MFAWW 28

Chapter 28

“It’s been a while since I’ve sparred with someone.”

“Didn’t Arke learn swordsmanship?”

“Hmm… Arke couldn’t even hold a wooden sword.”

I had heard that he was frail and often fell ill, but still, I thought he might have learned at least a little since he was the heir of the Bright family. At my question, Duke Bright shook his head with a regretful expression.

“He couldn’t learn the sword, but he used to visit the training ground often. When I gave him a wooden horse ride, he’d clap and cheer even though he was scared…”

The Duke murmured, recalling a faded past. His voice carried an unmistakable longing.

“Alright, enough about the past.”

Duke Bright lightly turned his head and raised his sword. Instantly, the atmosphere changed.

“Come at me.”

As expected of the knight called the Shield of the Empire. Just standing there, he showed no openings. Feeling the air grow heavy, I swallowed dryly.

“Why are you standing still? Are you going to keep doing that?”

“No.”

I grinned at Duke Bright. I was excited to face a strong opponent after a long time. I adjusted my grip on the sword and put strength into my toes.

“Here I go.”

“Hmm!”

As I quickly darted inside, the Duke let out a gasp and moved his sword. His blade and mine clashed, the metallic ring echoing out.

Without stopping, I swung again. Duke Bright easily deflected the blade hurtling toward his chest.

“You’re fast.”

Duke Bright let out a small exclamation. Several more exchanges followed. But my sword never reached him. It was as if I was blocked by a massive boulder.

I pulled back to create some distance, and this time Duke Bright moved first. He was fast, belying his age.

*Clang, clang! Swoosh!*

Our swords clashed repeatedly. Duke Bright made no extravagant movements. He simply swung his sword. Yet I was hard-pressed just to block his strikes.

“Huff!”

Duke Bright’s sword was heavy and fast. Normally, a heavy sword with power behind it tends to slow down, but his only grew faster.

“Haah, hah.”

“Tired already? Where did that fighting spirit from earlier go?”

So this was the power of someone who had rolled across battlefields for decades. While I was drenched in sweat, Duke Bright remained at ease. Above all, he still hadn’t shown all his strength.

In terms of raw power, I was clearly outmatched. But in speed, I was a little faster.

I wiped the streaming sweat with my sleeve as I sorted out my thoughts. Duke Bright was different from my mother. If my mother was light and fast as if she had wings, the Duke was heavy and solid as a rock.

“Why are you standing still? Are you giving up?”

“As if.”

*Hoo.* I took a deep breath and switched the hand gripping my sword. Then I drew the dagger from my waist.

“That’s… Wendy’s swordsmanship.”

“We’re both from Subrina, after all.”

Using a longsword and dagger simultaneously was the Subrina family’s swordsmanship. Duke Bright smiled with delight and adjusted his stance. Gripping his sword with both hands, his eyes gleamed.

“Let’s clash with all our strength.”

“I was planning to anyway!”

*Thwack!*

The moment I finished speaking, I charged into his space again. Just as Duke Bright took a defensive stance, I kicked off toward the sky.

I landed behind him in an instant. As I twisted my body and swung my sword, he moved his arm as if he had anticipated it.

*Clang!*

Our swords clashed once more. The impact was stronger than I expected, making my hand tremble. For a moment I nearly dropped my sword, but I pulled myself together and slashed with the dagger in my other hand.

“Your tricks are shallow.”

“…?!”

The moment I heard a voice tinged with laughter by my ear, I realized my attack had been seen through.

“Damn!”

*Screech—*

Duke Bright, who had blocked my dagger with the hilt of his sword, tilted his blade and pressed down so I couldn’t escape.

“Wendy tried this same technique on me before.”

“Ugh!”

“And she failed.”

Having said that, Duke Bright turned his body widely and pushed me with his shoulder. My exhausted body couldn’t withstand the strong impact and was pushed back.

*Clatter!*

Unable to withstand the shock, the sword fell from my hand and rolled across the floor with a loud noise.

“…I lost.”

I lost. Sitting on the ground, gasping for breath, I admitted defeat.

“Impressive.”

Duke Bright reached out his hand toward me. He helped me up and roughly brushed the dirt off my clothes.

“You’re strong.”

“Strong? I couldn’t even land a proper attack and I lost.”

“Did you think you could beat me?”

“It’s not that…”

I thought I could hold out a bit longer than this, but it ended in an instant. I closed my mouth and puffed out my cheeks.

“Haha! What fighting spirit!”

At my pout of disappointment and frustration, Duke Bright let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t be too disappointed. There are plenty of knights in our family who are worse with a sword than you.”

“…Really?”

“Really. I don’t speak empty words.”

“Then do you think I can pass the exam?”

“With this level of skill, you’ll probably make it to the final exam without much trouble. The question is what rank you’ll get.”

*That’s a more generous evaluation than I expected.* I had braced myself for harsh criticism, but this was unexpected. While I was dazed by the unforeseen praise, Duke Bright stroked his chin, lost in thought. After a moment, he looked at me again.

“When is the first exam?”

“About ten days from now.”

“Hmm…”

*Ten days.* Duke Bright murmured to himself, then hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Would you… be interested in learning the Bright family’s swordsmanship?”

“Pardon?”

*Teach me swordsmanship?* I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected offer. As I gaped in surprise, Duke Bright wore an embarrassed expression.

“If you’re willing… I’d like to teach you…”

“Yes!”

I couldn’t miss this golden opportunity! I answered quickly before the Duke could change his mind. Just thinking that I could learn the sword from the Duke, one of the empire’s finest knights, made my heart pound fiercely.

“Oh?”

Duke Bright, who had been uncharacteristically hesitant, seemed not to have expected me to agree so readily. His eyes went wide as a startled rabbit’s.

“I’d absolutely love to!”

When I said yes once more, the Duke’s dazed face gradually bloomed into a smile. He scrunched his nose as if at a loss, then smiled awkwardly. It was a strange expression, as if both happy and sad.

“Can we start right away, from today?”

“Um, yes, shall we?”

“Yes! I look forward to learning from you!”

For the next ten days, I trained in swordsmanship with Duke Bright every morning.

My days repeated the same pattern: training in the morning, preparing for the Debutante in the afternoon, and talking with the Crown Prince through the spirit stone in the evening.

And so, ten nights passed, and finally, the day of the first exam dawned.

“Hoooom.”

Maybe because I hadn’t slept well. I kept yawning, so I rubbed the back of my neck and stretched.

“Are we still far?”

Watching the scenery change rapidly outside the window, I leaned back in my seat. Being cooped up in the carriage for an hour already was starting to feel stifling.

At least I was grateful that the Bright family’s carriage was the most comfortable I’d ever ridden in. The Bright family’s carriage was on a whole different level from the public carriages that made your rear end sore after a long ride.

Such softness without the jolts!

“Lady Iris.”

While I was praising the Bright family’s carriage and reminding myself once again how terrible the public carriages I used to take were, I heard a cautious voice. At the same time, the carriage stopped.

“We have arrived at the exam venue.”

The coachman, who had descended from the driver’s seat, announced our arrival in a polite voice. He promptly opened the carriage door.

“Hooooo…”

Before stepping out, I took one last deep breath in and out. I thought I wasn’t nervous, but upon hearing that we’d arrived, my body trembled.

Ignoring my pounding heart, I stepped out of the carriage. People gathered in small groups spotted me and shouted.

“She’s appeared!”

“It’s Lady Subrina!”

“Hello, Lady Subrina of Viscount Subrina. Could we have an interview…”

*Oh jeez, that startled me.*

I had expected reporters to be there, but there were more than I thought. It seemed the fact that my cavalier was the Crown Prince had made things worse. Just a few days ago, a reporter had even tried to climb over the Marquess’s wall and was chased out by the guards. What nerve.

“Whoa.”

“She really is identical…”

As the reporters swarmed, naturally, attention was drawn to me. Even people who had been heading inside stopped to look at me and whisper among themselves. *I can hear you, you know.*

“Please stop!”

The knight Duke Bright had assigned to escort me stepped in to block the charging reporters. The coachman also stood in their way, protecting me. But two people were no match for the swarm of reporters rushing in like a hive of bees.

“Lady Subrina! Just one word, please!”

“What is your reason for applying to the Imperial Knights? Are you taking over the family in place of Lady Bright?”

Ignoring the reporters’ questions, I walked on in silence. Once I got inside the exam venue, I’d be free from this pack of hungry wolves.

*[Reporters are not permitted to enter the selection exam venue. Violators will be severely punished for disregarding the Emperor’s command.]*

The Crown Prince, anticipating the commotion, had sent an official notice to the newspapers, preemptively warning them. Knowing they would lose their chance once I got inside, the reporters persistently followed me, trying to get any kind of story.

“The reason Marquess Bright attacked the newspapers…”

“Lady!”

*Wow, they’re really persistent.* Leeches would be better than this. Just as I was starting to get annoyed by the tenacious reporters, the spirit stone necklace around my neck suddenly began to glow. In that instant, out of the blue, a fierce gust of wind whipped up around me.

“Aack!”

“Wh-what’s going on?”

The reporters staggered under the powerful gale. The wind was so strong that several reporters dropped their pens and notepads. The notepads that escaped their hands flew through the air. Hats and handkerchiefs were the same.

“No!”

“My notepad!”

Other things aside, the notepads were practically lifelines for the reporters. They scrambled after the notepads that were being carried away by the wind.