Chapter 16: My Brother's Fiancée Has Arrived (2)

"See, we just met, right?"

Standing in the center of the guest reception room, I sighed as I saw the girl smiling brightly.

I thought I wouldn't have to see her again, but here I was, seeing her again after just one day. And I had to stick with her all day.

"It's Alex."

"Yeah. Please take care of me from today. Guide and security, right?"

"I didn't hear anything about guiding."

I had no idea about the security, but guiding? I had only been going in circles between the study, my room, and the training ground. It was impossible for me to guide anyone.

"I'll help with the guiding."

Flora, who knew the situation, chimed in, but it didn't provide any comfort.

I had only been with her for less than a minute, and I was already starting to feel exhausted. And it was going to be all day.

How long do I have to be with her?

"What's your visit schedule like?"

"Visit schedule?"

Simon's fiancée tilted her head. Her puzzled expression was quite a sight, but I was so annoyed that I couldn't even appreciate it.

"I'm asking when you plan to go back home."

At my words, the girl narrowed her eyes.

"Are you saying... you don't want to be with me?"

Hmm, surprisingly perceptive.

"Yes."

At my answer, the girl's eyes widened. She stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha! You're really funny. I've never met anyone like you before."

Sigh, I was so annoyed that I just blurted it out, but it seemed to pique her interest.

"Okay, that's good. Unlike Simon, it'll be fun to be with you."

The girl answered my question with a genuinely happy face.

"I don't really know. Father said he would call me when his work is done, but I don't know what the work is, so I don't know when it will end."

Sigh, it was a useless answer as expected.

However, "Father will call me when the work is done"... Does that mean she has something to do here at the Duke's residence? Or is there something that requires her to leave the Marquis's residence?

'Could it be?'

A bad feeling started to nag at me.

But, I still lacked information.

Or, even if I figured something out, it wouldn't change anything.

'Forget it and focus on my own work.'

"Then, where do you plan to go today?"

I wish I could just read a book in my room. A tea party in the reception room would be nice too.

"Let's go then!"

Contrary to my thoughts, she walked energetically towards the reception room door.

Oh, now that I think about it, she's not wearing a dress.

I didn't notice because she was so dazzling, but the clothes she was wearing were not a dress but a knight's uniform, the kind worn by female knights.

"First, let's go to the training ground! Let's have a duel, or rather, a sparring match, that we couldn't have yesterday!"

A duel... My true feelings slipped out. No matter how I looked at it, she was clearly in her rebellious teenage years.

This was definitely a case of middle school syndrome.

"Come on, and Alex! Call me Adria!"

She said as she walked out into the corridor, and I sighed as I followed Adria.

When we arrived at the training ground, the knights and squires who were training individually turned their gazes towards us.

"Wow, this is the training ground of the Grecia Duke's family. So, you also train here?"

Of course, the place where I trained was not this training ground, but I couldn't bring Adria to the Duke's family training ground without permission from a superior.

Adria looked around the training ground.

A few knights frowned at the sight of her and me, but I was sure it was because of me.

Fortunately, no one said anything. Some knights recognized her and gave signals to the others, and all the knights quietly left the training ground.

"Oops, did I interrupt your practice?"

Adria looked apologetic at the people leaving.

"Then, let's go back."

I suggested, but unfortunately, she shook her head.

"Since it's like this, let's have the sparring match quickly! You'll probably prefer it without people around, right?"

It seemed she really knew about the rumor of the "hidden sword of the Duke's family."

No, if that was true, there's no way she would ask for a sparring match.

It was hard to tell if she was a troublesome character or an innocent one.

With everyone leaving, it was hard to avoid it.

I had tried various excuses on the way here, but she said she wouldn't accept security if I didn't show my skills, making it difficult to come up with more excuses.

Honestly, I was curious too. My sparring partner had only been Knight Miguel, and I had never won, making it hard to objectively gauge my skills.

I handed the real sword I brought for security to Flora and picked up a wooden sword.

Adria was already holding her sword and in position.

"What kind of sparring match do you want to have?"

"To the death!"

I stared at her intently.

Are you trying to kill me? A life-or-death match with a wooden sword? How many times do you have to hit someone with a wooden sword to kill them?

"Ha... Let's just have a normal sparring match."

"That's no fun."

No, it's strange to find enjoyment in killing people.

I turned my head to look at the maid standing next to Flora.

She had been silently accompanying Adria since the first time I saw her.

"Even if I don't say it, please guard her during the sparring match."

The maid looked surprised at my words.

"Huh? What do you mean? Guarding?"

Adria looked at me and the maid with a puzzled expression.

Doesn't Adria know? Her skills?

I found it hard to gauge, so Adria might not have noticed either.

But, a maid hiding her skills from her employer... I needed to look into this more.

"I must have been mistaken."

I waved my hand as if it was nothing.

"Hmph, you're useless."

Adria pouted, and I raised my sword.

Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll give her a proper sparring match. She's the one who asked for it, so if she cries later, it's not my fault.

I took my stance and looked at Adria.

Her calm posture, steady breathing, and the faint aura she exuded were all clear to me.

'She's not just a middle school syndrome case. She has proper sword skills.'

After all, she's not just any noble, but the eldest daughter of a marquis. It's unlikely they would raise her to be a reckless troublemaker.

It means she was taught proper sword skills as a noble daughter.

Ah, so she's a successor?

What was the successor ability of the Iero Marquis family?

...I searched my memory, but nothing came to mind.

It was impossible to know all the successor abilities of the kingdom's nobles based only on the books in the library and the information from the clerks.

'Actually, I didn't pay much attention to it.'

I was so focused on the Duke's family and the surrounding nobles that I didn't care.

I clicked my tongue at my lack of preparation and refocused on Adria.

'She's probably around the level of an excellent squire.'

Compared to squires of the same age who served knights, her skills seemed outstanding.

However, since I could gauge her skills at a glance, there was a significant difference between us.

But, I didn't let my guard down.

She had a successor ability. The ability to wield a sword as the eldest daughter of a marquis.

I didn't know what it was, so I couldn't rush in.

I decided to let her make the first move.

"Come on."

The girl smiled at the words of a 10-year-old.

"Then, I'm coming! Be careful!"

She shouted, and I stared at her intently.

Flash.

Suddenly, her figure disappeared. No, I lost sight of her.

Tsk!

The moment I lost sight of her, I swung my sword at the air.

Clang!

"Ugh! You blocked it?"

At the spot where I swung my sword, Adria appeared, blocking it with her wooden sword.

"Is it an acceleration ability?"

"Wow, you knew?"

"I didn't know until just now."

"But you blocked it? Could you see it? Is your successor ability something that improves your vision?"

Improves vision? Is there such an ability?

"I couldn't see it clearly."

I sensed the movement of mana and reacted instinctively to the approaching presence.

"Ugh, it really hurts when you block it."

She stepped back and shook her hand holding the sword.

Even with my knight-level body, I felt the impact, so she, who was physically weaker, must have felt considerable pain.

"It's not over yet."

Adria gripped her sword and charged again.

She was faster than others, but not to the point where I couldn't see her.

Clang! Clang!

I blocked her sword one by one.

As long as I could see her, I could block her sword easily.

"Ugh! Try blocking this!"

Surprisingly, sparring with her was quite fun.

I had always been in the weaker position, desperately attacking, but standing on the opposite side for the first time gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.

Was this how Miguel felt?

The gratitude I had for Miguel seemed to fade away.

After several exchanges, I felt I understood Adria's successor ability.

It wasn't about strengthening the body like mine, but an ability to accelerate the body using mana.

Her ability was still incomplete, and her control over acceleration and deceleration was unstable. She couldn't reach her maximum speed without preparation, but if she grew properly, she could become a great swordsman.

'With this ability, they must have engaged her to my brother Simon.'

Simon, who possesses the best mana cultivation technique, and Adria, who has a great acceleration ability.

Their engagement is not only about the alliance between the two families but also about the expectations for their future children.

But, why did she come so quietly? The question resurfaced.

"You're just blocking on purpose, right? Stop blocking and attack!"

As I kept blocking, Adria shouted.

"It's too fast to block."

"Don't lie! You're answering so calmly right now!"

Oh, I've been caught.

I wanted to continue the sparring, but now I had to end it.

I calmly blocked her sword and took advantage of the gap between her attacks to strike with my wooden sword.

Thud!

The sword hit her body,

"Kyaa!"

Adria screamed and was sent flying.

Her flying away looked very similar to how I used to fly during sparring.

Being in this position, I realized how pitiful I must have looked all this time.

Adria fell flat on the ground, and her maid was already by her side.

"Hey, when did you get there?"

Flora looked at the empty seat next to her in surprise.

Did she show a bit of her skills?

Seeing how the maid quickly took the bait, it seemed she didn't plan to hide her skills anymore.

She quickly checked Adria's body and sighed in relief.

She fainted the moment she was hit, but there were almost no injuries, unlike what it looked like from a distance.

I didn't intend to cause serious injuries.

Although I attacked more forcefully than necessary, she was a guest of the Duke's family, and more importantly, Simon's fiancée. I couldn't hurt her.

"That was too harsh!"

"I'm sorry. I haven't learned how to attack while being watched..."

It was a good excuse since I had always been desperately attacking during sparring.

Good. It went according to plan.

Since she fainted like that, she would definitely rest in her room for a few days.

It would be even better if she asked for a different guard.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn't just a simple guard duty. It was best to keep my distance from such a dangerous situation.

If I couldn't keep my distance, I needed to buy time.

I needed time to figure out what was going on.

The maid carried Adria back to the mansion, and I was scolded by Flora and my mother for a long time.

The next day, I was in despair.

Simon's fiancée was standing in front of me, completely fine.

Adria was much tougher than I thought.

Damn, I should have hit her harder.

While I grumbled to myself, she said excitedly,

"Yesterday was amazing! Really, even better than the rumors. And today, we're going on a tour of the estate!"

A tour of the estate? That means going outside the mansion. What does she mean? Didn't she come secretly?

The absurdity made me blurt out,

"I hardly know anything outside the mansion. It's impossible for me to guide you."

I had never been outside the mansion until I was 10. Adria might know the Duke's estate better than I did.

"I'll guide. You just follow from a distance."

An even more absurd statement came from beside her.

Simon de Grecia, the Duke's eldest son, was standing there, declaring that he would go on a tour with his fiancée.

The sight of the bright young man and woman standing side by side was like a painting, but I couldn't understand why I had to be there.

It's not like I was a friend caught between a couple on a trip, or a younger brother tagging along on a honeymoon!

"Since the Duke has given permission, prepare and come down."

With that final statement, the two headed towards the entrance.

I turned my head to look in the direction of the study.

Allowing a tour at such a time, I couldn't understand the Duke's thinking.