Swordsmanship Duel (2)

About two hours after Ethan and I entered the training ground, I, who had been sparring with Ethan since morning, massaged my numb arm and took a short break.

Just in case there’s any misunderstanding, I should clarify that my participation in sparring with Ethan was entirely by my own will. Ethan wasn’t forcing me to do it.

There were hardly any people in the Academy’s training ground on weekday mornings. Unless they were students like Ethan or me who had received an ‘Exploration Break’, everyone else would be in class, and even students with occasional free periods usually hesitated to walk all the way to the training ground for just an hour or two.

Of course, students in a similar situation to Ethan and me would occasionally show up looking for sparring partners, but if you narrowed the scope to opponents who could even exchange a blow or two with Ethan, a Sword Expert, that number would drastically decrease.

That’s why I, who could at least exchange a few blows with Ethan, was simply acting as his swordsmanship partner since morning; there was no other particular meaning to it. It wasn’t a situation where Ethan was taking out his frustration on me because he suffered a complete defeat against Harold yesterday.

‘It’s inevitable to get tired when you’re the only one constantly receiving blows.’

Even with breaks, I had only exchanged swords for two hours, but I already felt like I was reaching my limit.

Ethan, who swung his sword against opponents of similar skill every week, and Harold, who faced several such students every day, truly felt amazing.

…Well, I guess I’ll have to try harder to keep up somehow. As Ethan’s Exclusive Maid.

“I’ve rested enough. I will resume the sparring, Young Master Ethan.”

“…I think you should rest more, Lilith.”

“No. Resting more here would only loosen my muscles and make my mind lazy. Therefore, I will begin the sparring now, Young Master Ethan.”

“If Lilith says so, I suppose it can’t be helped….”

Ethan, with a reluctant expression, picked up his sword again and prepared to continue sparring with me.

Just as I, too, picked up my sword with a slight sense of tension and prepared to face him, two unusually loud and familiar voices reached my ears from the entrance of the training ground.

“Then, please teach me a thing or two today as well, Senior Karaham!”

“As expected, before a meal, you have to move your body and sweat a lot! Thanks for joining me today too, Lilia!”

Ah. It’s them again.

“If it’s a sparring match with Senior Karaham, I could ask for it a hundred or even a thousand times!!”

“No, I should be the one! If it’s a sparring match with Lilia, even if I only have the strength to hold one sword, I won’t fall until the very last moment!!”

“Senior Karaham!!”

“Lilia!!”

-SQUEEEZE!!

“…….”

“…….”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen that idiotic couple.

The two of them, who were noisy even when separated, started sticking together like glue, and the noise they made was truly on the level of a walking steam locomotive.

The muscle-brained couple exchanged endless conversations about something incomprehensible to anyone but themselves, then, without any context, they tightly embraced each other in a deep hug.

It was a ridiculous sequence of events, to the point where I couldn’t understand what moved them or what they empathized with, but it didn’t really matter. I was already finding it a bit difficult to receive Ethan’s sword by myself anyway.

Karaham would probably prefer sparring with Ethan, who was of similar skill, rather than Lilia, who clung to him every day. And Lilia would also benefit more from sparring with me than with Karaham for her skill improvement.

“Prince Karaham-nim, have you also come for a sparring match?”

“Oh, Lady Lilith! What a coincidence to meet you here!”

“Senior Lilith-nim! Did you have a good vacation during the break!!”

…I wish they’d speak without so many exclamation marks. Both of them, if possible.

The noise was so loud it felt like my eardrums would burst just from them talking close by, but I had to endure it for now.

“Prince Karaham-nim, and Lilia-yang. If it’s alright with you, would you be able to join Young Master Ethan and me for a swordsmanship duel?”

Even if it was just for Ethan and me to find ‘suitable sparring partners’, the help of these two was essential.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Another hour passed since Karaham and Lilia joined the sparring match between Ethan and me.

Having finished my sparring with Lilia, I quietly rested by a wall in the training ground, from where I could clearly see Ethan and Karaham’s sparring match.

“Senior Lilith-nim! Here’s some cool water!”

“I didn’t ask you to bring me any…?”

“Did I perhaps commit a rudeness?!”

“Ah, no. I’m just saying thank you….”

“I should be the one thanking you, Senior Lilith-nim!”

…Lilia, who, ever since I helped bridge the gap in her romantic relationship with Karaham, had completely become my subordinate… well, not quite, but at any rate, she was overflowing with respect for me.

She was usually noisy, but seeing Lilia, who seemed particularly high-spirited today, I could easily infer that something pleasant had happened during the winter break.

“Did something good happen, Lilia-yang?”

“Ah, w-was it that obvious?”

“It wasn’t that obvious, but you seem noisier than usual.”

“I-I see…. B-but you’re the first to notice this since my new sister-in-law… ah, no, Senior Lizzie-nim!”

…Oh, really now.

Seeing her already calling Lizzie by a title like ‘new sister-in-law’, it seemed she had visited the August Mansion during the winter break. Or, conversely, Karaham had visited the Northeastern Great Plains.

Whether they had a casual introductory meeting or Lilia met Lizzie privately, it seemed they were already preparing for an engagement.

No, wait. Given Karaham and Lilia’s initiative, by now they must have….

“Are you perhaps using the Marriage/Engagement Dormitory with Prince Karaham-nim, Lilia-yang?”

“H-how did you know?! As expected, Senior Lilith-nim is a genius of seduction!”

“No, this has nothing to do with being a genius of seduction.”

I just took a guess because it seemed likely, but it seemed they really had started a semi-cohabitation, sharing the same space, at least within the Academy.

A commoner, not even a low-ranking noble, let alone a noble suitable for a minor Border Count family, and what’s more, despite her status as a Barbarian, the fact that things had progressed so far meant she must have really won over Karaham and his family.

“Actually, I visited Senior Karaham’s mansion during this winter break!”

“I had a feeling that might be the case.”

“Oh my, I was completely surprised! How can one mansion be as big as our Babaracus Village? And there were so many people like Senior Lilith-nim, like, m-mammoths?!”

“It’s ‘maid’, not ‘mammoth’.”

“A-and there were these upside-down hut-like lights hanging all over the house, and the biggest one was like, THIS big….”

“…….”

…Here I am, feeling distraught every day because I have to break up with Ethan in two years, and she’s just blabbering away excitedly, oblivious to my feelings.

Judging by her reaction, it seemed Lilia had a rather enjoyable winter break, but it was also possible that Lilia merely thought she was accepted, while the August Family actually didn’t welcome her.

It was hard to imagine the August family, a Border Count family with a considerable history, easily accepting a Barbarian from the Northeast as their son’s marriage partner.

Since Lilia was a muscle-brained idiot, she might not have properly understood the subtle hints from the August Family members, and might just be under the delusion that she was approved simply by visiting the August Mansion, yeah.

“What did Prince Karaham-nim’s family members say?”

“Ah, his mother told me that a daughter-in-law fit to be a general had joined the family, so she could finally rest easy!”

…So, his mother’s side is a pass, then.

“…That’s good. What about his father’s side?”

“He didn’t say anything specific to me, but whenever he went on an expedition to the Western Monster Borderlands during my stay at the August Mansion, he always called Senior Karaham and me to join him!”

…If Lilia’s words are true, it means his father’s side also approves of her for now.

“What did your sister-in-law… Lizzie-yang say?”

“Pointing at Senior Karaham, she said, ‘That muscle-brained idiot is someone only you can handle, so never let him go.’!”

…That’s a very Lizzie-like assessment. Honestly, I completely agree with that opinion.

In the original story, even in routes where Lilia didn’t end up with the protagonist, she still married someone within her tribe, but that was more akin to a forced marriage, simply because the Babaracus Chief’s daughter had to marry.

A partner who truly loved each other and got along so well was probably only possible for Lilia and Karaham with each other.

In the original story, they were a sub-heroine and a character who fell into villainy, respectively, for the protagonist, so it would have been impossible for them to end up together.

Although this was a result I created, seeing them together like this, they were definitely a good match.

‘I feel foolish for asking all those questions, secretly hoping things wouldn’t work out for them.’

What’s wrong with characters from a game I dedicated my life to getting a happy ending? It’s good if people who get along well live happily ever after, right?

It was a moment when I felt pathetic for having secretly wished, even for a moment, that things wouldn’t work out for Lilia and Karaham. Yes, from now on, I should make sure the other sub-heroines also find proper partners so that girls like Lilia can keep smiling….

“By the way, Senior Karaham is truly something! He was so intense in bed this morning, and he can still move like that!”

“……Huh?”

“Actually, he suddenly came at me last night…. And even though he moved my body almost lifting and dropping it with those thick arms at the end, he’s still perfectly fine like that; what incredible stamina….”

“G-get up, Lilia! Let’s spar right now!”

“…Senior Lilith-nim? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Stop talking and let’s spar quickly! And shut that mouth of yours… ah, anyway, pick up your spear quickly!”

With the final sparring match I requested from Lilia, having suddenly lost my temper, the swordsmanship duels for the day somehow came to an end.

…Perhaps because it was a duel I fought while my mind was troubled and I was exhausted from continuous sparring with Ethan, I ended up losing, though.