“Hmph…”
I caught my breath and lifted the rapier in my hand. Opposite me, Arin stood holding her longsword, her eyes locked on mine.
Without hesitation or delay, we both charged at each other.
Clang!
The rapier and longsword collided fiercely. My wrist and grip began to ache, but I gritted my teeth and held firm.
Even without sharpening the blade, it was hard to get used to its weight. A tingling sensation surged through my wrist, making me frown.
Taking advantage of this slight falter, Arin immediately closed the gap without hesitation.
“Sibley.”
[I know!]
At my command, a wall of wind blocked her sword.
Taking the opportunity, I swung the rapier at her. But Arin had already anticipated this and effortlessly blocked it with her longsword.
Lowering her body, she attempted to swing the sword again. Seeing this, Sibley clenched his teeth and extended his hand.
Whoosh!
Two blades of wind flew toward Arin. With a slight shout, she leapt into the air to dodge them.
[Good! You’re in the air!]
“O Wind.”
With a brief incantation, I gathered the wind into a single point. As the air flow shifted instantly, Arin’s expression flickered.
The image I imagined was a bullet firing from a gun.
I could feel my strength draining, but there was no time to hesitate. Even with its powerful force, there was no guarantee it would work on her.
“Good judgment. But…”
Bang!
The sound of breaking air rang in my ears as a stream of wind flew toward her. With a smirk, Arin swung her sword widely.
The pressure created just by swinging the sword was enough to block the attack, scattering the bullet-like wind.
“Wind can be blocked by wind.”
“Damn.”
So she had just brute-force blocked it in mid-air. Her physical abilities were much stronger than I anticipated.
This was the level of physical ability Arin was showing using Abel’s body. Clenching my teeth, I raised the rapier again.
With a clang, the rapier and longsword collided once more.
“The advantage of the rapier is rapid consecutive attacks.”
Between Arin and I, rapid exchanges of offense and defense occurred. I was barely blocking attacks that were too fast for the eye to follow.
Even with my enhanced physical abilities through Sibley’s power, it was difficult to match her attacks.
“You haven’t yet mastered the rapier’s advantages, Lady Adelle.”
I know.
After all, I’ve only been wielding a rapier for about a week. If I had enough talent to realize that in such a short time, I would have chosen the path of a knight long ago.
It’s not a problem that can be understood as easily as it sounds.
Clang!
“Ugh…”
My rapier flew away from the powerful attack, while her longsword approached dangerously close to my neck.
I had expected to lose, but it still felt a little frustrating.
“Hmph…”
I massaged my tingling wrist and took deep breaths. Somewhere along the way, Arin had approached and extended her hand to me.
Grabbing her hand, I slowly got up.
“You’ve worked hard today, Miss Arin.”
“Not at all.”
It was already 11 PM. Normally, training would end at this time, but I was secretly feeling a bit insufficient.
“Would it be okay to extend…”
“No, it’s not permitted.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Arin firmly cut me off. Just like last time, she refused without hesitation.
If she judged that an injury or excessive fatigue might occur, she would reject even my requests.
I wanted to get even a little more training to become stronger.
As if reading my mind, Arin shook her head firmly and spoke.
“Being anxious might cause you to take an even longer detour.”
“…I understand.”
It was impossible to argue with her sincere advice.
It was probably a recommendation based on Arin’s experiences.
I didn’t want to take an unnecessary detour as she suggested.
“Here, this is a potion.”
“Thank you.”
I drank the potion handed to me by Arin in one gulp. As it went down my throat, a pungent smell made me let out an “Ugh.”
No matter how good it is for the body, this potion was too extreme.
Of course, the fact that it recovers you so quickly was a good thing. The slight sprain in my wrist returned to its original state immediately.
It was a special potion directly purchased from the dukedom. It was certainly worth its price. There’s even a rumor that if your abdomen is pierced, one potion is enough to recover you.
“Then, I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
At Arin’s words, I nodded and moved my wobbly legs. Sibley, who had been floating next to me, surrounded me with wind.
This made walking much easier.
“Thank you.”
[It’s nothing.]
He was considerate of the small details, just like Abel. His nonchalant attitude as if it were nothing was also similar.
He too seemed indifferent on the surface, but in reality, he was quite caring behind the scenes.
[…That man is truly remarkable.]
“Huh?”
[No, just talking to myself.]
Sibley said so and moved forward. I followed behind, walking along the corridor of the duke’s house. The corridor appeared desolate without any decorations.
Initially, I thought it was somewhat peculiar, but now I had grown accustomed to the landscape.
‘Now that I think of it, Lily didn’t show up today.’
Until yesterday, she would come to greet me at the training grounds. I began to worry if something happened.
As soon as I arrived in front of my room, Sibley opened the door with wind. Lily’s figure was visible beyond it.
She had fallen asleep leaning against the bed. Even though the duke’s house was warm inside, staying like that could lead to a cold.
‘You must have been tired, Lily.’
Indeed, these past few days, she had greeted me after finishing my training, even at times she should’ve been sleeping. It seems she fell asleep due to the accumulated fatigue.
I carefully picked up Lily and gently placed her on the bed. I softly covered her with the blanket so she wouldn’t wake up.
I then sat down across from the bed.
The bed was large enough to have plenty of space even with Lily lying on it.
[Hey, contractor.]
“Huh? What is it?”
Sibley, who usually waits for me to start the conversation, had spoken first, which was quite unusual. I looked at him, wondering why.
Sibley’s face was filled with contemplation.
[Why are you so determined, contractor?]
“Determined?”
When I echoed his words, Sibley sighed slightly, looking somewhat frustrated.
[Yeah. A normal person would have probably passed out from exhaustion halfway through.]
“That’s…”
Why was I so determined?
The reason was surprisingly simple.
“I’m weak.”
Yes, I’m weak.
Weak enough to die easily from just one strike from Evan who can kill the Emperor’s hand. Weak enough to almost fall to my death from a cliff when a calamity-level monster pushed through my shield.
Weak enough that I can’t even properly protect Lily who’s right next to me, having to rely on Abel’s power. Weak enough that Lily had to desperately block the assassin for me to barely escape.
Weak enough that I couldn’t even save the old woman who saved me.
It was only at the brink of death that I finally realized how weak I truly was.
[Is it because you fear not being able to protect?]
“Yes. Extremely. Terrifying.”
My hands and feet trembled, and I couldn’t properly connect my thoughts. It was a fear that also stemmed from my memories in my previous life as well as the memories of Adelle.
“Sibley, you know I don’t belong to this world, right?”
[…Yeah. There was no way not to know. After all, communion with elementals is like that.]
Something you can’t help but feel during the first contract. It not only allowed a glimpse into the other’s emotions, but also into some of their memories.
That’s why I can open up like this. Because no one other than Sibley would believe my words.
Perhaps even Abel might just brush it off as a joke if I told him.
If it were to happen that way…
It might get a little difficult.
[What do you think about that man?]
That man? He’s probably talking about Abel.
“A kind person.”
At first, I really thought he was a frightening person.
Because he would so easily discard people who didn’t align with his purposes and see humans merely as means.
But I came to realize how much he cared for me as time passed.
His spontaneous jokes and the little attentions he showed were all for me.
‘Perhaps partly for the Esste Guild.’
If that was all, he wouldn’t take the trouble to attentively care for me so often.
He wouldn’t have been so angry when I almost died at the hunting festival.
That’s why I came to trust Abel. The reason why someone so distrustful of humans like myself could do so was because of the image of him.
Most of all, Abel’s figure when he saved me at the brink of death looked truly handsome.
Like the knight in the fairy tales I loved as a child who rescues the princess.
“That’s why, I want to become stronger.”
I didn’t want to depend on Abel anymore. I was tired of being like the princess in those fairy tales, always being saved by him.
Rather, I wanted to be the knight who could save him. I wanted to become a pillar he could rely on.
It might be impossible now, but I definitely want to become like that someday.
‘…I really think a lot about Abel.’
If the me from a few months ago read my thoughts, I might have been shocked. She might have jumped around saying I was lying.
The thought made me smile a little.
Now even the Hardenberg dukedom feels like my home.
It was an enormous change in just these few months.
