One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 59

The three days of blissful rest vanished like a mirage.

Seeing the siblings both advance to the main tournament, Duke Revart laughed heartily, “Naturally! That’s what it means to be a Revart!” He even hinted at his hopes for victory—causing Ashite to groan and flee the scene.

From the main tournament onward, nobles and commoners alike were allowed to enter—so long as they had admission tickets. Just the thought of standing in the wide, open coliseum, performing before countless eyes, made Aileen’s heart pound.

In truth, she was curious about how much the other knights outside the Khan Order had improved during her absence. She’d gotten a general idea during the preliminaries, but even within the imperial orders, the skill gap varied wildly.

She wondered if the main tournament—filtered to include only the strongest—would feel different. The anticipation had kept her tense.

But in the end? The matches were only slightly more difficult than the preliminaries. Aileen claimed victory after victory, climbing upward without faltering.

“I was hoping the main tournament would be more intense since the prelims were so bland. But nope. Same story,” she muttered.

She wasn’t the only one with that thought.

Ashite, ever arrogant, made a smug comment that prompted Aileen to narrow her eyes and respond. But she kept her retort in check.

“I think your next opponent is Sir Siran, right? Let’s see how long that pride of yours holds up.”

“You think I’ll lose? Khan’s abandoned you, clearly. I thought you at least had a good eye for knights, but that’s gone too, huh?”

“Of course our vice-captain will win. No way the Khan vice-captain would lose to the Lil vice-captain.”

“You—get out of Khan immediately. You were never meant to be there.”

“I like Khan,” Aileen said with a bright smile and a shrug.

Ashite shot her a playful glare, then shifted tone, becoming serious.

“By the way… if you win this one, isn’t Haller your next opponent?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t need to be too worried about that bastard. I wouldn’t be surprised if Count Petter bribed his way into getting him a spot in the Imperial Knights.”

Ashite formed a circle with his thumb and forefinger, expression turning unusually grim.

“So beat the hell out of him. Badly. Make sure he never dares crawl out again.”

“I was already planning to. That’s what it means to be a Revart.”

Seeing his sister nod with confidence, Ashite gave a deeply satisfied grin for the first time in a while.

It was just a few days before Aileen’s match with Haller. She had used her break for extra training, and was now resting when a large shadow suddenly cast itself over her.

Aileen looked up.

“Your strengths lie in speed and flexibility—born from your light frame.”

It was Carlisle. Without warning, he began speaking in that flat, stoic tone—offering something like advice.

“Your next opponent, Sir Haller, is the type to charge head-on, relying solely on brute strength.”

His voice was businesslike and dry. But as his words kept flowing, Aileen sat up straighter and listened.

When Carlisle spoke as a knight, she knew it was worth taking seriously. Her pride wasn’t so fragile as to be offended by advice from a man she might face in the finals.

More importantly, he was her superior officer now. Recognizing one’s weaknesses and striving to improve—that was a knight’s duty.

“He’ll try to win using nothing but stabbing and slashing. Raw force. Simple attacks.”

“……”

“Don’t just deflect blindly. Wait for the moment—then beat him at his own game.”

“You think I can beat him with strength?”

“Use your speed and blade’s flexibility to deflect. When he’s exposed, drive in without hesitation. Fighters who rely on orthodox technique often crack under unorthodox pressure. Once his form breaks, strike.”

It was vague—almost something she already knew. Slipping through attacks and exploiting openings was already her fighting style.

Sensing Aileen’s less-than-thrilled expression, Carlisle added softly:

“You’ll understand once you face him.”

If it’s you, you’ll know.

That last line was so quiet, she might have missed it if she hadn’t been paying attention.

Before she could let the strange feeling settle in, Aileen shut it down. This wasn’t special. Not for her alone.

During special training, all four of them had been under Carlisle’s command. It made sense that he would give sound guidance to his own subordinates.

Even if he was also competing in the tournament himself.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Carlisle responded with just a slight nod and walked over to the other knights. Just as he had with Aileen, he gave each one advice tailored to their next opponent.

Of course. He wasn’t giving her special treatment.

Shaking off those thoughts, Aileen returned to her training. She needed to test what Carlisle had just said—those instructions still echoed in her head.

“Thank you, Captain! I feel so much better now!”

Tanil’s eyes sparkled as he thanked Carlisle. The captain gave him a nod and moved to a spot where he could observe all four knights at once. Even then, he continued checking Aileen’s form now and again.

Carlisle had already studied their upcoming opponents. And like dropping breadcrumbs, he scattered just enough insight to give his knights a chance—without giving away everything.

It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.

But that much was enough—especially for someone with Aileen’s dazzling talent.

The rage he had stored away for Haller—the urge to crush that man’s throat—he would leave it to Aileen to resolve.

With overwhelming skill.

The morning of Aileen’s match with Haller arrived.

She bathed and tied her hair high as usual. Sera, worried that loose strands might get in the way, carefully pinned back every piece with delicate precision.

As she mounted her horse, her family’s warm cheers behind her, Aileen gave a dry laugh.

Honestly, Haller was so pitiful that she couldn’t even bring herself to be nervous. If it hadn’t been for Ashite making a huge fuss that morning, she might’ve shown up with her hair in disarray.

“Aileen, you remember you’re supposed to crush Haller today, right?”

“Absolutely. I’m going to stomp him into the dirt.”

“I mean, I don’t think you’ll lose or anything… but still, just in case, you’re not going to let that bastard win, are you?”

“What do you take me for?”

“If you lose, I’ll deal with Haller myself. I’ll beat him so badly he won’t even be able to raise his head in public. He needs to pay for mocking and underestimating a Revart.”

“And then?”

“You’ll come join the Lil Order and fill the vacancy left by Haller. How’s that sound?”

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”

“If you lose to someone like Haller, how could I possibly leave you in Khan? I’d have to keep you close—under my command.”

“Are you insane?”

“Completely sane.”

Aileen was too stunned to respond. She walked out without another word.

Even knowing that she was now a recognized knight in the Khan Order—someone everyone respected and sparred with—Ashite still dared to say that?

It was blatant provocation.

Normally, she would’ve laughed off Ashite’s nonsense without a second thought. But this time, Haller had been mentioned. And more importantly, she was a knight of Khan.

Wasn’t it a little too much for the vice-captain of the Lil Order to taunt a knight from Khan like that?

Aileen made up her mind: she would leave no opening for Haller. She would crush him, completely and cleanly. No room for error.

Maybe, deep down, she had just been looking for an excuse to go all out.

She gave a short, amused laugh at herself as she stepped out of the carriage, now arrived at her destination.

“You’re early, Khan’s shining hope.”

It was while she was waiting to be called in the ready room. A few familiar knights, including Setz, had come by to cheer her on.

“Thanks to you, our pride’s never been higher. You know that, right?”

“I do.”

“And today’s match? Against that guy.”

“Exactly.”

“Even after you shut him down with a dagger last time, he still throws you dirty looks. Can I expect a good show?”

“Watch and learn.”

“Alright! Let’s go, our shining hope of Khan!”

They raised their fists in an over-the-top cheer, then filed out of the waiting room like a noisy parade.

A few of them had been there the day she humiliated Haller with that dagger throw.

They still hated the fact that, even after the humiliation, Haller had returned and started strutting around again—as if nothing had happened. Some said he had even grown bolder since then.

Regardless, Aileen had no intention of letting a man who had earned so much resentment from the people inside her circle off easily.

This match would be a satisfying one.

As she gave her sword a final inspection, a call rang out at last.

“Sir Aileen Revart, enter the arena!”

The announcer’s booming voice was followed by an explosion of cheers that poured over her like a waterfall.

The sun beamed down through the open roof of the coliseum, making Aileen squint for just a second before relaxing her expression.

“Aileen! Aileen!”

“Lady Aileen! You can do it! Fighting!”

Maybe it was because she was the only female competitor, or because she had kept winning every match—either way, the crowd’s cheers were deafening. And a surprising portion came from women.

Aileen was startled for a moment by the unexpected support, but quickly regained her composure.

Most of them were probably commoners. Nobles were the kind to cling to lofty appearances, especially in front of the lower class.

She was probably still gossip fodder because of the broken engagement with Carlisle, but in a world where a new scandal popped up every other day, people moved on quickly.

This was the very first imperial knights-only swordsmanship tournament. And she—Aileen Revart—was the only woman competing.

That alone had likely stirred something powerful in the crowd.

Just listening to them, it was clear—hers was the name they chanted most. It gave her a surprising surge of excitement.

She’d been thrilled before each match, sure, but this… this was the first time her heart pounded with this kind of joyful anticipation.

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