Elincia was so relieved that she could have cried. Caspian had won. Against all odds, with poison running through his system, he'd beaten Julius, which meant that he was going to be advancing to the next round.

I'm so glad...

The crowd was cheering. It started softly at first, but it quickly picked up ardore. Jeers and boos were replaced with whistles and shouts. Even the people who knew and hated Caspian were now cheering for his victory. It made Elincia happy. Her friend, who'd been suffering alone all this time, was finally being recognized for his strength.

"That was some comeback," Lady Aakarshana observed.

"I was very impressed with that young man's fortitude," her sister agreed. "Not many people can fight like that while also fighting against a poison."

"Ufufufu," Lady Erica chuckled, "I would expect nothing less from that boy. He's such an amusing young lad." She glanced at Derek. "If only you would hurry up and kick the bucket, I could have him all to myself."

"That's so cruel, My Lady!" Derek began bawling his eyes out.

"Oh, relax. I'm just kidding."

Tiffania looked up at her Lady Erica with a child's curiosity. "What does 'kick da bucket' mean? Why would Armor Man kick da bucket?"

"It's merely an expression, dear," Lady Erica told the young half-elf with a fond smile.

"Please don't go teaching my sister anything weird," Collafloore sighed.

"Still, though," Lord Fuzen Taiga mused thoughtfully, "I am most surprised to see him win. I wonder, was it Lady Elincia's words that spurred him to victory?"

Elincia's cheeks became hot as she suddenly became the center of attention. Lady Sylvia's disapproving stare made her want to run and hide, while Lord Fuzen Taiga's observative expression made her feel like her soul was being laid bare. Even Lady Erica was staring at her with unmasked amusement.

"That's right," a grinning Lady Aakarshana threw an arm around Elincia's shoulder, "what was that you said? 'You have to keep your promise to me' or something like that. That was a pretty bold statement."

"Truly." Lady Akane placed a hand on her cheek, adopting a demure mien. "I knew that you felt strongly toward that boy, but I had not realized that your passion for him was so ardent. Now I almost feel bad for having my students compete to become your knight."

"Ah!" Elincia gasped. "I-I'm sorry!"

"No, no." Lady Akane waved her apology off. "There is nothing wrong with desiring to remain with the one you love. Please do not feel guilty."

"Love," Lady Sylvia sighed. "What an unnecessary emotion."

Elincia clenched her hands at this, but she didn't say anything. They'd already had this conversation, and it had ended with her and Lady Sylvia being on bad terms, so she didn't want to make it worse. And yet...

What's wrong with loving someone?

"Now, now, Sylvie," Lady Erica cut in with a smile. "There's nothing wrong with a young maiden falling in love."

Elincia wondered about that. Hadn't Lady Erica told her not to fall in love? Then again, it looked like she was merely trying to rile up Lady Sylvia, which she was surprisingly good at.

"Says the woman who's lost so many people, she's become bitter, cynical, and incapable of functioning without engaging in sexual intercourse with her knights," Sylvia said.

Lady Erica's smile became fixed. "Ufufufu, it is better to be sexually active than it is to be a cold fish, Sylvie. You would understand if you ever got laid. Ah, but you're such a prude, so I guess that's not going to happen. I feel so sorry for poor D'artagnan. He's never gonna get any with you."

D'artagnan shifted behind Lady Sylvia. Elincia thought she saw him look uncomfortable, but his facial expression didn't change. She'd probably just imagined it.

Elincia wondered if Lady Erica had picked a fight with Lady Sylvia because she knew of the argument that had transpired between them. Could Lady Erica have been trying to protect her from furthering the divide that now existed? If that was the case, then Elincia would have to thank her when she had the chance.

The cheering shifted. No longer joyful shouts, now they were cries of shock. Elincia pulled her eyes off of the arguing and spun around to look at the crowd. Nothing seemed wrong at first, but when she looked down at the arena floor, her heart seized. Caspian had fallen face first to the ground. He wasn't moving.

"Caspian!"

She turned and prepared to dash out of the viewing box and down toward her friend.

A figure stood in her path.

"Lady Sylvia?!"

"I cannot allow you to go down there," Lady Sylvia said, her voice calm, composed.

Elincia froze, but only for a moment. "What do you mean you can't let me go? Caspian is in trouble! I have to go to him!"

"No, you cannot. You are the sorceress for which this tournament is held. You are obligated to stay here. What's more, you are already in a precarious position due to your blatant favoritism of Caspian. Please do not cause anymore trouble than you already have."

Even though she didn't want to, Elincia did, to some degree, understand what Lady Sylvia was talking about. She wasn't naive. She knew that showing favoritism toward one knight sowed the seeds of discord among the other candidates. What's more, showing favoritism toward Caspian, who was a peasant, brought even more discontent among the nobility. However...

I don't care.

She knew that, from a purely political standpoint, what she was doing was wrong. The actions that she wanted to take would have ramifications. But even knowing all of that, she still didn't care. To her, Caspian was the most important person in the world, and she wouldn't let anyone, not even Lady Sylvia, stand in her way.

"Please move out of the way, Lady Sylvia."

"I will not."

Elincia felt something ugly stirring in her stomach. It twisted her insides into a knot and refused to let go.

"Please... get out of my way."

Lady Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "Do not take that tone with me, Elincia. You will not leave this booth."

Cobalt eyes stared into hers with a cold determination. There was no fire, no passion, just a chilling confidence. Elincia understood right than that Lady Sylvia would not hesitate to stop her by force if she tried to reach Caspian.

Is this what Lady Sylvia is truly like? I never noticed how cold she could be.

Yet even so, Elincia wasn't going to let herself be stopped. If she couldn't get down the normal way, there were other methods of reaching Caspian.

Spinning around, Elincia rushed toward the balustrade and leapt over it.

"Njord, help me!"

Elincia expected Njordto appear before her like he always did and use his powers to slow her descent, but that was not what happened. The feeling of air currents beneath her feet was followed by her body slowing down, until she lightly touched upon the ground. She didn't contemplate this new phenomena and instead rushed over to Caspian's side.

"Caspian!"

She knelt next to Caspian and rolled him over, gasping when she saw the blood leaking from his mouth and nose. His bandana was also stained black, which meant that he was also bleeding from his ears. The acrid scent was not that of natural blood. Even without knowledge of poisons, Elincia knew that this scent came from the poison.

"Caspian! Caspian!"

Elincia held Caspian in her arms as she called out his name. The young man stirred, groaning as his eyes fluttered open. They were bloodshot eyes, signs that his capillaries had burst. In spite of the pain that he must have been feeling, he still smiled at her with crimson stained teeth.

"Hey... I did it."

Tears welled up in Elincia's eyes. "Yes, you did. You won."

"I feel awful."

"You've been poisoned."

"Oh, that would explain it." Caspian paused. He seemed strangely lucid, yet Elincia could tell that he was not all there. "I wondered why I feel so horrible. Poison, is it? Yes, that makes sense."

"Don't worry," Elincia said. "I'm going to heal you, so just—"

"Hold up there, Elincia dear," Lady Erica said from behind her. "I know you want to heal Caspie, but if you healed him, it would cause a scene." Elincia was about to retort, but the other woman continued before she could. "I'll heal him up. I have a lot of knowledge about poisons. Curing him will be a simple matter for me."

Elincia didn't debate with herself for long. If Lady Erica could heal him faster than she could, then the choice was obvious.

"Please heal him!"

"Ufufufu, very well. Now stand back, my dear." When Elincia moved away from Caspian, Lady Erica began to chant. "Yee spirit of the healing hand, Yakushi Nyorai, I harken unto you, heal this man of that which ails him, so that he might rise again."

Lady Erica held her hands slightly apart. Light coalesced within them. They gathered like streamers swirling around a nexus, until a tiny orb had formed between Lady Erica's palms.

She walked over to Caspian and knelt down, pushing the orb of light into Caspian's mouth. Elincia bit her lip when he gagged as if the light had somehow gained mass, but then he swallowed the orb, and his entire body became suffused with light. It was so bright that Elincia had to look away.

When the light dimmed, Caspian was still lying where he had been. His eyes were still closed, but his breathing was even and his ashen skin had regained some of its color. Elincia knelt down on his other side placed her hand on his cheek. When he didn't respond, she looked at Lady Erica.

"Why isn't he waking up?"

"You don't honestly think getting rid of the poison and healing him is gonna make him right as rain, do you?" Lady Erica asked rhetorically. "Even though I have healed him, the strain placed upon him drove his body to the brink. I imagine fighting a poison while simultaneously battling a foe of some skill has exhausted him. He'll need rest to fully recover."

Elincia looked back down at Caspian. She ran her hand through his hair. It was slick with sweat, but she didn't care.

"I understand," she said softly.

"Good. Now, then, much as I hate to agree with Sylvie, you really should get back up to the viewing booth," Lady Erica told her. "Do not worry, I will look after Caspian in your stead."

"Right. Thank you."

Elincia stood up and backed away as several people came in bearing stretchers. Two went over to Julius and two to Caspian. They lifted the pair up, placed them on the stretcher, and carried them out. While Lady Erica followed the one with Caspian, Elincia made her way back to the viewing box.

The walk back was silent. It wasn't just her, Elincia realized, but everyone who'd gone silent. Looking around, she noticed that everyone was staring at her, whispering. Her ears, hidden behind Loki's illusion, twitched as she strained herself to listen, but there were too many conversations to pick up what they were saying. When she returned to the booth, everyone grew silent and turned to her.

Remain calm, Elincia.

Taking a deep breath, Elincia walked up into the booth and said, "Caspian is going to be okay, it seems."

"I bet you're relieved," Lady Aakarshana said.

"I am very relieved," Elincia admitted.

"That young man is quite lucky, isn't he?" Lady Aakarshaka said. "To have someone who feels so strongly towards him is quite the blessing. I wonder what he did to make you love him so much."

Elincia didn't answer, not because she couldn't, but because she didn't want to. Her relationship with Caspian was something precious. She cherished it and kept it close to her heart. It may have been selfish, but she'd rather not have someone who stood outside of that relationship become involved.

As she made to walk back to where she'd been standing, Lady Sylvia stepped into her path. Elincia stared at the woman who'd given her a home. She felt so many conflicting emotions. Love and sadness, outrage and sympathy, they swirled together in a mixture that left her confused. She no longer knew how to act around this woman, who could remain cold and unfeeling even after seeing what had happened to Caspian.

"You and I will need to have another talk after this is all over," Lady Sylvia said at last.

Elincia closed her eyes to keep from falling prey to her conflicted feelings. "Yes," she whispered. "I imagine we will."