Chapter 33

The first page of the letter was a casual greeting, asking how my parents were doing and if the county was peaceful and uneventful.

But the second page onward was different.

“Hmm. Ten laps around the training ground, one hundred vertical cuts, one hundred horizontal cuts.”

That’s right. The main content of the letter was training methods I could practice alone.

To be exact, it was basic physical fitness training to restore my stiff body.

I only had a chance to win right now, but I didn’t have the skill to guarantee a victory. Even though I had learned it in the past, I hadn’t touched a sword in years.

However, since sword skills couldn’t be conveyed through a letter, and I couldn’t let on that I was learning the sword, I had only requested training methods to regain my feel for it from Wilhelm.

That’s why the contents of the letter were not about swordsmanship but training focused on the basics.

But, surprisingly…

“That’s too much.”

I almost suspected that Wilhelm wanted to raise me as a swordswoman again.

It was the same when I first became Wilhelm’s student. All I wanted was the ability to protect myself, but even then, Wilhelm was overly ambitious, saying I was his first student.

‘Back then, I thought he was trying to turn me into a reclusive master of the continent.’

I laughed faintly, recalling the training volume from the past, but Annie, who glanced at my training regimen from the side, frowned.

Seeing her wanting to object to the seemingly excessive schedule, I quickly folded the letter and said,

“Still, I have to do it. If I follow this, at least the stiffness I gained while attending the academy will be gone.”

“Chacha…”

At that, Annie could only show a worried expression and said nothing more.

I smiled as if to reassure her, immediately wrote and signed the document, and handed it to Annie.

“Please deliver this to the Knight Commander.”

Since I had the training method, it was time to actively loosen up my body.

***

As soon as the sun set, I changed into comfortable clothes and began running on the empty Second Training Ground.

The document I sent to the Knight Commander stated my intention to use the Second Training Ground during the evening hours for a month. Since I was the final decision-maker, it was practically a notification to him.

Naturally, I chose a time that wouldn’t interfere with the knights’ training.

The First Training Ground was heavily used by the knights and was difficult for me to use, and even the Second Training Ground had many knights passing by during the early hours, so I didn’t have many options.

‘I don’t want to become a spectacle.’

On the way to the training ground, I received many worried glances from servants heading home or taking a break.

But there were also those who cheered me on, so it wasn’t a bad feeling.

It was a night where the moon shone brightly in the darkening sky. The training ground, clearly visible under the moonlight, didn’t need any additional lighting.

Pat, pat.

My footsteps felt light as I ran for the first time in a long while.

‘As expected, my stamina has dropped since I didn’t train at the academy. My body is also stiff.’

After about five laps, I was short of breath. I felt like I could run more than this before.

But given my lifestyle, it was inevitable. Even just considering the time since I came to the North, I spent much more time sitting at a desk.

I was slowing my increasingly rapid breathing and trying to continue running when I suddenly heard a voice.

“What in the world are you doing?”

I turned around at the unexpected voice and saw a figure slowly walking from the outskirts of the training ground.

The figure slowly emerged from the shadow that obscured the moonlight, revealing himself.

“Your Grace.”

Nine stopped, facing me directly.

‘Why is he here?’

I thought he might be concerned after hearing the news of the duel with Roana, but I didn’t expect him to come in person.

Since he had spoken, I couldn’t just keep running, so I reluctantly approached him.

Annie quickly came up and handed me a towel.

I wasn’t sweating profusely, but a little perspiration had gathered, so I lightly dabbed my face with the towel.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I looked up at him again; his beauty still suited the moonlight perfectly.

Nine raised his chillingly bright eyes, scanned me up and down, and stated the purpose of his visit.

“Withdraw the challenge.”

It seemed this matter felt serious enough to him that he couldn’t overlook it. He was likely harboring the same worries as everyone else.

Though I wasn’t sure if it was genuine worry.

I silently looked at his hardened face before speaking firmly.

“I apologize for causing you concern, but that’s impossible.”

Hearing my words, Nine lowered his eyes as if suppressing something. I couldn’t tell if it was displeasure toward me or something else.

“Have you forgotten that you are pregnant?”

“I know.”

‘I know better than anyone that I’m not pregnant.’ 

I repeated the unspeakable words internally.

Nine looked down at me with an uncomprehending expression.

“This would be difficult to view as a fair duel even in the North. Although she has retired, my sister was a person who held a knightly title. Set a proxy instead.”

I met his gaze directly. His eyes, looking at me without wavering, contained their usual unreadable emotion, tinged with blue light.

Perhaps he was viewing me as foolish. Maybe anger was suppressed within him.

I couldn’t know exactly, but my current action was definitely not what Nine wanted.

I had always acted cautiously to avoid provoking him, but this time was different.

I wasn’t going to overly shrink away and worry about his mood anymore. I proudly stated my opinion without backing down.

“Setting a proxy is precisely what wouldn’t be fair. Nor do I want to accomplish my own task by borrowing someone else’s hand.”

I wasn’t a real criminal, and the false accusation would be cleared up eventually.

Since my current action wasn’t harming the Eclipse Grand Ducal Family, there was no problem.

“No matter what you say, I apologize, but I cannot withdraw this.”

I still felt my heart flutter when I looked at him, but I wasn’t so foolish as to ruin everything for the sake of love.

Nine stared intently at me, trying to read something from my unwavering gaze, and finally closed his eyes.

I waited for a moment, but he did not continue speaking.

Leaving him to his silence as he seemed to be collecting his thoughts, I turned around and started running on the training ground again.

I figured he would leave on his own once he decided that talking was useless.

One lap, two laps.

“…”

‘Is he still organizing his thoughts?’

I glanced at the large figure I couldn’t ignore out of the corner of my eye.

‘No? His eyes are wide open.’

Nine, whom I thought would leave quickly, didn’t take his eyes off me even when I finished running all the laps and picked up a wooden sword.

I kept my eyes straight to avoid making eye contact, doing my best to ignore his uncomfortable gaze as I bustled about.

‘I can’t exactly tell him to leave, either.’

His gaze felt even more intense once I started swinging the wooden sword after finishing the ten laps around the training ground.

If I had wondered what he was trying to confirm while I was running, now it felt like a persistent scrutiny, as if he were seeing something in me.

‘Why, why is he staring so intensely? Does a Sword Master sense that I’ve learned swordsmanship?’

Cold sweat ran down my back, but I couldn’t afford to be clumsy, as it would ruin the training, so I ultimately continued to ignore him.

I just wished he would lose interest and leave quickly.

Whoosh!

The man who had been constantly on my mind was no longer a focal point once I began swinging the wooden sword.

My full attention was on the tip of the sword as I concentrated, swinging the wooden sword with a straight posture.

I had forgotten how long I had been swinging the wooden sword, and it was only when the refreshing breeze blew away a drop of sweat that I suddenly snapped back to reality.

‘It was cold when I came out.’

I was so absorbed in my training that sweat was pouring despite the cool weather.

The air felt refreshing after working up a sweat from the training, even though it must have gotten cooler than when I started.

I wiped my wet bangs with a damp hand, and the cool air chilled my forehead.

As I was cooling down, Van approached me and handed me a drink.

“Van? When did you arrive?”

“Not long ago.”

Startled, I looked for Annie, and she was hurrying towards me with a towel behind Van. And further back…

Nine was walking toward me.

‘He was still here?’

I was flustered, wondering if he had been watching me the entire time, but I didn’t want to show it, so I tried to act natural as I took the drink from Van.

For this kind of thirst, water with just salt and sugar was better than other drinks, and Van must have known, as I could taste it in the water he handed me.

I coolly drank the water, which served as an electrolyte drink substitute.

But half of that drink was quickly spat out.

“I will be your sword instructor starting tomorrow.”

Pfft!

Because I was too surprised, I spat it out.