Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

There was an unspoken rule among the employees of the Count Worden’s household.

It was to ensure that, beyond official events or family celebrations, the first and second wives should avoid encountering each other as much as possible.

Recently, due to Christian’s peculiar obsession with Aira, their mothers inevitably faced each other more often.

Nevertheless, the dedicated maids went to great lengths to prevent their schedules from overlapping.

“……”

“……”

However, no matter how spacious the mansion was, it was impossible to completely avoid each other while living under the same roof.

More often than not, someone, usually Neria Worden, would whimsically cause unexpected encounters.

‘Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come this way today!’

‘But how could I stop Lady Neria from suddenly wanting to see the young master!’

The servants were painfully jittery at the silent standoff between Neria and Liana, feeling as if they were caught in an unexpected natural disaster like a sudden storm or earthquake.

Despite their anxious presence, it was ultimately Neria who retreated first.

In terms of age and status, Liana was the highest elder of the family during the head’s absence.

“Lady Liana, what brings you here?”

“You speak as if this place is yours. Is there anywhere in this mansion that I am not allowed to go?”

“You’ve never personally come to see Aira’s training, have you?”

For some reason, Neria’s tone was sharp, and Milly and the servants looked at Liana’s dedicated maid with pity.

Although Liana neither struck nor scolded the maid, it was a given that if their master was in a bad mood, the person below would suffer.

“Normally, that may be the case. However, Aira is not training alone, she is with your son, correct? I was worried my daughter might be mistreated by your son again. Is there an issue?”

“Mis, mistreated?!”

Liana, who usually responded indifferently to Neria’s remarks, now spoke with a sharp tongue.

The negative connotation of “mistreated” was enough to be misunderstood, so Neria jumped to her defense with a fiery gaze.

Liana’s dedicated maid and the servants glared at Milly, wondering if their young master had indeed mistreated her lady.

“Christian trained Aira so intensely that he coughed up blood, and you’re saying he mistreated her?!”

“Aira has already been bedridden several times because of it, or should I be grateful that at least her life was spared?”

“Getting hurt and dealing with unavoidable injuries are part of training!”

“Is that so? I thought perhaps it was a petty grudge being taken out irrationally.”

At that moment, Neria recalled a past conversation with Christian.

After being struck once by Aira, Christian had blocked her from escaping under the pretense of sparring and abused her all day long.

Christian claimed afterward that he acted out of a moment of emotional upheaval, yet he had since shown a peculiar fixation on Aira. Neria trusted her son.

Hadn’t he promised his mother never to act that way again?

“That’s because Aira is fragile, and there’s nothing anyone could do about it!”

“Yes, we call that violence.”

“Then again, look how much Christian has been injured because of Aira!”

“Speak correctly. That’s called getting what one deserves. Wasn’t it a foolish act born out of overconfidence in one’s abilities?”

Liana’s mocking words caused Neria’s eyes to flash fiercely, like a wild lynx. But only for a moment.

“Indeed, isn’t that so? My Christian still falls quite short of becoming the family head. Christian is so lacking that he barely even managed body activation and only managed to bring down Sir Garcia, Aira’s sword instructor. Oh dear, I must be more diligent in disciplining my lacking son.”

“……”

“Oh my, what should I do? There’s someone who entrusted such a lacking Christian with ten thousand gold coins. They must have been in quite a hurry. How unfortunate.”

Neria, with a bright and beaming smile, fearlessly hurled words that would be deeply insulting to others.

Though those around them paled visibly, fortunately, Liana’s expression remained as impassive as ever.

“……”

Cre-eak.

There was just a small issue; the fan Liana held snapped in half.

“Have you said everything you wanted to?”

“Oh no, I’m just getting started. Would you like me to continue?”

“Then go ahead and try.”

For those with a timid disposition, even just gazing into Liana’s eyes could be enough to stop their heart. However, Neria was entirely unaffected.

“If you wish for it, I’ll gladly… Whoop!”

“Yes, lady Neria! You must hurry inside and witness Young master Christian’s splendid training! You’re also having lunch together, aren’t you? At this rate, the Young master might skip the meal again!”

Milly, who had been observing Liana’s state, desperately covered Neria’s mouth, holding her back with such force that even Liana, who watched the scene, frowned at the severity.

“Your family is indeed frivolous. The parents’ conduct mirrors in their children, and the master’s dignity sets the precedent for their servants. Seeing your son’s frivolity and your maid’s lack of manners reaffirms the belief that the Marquis Ferda’s prestigious facade is as hollow as ever.”

It was an irreverent offense for the personal maid to touch her mistress without permission.

Yet, no matter the authority of the lady of the Worden family, she couldn’t rightfully rebuke another woman’s maid.

With her mouth still covered and mumbling, Neria watched as Liana paced decisively down the corridor.

“The time wasted on futile disputes with you is indeed regrettable.”

“Where do you think you’re going? You’re planning to bother my Christian again, aren’t you?!”

Liana ignored Neria’s provocation and entered the training ground. Anxious that Liana might lock the door, Neria quickly rushed in after her.

The attendants, who were already tense over their mistresses’ confrontation, watched each other with mutual understanding and hurriedly followed suit.

It seemed like another intense argument was about to erupt between the two mistresses, standing side by side in an unexpectedly uneasy manner.

“Ahahaha! Where has the esteemed Christian gone, I wonder?”

A strangely frivolous laughter resounded through the training area.

“He always flaunted himself during duels, and now he looks like a goblin with his tail on fire running away!”

Liana and Neria’s footsteps naturally halted at that vulgar utterance.

“What? Are you going to run crying to aunt, claiming your elder sister bullied you?”

At that moment, Aira, with her eyes wide and outrageously brandishing a sword, was seen frothing at the mouth, and Liana shut her eyes tightly.

Since becoming involved with Christian, she seemed to be unraveling, and Liana wondered if they should seriously call a priest for some mental treatment.

“Lady Liana? Did you say that parents’ actions reflect upon their children?”

Seizing the chance, Neria approached Liana. But unfortunately, it didn’t take much time for her to realize that it had been a hasty decision.

“Indeed, Aira is somewhat…”

“I’ll tie you up today and hang you upside down until you apologize for your mistakes and learn some manners!”

Neria, spotting her son swinging the sword with an equally fearsome expression as Aira’s, swallowed back her words.

“……”

When Liana stared at her intently, Neria awkwardly scratched her cheek and suggested, “Do you have time to discuss the children’s education issues?”

Liana silently nodded in agreement.

***

Aira’s one eye was bruised blue, and her clothes were frayed and torn in places. She looked quite the mess, but she continued to glare fiercely at Christian.

“Why on earth can’t I land a single hit on you?”

Aira was indignant, yet Christian remained nonchalant as if this outcome was expected. This only fueled Aira’s frustration further.

“It’s the same conditions! What’s different?!”

“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”

“Of course, I’m asking because I don’t know!”

When Aira looked genuinely curious, Christian chuckled and replied, “Ponder it a bit more.”

“……”

“Why? Want another round? Do you need to experience it bodily to understand?”

Christian provocatively swung the scabbard subtly toward Aira as he witnessed her muscles tense in anticipation.

Easily provokable, Aira, who looked about to spring at him with her eyes flipped, luckily refrained from doing so right away, thanks to her bitter experiences from the past few days.

“Well, to be honest, your talent wasn’t bad either. You borrowed my power to establish the ‘mana reservoir’, and managed the ‘body activation’ as I intended. You’ve become sturdy by following my instructions well.”

“That’s not a compliment for me, is it?! And everything you’ve done up until now wasn’t training but rather taming!”

“Even the persistence in following through with the process shows extraordinary talent.”

“What kind of compliment is that!”

Christian merely returned to Aira what he had received from his master. He had merely returned it as it was given, yet the person who had imparted it seemed not to align with the sentiment.

“Hasn’t anything stood out to you during the last week we’ve been sparring together?”

Christian tossed a new question back at Aira, who was expecting an answer, sending her back into contemplation, forgetting even her anger.

‘A week. What could have changed in just a week?’

Since they began training together in the personal training ground equipped with a ‘mana concentration array’, the first week involved nothing but endless running.

Then came their first unrestricted spar. It was a powerful experience, something she had not encountered before.

She realized this was the true ‘body activation’ she had longed for and the real knightly power she had desired, but such awareness was fleeting.

Christian adapted to the sword’s speed, which seemed almost unreactable, effortlessly dodging and deftly deflecting Aira’s sword, disarming her.

‘It doesn’t reach him.’

This situation repeated every day for six days, barring the first day.

Inevitably, Aira realized that something was significantly off.

‘He must have been adjusting to my level.’

Christian had already surpassed the ‘body activation’ stage and entered the ‘wave’ phase. She knew this from witnessing his duel with Sir Garcia.

However, during the week of sparring, Christian didn’t use the wave even once.

Yet, she found herself consistently being defeated, prompting her to ponder seriously about the issue each night.

And eventually, she reached a conclusion….

“Did you use a wave technique without me noticing?”

“What? Have you finally noticed?”

“You, you! Didn’t we agree to only use body activation fairly?!”

“When did I ever say anything like that?”

Aira wanted to rebut but found herself with nothing to say. Indeed, Christian had only suggested sparring, not using only body activation.

Realizing the truth, Aira glared at Christian with a betrayed expression.

“How un-knightly! Then why didn’t you teach me the wave technique instead of the body activation application?!”

“Seems you’re misunderstanding, but I’m in the position of teaching you, not learning with you. As you experience, you’ll naturally come to realize things as you have now.”

“It’s more like ‘getting hit until I realize’! And what kind of master sets problems outside of the test range?!”

If they were to practice body activation applications, of course, they should only use body activation. It was an implicit agreement.

Feeling wronged by the beatings from Christian over the past week, Aira yelled out in protest.

“Fine, fine. From this spar onwards, I’ll explain everything step by step so pay attention and learn. Isn’t it easier for you to learn by getting hit?”

“That just means you’re planning to hit me again! Argh-?!”

As Christian swung his sword, Aira reflexively swung hers to block it.

The speed wasn’t as fast, and it was a straightforward sword path. Aira felt a sense of pride as she managed to block it steadily, benefiting from the many blows she had taken up to that point.

“What, what is this?!”

But the smile of satisfaction froze quickly on Aira’s face.

Aira’s sword stuck to Christian’s sword, as if becoming one with it, refusing to detach.

She tried forcibly pulling her sword back, but it was of no use. Instead, as Christian swung his sword around, Aira’s body wavered.

“You, how did you do this?!”

“Wave application, adhesion.”

Christian grinned as he spoke.

“This time, according to your wish, I’ll engrave it upon your body one by one.”

In that moment, Aira realized she had made a serious miscalculation.