It was quite a while before Christina finally calmed down.
Since yesterday, she had experienced a great many ups and downs; more than she would ever have experienced in an entire year back in the palace.
She had flown through the night across half the kingdom, come to an unfamiliar town, met many new people of many different social statures, chased a boy through the streets, made a fast friend she took as a Sworn Sister, fought that same boy, been rebuked and scolded by both her idol and a child far younger than her, and now she had cried her eyes out in public while being comforted by a girl who she barely even knew.
Saying today had been eventful for Christina would be an enormous understatement.
Even so, after having cried out all her frustrations and fears, Christina somehow felt much lighter than before, as if a kind of burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
Hugging Eris tightly, she muttered quietly, "I'm sorry…"
Separating herself from Tina, Eris shook her head and replied, "Mom said that instead of saying 'sorry' after making up, you're supposed to say 'thank you'."
Looking at the smiling face full of confidence, Christina couldn't help smiling back and giggling before nodding, "It sounds like your mother is also very wise. You're right, thank you, Sister Eris."
"En, you're welcome, Sister Tina," Eris said, as if everything right now was perfectly normal.
"Christina…"
"Hm?" Eris tilted her head, wondering what her new friend meant.
In a weak, somewhat sheepish tone, the princess steeled her determination and repeated herself, "It's Christina. Christina Rockwell is my real name is."
She didn't want to deceive her new sister, not after being shown such kindness and understanding, so Christina decided to reveal her true identity, hoping Eris wouldn't suddenly begin treating her differently.
"Oh," Eris acknowledged casually before pursing her lips and muttering, "Christina… Christina… It doesn't roll off the tongue as easily. Can I keep calling you Tina, instead?"
Christina gawked, realizing that Eris hadn't clued in to just what being a 'Rockwell' meant; but, a moment later, she burst into a fit of laughter, concerning her new Sworn Sister once more.
Eris wondered if she had said something wrong, but before she could begin panicking over it, Christina simply wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded firmly, "You can call me whatever you like, Sister Eris."
Pausing for a moment, Eris nodded with a smile, "Sister Tina, then!"
After another round of laughter, Eris suddenly spoke up, "Sister Tina, you should apologize to Master and Lucas later."
Christina immediately opened her mouth to object, but managed to stop herself before she could say anything thoughtless. Apologizing for being unsightly to her Aunt Celestina was no big deal, but she really didn't want to apologize to that little bastard; after all, she was still feeling bitter about losing to him.
It might just be stubbornness at this point, but Christina simply couldn't let her 'unjust' loss go so easily.
Still, not wanting to disappoint her new Sister, Christina quietly asked, "Why?"
Not seeming to mind the question, Eris said in a straightforward manner, "When you do something wrong, you should apologize. Isn't that the case?"
Wrinkling her brow slightly, Christina couldn't help arguing, "But, what did I do wrong?"
Tilting her head in confusion, Eris stated, as if it was obvious, "You fought with Lucas. Wasn't that wrong?"
"Huh?" Christina was thoroughly confused, "Didn't Aunt Celestina say I had to fight with him, though?"
Scrunching up her face, Eris was also confused about this point, so she couldn't answer Christina directly. However, something had been bothering her about the whole affair from the start, so she asked, "Master said you needed to prove your worthiness or something like that to become her Disciple, right?"
Christina nodded, as those were precisely the words Celestina had used when she proposed her test.
"But," Eris reasoned, "How does beating Lucas in a fight prove that? I mean, it's obvious that Sister Tina is stronger than me, and I'm stronger than Lucas, but does being stronger mean your more worthy?"
*Tss…*
When Christina heard Eris' question, she drew a sharp breath as she felt like a Fifth Order Beast had just struck her head on.
Christina wasn't just a genius when it came to cultivation, she was also quite intelligent and talented in strategy; the reckless behaviour she had displayed since arriving in Redwood Town was highly unusual for her.
Whether it was stress, fatigue, or general unfamiliarity with her new circumstances, Christina had acted much less dignified and logical over the past few hours.
It was, quite honestly, a liberating feeling, but it had also led to her committing several uncharacteristic mistakes.
Still, just because she had displayed a bout of immaturity didn't mean Christina had become stupid.
All this time, the princess had been focusing almost entirely on how she had lost the fight against Lucas, but once Eris pointed out that her Aunt Celestina had emphasized that everything was a test of her 'will' and 'worth', Christina swiftly put together all the seemingly scattered pieces.
A test of will.
Celestina's disappointment.
The fight being irrelevant.
Lucas' insistence he hadn't cheated.
What is honourable and what is not.
With her brow all scrunched up, Christina clenched and unclenched her fists as she lowered her head, realization dawning on her, Lucas was right, who won or who lost our fight was meaningless, I failed Aunt Celestina's test the moment I agreed to fight.
Thinking about it after the fact, it all made sense.
Christina was well aware of her own incredible strength. No one her age was her match in terms of cultivation, and even those 10 years older were often inferior purely in terms of combat strength.
On the other hand, Lucas was just 10 years old and had barely begun cultivating.
What would Christina beating Lucas in a fight, or even in a duel, have proven other than she was stronger than a child?
What had Christina losing that fight proven? Other than she had underestimated her opponent and been caught off-guard?
No, the only way Christina could have proven herself worthy and shown true strength of will would have been for her to refuse to fight; after all, there was no honour to be had in a contest between a 15-year-old Third Step Sea Establishment Realm Practitioner, and a 10-year-old Second Step Body Tempering Realm Practitioner.
All this time, Christina had been focused on the fact that she lost, rather than the absurdity of having the fight Lucas in the first place.
Only by refusing to fight would Christina have been able to show she was capable of putting honour before her desires, that she was mature enough to recognize what was right, and what was wrong.
After coming to this realization, Christina didn't know whether she was supposed to laugh or cry. It all seemed so obvious now, yet in the heat of the moment, she hadn't even hesitated to accept the fight.
She had been led by the nose, and were it not for Celestina, Lucas, and Eris all giving her a mountain of hints, she would probably have remained ignorant of just where she had screwed up.
Did Lucas know from the start? Did Aunt Celestina and him set this whole thing up? Christina couldn't help wondering now that she had uncovered the truth; however, she quickly shook her head in denial, No, when Aunt Celestina announced my test, that little bast… that brat looked just as stunned as me.
Reaching this conclusion, Christina reluctantly had to admire Lucas. What had taken her a sound beating, several nudges, and at least half a complete explanation to figure out, the strange countryside boy had managed to deduce in the couple seconds between her aunt speaking and the fight beginning.
It was a shocking level of insight and comprehension that Christina had not seen from others remotely her age, much less anyone younger than her.
In fact, the only equivalent she could think of were those old foxes who spent decades maneuvering through the complex politics of the kingdom.
Just what kind of freak has Aunt Celestina taken as her First Disciple? Christina, for the first time, felt curious.
"Sister Tina?" Eris' called out hesitantly.
Snapping out of her daze, Christina lifted her head to see her new sister staring at her with a worried expression and thought to herself, Even if she's a bit biased in her opinions, there probably aren't many in this town who know Lucas better than her.
Unconsciously, Christina had started to see Lucas as a kind of rival, someone she had to compete with in the future, and the first step in defeating your rival was to gather intelligence.
"I'm fine now, really," Christina reassured Eris before flashing a light smile and asking, "Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about Lucas…"