episode_0017

“Just now, a wolf bit my head… … ?”

The prince’s words were cut into pieces, as if his voice wasn’t coming out properly.

I opened Snow’s mouth without saying a word, just like last time.

I said he was whining and he said he was trying to bite my head.

Although this is a way for wolves to express affection and show trust, I think there is a bit of a problem because they do this every time they see me.

Are you anxious because you are alone?

Although I brought Snow into the castle, I was the only one who actually cared for him. Although not as much as Prince Evan, most people were reluctant to go near Snow. No matter how cute the cub was, a wolf was still a wolf.

A wolf so big that it can chew off your head and swallow it in one bite if it puts its mind to it.

No, it’s not just the size of the mouth that matters. The feet are also as big as most people’s heads. If you hit a person’s head with that foot, you could die from a concussion.

hmm.

I thought it would be better to stay in a warm place rather than being outside in the cold, but I might have felt more anxious since I was in a place where most people were on guard.

When Amelia was surprised when she saw Snow, and when the prince was scared when he saw Snow, he bit my head in the same way. From Snow’s point of view, I am the only person he can trust in the castle.

I looked quietly into Snow’s eyes,

Kak.

“Awake!”

“Gasp.”

Just like last time, I pinched Snow’s nose.

Snow made a groaning sound, but no matter what, you shouldn’t bite him so easily. Right now, I’m the only one you’re close with, but if you ask him like this later when you have another close friend, that person’s head could be cut off like that.

The blood of a giant flows through me, so I don’t even have a scratch, but if the person bitten is Amelia, there may be lifelong scars on her neck or face.

Of course, that would be troublesome.

I put it on Snow’s nose and rubbed his face with my hand. Snow’s face, which had been a little stiff, relaxed a little. Was he relaxed?

So I calmed Snow down a little and got up.

… … Because Snow had put my head in her mouth, my hair was wet with Snow’s saliva. I ran my hand through the hair on the side of my face and wiped the saliva on my clothes with my clothes.

“So, what did you come to talk about?”

“Uh, ah, uh… … .”

It seems that the sight from a moment ago was somewhat of a shock. Amelia, who had seen the same sight, didn’t seem to be this surprised.

“… … .”

The prince finally kept his mouth shut, looked back and forth between me and Snow several times before turning around and hurriedly leaving his seat.

Did you think he would bite you too?

If I had waited a little longer, I could have let you touch the baby.

… … But then, why did you come all the way here? I think it was some kind of sparring or something.

*

And I found out what the prince was trying to tell me the very next day.

“It’s sparring!”

“Yes?”

“We asked to spar!”

“… … .”

That’s right. It seems like the prince came to ask me for a sparring match at that time.

But why is it happening?

I looked up at Brother Harvey, who was leading the prince.

“You say you want to see the skills of writer Delki Si-nam.”

So why is that me?

I also received training in swordsmanship. However, if you ask me if my skills are as good as my brothers, I will answer, ‘No?’

I was able to imitate the basic posture. Anyway, the physical ability was inherited from the Delki family, so it was basic.

The problem was power.

I was shorter than other kids my age. And that small size probably affected my maximum strength, so no matter how hard I swung, I wasn’t as strong as kids the same age as me.

In the North, all living things are strong.

Yes, not all ‘animals’ but all ‘living things’ are strong.

It was like fruit, so it was easy to just pick it and eat it, but thick trees are a different story. You have to cut them down to make firewood or tools, but the trees in the north were extremely hard. If they caught fire, they burned for a long time, and bows and bows When an arrow was made, its power was enormous.

Still, if you were my age, you should have had enough strength to cut down a young tree, but since I had less strength, it took me twice as long as other children to cut down a tree.

That’s why I eventually fell into hunting. That doesn’t mean hunting is easy, but the problem was that I could ‘only hunt’. And in fact, I could do that hunting with the help of a wolf pack.

My brother looked at me with a strong gaze. Looking at that gaze, it seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but he couldn’t say it out loud in front of the prince.

Umm… … .

Ah, I see.

Because the prince is still ten years old.

I can’t say it out loud because of Prince Evan’s pride, but the chances of a ten-year-old child winning in a sparring match with an adult from Delki City are zero. So, he would rather take an opponent who can beat him even a little and have them fight him.

Did you come to say that yesterday?

“Okay.”

Understanding my brother’s words 100%, I immediately nodded and accepted the sparring.

And I looked up at my brother—

—He looked a little embarrassed.

Oh, wasn’t that right?

*

My older brother caught me on the way to the training room and spoke to me a little faster.

“Elsie.”

“Yes, brother.”

“… … First of all, there is His Royal Highness nearby, and I would like to say something about using that title, but I am in a hurry right now, so I will only get to the point.”

“Yes.”

“That couplet is yours.”

“… … Yes?”

“And, when you lose, you have to lose in a somewhat believable way.”

“Uh… … .”

No, I had no intention of winning.

“But isn’t losing a lie? It’s our family tradition that nature doesn’t lie.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can apply that to outsiders. Elsie, listen carefully. Outsiders from outside Grattenmount don’t agree with us. Some people think nature is in control.”

uh… … .

I was at a loss for words for a moment.

I’ve been taught that way since I was young, and I thought that everyone in the Delki family thinks that way as well.

Ah, now that I think about it, Harvey wasn’t all that pushy in the novel. Although he was deceived a lot, he was still able to deceive others at Amelia’s request.

“Then think of it this way. Animals also camouflage to hunt, right? You do the same. We camouflage to deceive the beasts called humans and to stand at a slightly more advantageous position.”

“I understand why you say that, but… … How did the story unfold that led to that?”

“ Originally, it was customary for the people of Del Kishi to refuse sparring requests from people from other regions. There is no chance that a person of the same age would win in a sword-to-sword battle with a Del Kishi person. In particular, the person applying for the sparring is from a higher-ranking family than us. It’s even more difficult if you’re a human.”

“… … .”

“Cases like this are quite common. When people are young, they let themselves go to airplanes, and when they get drunk, they lose their reason. Every time that happens, our family has continued to refuse. There is nothing good about increasing your enemies. Especially young people. If you have a bad impression during your childhood, that will last your whole life.”

“Then why did I get asked to spar with the prince?”

When I asked because I was really curious, my brother sighed and said.

“Even if the opponent is from Delki City, if you ask them to spar with a normal ‘woman’, they will give up on their own. There is such a thing as pride.”

But it seems like the prince came here to challenge me to a sparring match.

It seems like the people of Delki City never thought that the prince would really challenge me to spar.

… … It’s going to turn.

*

I don’t know if the prince even asked me to spar with him in swordsmanship, but since I accepted the request anyway, I had to spar with him. In this situation, if I suddenly change my mind, all I can do is make fun of the prince.

What we both hold in our hands is a wooden sword carved from northern cypress, which is famous for its durability.

My brother said“If you hit the prince hard with that, something will definitely break, so never hit him directly.”He said.

And he even said, “When swinging, be sure to swing with less strength.”.

… … Is there a need to be that worried?

Other Delkish people should be worried. No matter how much a woman is, if she is the same age as that prince, she will be taller than him. If it is a man, there is no need to say anything.

But I… … Even though they are younger, they are similar in height, right?

And his muscle mass was not very large. Although his body had been trained in its own way by running through the forest, he still had the body of a child.

“Then, both of you, stay in your places.”

Judgment is my father.

In the territory, the lord is in charge of judgment and trials. Both of them are the lord’s sacred duties and rights. Even if the king is here, he has to follow the lord’s words at least for this moment.

“Mutual greetings.”

The prince and I bowed slightly to each other.

“Ready.”

My father said as he saw the two of us lifting our hips.

I held the sword with both hands. What I was holding was a rather long bastard sword. In fact, people in our territory would hold it with one hand and swing it, but as I am a small person, my balance would be lost if I did that.

The prince also held a sword of similar size with both hands.

The eyes that look at me are sharp.

… … Did I do something wrong in front of the prince?

“Sparring begins.”

After confirming that we were both ready, my father said so. His voice was the same as usual, but powerful at the same time.

And as soon as I heard that voice, the prince rushed straight towards me.

and-

Perfect!

The sound of two wooden swords clashing strongly is heard—

Kakak!

Then I heard that sound.

“Huh?”

“Ex.”

The prince and I both made those sounds.

The sword disappeared from the prince’s hand.

Brother Harvey, who was looking at the two of us, placed one hand on his forehead, and my father closed his eyes tightly.

“My sword, where?”

The prince seemed embarrassed and blurted out another word,

“Ah.”

He finally raised his head and found his sword.

The prince’s sword was stuck in the ceiling.

The sword, which was slightly stuck in a gap in the wooden ceiling with the tip of its blade, was soon pulled down by gravity and fell down.

“… … .”

And no one opened their mouths after seeing the situation.