The competition kicked off, and each team was assigned a different part of the forest, with enough distance between them to prevent immediate confrontations. The air was thick with anticipation, and the trees cast long shadows as the sun rose higher.

  Valen returned to Esdeath's side, his expression a mix of guilt and helplessness. "The teachers can't do anything for us," he reported, gncing away. "They'll search for Luna, but our team has to py with just the three of us."

  Esdeath simply nodded, unfazed by the news. "It's fine," she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to him. "If anything, this might be better," she thought. With Valen's ck of combat skills, it was almost like having only two actual fighters on their team, rather than three.

  Far away from the main areas of the competition, deep in the dense forest, Esdeath and Maruti prepared themselves. They both knew that fighting in skirts was impractical, especially in this kind of terrain. After all, while they had once been men, now in their new female bodies, they weren't about to fight like normal girls, used to handling things in skirts.

  With swift movements, Esdeath discarded her academy uniform. She pulled on her usual morning training outfit: a sports bra that hugged her chest, and tight thigh-high leggings that molded to her athletic form, giving her an aura of both elegance and intimidation—like a mafia boss ready for action.

  Maruti followed suit, slipping into a white sleeveless athletic shirt. The fabric clung to her sculpted muscles, with bck accents tracing the edges, perfectly matching her bck cycling shorts. Her arms and legs rippled with strength, showcasing her athleticism. Dressed like this, she looked every bit the professional athlete.

  Meanwhile, off to the side, Valen covered his eyes with both hands, his face flushed red. "Girls nowadays really have no fear changing in front of boys…" he mumbled to himself, peeking through his fingers, though his conscience told him to look away. "I should act like a good boy and not look," he whispered, his inner conflict obvious, though temptation gnawed at him.

  Esdeath's sharp eyes locked onto the rge crystal resting between the three of them. Its surface shimmered faintly under the light filtering through the trees, radiating power. Without looking back, she turned her head slightly toward Maruti, her expression hardening.

  "Now, go!" she commanded, her voice cold and filled with authority.

  Maruti rolled her eyes in response, a scoff escaping her lips. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going," she muttered. As if on cue, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of gsses—round, like the kind someone with vision problems would wear. She casually pced them on her face, adjusting them slightly with a smirk.

  Esdeath said nothing, though her mind registered the oddity. Maruti and her fake gsses.It was one of those strange habits that lingered from her past life, back when she was still a man. Now, even as a woman, she believed it made her look cool, though Esdeath knew better. In her new body, with those seductive curves and athletic form, the gsses only added to Maruti's allure, making her look less "cool" and more dangerously attractive.

  Still, Esdeath didn't mind. It wasn't the time to point out such things.

  ---

  A few minutes ter, Maruti had already reached her destination, the orange crystal hidden deep within the forest. It was almost ughable how close their team had started to it, It was just pure coincidence that they were this close. The crystal was nestled inside a cave that appeared completely ordinary. The teachers had clearly pced it here without trying too hard to hide it, probably hoping for someone to stumble upon it and cause chaos.

  Maruti stood at the entrance of the cave, eyeing the glowing orange gem with narrowed eyes. She knew exactly what would happen the moment she touched it.

  "The second I collect that thing, my location will be broadcast to every other team. They'll all come rushing toward me like dogs after a bone."

  A mischievous smile crossed her lips. She wasn't one to charge blindly into danger. No, she preferred strategy over brute force. "Better to leave the crystal where it is," she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible in the quiet of the forest. "Let the others come and search for it. I'll just wait… for the right moment."

  With that, Maruti gnced around the area, scouting for a pce to hide. Her gaze nded on a rge tree nearby, its thick branches perfect for her pn. She swiftly climbed up, settling on a branch that overlooked the cave and crystal below. From here, she had the perfect vantage point.

  She y back against the sturdy trunk, her arms crossed behind her head, her legs dangling zily off the branch. The sun filtered through the leaves above, casting dappled shadows across her rexed form. She would wait here for as long as it took, biding her time until someone else came close. Only then would she make her move.

  And so, time began to pass. Maruti y on the tree branch, her eyes occasionally drifting shut as the soft rustle of leaves surrounded her. The forest seemed peaceful, but her mind remained sharp, constantly on alert for the slightest movement. Before she knew it, an hour had passed, and the stillness was finally broken.

  She heard it first—a voice, clear and determined, coming from the bushes nearby.

  "The crystal has a faint mana signature. It's hard to sense, but not impossible. The orange crystal should be around here!" the voice said, filled with confidence.

  Maruti's eyes snapped open. She shifted slightly, peeking through the leaves at the figures moving below. There they were—Ravenna, the princess of Anastasia Kingdom, and her team, all of them from Css A. The sight of Ravenna made Maruti narrow her eyes.

  Ravenna stood out, her long pink hair flowing like silk, her eyes unusually captivating, almost hypnotic with the small plus-shaped pupils. Her face was delicate and charming, with an innocence that belied her power. Despite her beauty, there was a sense of responsibility in her stance, a weight that she carried as the future princess of the kingdom.

  Maruti watched as they moved with precision, each step calcuted, as if they had been given an advantage. Though the academy cimed the teams were matched randomly, Esdeath and maruti knew that Ravenna's team was anything but random. The princess had been paired with the best of the best—Css A students handpicked to support her. Of course, they didn't go as far as putting Kaelith, Lilith's daughter, in the team. That would've been too obvious, even for the students.

  "Poor Ravenna", Maruti thought. "She knows she's cheating, but what can she do? She's the future of Anastasia, a symbol for her people. She can't afford to fail, even if it means getting help from others."

  As Maruti continued to observe, she took in the details of Ravenna's group. There was another girl with short azure hair, her body muscur and toned, clearly a martial artist like Maruti herself. One of the boys had long, grey hair and a deep scar running down his face, giving him an air of danger. The final member of the group was a good-looking boy with gsses, likely their strategist.

  Maruti sighed softly, feeling the familiar tension rise in her chest. Her moment of rest was over.

  "I guess it's time," she whispered to herself, stretching slightly before readying herself to drop down from the tree.

  -------------

  Far from the bustling capital of Anastasia, nestled in the quiet nds of Swann, stood the grand mansion of the territory's ruler, Nyx Crimson. The mansion towered over the ndscape, majestic and old, surrounded by lush gardens and towering trees.

  Outside the mansion's grand entrance, a young woman in her twenties could be seen running gracefully toward the door. Her long, flowing silver hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her bright red eyes seemed to glow against her pale, almost ethereal skin. She looked like a being from another world, her beauty so striking that even the princess of Anastasia, Ravenna, paled in comparison. It was as if she wasn't human at all, but something more. She was Lortell Mariette, the Archduke's daughter.

  A wide, bright smile lit up Lortell's face as she hummed happily to herself.

  "Secrets that I held in my heart… are harder to hide than I thought... Maybe I just wanna be yours~ I wanna be yours… I wanna be yours…"

  Her voice was sweet, carrying through the air as she pyfully skipped and hopped with excitement, her heart racing with joy. Finally, she reached the rge doors of the mansion, pushing them open with a dramatic swing before dashing inside, her shoes sliding on the polished floor.

  "Aunty! Where's Esdeath?!" she called out, her voice echoing through the grand hall.

  Downstairs, Esdeath's mother, Charlotte, was polishing an antique vase when she heard the sudden entrance. Startled, she looked up to see Lortell standing there with a bright, eager expression. Without hesitation, Charlotte quickly bowed.

  "My dy," she greeted respectfully. "If you're looking for Esdeath, she's not here."

  Lortell's eyes narrowed in confusion, her excitement pausing for a moment. "Not here? Is she in the garden, then?" she asked, her voice ced with curiosity.

  Charlotte stood up straight, offering a soft smile. "No, miraculously, she awakened and is now attending the academy," she expined with pride.

  For a moment, Lortell froze. Then, her eyes widened in shock.

  "Huh?!"

  Her jaw dropped as the realization hit her.

  "Ehhhhh?!"