CHAPTER 126: THE WINTER TRIALS 1

Aegis woke before dawn.

Her heart hammered against her ribs like it was trying to break free. She lay there staring at the ceiling, watching shadows shift as the first hints of light crept through the curtains.

Today.

The Winter Trials.

Everything she’d worked for came down to this.

She sat up slowly, trying not to wake Lune. The attempt failed immediately—Lune was already awake, sitting at her easel with a paintbrush in hand.

"You’re up early," Aegis said.

"So are you."

"Couldn’t sleep."

"I noticed. You kept tossing around all night."

Aegis swung her legs out of bed and stood. Her muscles ached with tension, every nerve wound tight. She rolled her shoulders, stretched her arms, tried to shake the nervous energy loose.

Lune set down her brush and turned around.

"Come here."

"What?"

"You look like you need to recharge your battery."

Aegis crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Lune. Lune was small and solid and warm against her chest. Her paint-stained fingers patted Aegis’s arm once, twice.

"Better?"

"A little."

Lune pulled away and picked up something from her desk—a small canvas, maybe six inches square.

She held it out without a word.

Aegis took it.

The painting showed a figure with silver hair standing on a podium, one fist raised in victory. Aegis, as though she just won a big fight. The style was bold and stylized, almost heroic. Strong lines and vivid colors that made her look larger than life.

"For luck," Lune said. Her lips quirked in the tiniest smile Aegis had ever seen her make.

Aegis’s throat tightened.

"Lune, this is—"

"Don’t get too emotional about it. Just win."

"I will."

"Good."

Aegis tucked the painting away carefully and pulled Lune into another hug. This one lasted longer. Lune didn’t complain, though.

---

The dining hall vibrated with energy.

Students shouted across tables, placing bets and forming impromptu cheering sections. Someone had enchanted a banner to flash the names of tournament favorites in rotating colors. Aegis’s name scrolled past in silver letters, sandwiched between Darius Goldspire and Kanna Greaves.

[Top three, huh? I’ll take it.]

She spotted her crew at their usual table and headed over.

Scarlett was already eating, demolishing a plate of eggs and sausage like she hadn’t seen food in a week. Sophie sat on the table itself—not on a chair, on the actual table—swinging her legs and chattering at Liora. Liora listened with patient amusement, occasionally nodding or humming in response. Lune took her seat and immediately started sketching in her notebook.

And Talia was there.

Sitting right next to Aegis’s empty chair, back straight and chin high like she dared anyone to comment.

Aegis slid into the seat.

"Morning."

"Morning," Talia said without looking at her.

"Aren’t we supposed to be acting like we’re not on good terms anymore?"

"I’m ignoring propriety today."

"That’s bold."

Under the table, Talia put a hand over Aegis’s. Aegis’s brows shot up at the casual, if a little bit awkward, show of affection.

"Part of the reason you’re here is to earn the right to marry me, isn’t it? I’m supporting you. Deal with it."

Scarlett grinned around a mouthful of food.

"She’s been here for ten minutes and already threatened three people who said you’d lose in the first round."

"I didn’t threaten them. I... corrected their deeply flawed analysis."

"You called one guy a ’brainless sack of wet meat.’"

"He was being a brainless sack of wet meat."

Aegis laughed and grabbed a plate. Her stomach was too tight to eat much, but she forced down some bread and cheese anyway. Needed the energy.

Sophie leaned over, grinning.

"You’re gonna win, right?"

"That’s the plan."

"Good! Because I bet Vera’s allowance on you."

"You what?"

"She said I could! Probably! Maybe!"

Liora shook her head with a soft smile.

"We’re all rooting for you, Aegis. You know that."

"Thanks. That actually helps."

Movement caught her eye. The Summerfang twins walked past their table. They both glanced at Aegis.

Kai’Lin’s ears flicked.

Mei’Lin’s tail swished once.

Then they kept walking.

[Progress. Sort of. At least they’re not hissing at me.]

The hall doors opened.

Serilla walked in.

She moved like she owned every inch of space her body occupied—hips swaying, pink hair catching the morning light streaming through the windows. Students turned to watch. She ignored them all, eyes locked on Aegis’s table.

She walked straight up and leaned down.

Then kissed Aegis on the cheek.

Her lips were soft and warm and lingered just long enough to make a point. She pulled back with a smirk that could cut glass.

"For luck," she said.

Then she turned and sauntered away, hips swaying even more aggressively than before.

The table went completely silent.

Aegis touched her cheek, still feeling the ghost of Serilla’s lips.

Talia’s eye twitched.

"Did she just—"

"Yep."

"I’m going to kill her."

"After I win the tournament, please."

Scarlett burst out laughing, nearly choking on her eggs.

"Holy shit, Starcaller. How the hell do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Collect women like they’re monster drops."

"Natural talent."

[I mean, this is a smutty harem life sim world.]

"Bullshit talent is more like it."

Sophie giggled. Lune kept sketching without looking up. Liora hid a smile behind her hand.

Talia’s jaw was so tight Aegis worried she might actually crack a tooth.

The hall quieted as Sister Mirabel stepped up to the front podium. Her pristine white robes gleamed in the morning sun. She waited until the noise died completely before speaking.

"Attention, students."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"The Winter Trials will commence in one hour. All participants are to report to the preparation chambers beneath the arena." Her gaze swept the room with that sharp intensity she always carried. "Today’s first event will be the Strategy portion. You will be presented with tactical scenarios—military situations, political dilemmas, resource management challenges. Each scenario will escalate in difficulty and time pressure. Your solutions will be judged on creativity, efficiency, and practical application."

She paused, letting that sink in.

"Cooperation trials begin this afternoon. Combat trials begin tomorrow." Another pause. "May the goddess guide you."

The hall erupted into noise again. Students pushed back from tables, some heading for last-minute preparations, others rushing to claim good seats in the arena stands.

Aegis stood, adjusting her gear.

Across the room, Darius caught her eye. He raised his glass in mock salute, that infuriating smug smile plastered across his face like he’d already won.

Aegis raised her own glass and drank.

[Enjoy it while it lasts, asshole.]

Scarlett clapped her on the shoulder.

"Let’s go fuck some shit up."

"That’s the spirit."

The arena was massive.

Aegis had watched it being constructed over the past weeks, but seeing it finished and filled was something else entirely. Stone walls rose thirty feet high, reinforced with iron and magic. Wooden stands built into the sides could seat thousands. Enchanted banners flew overhead, displaying House crests and tournament brackets that shifted and updated in real time.

The stands were already packed.

Nobles in their finest clothes occupied the upper sections—silk and velvet and enough jewelry to fund a small army. Faculty sat in reserved boxes with the best views. Students filled the rest, cheering and shouting and waving homemade signs with their favorite competitors’ names.

Aegis filed in with the other participants through an underground tunnel. The preparation chamber was a wide stone room lined with benches and weapon racks. Students clustered in groups—some stretching, others pacing nervously, a few meditating in corners.

Scarlett appeared at her side.

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah. Nervous, but okay."

"Good. Because I’m planning to kick your ass if we face each other in combat."

"Bold of you to assume you’ll last that long."

"Oh, fuck you."

They grinned at each other.

Kanna walked past, nodding at Scarlett. Scarlett went completely rigid, her face turning the color of a tomato.

"Hey."

"Hello," Kanna said calmly.

"You’re, uh, competing today. Obviously. I mean, you’re here, so. Yeah."

"I am."

"Cool. That’s. Yeah. Cool."

Kanna’s lips twitched in what might have been amusement.

"Good luck."

She walked away.

Scarlett grabbed Aegis’s arm with both hands.

"She said good luck."

"I heard."

"TO ME."

"Yes, I was standing right here."

"Aegis, what do I do?"

"Win your matches so you can see her in the finals?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah. That’s a good plan. I should do that."

The chamber doors boomed open.

Headmistress Valdris stood at the entrance, flanked by Commander Korvo and Duchess Valemont. Her silver hair seemed to glow in the torchlight, and her presence filled the room like a physical weight.

"Participants. It’s time."

Students lined up. Aegis found her place in the formation between a nervous-looking water mage and someone she vaguely recognized from Combat Fundamentals. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat.

They marched up the tunnel in formation.

Then emerged into blinding sunlight.

The crowd’s roar hit like a physical force—a wall of sound that slammed into her chest and made her ears ring.

Aegis squinted against the brightness. Thousands of faces stared down from the stands. Banners snapped in the wind. The air smelled like sweat and anticipation and the faint ozone scent of magic.

She spotted Lady Cassandra Vermillion in one of the noble boxes, sitting with perfect posture and watching with those calculating amber eyes.

[Time to impress.]

Headmistress Valdris walked to the center podium. Her voice rang out, magically amplified to reach every corner of the arena.

"Welcome, one and all, to the 792nd Annual Winter Trials!"

The crowd ROARED.

The sound shook the ground. Students in the stands stomped their feet in rhythm. Nobles clapped with restrained enthusiasm. The faculty remained dignified but attentive.

Valdris raised her hands. The noise died down like someone had thrown a blanket over it.

"Today, our finest students will compete in tests of strategy, strength, and cooperation. Only the best will advance. Only the worthy will claim victory."

She gestured to the participants standing in formation.

"These young men and women represent the future of Valdria. They have trained. They have studied. They have sacrificed." Her gaze swept across them, landing on Aegis for just a moment. "Now, they will prove themselves."

Another roar from the crowd—louder this time, if that was even possible.

Valdris’s voice cut through it all.

"Let the Winter Trials begin!"

The crowd exploded into cheers and screams and stamping feet that shook the arena floor like an earthquake.

Aegis took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

[Here we go.]