A Sparring Partner
“Ojou-sama…”
When Violet, moved by Siana’s words, murmured this without thinking, Siana met her gaze and continued speaking.
“It is true that Florence is so capable that even I see her as a rival, and in terms of appearance, she is so beautiful that it would be natural for men to find her attractive… However, Violet, you are by no means inferior to her. After all, you are this beautiful.”
As she spoke, Siana removed the black hood Violet was wearing and gave her a gentle smile.
Violet felt a touch of embarrassment at Siana’s words, her cheeks flushing red as she replied.
“Th-Thank you very much…”
Seeing Violet like this, Siana slowly removed her hands from Violet’s shoulders.
Ojou-sama, you truly are always so kind to me…
As Violet was deeply feeling Siana’s kindness, Siana opened her mouth to speak again.
“By the way, yesterday’s bath with Lux-kun was truly wonderful… Honestly, I was worried that, since Lux-kun is not particularly concerned about such things, he might be completely unresponsive to my body, but there was absolutely no need to worry about that.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes, being able to be with the Lux-kun I love in a place like a bath, where no clothes are worn, was truly wonderful.”
“…”
Being with Lux without wearing clothes.
For Violet, that was something so far from her reality that it was difficult even to imagine, but…
The feeling of having Rodwell-sama see me as a woman… I too…
Up until now, Violet had wished to do many things with Lux, but only a small number of those wishes had come true.
After all, if she put Lux and Siana’s engagement first, there were limits to what Violet could do.
Even so, she found the idea of having Lux see her as a woman to be very intriguing.
Furthermore, with Siana having strongly affirmed her attractiveness, Violet now had no reason to hold back, and she decided that in the near future, she would take a bath with Lux.
Lux’s Side
Today as well, swordsmanship class was being held as usual at the noble academy, so we students made our way to the training grounds, but the teacher’s words at the start of class were a little different today.
“For this period, we will be conducting swordsmanship class as usual, but for the students participating in the swordsmanship tournament, I would like to run the lesson in a slightly different format.”
A different format from usual…?
At those words, both I and the other students looked puzzled.
To clear up our confusion, the teacher brought someone before us. This person was not wearing armor, but for some reason wore only a helmet made of iron, hiding their face so that we could not tell who they were.
The most I could guess was that, judging by their build, they might be a woman.
“Today, those of you participating in the swordsmanship tournament will have a one-on-one mock battle with this person. Even if you are not fighting, you should still watch the other students’ mock battles carefully and learn from them. This applies only to those participating in the tournament. Those who are not may either train as usual or take part in mock battles if they wish. Well then, I leave the rest to you.”
After saying this, the teacher bowed deeply to the person, then, with a very courteous demeanor, left their side and moved to a position where they could observe us.
Then the helmeted person spoke.
“Today, I will serve as your sparring partner. For certain reasons, I cannot reveal my detailed identity, but since I am taking on the role of your sparring partner, I will fulfill that duty with my utmost effort. I ask that you also come at me with all your strength, without holding back.”
The voice that came from within the helmet was that of a woman. Although the helmet made it impossible to tell her exact tone, I could tell right away that it was a dignified voice.
Helmets are rarely necessary in sword training, and in fact, they would only block one’s vision and be a hindrance. So she was probably wearing it to hide her identity.
“…”
For a moment, it felt like the helmeted person turned toward me, but since she immediately looked away, it was probably just my imagination.
As I was thinking about that, the helmeted person spoke.
“Among you here, is there anyone confident in their skills? Although I have said I will be your sparring partner, I intend for my main role today to be giving advice. That is why I would like to first defeat the most skilled person in this class, to prove that my swordsmanship is indeed the real thing despite my identity being unknown.”
At these words, my classmates all turned to look at me and at Florence-san, who was standing beside me.
“Eh…? U-Us…?”
“Fufu, I am honored by such high praise. In that case, Lux-sama, how about you cross blades with that person?”
“Wh-Why me? Florence-san’s sword skills are…”
“I have hardly ever had the opportunity to see Lux-sama wield a sword objectively, so I thought this would be a good chance to see it.”
It was true. Up until now, Florence-san and I had always faced each other in matches, so such an opportunity had never arisen. And perhaps, if she could watch my movements objectively, she might notice something new.
“Alright, I’ll do it!”
“I will be cheering for you.”
Florence-san gave me a gentle smile as she said this.
Then I stepped forward to the helmeted person and told them,
“I will fight you.”
“I see. Then Rodwell, let us fight in that space over there.”
“Yes!”
The helmeted person and I walked together to an open space in the training grounds, and we faced each other.
Rezamiliana’s Side
The helmeted person, Rezamiliana, faced Lux and quietly murmured to herself in her heart.
To think that I would be able to cross swords with you, my fated partner, right from the start… But just because you are my fated partner does not mean I will go easy on you. By defeating you here, I will prove that I can be of help to you.
“Please go easy on me!”
“Ah, likewise… Come at me, Rodwell.”
“Yes!”
With a spirited reply, Lux readied his wooden sword and immediately began swinging at the helmeted Rezamiliana.