CRACK! The sound of two hard objects colliding with each other echoed through the training ground in the corner of the castle.
Several days later, Cesia was practicing using a staff with the retired knight Sir Robert. After a year, Cesia received a passing grade in unarmed martial arts from Marcus, so the focus of her training had shifted to combat using weapons. She had an average build for a woman, so it was determined that the type of weapon most suited to her was either a knife or something she was likely to be able to obtain on-site, like a staff. So, while still wearing her maid’s uniform, she had earnestly begun her training for the day.
Ever since the drug smuggling case, Cesia had stopped training in athletic clothes. She wanted to make sure she was agile, even while wearing a dress with a corset, so she had been purposefully training while wearing clothes that restricted her movements. Robert had been surprised at first, but once he saw how Cesia’s duties were likely to result in situations where she was thrown into combat while still wearing a dress, he proactively created scenarios for her where she was at a disadvantage. Besides, it was common for knights to wear heavy armor, even during field training.
Crack, crack! The sound of two staffs colliding grew more frequent as Robert turned up the tempo of their bout. It was all she could do to keep up with his pace frantically.
She counterattacked, making sure her staff wasn’t knocked out of her grip, but she was careless about her step and abruptly fell when Robert tripped her.
“Ah!” she exclaimed.
Robert picked up Cesia’s staff, which had rolled away from her, and said, “Let’s end here for today.” He gently smiled.
Robert had retired from his position after an injury but still trained regularly, so he maintained a solid build. He was about as old as Cesia’s father would have been. Marcus had trained with the retired knight from a young age, which would make Robert the teacher of her teacher.
“I can keep going,” Cesia said, hastily standing up. Robert shook his head.
“It’d be best if we didn’t do anything that hindered your afternoon duties.”
Cesia paused, then replied, “Yes, sir,” still out of breath. She hung her head. Robert was right. She would be getting her priorities backward if she spent all her energy on training and let that affect her work.
“I’ll go wash my face,” Cesia said.
“Go ahead.”
After Robert’s reply, Cesia went to get water nearby, still hanging her head.
Marcus used the small training ground himself, which was off-limits to others. Felix and the others had permission to train with the knights, and Layne and Keith had their own spaces where they could train on their own. Lately, Cesia had been feeling restless, wanting to catch up with them, even if only a little bit.
Robert did some light maintenance on the equipment they used and put them away. This was the perfect exercise for after retirement; it was as if he were training a new recruit. Cesia was passionate about her training and got the hang of things quickly.
Robert thought that, after only a year of training, which she had done while simultaneously accomplishing her other duties, Cesia had shown great progress. He had said as much to her, too, but she always compared herself with those ahead of her, like Keith and Marcus. If channeled properly, that impatience could become good fuel for further progress, so he had refrained from speaking to her about it too much. Still, if she worked too hard, she would hurt herself, so Robert paid attention to make sure that didn’t happen.
While Robert was deep in thought, Marcus appeared on the training ground. When Robert saw his princely outfit, he guessed he had been meeting with an ambassador from another country. He found the time to come to this corner of the castle to see her. She must’ve been weighing on his mind.
“Sir Robert, sorry for the sudden visit,” Marcus said.
“Not at all! We just finished for today. Did you come all the way here to observe, Your Royal Highness?” Robert grinned.
“Don’t be such a pain.” Marcus gave a sulky frown. “I’ve been busy lately, and I haven’t been able to see Cesia practice, so I was wondering how she’s doing, that’s all.”
“Oh, that’s all?”
“Don’t grin at me, old man!” Marcus sharply glared at him.
“Try to hide it better, boy.”
Robert had been his teacher from a young age, so even Marcus was at a disadvantage when it came to him.
“How’s Cesia?” Marcus asked. “I was wondering whether it was the right idea to let her use weapons this early.”
Robert smiled happily. “You’re too overprotective. She’s talented, quick to learn, and always ready for more. I’d be happy to have her as a knight.”
“I won’t give you my employee,” Marcus said surprisingly forcefully.
Robert smiled again. I might be able to recruit her as a knight after she gets rejected, he thought.
Naturally, Cesia took great pains to hide her feelings for Marcus, but her emotional guard was weaker on the training ground. Perhaps because her feelings were closer to the surface when she fought, her respect and love for Marcus shone through. He could often feel himself smiling despite himself whenever he saw Cesia’s expression when she spoke about Marcus. Her face was that of a girl in love.
Robert had three sons, all of whom had become knights. He didn’t feel dissatisfied as a parent, but he often thought that if he had a daughter, this was what it would feel like. Along with how hardworking she was, Robert saw Cesia as an undeniably cute student.
While it didn’t appear that Marcus was aware of Cesia’s feelings, Robert was happy to see that Marcus held his own feelings for her. It was a love between a student Robert found unpleasant—but whom he still loved and respected—and a student who was like a cute daughter to him; obstacles would fill their path, but as an old soldier, he was rooting for them.
“Isn’t that up to Cesia?” Robert said. Just as he finished speaking, she returned.
“Sir Robert, I’m sorry for making you tidy up everything!” Cesia said. She had rushed over when she saw that the training ground was cleaned up. When she noticed Marcus, she stopped in her tracks, surprised. “Your Royal Highness,” she greeted him, dropping to one knee and lowering her head.
Marcus gazed at the whorl of hair on the top of her head and smiled slightly.
Robert looked at them and shrugged.
“Cesia, I’ll leave ahead of you, but make sure you do a cool-down exercise before you go. And, Your Highness, would you please watch her so she doesn’t do anything reckless?”
“Sir Robert! I won’t do anything reckless, and I can’t take His Royal Highness’s time—”
“All right,” Marcus said. Cesia had been about to protest Robert’s decision, but Marcus’s reply left her words hanging in the air.
After a simple goodbye, Robert exited the training ground. Left behind, Cesia uncomfortably lowered her gaze to the ground. As soon as she met Marcus, the feelings that had been congealing within her as she devoted herself to her work and training suddenly grew more pronounced.
She had gone over it in her mind countless times, but her feelings for Marcus weren’t something that had any possibility of success. He would marry Juliette. And even if he didn’t, a commoner like her would never have a chance with him. When she wasn’t aware of her feelings, she had been able to interact more calmly with Marcus, but now, she was a bit awkward.
“By the way, you haven’t decided on your house yet,” Marcus said, breaking the silence.
“Ah.”
“Did you forget? Chris was bothered, saying he couldn’t start the purchase yet.”
“But I thought it would be a house, with maybe a couple of rooms, like what a commoner would live in… A garden would be nice, but… That wasn’t a house. It was closer to a mansion,” Cesia said with a troubled expression.
The houses in the capital Chris had selected—all in the royal family’s possession for one reason or another—had all been owned by nobles. The smallest was a two-story building that could comfortably house a four-person family. It was far too much for her.