episode_0216

Most of my teachers were sword masters, but none of them really stuck with me.

Because I was that young, my teachers did not see any reason to treat me seriously.

To begin with, my talent itself wasn’t that great.

Usually, I would sigh and quit, as if it was a wise man’s time during sparring.

So what about Evan, who is in front of me right now?

A person who, despite being a woman, was given a name befitting a prince, and lived as a prince until she met me.

A person who takes over the position of emperor because he is a prince, but ultimately maintains his position after many twists and turns after revealing that he is a woman.

Anyway, doesn’t that mean that even the imperial family has the ability to accept it?

When dealing with Adele and Lady Hoover, I held the sword with one hand, but now it is different.

I was also glaring at Evan, holding the sword with both hands as seriously as I could.

Evan was also holding his sword with an extremely serious expression. If you look at the slight frown on his pretty face, it would mean that he was concentrating.

At least I don’t intend to do anything intentionally. I thought that was a good thing.

Evan was the one who moved first.

A sparkling aura surrounds her body, as if golden fire is blooming inside her.

Also called the swordsman’s magic, it is a method that cannot be used unless one reaches a certain level.

“Haaa!”

Evan shouted and rushed towards me.

A downward slash without any technique.

It’s an obvious attack that has large movements and can be expected right away if you’ve had a little bit of swordsmanship training.

However, Evan’s sword, whose body was strengthened with aurors, is by no means light.

I quickly raised my sword horizontally and blocked the attack.

widely!

Two wooden swords made of Delkisino pine clashed together and made a threatening sound. If an ordinary person had been hit in the head, he might have died.

If it had hit me on the head, well, it wouldn’t have done any damage.

I strengthened my arm and pushed the sword away.

“Ha.”

As Evan’s hand flew back, a smile appeared on her lips.

Her expression was full of a winning spirit, completely different from the expression she had when she stood face to face with me to spar with me a long time ago.

It was a much better look.

Was that first slam meant to check my strength?

Even though Evan’s arm flew out, his body did not fall back.

Once, twice, the sound of two hard wooden swords clashing was heard. The attacks they made against each other were all threatening.

Usually, in action movies or historical dramas, there is a certain degree of sword-to-sword clashing, but in actual combat, this is not the case. I block a sword that is clearly aiming for my body, and then turn the sword to aim for the opponent’s body and swing it, and the opponent throws away my sword.

There is no time to stab him because he is so close. The moment he draws the knife, he will hit me on the shoulder or wherever.

At first, I thought it would be better to just lose.

If I lose here, the class will no longer have a reason to ask me to teach them how to use a sword, and then they will naturally give up learning how to use a sword.

But for some reason, I didn’t want to do that.

It’s been a while since we’ve been clashing swords like this, and honestly, it was fun. I didn’t feel like I wanted to lose.

Evan’s face had a somewhat refreshing expression. Although he was wet with sweat, his mouth was smiling. He didn’t even show any signs of being tired.

So, wouldn’t it be polite for me to enjoy it as much as this person?

… … good.

“Ch.”

Exhaling, he finally threw away Ban’s sword and stepped back. His sweaty feet slid on the floor, making a friction sound.

After securing my position, I held the sword with both hands as if I had taken the first stance.

Phew. I exhaled and looked straight at Evan again.

Same situation as before again.

But this time, I was the one who ran out first.

With all my might, I struck down my sword like Evan did a moment ago.

“Ugh!”

There was a heavy crackling sound, different from the crackling sound made when we clashed our swords a little while ago. The force was enough to push Evan’s arm, whose body was strengthened with Aura, slightly downward.

But it wasn’t just one time.

After blocking the sword strike, Evan immediately pulls his sword upward and strikes it again before taking an attacking stance. He continues in the same manner several times.

A look of embarrassment was evident in Evan’s eyes.

When you judge it calmly, there are many ways to escape. You can’t move your hands, but you have feet, and there are ways to pull your body to the side.

But the reason I launched a barrage of attacks like this was because Evan caught the mistake he made when he first blocked my attack.

Evan chose to take a step back.

I’m moving forward and attacking, so once I step back, I can’t easily move forward again. I’m deliberately picking the timing to strike before the end of my steps, so it’s difficult to easily respond to that beat.

In the end, the only option Ban had was to block my sword and go back.

“Ha… … !”

Evan’s eyes filled with despair as he looked at my sword.

I used my momentum to strike down my sword one last time—

widely!

But the crown prince did not throw away that last sword.

It looks like they are just trying to take it and hold on. Did they think that if they push hard enough, something will work out?

However, if that were the case, you were mistaken about the people of Delki City.

It is impossible to win in a struggle of strength. I should have chosen to move my sword quickly and brilliantly and stab myself.

“Ugh!”

That sound was heard from Evan’s mouth.

The trembling sword was slowly going down. The sword, which had drawn a cross at first, was slowly getting closer to the symmetrical shape of an I approached.

In the end, he starts to back away again. He seems to know that in this stalemate, even if he tries to twist his body, I will target his back.

Tuk.

In the end, Evan’s back was against the wall.

Evan, who was usually tall enough to look down at me, was now looking down at me.

My face was wet with sweat, and my hair was matted and sticking to my cheeks. There wasn’t a single corner that wasn’t wet.

“Ha… … ha… … ”

The sight of Evan exhaling between his beautiful lips looked sexy in many ways.

“… … .”

What am I thinking?

Holding back the sigh that came from deep in my lungs, I twisted the sword slightly.

The blade lightly touched Evan’s neck.

“I think I won, what do you think?”

“… … I admit defeat.”

After confirming that Evan’s sword was losing strength, I stepped back.

Although not as much as Evan, I was also sweaty.

Honestly, it was a little fun.

I have never competed so fiercely with my teachers.

“Then, this will be today’s training. Are you all satisfied?”

“… … .”

Amelia, Adele, and Lady Huber, who were looking at us in silence, blinked as if time had begun to pass.

Adele raised her hands and clapped.

“It was a great duel!”

Lady Hoover reluctantly clapped her hands, and Amelia followed suit slowly.

Amelia looked thoughtful in many ways.

… … Was it because I defeated Evan?

In the end, the training continued.

Once again, I held back the urge to sigh.

*

“… … .”

Evan soaked in the bathtub and took a deep breath.

There were five women, including Gil, who were sweating, and I felt a bit bad about washing them first, but since there was a difference in status, it seemed emotionally uncomfortable if I didn’t do this.

Snap.

I took my hand out of the bathtub and just looked at it.

There was still a red mark on the hand where she had tightly gripped the sword. It was a mark left when Lady Delkisi—no, Elsie—pushed Evan up to the wall at the last moment.

No matter how hard you try to push it away, that force ignores everything and forces you back.

It was a similar experience to when I was a child and used a sword but lost it in an instant.

My fingertips were shaking. It wasn’t just because it hurt.

“… … .”

I put my body in the bathtub a little more securely. Even though I was in the warm water, my body was shaking slightly.

I hugged my chest with both hands.

Often, when you go to a dance, you can hear women talking.

Among them, there were some who praised the strong power of men.

How would you feel if you were hugged by those thick arms? How would you feel if you were pushed against the wall? You wouldn’t be able to breathe… … .

There are times when you hear stories that border on obscenity even when you don’t want them to.

Evan had never imagined being pushed around by a man. To be honest, he thought it would be rather unpleasant. He was probably just trying to get it.

But, if that person is Elsie… … .

It was so ironic.

It so happened that the person they first sparred with—no, they never sparred, but the person they clashed swords with that time—was Elsie, so does Evan think of Elsie every time he imagines this?

I liked how he didn’t just ignore me – no, he was secretly scared and uncomfortable, but when he actually pushed me, he pushed me like that.

Even when dancing—

“… … .”

And, suddenly, the Grand Duchess who is always next to him comes to mind.

I bit my lower lip slightly.

… … From then on, Evan sighed several times until he got out of the bathtub.