Chapter 11. While the maids are gone (5)
The two of them changed into clothes that were easy to move in and stood on the grounds in the mansion as they did in the morning.
I couldn’t fight this morning because of the circumstances. No, rather than failing, it would be more correct to say that Emilia, in the state of maid, skipped a day.
In the meantime, Sophia heard the news that Ludwig’s swordsmanship skills were improving day by day, and expressed her opinion that she wanted to see the two fight.
It was a bit of a sudden request, but it wasn’t a difficult request, so the two readily agreed.
“I think I should put down the title of lady-in-waiting for a while.”
The words that came out of Emilia’s mouth as she swung the wooden sword in the air a couple of times to check its condition.
Ludwig stopped laughing.
At this point, I don’t know if it’s sincere or erratic.
“I wonder if it would be okay to stay as it is.”
“You can’t be a court lady and hit your master, right?”
“Well… … .”
Then, was it okay to become a handmaid and hug and kiss the master?
I was just curious about how the maid of honor was considered in her mind, but I decided not to ask.
It’s because today’s girl doesn’t seem to have a way to deal with it theoretically.
“Eh, Princess Emilia’s clothing has a very open feeling.”
Meanwhile, whether or not the two were talking, Sophia’s attention was focused only on the outfit Emilia was wearing.
“You mean this? After all, it’s good to wear comfortable clothes when sparring.”
“It is, but… … .”
The person in question said it insignificantly, but Sophia, who was watching it, was embarrassed.
Currently, Emilia was wearing clothes that were so tight that the lines of her body were clearly visible, but the amount of exposed skin was quite large by Sophia’s standards.
In particular, there was no cloth covering the lower belly area, so the outline of her lean abs was clearly visible.
How many times did a girl who had no ties to martial arts, let alone swordsmanship, see this type of attire?
More than anything else, looking down at my poor body made me feel embarrassed because I was being compared.
“You are in very good shape… … .”
“Because I didn’t neglect training.”
She’s gotten a little better now, but in the past, she was Emily, who even cut meal times like a knife in order to build a body suitable for swordsmanship.
It is not simply a body that has been cultivated through physical training.
Knowing this, wouldn’t Sophia feel awe beyond envy?
“I… I don’t know if this question is rude, but out of the two of you, who is the better?”
foot.
The moment he heard Sophia’s question, Ludwig burst into laughter without knowing it.
Apparently, since he had heard that his skills had improved considerably, he must have thought that he might be compared to Emilia.
I’m grateful for raising expectations, but the fact that I had to destroy those expectations made me feel sorry.
“From my point of view, even saying that would be rude to Emilia.”
“yes!? Is that so?”
She said it a little bit, but Sophia wasn’t so stupid that she couldn’t understand the meaning behind it.
In other words, doesn’t it mean that the gap between the two people’s skills is that big?
Sofia stared blankly at Emilia, blinking her eyes like a frightened squirrel.
At that, Emilia raised the corner of her mouth without denying or affirming and slapped Ludwig on the arm.
“If I say that, what am I going to do?”
“But is it true? When the day comes when I defeat Emilia, I might say something else then.”
They practice sparring every day to improve each other’s skills, and when they were together under the swordsman, they competed with real swords.
Even so, Ludwig never had a proper victory.
There were times when they were evenly matched, but in the end, the procedure was to end with Emilia’s victory by decision.
In Ludwig’s eyes, there was something about her that could not be expressed only through martial arts or swordsmanship.
For example, the main characters in novels usually fight their enemies with a guaranteed victory.
It means to fight with a guaranteed victory regardless of any powerful enemy, regardless of one’s strength.
When he sparred with Emilia, he often received such impressions.
There were countless cases where he seemed to be pushing himself, but at some point he was looking at the sky or the ceiling.
“It might be different today.”
“I hope so. Because I have pride as a man too.”
“I look forward to it, Ludwig.”
Emilia was sincerely wishing.
The desire to be second to none in terms of swords still lingers, but even so, this man dreamed more than anyone else of a future beyond himself.
Although it may sound paradoxical.
“I don’t care, Emilia.”
“There’s no way you’re holding hands just because you’re a lover, right? Don’t worry.”
There was never a time when I wasn’t sincere with him.
At least the first time I competed, I didn’t put all my effort to gauge his skills, but after that, I always gave my best.
How disrespectful it was to see a prosecutor who was trying to be equal to himself as a sewage and not be sincere.
“Well, I was worried for nothing.”
Retracting his words, Ludwig distanced himself from her.
Due to her personality that values pride in the first place, there was no way she would commit an act that would trample on the pride of others.
More than anything else, she must have known better than anyone else that she couldn’t be happy over a girl who didn’t give her all.
“You two, don’t get hurt… … !”
Sophia, who was suddenly worried, expressed her concern with her hands neatly gathered as if praying.
To be honest, I thought it was easy because it was Dalian, but the atmosphere between the two was unusual.
Rather than the sweetness between lovers, it should be said that it feels like a burning desire to compete with a competitor right in front of you.
I was worried that I might get into an accident because I was too immersed in it.
At Sophia’s words, the two of them smiled and nodded as if to say not to worry.
Rather, it could be dangerous if you were a beginner, but the two were people with enough skills to demonstrate their full potential within the line of Dalian.
It is also the driving force that has allowed me to do my morning routine without any other accidents.
“Then, please take care of me.”
“Please take care of me, Ludwig.”
Standing in the middle of the grass, the man and woman bowed their heads respectfully toward each other.
As the two men stanced, even a small piece of soft air that remained was sucked into the wooden sword.
‘The air changes at once.’
Sophia, who had spread her distance to avoid interfering with the sparring, also recognized the change.
It is said that she is a girl who has never even dipped her feet in martial arts because she has no ties, but there is a flow that she can still feel.
If I had to express it, would you say the air is tight? No, in this case, the feeling of being cold might be more suitable.
The feeling of standing on countless black forests.
A pair of sweet lovers are nowhere to be found, two eyes burning only with the will to win each other.
‘Is this also some kind of expression of affection?’
It might be their way of love that is unusual and even miraculous.
Thinking so, Sophia squeezed her tiny hand tightly.
If I didn’t do this, I felt like I would be swallowed up in this severe air at once.
“… … .”
The player was taken over by Emilia.
In general, in Dalian, it is often said that the first attack is conceded to a minion, but that was not the case for them.
Because she had never looked at Ludwig below herself and considered it an equal sparring.
shhhhh. Emilia’s model moved sharply, and the powerful wooden sword rushed towards Ludwig’s stomach.
The first attack was an act unbecoming of her, which was relatively passive in the sense of a search battle.
However, Ludwig unexpectedly skillfully parried the attack and immediately launched a counterattack.
Percussion! Retrieving the sword, Emilia raised the blade to block the attack, but the weight of the sword was considerable.
gigg. gigg. Even though wooden swords collided with each other, not real swords, their own soldiers screamed.
‘indeed.’
Emilia let out an exclamation inwardly at the sensation transmitted through her hands.
Recently, whenever I sparred with him, I felt that the weight of the sword was increasing day by day.
Even though he hadn’t neglected his training, it was clear that the difference in strength was slowly diminishing.
‘You’re really following me.’
Unlike himself, he was not a person who had been practicing swords since childhood.
Nevertheless, being able to follow him so close behind him is a talent and a talent, but it must have been followed by a kind of tenacity.
What made him change so much? I was able to derive answers very easily today that I would not have been able to find in the past.
damn right! Emilia opened the distance after skillfully parrying his breathless double attack.
A smile crept across her lips.
It’s a pleasure. The fact that the request he blindly handed over to him was engraved deep in his heart.
The reality that a change came to him because of himself.
‘I’ll have to live up to expectations.’
Then there was only one thing to do.
While wishing him to surpass himself, to remain as a person who will always be a milestone for him.
Seeing himself ahead, he will follow closely, improving himself as always.
It would be his duty to walk this road silently, waiting for the day he would be overtaken.
“Suck!”
“… … !”
Quack! The sound of not swords but heavy blunt weapons clashing filled the premises.
That must mean that the weight of Ludwig’s attack this time was considerable.
To put it bluntly, even Emilia, who had adapted to fighting with the swordsman, lost her composure for an instant.
Ludwig was the first to smile in the tug-of-war of power that continued at such a close distance that their faces could touch each other.
Traditionally, in battles between swordsmen, there are times when you intuitively sense that the atmosphere has been overturned with the feeling of agreement, even if there is no effective hit.
That was just the case now.
The workshop that followed was so fast and intense that it was difficult to even breathe.
If Ludwig tends to push the opponent and find gaps, Emilia, on the contrary, takes a method of counterattacking by blocking as calmly as possible.
Even now, it seems to be pushed back, but I was just holding my breath as much as I could until I found his gap.
‘Gap.’
As if to prove this, while blocking Ludwig’s attacks, she found a momentary gap and immediately counterattacked.
shhhhh. The wooden sword cutting through the wind pierced his stomach sharply.
Ludwig hurriedly retrieved the sword and raised his sword face to block the attack, just as Emilia had done earlier, but in the aftermath, the balance of his body was slightly tilted.
Even this was a subtle loophole that would be difficult for a culprit to notice, but the opponent was a female swordsman who would be called the next swordsman.
After thrusting the clogged sword tip into the opponent’s sword, he immediately stabbed his empty shoulder blade.
This alone must be enough to let go of the sword.
It was the moment when Emilia, who thought that if she entered properly, would solidify her victorious spirit, smiled like a winner earlier.
“!?”
what the heck was that
Ludwig, who avoided her blow with a movement that was difficult to describe, immediately raised his sword from the bottom up.
She managed to block it, but it was impossible to completely block it with the posture she was taking, so her new model fell off without balancing her power.
“Emilia! Are you okay!?”
“Okay, it’s okay. I was just surprised.”
There was no damage to the body, but it was quite a loud sight for a third person to see, so Ludwig approached in surprise.
Emilia, who stuttered in response to his question, looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
It feels as if time has stopped.
It would be more correct to call it a spirit rather than a mere movement of the body.
It was something so absurd and alien.
I guessed for a moment whether it was magic, but I just shook my head.
In the first place, he wasn’t even a naive man enough to use magic because of his desire to compete in sparring to improve his swordsmanship, and he knew that his magical ability was not enough to be put to practical use in battle.
“It is my defeat. Your last move was amazing, Ludwig.”
“I was just lucky.”
The move he had taken a while ago was something different even to himself.
The feeling of an invisible hand pushing my back from behind and guiding my hand from the front.
I tried to relive the feeling of that moment by squeezing my hand once, but it was not easy.
Perhaps it was a miracle that God, who had pity for the man who had never won against his lover, wanted to build up his pride.
‘Anyway, I feel good.’
It was the first victory gained from the next swordsman.
Even if tomorrow passes and the day after tomorrow, the daily life of losing again continues as usual.
This valuable victory will always remain in my memory.
On the one hand, it felt like I was even a little closer to her, and I felt proud.
The fact that he gained the strength to protect the woman he loves is a blessing greater than anything else for a man.