About two hours had passed since Ethan and I entered the training ground. After spending the morning sparring with Ethan, I massaged my aching arms, taking a short break.

Just to clarify, sparring with Ethan was entirely my choice. He wasn’t forcing me into it.

During the weekday mornings, the academy’s training ground was usually empty. If you weren’t a student on “exploration leave” like Ethan and me, most would be in class. Even those with free time rarely bothered to walk all the way to the training ground for just an hour or two.

Occasionally, students like us, seeking a sparring partner, would appear, but narrowing that down to someone who could even last a round or two with Ethan, a Sword Expert, meant the numbers dwindled significantly.

That’s why I was the one sparring with Ethan from the morning. It wasn’t because he was taking out his frustrations on me after his complete defeat against Harold the day before.

‘It’s inevitable that I’d get tired after taking blows from him by myself.’

Even with breaks, two hours of sparring was enough to make me feel exhausted.

Watching Ethan swing his sword weekly against evenly matched opponents, or seeing Harold fight multiple students a day, made me realize how impressive they were.

…Well, I’d have to work harder to keep up as Ethan’s personal maid.

“I’ve rested enough. Let’s resume the sparring, Ethan Dojonnim.”

“…I think you should rest more, Lilith.”

“No. Resting too much will only make my muscles relax and my mind go dull. It’s time to get back into it, Ethan Dojonnim.”

“If you say so, I guess there’s no helping it…”

With a somewhat reluctant expression, Ethan lifted his sword again, preparing to continue sparring with me.

I, too, braced myself and stood before him, but before we could start, I heard two loud, familiar voices coming from the entrance of the training ground.

“Let’s have another great session today, Senior Karaham!”

“You know it! You’ve got to work up a good sweat before breakfast! Thanks for joining me again, Lyria!”

Ah. Those two again.

“It’s an honor to spar with you, Senior Karaham! I could ask a hundred, a thousand times for this opportunity!!”

“And I’m the one who’s grateful! Even if I have only the strength for one sword, I’ll stand until the very end in a duel with you, Lyria!!”

“Senior Karaham!!”

“Lyria!!”

• Squuueeeze!!

“……”

“……”

It had been a while since I’d seen that dumb couple.

Separately, they were noisy enough, but now that they’d started sticking together like glue, their combined noise was on the level of a walking steam engine.

The two muscle-brained lovers exchanged endless, nonsensical dialogue before suddenly embracing each other tightly, sharing a deep, emotional hug.

I had no idea what they were so moved by or what they were empathizing with, but it didn’t matter. I had already been feeling the strain from sparring with Ethan alone.

It’d be better for Karaham to spar with Ethan since they were on a more even level. And Lyria could spar with me—it’d be more beneficial for her improvement.

“Did you come here to spar, Lord Karaham?”

“Oh, Lady Lilith! What a coincidence to see you here!”

“Lady Lilith! How was your winter break? Did you enjoy your holiday?!”

…If only they could tone down the exclamation marks. Both of them.

Just being near them made my ears feel like they were being pierced, but I had to endure it for now.

“Lord Karaham, Lady Lyria, if you don’t mind, would you join me and Ethan Dojonnim for some sparring practice?”

Their help was essential for us to find the right sparring partners.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

An hour passed after Karaham and Lyria joined Ethan and me in our sparring practice.

Having just finished sparring with Lyria, I sat by the wall of the training ground, resting while watching Ethan and Karaham’s duel.

“Lady Lilith! Here’s some cold water!”

“I didn’t ask for it, though…”

“Did I offend you?!”

“No, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“I’m the one who’s grateful, Lady Lilith!”

…Ever since I helped push her onto the romance path with Karaham, Lyria wasn’t quite my servant, but she certainly admired me deeply.

She was always a bit loud, but today she seemed even more energetic than usual. It was easy to guess that something good had happened to her over winter break.

“Did something nice happen over break, Lady Lyria?”

“Oh, w-was it that obvious?”

“It wasn’t that obvious, but you do seem more excitable than usual.”

“R-right… Well, actually, you’re the first person to notice besides my future sister-in-law… I mean, Senior Ligi!”

…Oh?

It looked like Lyria had visited the August household over winter break. Or maybe Karaham had visited the northern plains. Either way, it seemed some sort of preliminary engagement or introduction had taken place.

No, wait. Knowing Karaham and Lyria’s personalities, they’d probably already…

“Are you and Lord Karaham using the engagement dormitory, Lady Lyria?”

“H-how did you know?! You’re a genius at seduction, Lady Lilith!”

“This has nothing to do with being a genius at seduction.”

It was just a wild guess, but it turned out they really were living in semi-cohabitation at the academy’s engagement dormitory.

For a barbarian, not even a lower noble, to be accepted by a border marquis family… It seemed like Karaham and his family were really fond of Lyria.

“Actually, I visited Karaham’s estate over the winter break!”

“I had a feeling.”

“I was amazed! I couldn’t believe the estate was as big as our whole Barbaracus village! And there were so many people like you, Lady Lilith! Like, what were they called? Memmards?”

“Mammoths? No, you mean maids.”

“Right! And there were upside-down huts all over the place! The biggest one was huge…”

“……”

…Here I was, stressing about how I had to part ways with Ethan in two years, while she was overjoyed and babbling about her experiences.

From her reaction, it seemed like she’d had a great winter break, but there was always the possibility that only Lyria thought she had been accepted, and the August family might not have been as welcoming as she believed.

The August family was an ancient and noble marquis family. I couldn’t imagine them easily accepting a barbarian from the northern plains as their son’s marriage partner.

Lyria was dense enough that she probably hadn’t picked up on any subtle hints, mistaking her time at the estate as a sign of full approval.

“What did Lord Karaham’s family say to you?”

“Oh, his mother said she could rest easy knowing she had a daughter-in-law fit to be a general!”

…Well, it looked like she passed the mother’s test.

“And what about his father?”

“He didn’t say much to me directly, but whenever he went on expeditions to the western monster border, he made sure to call for me and Senior Karaham!”

…If Lyria’s account was accurate, then his father must have approved as well.

“What did your future sister-in-law, Lady Ligi, have to say?”

“She pointed at Senior Karaham and said, ‘That muscle-brained fool is a handful that only someone like you can handle, so don’t ever let him go.’”

…That sounded just like Ligi. And honestly, I completely agreed with her assessment.

In the original story, Lyria didn’t end up with the protagonist and eventually married someone within her tribe, but it was more of an obligatory marriage due to her status as the Barbaracus chieftain’s daughter.

The way things were going, Karaham and Lyria were perfect for each other. They genuinely loved one another and were a great match.

In the original, both had become sub-characters or antagonists, so a union between them was impossible. But now, looking at them together, they really did suit each other.

‘Here I was hoping things wouldn’t work out for them… I feel ridiculous.’

What’s wrong with characters from the game I dedicated my life to getting their happy endings? If they were a good match and lived happily ever after, that’s all that mattered.

For a moment, I felt stupid for secretly hoping things wouldn’t work out between Karaham and Lyria. Well, I’d just have to do the same for the other sub-heroines and help them find their happy endings too.

“Anyway, Senior Karaham is truly incredible! After all the intensity last night, and even this morning, he’s still moving so vigorously!”

“…What?”

“He suddenly pounced on me last night… And even though he was lifting and tossing me around with those thick arms, he’s still standing strong! Truly an impressive stamina…”

“Get up, Lyria! We’re sparring right now!”

“L-Lady Lilith? Why all of a sudden?”

“No more talking! Grab your spear, now!”

Overcome by a sudden wave of irritation, I challenged Lyria to one last sparring match, which somehow brought an end to our day of sword practice.

…Perhaps because I was still unsettled and exhausted from back-to-back duels with Ethan, I ended up losing that match.