I Tamed the Black Duke as a Terminally-Ill Saint (3 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
“……”
I pursed my lips.
Several things I wanted to say came to mind, but it seemed wiser not to voice them aloud.
Especially not while Hades Crohittner was watching me with sharp eyes.
“You’ve surely heard of the First Imperial Princess.”
I quietly nodded.
In truth, it wasn’t merely a matter of having “heard” about her.
Princess Elishia Steinhardt was one of the game’s main characters, after all.
“I hold no particular feelings toward her personally. However, under our nation’s laws, the Duchess holds equal authority with me in governing Donovan. I cannot afford to grant such a position to an Imperial Princess.”
I bit my lip.
I could clearly foresee where this conversation was heading.
“You wouldn’t be thinking of using me to reject the marriage proposal, would you?”
“Are you genuinely asking that, Saintess?”
“……”
“Actually, this works out well. You’ve earned great merit, so many will follow you from now on. My favor toward you will deepen as well—making it impossible for the Princess to ignore you.”
An obvious question came to mind.
“Won’t she try to eliminate me instead?”
“That’s precisely why you’ll need an escort.”
Only then did I realize—
Hades Crohittner had already decided everything.
There was no room for my opinion.
“……I’ll do my best.”
After all, unless I planned to join the protagonist’s party, Hades and I were in the same boat.
To keep the Holy Sword, I had to play along with his tune.
“A wise choice.”
A faint smile curved at the corner of Hades’s lips.
“I’ll leave it to you, Saintess.”
‘……Just how did things end up like this?’
After asking Amy to bring me a warm cup of lemon tea and some snacks, I munched on sweet cookies, lost in thought.
While with Hades, I’d been too caught up to notice—but the mere fact that Princess Elishia had sent him a marriage proposal felt deeply odd.
Princess Elishia.
She first appeared in the Imperial Palace, the setting for the latter half of Leodel, and served as a steadfast ally to the protagonist, Leto.
Notably, Leto never needed to work on raising Elishia’s affection.
Why?
Because, according to the lore, Hades was Elishia’s sworn enemy.
Simply by killing him, Leto earned her full support.
‘But a marriage proposal? Something feels off.’
Could she possibly plan to kill Hades after marrying him and seize real power?
Yet the Princess Elishia I’d seen while playing the game wasn’t that kind of character.
She was one who stubbornly upheld honor and fairness, to a fault.
‘Exactly what’s going on here?’
I swallowed hard.
According to Hades, the Empire’s delegation would arrive soon—perhaps then I’d uncover some clue.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Amy, having opened it and checked who was there, turned back to me with an uneasy expression.
“Saintess, it’s Sir Tobias… What should I do?”
“Tell him to come in.”
I’d expected Tobias to visit soon anyway.
Hades had given him two orders concerning me.
The first was to teach me swordsmanship; the second was to serve as my guard.
Neither task was really suitable for the Deputy Commander of the Grand Duke’s private knights.
“How are you feeling, Saintess?”
“Much better.”
I answered with a smile.
“What brings you here, Sir?”
Tobias winked one eye.
Before I could even fluster at the familiar gesture, he spoke right away.
“I assume His Grace the Grand Duke has already informed you. From now on, I’ll be responsible for your protection.”
“Starting today?”
“Yes, starting today.”
Tobias knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully.
“I’ll be counting on you, Sir Tobias.”
Tobias’s expression turned slightly disappointed.
“I previously asked you to call me just Tobias… I suppose you’ve forgotten.”
“Oh, right. My apologies—I completely blanked.”
I gave him a playful smile.
“No need to push away someone who’s trying to show friendliness.”
Brushing cookie crumbs off my hands, I rose from my seat.
“I understand His Grace entrusted you with one more task.”
“Yes. I was also ordered to instruct you in swordsmanship.”
“When can we start?”
“If you wish, right this very moment.”
Tobias extended his hand toward me.
“Shall we head to the training grounds?”
Let me be honest.
Whatever I’d imagined while walking to the training grounds under Tobias’s escort, it certainly wasn’t this.
“Good heavens, it’s the Saintess!”
“No way. Why would the Saintess come to a place like this?”
“Are your eyes crossed? Look—there’s Saintess Angelica!”
Being physically frail didn’t mean I was hard of hearing.
Their loud, unrestrained shouts—made without even lowering their voices—rang clearly in my ears, making my face flush involuntarily.
“You idiots, quiet down.”
If Tobias hadn’t barked at them, I would’ve kept hearing more embarrassing remarks.
“Captain, you should’ve warned us you were bringing the Saintess! I would’ve at least shaved my beard!”
“I would’ve worn my ceremonial uniform…”
“I would’ve brought out my treasured bow…”
Actually, now I was hearing even more embarrassing things.
Feeling the need to sort this out, I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Don’t worry about me—I won’t interfere. Please carry on with your training. I’m here for my own practice.”
“The Saintess is here to train…? Is that really true?”
I blinked.
It wasn’t the question that surprised me.
It was who had asked it.
I looked straight at him.
“Sir William, this is His Grace the Grand Duke’s order. If you have any objections, please take them up with him.”
“…His Grace’s order, you say.”
Sir William fell into thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood. To avoid disturbing you, I’ll take everyone except Tobias elsewhere.”
“No, that’s unnecessary.”
I shook my head.
“We won’t be taking up much space, right, Tobias?”
“Correct.”
Tobias nodded.
“We’ll only be doing basic physical training—no need to clear others out.”
“…Do you really need to come all the way to the training grounds just for basic drills?”
Sir William muttered under his breath, but his dissatisfaction was obvious.
“There’s good reason for it.”
Tobias replied calmly.
“Moreover, I believe it’s necessary for other comrades to remain nearby, just in case.”
He subtly pointed toward Denesor with his fingertips.
“It’s no ordinary sword, after all.”
A flicker of understanding lit Sir William’s eyes.
“…Ah, the sword His Grace bestowed—the Demon Sword?”
“Something like that.”
“Very well. I’ll assist the Saintess with her training near the western exit.”
Tobias gave a brief salute, then led me toward the western exit.
Once we were out of earshot of others, I quietly asked him,
“Sir, how much do you know about this sword?”
Tobias gave a gentle smile.
“His Grace trusts me.”
“……”
I stared at him.
Tobias hadn’t actually answered my question.
He’d merely guided me to think what he wanted me to.
“So you’ve already been told it’s a Demon Sword.”
“If you think that’s all he’s shared with me, then you’re seriously underestimating the trust I’ve earned.”
I decided not to fall for his leading question.
Truthfully, how much Tobias knew wasn’t particularly important.
What mattered was what he’d teach me.
Fortunately, Tobias wasted no time with beginner nonsense like handing me a wooden practice sword.
“Take your sword. Good—I won’t need to teach you the basic stance.”
He drew his own blade.
“What I’ll show you now are fundamental solo drills—movements even children from knightly households learn, regardless of gender.”
“Are you from a knightly household too, Tobias?”
It was just a simple question to ease the mood, yet Tobias didn’t answer.
“…Watch closely.”
I nodded, committing each of his movements to memory.
A wide sweep from upper right to lower left, then upper left, then lower right…
‘What? These are just basic swordsman drills.’
Having seen them countless times in Leodel, the patterns were already familiar.
Though the sequence consisted of sixteen moves, I didn’t even need to memorize them—
My body remembered them already.
“Now try it yourself.”
I raised Denesor.
Though knowing the motions in my head was different from actually performing them—and I wasn’t confident—I resolved to do my best.
‘Huh?’
The sword moved as smoothly as if buttered.
After perfectly completing the sequence, I glanced at Tobias.
Expecting praise, I was surprised to find his handsome face frozen stiff.
‘…Did I do something wrong?’
Tobias spoke with a grave expression.
“Saintess, have you trained with a sword before?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“This is my first proper lesson.”
“……”
Tobias fell silent for a moment.
“Since you picked up the basics so easily, let’s move on.”
This time, he demonstrated a dazzling sequence, spinning his blade left and right.
Of course, I’d seen this countless times while playing the game as well.
I mimicked Tobias’s movements without difficulty.
Without a word, he immediately moved to the next sequence.
And the next, and the next…
Finally, when he lowered his sword—
Dozens of knights had gathered around us.
Breathing heavily, I sank to the ground.
Truthfully, the motions required little actual strength, but just moving my body was already exhausting.
Naturally, I couldn’t make out the murmurs around me—
Though I kept hearing something about “genius”…
Clang.
Tobias dropped his sword to the ground.
I stared up at him, bewildered.
Had I somehow angered him?
An unfamiliar knight patted his rigid shoulder.
“Don’t take it to heart. It’s not your fault the Saintess is a once-in-a-hundred-years genius.”
…What did you say?
But my shock was short-lived.
At the sound of a familiar voice from behind, I froze completely.
“My dear little bird—I never knew you had talent in swordsmanship as well.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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