For Tizmilly, it all began when The Crown Prince of the Empire cancelled their engagement.
Everything—her effort, her status—suddenly stopped being important. They told her to become a great lady worthy of the next Empress position, and she had worked hard to realize that. She did everything: learned a lot of things and trained with her sword everyday to reach a perfect version of herself.
But they cast her aside the moment another girl appeared.
Even her big brother was seduced by that girl.
They believed that girl more than whatever Tizmilly said. They accused her of something she had never done and stole her possessions.
When she was left alone with nothing but her clothes, Tizmilly thought that everything was over for her.
But then,
He appeared.
Theo Roost.
Tizmilly knew him. He never stood out among the Academy's students, but he had consistently stayed at 20th place since the first year, never more, never less, like a position deliberately chosen by himself. She remembered his name because he was such an eccentric. He spent most of his time at the Academy reading in the library. However, she had never spoken with him. At most, they had exchanged glances and polite nods.
That's why she guarded herself in front of him at first. He had also told her about the end of the world and something... So her suspicion of him only increased over time.
But he never tried to hurt her. She thought that he was aiming for her body, but no, his gaze toward her was not the gaze a man threw at a woman. It was more like he was looking at something precious, like a rare crystal, or treasure, and something similiar.
Nevertheless, the fact that he had saved her by bringing her to his house was an undeniable truth.
However...
'Why? What is the reason you chose to reach me, Mister Roost?'
Her thought drifted slightly when she looked at Theo, who was hovering in the air, watching over her with thin smile on his face.
Tizmilly shrugged that thought immediately. It was not the time to think about that. She was in a fight currently.
'Focus, focus...' Tizmilly chanted in her mind as she looked around to trace the Rain Serpent's location.
However, no matter how much she looked, she still couldn't find the snake. And the rain also made it even harder for her.
The cold seeped into her bones, turning her breath into white mist. Tizmilly's knuckles whitened against the hilt of her blade; she couldn't afford to look weak—not here, not in front of him.
Suddenly, she heard a sound of something piercing the air.
'It's the Rain Serpent'
Her instinct kicked in almost immediately. She turned around, and blocked the Rain Serpent's fangs once more.
She could block the attack, but because she hadn't taken a solid enough stance when she blocked it, her body failed to hold the Rain Serpent's strength and she was blown back upon impact.
Tizmilly recovered quickly, but the Rain Serpent had already gone the moment it realized its ambush failed.
'What a troublesome monster!' she thought as she directed her eyes around restlessly.
Her body started to tremble. It was her first time fighting in the rain. It was different from her experience when fighting with her mentor back when she was still the daughter of Fallburn family.
'The rain is too loud. I couldn't hear it move. Ugh.'
Heartless before her vulnerable state, the Rain Serpent kept coming. From the trees above, from the shadow of the trees, or from the bushes.
Tizmilly kept swinging her sword to block its attacks. However, her fingers started to feel numb as time passed.
She tried fighting it back.
But it always kept fleeing after it launched its attack.
'What should I do? What can I do in this situation? Think, Tizmilly, think!'
In her frustation, Tizmilly looked up again. Theo was still there, watching her. He furrowed his eyebrows, but he still looked like he wasn't going to help her any time soon.
Tizmilly wanted to give up, because it would certainly be easier to do so. But her parted lips failed to voice a word. She didn't want to be a burden for Theo's family forever. She wanted to show her capabilities to him, the one who had saved her. If she couldn't even defeat this monster, would she even deserve his goodwill?
Theo noticed Tizmilly's trembling state, so he raised his fists to encourage her. His mouth opened, and he said, "You got this, Tizmilly!" Though his voice was silenced by the rain.
However, Tizmilly successfully received his intention. She widened her eyes, before she giggled.
'My body was already covered with mud all over like this, and you still thought that I can defeat that monster? Are you blind, Mister Roost?'
That was what she thought. But she realized someone believed in her, even if she didn't know why.
She inhaled a large amount of air to calm herself.
She focused on her surroundings.
The rain was still heavy and noisy. It was still too hard for her to hear or see the Rain Serpent's movement.
But she could predict where it would attack next. Once she stopped doubting herself and focused herself wholly on the battle, she could finally unleashed her true skill—built from talent, but honedthrough continuous training and discipline.
The monster aimed her back and lunged like a black lightning.
However, Tizmilly did something different this time. Instead of blocking it, she took a side step to evade the Rain Serpent's ambush.
The monster was shocked and immediately wanted to flee after it missed her completely. But before it could go too far, Tizmilly launched a slash and sliced the monster's side.
The wound was not deep enough, so it could still escape. However, with that wound, it wouldn't be able to move as silent and agile as it used to anymore.
Her confident smile was returned to Tizmilly's face as she prepared herself for the next attack.
'That's right. If even a commoner like him could do it. So why couldn't a noble lady like me also do it?!'
Tizmilly sent Theo a challenging look, "I won't lose to you!" Her look told everything she wanted to say, and in response, Theo grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.
With her reinvigorated spirit, Tizmilly shifted her attention back to her surrounding.
'Alright, let's do it then! I can do it! I could defeat it! Next, it will come from... There!'
Maybe because its previous attack from the air failed, the Rain Serpent came from the bushes this time. However, Tizmilly had once again accurately predicted its tactic.
The Rain Serpent missed again.
Tizmilly waited until the monster's body was right beside her before she swung her sword, slicing the Rain Serpent's stomach open.
A long cut was now opened on its body, and it started to lose blood. It was slithered and hissed frantically as it tried to flee like a panicked rabbit.
'I will ends you now!'
Tizmilly realized that her stamina was running out. She couldn't drag this battle any longer. She didn't waste that chance. She immediately launched herself at the monster's head, her sword pointed straight forward.
Her sword was inches from its head. One more thrust, and she would prove to Theo—and to herself—that she wasn't just a discarded doll.
But her world suddenly blurred.
A heavy, whip-like force slammed into her ribs from the side. The Rain Serpent's tail.
The air left her lungs in a choked gasp as she was sent tumbling through the mud.
She tried to push herself up, but her arms gave out, losing strength. She looked down, seeing the rainwater turn a sickening shade of crimson.
She wiped her mouth, staring blankly at the warm, metallic-smelling liquid on her palm.
'Blood? Is this... mine?'
The serpent didn't give her time to process the pain. It hissed, jaws unhinging as it launched for the kill. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end—
The ground shuddered.
Tizmilly opened her eyes to see a familiar back. Theo had descended like a falling star, his spear driven clean through the serpent's skull, pinning it into the earth.