CHAPTER 13

The next day.

She was holding a sword and heading to the training ground after a long time.

She concluded that her head was muddled because of a lack of training. She had been neglecting sword practice for a while, which was uncharacteristic of her. Perhaps it was because of the milk flowing, and wearing a linen cloth, she’s been less active.

As Herta said, the potion made her tired and sleepy. Her body felt heavy like a soaked cotton ball, and sleep poured in, so she would just drift off and sleep.

“People need to move their bodies.”

Training is the best way to get rid of the sinister thoughts in my head.

The training ground in the capital wasn’t a place she frequented often. She was used to visiting the one in the Duchy whenever she stayed there for a month or two. In the capital, it was mainly Dian who came.

“It’s been a while, Miss Rienn.”

“Raoul!”

Surprised, she quickly ran over.

“Oh my, I didn’t know you were in the capital!”

Raoul was the vice-captain of the Duke’s First Knights. He had taught her a lot about swords every time she stayed in the Duchy with Yan.

“I came up a few days ago. How have you been?”

“Yes! It feels like it’s been almost three years since we last met.”

He hadn’t changed since the last time she’d seen him.

“We met before you entered the academy, so I guess that’s true. Congratulations on your graduation, even though it’s a little late.”

“Haha, thank you. I’m finally free.”

She kept laughing from joy. As she caught up with Raoul on how things had been going, she exchanged greetings with other knights she knew. She knew most of the knights who had been in the duchy for a long time. There were many knights she met for the first time as well.

She felt someone’s gaze on her and turned her head. A knight of her age was looking at her, and their eyes met. He quickly bowed his head and greeted her.

“Good day.”

“Hello.”

She greeted him back.

“Pierre.”

“Yes, Vice-Captain.”

At Raoul’s call, he approached closer.

“This is our newest recruit. Pierre, please greet Lady Rienn properly.”

“My name is Pierre Percy, and it is an honor to meet you.”

Pierre stuttered, his face turning red.

“It’s a pl*asure to meet you, Rienn Reuther.”

Though she didn’t show it, she was slightly taken aback. She wasn’t even a m*mber of the ducal family; she didn’t expect to be called up and greeted.

I’m just here for some private training, and am I interrupting?

“Raoul. Are you busy?”

“No. As you can see, it’s free sparring time now and I was wondering if you’d like to join in.”

“I’d love to.”

It was actually much more fun to duel than to swing alone.

“I can recommend Pierre as your sparring partner. He’s quite skilled.”

“…….”

No, why don’t you ask Pierre if he’s okay with it?

He was visibly flustered and then shook his head.

“Pierre, is that okay with you?”

“Y-yes, of course. It’s an honor.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Rienn and Pierre took their positions in one section of the training ground.

“Let me warm up for a moment.”

“Sure.”

Today is Day 10, so it has been almost two weeks since she last held a sword.

It was the first time she hadn’t trained for such a long time. Feeling awkward and slightly guilty, she drew her sword from its sheath and swung it. The thin silver blade cut through the air, making a sound. Still, she quickly got used to it, and warmth spread through her body

“Shall we?”

“Okay.”

With a serious expression, Pierre held up his sword.

Since he didn’t seem to have any intention to attack first, she took the initiative. She lunged forward quickly and swung her sword diagonally. Pierre blocked it, and their swords clashed. In that brief moment, she felt his strength. They exchanged blows in rapid succession.

Indeed, he was skilled.

Not anyone could enter the knight order of the ducal family. Struggling evenly with Pierre, she gradually increased the speed.

She was the type of person who overcame physical strength differences with overwhelming speed. She tensed her body and focused her mind as she swung her sword. She didn’t give him a chance to counterattack. Pierre blocked her attacks, then quickly retreated to dodge. She closed the gap in an instant and lunged. As she swung diagonally from above, Pierre hurriedly defended himself.

Clang, clang!

She attacked fiercely again as she moved forward. Pierre struggled to block, gradually being pushed back.

“Your Grace.”

“Greet Your Grace.”

A voice came from the left. 

Was Dian here?

Forcing the distraction out of her mind, she focused on the situation in front of her. She had to capitalize on this momentum. Moving at full speed, she pushed Pierre back. Losing his balance as he retreated to the side and back, he stumbled. She stopped attacking immediately. Pierre ended up falling backward and landing on his a$s.

“Are you okay?”

Switching her sword to her left hand, she reached out with her right hand. Pierre gasped, his face stiff, then smiled when he saw her hand.

“Rienn.”

She turned at the soft sound of the voice and saw Dian walking towards her.

“Dian!”

He nodded slightly with an expressionless face.

“Ah.”

She tried to help him up, but Pierre scrambled to his feet without taking her hand.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“No, I’m fine!”

“That was a good spar. Let’s do it again sometime.”

“I learned a lot, thank you.”

Although there wasn’t much to it…

She quickly approached Dian and stood facing him

“I just arrived too. Did you come here to train?”

“Yeah. Let’s go inside.”

Inside was Dian’s personal training room.

“Sure.”

She bid farewell to Raoul and the other knights before walking with Dian. When we were far enough away from everyone else and alone, she asked softly.

“Dian, are you okay? Can you train?”

The knights didn’t know that Dian was unwell. Now, he seemed almost recovered, with the paleness gone, but he still seemed to have lost some weight.                                                                             

“I’m fine. What about you?”

“Me?”

“Rest inside. Want to take a nap?”

“…….”

I’ve been sleeping a bit lately, but you’re almost like treating me as a newborn.

“I don’t have to nap. I don’t usually take naps.”

“Since you’re taking medicine that makes you sleepy, resting might be better than training.”

“I just want to stretch my body lightly! But it seems my body isn’t as stiff as I thought. Did you see what I did?”

“Yes.”

After a long time of sparring, her body was hot, and her heart was racing.

“Let’s spar too.”

They arrived at the spacious and quiet training ground, and she looked at him expectantly. For some reason, Dian looked reluctant as he drew his sword. It had been a while since she saw him hold a sword.

“Don’t you need to warm up?”

“It’s okay. Come at me.”

As she swung her sword, the energy flowing through her body couldn’t be controlled, she leaped forward. Dian skillfully swung his sword to block it. From the beginning, their swords clashed at a high speed. They moved diagonally from left to right, alternately clashing their swords. Step by step, Dian retreated, but unlike Pierre, his defense was impenetrable.

She attacked aggressively, hoping to make Dian, who was usually passive in defense, come out more actively. He smoothly parried the attacks as they flowed in like water.

“…….”

They distanced themselves for a moment to catch their breaths. When she looked at him after calming her breath, Dian smiled slightly.

“Tired?”

“Quite. But this is just the beginning.”

She closed their gap again and swung her sword. This time, Dian didn’t just defend. He swiftly dodged her attacks, aiming for openings. She repeated attacking and dodging, swinging her sword and then turning to avoid his counterattacks.

Sparrings with Dian were always like this. Since it was difficult for her to gain the upper hand in speed, it didn’t end quickly. Dian’s strength and speed increased as he concentrated more and more. She matched his intense concentration.

Clang, clang, clang!

The speed at which their swords clashed was too fast. Forgetting all about formal techniques, she swung her sword purely based on instinct. Each time the sword clashed heavily, a shock was transmitted to her wrist. Now, she was pushed back and she quickly lowered her body. Taking advantage of her smaller size and flexibility, she aimed to counterattack from below, which was disadvantageous for a tall opponent.

Dian blocked with the tip of his sword downward, and after a series of low strikes, he brought his sword down from above.

Huh, I barely managed to block and drew a circle to escape. 

Their blades clashed again, this time from above. There was no choice but to withstand the relentless attacks.

Ha.