Though the Duke had said she could come to the training ground sometimes to exercise, she had only occasionally visited when no one was around, but this was her first time coming in broad daylight.

Perhaps because of this, the knights’ gazes gathered on her as she entered the training ground with flying dirt in her skirt.

“Oh…… here……”

“Leave it!”

A young knight who first saw Flora was stopped by his senior when he tried to tell her not to enter. Several knights who were warming up recognized Flora and murmured among themselves.

“Isn’t that woman the maid who sparred with Sir Hatsen a few days ago?”

“Pretend you didn’t see.”

A knight warned as he saw Hatsen, who had been resting in the corner, slowly getting up. Faces full of curiosity kept glancing at Flora.

Regardless, Flora familiarly gripped a wooden sword and walked in front of the training dummy.

She couldn’t stand idly wasting time as it made her bones ache. Above all, bothersome thoughts kept invading her mind, making it unbearable without moving her hands.

Thwack!

The wooden dummy tilted sideways at her lightly swung practice sword.

Her tightly closed lips slowly parted and curved. Flora struck the practice sword with all her might as if drawing out her stifling feelings.

Thwack! Thwack!

The rough impact sounds rang out through the clashing of real swords from the sparring knights.

Several knights who had been pretending not to see and minding their own business gaped in surprise.

“Im…… impossible.”

Admiration crossed the faces of knights who agreed with someone’s words.

Even accounting for a woman’s strength, the dummy should normally be pushed back roughly when hit by a sword. However, despite the consecutive strikes, the wooden dummy showed not even the slightest movement and stayed in place.

“Excuse me, how do you do that?”

A knight who had been watching Flora for a while approached and carefully asked. In fact, other knights who wanted to ask the same question and had been lingering around also subtly leaned in to listen.

Though they had held back, conscious of Hatsen, the knights who remembered that shocking scene from that day had been carefully observing Flora’s swordsmanship one way or another.

Meanwhile, when the oblivious knight broke the ice first, excited knights instantly closed the distance and crowded behind Flora.

“Pardon? What do you mean……”

Flora asked back while lowering the practice sword she had swung thoroughly.

The knight blankly watched her wiping the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead with her collar before suddenly speaking.

“How…… I mean, how is the dummy still intact like that?”

The knight asked with wide eyes as if he had witnessed something amazing. He pointed at other dummies that were creaking from being beaten nearly to pieces by lower-ranked knights’ swords.

“Even if it could happen once or twice, the dummy hasn’t fallen over once during the hundreds of strikes you’ve made.”

The knight was unconsciously using an extremely polite tone.

In fact, when something is hit with a sword, the struck object naturally takes damage. But no movement meant the impact of the strikes wasn’t dispersed but concentrated solely on the dummy.

It was an advanced technique that only skilled knights could recognize, though invisible to ordinary people’s eyes.

Moreover, she didn’t particularly seem to be concentrating, nor was she wearing clothes suitable for swordplay. The knights who perceived this showed surprised reactions.

However, Flora was just as surprised as the amazed knights.

Hundreds of strikes?

It seemed she had concentrated too much while lightly swinging the sword after picking one up for the first time in a while. Sure enough, though it hadn’t fallen over, the dummy made of sturdy logs was cracked here and there and in terrible condition.

At that moment, Hatsen approached Flora with an embarrassed expression and spoke to her.

“Well, I was thoroughly beaten that day. I thought the practice sword would break right away if I pushed with force.”

Though embarrassing to admit, when cornered at the time, he had pushed forward with the determination to at least break the practice sword by force.

However, it had failed, and that night he had pondered for a long time not about his crushed pride but how that method hadn’t worked.

“Now I understand after seeing this. It’s accuracy rather than power. I’m Hatsen. I serve as the vice-commander here.”

Hatsen rubbed the back of his neck with an expression showing no complaints about losing the sparring match. Then he introduced himself while offering a handshake.

“Since you’re here, why don’t you show us something? Everyone has many questions about that day.”

“Well……”

Flora became a bit troubled about how to explain this. After all, this was the result of years of practice day and night.

But just answering like that seemed…….

The knights’ eyes who had gathered by now sparkled to an overwhelming degree. Seeing their eyes hoping she would teach them something, Flora had no choice but to give them advice that might help.

“It’s not any special technique, but the most important thing is checking your basic form.”

Flora exhaled again and demonstrated a stable stance herself. Instead of giving textbook answers, she was about to show them personally.

“When gripping the sword like this, hold the middle of the handle so the force doesn’t disperse.”

The knight who had asked as if it was precious teaching tried gripping his sword handle with the same spacing.

“And spread your legs to match your center of gravity so it doesn’t lean to one side……”

Flora held up her sword and corrected the misaligned parts of his stance.

When she continued that it was better to match movements with breathing, other knights following the knight in front also mimicked gripping their swords.

Flora, who had just come to clear her head briefly, ended up in a situation helping with training.

* * *

Claude, who left his office only when it was time for sunset, departed from the central hall to match dinner time.

His feet about to board the waiting carriage suddenly stopped. It was because men’s murmuring flowing from somewhere had reached his ears.

“What’s this commotion?”

The suspected source of the noise was in the direction of the training ground beyond the blooming red peony bushes.

When he spoke in a sharp voice, the butler who had come out to see off his master respectfully opened his mouth.

“The knights’ training enthusiasm seems quite high today.”

“I heard new trainee knights joined recently, the seniors must be working them quite hard.”

“That’s not it…… Flora is currently there.”

“Who did you say is there?”

Claude asked back with eyes wondering if he had heard wrong. It was a reaction questioning why a maid who should be properly doing housework was at the training ground.

“Didn’t Your Grace previously give permission that she could use the training ground as much as she wanted if she wished?”

Claude seemed to think for a moment about when he had said such a thing before remembering shortly after.

It was words he had impulsively said out of momentary sympathy for Flora who had been bedridden for a while due to the head maid incident.

‘I don’t remember seeing her at the training ground……’

So that was it.

His judgment that Flora wouldn’t have touched a sword for nearly half a year was wrong from the start. It seemed she had been training occasionally during that time.

Claude turned his feet away from the clearly visible carriage in front.

“Your Grace, if we don’t depart now, we’ll be late for dinner.”

Heriot, flustered by Claude’s change of mind, hurriedly followed him as he went elsewhere.

“We were told absolutely not to be late.”

He was scheduled to attend a dinner arranged by the Senate in preparation for visiting delegations from both countries.

Claude, who had continued walking, took out his pocket watch from his sleeve to check the time. The second hand of the gold-crafted watch that opened with a click pointed exactly to 5 o’clock.

“Plenty of time.”

Not by carriage, but they could arrive exactly on time if they rode horses.

Heriot grumbled a few more words before reluctantly opening his mouth after seeing his master’s face showing clear signs of displeasure.

“Then please make it very brief.”

Before long, Claude reached the entrance of the training ground. Without needing to go further, he found Flora at a glance.

“All this time my sword accuracy was poor because of my poor posture.”

A knight was scratching the back of his head while giving Flora words of thanks. Numerous knights surrounded her with faces wanting to speak with her even once.

Heriot who followed his gaze opened his mouth in surprise.

“It seems Flora is helping with the knights’ training.”

“Who…… is helping who train?”

His mouth corners hardened and his eyes grew quite fierce.

Strangely at that moment, Claude felt quite displeased by the sight of Flora with the knights. Though he didn’t know why, it was her appearance holding a sword while surrounded by numerous men.