episode_0035

“Laurent, ready position!”

“Yes!”

At the sound of my command, Laurent, who was lying on the ground, quickly got up and assumed a ready stance.

Swish!

“Ouch!”

Swish!

“Ow!”

And so, for about 3 minutes, I began to strike Laurent with my wooden sword.

“Sob! Is this really necessary, Miss?”

Laurent asked me, rubbing his waist.

“Laurent! This is the training you chose. Endure it with determination and strength!”

I laughed heartily and raised my wooden sword.

“Sob…”

Laurent shed tears of sadness, and…

Swish!

The wooden sword struck Laurent’s back without hesitation.

“Ha… feels refreshing.”

Of course, there was no malice behind this training.

Although Laurent had tried to eat me in the Erzen Forest, this special training was for him, who wanted to train his body rather than just shoot a gun.

Anyway, I decided to take a break after that last strike.

Setting the wooden sword aside, I headed towards the chair under the shade of a tree.

As I rested under the tree, watching Laurent lying on the grass, Lea approached me with a drink.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

I drank the drink Lea handed me, enjoying the sweet and refreshing taste of lemon.

“Is there more of this?”

“Yes, there’s a pitcher in the kitchen.”

“Bring it here and give him a glass.”

“Understood.”

Lea nodded and headed to the kitchen.

I looked at Laurent, who was lying on the grass. To excel in swordsmanship, one must eat well. That way, they can endure training for a long time. I knew this from experience.

While absentmindedly tapping my fingers on the armrest of the chair, I gazed at the trees that had grown in the courtyard.

“Ah… thank you.”

“Thank the owner.”

Meanwhile, Laurent was drinking the drink Lea had given him.

After finishing his drink, I stood up.

“Alright, Laurent, have you rested enough?”

“Um…?”

I smiled and picked up the wooden sword.

“Um… can we stop here for today?”

Laurent asked hesitantly.

“You can come in as you please, but you can’t leave as you please.”

“Ah… I see…”

Laurent sighed as he watched me approach with the wooden sword.

“Get ready.”

At my words, Laurent assumed a horse stance.

“Before we continue training, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

I lowered the wooden sword I had raised in response to Laurent’s question.

“Did I make you angry, Miss?”

“No, I’m not angry with you at all.”

If I had been angry with Laurent, I wouldn’t have taught him swordsmanship.

“Let’s stop the small talk and continue, shall we?”

I stroked the blade of the wooden sword with my hand and approached Laurent.

And so, the training of swordsmanship resumed.

By the time the sun began to set, I stopped the training.

“Ugh…”

Laurent stood there, groaning like an undead.

“Laurent, try to feel the swordsmanship in your body now.”

“Yes…”

Laurent tried to feel the swordsmanship in his body.

After being struck by me all day, it took him a while to activate the swordsmanship.

But unlike the shaky and unstable morning, the fluctuations were noticeably reduced.

“Well, you’ve definitely improved. Let’s rest for today and continue training tomorrow.”

“Ah… my whole body feels sore.”

“Still, check to see if there are any bruises.”

At my words, Laurent quickly took off his shirt.

As his muscular body and tan skin were revealed, the maids nearby gasped and screamed in shock.

“There don’t seem to be any injuries.”

“Of course, I was just lightly tapping, so there shouldn’t be any injuries on your body.”

Laurent looked at his body as if it were fascinating.

“Now, since you’re all bruised up, put your clothes back on.”

“Alright.”

Laurent put his clothes back on with a relieved expression.

“You’ve been through a lot, and if you want to train, you’ll have to stay here for a while.”

I pondered, scratching my chin.

“Where should I have him sleep?”

“How about letting him stay in the guest room?”

“Well… he’s my friend, but…”

“I’m fine with it. I slept here last night and the bed was better than ours.”

“If you’re satisfied, then… well…”

I inserted my sword back into its sheath.

“I’ll go check on the meal myself.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Sweating, I wiped my forehead and entered the room.

“Phew… it’s hot…”

I fanned myself with a hand fan as I sat down on a chair in the room.

“Should I prepare a bath for you?”

“Maybe I should?”

Since I was sweating, it seemed like a good idea to wash up.

As I sat and waited, Lea had the maids bring a bathtub.

But instead of the large brass tub I was expecting, they brought a white porcelain tub.

“This isn’t the bathtub I had in mind.”

“Wasn’t this what you asked for?”

Lea and I locked eyes.

“I thought they were bringing a brass tub.”

“I thought you meant a ceramic tub.”

To bathe in that huge ceramic tub would cost…

“Come to think of it, I have plenty of money, don’t I?”

I realized that I had money that I couldn’t have imagined just a few months ago.

So, indulging in a bath wouldn’t hurt, right?

“Should I fill the tub?”

I shook my head at Lea’s question.

“No, I’ll just wash up with this.”

“Understood.”

Clap, clap.

Lea nodded and clapped her hands, signaling the maids to start filling the tub with warm water.

Before I knew it, the tub was filled with warm water.

I undressed and stepped into the tub, feeling the warm water enveloping my body.

“Ah…”

I let out a long sigh with only my head above the water.

“Allow me to wash you.”

Lea rolled up her sleeves and started scrubbing my body with a sponge.

It was fine when she was washing my upper body, but I felt embarrassed as she moved towards my lower abdomen.

“No… I’ll take care of the rest from here…”

I grabbed Lea’s arm as she tried to scrub below my belly button.

“Understood.”

Lea handed me the sponge and stepped back.

I finished washing myself and got out of the tub.

Splash.

Water droplets cascaded down my body as I stepped out of the tub.

The maids handed me a towel as I got out.

“Thank you.”

I thanked them and wrapped the towel around myself.

“Wow… can I really be this comfortable?”

I never knew there would come a day when others would wait on me hand and foot.

Now that I thought about it, maybe turning into a woman was a blessing after all.

Not a spiritual blessing, but a material one.

I changed into a comfortable dress and lay down on the bed.

As I lay there, sleep started to creep in.

“How would you like to have your meal?”

“I’ll pass, I’m not hungry.”

“Understood.”

Lea and the maids took the bathtub and left the room.

As the lights went out, my eyes began to close.

#

The next morning

“Laurent, put the ointment on your body again.”

“Okay.”

Laurent applied the ointment all over his body and waited for me to strike him.

“Laurent, are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready!”

Smack!

“Ouch!”

Smack!

“Ow!”

And so, the sound of hitting someone from morning till night echoed in the mansion once again.

“Mary, are you getting beaten up by Laurent since morning?”

Rotus approached me, waving his hand.

“What’s going on? Why are you here? And where’s Aramis?”

“Aramis had something urgent and couldn’t make it, so I came alone.”

“If Aramis didn’t come, why did you come here?”

“Why did I come? To drink, of course.”

I looked at Rotus with a puzzled expression, as if he had come to our house just to drink.

“I don’t even see a hint of apology from you now.”

“Well, I thought about it overnight, and I realized that I played a part in you getting this mansion from the Marquis and the Viscount.”

“And how does that relate to coming to my house to drink?”

“It does matter. When you were fighting Andre, I also went to help. Remember?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“So, we beat up Andre, turned this mansion upside down, and saved the Marquis and the Viscount. Remember?”

“That’s true.”

“As a result, we got this mansion. So, I have a share in the alcohol that comes out of this mansion.”

“Ha! Really, Rotus? You call that a share?”

“Why?”

“Well, I got this house on behalf of the magistrate’s request, and you, Aramis, and Laurent each got paid, right?”

“That’s true.”

“So why do you claim to have a share in the alcohol at my house?”

“…You know what, you’re right.”

Rotus nodded in agreement with my words.

“Right? So, don’t keep coming to my house to drink my alcohol.”

“Got it, got it. I’ll limit myself to three bottles of wine a day.”

“No… do you even understand what I’m saying…”

“By the way, Laurent, why are you getting beaten up at Mary’s house?”

Rotus interrupted me and approached Laurent.

“I asked him to train me in martial arts… and since yesterday, he’s been beating me like this.”

“What?! Hahaha!”

Rotus burst into laughter, holding his stomach.

“No…”

Laurent looked at Rotus, who was laughing heartily, with a bewildered expression.

“Still, if that method is effective, then train with peace of mind.”

“Really? Is it really effective?”

“If you get beaten regularly for about a month, you’ll see noticeable improvement.”

“For a month…”

Laurent looked at me with a dismayed look.

“Don’t worry too much, it won’t take a whole month.”

“Since we’re doing this, I’ll help out a bit.”

“No, that’s…”

Rotus suddenly approached Laurent with a wooden sword in hand.

“We learned this from the training instructor when we were cadets, so it’s definitely effective.”

“Ugh…”

Laurent sighed and prepared himself.

“Let’s begin.”

“Yes!”

Laurent wrapped himself in aura and started to endure the blows from the wooden sword.