If I've Done Wrong, Let the Law Punish Me

“If I've done wrong, let the law punish me.” Even in a situation like this, Sonia did not lose her composure and scream aloud. Instead, she calmly vented her grievances to the Watcher in her mind: *First you forced me to practice swordsmanship, and now you want me to fight Felix. What exactly do you want me to do? Infiltrate Starry aristocratic society and become your spy?* “It's not as complicated as you think,” the Watcher said. “I just wanted to arrange a battle for you, and he happens to be the strongest person here. Pure coincidence, nothing more. It has nothing to do with whether he's a noble or not—though it's even better that he is. I especially enjoy seeing nobles get pummeled. If possible, after you win, could you step on his face with your foot...? On second thought, forget it. I've heard some Starry nobles have weird fetishes. Maybe just spank his ass instead... Actually, never mind. Pretend I said nothing.” *Then could you switch to someone else? I don't want to get involved with Felix!* “Why?” *I've looked into him a bit,* Sonia said. *He's strange, and he's dangerous.* As the most approachable noble scion at Sword Flower University, Felix had naturally been on Sonia's list of potential prey. But after gathering a round of intelligence, she had abandoned this seemingly enticing option. It had nothing to do with his playboy reputation—Sonia never considered womanizing an obstacle. What had truly made her pause was Felix's family situation and his brigade of ex-girlfriends. Although rumors circulated that Felix was a walking breeding machine capable of bedding ten women a day, a little casual observation had led Sonia to a secret: Felix had never actually spent the night outside with any of his girlfriends. Felix lived in an off-campus villa. Every night after training, he would drive away from campus. His ride, the Galloping Silver Tiger, was one of a kind at school, and Sonia occasionally caught sight of it in the evening. He never left campus with a girlfriend at night; every single time, he went home alone. Of course, there was the possibility that he preferred doing it during the day. But Felix went through girlfriends at a rate of one every three days, including plenty of noble young ladies. Sonia found it hard to believe he could devour them clean in just three days. Rather than calling him lecherous, it was more accurate to say he was collecting stamps. Secondly, as a son of the Duke of Vosroda, ending up at Sword Flower University practically begged the question of whether he was embroiled in some political dispute. Sonia had no interest in struggling and growing alongside him. She preferred angling for the young master of some newly risen nouveau riche family. That way, she could reap the benefits without doing the work, and there would be plenty of room to maneuver—with clever enough schemes, even carving off a piece of the family fortune wouldn't be out of the question. Weighed together, all these factors left Sonia thoroughly unenthusiastic about Felix. With an entire forest at her disposal, she naturally saw no need to hang herself from this single tree. In fact, she needed to steer clear of him—partly because Sonia had never interacted with real nobility, and everything she knew about aristocrats came from novels. And in novels, traditional nobles—aside from the male protagonist—were without exception big villains who oppressed the innocent and abused their power to commit atrocities. Nobles who weren't wicked enough would even be kicked out of the aristocracy and demoted to commoners. Naturally cautious—or rather, pessimistic—Sonia never believed she would encounter a decent noble. And Felix's image, which skewed heavily toward that of a traditional villainous noble, naturally prompted her to keep him at arm's length. “So you're saying, if I make you fight him, you're likely to get into trouble?” *Exactly!* Sonia said hurriedly. *I don't know what you're trying to get me to do, but I'm so weak right now. I should really build up my strength first and keep a low profile as much as possible. I shouldn't—* “That's practically the best part,” the Watcher said. “Trouble is precisely what I want you to stir up. I want you to stay high-profile all the way, blasting into slag every enemy that stands before you... Besides, isn't that your wish too?” *When have I ever had such a childish, arrogant wish?!* Sonia raged internally. “In that case,” the Watcher bowed, “may you triumph in your first battle. Thrash the swordsmanship genius, and kick the Starry noble.” *No, I'll never—* “Felix Vosroda, genius of the Swordsmanship Department.” Sonia raised her wooden sword, pointing it at Felix, and spoke in an arrogant tone she had never used in her life: “In a place as vast as Sword Flower, you alone are worthy to serve as my stepping stone to summon a sorcery spirit.” “Do you dare fight me?” An uproar erupted through the training hall. The swordsmanship apprentices wore looks of eager anticipation, while Celia nearly bit clean through her lip—as expected, her target was Felix too, and she was using such a cliché yet effective trick to get on his radar! Ingrid said in astonishment, “Sonia, you just trained for two hours straight! Even if you want a sparring match, you should wait until tomorrow...” “No, it has to be now.” Felix stepped forward from the crowd, his gaze fixed on Sonia. “Two hours, three thousand six hundred strikes, advancing straight from a raw beginner to mastery of the sword. You are the most talented person I have ever seen, and the second person to ever make me feel fear. If I don't accept your challenge now, by the time I wake up tomorrow, I won't even have the courage to draw my sword before you. “Right now is probably my only chance to defeat you. Even if people think I'm taking advantage of you while your stamina is drained, I don't care—at least if I defeat you tonight, I'll still have the right and the courage to chase after your back! “And you're right. In a place as vast as Sword Flower, only I am worthy of your challenge. Those older Void Realm sword sorcerers merely relied on endless grinding to resonate with the knowledge of the Void Realm; they can't hold a candle to the likes of you and me. So... come!” As they spoke, a wide swath of space had been cleared in the training hall. The two of them gripped their training swords and stood facing each other on opposite ends. Sonia assumed the most standard middle stance, while Felix held his sword in one hand, blade raised high as he stood sideways toward her, seemingly riddled with openings. *The Wave Stance...* Even though Ingrid was worried about Sonia, she couldn't help looking forward to their contest. The Vosroda family was renowned for swordsmanship, possessing four secret stances capable of summoning a sorcery spirit, and the Wave Stance was one of them. In the school of swordsmanship, a stance was at once a method of cultivation, a method of summoning, and a method of combat. To put it another way, a sword sorcerer was able to summon a sorcery spirit only because their comprehension of a stance's combat and cultivation reached sufficient depth to trigger a resonance with the Void Realm, crystallizing its knowledge into a sorcery spirit. Every basic sorcery spirit a sword sorcerer summoned on their own meant that they had achieved flawless mastery over the corresponding swordsmanship stance. Felix had sparred with others before, but because Ingrid was absorbed in her studies (and had poor social connections), she had never heard the news. This was the first time she was seeing the fabled Wave Stance in person. Her competitive spirit flared, and she wondered when she might find a chance to challenge Felix herself. Just then, she noticed Sonia's flushed cheeks and the frantic looks Sonia kept shooting her way. Ingrid was puzzled at first, but after a moment's thought, it clicked: Sonia was showing off that she got to experience the Wave Stance first! *You might be geniuses, but I'll definitely catch up to you!* Ingrid clenched her fist and made a cheering gesture toward Sonia. Sonia was utterly at a loss—weren't the distress signals in her eyes obvious enough? Why hadn't Ingrid rushed over to drag her away yet?! *What's the point of controlling my body to fight like this? Even if we win, it's your victory. I'm just a bystander,* Sonia said in her mind. *If all you want is to puppet my body, fine, do whatever you like. It's not like I can fight back anyway.* *But you tested me in that dream last night and made me train my swordsmanship, so you must want me to grow, right? How about this: give me back control of my body, and I promise I'll fight people. If one isn't enough, I'll take on two, okay?* “Do you think this is basic arithmetic—one plus one equals two?” said the Watcher, who was standing beside Ingrid. “Besides, who told you that I'm the one controlling your body to fight?” *If it's not you, could it be me?!* “It is precisely you.” The Watcher walked up beside her and reached out to nudge the tip of her sword a little higher. “Did you really think I picked someone at random for you to fight? Did you really think I could override your will and forcibly control your body? “Why did you train your swordsmanship? Because you defeated me in the dream last night. You realized your gift for the sword, you knew you had a chance to gain real power, and above all, you knew you had already wasted too much time. “That is why you came here and pushed yourself until your very last drop of stamina was drained—all so that others would see, so that your roommate Ingrid would see, that besides your looks, you possess a talent worthy of pride! “Why did you challenge Felix? From the first moment you saw him driving that Galloping Silver Tiger across the campus roads, saw him surrounded by adoration, saw him become the center of attention, you were already jealous of him, envying him, hating him. You could not blame the mother who raised you through endless hardship, so you could only resent someone whose birth and status so vastly outstripped your own. “‘Why do they get to have everything from the day they're born? Why do they get to surpass me in every single way?’ “Don't lie to your heart, Sword Princess,” the Watcher said. “It is *you* who wants to defeat him. It is *you* who wants to prove that you, Sonia Sevier, are second to none! “You are the one who came to the training hall. You are the one who gripped the wooden sword. You are the one who yearned to shine dazzlingly! Everything stems from the true desire of your heart! “In fact, I'm quite curious why you assumed I was controlling you. After all, no one can see me except you. Haven't you ever found that strange? Haven't you ever wondered... whether I am a truly existing Watcher, or merely an illusion born of your subconscious desires? “I have said my piece. Now, you can push all the blame onto me, and then...” The Watcher stood beside Sonia, pointing toward Felix, “...relish the thrill of trampling a genius underfoot with a clear conscience!” *Thump!* With an explosive burst, both raised their swords and sprang forward, clashing in fierce combat!