Don't Ask, It'll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 2
“Ugh, so annoying, so annoying, so annoying.”
It was Chloe Elena. Her fierce glare made those who met her eyes flinch and quickly turn away.
“That cocky bastard. So irritating. Damn him. I’m the bigger idiot for losing to someone like that every time. How is it that I can’t win just once?!”
“Hey, that’s not true. You won the archery competition,” said her classmate, Whiren Fabre.
Chloe whipped her head around sharply, glaring at him. Whiren bit his tongue upon seeing the flames flickering in her blue eyes. He had meant to comfort her, but instead, he had stepped on a landmine.
“What does winning the archery competition matter? I lost everything else! On top of that, the scores from the archery competition are combined with the results from other martial arts competitions, so there’s no record of me ever beating that guy!”
“W-Well, there’s no record, but we remember it. No matter what, your archery skills are the best. You can’t even beat Ian.”
When praised, giving a thumbs up, Chloe’s anger showed no signs of subsiding. She glared again at Ian, who was now giving a speech as the representative of the graduates.
It had been eight years. Since the moment she first met Ian at the young age of fifteen, she had been struggling to beat him, and she had never succeeded even once.
This morning, she had even heard him mockingly say, “Looks like I won after all.” Just thinking of his tone and expression made her blood boil, and she gritted her teeth.
“……It’s not over yet.”
Right. Our rivalry isn’t over yet.
Muttering those words to herself like a cow chewing cud, Chloe dashed over to Ian as soon as the graduation ceremony ended and shouted.
“Just you wait! I’ll definitely win next time!”
Here we go again.
Those unfamiliar with Chloe and Ian’s relationship were perplexed, but the graduates, students, and faculty members of the academy shook their heads as if a bit tired of the spectacle.
It was common for Chloe to declare a rivalry against Ian. To exaggerate slightly, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say she did it daily, except for weekends when they couldn’t face each other.
Whether it was midterms, finals, practicals, presentations, or duels—anything where ranks or grades were assigned—Chloe would challenge Ian, declaring that this time she would definitely win.
Each time, Ian would respond with an indifferent expression, as if to say, ‘Whatever’.
These competitions always ended with Ian MacMilden as the victor. While the saying goes, “A tree that won’t fall after being chopped down ten times is strong,” one would think Chloe would have given up after all these attempts, yet her relentless pursuit earned her admiration from many.
“How come?”
This time, instead of the usual indifferent response, an unexpected answer came from Ian, catching the audience slightly off guard as they turned to look at Ian MacMilden.
“Hmm?”
Chloe felt the same way. Her fingers, once fiercely extended toward Ian, slightly curled.
Despite the countless gazes upon them, Ian’s focus remained solely on Chloe as he asked.
“Now that we’ve graduated from the academy, we won’t have any opportunities to compete… So how do you plan to beat me?”
“…….”
Come to think of it, he was right. As always, she had only ignited her determination to defeat Ian next time without considering how to challenge him, leaving Chloe at a loss for words.
“…The Royal Knights!”
After a moment, Chloe found a promising competition and boldly shouted again.
“Let’s make our next match the entrance exam for the Royal Knights in three months! The one who achieves a better score there wins!”
Ian MacMilden.
Who was he? The emperor’s nephew and the sole heir of the prestigious MacMilden family, known for its founding contributions to the nation.
To challenge someone like Ian to the Royal Knights entrance exam was no small feat.
“Go ahead.”
While people thought it was an absurd suggestion, Ian readily accepted her proposal.
Just as he always had.
