All Parents Feel the Same
"Parents with kids all feel the same."
"Yeah. That young lady's gonna win. And it'll be a total beatdown."
Just as Kara said, the situation in the center of the training ground was unfolding in a subtly one-sided manner.
Clang! Clang! Thwack! The wooden swords clashed fiercely, dragging out a long rally. Rainer unleashed a mad barrage of attacks while Violetta barely defended, leading to an intense back-and-forth where they traded points one by one.
The score went 3-2, 4-4, 7-6... The match progressed with a razor-thin margin that kept everyone guessing.
Students from the other factions gripped their hands in suspense, cheering wildly.
"Whoa! What a nail-biter!"
"That Rainer guy's got a shitty personality, but damn, his skills are the real deal? He's holding his own against the East's rep!"
But to me and Kara, the brutal truth hidden behind all that flashy swordplay was crystal clear. The two of us let out short, incredulous snorts at the exact same moment and muttered,
"She's dragging it out on purpose."
"Yeah, totally playing with her toy."
That's right. Violetta had leisure to spare in her movements. She was perfectly calculating his muscle twitches, breathing, and step width like some equation, reading every single one of Rainer's attack trajectories in advance.
Pretending to be pushed back on defense was just to wear down his stamina, and even the moments when Rainer scored were nothing but gaps she'd deliberately left open.
Violetta wanted Kairun, who'd hit rock bottom after his bloodbath with Kara earlier that morning, to recover fully.
Beating an opponent on the verge of collapse wouldn't count as a perfect victory that elevated the East's intellect and honor.
To buy that recovery time, Violetta was forcibly stretching out a match she could've ended ages ago by racking up 15 points whenever she felt like it.
But she's deceiving him thoroughly. More than necessary.
Violetta had been in class that morning too, and she'd seen Rainer's pathetic antics with her own eyes.
She probably stayed quiet back then since she didn't need to step in. But now that the stage is set...
Violetta was thoroughly toying with Rainer for his ungentlemanly behavior. If she ran up the score to something ridiculous like 10-0, he might lose the will to fight early and forfeit.
So, to keep him from noticing and giving up in despair, she maintained a razor-thin one-point lead, playing him like a fiddle.
Thud!
"Gotcha!"
The moment Rainer scored a point and clung to hope.
"Allez!"
Pok!
"Guh...!"
In the very next exchange, she effortlessly stole it back, reclaiming the lead. When Rainer tired and his attacks slowed, she'd show a deliberate opening to let him score and ramp up his tension again.
I noticed it in the original story too, but she's got a subtly nasty side. She's smirking right now.
I clicked my tongue watching Violetta smile at Rainer's irrepressible inferiority complex.
In the center of the training ground, Rainer was panting like a dog in the rain, drenched in sweat, deluded into thinking he'd cornered his opponent.
He had no clue he'd been reduced to a clueless time-wasting plaything dancing on Violetta's intricate spiderweb.
"Round 2 over!"
Time dragged on endlessly. Violetta was determined to burn through every second of the Sabre Style rules—three rounds of three minutes each.
Before long, the match reached the final ten seconds of round 3.
Current score: 14-14. To anyone watching, it looked like a blood-pumping classic, a rivalry for the ages.
"Hah... hah... heuk..."
Rainer could barely stand, his stamina at its limit. His gym clothes were soaked and heavy with sweat, his hands trembling around the wooden sword.
Meanwhile, Violetta casually swept back her disheveled bangs, maintaining her poised elegance without a single hitch in her breathing.
"Last point! Allez!"
Sword Professor's signal rang out. Rainer squeezed out his remaining strength for a final desperate strike.
"Dieeee!"
But Violetta didn't even dodge. She simply stood her ground, elegantly sliding his incoming blade off the flat of her wooden sword.
Skreeee-!
Rainer's sword sliced empty air as his body lurched forward. The tip of Violetta's sword lightly tapped the nape of his neck from behind.
Tap.
"Violetta, one point!"
And at that exact moment.
Ding-!
The bell signaling the end of the full three minutes of round 3 echoed across the training ground.
"Match over! Final score 15-14! East representative Violetta Cheriot wins!"
Roooar-!
Cheers and applause erupted from the other factions' seats. It had looked like a heart-stopping one-point thriller, so even the defeated West faction students showered Rainer with encouragement.
Rainer dropped his wooden sword and sank to his knees, gasping raggedly. His classmates rushed over, patting his shoulders.
"Good fight, Rainer! That was awesome!"
"Yeah! One point short—such a shame. Who knew you'd go toe-to-toe with the East rep like that!"
"Hah... hah... Th-thanks..."
Rainer forced a smile as his classmates helped him up.
But.
Rainer had crossed swords with her for a full nine minutes up close. He wasn't fool enough to miss the thorough deception aimed at him.
His gaze turned to Violetta. Despite the nine minutes of fierce combat, her breathing remained calm.
She's... looking down on me...! That arrogant Eastern bitch...!
Every moment he'd scored. Every time her sword had oddly missed.
It was all a meticulously scripted performance to drag out exactly nine minutes.
The eldest son of the Roeder Marquis house faced the horrific reality that he'd been perfectly played as a sandbag to buy Kairun recovery time.
"Guh, urk...!"
Smiling outwardly at his classmates' comfort, humiliation and inferiority boiled inside him. His pride as a noble was shattered to the bedrock—worse than that morning.
Rainer bit his tongue hard, tasting blood, and hung his head.
Meanwhile.
Violetta walked toward Sword Professor to return her wooden sword, her face expressionless, showing no joy in victory.
Sword Professor—who'd seen through the entire deception—quietly called out to her.
"East chick."
Violetta paused and turned. Sword Professor's one good eye was darkly narrowed.
"If you're gonna talk about honor, then swing with everything you've got. Toying with someone just 'cause they're weaker insults their honor."
Sword Professor declared sternly.
"East faction Violetta Cheriot. Minus three points. That was a dirty, disrespectful duel—hardly beautiful."
Despite winning only to get penalized, Violetta's expression didn't change. She bowed without hesitation.
"Yes, sir. I'll take it gladly, Professor."
No excuses, no appeals. She'd been fully prepared to pay any price for a fair shot at Kairun in top form.
She was willing to foot the bill for the perfect victory she craved. If Sword hadn't deducted points, she'd have been disappointed.
Violetta nodded to Sword Professor and coolly turned back to the benches.
"Whew, smart but scary as hell."
Sword Professor shook his head with a click of his tongue. But a faint smile played on his lips.
Not shirking responsibility for her shameless means-to-an-end attitude wasn't half bad.
In any case.
Thanks to Violetta's ruthless competitive drive and that humiliating deception match granting a golden nine minutes of rest.
"Phew."
Kairun, sprawled on the bench, had shaken off the unexpected skinship with the princess and the concussion effects over those nine minutes, recovering some stamina.
Kairun stood. With a much sharper glint in his eyes, he readjusted his wrist wraps and strode confidently to the center.
As he passed Violetta, their gazes clashed in the air, sparks flying.
I owe you one, Lady Cheriot.
I'll crush you at full strength, Northgard.
Finishing their silent exchange, Kairun prepared for match two against South representative Terna Godi.
The training ground's atmosphere was worlds apart from Violetta vs. Rainer.
"Young master! You got this! Fighting!"
Elysia jumped up and down from the benches, hands clasped. But her cheer was quickly drowned in massive roars.
"Kyaa! Prince Terna! Look over here!"
"You're dazzling today! Win and you have to take me to the ball!"
The South faction seats overflowed with Southern ladies' fan club, waving handkerchiefs and screaming at Terna.
The South's open, flashy social culture had fully invaded the training ground.
Terna, striding to the center, blew hand-kisses to the frenzy and flashed a cheeky grin. He raised a hand lightly to Sword Professor.
"Professor, mind if I ask something?"
"What."
"Any curved wooden swords in the armory? Our Southern style shines with shamshir shapes over these straight ones. Gotta have that curve for the sword to dance, right?"
Sword Professor tsked irritably but signaled the instructor. The guy bolted to the armory and returned with a shamshir-shaped wooden sword, its tip hooked like a crescent moon, handing it over.
Sword tossed it to Terna.
"Of course we do. Here. No excuses with that."
Thud.
Terna caught the curved sword lightly and spun it in the air with a wrist snap.
Whoosh, swish.
The curved blade cut the air sharply.
"Ahaha, busted? Was gonna blame the gear if I lost. Too bad."
Terna burst into laughter with a face full of mischief, not a hint of regret. Sword Professor watched his utterly laid-back attitude—tossing tension out the window right before a duel.
This punk... all talk. Tempted to dock points before it even starts.
He scowled openly.
"What a clown."
Kairun tsked too.
Our reactions from the instructor seats on the outskirts were no different. Kara, snuggled tight against my side with her arm hooked in mine, cradled her belly protectively with both hands, face serious. She was glaring daggers at Terna.
"Honey."
Kara called me in a deadly serious tone.
"What's up, Kara? Belly hurt?"
"No, not that... If our Yeppe brings home a guy like that when she grows up, I'm vetoing it hard. No way."
I looked at Terna, the target of her stare. That sly grin. Strutting amid the girls' cheers. Zero seriousness—just pure flippancy.
I nodded solemnly.
"Obviously. The second she brings him, I'd snap his legs in half. Fold him like origami."
"Right! As if we'd let our Yeppe near a flaky loser like that! Better off with a square like Young Master Kairun—hundred times over!"
"I... can hear you from here..."
Kairun's crawling voice reached us, but.
"At least Kairun's a square who won't cause girl troubles."
My voice was louder.
"Barg?"
We kept hotly debating the ideal future boyfriend for our as-yet-unsexed daughter Yeppe, ripping into Terna all the while.
Still, in the original story, Terna wasn't a bad guy.
I thought to myself. He was different from sleazy Rainer—cheeky but knew his lines and had decent loyalty.
Just... now that I'm about to be a parent?
Imagining him as my kid's partner instinctively repulsed me—that whole surrounded-by-girls, excuse-making vibe.
Sword Professor looked equally sour. Guess parents raising kids all feel the same.