How Pitiful Am I, Whose Heart Was Stolen by You

"Whew." Sonia exhaled a foot-long plume of white vapor as sharp as a sword blade, stilling her weary hands and waiting for the armored dummy, pierced through with a gaping hole, to slowly mend itself. The other swordsmanship apprentices in the training hall cast curious glances at the red-haired Sword Princess. This was the first time they had ever seen her training in the afternoon—though remembering the social mixer scheduled for that evening, their curiosity turned to admiration. Training early because she had an event tonight—truly worthy of our Sword Princess! "Sonia!" Adele hurried in, shouting, "Lois and the others are waiting for you! Aren't you leaving yet?" "A few more minutes." Sonia raised her wooden practice sword level and dropped into a lunging stance. "Wait for me a moment." Adele was anxious, but she could only wait obediently by the side, half-squatting to massage her calves. She had run all the way from the dormitory, and that short sprint alone had already left her feeling utterly spent. Bored, she watched Sonia repeat thrust after thrust. Today, Sonia had tied her vibrant red hair into a bun for ease of movement, exposing a proud, sleek neck. Droplets of sweat traced a path down her forehead and across her face, rolling past the tip of her nose, running down her throat, and disappearing into her dark training vest. With every thrust Sonia delivered, her vest emitted a heavy, metallic clatter—weights had been fastened to her arms, legs, and torso. "That looks so exhausting." Adele rested her chin in her hands and sighed. "Sonia, do you actually find training fun?" "How could that be?" Catching her breath between repetitions, Sonia let out another wisp of white air and smiled. "Even Ingrid doesn't find training enjoyable. Performing monotonous, repetitive drills over and over goes against human nature. If that gave people pleasure, the training hall would be overflowing every single day." "So it's not like that?" Adele asked, surprised. "Everyone says you must love swordsmanship training to keep at it day after day. Isn't that how the stories always go? A genius of a faction always finds joy in cultivating their art, while those without talent only reap misery..." "Maybe there really are people like that." Sonia lunged forward with sudden force. The wooden blade punched straight through the armored dummy, leaving no cracks anywhere beyond the sword mark. "But I'm not one of them." "To me, swordsmanship training is just... thoroughly... boring!" "If... I weren't... forced into it... I wouldn't practice swordsmanship in my entire life!" Curious, Adele asked, "Who forced you?" She waited a moment, but Sonia didn't answer. She merely struck the armored dummy with savage thrusts, as though it were her mortal enemy. Adele spoke up again: "Even if you don't want to train, I still get the feeling you really like swordsmanship." "I don't like swordsmanship," Sonia said. "I only like the complimentary perks that come with it: honor, prestige, attention, and future prospects. I love being dazzling and brilliant. I crave being the center of attention. I want to become a noble, and I want to stay in Jialesi. Even if I don't like swordsmanship, as long as it fulfills my desires, I'll pretend that I love it. Adele, by your standards, I'm certainly no genius." "But if everyone wants me to be one, I will put on a very convincing performance." "Phew." Sonia lowered her wooden sword and picked up a nearby towel to wipe away her sweat. Beside her, Adele twisted open the village girl's water bottle, took a generous gulp herself, and then handed it to Sonia. "You're lying, aren't you?" The village girl paused briefly, took a small sip, and looked at this silly, naive, wealthy native girl. "I might not like studying or exercising, but I'm not stupid," Adele said, crossing her arms. "Even I can tell whether someone genuinely loves something or not. Every night, when you carry your sword bag to train, when you go fight Felix, when you go challenge Senior Leonie, I don't see reluctance in you—I only see anticipation. You truly love this life: constantly honing yourself, constantly advancing, constantly growing stronger." She glanced at the weights Sonia was wearing. "If you really disliked it, you wouldn't make things even harder for yourself. It's just like how, after finishing a drama, I still can't get enough and go searching the Curtain for plot analyses and fan fiction. That kind of craving only comes from deep love." "Besides, when I watched you train up close just now, I realized something." Adele said in all seriousness, "When you hold a sword, when you sweat, and when you swing it, you are super, incredibly gorgeous—only a tiny bit behind me, in fact." "Beauty is never wrong, so Sonia, you must definitely be a swordsmanship genius." Sonia suddenly felt as though she couldn't keep up with Adele's train of thought. "Because I look pretty holding a sword, I'm meant to be a sword sorcerer?" "What else?" Adele countered. "Beauty is the sole reason for existence. Are you going to squander such favor from the stars?" "Fair point." Sonia couldn't help but nod. "That actually sounds quite profound. Is it a quote from someone famous?" "It's from Episode 17 of *How Pitiful Am I, Whose Heart Was Stolen by You*." "A drama... If Daidalos isn't in it, I don't watch it." "Then you've missed out on so many classics." When it came to this topic, Adele was thoroughly in her element. "Precisely because I've witnessed so many joys, sorrows, partings, and reunions, I can see right through the vanity of words and the falsehood in people's eyes." *Do joys and sorrows in dramas even count...?* "Take you, Sonia. You clearly love swordsmanship, yet you drag in all sorts of rambling excuses just to prove you only practice it for personal gain—as if admitting you like swordsmanship would make you lose some contest." Sonia was taken aback. "Same with the music and acting classes." Adele's mouth seemed to have run dry from talking so much; she smacked her lips, snatched the water bottle back from Sonia's hands, and drank. "You said you want to become a screen maiden or a song maiden in the future because it pays a lot of money. That sounds reasonable enough, but there are so many high-paying professions out there, so why must it be a song maiden or a screen maiden? You always invent so many complicated justifications for yourself, but the real motives behind most things are actually very simple." Adele sighed with feeling. "Having watched so many dramas, my biggest takeaway is that no matter how flawless a plan seems, someone will always overturn everything over an impulsive whim. This world is just full of unreasonable whims." Sonia: "...Did it ever occur to you that maybe the screenwriters got too lazy to write, so they just threw in a wild plot twist?" "Could be." Adele pointed to her vibrating bracelet. "Finished resting? Let's hurry. Look, Lois is nagging us again." The two quickly returned to their dormitory, only to find a crowd of female students packed inside, chattering noisily, with all sorts of clothing and accessories spread across the tables. Catching the scent of sweat radiating from Sonia, Lois immediately pinched her nose. "Hurry up and take a shower! Honestly, calling us out of nowhere to prepare a combat outfit for you, only to abandon everything and go train on your own... Did you really think becoming the Sword Flower meant the world revolves around you? Not to mention, you aren't even the Sword Flower yet!" Sonia apologized, "I'm sorry." "Go shower, quickly," Lois said, waving a hand dismissively. "You stink to high heaven. Just this once, I'll allow you to use my body wash and shampoo. Otherwise, I might literally faint from the stench." Once Sonia was inside the bathroom, Lois tapped on her bracelet. "Has Senior Borisi still not arrived? Is there anyone who can substitute for her?" "There are hardly any wind sorcery students among the girls to begin with, let alone someone who specializes in alluring incense," another girl complained. "Most of us in the wind faction focus on meteorology. Borisi only began studying alluring incense because she happened to obtain a 'Fragrant Wind' sorcery spirit from the Void Realm... True alluring incense sorcerers are almost all tied to the major perfume houses. Unless you become an apprentice sorcerer for them, there's no way to get the incense formulas they've spent centuries developing." "It shouldn't be a problem even without Borisi," Adele said. "Besides, nobody's going to care about Sonia's scent during a fight—" "Don't forget, sorcery spirits that enhance the five senses are everywhere," Lois cut in. "A flawless performance cannot have a single blemish... Wait!" She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a glazed glass bottle studded with star diamonds from the very back. Adele took one look and gasped, "Isn't that 'Tears of the Shooting Star'? Lois, you were hiding such a treasure without sharing it with your best friends!" "If I shared it with you, you'd use it all up in no time." Lois stared at the perfume bottle in her hands, her expression somewhat conflicted. The other girls immediately crowded around, begging Lois to let them sample the scent or book a turn to use it. Ingrid looked on, puzzled. "Is that bottle of perfume very expensive?" "It's not a question of price—it's a limited edition that money can't buy," Adele explained. "It's a custom perfume blended by alluring incense sorcerers, infused with the power of miracles. You know how the perfumes we usually wear leave a lingering, intoxicating fragrance? Those are just mass-produced commercial goods from alluring incense sorcerers, containing only a tiny trace of miracle power. They can't compare to 'Tears of the Shooting Star' at all." "So this perfume has a stronger scent?" "No, no, no—the essence of alluring incense isn't the 'scent,' it's the 'allure.' It's said that a lady who wears this perfume can become the sole focus of any crowd through nothing more than a faint, ethereal body fragrance. It can even stimulate the body to release hormones of pleasure, making people instinctively feel favorable toward the wearer." Adele's face was full of yearning. "If I could wear this perfume to a school gala, I'd outshine the very stars." "Still, because this kind of miracle perfume consumes a massive number of sorcery spirits, it isn't sold on the open market at all. It's only given away as gifts. Looks like Lois's family has serious connections..." At that moment, Sonia emerged from the shower. Lois immediately announced, "Alright! There are ninety-five minutes left until six o'clock. In these ninety-five minutes, we must turn Sonia into a work of art!" Before the village girl could even react, she was pulled over, her arms held out straight. The girls deftly stripped her down—not even sparing her undergarments—before dressing her in fresh underwear, followed by a shirt, leggings, breeches, a coat, gloves, boots, accessories, and an ornamental skirt wrap... Even Sonia was stunned. "Lois, I only asked you to help me find a suitable combat outfit. Was it really necessary to bring in this many people and make such a huge fuss?" "What do you think a genuine combat outfit is? A nightgown you can just slip into?" Lois retorted testily. "And if you really wanted to wear one, you should have told me days in advance! Letting me know this afternoon and giving me only a few hours—even rushing homework isn't this absurd." "Every dazzling combat outfit you've ever seen on the light screen requires several people to put on, and some even need sorcery spirits to tailor the fit! I had to pull strings and call in favors just to invite these seniors over. You'd better thank them properly later." "No need," one of the seniors laughed. "It's an honor to serve the new Sword Flower. If anyone should be thanking us, Lois can do the honors—please, I have a very important date next week. Lend me some 'Tears of the Shooting Star'!" "I'm meeting my fiancé in a few days!" "I have an important banquet to attend!" Sonia smiled and said, "Thank you for your generous help, seniors. Lois, I didn't mean to cause trouble, but I only found out this morning that I'm responsible for the Chief Bout at the mixer. The professor wouldn't have even told me if I hadn't gone and asked, so..." "Professor Trozan really is something..." Lois grumbled under her breath as she pressed Sonia down onto a stool. "Are you confident you won't get your face hurt? Blood mixed with makeup looks hideous... Or should we just shape your eyebrows?" Sonia summoned a sorcery spirit. "I have the 'Fix Day' sorcery spirit. Help me do makeup that looks best under the spotlights." Lois's expression softened slightly. "You actually bought a 'Fix Day' sorcery spirit? At least you came somewhat prepared." She tied back the village girl's fiery red hair with a headband, studying her eyes closely. "Your eyes look a bit dry... Adele, bring me my eye wash."