who held it aloft.

Medrauta shook off her gauntlet and brought the pristine blade of her sword to her unprotected palm, gripping it tightly and pulling to draw blood.

With her now-bloodied hand, Medrauta pressed against the left side of her breastplate, smearing it red before pointing directly at Viviane. Not once during this entire ritual did Medrauta allow her gaze to wander elsewhere.

"W-Whoa! Does Knight Medrauta have a secret message for someone in the audience!?" Trista, the arena announcer, quickly followed up before anyone could come up with any strange theories. "Now I'm kind of jealous! But honestly, I'm way more hyped to see what Knight Medrauta has in store for us this match! Will she be able to resonate with the princess? Remember to stay seated and keep your eyes peeled, everyone! This is gonna be one helluva match!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as Trista quickly signaled for the trumpets to sound, urging the match to begin faster. It seemed that everyone was looking forward to seeing how this would play out.

Viviane, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused. She watched as Medrauta's gaze finally slid away when the gates on the other side of the arena slid open.

The princess had shouted something at Medrauta during that whole scene, but Viviane couldn't hear what.

All she could do was wonder what Medrauta meant as the match began.