I felt a heavier impact each time the swords clashed than before.

“Enough playing around, I’ll focus now. So, Duchess, try to block my sword.”

Without time to respond, the sharply gleaming blade came at my vital points. It wasn’t just aiming straight at one spot honestly. When I blocked one area, he changed direction and took a different stance in the blink of an eye. There was no hesitation in Count Warden’s judgment, and it seemed like his body moved first, knowing where it should go.

It was as if I could be mesmerized by the beautiful trajectory of the sword, like watching a dance.

‘I’ll lose. I’m going to lose. But I can’t stop.’

I knew my skills were far lacking. He must have dedicated his life to the sword. It’s nonsense for me, who practiced swordsmanship as a hobby, to win.

But though it was tough to avoid his sword, it wasn’t impossible. The longer the bout went on, the more my body followed his movements.

My breath was labored, but my body kept urging to move faster. I couldn’t even close my eyes to the rapidly changing view.

Silently following only the beautiful trajectory of the sword, I instinctively sensed where the next sword would be.

“It’s here.”

After quickly blocking, I pushed him back once more, and Count Warden swallowed his breath.

‘If I expose my vital point here as if brushing past, I could stab too.’

I’d get somewhat injured too, but if I swung my sword at him like that, I could at least leave a scratch.

As I moved with that thought, Count Warden blocked my sword and warned,

“That’s too naive a thought, Duchess. In a critical moment, such judgment will only lead your allies to death.”

His warning broke the concentration I was in. In the moment of confusion when my center of balance crumbled, his sword touched my neck.

“Ugh.”

When I put down my sword, he withdrew his as well. Count Warden spoke to me with a complicated expression.

“Haa… You’re more reckless than you look. Duke Perhaem will have quite a hard time.”

“I made that judgment in the moment. You realized it right away.”

“Well, reading the opponent’s thoughts in the moment of crossing swords is basic. It was reckless, but an enviable talent. If you weren’t the Duchess, I would have wanted to take you as my disciple and teach you properly.”

“…That’s excessive praise. I’m not particularly talented.”

“Haha. You’re too harsh in your self-assessment, Duchess. That’s not good. It’s important to view your abilities objectively too.”

But I couldn’t believe it. That I had talent in swordsmanship? How could I have talent in swordsmanship?

When the nanny at the Count’s house saw me get hurt while handling a sword, she cried and asked if I really had to continue swordsmanship.

The knights also said I didn’t need to be so diligent, and Wizlet, the only one in my family who knew I was learning swordsmanship, just said it would be good for a change of mood.

It was just that now I had developed an appetite for it. Because there was someone who seriously received my sword and encouraged me.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really been praised by anyone except Yezar. And I think even Yezar spoke well of me so I wouldn’t be disappointed.”

“I’m not good at saying nice things just for the sake of it. So you can believe-Ack!”

Slap―! The sound that rang out in the quiet space was so loud. My eyes widened involuntarily. It was the sound of Katrin hitting Count Warden’s back.

“Are you crazy? Do you know how important hair is to a woman? And you just cut it off like that!”

“Ah, no… Katrin, this was an accident during the bout…”

“You should have been careful! This is why I call you a muscle-head, because you can’t control even that one thing!”

Feeling sorry that he was getting scolded for accommodating my stubbornness, I tried to stop her.

“It’s okay, Katrin. Hair grows back anyway. Count Warden, thank you for sparring with me.”

I had been so absorbed I didn’t even realize my whole body was drenched in sweat. Yet I felt refreshed and happy, and a smile escaped me.

“I really enjoyed it. So much that I thought it would be nice if a moment like this came again.”

“I enjoyed it too, Duchess. I almost lost if I had made one wrong move. I’ll say it again, you have talent in swordsmanship.”

I wonder. Could it be that I have talent in swordsmanship? I felt it while sparring with real swords. That I wanted to do better. That I wanted to exchange swords for longer.

I realized that such a longing existed within me. And after crossing swords with Count Warden, I seemed to understand. His swordsmanship was beautiful and elegant like drawing smooth lines, but still, the moment of crossing swords with Yezar was better.

I wanted to spar with Yezar using real swords, not wooden ones. I wanted to exchange swords with him for longer.

“Since you said I have talent, I’ll try to work harder.”

“I’m afraid of how much you’ll grow. This might bring up unpleasant memories, but wasn’t Countess Orbetian once a promising knight? It seems that talent has been passed down to you, the Duchess, rather than to her son.”

“What? My mother was a promising knight?”

It was the first time I’d heard this. There was no such story anywhere in the memories of Julieta that remained in me.

Then Count Warden spoke with surprise.

“You didn’t know? It seems no one told you. Well, I had forgotten about it too since it was something I heard when I was young. But seeing the Duchess’s swordsmanship reminded me. You’ve inherited a good talent.”

I felt dazed. To think that Julieta’s mother, who I only remembered as bedridden with illness, was once a promising knight. Is that why it feels so good when I wield a sword? I looked at the sword I was holding with a strange feeling.

Then this thought occurred to me. If the Julieta in the novel had devoted herself to the sword instead of chasing someone’s affection… Does that mean she could have become a knight respected by everyone?

“…Thank you for telling me.”

Knowing that my expression wasn’t good somewhere, Katrin and Count Warden called out to me, but their voices sounded distant. My mind was complicated and I wanted to go somewhere else.

Yes. I should go to a place where my heart feels at ease…

Someone pulled me into their embrace. Strangely, it made me feel calm.

“Are you alright, Duchess? Your expression doesn’t look good.”

Ah. It’s Yezar. Thank goodness. I leaned into his embrace and muttered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry. My mind became complicated after hearing about my mother. What should I do? I didn’t want to show this expression to Count Warden and Katrin.”

“Then, rest by my side for a moment. Duchess.”

I heard Yezar say something. I quietly leaned against his chest and listened to the thumping sound of his heart.

Having someone to rely on was even better than I thought.

***

We decided to rest on the bench for a while and received wet towels. Yezar wiped the sweat flowing from me with a wet towel.

“I can do it myself.”

“It’s alright. You sweated a lot, didn’t you?”

Yezar had also sweated during the sparring, but. It was so natural for him to take care of me first. Normally, I would have cried out that I would wipe his sweat too, but maybe because my mind was complicated, I quietly accepted his touch.

“Where are Count Warden and the ladies?”

“Count Warden went to change clothes because he sweated during the sparring, and the ladies decided to go inside.”

That was a relief. I was worried they might worry about me unnecessarily. When Yezar wiped the sweat that had flowed onto my forehead, my head felt much cooler.

“I’m sorry. Were you surprised? My mind became confused at the sudden talk about my mother.”

“You said she passed away when you were young, right?”

“Yes. So I didn’t have anything you could call affection, and even after she passed away, I didn’t miss her. But when I thought that my talent in swordsmanship might be inherited from my mother, my mind suddenly became confused, you know?”

It was a strange feeling. It felt like I had glimpsed another future for Julieta, who was just a villainous supporting character in the novel.

“That can happen.”

“It’s strange. I don’t have any memories of being close to my mother. To think that my talent was inherited from her. If my mother had been healthy, what would it have been like? Would I have learned swordsmanship normally while receiving love and become a knight?”

If only mother had been alive, Julieta, and I, wouldn’t have disliked rainy days. Father and big brother wouldn’t have been so devoted to work either.

Countless such assumptions unfolded within me. The more I thought about it, the more pitiful the departed Julieta seemed. I wanted to hug her tightly and comfort her.

That she was worthy of love. That she was a shining raw gem just as she was.

“But there’s no point in making assumptions.”

They were all meaningless assumptions. Imagining only made me feel empty. Then, Yezar took my hand and said,

“But if that had been the case, we wouldn’t have become husband and wife…”

Huh? What did Yezar just say? I looked at him in surprise. His face was red. It was hard to tell if it was heat from the sparring.

“We wouldn’t have had moments like this, talking together and sparring, sharing each other’s concerns. I want you to be happy, Duchess. But selfishly, I hope you don’t regret the moments you’re with me now.”