Chapter 𝟟

“I’m not interested in the marriage. All I’m interested in is succeeding my father.”

Strangely enough, when I was with Ritaus, I didn’t feel the need to provide excuses as I had with my father—I certainly didn’t feel like prattling on about finding myself some nice, obedient man. Excuses would only make me sound lame, and more importantly, I didn’t think Ritaus would accept them.

“I still need to graduate from Kratie and join a knight order, so the wedding doesn’t have to happen right away,” he said. “And what do you mean, succeed your father? I thought Franz was heir to the House of Vesta?”

See? You’re talking over me again. Ritaus was cutting me short, as if Franz mattered more to him. That was just what I’d expected of him.

He was so easy to read.

“Franz doesn’t like to fight,” I explained. “Group life and a hierarchical society was not good for him either.”

“I know that,” said Ritaus.

“He was bullied, even at Kratie Academy. Do you think he’ll manage to get along as a member of a knight order?”

“I will be helping him from now on. I will protect him so that no one can harm him.”

At this point, it felt like I was talking to a brick wall. I found myself sighing.

“Franz has something else he would like to do with his life, and I want to give him that freedom.”

“I know that too. But observing birds, insects, and plants—that can be a hobby,” Ritaus argued.

You’re raising my blood pressure, damn it!

He just wasn’t listening, and he didn’t stop there.

“It would be best for the House of Vesta for Franz to become a knight and lead the family. Our two families must join forces and become one great family.”

Ugh! These were the same points I’d blathered on to my father about when I’d tried to persuade him to let me break the engagement. Ritaus’ words hardened my resolve.

“Do you think our house needs a leader that has failed to become a knight?” I asked. “That’s just one more reason I must call off this engagement, no matter what.”

It was a pity my father wasn’t present at the moment. Father, the House of Izar is after our house, just as I predicted!

“I’ll be honest—I don’t want to marry you, Lord Ritaus.”

He looked utterly puzzled.

“Do you dislike me?”

Yes, I do... I nearly said out loud. But I was no child, and I had to be more mature than that.

“No.”

“Then... why?”

“I don’t like you, rather. In fact, I have no interest in you. What goes on in your head, the things you like and don’t like—none of those things interest me.”

Ritaus furrowed his brow, apparently shocked by this. He was at a loss. Perhaps this was the first time a woman had turned him down. Ritaus was quite popular in high society since he was handsome and well-behaved, and there were plenty of women who harbored feelings for him.

“So please don’t concern yourself with my family’s future anymore. I’m going to be knighted at Kratie Academy no matter what.”

“Ha!” Ritaus gave a flabbergasted laugh. Disdain burned in his eyes.

“Do you know that Franz is quite good with the sword?” he asked.

I did know, but I said nothing.

“You’re stealing away an opportunity from him right now, my lady.”

I wanted to shoot back at Ritaus that it wasn’t an opportunity if Franz didn’t want it, but I didn’t even want to speak with him anymore.

“You must be in the middle of sword lessons,” he said.

Ritaus removed his glove. I nodded at him, and he tossed it at me. It landed on the table.

“Do you even know what that means? This is how knights ask each other to duel.”

The hell?

Contrary to what I knew of his character, he was quite arrogant. The Ritaus I’d read about had been very kind and gentle. Perhaps he was like that only with Franz.

“I’ll duel you. If you manage to threaten me in any way, even once, during the time limit, I will acknowledge your claim. As a knight should, I will say no more and allow you to walk away.”

Arrogant bastard. You’ll allow me?

I balled my fists and glared at him.

“Fine. I accept.”

It wouldn’t be just once—I would drive him into a corner so many times that he would cry. Though my body was not fully trained, I had a burning desire to teach him a lesson.

A servant guided him to the training field first, and I went up to my room to change into practice clothes. After I removed my makeup, I tied my black hair into a ponytail and left the room.

I stepped into the training field, eager to nick him at least once. I found Ritaus fully ready to fight.

“Ah...!”

I noticed his eyes widen for a moment as soon as he spotted me, and he stared blankly until I walked up to him.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.

“Oh... I beg your pardon.” He quickly recovered his composure and took a practice rapier from a squire. “I just noticed that you resemble Franz very much.”

Wow. You’re thinking about Franz even now? Talk about true love.

Franz and I were very alike, to be sure. We had the same black hair, intense blue eyes, and delicate features. We were siblings, and I saw nothing surprising about that. Ritaus was obviously head over heels in love with Franz.

As we each donned protective gear, Ritaus spoke again. “I think you look better without makeup.”

I hesitated as I put on some gloves. Should I tell him that was rude? Nah. Forget it. He probably meant it as a compliment, and I couldn’t be bothered to point out his mistake.

“I’m glad you’re not the talkative type,” I said.

He could make anyone fall out of love with him when he talked.

***

A knight of my household was to be the judge.

He brought out an hourglass smaller than the palm of his hand from the warehouse. Judging by its size, it seemed to measure time in blocks of fifteen to twenty minutes.

“You have fifteen minutes. If Lady Kyla hits Lord Ritaus even once, she wins. If she fails to do this, Lord Ritaus wins.”

I’d only just started to learn sword fighting in Kyla’s body, and I was still unsure about the basics of sword technique as it was practiced in this world. Still, I thought I could probably manage to get a single hit on him.

It turned out that I was being arrogant.

“Terrible,” he said.

There was a clang as my rapier flew out of my hand. In order to keep him from laughing at me, I’d done my best to hold the sword with one hand.

“And what is with that posture? You haven’t even learned basic technique, I see.”

He aimed for the hilt of my rapier again, and in order to counteract that, I gripped it with both hands.

Right hand up, left hand down, relax the last pinky. I was in a different body, but I automatically assumed the kendo position I was used to.

Ritaus’ rapier curved, and the momentum snapped mine away. The force was so great that the sword easily flew out of my hand.

This happened multiple times.

“Are you aware that I’m being very considerate of you by keeping the blade from touching your body?”

You didn’t have to tell me that! I already knew!

“Do you know how graceful Franz’s technique is? You couldn’t beat his talent even if you tried!”

This was humiliating.

If it hadn’t been for this blasted technique!

If I could’ve fought my way, I could have ended this with a single attack.

I was gritting my teeth when he attacked again. There was another loud clash, and my sword slipped from my hand. I quickly grabbed it again and resumed my posture, but Ritaus had spotted his opportunity. The top of his sword flew at my head, and before I could react, it stopped right in front of my face.

“The sand is running out. If this had been a real fight, you would have died many times over already,” he gloated.

Ritaus was right. My body would have been butchered by now. I couldn’t argue with that.

“Basic technique is important, but the most important thing of all is the outcome. Can you even fight enemies that come at you from all directions? The life of a knight isn’t as easy as you seem to think it is.”

Results. Enemies closing in.

His words suddenly gave me an epiphany that made me feel stupid.

“Practical skill matters more than basic technique...” I muttered. He’d reminded me of something that I’d forgotten.

I turned toward the hourglass, which showed that I had about three minutes left.

“Wait! Change of weapon!” I yelled.

“Huh?!”

I tossed the rapier aside and took the sword from the knight who was serving as the judge.

“L-Lady Kyla?” he sputtered.

“Let me borrow this for a second.”

I took it out of the sheath and threw the blade at the knight. Now I was holding only the sheath in my two hands. It was a light sheath made of hard leather.

“I’ll fight with this in the remaining time.”

“Are you kidding me? You couldn’t even down a child with that,” Ritaus said, sighing testily.

I ignored him and attacked immediately.

The sheath was light. That was true. It was hollow, which meant it could inflict no real power or damage.

But none of that mattered during this duel. All I needed to do was hit Ritaus once.

I immediately pushed into an opening I spotted. Caught with his guard down, he tried to block with his sword. Too bad for him. I was now free of the mental restraints of technique, and my eyes traced his movements.

Now that I wasn’t hung up on basic rules, I was finally able to see pertinent information about the battle. Finally, I succeeded in hitting him with nothing but the sheath.

“If this had been a real battle, and I’d been holding a real sword, you would also be dead,” I said.

I had used the posture, technique, and stride that was most convenient for me, and in a single attempt, I’d managed to poke him in the neck.

The hourglass was still dropping sand.

“The basics were indeed giving me plenty of trouble. Thanks for the pointer, Lord Ritaus.”

With that, the engagement between us was well and truly canceled.

Thankfully, Ritaus was a man of his word.