Luka Drakven, the entry-level capture target in 'Blooming! Enchanted Fate', was nothing of note. He was the typical loyal, chivalrous sacrificial knight… not Callisto's cup of tea. He and Cordelia's eldest brother, Blake Azel, were the most uninteresting characters in the story for her.
Regardless of how she felt, it was in her best interest to keep the story in line with the game, so that she could accurately know what was going to happen in the future.
Luka is supposed to meet Ethyl during Cordelia's debutante and escorts her to the main ballroom after she gets lost. He didn't realize that he was leading her into the first confrontation with an enraged Cordelia whose fiance didn't end up showing.
Over time, Luka gradually becomes so disgusted with Cordelia's attacks against Ethyl, that he dishonorably leaves his position as Captain to become Ethyl's loyal knight, and he gets away with it because of his friendship with the crown prince. Connections, connections.
Weighing the options in her mind, it wouldn't make much sense for her to torment Ethyl. It was more likely to get her killed than help.
Callisto only had to impede her progress in becoming the saint long enough for Callisto to do what she needed.
It had been a few weeks since she came to this world, and the majority of the time was dedicated to cleaning up Cordelia's mess.
Outside of lance training and magic practice, the majority of her time went into playing nice. Forced family dinners were awkward, with the duchess noticeably dazed, and the three men of the Azel family constantly questioning everything she does.
No matter what she said, they didn't believe her, as if she wasn't an outcast already, the varying shades of purple hair feeling like a barrier of entry into the family.
The servants avoided her, though they had warmed up a little to Callisto since she didn't treat them as terribly as Cordelia had.
But she was on house arrest for the thing that Cordelia had done before she died, which apparently had been cutting off the hands of servants whose ladies had talked to the crown prince, and then leaving it on their bed.
Of course, no one could prove it was Cordelia, but there weren't that many dots to connect to figure out who did it. Honestly, if it wasn't so detestable, Callisto would be impressed with the sheer capability of the noble lady.
The Crown Prince Nox opened a case to find evidence to point the crime back to her, but the Azel family had pulled some strings to cover up any witness testimonies. Her punishment was house arrest until her debutante, which was in half a year. It didn't bother her, but it sure was a hassle.
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At least Luka had done what she had asked, but she wasn't improving as fast as she liked. Turns out, using a lance is harder than it looks. The amount of upper arm strength used for thrusting, not to mention the dexterity to not accidentally hit yourself when maneuvering a polearm, was something Callisto didn't have.
"Faster! You couldn't even hit a turtle at that speed!" The instructor Luka had found for her was disciplined and good with weapons, but notably, a commoner, which Callisto expected he had done on purpose.
Luka had probably assumed that she would refuse to be taught by someone of such low standing, so he had purposely found a good instructor, and told her brother Blake about her antics.
The heir to the Azel dukedom had gone out of his way to watch the potential meltdown, despite his busy schedule. Once he realized it wasn't going to happen, he decided to shut down the operation. His sister, with a weapon? A danger to society.
"Get out of the training grounds. There are knights who need this space more than you."
"...It's an hour before sunrise. I don't believe our knights are so disciplined that they wake up to train at this time of day.
In fact, they weren't waking up at this time until last week, when Drakven changed the schedule. And it's not like I'm taking up the entire area. They can train around me."
"Be respectable. It's Captain Luka Drakven. And what do you think would happen if they accidentally hit you? Be smart. There's a reason we have knights in the first place." Callisto noticed Luka puff his chest in pride at Blake's correction. What a suck-up.
Blake had a point though. In principle, there was no reason for her to take up a weapon. Magic was one thing because the cost to learn magic could only be footed by a rich family, but a lady holding anything other than a wand was seen as improper.
But the real reason no one wanted her on the training ground was that they didn't want her to get any stronger, given the cruelty streak. No one wants a villain to get stronger. It was too bad she didn't care.
"Your incessant whining is grating to the ears," Callisto replied calmly, focused on the training dummies before her. Dash behind, aim for the back of the neck. Find the spot between the ridges of the vertebrae. Break the spinal cord. Axillary artery to disable the arm. A lance is a perfect tool to pierce the sternum…
She could feel her brother's fury even when her back was turned. Sighing, she wedged her ledge into the ground and turned to face her older brother.
"Duke Apparent Blake Azel. I challenge you to a Sacred Duel to get out of my sight." She declared, and there was a short silence, before gradual snickers and scoffs arose from the knights. The violet-haired man closed his eyes and whispered a prayer before his eyes flicked open, dark crimson glowing with silent rage.
"Wasting my time, as per usual. How dare you throw around Lux's divine orders for your frivolous activities. A Sacred Duel is a vow, not something you can use for a joke." He hissed, but grabbed a sword nevertheless.
Now she remembered the main reason she thought Blake was so boring. He was highly devoted to Lux and the church. It was ironic, given how much he conspires with multiple antagonists in the game.
Really made no sense with his character. There was a whole plot point in his route about him becoming holy after Ethyl proves her ability as the saintess, but Callisto had fallen asleep on the couch if she recalled correctly.
"When I win, I'll finally get rid of the stain on our family. I'll have you erased from the family tree."
"Well, if we're doing requests, I guess I'll have mine changed to being granted access to the royal library. Do we agree?" Blake scoffs in response, walking towards her, which she took as a yes.
It's a good thing she baited him so easily after bringing up a Sacred Duel, he got as defensive as a boyfriend with his lover.
She needed access to the Royal Library for a few things, and this was the easiest way. "Alright, let me just… Wait, hold on-''
Callisto fumbled around, using both hands to try to pull the lance out of the ground. Dang, did she wedge it that deep? She finally pulled it out, but stumbled backward a bit, and fell on her butt.
Blake looked at her in exasperation and disdain, wrist flicking impatiently with each stroke of his sword. Callisto hurriedly got up, and into a battle stance. A warm light flickered around the training grounds, signifying the divine proclamation of the duel.
All at once, Blake disappeared, leaving only traces of an afterimage, when a sharp pain pierced her lower abdomen. Blood? How strong was he to stab her with a blunt sword? Was he trying to kill her? When she turned to attack him, Blake was already gone. As expected of a swordmaster. It was not looking good for her.
Or so it would appear.
There was a distinct feature of the Azel family that she realized early on. All the members of the family had a notable streak of cruelty. Everyone besides Cordelia was quite good at hiding it, but she knew that Blake would have no familial love if he fought her in a Sacred Duel. The blood dripping down her leg proved her hypothesis well.
And there was no way that she would ever hope to beat Blake after taking up a lance just recently. Another hit to her side made her drop the weapon altogether, and she grits her teeth as the pain hit her in another wave. No amount of adrenaline could subside that amount of pain. Callisto dashed towards Blake, who sidestepped easily out of her way and hit her on the back of the head.
'This should be enough.'
She would have never thought to use any sort of trickery. Callisto had always been honest and believed hard work would get her where she needed. She was constantly proved wrong.
Her beloved, on the other hand, was a master of trickery. [He] had always told her that resorting to dirty schemes wasn't necessarily a bad thing. 'You have to pick your battles,' [He] would say. If it weren't for [Him], she didn't think she would have thought of this plan.
Just the night before, she had learned a spell that advanced mages used as a final gambit. It required a lot of blood and mana, and she already had the latter. Blake couldn't have expected it, since it was a niche spell she found in a dusty tome, and he didn't have any talent in magic.
It was the reason why her hair was white while the rest of the family had varying shades of purple. Her magic potential was probably fivefold of her entire family combined. Which was why she could do this.
"Imprisonment!" Drops of blood that were about to fall onto the ground were suspended in midair. The mana stored in her saturated the ground, sinking deep into the earth.
Blake became confused, having no idea what the spell was, when red chains shot up from the ground, binding his hands and feet. Magic circles appeared around him, shooting chains through his convulsing body.
"Guh-!" Her brother screamed out in pain, and Callisto got up from the ground, dusting herself off with a slight grin. She didn't usually smile, but this was a special occasion.
"Do you yield?" Blake mustered his strength to send her a harsh glare, and it made her smile wider. "By the way, the longer you resist, the more life force will be absorbed by the blood chains. I suggest you hurry up before you die." The knights pointed their swords at once after hearing her statement.
"Stop this instant! You dare to kill the Heir Apparent?" Captain Luka shouted, his blade, heightened with magic, ready to attack. Callisto clicked her tongue. What a wonderful puppy her older brother had trained. Her eyes were trained on her brother, gouged by magic chains, and utterly defeated.
"Yield."
"...I yield." She dispelled the chains, and the young duke-to-be dropped to the ground. His eyes gleamed with rage and bewilderment. The Sacred Duel was over, and the barriers to the battle had dropped.
The Azel Knights rushed over to Blake, with Luka at the very front, shouting for a medic and hastily wrapping open wounds.
No one noticed the white-haired girl on the verge of fainting from blood loss, except for Blake, crimson eyes watching scarlet with as much focus as he could muster.
He saw Callisto mouth the words 'I'll be waiting for my access' before she hobbled away. Was that really his sister?
Callisto pressed her nails into the side of her neck. She wouldn't faint before she got to her room. She wouldn't let herself.
She had to become stronger. Strong enough to win without tricks. Strong enough to kill Lux. Strong enough to crown [Him], the love of her life, the next god of this forsaken world.