Chapter 5. Tanya Ansberg (7)
By the time the condition of the Ansberg family soldiers had improved, Tanya had become quite used to life here.
In particular, his intimacy with the hostess, Diana, was very high, to the point where Carol, who was watching from the side, laughed, saying that she treated her like a daughter.
“It’s late today.”
“Ahahahaha… It’s embarrassing, but I overslept.”
“What’s wrong with sleeping late? I often sleep late too.”
As if to disprove that he had melted into this place, recently, when Ludwig went out to the yard for his morning routine, Tanya came there first and kept his seat.
Today, I wondered if he was feeling unwell because he thought he was strangely late.
“But Tanya, is there a reason you come out every morning to watch?”
“why? no?”
“No, I don’t like it, but I think it’s a problem from before… … .”
Even though there is already a woman he likes, as a man he doesn’t hate the fact that a pretty-looking girl watches him practice every morning. I was just wondering what the reason was.
Unlike Emilia, who had no knowledge of swordsmanship, she wondered if there was any reason for her to spend time visiting places where others were practicing swordsmanship.
Ludwig glanced at him even after he brought it up, wondering if she might have heard it as a celebration, but Tanya sat down on the grass on the side and rested her chin on her chin, answering indifferently.
“Emilia and I often looked around when we were together, right? It was more fun than I thought.”
“yes?”
Ludwig nodded his head slightly as if he finally understood, but at the same time he had small doubts.
‘Didn’t Emilia hate showing her training?’
It must have been a fairly established habit that made even the lady-in-waiting, Grita, avoid the seat.
Or is it that childhood friends are put on the line of exception? Well, it might not be that surprising since he nailed it in the first place with his own mouth saying that it was not necessary to protect it.
Even when I stayed here, I later tolerated the maids Paula and Grita watching the game from the side.
“Why are you standing there blankly? Aren’t you practicing?”
“I have to. I just thought of Emilia for some reason, and without realizing it… … .”
“Huh… … .”
Tanya looked like she had a lot to say, but she nodded her head a few times before swallowing back her words.
Ludwig, who had no way of noticing that fact, began warming up in his seat.
“Until the warm-up… You are sincere.”
“If you don’t do this, there are times when your muscles cramp in the middle.”
There was also a small behind-the-scenes story related to this preparation exercise.
Even when training with Emilia, she always warmed up, so he would do warm-up exercises together as if he were following him.
However, after Emilia left, she was not used to doing it alone, so she started training without warming up, but her body screamed because she moved violently.
‘I was complacent… … .’
When I think of the agony at that time, I realize how important this process is.
A genius female swordsman who would later be called the Swordsman. Does it mean that there was a meaning and reason for each small process of training?
“Ludwig, can’t I teach you some swordsmanship too?”
“fence? I’m not very knowledgeable either… Wouldn’t it be better to learn when Emilia returns?”
“Do you know when that time will come and wait?”
Tanya responded bluntly with a sullen face. Realizing that it was something he didn’t even think about, he nodded slightly.
Of course, there was nothing I couldn’t teach you. It doesn’t mean that what she wants is to make her a master of swordsmanship.
But what worried me was Tanya’s body. Even in the original work, she is set to be sickly. Could it be that she moved her body incorrectly and got sick?
“You’re weak, are you okay? I won’t move violently, but I’m worried.”
These were the words that came out of Ludwig’s mouth as he loosened his shoulders after receiving a wooden sword from Paula, who was standing next to him.
Tanya was calmly moved to realize that she was caring for her, but at the same time, she wondered how she knew that.
“How do you know that I am weak?”
“Yeah, I heard it from Lel.”
It wasn’t a lie. In fact, Lel mentioned it once as if passing by. Still, the stuttering was probably some kind of numbness in my feet.
As if to confirm, Tanya turned her gaze to Lel, who was standing next to him like a manger, and our eyes met. She silently nodded with a small smile on her face.
After completing the confirmation process, Tanya raised the corner of her mouth happily.
“I can’t do it if you’re really worried. I should just watch.”
“yes. I’ll finish it as soon as possible and play.”
“Shi, I told you not to treat me like a child!”
I would be lying if I said that he had no desire to finish his training quickly.
But before that, I couldn’t tolerate the way he treated himself as a whining child.
Tanya immediately jumps up from her seat and begins to protest vehemently.
Could it be because he is shorter than Sophia, the shortest woman he can remember? Seeing this, I really felt like a child.
Of course, the moment she brought that fact out of her mouth, she had to take her anger even more intensely with her body.
“Then would you like to have a snack? Looks like Paula brought some.”
A basket and a cloth mat that Paula had kept in a sunny place. When I asked what the contents were, I thought it was a snack.
Tanya isn’t a glutton, but she prefers snacks between meals, so her eyes twinkle when she hears the story.
‘Looks like a kid.’
Ludwig, who couldn’t bear to mention the words and finally swallowed them, gave Paula a glance.
As a competent woman, she bowed her head slightly to answer, then immediately spread out a mat on the seat and took out the contents of the basket one by one.
When he invites Rell to have fun together without having to notice, she sits on the mat while glancing at Ludwig.
An unexpected little picnic was taking place in the yard with the practitioner left alone.
* * * * * * *
He is a good man with practicality.
It was a sentiment that Tanya uttered inwardly so that Ludwig could not hear it.
As soon as the training was over, he asked if he would like to go out out of the blue, so he responded without thinking.
As a result, Tanya had to enjoy a picnic with Ludwig out of the blue in a nearby hill where the current location was unknown.
“… What kind of picnic is this all of a sudden?”
“uh? come now?”
It’s a place that’s not too far away, but to think that someone who came all the way here in a wagon would finally ask such a question.
The two maids who were spreading the mat also made eye contact and burst into small smiles.
That’s why Tanya’s reaction was so funny.
“You said you were going to play. Do you like picnics?”
“I don’t hate it, but… It’s so out of the blue.”
Even if I had gone out to a place like a village street, I wouldn’t have felt so out of the blue.
Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it. If I were to ask which one, it would have been something to welcome with open arms.
While I was sitting on a mat and watching him practice, I thought it would be perfect for a picnic because it was a nice day, but I was a bit confused when it came to pass.
“Because it’s a nice day, I thought it would be nice to have a picnic.”
“That, is it?”
Tanya blushed for no reason at the fact that Ludwig had the same thoughts as her.
As he watched his heated face cool down with a hand fan, pride and compassion coexisted in Rell’s heart.
“And I heard from Lell. He said he couldn’t go out often because his body was weak.”
“Yes… … ?”
Tanya blinked her eyes as if to check if she had heard something wrong.
It is true that the body was on the weak side.
However, because she was Tanya who liked to go outside by nature, even when she was in the estate, she used to wander around without paying attention to her body.
For her, physical weakness and free wanderlust were completely different things.
What the hell did her maid say?
Tanya’s eyes and Lel’s eyes, which were rolling around, met for an instant.
It was a fleeting moment, but Rell didn’t miss that moment and put his index finger to his lips and winked one eye.
‘Lel… … .’
Only then did I know That she designed all the situations so far for herself.
Tanya, unable to bear the words, silently recited the name of the faithful lady-in-waiting. There was a ripple of calm emotion in her heart.
“You and I both seem to have good maids.”
“right? I agree.”
She actively sympathized with Ludwig’s brief remarks.
What a talented lady-in-waiting she was. His maid, Paula, seemed to have considerable abilities, but as expected, she was only Lel.
When I go back to the manor, I immediately tell my father that he will give her a long vacation and a reward. so promised
“Now that the mat is spread out, how about sitting down and talking? two minutes.”
“It should be. great job.”
While the two had a short conversation, the ladies-in-waiting spread out a mat and finished cleaning up the surroundings.
I could feel the elegance of Paula as she politely guided me to my seat.
‘It’s very old-fashioned.’
Even though she is a lady-in-waiting, she has a lot to learn from. Tanya inadvertently headed for the seat with the thought that she would like to resemble that kind of elegance.
It was quite slippery for a grassy field, so I stumbled along the way, but fortunately, Lel held me back, so no major division occurred.
“Since you have eaten, I prepared simple things.”
Most of what Paula and Lell took out of the basket were sweet treats.
For Ludwig and Tanya, who prefer sweet food, it is like a treasure chest. Each time the contents were revealed one by one, the two people’s faces brightened.
They were not very diverse, as they were carefully selected from those that would not collapse while riding in a carriage, such as Kifli or Cannoli.
However, picnics are fun just to spend time leisurely in a place with clear air and beautiful scenery.
The two of them were not narrow-minded enough to stumble over the number of snacks.
“Yes… ! Whoa, the weather is nice.”
Tanya stretched out and inhaled the air around her, then began to chew on the snacks again.
She hurriedly urged Rell for a drink, probably feeling thirsty from eating only foods that make it easy to lose moisture.
“My lady, you can eat slowly. Because no one will take it away.”
“I-I know… ! Are you treating Ludwig as a child?”
Tanya gulped down the brewed but cooled tea.
It wasn’t long after the coming-of-age ceremony, but there were times when I was still dissatisfied with Lel’s behavior, which secretly treated him as a child.
I felt like I wanted to say one more thing today, but I decided to step back at this point thinking of her mindset I had seen earlier.
“It’s a really nice place. Is this the same place you came with Emilia?”
“With Emilia? No, unfortunately, we never came together.”
“That… they say?”
Ludwig’s calmly shaking his head made Tanya very surprised.
If you’re in the prime of your relationship, wouldn’t you like to have a tryst in a place like this without being bothered by other people’s gaze? Did it feel different from the relationship you thought you were dating? Perhaps, unfortunately, the time was not right.
It wouldn’t be of much use to wonder alone like this, so she decided to ask the person directly, and immediately opened her mouth.
“If you’re in a relationship, don’t you two come alone? I’m a bit sorry for dropping by first.”
It was a place where even friends could come together. However, I just thought it was a place more suitable for lovers than friends.
When Tanya, who felt sorry for stealing Emilia’s turn for no reason, spoke as if blaming herself, a moment of silence passed.
And not long after, his mouth, which had been silent as he swallowed the stumbling cookie, opened.
“there… is it tanya? Me and Emilia are lovers, what do you mean?”
“… uh?”
His voice tinged with wonder.
It was not only Tanya who turned into a rabbit-like face that had been hit by an arrow, but also Lel, who was watching the scene from the side.