Claro. Mantengo el tono de light novel/web novel, con un inglés natural y fluido. También conservo la repetición del segundo bloque porque aparece en el texto original; si fue accidental, puedo eliminarla después. 👍
Lusian was lying in bed in the healing room.
The air smelled of herbs and burned mana. Every breath hurt as if there were blades beneath his ribs.
During the final round of the Royal Academy Tournament, he had been forced to face Kara once again.
This time, it had not been a simple exhibition match.
She had attacked him with an almost personal ferocity, and although Lusian had managed to defeat her, the price had been three fractured ribs and an immobilized arm.
As he stared at the stone ceiling, a thought crossed his mind.
Maybe next time I should let her win.
He paused.
No. She'd probably get even angrier.
He sighed.
Maybe I should just stay away from her.
The room was bathed in warm, flickering light. A circle of runes floated above his body, pulsing in rhythm with his breathing as Emily channeled her mana.
Finally, the spell ended.
The glow slowly faded.
Emily opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you feel better?"
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Lusian tried moving his healthy arm first, then the bandaged one. A sharp pain shot through his side, but the pain was no longer unbearable.
"Yes... thank you."
Emily smiled.
"Congratulations on winning the tournament."
Lusian let out a small laugh.
"I don't feel like a winner."
"You still are."
Emily looked at the wounds that still covered his body.
"Maybe Kara will finally understand that she can't beat you."
Lusian glanced at her.
"Don't be so sure. That woman doesn't know the meaning of surrender."
Emily laughed.
"Then you'll just have to put up with her. Only two more years, and she'll graduate from the academy."
Lusian smiled.
For a moment, he simply stared at her.
Emily.
The future Hero of Light.
The woman who would one day be one of the people destined to face him.
Lusian looked away.
When he had arrived in this world, he had decided to stay away from the main characters. He didn't want to alter the future too much.
He had failed miserably with Elizabeth.
His intention had been to stay away from the future Demon Queen.
Now they were together.
And with Emily...
He didn't know what to do.
Staying away from her could also change the future.
But getting too close to her could be just as dangerous.
For now, the best thing I can do is make sure she doesn't come to hate me.
It was a simple strategy.
Although, considering how things had turned out with Elizabeth, Lusian was beginning to suspect that his plans weren't very useful.
"What is it?" Emily asked.
Lusian turned his gaze toward her.
"Nothing."
Emily watched him for a few seconds, but she didn't press the matter.
"You should rest."
She adjusted the blanket over his chest.
"The headmaster will announce the official results this afternoon."
Lusian nodded.
"Yeah..."
He closed his eyes.
"I hope that actually helps."
The headmaster's office smelled of old paper and rain.
Kara sat in front of the large window, watching the gardens as raindrops slid down the glass.
Her mother's words continued to echo in her mind.
"If you don't become strong, you'll become a bargaining chip."
Kara clenched her fists.
She knew it was true.
In a world where power determined a person's value, a woman with a powerful affinity could easily become a piece in marriages, alliances, and inheritance arrangements.
She had no intention of allowing that.
"I won't be a trophy," she murmured. "I won't belong to anyone."
Then she remembered her fight against Lusian.
The way his sword had stopped hers.
The precision of his movements.
But above all, the way he had treated her.
It reminded her of what she could become: someone's possession, someone's wife.
And for some reason, that had stayed in her mind. It reminded her of what she still lacked.
If she wanted to become the strongest person in the kingdom, she couldn't allow anyone to see her as anything less than an equal.
The door opened.
The headmaster's office smelled of old paper and rain.
Kara sat in front of the large window, gazing at the gardens as raindrops slid down the glass.
Her mother's words continued to echo in her mind.
"If you don't become strong, you'll become a bargaining chip."
Kara clenched her fists.
Her mother had always spoken of strength.
In the forest where she had been born, strength was what allowed a person to survive.
But outside of it, her blood meant something very different.
To many nobles, Kara was nothing more than an heir with an affinity that might one day become too valuable to allow her to choose her own destiny.
And she had no intention of allowing that.
"I won't be a trophy," she murmured. "I won't belong to anyone."
Then she remembered her fight against Lusian.
The way his sword had stopped hers.
The precision of his movements.
But above all, she remembered the way he had treated her.
He hadn't looked at her blood.
He hadn't looked at her family name.
He didn't even seem to care who she was.
He had treated her as a rival.
And that had awakened something inside her.
She wanted Lusian to acknowledge her as his equal.
Even if she had to force him to do it.
The door opened.
Headmaster Magnus entered with a file under his arm and took a seat across from her.
"Are you going to train with your mother again?"
"Yes. She promised to teach me the clan's secret techniques when I turn eighteen."
Magnus frowned.
"Those techniques aren't well regarded everywhere. Many people died during the war against your mother's clan."
Kara smiled.
"I know."
"And not everyone in the kingdom has forgotten what happened."
Kara's smile disappeared.
Magnus remained silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"You know it's dangerous. Your father has gone to great lengths to keep it hidden."
Kara turned her gaze toward the window.
"That is why I want to become strong."
"To prove something to them?"
"So they can't decide my future for me."
Magnus let out a sigh.
"Stop obsessing over that damn brat."
Kara raised an eyebrow.
"Lusian?"
"Who else?"
Magnus shook his head.
"It's only natural that he defeated you. His affinity is superior to yours."
Kara gritted her teeth.
"Affinity isn't the only thing that matters."
She stood up.
"The tournament is over. I can leave."
Magnus watched her in silence.
Then he sighed.
There was no controlling that girl.