Ethan and I reached a compromise: instead of him earning rewards by defeating Harold in sparring, I would earn them by managing to defeat Ethan.

But, of course, this agreement alone didn’t solve our… reward situation. Ethan would only reward me if I could genuinely win against him in a sparring match.

…That won’t be easy.

I knew Ethan’s swordsmanship better than anyone, and that knowledge only heightened my doubts. Unlike my bouts with Harold, where I sometimes managed to pull off a victory through luck or trickery, I had never once claimed a proper win against Ethan.

There was …