Chapter : "By His Side, Not Behind"

The clang of metal echoed through the empty training grounds.

Scarlett's blades moved like shadows, slicing the air with ruthless precision. Sweat drenched her clothes. Her chest heaved. Her arms trembled. But she kept going.

She had been training since sunrise. Alone.

No one stopped her. No one dared.

The image wouldn't leave her mind. Noah, coughing up blood, shielding them all with his body. The look in his eyes—not fear, not anger, but pure resolve. He had taken on the Shadow Prince without hesitation, even when death stared him in the face.

And what had she done?

She had stood back. Again.

Scarlett slammed her daggers into the wooden post. It splintered on impact.

"I promised I'd be strong enough to stand beside you," she whispered, voice tight with frustration. "But I'm still not there."

Her knuckles were bruised, her legs sore, but the fire in her heart burned hotter than ever.

She wasn't the same scared commoner girl who once feared the nobility.

She was Scarlett—his blade in the shadows.

Memories flickered in her mind—

Noah collapsing beside her.

The blood splattered on his jaw.

The way he smiled even as he bled.

"Next time... I won't let you bleed alone."

She stepped back, took a stance, and began again.

Her movements were no longer just elegant. They were lethal.

"I don't care how strong he gets…" she whispered to herself. "Next time—I'll be right beside him. Sword to sword. Step for step."

And if the world dared try to take him from her again?

They'd find out exactly how sharp a dagger can become when it's guided by love—and wrath.

...

CRACK!

The floor split beneath her curse.

Layla stood in the center of the underground chamber, surrounded by shattered stone and swirling shadows. Her curses danced wildly, forming tendrils, beasts, illusions—all unstable. All imperfect.

"Tch. Still not enough."

She bit her thumb. Blood dripped onto a dark rune etched into the ground. Her curse flared, this time controlled. Barely.

"Noah... you reckless idiot," she muttered.

He had smiled at her, even as his body failed him. Even as the Azure Flame burned through him.

She should've been his shield. She should've cursed that Shadow Prince into a puddle of screaming goo. But she hadn't. She'd lost control, again. And Noah had paid the price.

She grinned, eyes glowing.

"Never again. Next time, I'll be your monster. Your nightmare. Your bloody shield."

The curses hissed in agreement.

She pressed a black rose into her spellbook, whispered to herself:

"I'll become the most terrifying curse-wielder this world has ever seen. Just so no one lays a finger on you."

She licked her lips, her gaze darkening.

"I'll master every curse in existence if that's what it takes. So if death ever comes for you again, Noah…"

"I'll curse the reaper itself."

A soft giggle escaped her lips—loving and dangerous all at once.

"Don't worry, darling. Next time, I'll protect you. Whether you want me to or not~"

A moment passed. A maid peeked in, hesitant. "Lady Layla? Dinner's ready."

"Not hungry," she replied.

The door closed again. Silence returned.

"One day, they'll fear your name like they fear death itself, Noah Von Augustus. And I'll be the one who teach them."

...

The training field was frozen.

Lyra stood in the eye of a miniature blizzard, her black hair whipping in the wind, cold blue magic swirling around her. Her fingers were bleeding. Her lips pale. But she didn't stop casting.

The frost refused to listen.

Ice spears floated around her, shimmering, delicate—but unstable

Every time she tried to focus, her mind betrayed her.

She saw Noah, knees buckling, flames tearing through his body as he held the line.

She hated it.

Not him. Herself.

You watched again. Stood frozen again.

Her magic exploded outward, forming a spiral of jagged frost. Her control slipped. It all shattered around her like broken glass.

She dropped to her knees.

"You gave everything, Noah," she said, breathless. "And I... I just watched."

She placed her hand on the ice.

It began to hum.

Soft. Controlled. Harmonized.

Then learn. Grow. Change.

A voice rang in her mind—her mother's: "Power isn't about destruction, Lyra. It's about harmony. Learn to dance with it, not fight it."

Lyra stood again, hair flowing with icy wind.

She inhaled deeply, calming the storm inside.

"I'll forge myself into something worthy. Not of your love... but of your trust on the battlefield."

A flake of snow danced onto her palm.

And didn't melt.

[Midnight - The Courtyard of Vows.]

The moon was high.

Scarlett arrived first, blades still sheathed but aura sharp. Layla arrived next, arms crossed, curses floating lazily behind her like curious spirits. Lyra followed, silent and composed, the air around her a soft fog.

No words were exchanged for a long moment.

Then Scarlett stepped forward.

"We all saw it. We all felt it. And none of us want to feel that again."

Layla smirked, brushing a finger under her eye.

"He bled for us. Again. And I nearly lost it. I would have locked him in my room permanently if he died."

Lyra gave a rare, faint smile. "He'd never survive the experience."

Scarlett chuckled. Then grew serious.

"We can love him all we want. But that doesn't mean anything if we can't stand beside him when it matters."

Layla nodded. "Then let's stop being the ones who need saving."

Lyra looked up at the stars. "Let's become the ones who fight with him."

A breeze swept through the courtyard, carrying petals from the late-blooming flowers. The moonlight bathed them in silver.

Scarlett placed her dagger on the ground.

"We swear, from this day on... to rise. To learn. To protect."

Layla drew a small circle with her blood.

"To curse those who harm him. To curse our own weakness."

Lyra extended her palm, creating a small snowflake between them.

"To become his equals. Not his burden."

They stood there, side by side. Three hearts. One resolve.

From this night on, they would no longer be the girls behind the hero.

They would be his blades.

His shadows.

His storm.

Together.

To Be Continued...