episode_0009

Episode 9

The Duchess gave birth to the Duke of Norman’s son, ‘Limon de Normand’!

This good news spread widely among everyone in the duke’s mansion and even among the people of the estate.

Banquets were held throughout the Duchy of Normandy to celebrate the birth of the Duke of Normandy, and the people were intoxicated with the festive atmosphere.

And in the middle of the festival, someone drunk said this.

‘But what will happen to Prince Leon who was adopted?’

In some ways, it is a topic that anyone should naturally think about.

The adopted son, ‘Leon de Normand’, who was adopted into a ducal family that had no heir and was treated as the heir, and the duke’s biological son, ‘Riman de Normand’, who was young but had a strong sense of legitimacy.

It was natural that there would be a heated debate among the nobles as to which of the two was more suitable to be the Duke’s successor.

‘Is it the orthodox Riemann, or the eldest son in name only, Leon? That is the question!’

Some people predicted that the Duke of Normandy would have quite a headache after the birth of his son.

He said he would think, ‘If only I had waited just one more year, the succession plan wouldn’t have been so tangled.’

But our great leader, the Duke of Normandy, has already arranged all the succession plans.

That’s because other people don’t know.

“I guess I should push you a little harder.”

“People’s reactions are hotter than I expected.”

After he started receiving knight training from his father, the two of them naturally started spending more time together in the training room than in the office.

As a result, conversations that were usually had in the office are now being had in the training center while receiving training from my father.

-Kaang!

“Ugh…”

“You’re losing focus, again.”

Following my father’s guidance, I picked up my dull training longsword again.

“Huh… Would it be okay if I showed a little jealousy to other people?”

“No, in times like this, it would be better to show an unwavering attitude.”

He assumed the ‘Ox’ stance, putting his weight on his left foot, raising the longsword held with both hands to head height, and aligning the blade with his shoulder to prepare for both stabbing and defense.

This is the basic swordsmanship stance I am most confident in.

“Try to relax your shoulders a little more.”

-Whew!

-Kaang!

I managed to block the attack aimed at my waist by changing my posture, but my body staggered due to the recoil from the sudden change in posture.

“Ugh!”

“If you tense up your shoulders and stiffen them, your reactions will be slow like now.”

While learning swordsmanship, I realized that in the fights of swordsmen, there were too many things that I had to take if I didn’t know them.

I thought swordsmanship was simply swinging the sword and competing with each other, but in real combat, if you swing your sword without thinking, you’ll get a counter and your neck or wrist will get cut off.

In addition, the movements derived from a single posture of holding a sword are divided into dozens, and it was really not easy to memorize all of them and know how to respond to them.

I had a hard time memorizing all the swordsmanship stances because there were so many similar stances.

“Circulate your mana faster, and don’t just follow your opponent’s sword with your eyes, but also watch their gaze, shoulder, and leg movements. ”

Following my father’s words, I forcibly squeezed more mana and circulated it through my body, increasing my body’s speed and expanding my field of vision.

My father, who had assumed the ‘Pom-tak’ stance, which is a sudden downward slashing motion from a comfortable position, quickly began to swing his sword down towards my head.

‘I see, the target is the head!’

-Whirl!

-Pfft!

The longsword my father swung suddenly accelerated and swerved like a snake to avoid my longsword defending my head, hitting my left thigh.

It didn’t hurt much because I adjusted the power right before getting hit, but it still hurt.

The area that was hit must have been cold and bruised.

“Ahh! No, that was definitely a downward slash aimed at the head!”

“Of course, a swordsman who has reached a certain level can also explode his mana right before an attack to swing his sword in an unexpected direction.”

“Then does it make sense to look at the other person’s posture?”

“If you rely on such tricks, you will eventually lose your head the moment it doesn’t work even once. Also, if you don’t have the basics, you can’t apply them, and unless you have infinite mana, in the end, the one who swung the sword at least once more will win.”

“…”

“Still, you’ve improved a lot. Today’s swordsmanship training will end here. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you the basics of horseback riding, lance handling, and spear handling. Of course, you’ll also have to learn how to use a sword while on horseback.”

“I thought I was good at swordsmanship, but now I’m going to do mounted combat?”

“If the Chevalier (knight) doesn’t fight on horseback, what will he fight on?”

“…That’s right.”

That’s right.

If a knight doesn’t ride a horse, what will he ride?

#

Lyman de Normand, my younger brother, with different seeds and boats.

My younger brother, who had grown out of his nursing position and was now crawling, was monopolizing the attention and love of my family.

“…Pua!”

“Huh huh…”

When Lehman was moved from the Duchess’ arms and placed in his father’s arms, he started to babble, and his father smiled faintly.

The image of an ideal harmonious family, as I imagined it, was unfolding before my eyes.

Was there a time in our past life when my sister and I were young like that?

Maybe it was, or maybe it was a doomed family from the start.

I don’t know anymore.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to create a happy family like that.

“Leon, would you like to hug me too?”

“Me? Can I do that?”

I was taken aback by my father’s unexpected suggestion.

“Aren’t you part of our duke’s family? Isn’t that right, ma’am?”

“…Yes, but listen carefully, the child is much more fragile than you think. ”

The Duchess, whose attitude toward me had softened a bit since giving birth to her son, gave permission, so it became stranger for me to refuse.

Could it be that her father’s attitude toward Riemann was so gentle, or perhaps her mood softened due to the anticipation that he might hand over the succession to Riemann?

Certainly, since Riemann has overwhelming legitimacy compared to me, who was adopted, there is a good chance that the successor will be replaced in normal cases.

So, I think the Duchess would think that Lehman is still young and that the Duke has not made up his mind.

‘In reality, it’s not entirely wrong to think that it will be Riemann who will take over the Duke family in the end.’

“Then I will hug you as carefully as possible.”

“Ugh…”

Lehman, who was carefully received from his father, had a really light and warm body temperature.

This fragile life form, which seemed ready to break with even the slightest force, began to squirm as if it was uncomfortable in the arms of a stranger.

I thought he was in an uncomfortable position, so I lifted him up slightly to correct his posture. He stopped moving and soon looked straight at me with his bright eyes.

When I gently touched her soft cheek with my index finger, Lee Man grabbed my finger tightly with his fern-like hand.

I was surprised at how strong these small, fragile hands were.

“…so cute.”

“It’s fatal to just hug Leon! I want to hug him too!”

“I want to hug you too!”

Serena and Tania were jealous of me holding Riemann and rushed to say that they wanted to hug him too.

My father, who was watching us with a pleased expression, nodded.

“Tania, hug me first.”

“Chee… Always my sister…”

Serena grumbled with a sullen expression, not liking being pushed back in order.

Accept it Serena, you’re at a disadvantage in the family pecking order.

I carefully handed Riemann over to Tania.

“Ugh…”

“Wow…so cute.”

“I wish…”

Tania, with her sparkling eyes and expression on her face as if she was receiving something precious, looked like a girl of her age.

‘When dealing with me, I’m still impatient because I can’t catch him and he’s still so venomous.’

But I guess they’ve developed some resentment towards me over the years, and these days, Tania and Serena don’t treat me like an outsider at all.

Do you feel like you’ve gone from being your parents’ enemy to being your best friend’s enemy?

Hmm… Wouldn’t this be a huge improvement?

“I want to hug you too now, sis!”

“Just a little more.”

“Sister!”

“Eww~!”

“Oh, it made me cry.”

When Serena cried loudly, a surprised Lehman finally burst into tears.

As the flustered Tania and Serena were at a loss, the Duchess soon approached and skillfully picked up and soothed Leman, who was crying so hard that he felt like the world was going to end.

Soon, Liman stopped crying with a relaxed expression and stayed in the Duchess’ arms for a while before finally being held in Serena’s arms.

“Hehehe cute.”

“The ball is soft too.”

Looking at the harmonious-looking Duke’s family, a smile came to my face without me knowing it.

I think maybe I’ve become a little bit integrated into this family.

“Cluck! Cluck!”

“Lyon?”

“Sorry, I think I heard a case for a moment.”

“You’ve been coughing a lot lately. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course, but I’m a sword master so I can’t get sick.”

“If that’s you…”

The father, with an expression that said nothing was wrong, began to reassure the worried Duchess.

“Don’t worry.”

My father, who hides the fact that he doesn’t have much time left from anyone but me, has been coughing more and more frequently these days.

He said he didn’t know how much time he had left, but that he would hold out at least until I turned 15, so he still had a few more years left.

Although he is not my biological father, my heart feels a little heavy when I think about how little time he has left.

No, perhaps throughout my entire life, the man named Lyon de Normand may have been the most fatherly figure to me.

“Leon, come to my office later. I have something important to talk about.”

“Yes, Father.”