After leaving the mansion, I headed for the knights’ training grounds with Elena.
‘It’ll be fine… right?’
The duke’s precious, treasured young lady was trying to take up a sword—and at the tender age of nine, no less. From the duke’s perspective, perhaps it might not be a welcome sight.
But I couldn’t very well tell her, when she was so excited, to please restrain herself, so I could only feel troubled.
So this is the life of a servant…? It’s harder than I thought.
When we finally arrived at the training grounds, the knights were in the middle of training. Some were striking wooden dummies, while others were sparring with one another.
Was this a familiar sight to Elena? Despite the rather loud noise, she didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
It was then that one of the knights training spotted Elena and immediately approached. His face was full of fluster.
“Lady Elena? What brings you all the way here?”
“Swordsmanship…? I want to try it.”
“You mean to say that you wish to swing a sword, my lady…?”
“Yeah. Me and him.”
When Elena’s gaze turned to me, the knight’s gaze followed.
I stepped forward and bowed my head lightly.
“My name is Luke Nineheart, and I have become Lady Elena’s personal servant.”
“Nineheart… Do you mean Sir Deren, the one called the legend of the Second Order of Knights?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
It seemed my father was quite a famous man. The fact that people still spoke of him, even though it had been quite some time since he retired, was proof enough.
“I understand the situation, but…”
He trailed off and scratched his head. He seemed troubled, unable to refuse Elena’s request, yet unable to accept it either.
I felt bad for him, but thanks to that, my heart felt a little lighter. It was practically as if he were worrying in my place.
“Then would you wait here for a moment? I’ll go ask the commander.”
“Okay, go on.”
The knight bowed his head and immediately left.
Left alone with me, Elena began looking around with eyes full of curiosity. It seemed she had seen the training grounds in passing before, but had never actually come inside.
“Luke, this is really big. It’s even bigger than me.”
“So it is.”
Where Elena’s gaze had stopped was a massive greatsword. The blade alone was taller than Elena, so with the hilt included, there was nothing more to say.
‘There are really people who use things like this…?’
It went without saying that the larger the sword, the heavier it would be. To swing a sword like this, one would surely need tremendous strength.
But at that point, wouldn’t they be closer to a monster than a human…?
It was then. Suddenly, I sensed someone behind me, and goosebumps rose along my spine.
Startled, I whipped around, and soon came face-to-face with someone.
Hair dyed pure white, a long scar running over his left eye, and a build that carried an imposing pressure. If the phrase veteran of a hundred battles were made into a person, he would look exactly like this.
If there was anyone who could swing that massive greatsword, it was surely this man.
“My lady, I am Chrome, commander of the First Order of Knights.”
“Okay, I’m Elena.”
Elena boldly held out her hand to the man who looked like he could beat a bear to death.
Apparently, our young lady had been born without fear.
No joke—she was truly impressive.
“I have heard much about you from His Grace. It is an honor to meet you like this.”
He took Elena’s hand with the utmost care.
His hand was the opposite of Elena’s soft, delicate one—rough and covered in scars. One could tell what sort of place the northern front was just by looking at his hand. It was surely no easy place.
“I heard that you wished to learn swordsmanship.”
“Yeah. Him and me. I want to do it together.”
Chrome’s gaze turned to me.
At that instant, a tingling sensation shot through my whole body as if I had been struck by electricity. At the same time, I couldn’t move a finger—no, I couldn’t even swallow.
They said strong beasts could subdue their opponents with just their gaze. This was exactly that sort of situation.
Fortunately, it did not last very long.
“Very well. I will guide you.”
Saying that, he began walking toward somewhere.
At the same time, the pressure that had been constricting my body vanished, and I quietly took a deep breath without letting it show.
The spearhead of the northern knights, the commander of the First Order of Knights. It seemed he was someone who surpassed my imagination.
Soon, following Chrome, we arrived at one corner of the training grounds.
It was a place where one could feel as though they were training alongside the knights, while at the same time not getting in their way—in other words, a place truly meant for Elena.
“Then, please take these.”
What he handed over were swords. Small wooden swords that seemed to have been made for children.
They were a little smaller than the ones I had used at home, but it didn’t seem to matter much. It wasn’t as if there was that great a difference.
“It’s a sword…!”
After receiving the sword, Elena put on a rather serious expression and imitated the knights. Just like children usually did when playing knights.
Chrome watched Elena’s actions, then caught the tip of her wooden sword between two fingers.
“My lady, you must not swing a sword like that. I will teach you from now on, so please follow along.”
“Okay…!”
From then on, Chrome’s swordsmanship training began.
How to grip the sword, how to move one’s feet, what to be careful of when swinging a sword, and so on. Since he had to match Elena’s level, it was all very basic.
I also joined the training at Elena’s side. Most of it was what I had learned from my father, but one could never train the fundamentals too much, so I had no particular complaints.
How much time had passed since then?
“Uuuh… I’m tired…”
“Then we shall stop here for today. You did very well.”
In the end, Elena declared surrender.
Considering she was someone who even needed a servant’s help to get dressed, one could say she had lasted quite a while.
Honestly, I was a little surprised.
After catching my breath with a brief deep inhale, I approached Chrome to return the wooden sword.
“Thank you for the training.”
“Have you ever learned the sword somewhere?”
“Come to think of it, I have not yet introduced myself properly. My name is Luke Nineheart, and I have become Lady Elena’s personal servant. As for the sword, I learned it briefly from my father when I was still at home.”
“Nineheart… Sir Deren’s…. Then that makes sense. Your posture was clean, so to be honest, I was a little surprised.”
“You praise me too much.”
“Sir Deren and I were quite good rivals on the battlefield. Well, it’s a bit of an old-fashioned story now. In any case, if you ever have the chance, come to the training grounds anytime. If it is training you want, I can give you as much as you like.”
As was often the case with army stories, I had naturally assumed my father’s tales were exaggerated. Honestly, who would believe that he fought one against fifty and won?
But if he had been rivals with a man who looked like he could even beat down a bear, I had no choice but to believe it.
Father, your unworthy son finally understands. You truly must have flown across the battlefield.
With that, I ended my conversation with Chrome and approached Elena.
“My lady, it is time to return now.”
“Y-yeah! We should go back!”
Elena, who had been standing there dazed, hurriedly nodded. Was it just my imagination that her expression looked happy?
Well, if I thought about it, it was only natural. Even basic training must have been quite difficult for Elena to endure.
When I first learned the sword from my father, I had wanted to run away at any moment, so I understood the feeling well.
Soon, once we left the training grounds, Elena’s shoulders drooped.
“That was hard…”
“You worked very hard. And you were truly excellent.”
“R-really? I did well?”
“Yes, you did well. You were like a knight from a fairy tale.”
Had the praise put her in a good mood? Elena straightened her shoulders and strode forward confidently. Of course, it didn’t last very long.
Soon, when the mansion was not far away, Elena suddenly tilted her head.
My face was reflected in her blue eyes.
“But Luke, about swordsmanship. Why do something hard? Is it fun?”
“It is so I can protect you if you ever fall into danger, my lady.”
“I fall into danger? How?”
“Bad people might appear, might they not?”
“Like villains in books?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
If I were to explain further, it would get a bit long, but the conclusion was that it was to protect Elena.
Protecting her was directly connected to my peaceful life, after all.
“Then Luke, you’re a knight?”
“I am a servant.”
“Then a servant knight!”
A slave gladiator…?
She had only twisted it a little, yet the wording was quite violent.
Surely there wasn’t something like a colosseum in this world too, right?
“Then what do I do if you’re in danger, Luke? Swordsmanship is hard for me.”
“If I fall into danger, you must run to a safe place, my lady.”
“No! I want to protect you too!”
I appreciated the sentiment, but there was no need for that. The enormous backing of the Frozenheart Ducal House was enough to protect me.
And above all, it made no sense for a master to step forward in order to protect a servant.
But if she truly wanted to protect me no matter what…
It wasn’t as if there was no way.
“If swordsmanship is hard, how about learning magic?”
“Magic? I know magic. It’s when fire goes pop—out of your finger.”
“That’s right. But truly great mages can create enormous flames.”
“If I become a great mage, can I protect you, Luke?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I’ll do it! I’ll be a mage!”
Elena’s eyes sparkled. Like a little child who had found something fascinating.
It probably wouldn’t last long. Children were the sort to quickly lose interest even after something caught their attention.
She would soon forget that she had said she would protect me too. As she made friends, it would naturally fade from her memory.
At least, at the time, that was what I truly believed.