chapter 12
12 – Start of class
Basic swordsmanship I The classroom was quite large. In one corner of the classroom, scarecrows are standing in a row. As expected, the classroom was full of sweaty macho. Most of them would be aspiring knights. And the occasional sandals. Did your family force you to listen? I glanced over the classroom.
Then, I found two unexpected people. Wilhelm and Cordelia.
It’s Wilhelm. Gao wouldn’t survive if the Crown Prince of the Empire was unfamiliar with swordsmanship, so it’s not something he couldn’t understand. But why is Cordelia really there?
Wilhelm is surrounded by many students. He is responding roughly with a formal smile. It was natural for the royal family to enter the academy for the purpose of image-making.
In contrast, Cordelia is standing alone in the corner awkwardly. She seems to be looking around to see if anyone knows. Other students are also keeping their distance as if it is difficult to approach them. The duke’s daughter, who had just broken off the marriage with the crown prince, showed up at the same swordsmanship class, so he wouldn’t know how to deal with it.
They both looked at me as if they felt my gaze.
“Sheesh.”
Wilhelm clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like him, then turned his head away. I feel like he doesn’t even want to face me. Maybe she’s jealous because Lily insisted on being friends earlier in the morning. I thought it was pitiful earlier, but it’s a problem that I have to solve by holding Lily and her hands, and I hope you don’t spark me.
It is your responsibility to get caught in the fishery. Who wants to go into a fishery with blue whales like that, but it’s kind of ugly to have a temper with other fish.
“As expected, Mikhail was there too.”
As soon as Cordelia saw my face, she came running. It’s a really happy look. She is the only one in her class who can be considered a noble lady, so it’s not strange that she doesn’t have any friends. Although she doesn’t seem to have many friends in other classrooms given her hot-tempered personality. Aristocratic etiquette is quite strict and exclusive. To me, it’s just a crap.
As she approaches me, I feel the stares of her other students. She is one of the few female students in the classroom, so the other students’ eyes are no joke. Everyone is stealing. Moreover, considering that there are really few female students who want to be female knights who boast her short hair and strong body, her appearance is unique in this class. Objectively, there are things that she is beautiful, but it is something that stands out in her eyes.
“I don’t know anyone here. It’s nice to see a familiar face.”
“Shouldn’t you have asked me to go with you in class earlier?”
Cordelia shakes her head sideways at my story.
“No no no. Looking at it earlier, it seems like Hestia and I don’t really want to break up, right? I didn’t want to get involved in that.”
“No, it wasn’t that much. I just said hello to see you later like everyone else.”
It’s a little embarrassing to hear that you were soggy because you didn’t want to fall out of someone else’s mouth for a second.
“It looked very awkward in the morning, but after a short break, honey dripped all of a sudden. What did you two do?”
I can’t honestly say that I’ve come to tell you that I like you, even for the sake of Hestia’s honor and myself. I just glossed over it.
“We just had a little chat. Oh, I thought about it because it was morning, what did you really think about asking?”
I asked what I was curious about. Anyone can see that she confidently asked if you guys really fought in front of men and women who were in a fighting mood. Was she pretending to be so ignorant in the sense of having a quick conversation?
“What are you talking about?”
“The one who asked us in the morning if we had a fight. Did you really ask without any intention?”
“Intent? What intention?”
She doesn’t even understand my question. My God, I have nothing to say as a person benefited from her innocence, but are you really okay with this?
“What’s wrong with your expression?”
“No. Lady Deneb, please don’t change and stay the way you are.”
She tilted her head. It’s quite different from the way her eyes went wild last night. If you don’t get angry, you’re a really good person.
“Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t apologized and thanked you yet.”
Cordelia looked at me for a moment before striking her palm with her fist. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen that gesture. Every time I see these artificial actions, I feel with my skin that this world is a different world.
“Apology and thanks?”
“That’s a bit embarrassing, but yesterday I blinded myself and bought more than one or two things.”
Cordelia blushed in shame at the thought of her ugliness last night.
“First of all, that, uh, ah! Thanks for drying it. If you hadn’t stopped me, it might have been really big.”
“That was requested by Hestia, and I was afraid Lady Adamas would be right.”
It wasn’t something I did specifically for Cordelia. She has a bit of a conscience to get her thank you.
“Um, but it’s true that your actions helped, right? Then you should say thank you. It’s not worn out either. Oh, and you asked me to stop canceling my admission. Thank you for that too.”
“That was also a request from Hestia…”
“Quiet. I said it before, but I’m saying it because I’m grateful, so there’s no need to decline so much. Or do you not want to receive my thanks?”
Suddenly, I remembered that I said thank you to Selene yesterday. When I think about it like this, I don’t think it’s cool to wear sajok.
“Nothing like that. Um, then say something?”
“Ha ha ha. What is it.”
Cordelia burst into laughter at my greeting. She is a bit of a strange woman with a laughing point.
“Then apologize now. First of all, I came out to help yesterday, but I’m sorry for being harsh.”
“A harsh word? What do you mean?”
Did she say harsh things to me? She seems to have used honorific words all the time even in the middle of her anger and struggle.
“Yeah, you know. A foolish fool…”
“Ah.”
Yesterday went by so hectic that I completely forgot about it. I have to play Hestia.
“Have you heard from Hestia?”
Hestia is the only way for her to hear about me. Still, in case she didn’t know, she asked sneakily to check.
“No, that, no, not really.”
Cordelia couldn’t answer and just twisted her body. This is more proof than any other answer. She’s only known her for two days, but she seems to know a little bit about who she is. She really can’t lie. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone with a tee like this.
“Hmm. What about this?”
“Well, Hestia did nothing wrong…”
I don’t even think about denying it anymore.
“How can you gossip about your fiancé behind your friends?”
My words turn Cordelia’s complexion into an earthy color. It’s not even very fussy. I should be kidding about this. Moreover, in fact, it was not Hestia or Cordelia that was at fault, but the former Mikhail.
“Just kidding. Don’t apologize. Rather, I should apologize to Hestia. There is nothing strange about thinking of me that way.”
“After…”
Still, I have to tease you a little. Hestia probably knows I’ve passed on her, and she’s relieved.
“By the way, Lady Deneb. Why are you taking the basic swordsmanship class?”
I changed the subject of conversation. I’ve been curious since before. Why are you in swordsmanship class?
“Actually, I have been interested in swordsmanship for a long time. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been peeping at family articles.”
“Since long ago? You seem to be a beginner when it comes to things like that.”
I remembered holding Cordelia’s wrist yesterday. She was quite strong for a woman of her age, but she did not practice consistently. There were no calluses on her hands.
“Right. I was interested, but I never swung a sword.”
She put on a slightly gloomy expression.
“Have you ever told your family that you want to learn swordsmanship?”
“Yes. But he said no.”
“If you said you wanted to learn self-defense, I don’t think you would have rejected it at all.”
Hearing my words, Cordelia looked at Wilhelm, who was surrounded by several students on the other side of her classroom. He is still responding to the crowd of students with a fake smile. There doesn’t seem to be much interest in this.
“Because I was the fiancé of the prince. If you get scars or gain muscles that don’t look good while training, it’ll be a big problem.”
That’s right. She must have been overprotective in her family because she was someone who would one day become an empress.
“Nobody cares anymore. Whether I’m taking swordsmanship lessons or going wild on the night before.”
Cordelia looked a bit bitter. I didn’t know what to say, so I just kept my mouth shut. Giving consolation for nothing can actually hurt.
“Don’t worry about it. Because I rather like now. It’s like being locked in a cage and coming out into the world. To be honest, I didn’t even like him that much.”
“Lady Deneb. Who listens.”
There are still quite a few eyes peeking at us.
“He didn’t like me either. I’d rather hate it. When we meet every day, they are simple, frivolous, immodest, blah blah blah. I just got engaged because I was the only woman in the duke’s family who was the same age as me.”
She kept talking as if she couldn’t hear me. Still, the title was changed from that bastard to him.
“Honestly, if you were Michaela instead of Mikhail, you would have been with his fiance?”
She grinned at me.
“Don’t say anything terrible.”
“Well, he’s decent, he’s got a nice face. Wilhelm would have liked it?”
Sounds crazy. I don’t even want to think about it. If he did, he would have killed that unlucky bastard and committed suicide.
“Ha ha ha. I guess I really hate it.”
She burst out laughing when she saw my distorted expression.
“Please. Also, isn’t her appearance good enough for Lady Cordelia? It’s just that her personality didn’t match the former crown prince.”
“Thanks for the compliment? But he doesn’t like my looks either. He hates me because I have red hair.”
“It’s fussy. It’s because I grew up.”
“I heard that others are listening?”
“I don’t know. I’ve already done it once. Can’t I do it a second time?”
I know I shouldn’t talk like this, but the more I talk, the more hostile I am to Wilhelm. Just like yesterday’s stupid remark, if you don’t pay attention and control it, unexpected behavior will come out. And we are now formally equal students. You can talk a little rough with the same classmates.
“Anyways, yes. I like it now No one bothered to make noise, and I was free to learn the swordsmanship I wanted to learn. It’s a pity that I didn’t kick it first.”
Cordelia looks refreshed because she said everything she wanted to say.
“This is the first time I am telling this story to anyone. I’ve never done that to Hestia. Stories like wanting to learn swordsmanship or not having a good relationship with Wilhelm.”
“Why?”
When you see the two of them together, they really seem like friends who can’t live without dying.
“Um, is it okay if we talk about it now? Because Hestia had a hard time too. Hestia will have no place to lean on if I show that she is having a hard time.”
Cordelia pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.
I didn’t say anything to her and was silent. She feels like a sinner. If Hestia had a hard time, the only reason she had it was Mikhail. I’m sorry she seems to have had a harder time than she thought. She thought about making fun of me with this stupid dumb thing.
“No, it looks good now, so it’s okay. You don’t have to care so much. I was surprised to see you two together yesterday.”
“Is that so?”
I was a little relieved to hear Cordelia’s words. If she is, it will be fine.
On the one hand, I was a little curious. I know that Hestia suffered more because of me than I thought. But maybe they accept me too easily for that kind of thing.
I thought that Hestia and I would have lived while exchanging like a fiancee. But after listening to Cordelia, it’s not really like that. One day, suddenly, the fiancé, whom he thought was dumb, aggressively pushed her.
If I were Hestia, they wouldn’t have accepted me. Accept what is pretty. For now, the first thing you’ll think about is what the heck is going on. Of course, she has a different personality than me, but I think there must be other reasons besides that.
“Has Hestia said anything more about me?”
Perhaps there is a correct answer among the stories Hestia told her. I asked Cordelia.
“Don’t just ask me, ask yourself. The two of you should solve it.”
Cordelia snorted at my question and refused to answer her. I’m a bit sorry for her, but honestly, I thought she was like a child who couldn’t tell a lie and didn’t notice, but it was unexpected. In some ways, he’s more mature than me.
After hearing her words, I reflected a little. Hestia suffered because of my silence. From now on, if there is something that bothers me, I will tell Hestia right away without hiding it.
“I guess so.”
I’ll ask a little later during the couple’s understanding class.
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