The Final Villain Has Fallen to the Lust Demon - Chapter 1.21

***

Late at night, after the sun had set. Douglas was worried about his master, who had not budged from the Academy’s Royal Tea House all this time.

“Lord Demian. It is time to head in.”

Dozens of books were piled on Demian’s desk.

This was because he spent every single day underwater, so to speak, devouring books in order to show only a perfect appearance in front of everyone.

However, Demian was in a somewhat more distracted state than usual today.

‘……Why does it keep coming back to me.’

“Thank you.”

The image of Levi Heron, who had greeted everyone with a radiant smile after finishing her demonstration, kept popping into his head, occupying his mind. Because of this, it was difficult to concentrate on his books as he normally did.

‘Summoning a sword of that size and controlling it so precisely would require a significant amount of mana.’

Others might have simply brushed it off as “typical Heron,” but Demian was a magic swordsman who had refined his mana to a level approaching mastery.

In his eyes, it was clear that Levi had drawn upon every bit of mana she had stored, as well as the mana she would have used over the next several days.

‘Did she overexert herself and put on a play just because she’s called Heron’s Defective Product?’

To take advantage of the prejudices of others who don’t know the true level of one’s prowess, change one’s reputation, and force a reassessment of the family’s standing. It was quite a clever strategy.

Demian, who impulsively concluded that the reason Levi kept crossing his mind was out of admiration for her resourcefulness rather than anything else, finally stood up and stretched his stiff body.

“Douglas. Let’s have a match at the training ground. It’s been a while.”

There were training grounds in the Imperial Palace, but the downside of polishing one’s martial arts there was that it drew the eyes of the Empress’s associates.

Thus, Demian preferred training at the dilapidated Academy training ground. It was practically an abandoned place, but that made it more comfortable. It also felt as though the training was more effective there.

However, an unexpected answer came back today.

“My apologies, Your Highness. There is someone already using that place today.”

***

A week had already passed since Levi and Ayla began their personal training by visiting the campus training ground side by side after school.

Today, too, the two were immersed in training at the training ground that no one else sought out.

Thwack—!

The clear sound of wooden swords clashing echoed throughout the training ground.

Her wrists were tingling from the momentarily swirling mana, but Ayla parried Levi’s sword with a brighter smile than ever before.

Thanks to Levi’s repeated teaching, she was able to have confidence that her posture was correct rather than wallowing in the self-deprecation that she might be wrong.

“You’ve gotten good at the basic defensive stance now.”

Whenever Levi praised her with a soft chuckle, Ayla felt as if she had become a grand gladiator.

“It’s still hard to parry a Heron’s sword, though.”

Ayla lowered her wooden sword for a moment and lightly shook out her wrists.

Her body was certainly exhausted, but her heart was pounding faster than ever.

When she first entered the campus dormitory according to her uncle’s wishes, she never imagined she would be able to feel such small sparks of happiness.

Suddenly, Ayla recalled the carriage accident that had claimed her parents’ lives.

After that accident, Ayla’s life had become a hell.

“Ayla. Your parents must have left such a will because they thought you wouldn’t be able to pull your own weight, right?”

“Ignoring the collateral branches even as they starve to death is not the mark of an heir. It is our family custom to share the inheritance.”

The will stated that Ayla, the inheritor, could only withdraw the inheritance stored in the bank after she graduated from the Academy.

Upon learning this, her uncle and his wife suddenly volunteered to be her guardians and appeared at the Ryner mansion.

Then, claiming they needed cash for her upbringing, they sold the perfectly fine mansion and fired all the loyal employees.

‘To take me to a countryside estate after all that…… they must have intended to cut me off from the outside world.’

At first, Ayla asked for help from other relatives she thought were close.

But those who learned the contents of the will fought among themselves over the inheritance, eventually even killing one another in incidents disguised as accidents.

Since then, Ayla had to watch her uncle and his wife act as the heads of the family while she trembled in fear.

However, Levi Heron had been in a position where her life was almost dominated by her uncle as well, yet she eventually overcame it.

That was the reason Ayla had greedily grabbed the hand Levi reached out, despite not being in a position to repay the favor.

Because she wanted to be close to Levi, who had experienced a similar despair yet shook it off and rose up brilliantly as if she had become a different person overnight.

Others ignored her, calling her a defective product, but to Ayla, Levi was like a hero.

Every time she saw Levi gradually changing her own reputation using strength and effort as her weapons, hope bloomed from deep within her heart.

“Levi, thank you.”