71. Engagement – Sparring

A room furnished with a few shabby yet well-maintained pieces of furniture.

It wasn’t too small, more like a room suitable for a servant to have a family, and in that bed lay Lena and Leo side by side.

Leo was struggling to fall asleep.

Fortunately, the bed was quite large enough that Lena’s arm didn’t touch him, but he could hear the sound of her hair brushing against the pillow, too loud to ignore.

Leo’s heart raced.

Having once been married to Lena, he couldn’t act like a total rookie, but he couldn’t deny that he was excited.

“Leo, are you asleep?”

Lena asked quietly as she turned over. He could hear her rustling closely as her head moved. He felt her gaze brushing against his cheek.

Leo didn’t respond to Lena’s question. He pretended to be asleep, breathing slowly and quietly. Even though his quickening heartbeat craved more air, it felt like he was suffocating.

Oblivious to the fact that he was awake, Lena began to mumble softly, mixed with her breath.

Bathed in the moonlight from the window, she looked different from her usual clumsy self.

“Leo, do you know? I heard from Mom… that our dads were really close. They even traveled together to participate in the ‘Maunin-Letii Tournament’ in the capital city.”

This was the first time Leo had heard that story.

There was so much he didn’t know about the past of this engagement scenario.

“Mom said she felt a bit jealous… Do you think our dads liked each other?”

Lena propped her arm up to use it as a pillow. Her babbling continued.

“Eventually, your mom met Uncle Noel in the capital and fell in love, so they must have just been friends, right? No, at least it seems like your mom thought so.”

At the time, Dehorman and Leo’s mother, who participated in the Maunin-Letii Tournament, didn’t win much and dropped out quickly. They were too young to compete against the northern warriors showing off their skills.

They almost returned empty-handed, but Leo’s mother met a knight named Noel Dexter who was helping with the tournament there.

Young Noel, just having become a knight, was smitten at first sight and confessed to her. Leo’s mother accepted his confession and didn’t return to Abrival Castle.

Dehorman went home alone.

“But Dad was so sad when he got back that he immediately underwent the Great Warrior Trials. Mom still teases him about it. It was like a heartbroken young man going out to die.”

Lena continued, smiling sweetly.

“I feel bad for Dad, but… no, it’s old news now, and Dad is happy with our mom so there’s really nothing to feel guilty about, right? Anyway, I’m glad that your mom and my dad didn’t end up together.”

Leo began to feel increasingly suffocated.

Indeed, the sweet whisper that Lena concluded with was too sweet.

“Thanks to that, I got to meet you.”

Her finger lightly grazed Leo’s cheek.

Then Lena, licking her lips, groomed his hair before turning over.

Once determined to sleep, Lena quickly dozed off.

His cheek felt hot as if it had been scratched.

Once Leo confirmed that Lena was asleep, he let out a breath he had been holding.

However, it felt as if a rock was resting on his chest, and no matter how much he exhaled, the tightness showed no signs of fading.

He couldn’t just lie down on the bed any longer and got up to pace around the room.

Lena. What on earth should I do about her!

That night, Leo didn’t sleep a wink. As he tormented himself in the darkness, he frowned at the dawn breaking.

While he felt so desperate, the sun and this world ticked away, unyielding and flawless.

*

The next morning, Lena and Leo had breakfast with a butler who arrived early and were summoned again to the reception room.

There, Baron Agatha and his wife were already seated, leisurely enjoying their tea.

“Oh my, such valiant knights! Nice to meet you. I’m Agnes Agatha.”

The gracefully aging Baroness Agatha welcomed the two with a wrinkled smile. Her blue eyes sparkled with kindness.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you yesterday. I fell asleep so early that I couldn’t entertain my guests.”

“No worries. We’re simply grateful for your hospitality as uninvited guests.”

“Haha, uninvited? I’ve no idea how long it’s been since we received guests like you. Please feel at home. Truly.”

Somehow, this Baroness seemed completely unaffected by the ‘noble assassination’ achievements. Perhaps it was her age, but more likely it was her personality.

Even with the same achievements, the effects could vary greatly from person to person.

The most representative case would be Kasia. She had thrown her life away based on ‘weak affection.’

And noble ladies were never targets, making it hard for knights to feel fear towards them. They were far too accustomed to being respected.

Knights saw serving noble ladies as an honor, and nobles showed respect to them. Even the great noble Marquis Benard Tatian was polite enough to greet Lena when he saw her.

Of course, upholding manners while saying, “You can’t leave this room,” was an entirely different matter…

Baron Berger Agatha and the Baroness had a light conversation with Lena and Leo for a while.

Finally, Baron Agatha stood up and said,

“Ah, I’ve kept the young ones too long. Let me introduce the knights. Over this way, please.”

He lightly shook his wife’s hand, signaling he would be right back, and led the way himself.

The place the Baron guided them to was a small training ground.

Seeing a few soldiers milling about made it clear that it wasn’t solely meant for knights.

The Baron called for the knights, and soon three knights jogged over and lined up.

The Agatha family had a total of four knights.

As Baron Agatha introduced each knight, he said, “I hope this will be a good experience for you all,” and took his leave. He hurried back to his wife, with whom he had spent his life.

“You two seem to get along splendidly…”

Lena remarked, sounding very touched as if to imply someone should hear it.

Lena and Leo took turns sparring with the knights.

Unfortunately, the knights from the Agatha family weren’t particularly skilled. Having gained the Swordsmanship.3v ability, Leo easily defeated all three knights, far surpassing the level of an ordinary knight.

Although his balance was still slightly off, the swordsmanship style of Bart still showed enough.

On the other hand, Lena, who didn’t have the skills to handle knights on her own, suffered consecutive losses.

Yet determined to take something away from the experience, she eagerly requested sparring over and over.

Then, the fourth knight, who had been absent working, arrived at the training ground.

The middle-aged knight introduced himself as ‘Brian’ and greeted Lena and Leo cheerfully while holding a wooden training sword.

Leo and Brian faced each other.

“Captain, this guy’s quite remarkable,” a knight warned, but Brian just smiled brightly.

“Hahaha. I’m looking forward to it. I hope we can encourage each other. Then…”

His wooden sword was directed at Leo, who also raised his wooden sword to engage in a light reconnaissance battle.

Leo, already adept in swordsmanship, entered a new realm of martial arts.

Up until then, he had only sought gaps in defense and pursued small gains through psychological warfare, but now it was more important to understand the opponent’s style.

However, the reconnaissance didn’t last long.

Brian, holding his sword calmly, suddenly charged explosively.

He didn’t thrust or swing but, keeping his sword upright, aimed to collide heavily with Leo’s sword.

‘Is he trying to close the distance?’

Leo stepped back diagonally to evade Brian’s charge.

He then lightly tested Brian’s defenses.

– Wham!

Easily blocking Leo’s test, Brian used the weight of his sword to push Leo’s sword to the side while spinning it around.

‘Yikes, this might be a problem.’

Leo wasn’t easily overpowered in strength by an ordinary knight, but the position where their swords met was disadvantageous.

The blade of a sword has various names depending on its part. The lower half close to the handle is referred to as ‘forte,’ while the upper half, including the tip, is known as ‘foible.’

Naturally, the forte close to the handle held an advantage in strength over the far-off foible.

Brian capitalized on that strength, pushing Leo’s sword away and turning his foible and tip toward Leo.

Leo quickly sidestepped left, dodging the thrust, and Brian hastily took a defensive stance after using up that exchange.

Now it was Leo’s turn.

Leo, having sidestepped to the left to exploit his strong right side, let out a battle cry, raising his sword to shake the opponent’s blade and then spun around to deliver a kick with his left foot.

He then retrieved his raised sword and swung down.

– Wham!

Dodging Leo’s kick, Brian brought his sword down to block.

However, it was still a ‘forte’ situation.

Having checked that strike with the forte close to the handle, Brian advanced a step forward.

Leo was taken by surprise.

He needed to retrieve his sword, but with the opponent raising their sword while pressing it against his own, he couldn’t easily regain his position.

If they got any closer, the opponent, holding their sword on the inside, would have a much stronger advantage.

Leo made a swift decision.

He stepped forward and bumped shoulders with Brian’s chest. By closing the distance, he eliminated the opportunity for Brian to swing or thrust his sword.

Inch-close, the two men were so tightly pressed together that Brian’s wooden sword grazed Leo’s head, but since it was a wooden sword, naturally, no harm came to him, and even if it were a real sword, it wouldn’t be capable of causing meaningful damage.

At most, he might get a superficial cut from the edge, but with a helmet, he wouldn’t be harmed at all.

Brian beamed. He then retreated a few steps while keeping an eye on Leo.

The two swordsmen exchanged looks from a distance before clashing once more. And,

“I lost.”

It ended with Leo’s defeat.

Despite the narrow differences, Brian consistently gained the upper hand. There was no decisive move, but Leo had no choice but to declare his loss.

The two, soaked in sweat, shook hands.

“That was a really good spar. I learned a lot.”

Brian spoke sincerely.

This young, no, this juvenile knight aspirant’s skill was beyond praise.

His fundamentals were incredibly solid.

How had he trained to develop such a correctly formed swordsmanship devoid of bad habits? His style seemed to come from a ‘well-structured’ training experience. It’s unlikely anyone could achieve such perfection without it.

‘His balance is also perfectly maintained… though his left side feels a bit unstable in comparison.’

Brian’s swordsmanship was specialized for close combat, making active use of the forte.

In fact, using the forte to block the opponent’s sword and aiming for a strong position was the foundation of swordsmanship.

Naturally, Leo was aware of this, but Brian had transcended that basic principle into his own unique swordsmanship.

He hastily closed the distance and forced the fight that favored him, while Leo, unable to utilize Bart’s style fully, gradually suffered losses.

“Thank you, too. I learned a lot.”

Leo expressed his gratitude.

But honestly, he hadn’t learned anything.

He understood that there was a difference in the basics involving the use of forte, but merely understanding wouldn’t improve his skill.

With Minseo’s spirit mixed in, Leo’s swordsmanship talent had hit rock bottom, and he knew his skills wouldn’t improve without a considerable effort.

“Wow! Can I also ask for a spar?”

At that moment, Lena, who had been watching Leo and Brian’s match, rushed over excitedly.

What extraordinary swordsmanship!

She immediately recognized the merits in Brian’s style.

If she combined the ‘the grace of hiding an extra move’ that Uncle Noel taught her with that superior foundation… she could utilize the hidden moves aggressively when in close proximity and turn the tide!

Joyfully, Lena began to spar with Brian.

Leo watched her with a complicated expression before swiftly slipping away inside.