How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

"Armor Fort?" But why??

A hint of confusion flickered in Aeciphysis’s delicate brow.
She distinctly remembered that in the previous life, Winnie had used a Soul Art that was undoubtedly an evil one, advancing by feeding on the flesh and blood of the living.
But why? Why had the Soul Art he absorbed this time changed??

Moreover, why was it Armor Fort??
Aeciphysis couldn’t make sense of it. Even if he hadn’t chosen the evil Soul Art, knowing Winnie’s personality, he would never have chosen Armor Fort.
Something like Poison Master, Assassin, or Dark Sting, these sinister and ruthless low-star Soul Arts, would have suited Winnie’s twisted and dark nature far more.

This was truly unexpected for Aeciphysis, and it made her feel uneasy.
Having lived through the previous life, Aeciphysis knew the future that no one else had access to, but that distinct advantage seemed to evaporate in an instant.
At this moment, the future diverged significantly from the scenes she had in her memories. Perhaps because of this small butterfly effect, the future from now on would be entirely different from the previous one.

Aeciphysis still wore that soft and graceful smile, but inside, her heart was anything but calm.
Ah, things seem to be getting interesting now.
The deviation from the original path meant that all the information she had about the future would no longer be reliable, as Aeciphysis couldn’t even predict the extent of this butterfly effect on the future.

However, Aeciphysis didn’t feel frustrated because the future had become unpredictable.
Compared to a predetermined future, an uncertain future was clearly far more interesting, wasn’t it?~
As for Winnie, Aeciphysis wasn’t in a rush. As long as he was still Winnie, his devilish nature would eventually be exposed.

And when that time comes...
Aeciphysis gently played with her fair fingers, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes as she smiled without speaking.
The spectators all had their own thoughts, and the two in the arena were no exception.

Winnie suddenly shivered, feeling as if someone was eyeing his head.
But now was clearly not the time to think about that.
He surveyed the apprentice retainer, and the apprentice retainer was also sizing him up.
Seeing the tension and hostility in the other’s eyes, Winnie raised his gaze.

This young man couldn’t hide his thoughts, he was probably attracted by the promises of glory.
Glancing at the two dragon knights on the stands, who were whispering, Winnie lowered the double-bladed spear from his shoulder and placed it on the ground, propping it up with one hand, letting the flag at the spearhead flutter in the wind.
This flag spear was something he had bought on the way from the weapon shop, as he thought his best combat position would be mid-range, so he chose a spear as his main weapon.

He wore a steel-helmet with a red plume, a bright silver fish-scale armor, yellow bronze shoulder guards, skirt armor for his legs, and luxurious engraved plated boots, holding the spear with one hand, a horse sword hanging from his waist.
This posture made everyone stare in a daze.
Honestly, even though Armor Fort was a useless piece of junk, the appearance was truly impressive. Even though it was Winnie wearing it, it still gave off a majestic aura.

"Let’s skip the introductions. You know who I am, and I don’t want to know who you are. Bring it on," Winnie said impatiently, waving his hand as the apprentice retainer was about to step forward to go through the motions.
The apprentice retainer froze for a moment. Although Winnie was speaking the truth, his words were undeniably harsh. What do you mean "I don’t want to know who you are"??
The apprentice retainer was a bit angered, silently cursing Winnie’s arrogance. It wasn’t as if he was making his self-introduction for Winnie to hear, he was doing it for the princess to hear!

But with Winnie saying that, forcing himself to introduce himself would have made him look like he was showing off.
Winnie didn’t care about the hatred he attracted. He had the worst reputation in the capital, being the most notorious young scoundrel. With his relentless pursuit of Mirecia, the hate against him piled up like a mountain. A little more or less didn’t matter to him.
"Well then, please teach me well, Master Winnie," the apprentice retainer said, gritting his teeth.

Teach you well?
Winnie couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
He must have received instructions behind the scenes to give him a good beating, and now he talks about "teaching"? How humorous.

"One more or one less, it doesn’t matter to me." Seeing the apprentice retainer glaring at him, Winnie casually moved his shoulder, kicking the end of the spear and gripping it with his hand.
Mirecia watched this scene with some surprise in her heart.
She of course noticed that, apart from being surprised at seeing her there at the start, Winnie had only given her a glance and performed a bow before proceeding with his focus elsewhere.

If this duel had been intentionally revealed to her by Winnie, his behavior would not have been so calm.
Winnie’s personality—Mirecia knew it all too well. If he really wanted to show off in front of her, he would have come to the palace beforehand, acting all pompous to inform her.
He didn’t do that, so it proved that his presence in the audience was not something Winnie had anticipated.

It even seemed possible that he hadn’t provoked this duel himself.
Could it be... he had really changed?
Is that possible?

There’s a saying: "A leopard cannot change its spots."
As Mirecia was contemplating, the duel below started.
The apprentice retainer summoned his Soul Art, Bow Arm.

Winnie observed the apprentice retainer’s Soul Art, as it was his first one-on-one with someone who had a Soul Art. Naturally, he could only learn by watching.
He considered it a way to gain some experience.
The apprentice retainer took off his longbow, and with the arm holding it, energy surged, turning into a red-glowing ethereal energy form, with the bow also glowing with red light.

So this is the Bow Arm Soul Art?
A two-star Soul Art, while still a low-star, was one star higher than the one-star Armor Fort, meaning it could learn more magical techniques than Armor Fort.
Though the opponent was also in the beginner stage, Winnie wasn’t sure if Bow Arm had the ability to launch magic at this stage.

Yes, regarding the weaknesses of Armor Fort, Winnie had already guessed a few things.
The duel officially began. The apprentice retainer drew an arrow from his quiver, aiming at Winnie with his bow.
In response, Winnie didn’t try to dodge. Since he couldn’t avoid it, why not use the opportunity to close the distance?

The armored figure gripped his spear with both hands and charged at the enemy.
This scene reminded Aeciphysis of the Tyrellis Spear Charge Formation, where imperial elites wearing Armor Fort charged at their enemies.
Except this time, the ones in armor weren’t the imperial knights, but Winnie, the notorious young scoundrel of the capital.

"Clang!" The arrow struck Winnie’s shoulder armor, bouncing off easily.
Before even engaging in close combat, Winnie already felt the pressure from the dragon knight retainer.
This arrow was different from the soft arrows of goblins. Although it didn’t hurt him, it struck with force, knocking him back and almost causing him to stumble. If he tripped and fell, it would have been disastrous.

Winnie gripped his weapon tightly, maintaining his speed and continuing his charge, but the heavy armor, combined with his lack of training, meant that his speed, in the apprentice retainer’s eyes, was barely faster than walking.
"Well, looks like this drunkard might be crushed by his own armor," the two knights on the stands chuckled.
They had thought this would be a duel with no suspense, but the beginning had already been full of entertainment, with great showmanship.

The apprentice retainer, who had been nervous at first, was now no longer concerned. He leisurely pulled out a second arrow and aimed at Winnie.
"Clang!" The second arrow was also deflected, but it was clear that the first arrow was just a test. The second one was the real start of the duel.