Knight's Qualifications (5)
"Let's try it your way first."
"My way? Does that mean you and I should get married, Camilla?"
"It seems like you don't know much about noble marriages, Rion, so let me explain."
Alessia's explanation went like this.
Noble marriages require a long time for all sorts of preparations. Especially in a sudden situation like this one, it would likely take even longer than usual. Add Erin's plan on top of that.
I would go along with Camilla nominally as her fiancé, gauge her intentions, and then escape.
...Am I turning into too much of a scumbag?
If we went through with Erin's plan, all the rumors already swirling around me would probably double in number.
"At this point?"
But Erin's single remark shut me up. I wanted to argue back with something—anything—but my mind drew a blank for a decent counter.
In the end, I couldn't come up with any alternatives and had no choice but to follow Erin's plan.
"So what happened next?"
"Eh... nothing much. We just said we'd each do our own thing."
"Accepting a ducal lady's proposal and calling it 'training.' Your fate sure is something."
I ground my teeth behind a forced smile as Instructor Fran lamented my lot in life while eyeing me.
Who do you think I'm doing this training for right now?
'Though I did agree to it.'
After nearly a month of nothing but basic stamina drills, it was starting to feel downright boring. I couldn't help that, no matter how important it was.
With today's session wrapped up and everything put away, I asked Instructor Fran, "When do we start aura training?"
Aura wasn't the only issue, honestly. I'd tried gripping a spear and letting my body instincts take over, mimicking those movements, but there'd been zero progress.
Instructor Fran looked at me like I was some kind of freak.
"Are you seriously a doppelganger? Was that story my grandma told me as a kid actually true?"
"Pardon?"
"You already know how to use aura. And your spear skills are top-notch too. The only thing lacking was your stamina."
He was basing this on the moves I'd shown in our previous spar. I couldn't exactly say those techniques weren't mine, even though they technically weren't—common sense wouldn't allow for my body pulling off skills I didn't even know on its own.
I listened quietly as Instructor Fran continued.
"I was shocked when I heard you'd come in dead last at first... but it made sense. It happens sometimes—even with great technique, if your body's not up to it. But looks like that's changed now."
He stood, turned his back, and started walking away.
"You don't need to come tomorrow. Stamina's not the issue anymore. And whatever the problem is, I can't help you with it. Find the answer to your own dilemma yourself."
His final words especially stuck with me.
"Eh, just find a sparring partner or something."
Accepting Camilla's proposal hadn't changed much in my daily life. But if I had to pick the biggest shift...
"You're a bit early today, Rion."
"Training wrapped up sooner than usual."
...it was getting these moments to meet up after our routines ended, like now.
We didn't do anything special—just talked about our days, light topics like what's trending lately.
I'd never actually dated anyone, so I had no clue what to say. Luckily, Camilla wasn't much different.
We sat on a bench in a quiet, out-of-the-way street where hardly anyone passed by, silence stretching between us. It had only been a few days since we started these meetups, but neither of us could easily break the ice.
"I should be able to come a little earlier from now on."
"Something happen?"
"Instructor Fran said basics aren't what I need."
"Ah, Instructor Fran... So what did he say you need?"
"Dunno. Told me to figure it out myself."
I tossed it out casually, avoiding her eyes to test the waters.
"Suggested finding a decent sparring partner?"
"..."
Camilla didn't respond. But her twitching fingers and the way she swallowed betrayed her tension.
The same scene I was seeing and hearing—thanks to Alessia's artifact and Erin's magic—was being relayed to her in real time. That's why I'd get her instructions now and then; I'd either act on my own judgment or follow hers.
That last question was my call, but now I was leaning into hers, pressing a bit more.
"Back on the battlefield, was I into tea?"
"Yeah, you always stuck to one kind of black tea. There was even talk among the soldiers when Princess Lucia tried bringing you leaves—something about you getting special treatment."
"What kind of talk?"
"Everyone's fighting the same, so why's he the only one favored? It died down quick after they saw you in action, though."
Bit by bit. Slowly shifting the questions as I closed in.
"I heard I fought alone a lot. Why was that?"
"Your spearwork focused on wide-area attacks. Those aura expansion and contraction techniques—no one else could replicate them. They were uniquely yours."
A thought flashed through my mind as she spoke.
Camilla might... work for this.
She might not cut it as the sparring partner Instructor Fran mentioned, but she could help break through my stalled spear practice on my own.
"Camilla. By any chance, do you remember how I wielded my spear?"
"A little..."
"Then... could you watch me sometime and give pointers?"
Camilla hesitated to answer. She clenched and unclenched her hands, licked her lips. I waited quietly, watching her every little gesture without missing a beat.
When Rion first accepted her proposal, Camilla was secretly flustered. The feelings in that proposal weren't fake. She just hadn't expected him to say yes.
Camilla wondered if this meant she was really going to marry Rion. Were the scenes she'd only imagined becoming reality?
She'd sent a letter to her family ahead of time, warning them she'd propose publicly. A reply came, but she hadn't bothered opening it. No need—whatever it said, it wouldn't change her course.
This should... be everything.
For Camilla, who had nothing left, Rion was all she needed. Having lost everything from her previous life, only her love for him remained.
So why...?
Rion kept dragging up the past. The past she didn't want to imagine or remember—he kept dredging it to the surface.
They could just forget it and live happily. No reason to unearth horrific memories and suffer.
Camilla couldn't understand. It was a gone past, a future that no longer existed. And Rion didn't even remember it.
So why was he so fixated?
I don't get it.
Even now, he was stirring up old memories.
"Camilla. By any chance, do you remember how I wielded my spear?"
Of course she did. She'd been one of the longest at his side. They'd gone to battle together countless times. She'd grown sick of watching his back as he charged into hordes of beasts and demons, spear in hand, at the vanguard.
Back then, she was the one behind him.
"Then... could you watch me sometime and give pointers?"
Camilla wasn't stupid. She knew why he was saying this, the intent hidden in his words.
She was torn. One side said just do what he wants— they'd already got engaged, no need to pull away. The other saw right through his ploy to bring up the past; was it smart to play into it?
"I'll... watch."
In the end, she accepted his request. Even she didn't fully know why.
But the biggest reason? She didn't want him getting hurt.
Camilla remembered his corpse. When word came that the vanished Rion had been found, she'd rushed over in joy—only to face his half-blown-apart body.
For all her resolves, she loved him. She'd sworn never to stand at his side again.
But that didn't mean she wanted him hurt.
Just looking over his spearwork should be fine...
She rationalized it to herself, as she always had.