Chapter 10

She dashed into a group of dummies and spun to slice them in one go.

"Whoa!"

Nash grinned at the outpouring of encouragement.

"Look at her arrogant expression. So annoying" Vincenzo muttered.

The head of knights fixed their eyes on Nash. She moves gracefully as she cuts the dummies with her smug smile.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Nash. It's my first time to see her"

Prince Lawrence fought the urge to smile as he felt proud of her niece.

"Stop!" The supervisor counts the number of the sliced dummies. "49! Pass!"

"Opps... I've gone too far" Nash muttered.

'Tsk. It's because of the people's attention.'

She walked towards the examiners who passed.

"You did well!" Says the examiners who passed.

"Thank y—!" Before she could finish her greeting, a man suddenly grabbed Nash's hands and kissed them. She unconsciously slapped it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was startled."

"It's fine, my lady."

'My lady!?'

Nash slowly tucked her hands behind her and wiped the back of her hands against her clothes.

It's the new noble who goes after the bald guy. He has brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a flat nose and is full of freckles.

'His face irritates me for some reason.'

"May I ask for your name, and from what house are you from?" He asked as her eyes sparkled from admiration.

'I already said it earlier, you should've listened.'

"I a—"

"I am sure you already know who I am, but still, I want to say it myself. I am the only son of Viscount Mhurt, I am Steven Mhurt."

"Is that so..." she faked her laugh as the sparkles continued to surround the honorable son.

"So, my lady, may I ask what your name is?"

"Nash," she immediately answered before getting interrupted. "I am a commoner."

The honorable son halt. Didn't expect that the lady he admire is a commoner. Nash has an exquisite face that gives her the appearance of a regal lady.

"I...is that so. Then, please excuse me." he immediately left and Nash rolled her eyes.

'Mhurt? Seems like a new noble.'

"Are you really a commoner?" A lady asked. "Oh, sorry for being rude, I am Marais, a commoner, too."

"Uhm, yes, I am a commoner, why?"

"But your sword is expensive, may I examine it?" Nash smiled and handed her sword to Marais. "Who designed it?"

"I did. Also, I bought a sword like that after working my ass off." As an excuse, she explained.

Marais ruffled her brows and pondered, '"Working my ass off"? Is it a slang term for working harder than you've ever worked before? That's brilliant! I should apply it to others...'

"Whoa! I should save money until my arse falls off then!" Nash laughed at how humorous Marais is, "Let's be friends? Could we?"

"Of course! My name is Nash. I hope we'll be in the same squad." They shake hands after introducing each other. "I like your attire."

She's wearing a poet shirt unlike Nash's plain blouse.

"Really? My mother sewed it for me." Nash actually liked her attire. It's her style.

"May I ask your mother to tailor an outfit for me in the future?"

"Of course!" She smiled at how friendly Marais is.

She turned to watch the remaining examiners, but it was over. She unconsciously pouted, then turned to face her side where she saw the broken dummies.

There were only 30 remaining examiners, eight of whom are ladies, and four of whom are from a noble family that bribed the administrators. The remaining 22 are mainly commoners, mostly men.

The next test will be a duel. This will also be the final section of the test, where the administrators will decide which squad the participants will enter. Squires are those who failed the dummy test but have the potential to be a knight.

"Then it would be easier to choose someone who seems to be weak?" said Miss Gwyneth Feret, the daughter of Viscount Furet and one of those who bribed the administrators.

She was born as an ordinary person with no magical abilities, and she only joined the knights because she was having trouble fitting in the social circles with the other aristocrats.

"But they're all good," said Miss Christine Gudin, a Baron's daughter, and a close friend of Gwyneth Feret.

"We can just bribe them as usual. A commoner's weakness is money."

Nash rolled her eyes as she heard the bees buzzing behind her. You're fortunate to be in a noble position, as opposed to commoners who were having difficulty finding stable jobs, which is why they needed money to get by the day.

"You!" Miss Feret grabbed Nash's arm and yanked her around to face her. "You'll be my duel partner, ensure that I win."

Nash smacked her hands.

"How dare you!"

"You should have just thrown a tea party."

"What did y—!"

"Excuse me, Miss, you're interrupting!" The commoners cut in. The noble lady felt ashamed and closed her mouth.

"I'll give you three minutes to choose your duel partner. You don't have to worry, whether you win or lose, you'll have a squad to join," says the supervisor.

Nash faced Miss Feret who grabbed her. "Then let's have a duel."

Three minutes passed and everyone already had a duel partner.

"Before you begin, please state your name and your status."

Nash's brows furrowed. 'They are more concerned with their social standing than with their abilities. What a shame.'

The first to go is the noble Steven Mhurt. His opponent was the bald guy from before named, Brig. The duel will end as soon as the opponent drops his or her sword or accepts his or her defeat.

"Steven Mhurt, Viscount Mhurt's only son."

"Brig, commoner."

Nash was pretty sure that the bald man would triumph, but the noble son did. Following their fight, the noble whispered something to Brig, who nodded as his answer.

"Mhurt, Squad 1! Brig, Squad 14!"

Some of the previous squads go in separate ways and form a new Squad as the leader. The squad numbers were chosen based on their social status and attitudes, which has no bearing on the formation of a squad. Those pompous nobility chose it as a means of determining who is who and where they come from.

Here, it doesn't matter what number of squad you are in but, the squad who are 10 and below are those who are led mostly by a noble. Only a few commoners join squads below 10.

"Miss, when do we enter?" Nash asked, in respect.

"Last."

"As you wish," she bowed, before turning her face to watch the duel.

"Gress Grillin, son of Count Grillin."

"Jaxael, commoner"

Nash's gaze was drawn to the commoners' movements, and her heart pounded with thrill at the commoner's swordsmanship. Her gaze was drawn not only to her swordsmanship, but also to his attractiveness, which was ideal for Nash's type of man. 'Just his appearance... Who knows what his personality is?'

The nobility was taken aback by the commoner's aggressiveness and promptly murmured a few words, which caused the commoner to stop and looked at the heads. Before hitting the commoner, the nobility formed a smirk and looked at the head knights as well.

Nash sighed as she realized what was about to occur.

'I see... another match involving bribery.'