Chapter 11: Even If the Flames of Her Passion Burn to the Bone...

Ruby Etoile Redmoon was ten years old when she met the love of her life. As the daughter of one of the empire’s Four Dukes, she enjoyed an unimaginably privileged upbringing as a Redmoon. Born with exceptional athleticism, she excelled in swordsmanship and horsemanship. Her skill with the sword eclipsed that of her three younger brothers, which delighted the Duke. Every so often, he’d joke about how instead of marrying her off, he’d rather make her his heir and adopt a son-in-law into the family. Those listening understood it to be the hyperbolic boasting of a proud father, but something about his tone always made it impossible for them to discard his comments entirely. She herself was well aware of her father’s expectations. Though young, she strived earnestly to match and exceed them.

Born with all the makings of a hero, the world should have been her oyster. Her life would hit a turning point, however, the day she accompanied her father on a routine army inspection.

“There are lots of people here who look really strong, father.”

“Ha ha ha, there certainly are. Take a good look at them. Doesn’t it get you fired up to see these big men in all their powerful glory?”

Her father’s interest in gathering quality soldiers was so intense that it had a nickname—Redmoon Headhunting. Like all good enthusiasts, when presented with the object of his fascination the Duke would be overcome with excitement like a boy with his favorite toy.

They toured the army until her father had to leave for a meeting with the military top brass.

“If you get bored, get them to give you a horse and take it for a ride,” he said before departing.

Ruby took his advice and made her way to the riding grounds. Having accumulated no small amount of equestrian experience, the prospect of being on horseback was nothing new. She didn’t give it much thought, figuring she’d just ride around as usual and kill some time. However, there was an accident. The horse she was riding lost its cool all of a sudden and began running wild.

“H-Hey! You! S-Stop! You can’t— I said stop!”

Trying to bring the rampaging horse to heel, she pulled on the reins with all her strength. The horse, startled by the sudden tug, reared violently.

“Ah—”

She felt herself go flying. The world spun on its axis. Sound vanished. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the ground drew closer and closer. She closed her eyes tight and her body froze up. The swordmaster she trained with had taught her how to break a fall, but it all happened too fast. Too suddenly. She couldn’t get her body to move the way she wanted. The only thing she could do was clench her teeth and wait for the pain that would inevitably assault her.

And then she stopped. Just...stopped, her body hanging motionless in midair.

“...Huh?”

Comprehension escaped her. She could but stare blankly at the unmoving ground, her body still stiff in preparation for impact.

“You okay, little lady?”

The deep, booming voice of a man entered her ears. Gingerly, she opened her eyes to discover...

Wow... He’s so big...

...Vanos, his awkward smile clearly an endearing attempt to avoid scaring the girl he’d just saved from a bad fall.

She never forgot that day. The things she felt—the pounding of her heart and tightening of her chest—never left her. It could have been nothing special. Just a meaningless childhood crush, just as many girls her age would experience fleeting moments of romance that were a far cry from the real thing. An illusory taste of love. But for Ruby that feeling did not fade into a sepia-toned memory of childhood passion. It grew. It glowed. Like a piece of aureate treasure, its luster only intensifying with time.

I...have to meet him again. See him. Talk to him. And then...

Slowly, inconspicuously, that singular desire supplanted all others, becoming the very purpose of her life. As she grew older and began to understand the inner workings of the military, she involved herself in the affairs of the Ebony Moon Ministry.

She had to know. The man who saved her that day... What was his name? Was he still alive? She searched the ministry’s records for clues. Progress was slow. It took years, but she finally managed to discover the man’s identity. He was the vice-captain of a hundred man squad, and his name was Vanos.

The hard part was done. Now that she knew who he was, there should be plenty of ways for her to make him her own. The simplest method would be to assign him to the Redmoon’s private army as a supervisory officer. It wouldn’t be hard to pressure the Ebony Moon Ministry into doing so. Knowing her father’s penchant for headhunting, they wouldn’t find it surprising if he were to show an interest in someone of Vanos’s caliber. The proposal should pass with little resistance. Then she could take her time approaching him and building rapport. The profound disparity in social status between them would doubtlessly make for an arduous love. Their marriage would lie at the end of a path fraught with adversity. It didn’t matter though. The flames of her passion burned so hot that she was ready to abandon her house and family if need be.

Ruby’s love was superlative. In preference, yes—she liked big men, the bigger the better—but also in quality. Her love was a fiery one fueled by her very soul. Its heat poured outward in the form of her passionate personality and burned her to cinders within. For love, she would burn to the marrow of her bones.

For now her greatest wish was to have him somewhere close. Within arm’s reach. But her plan did not come to fruition. Before she could act, he was poached by Princess Mia, who pulled him and his entire squad into the imperial guard. The squad had always carried itself as something of a private mercenary company. That, coupled with the fact that the princess already held great sway over its members, meant that even the Ebony Moon Ministry had no choice but to comply. In the end, Ruby was left with the broken fragments of a failed plan, having had the man of her dreams taken from her by Mia.

“Meddling in people’s love affairs now, are we? It seems Her Highness can be quite the fifth wheel...” she spat bitterly at the sky.

Though she vented her frustrations, she did not dwell on them. The battle was still raging. For years she’d been fighting to win the man she treasured. She would not stop now. Surrender was not an option. Ever since Mia had enrolled at Saint-Noel, Ruby had been waiting and watching for an opportunity to present itself.

And when she deemed the time to be ripe she acted swiftly.

In truth, she wasn’t sure if her challenge would work. Mia could simply refuse to duel her. The very thought of a Duke’s daughter challenging a princess to a duel bordered on the absurd. Such a stunt would be unthinkable in Tearmoon. So she did it here, while they were at Saint-Noel Academy. Under the authority of the Central Orthodox Church and the governance of Saint Rafina, the academy was more tolerant of social transgressions. Being a place where youth congregated, trouble and conflict was almost a daily occurrence. It simply wasn’t feasible to treat every squabble as a matter of interfamilial or international significance.

Furthermore, based on accounts from Esmeralda and Sapphias, Princess Mia’s character had apparently undergone a metamorphosis in recent times, maturing into a person of forbearance who readily forgave minor affronts. In that case, there was a chance that she might accept Ruby’s challenge.

Posing the challenge at the stables and selecting Lin Malong as the witness were both calculated maneuvers as well. Being on the taller side of things, Malong had caught Ruby’s eye as well, and she’d studied his personality in advance. Challenging Mia at that specific location with him present was the best way to ensure the terms of the duel remained unchanged. Considering that Mia had apparently been undergoing intense training in preparation for the Horsemanship Tournament, she couldn’t possibly look Malong in the eye and suggest dueling through some other method.

Thus Ruby succeeded in finalizing the duel on her terms. Competing through an event in the Horsemanship Tournament afforded her an overwhelming advantage. A passage from a treatise on tactics she’d heard in the past echoed in her mind.

The tide of battle begins flowing long before it is fought. The act of crossing swords is simply a formality to confirm the result. It is in the previous stage where the actual outcome is decided.

Therefore, the risk of losing was not worth considering in battle. No, it was more than that...

“It’s him we’re talking about. I’m trying to make him mine. I can hardly expect to do so without risking a limb or two. Or more. My own life? The survival of my house? I couldn’t care less. All small prices to pay.”

Even if she had no chance of winning, she’d still do it. And gladly, at that. What hurt the most wasn’t losing. It was being denied the chance to fight. When the prize was the person she loved, nothing could be more painful than the inability to even make an attempt to win. The fiery desire that had burst to life that fateful moment still raged within, scorching her heart and soul to this day.

“Sir Vanos...I’ll bring you to my side...one way or another...”

Ruby Etoile Redmoon, the proud daughter of the Duke of Redmoon, was an impassioned girl who lived and loved like a forest fire.

Meanwhile, Mia, who hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on in Ruby’s head...

“Oho ho, they finally made it. I have my carrot cake. Everything is going according to plan. Now I can make it watch me eat, and right in front of its face! Of course, this isn’t about revenge or anything. That would be terribly petty of me. It’s to improve my horsemanship...by teaching that horse to treat me with proper respect!”

She hummed gleefully to herself and made her way to the stables.

“Hm hmm, mmm hm hm... Ah, this is such a delicious cake,” she said as she flaunted the pastry in front of her nemesis. “Just look at it. Doesn’t it look tasty? Hm? Don’t you want to have some? Well, you can’t! Because it’s all mine! And I’m going to eat it right here while you— Eeek?! Wai— N-No! Stop! I-It’s mine! Give it— Aaaah! No! My cake!”

And so, Mia shared her carrot cake with Kuolan like a true friend, and the two got to know each other a little bit better. The end.

For her carrot cake revenge scheme, anyway.