Chapter 9: Shireen Has Changed (3)

"Then both sides, get ready."

Shireen and Devan get in a stance as a signal to start the duel. Shireen just smiled while Devan glared at her.

'Is she mocking me?!' Devan thought as he waited for Ser Axell's signal to orchestrate the duel between the two.

"BEGIN!" The signal went down.

Devan, who had been waiting for the signal with his hind legs twitching, immediately slammed into the ground at Axell's signal.

'Nothing personal, my lady. I'll show you the difference in level between the two of us.'

It was a great speed. Devan closed the distance with Shireen in an instant, and in the blink of an eye of the onlookers, he swung his sword towards Shireen's forearm. Fortunately, it was an attack that dodged a vital point. Thinking that Shireen would not be able to prevent such a sudden and quick attack, he chose a part that would not be a problem even if she was injured by rational judgment.

"He's fast! Devan is really going all out!" one of the knights remarked.

Then, a repulsive force transmitted from Shireen's hand. The eyes of Shireen and Devan intertwined in the air. At the sight of Shireen, who does not waver even in the face of a surprise attack, Devan instantly got goosebumps.

In the subsequent attack that cuts it horizontally by Devan, Shireen calmly blocked the attack this time as well. The defense of the moment was certainly not a coincidence. As well as the reaction force transmitted through her hands, the defense's posture was quite stable.

'Lady Shireen… blocked it?' Ser Axell was really surprised from the turn of events, to the point that his jaw dropped.

It was unexpected. Devan didn't know that Shireen had such basic skills. He began to think that maybe it was Shireen who actually subjugated the Coin of Pentos. If that were true, Shireen would be as powerful as Axell, but now that he faced the sword, it didn't matter.

The fight has truly begun. Devan felt that his temper would be relieved by defeating Shireen.

Devan decides to take an aggressive stance against Shireen. While taking an aggressive step, he continuously swiped down attacks from above. Those who watched the fast and powerful combo attack burst into exclamations, and Shireen stepped back and urgently blocked the attack. It was a good enough defense.

Devan was sure that the attack would work this time, but the wooden sword slashed through Shireen's hair in a matter of seconds. Below that, Shireen's cool eyes could be seen. Even though he couldn't properly grasp Shireen's movements with the naked eye, she instinctively swung his sword to block it.

Shireen's sword suddenly swung towards Devan's head. A powerful attack that would have ended the game as it was if it had not been blocked. Shireen wasn't just good at defense. She had an excellent offensive basics, and as soon as the attack was blocked, she disappeared from Devan's view.

She sidestepped then out of sight like a flowing water, she swung her wooden sword from bottom to top. Devan caught his breath at the anomalous attack to the point that he also tripped to the ground. It created a little shockwave.

'Fuck, just now it was really dangerous.' Devan was breathing while eyeing his opponent Shireen.

"Impossible…" even Lord Stannis watched in awe, same as Ser Axell.

"Seven hells! A-..are you kidding me? She almost got Devan!" one of the knights exclaimed.

"Ser Davos will be disappointed if you ask me." one of the knights joked.

'Is this truly.. Lady Shireen's skills?!' Devan gritted his teeth. 'Did she really annihilate the Coin of Pentos? At this rate, I'll…- damn it! What am I even thinking about?! My opponent is the weak cursed child, Shireen Baratheon! I won't lose to her in front of this many people!'

"I think that was enough of a warm-up." Shireen said coldly.

"What…?"

"This time, I'll be going first." Shireen quickly rushed towards Devan which Devan was caught off guard, literally.

'What's with her?! She's incredibly fast!' Devan locked his eyes to Shireen, their swords parried to each other.

After that, Shireen delivers an incredible chain of attacks against Devan, and Devan is barely holding on from his defense.

'Shit! I should take a step back fir-.. Huh?' Devan's eyes lit up.

'Her movement is too big.' There was a gap. Shireen's chest. 'There's a lot of GAPS!' He immediately attacked the gap which was Shireen's chest.

Then Shireen leaned back while Devan missed it. Shireen laughed.

Devan knew instinctively, he felt that it was a trap. It was a crisis for him. Seeing Shireen casually dodging his attacks and immediately counterattacking, Devan exploded his secret weapon he had instinctively suppressed. Aura. (Aura is like a buff, for example, Thoros of Myr's or Beric Dondarrion's flaming sword.)

As Devan showed his aura, Ser Axell, who was watching, widened his eyes.

"Devan! No!"

It was dangerous. Aura and wooden sword clash. The result is obvious. Not only will the wooden sword be shattered, but also, you don't know what kind of situation Shireen will face in the aftermath of power.

The fact that it's not a true sword doesn't matter. It is the power of the aura that can cut through people with only a wooden sword.

Ser Axell's heart was pounding. It was a mistake. Had he known that Shireen was the person who would put Devan in a corner, he should have given up his face and gone on his own.

"What the hell just happened?!" exclaimed one of the knights.

"SHIREEN! WHERE'S SHIREEN?!" Stannis was literally worried, crying out on where Shireen is.

But then. Shireen leaped forward. Even with a life-threatening blow in front of her eyes, she did not hesitate to move forward. Just one step. It was a miracle.

"Phew." She faced Devan's stained face with embarrassment and astonishment as she squatted in front of him, then she turnkicked Devan's leg which cause Devan to fall to the ground. The fight is over.

All the people who witnessed the fight can't believe it.

The defenseless Devan. Even with the sword removed, Devan would have accepted the result, but Shireen did not let the situation pass.

'Those who show hostility will be dealt with with certainty.' It is the rule of heaven. The rule of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Even if she didn't kill him, she had to pay the price for winning the victory by risking her life.

Shireen pointed out her wooden sword to Devan's face. Devan, who was hit with the orthodox blow, rose to his feet, and a few teeth were scattered all over his face, along with thick blood.

People say Devan, who is a disciple of Ser Axell Florent and one of the squires of Lord Stannis, is a genius. He was later evaluated as a talent that would go beyond Westeros when it comes to fame in the future.

Shireen looked at Devan coldly as he lost consciousness. Both Stannis and Axell's expressions were really astonished at Shireen's skills.

-

Stannis Baratheon, who was watching the duel together with Ser Axell and Ser Davos who just arrived to see that his fifth son who was talented, got defeated by Lady Shireen, was bewildered by the events.

"S-Ser Axell." Stannis stared at the fighting stage.

"Yes, my lord?" There was a bit of nervousness within Ser Axell.

"What in the world just happened? Didn't you say that Devan is our most talented knight because of his aura?" Stannis needed an explanation. Ser Davos was just silent about this.

Ser Axell looked at Shireen and Stannis Baratheon alternately with complicated eyes, and finally gave the most common-sense answer after contemplating.

"...My lord, please don't be surprised by this. It seems that Lady Shireen is a genius in swordsmanship."

"Hmm.." Shireen caught her breath as she eyed the unconscious Devan.

'He knew how to aggressively push his opponent, and his focus during the battle is pretty sharp too. Devan should easily be able to take out the Coin of Pentos organization by himself. I can see why Ser Axell is proud of him. For their standards, he's a pretty skilled warrior. However, for my standards… the worst. Even the grunts in the Order of Demons should be stronger than this. Devan would definitely not survive in Murim.' Shireen contemplated Devan's skills.

'Although I was surprised at the end, something about that…' Shireen again contemplated the aura which caught her attention. It seems that aura exists in this world as well. Shireen was thankful that Devan's aura was sloppy compared to the ones that were used back in Murim, otherwise, she should've died.

Then Stannis Baratheon began to laugh, something that made people uncomfortable. It was indeed their first time seeing Stannis this happy. Stannis has always been a cold man, but now that he witnessed this? He has a right to be proud of her daughter.

"My daughter! For my daughter and my only heir to be a genius at swordsmanship?!" Stannis shifts his gaze to Ser Axell. "Ser Axell, are you sure about this?!"

"I wouldn't be able to explain why Lady Shireen is able to improve this fast then. It seems that I wasn't able to recognize a true potential in front of me."

"Is that so? I see now." Stannis was smiling. Isn't it weird that Stannis the Mannis himself is smiling? It's uncanny if you ask me.

"Shireen, my daughter. Come over here." Shireen approached her father.

"I've never been happier in my life until now. I want to applaud the sole fact that you've decided to accomplish something for yourself at such a young age! Heh, I need to make sure you get an award fitting for this. Tell me if there's anything you want."

Shireen smiled. It was a familiar life for Shireen, and the moment Stannis Baratheon mentioned the award, something came to her mind.

"You said that if uncle Robert had the same mindset as me, Seven Kingdoms would be in a better place. Isn't that right, father?" Shireen waited for his father's response. She wants to know if Stannis has ambitions to the Iron Throne.

"I only said that because of what you accomplished back in Pentos. This has nothing to do with your uncle ruling the Seven Kingdoms." Shireen was somewhat disappointed at her father's response. Would it be better if Shireen rules Westeros to make it a better place? Far better than when Robert or the Targaryens ruled the Seven Kingdoms? Having treasonous thoughts is dangerous.

"If that's the case, I'd like it if you give me the right to select my own men for myself." It was straightforward. Stannis looked startled at the fairly specific proposal.

"Shireen. Now that you have proven yourself that you can take care of your own, I'll give you the right to take care of things yourself. Oh, I also have one last thing to ask of you. As long as you keep showing me what you did just now, I have no reason to deny your request."

"Then…" Shireen smiled lightly and looked at Devan lying on the floor. "I want to learn this aura in the future. So, for private tutoring, please assign that soon-to-be knight I dealt with."

Now is the time for Shireen to get to know the world a little more. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire.

-

How much time has passed.

Devan opened his eyes. As the blue sky was pouring down his eyes, he burst into tears without realizing it.

"Wow, that's really embarrassing."

Defeat. It was an embarrassing reality. The fact that he was defeated by Lady Shireen Baratheon, he wanted to hide his face even in a mouse hole. But what to do? It's reality. The fact that he was defeated by Shireen did not change, and when he woke up and woke up, he

saw his own reflection in the mirror. It was embarrassing.

It was Devan, who boasted a handsome appearance enough to be called a handsome man, but in the mirror, there was a jerk with two missing front teeth.

A situation as desperate as defeat. He hurriedly checked the rosary and found the broken tooth, but there was no way to put it back in place.

"Will I die?" It was a moment of serious concern.

The problem wasn't just that. Unable to get out of the abyss of despair, an order was given to him that was like a clear blue sky.

"What?! You want me to teach aura to Lady Shireen?!" Devan didn't like this at all, only because he was embarrassed to see the girl who defeated him.

"I know how you feel, Devan, it's orders from Lord Stannis."

"Ser! No.. teacher! Don't you think this is too much?!" Devan didn't want to see Lady Shireen's face because of embarrassment. Losing to a girl felt more humiliating than ever.

"Look at me, Ser Axell. That kid… I had to even use aura against Lady Shireen and still lost against her when she counterattacked! All I want to do is hide in a corner, and I do hope I won't get executed by Lord Stannis just because I used an aura to her! But you want me to teach her aura?! Even if I could get off my head taken off for declining, still-"

"Devan." Ser Axell interrupted him. "I'll make you an offer."

"What? What is it, ser?" Devan began to calm himself down.

"I want you to teach Lady Shireen and see what's different about her. If you can take care of this one thing, I'll be sure to transfer all my secrets to you when it comes to swordfighting."

"Are you serious, ser?!" Devan raised his eyebrows.

"Yes."

"You better keep your word, Ser Axell!" Devan said in a playful, annoying tone.

-

"Lady Shireen, I've heard that you've accomplished great things in your match today." Ser Davos said.

"I apologize if I beat your son, Ser Davos." Shireen said with a regretful tone.

"No no, don't be, my lady! Devan may not be a knight yet but as long as he learned his lesson earlier, he'll grow to be one of the best knights in the Seven Kingdoms." Ser Davos smiled at her.

"Though somehow, you still beat my son, that's incredible! I'm sure my four eldest sons would tease Devan about getting defeated by a girl!" Ser Davos chuckled.

Shireen wasn't laughing though she didn't mind that Ser Davos jokes about his fifth son getting defeated by a girl.

"Ser Davos, do you know what aura is?" Shireen's gaze was at Ser Davos.

"I have no clue myself… is it not the power to be able to use mana? I've heard Maester Cressen say that. Devan and Ser Axell are just lucky to have aura, then Thoros of Myr or Beric Dondarrion if you've heard of them. It's rare for a Westerosi to have an aura given the fact that magic has ceased to exist in Westeros, my lady."

"Mana… I guess it's called mana in this place." Shireen shifts her gaze back at the window, staring at whatever's happening outside.

'The power that Devan showed me was definitely an eruption of energy. However, their usage of energy was different from the ones in Murim. What they seem to call aura here, something about it is… inefficient.'

'I just can't understand why they're using energy like this. It seems that the people here will need to learn more about the powers they use. I guess I'll take a look for myself during training tomorrow with Devan Seaworth.' Shireen smiled at the thought.

"Oh, you can go now, Ser Davos. Once again, I apologize for what I did to Devan earlier and give me my best regards to him, especially for the morrow."

"Likewise, my lady." Ser Davos left her chambers.

Shireen went to bed afterwards, it was really an exhausting day though she's excited for tomorrow.