Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Royal Palace Tea Time (2)
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“Come in, Your Highness Prince Cedric.”
“……”
…How the hell did it come to this.
I’d just come to the training grounds thinking it was my usual swordsmanship lesson, but how do I even begin to describe the feeling of seeing my fiancée gearing up for a spar.
Her gray hair neatly tied back with a red ribbon, wooden sword in hand, standing right in front of me—it stirred up a whirlwind of emotions.
“…Elena, what’s this all about?”
“I asked Instructor Gares to arrange a sparring session with you, Your Highness.”
“Lady Elena said she absolutely had to see and learn from Your Highness’s swordsmanship. She mentioned how that moment when you rescued her from the dungeon keeps flashing before her eyes.”
“P-Please don’t go saying that much, Instructor Gares.”
“……”
She was deliberately blushing and acting all shy, but I knew better. Even that expression was just an act to butter up Gares.
‘I thought sword lessons were something she did regularly anyway.’
Why go to the trouble of making an excuse to spar with me like this.
I’d already heard from Hadi that she knew how to handle a sword, but still, she was just a twelve-year-old lady. I couldn’t expect much.
‘I’ll just humor her a bit and wrap it up.’
As I gripped my wooden sword and took my stance with that in mind, Instructor Gares’s starting call rang in my ears.
“Begin!”
-Crack!!
The moment he gave the signal, the clash of two wooden swords echoed through the air.
I swung deliberately at the spot where Elena was defending, and she braced herself to block it.
It was a solid overhead strike with some real force behind it, but she didn’t budge a single step. That caught me a little off guard.
‘So she’s not completely clueless with a sword.’
After that, Elena kept defending, somehow holding off my attacks.
She stayed light on her toes, balancing perfectly as she moved her sword, so after one exchange, I stepped back to give her a moment to catch her breath.
“You’re blocking well, Elena.”
“…Hoo. Aren’t you going a little easy on me, Your Highness?”
“It’s not going easy—it’s matching your level…”
-Thwack!
“Guh?!”
I’d given her time to breathe on purpose, but suddenly her sword came charging at me again.
I hadn’t expected her to come at me before fully catching her breath. It wasn’t just reckless; it was hardly a noble way to fight.
-Thud, thud, craaack!!
…The silver lining was that Elena’s strength was still way below mine.
Her sword swings and footwork weren’t bad at all. But fundamentally, there was that gap between male and female stamina.
“Urgh!! Grghhh…!!”
Seeing her grit her teeth like that, desperately trying to beat me just once, she was clearly giving it everything she had.
But if I stayed calm and met her blade with mine, I’d never lose in raw power. Never.
-Thwack!
“Haa, haaa…”
“You’re better than I thought, Elena.”
“Hoo, even so… I’m still nowhere near Your Highness’s skill…”
Even exhausted, she didn’t drop her ladylike act.
Her ponytail damp with sweat beading on her nape—it made my heart race in a strange way. Probably because it was a side of her I rarely saw.
And with her in training clothes instead of her usual ankle-length dresses, the lines of her legs stood out sharply… drawing my eyes more than they should.
-Swish.
“…Ah.”
She must have noticed my momentary distraction and rushed in fast.
Her breathing was still ragged, but that persistence to exploit any opening let her wooden sword graze my shoulder for a valid hit.
“Hoo, huuu…. If that had been a real sword, my shoulder would’ve been sliced, right, Your Highness…?”
“…Yeah, my mistake.”
…I got distracted by more than just the swordplay, but I had to give credit where it was due.
Following the rules, I held my sword one-handed over my left shoulder without putting strength into it and traded a few more blows with her.
She was already drained, so one hand was plenty to handle her. It wasn’t hard.
-Thwack!!
“Gyaaah?!”
…With an unladylike scream for a duke’s daughter, Elena tumbled backward, dropping her sword.
I confirmed her wooden sword flying from her hand, then quietly thrust mine next to her neck.
-Thud.
“Ah.”
“Looks like that settles the match, Elena.”
“…Yeah, it does. Good match, Your Highness Prince Cedric.”
She seemed to know getting up wouldn’t change anything and cleanly admitted defeat.
I’d shown overwhelming dominance while saving face, but even I had plenty to reflect on from this spar.
Her skill was better than I’d expected from a lady who’d only recently started learning. Assuming from the start I’d go easy might’ve been a mistake.
‘Purely in terms of skill, she’s at least low-rank knight level.’
The instructor had recently rated me around mid-rank knight, so I wasn’t far off.
Of course, for a girl to wield low-rank knight-level swordsmanship at just twelve was absurd.
I’d grown up hearing I was a genius prince in the palace… but honestly, if Elena had been raised there, she might’ve gotten similar praise.
Maybe she’d even be my rival fighting for the throne as my little sister.
‘Lucky for me she’s from Duke Rozier’s family.’
I already had two older brothers vying for succession. A sister like that as competition would’ve made things messy.
And taking such an intriguing woman as my wife would’ve been impossible. …Though that’s not set in stone yet.
“Good work, Elena. You fought better than I expected.”
“As Your Highness’s fiancée, I need to be able to protect myself. Thank you for indulging my sudden request, Your Highness Prince Cedric.”
“Sure thing, Elena.”
She hadn’t clung to victory from the start, knowing she’d lose. That lack of lingering resentment was one reason I rated her so highly.
Stubborn ladies would’ve refused to accept defeat and demanded a rematch. Of course, a normal lady wouldn’t have challenged me to a sword duel in the first place.
“And…”
After the match, she leaned in to whisper in my ear, like she still had more to say.
For a second, my heart skipped, wondering if the spar had made her open up to me even a little.
“…Try not staring at my legs so much during spars. You’re too young to be that pervy already.”
“…Sorry.”
Unfortunately, no such luck.
…I need to stop letting my guard down around Elena.
The day after my sword spar with Elena, the reports about her continued right on schedule.
“Elena’s called a tea party using her status as my fiancée?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
…Yesterday’s spar was one thing, but this was predictably unpredictable.
Summoning a tea party specifically leveraging her ‘fiancée’ position. It didn’t fit her actions so far.
I couldn’t imagine a woman who claimed in a past life to have been a man voluntarily pulling something so ‘noble lady’-like.
‘A tea party hosted by Elena… Honestly, hard to picture.’
The only Elena I’d seen at tea parties was lounging sideways on a sofa, munching cookies.
She probably wouldn’t do that at a gathering of noble ladies, but sitting primly, elegantly chatting over tea? Not her usual vibe.
“Do you know who’s attending the tea party?”
“The main one is Lady Katrin Vermoa of the northern Vermoa frontier count family.”
“…That girl.”
“Lady Liliane Kropel of Marquis Kropel’s house. And Lady Seraphina Broil of Count Broil’s house.”
“Looking at the lineup, I get the idea. Even why Elena called it.”
She’s probably using this to shake off the annoying ladies threatening her fiancé spot.
I’d already humiliated Lady Vermoa once at the harvest festival, but hadn’t followed up. High chance she approached first.
If Elena could wield Duke Rozier’s power, they wouldn’t bother her again. But her poor standing in the family left her vulnerable.
“Marquis Kropel’s house—the one whose marquis just fell from tax minister. Count Broil’s—the one recently promoted to count for military merit.”
“That’s right.”
“And both territories border Vermoa’s… The situation’s obvious without looking.”
Why are these ten-something-year-old girls scheming so much.
This is exactly why I can’t stand noble ladies. …Except Elena.
“Shouldn’t we send some support for Lady Elena?”
“She’d refuse even if we did. She’s not the type to start something without a plan—she’ll handle it.”
“Such firm trust in your fiancée, Your Highness.”
Trust? More like I know with her future knowledge, she’ll sort it out.
…Still, three opponents. Better prep an escape route to save face if things go south.
“No need to send anyone, but we should monitor the tea party’s contents. Eri’s her exclusive maid now, so have her wear a vista stone necklace to…”
“No need for that, Your Highness.”
“Hm? Why not?”
“Lady Elena’s hosting an ‘outdoor tea party.’ Other ladies from the capital are spectating, so you can check the proceedings without a vista stone necklace.”
“……Sigh.”
…What the hell is she planning now.
She really was a woman who demanded constant attention.