Chapter 19: Duel (2)

“Why is it you?”

Milin struggled in Lian’s arms.

Her eyes, clearly saying “I hate this,” made Lian feel rather uncomfortable.

“Are… are you hurt?”

“Let go, I’m perfectly fine!”

As soon as Lian relaxed his hold, Milin bounced up full of energy.

She glanced over at Prince Nolan, who was being helped up by the burly officer Aoke, and saw that he was looking curiously in her direction.

This guy’s stamina is really lacking… But he still managed to counterattack like that even in that situation?

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Although it sounded like he was asking about his own injuries, the Prince knew that wasn’t what Aoke was really asking.

“Should I say it’s to be expected from someone who trained under the Sword Saint? Her sword is fast. But even trickier is her strength… it’s beyond what I imagined. I can’t take her full force as I am now.”

The Prince brushed the dust from his clothes and, with Aoke’s help, stood up.

While he and Milin sized each other up, Vera walked over and offered her concern:

“Prince, are you hurt?”

“No. Thank you, Princess, for your mercy.”

“Hmph… why do you ask if he’s hurt first? So biased, Teacher!”

The Prince smiled at them, while Milin snorted and turned her face away.

“Alright then. Are you hurt?”

Vera’s tone was as if coaxing a child.

“Of course not!”

“Then that’s settled, isn’t it?”

“So did I win?”

“Let’s call it a draw. Since you know your stamina’s better, why did you rush to attack? The Prince’s style is actually the one you should use. Just from that, you can tell he has more experience than you.”

“What can I do? The only ones I’ve had a proper match with are Teacher and the guards at home.”

“Do you still have the strength to keep going?”

Vera walked over to the Prince and picked up the Practice Sword he had dropped during the match.

“Of course I can keep going!”

“Then you’ll fight her next.”

As she spoke, Vera tossed the sword to Lian, who was standing to the side.

“Eh, eh, eh?!”

Lian caught the sword in a panic.

She was about to scold Vera, “What on earth are you doing?” but when she turned, she saw Milin eagerly looking her way.

“M-Miss, do you really want to fight me? I’m still wearing this dress…”

“What’s wrong with that? You’re actually really good, aren’t you? Didn’t you block Teacher Vera’s punch even while wearing a dress before? If you have to, you can go change clothes.”

Milin did a few stretches on the spot, then picked up her sword that had fallen earlier and swung it a few times in the air with a “swish, swish, swish.”

She was clearly serious.

So Lian could only send a pleading look toward the Prince and his companions—

“The Maid can actually take a hit from the Sword Saint? Looks like I was blind.”

Nolan and Aoke looked at her with utter astonishment.

Lian couldn’t tell what they really meant by that look, but it was clear that neither of them found it at all improper for a mere Maid to spar with a Princess.

Vera, you traitor…!

“What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and get ready. Or are you really going to go change?”

Lian glared at Vera, but was shot down in one sentence.

“…No need.”

She could only turn around in frustration to face Milin, who had already taken her stance.

Guess I’ll just go through the motions… In any case, there’s no way she would ever actually lay a hand on this girl.

“I warn you, don’t underestimate me. You saw my strength just now, didn’t you?”

Seeing Lian holding the knightly Practice Sword—a weapon meant for two hands—with only one hand, Milin frowned.

She kicked off the ground, her body shooting forward like an arrow released from the string.

She was even faster than before—probably wanting to decide the match in an instant, so she went all out right from the start.

That was perfect for Lian, who could naturally play the part of being caught off guard and go down without a hitch.

Just as she had made up her mind and was waiting for Milin’s attack to land, a sudden chill swept past her back.

“…!”

Her body, sensing danger, moved instinctively to dodge.

She slipped past Milin’s sword at a speed so fast it left an afterimage behind.

Everyone present, except Vera, thought their eyes were playing tricks on them:

“She should’ve been hit… what happened?”

“Did you see clearly?”

“No.”

The Prince and Aoke were left confused.

Milin, finally spotting Lian dodging to the side, asked in a startled, suspicious voice,

“How did you dodge that?”

“…What are you doing? What if you hurt her?”

Lian didn’t answer her, but instead fixed her gaze tightly on Vera, who stood off to the side with her hands behind her back.

“Fight seriously.”

“Where are you looking!”

Seeing Lian ignore her, Milin grew even more irritated and launched another attack, moving faster and faster.

Lian parried Milin’s sword with the most awkward posture possible, making it look as if she was barely able to block due to slow reactions.

She’d originally planned to pretend to lose on the very first strike, but Vera had stopped her.

From behind, Vera had sent out a formless wave of magical Sword Qi—if she hadn’t dodged in time, even she would’ve suffered.

Vera truly lived up to her Sword Saint title.

She could unleash Sword Qi barehanded and even control its force, letting it vanish before hitting the edge of the Training Ground, so no one but Lian noticed.

Moreover, the Sword Qi hadn’t even been aimed along Milin’s path; even if Lian dodged, it wouldn’t have hit Milin.

Lian had already started to see Milin as a daughter.

But having never actually experienced being a parent, she still had no idea how to interact or what feelings she should show.

But there was one thing she could confirm again and again, something that would never change—no matter what, she could not accept even the slightest chance that this girl might get hurt.

“If you can’t keep going, just surrender! You look so pathetic like this! I told you to go change clothes!”

Unlike her Maid duties, fighting was Lian’s specialty.

Even when acting, she could do it flawlessly.

“Huff… huff… I said I didn’t want to fight!”

Sometimes she nearly tripped on her skirt, sometimes she had to hold back to avoid tearing her clothes—in short, she made full use of all the disadvantages brought on by unsuitable attire.

Her clumsy performance even made Milin feel bad, and she began to hold back.

Vera also stopped attacking her from the shadows.

Feeling the end was finally near, Lian was about to seize the moment and admit defeat when a direct declaration came from the one she had been watching out for on the sidelines:

“That’s enough.”

Though she didn’t know why Vera suddenly called a halt, Lian felt as if she had been granted amnesty.

Having to watch out for Vera’s ambushes while pretending to give it her all—this was no small strain on her mind.

“Don’t sit on the ground… your clothes are getting dirty. Honestly, you really shouldn’t force yourself like this!”

Seeing Lian sitting dejectedly on the ground, exhausted, Milin scratched her head and ran over to help her up.