Now it was time to quickly stand up and point her sword at him.

The match wasn’t over yet. The fight remained between whether he could retrieve his sword first or her sword would reach his neck first.

But…… why? Tatiana just sat on the ground blinking. Her expression was dazed as if she had been hit hard on the back of the head with a hammer. 

 Gideon had been watching for an opportunity to stop this more intense than expected sparring match.

When Tatiana rolled on the ground, he frowned while his fingers twitched. And he felt puzzled and worried when she showed no movement.

“Titi.”

“……”

“Wife, are you alright?”

“……”

“What’s wrong. Don’t tell me you’re hurt somewhere?”

Tatiana still wore a blank expression as if she couldn’t hear Gideon’s words. Then suddenly she startled and jumped up from the grass.

She strode up to stand in front of Kay. Her eyes and expression had become even more serious than during the match.

Tatiana brought her face even closer and asked Kay.

“Who are you.”

“……Pardon?”

Kay could only ask back after a moment of silence. He couldn’t fathom why the princess was asking this.

Tatiana narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

There were too many different sword styles mixed in to be certain. However, she couldn’t shake off this sense of déjà vu, this strange intuition.

She had definitely seen someone in his sword just now. Someone she knew very well.

Tatiana bit her lip and pressed Kay with sharp eyes.

“I see my Dad in your sword.”

“……”

“Tell me. Who are you?”

For a moment, the morning air around them grew quiet.

Kay looked at Gideon with bewildered eyes. His expression asked what he should do about this.

Seeing the exchange of glances between the two men, Tatiana became dumbfounded. And gradually became agitated. Because it felt exactly like there was something she didn’t know. Something related to her Dad.

She demanded from Gideon.

“What is this? Why are you two acting like this?”

“……”

“Who is this person? He’s not a royal guard, is he?”

Until just three years ago, Tatiana frequented the barracks almost daily. She had never seen this person then. She hadn’t heard any rumors about someone of this caliber appearing in Valter either.

Does anyone know how strange this is?

Geniuses can’t suddenly appear out of nowhere in the worlds of swordsmanship and magic.

Magic had high barriers to entry to begin with, and swordsmanship likewise required a master who could guide you. It was inherently a structure where rumors couldn’t help but spread.

What about someone secluding themselves in the mountains for 10 years and emerging as a master? That kind of thing only happened in children’s fairy tales. There were limits to what could be achieved through solitary training.

So Kay must have had masters who influenced him directly or indirectly.

In Tatiana’s mind, one of them was her Dad.

She continued to stare at Kay with suspicious eyes. Then at some point, a strange doubt crossed her mind.

“Could you be my Dad’s son…… like, born outside marriage or something?”

Both men were struck speechless at the same time.

Kay looked at Gideon again with a troubled expression asking what this was about now. Gideon could only laugh wryly and shake his head.

‘I don’t know either. Why does my wife get like this sometimes.’

Finally, Gideon stepped in to explain before Tatiana’s strange suspicion could solidify into certainty.

“Titi. Master……”

He habitually started to refer to Sir Bloom as ‘master’ but stopped. Considering various circumstances, he calculated it would be better to use a different term now.

Gideon spoke again.

“Your father was devoted to his family. Even at the palace, whenever he had a chance, he would talk about his family. I don’t remember all the little details, but I’m certain his face was always happy at those times.”

“……”

“You shouldn’t have such suspicions about him as his daughter.”

It was the kind of thing that would make Sir Bloom cry tears of injustice in his grave if he heard it.

Gideon gave her a look saying ‘If you understand, apologize to your father.’ Tatiana, who had belatedly come to her senses, seemed embarrassed and mumbled excuses.

“No, I just…… the atmosphere was strange. So who is he?”

“Who? He’s a disciple your father took in before. Though calling him a disciple isn’t quite right.”

“Why?”

“Because he didn’t teach him for that long. He probably just watched over him and sparred with him a few times.”

Gideon was amazed that Tatiana had managed to notice it despite that.

She was half-obsessed with swordsmanship, and would jump up even from sleep when it came to her father’s swordsmanship, but this situation was outside his expectations.

But Tatiana still seemed to have unresolved questions.

“I’ve never heard anything about this person?”

As far as Tatiana knew, the only people her father had taught while alive were Gideon, herself, and the royal guards. Among them, those who could be said to have received proper instruction could be counted on one hand.

Of course, a daughter couldn’t know everything about her father’s social life, but to never have mentioned even once someone of this caliber.

Then Gideon briefly answered her doubt.

“Kay has no surname.”

“……Ah.”

In Valter, having no surname usually meant one of two things. Either they lived a life too secretive and complicated to reveal, or they were of very low birth.

Either way, it would have been awkward for Sir Bloom to teach him openly. A training instructor attached to the royal family wasn’t supposed to privately teach just anyone.

Tatiana nodded, somewhat understanding.

She calmed her excitement and looked at Kay again. Now he seemed to appear different from before.

‘Hmm, my Dad’s disciple, you say?’

That alone was enough to pique her interest, but he had shown very unorthodox applications of the Bloom family swordsmanship.

He had taken what suited his characteristics and discarded what didn’t.

A man quite different from other knights. Footsteps whose identity couldn’t be pinned down.

The techniques he displayed weren’t textbook orthodox swordsmanship. They could be called survival swordsmanship.

Tatiana’s green eyes sparkled as she looked Kay up and down. 

 She had something she wanted to say in this moment.

‘You, become my master.’

However, she couldn’t quite say it like that.

The difference in skill wasn’t clear enough to define them as master and disciple.

They say people walking the same path are each other’s teachers, but she didn’t want to bow down before even having a proper match.

She just definitely wanted to have opportunities to cross swords like this again in the future. It was clear he was someone she could learn a lot from. To a swordsperson stuck in a plateau, such an existence felt like rain in a drought.

Tatiana opened her mouth with a friendly smile. Her voice was so gentle it was hard to believe she was the same person who had glared and demanded to know who he was earlier.

“Come to think of it, we only greeted each other with swords. Let me properly introduce myself again. I’m Tatiana Bloom.”

“……Yes, I’m well aware of Your Highness’s name.”

Despite Tatiana’s kindness drawn from deep within, Kay’s response was dry. He seemed very awkward and uncomfortable with this situation.

However, Tatiana maintained her smile to the end, and Gideon gradually developed a sour expression. He seemed to know what his wife would do next.

Sure enough, after glancing at Kay’s shoulders, forearms, and thighs, Tatiana said:

“Your forearm muscles…… are really nice.”

“……”

This was something that could be said to someone who had given their all in a sparring match. But it was also almost the highest level of praise that could come from Tatiana’s mouth.

Knowing this all too well, Gideon’s expression finally became completely crooked. 

 After escorting Tatiana, who said she needed to wash up after sweating, to her room, Gideon headed to his office.

He sat at his desk organizing his thoughts for a moment before instructing Kay. Starting tomorrow, he was to be Tatiana’s sparring partner and guard.

Tatiana needed to distance herself from the royal guards now. This was because conflicts with the Muller family were expected in Gideon’s future moves.

If she had an interesting opponent right in front of her, she wouldn’t need to go all the way to the knights’ order to satisfy her desire to observe others’ swordsmanship.

With Kay guarding her side, Gideon could also be at ease regarding her safety.

Gideon explained to Kay what this instruction meant, and Kay understood and agreed.

So now this should have been settled but……

His mood, once soured, wouldn’t easily return to normal.

Gideon looked at Kay while propping his chin with one hand and tapping the desk with the index finger of his other hand. Then he asked in a somewhat prickly voice.

“Do you know why my wife likes me?”

“……I’m not sure.”

Gideon smirked and said this.

“Because I’m excellent.”

“……”