h.e.l.lo everyone! I bring you the second chapter (on my site, at least) of this novel. Thank you for your comments and support. I really appreciate it. By the way, I have a account, if you want to support the site a little more.
Enjoy this chapter. I will try to upload more soon. Cheers “h.e.l.lo, it"s a pleasure to meet you, Sire Zach, I"m Mary.”
Thanks to my education, I was able to introduce myself and take a little bow. At the same time, I drew an exceptional smile on my face.
“Y-Yes…”
Then he looked away and his cheeks blushed. That expression of stubbornness and shyness in that little boy was quite touching. As I watched that tender scene, a heavy blow struck Zach"s head.
(Oh my~, that made a terrible noise, was it really necessary? Besides, you"re wearing gauntlets Count Erickson! Scaryyy~…!)
“Why are you ashamed, you brat! Lady Mary is not on the same level as someone like you, so you have to speak to her with respect.”
Zach held his head and squatted in his place. Apparently, the blow was quite painful…
“C- Count Erickson. You came to teach me martial arts, didn"t you? Why do you have to introduce me to Zach…?”
To avoid further complications, I decided to leave the honorifics aside and speak naturally, at least with the boy, but,
“Klaus is fine. You don"t have to call me Count all the time.”
“Y-Yes…”
“I imagined this brat could help you in your training, Ojousama. It"s always better to train with someone the same height.”
“No! Father! Do you really expect me to train with this weak child?”
(Oooh~. To think that the first words you said to me were “this girl”. How shameless~…)
Zach stood up again and complained a little more, but received another blow to the head as a response.
” Don"t get me wrong, you"re just a practice dummy. You will be Lady Mary"s punching bag.”
“No!”
“You"ve become somewhat conceited because of your ability. This will be a good opportunity for you to understand the suffering you have caused others.”
(Excuse me, Mr. Klaus~. Could you not involve me in your son"s education?)
Apparently, Zach has a gift for martial arts that is simply exceptional for someone his age, and for Zach to understand the skills of a person of his own generation, or a little older, Sir Klaus decided it was best to practice with me. In other words, this training is so that Zach doesn"t become a braggart who thinks he"s invincible.
Although it"s an unreasonable request, Zach steps forward feeling he can"t go against his father"s wishes. Seeing this kind of behavior in other families, I realized how much I had been pampered.
(Thank you for giving me a life full of luxuries, Father, Mother~! Next time I see Father, I"ll tell him I love hiiiiim~!)
“Well, we don"t have much time, so let"s start with the basics at once.”
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After that, despite his terrifying appearance Sir Klaus taught me the basic stances of martial arts, how to concentrate my strength and the method to control my breathing, with patience and kindness.
Thanks to his teaching ability, I was able to understand everything almost immediately, and I was able to throw a blow without losing my basic posture. He might even be more skillful than a professional martial arts teacher, even though his face still scares me.
” You are a fast learner, Lady Mary. Even Zach took a while to remember all this.”
“Oh~, really?”
“I-I was five years old at the time. Now I can do it in just a few minutes.”
Sir Klaus" compliments made me feel good and seemed to fill Zach with an ardent desire to improve his own skills. In spite of everything, Zach did seem to respect his father,
(But to learn the art of defeating an opponent at the age of five. Zach is a battle junkie, just like my Father. But it"s not like I"m flattering him or anything.)
“Well, it"s time for you to practice. Zach…”
“Yes…”
With an expression of defeat, Zach stood in front of me. Seeing him follow orders so easily made my spirit tremble.
(Please Zach, don"t look at me like thaaat… You"re scary~. If you keep intimidating me, I"m gonna surrender~.)
Without suspecting what was happening between Zach and me, Sir Klaus started the training.
“If an enemy is holding you, first take his hand as you slide your body sideways.”
Sir Klaus approached me and began to move my body according to what he had just said.
“Just back up a little while you bend your body and move your foot from left to right.”
With that movement, I hit Zach"s helpless legs, but he didn"t budge… he didn"t even react. It should be noted that my movements were slow and that I was not exerting the force necessary to call it an attack.
“All right, now repeat that chain of movements so you can memorize it.”
“Yes!”
I repeated the sequence without objection, naming each movement quietly as I made them and, as expected, Zach did not move an inch. Eventually, as I repeated the same thing for tens of minutes non-stop, it became clear to me that my movements became sharper and somehow the exercise became fun.
If I thought about it well, this may be the first time I move my body this way, it was fun and nice.
“Well, well, you"ve understood the essentials, Young Lady. You seem to have talent, don"t you?”
Every time Sir Klaus praised my movements, I could feel that I got better and better. But apparently, that didn"t please Zach very much, as the speed with which he was holding me was increasing. However, it wasn"t a speed I couldn"t react to.
(All right, let"s do thiiiiis! I"ll take it seriously too! I won"t fail.)
Without knowing why, Zach"s response encouraged me and I also increased the speed of my movements.
“All right, let"s really try this time. Move carefully.”
After hearing the words of Sir Klaus, my eyes and Zach"s shone with a peculiar glow. It was Zach who moved first, he tried to grab me at a speed I had never seen before. I relaxed my hands, flexed my body as I slid one of my feet, and swept Zach"s feet with my free foot. Of course, Zach wasn"t prepared for that.
BAAM!
A loud knock was heard, Zach was parallel to the floor and he did not move any more. His eyes were wide open and he had an expression of absolute surprise. When I approached him with a triumphant expression on my face, he blushed and jumped to his feet.
A loud bang was heard, Zach was parallel to the floor and he did not move anymore. His eyes were wide open and he had an expression of absolute surprise. When I approached him with a triumphant expression on my face, he blushed and jumped to his feet.
“I let my guard down for a moment! Again!”
“Oh my~, if you insist.”
For the next ten minutes, Zach moved with impressive speed… and was then thrown to the ground each time.
(Oh, it"s fuuuuun! It"s too much fun to move your body~!)
I was fascinated by the happiness I felt when I moved, and of course, the feeling of joy every time I knocked down that presumptuous child.
“Hmm… Let"s finish it here for today, Young Lady. I don"t think Zach can take it much longer.”
“Aah~, that"s right.”
When I heard Sir Klaus" voice, I finally came to my senses, and I could see the beautiful-faced boy, Zach, covered in mud and lying on the floor.
“I brought Zach in order for him to learn what it means to receive attacks without being able to defend himself, but to think that it would end this way, as was expected of Ferdid"s daughter. Ha ha ha!”
My breathing was calm and I had no sweat on my forehead, on the other hand, Zach looked exhausted and was breathing fast.
(Is this what they mean when people say there is a big difference in levels?)
When I finally calmed down, I realized I had gone too far and quickly approached Zach and extended my hand. But he stood up alone, ignoring my help.
“Well, today I was feeling a little indisposed, otherwise a girl as weak as you couldn"t keep up with me.”
(He"s much stronger than I thought he would be, fortunately, he didn"t see this as a joke.)
To be honest, I didn"t use all my power, because, if I did, they would certainly begin to suspect me. Thinking about it, I realized that these exercises had helped me control the kind of strength I used in doing things.
“Mary! Get ready, because next time I won"t lose!”
“It"s Lady Mary, stupid boy!”
Zach barely had time to end his threat when Sir Klaus" fist landed on his head once more. That"s how I found a friend of the same age as me… or rather, I found a practice dummy.
(But it really feels good to be able to move my body♪ Thank you, G.o.d~! Thank you for bringing me into such a wonderful world! I am so happyyyyy!)
I sent a message to G.o.d from the bottom of my heart.
However, a few days later, my heart felt miserable. I had a letter in my hand, and it said that the Prince wanted to see me, so I had to go to the Royal Palace.