Chapter 349: Praise
“…As I thought, if we are to settle this not with words but with the power of the sword, it must be somewhere farther away from Lux-sama.”
After seeing Lux off, Florence said that, and Felisiana nodded at those words.
“Yes, today we weren’t able to settle it because of my own narrow field of view, but someday, I will definitely settle things with you.”
“Yes.”
Florence gave a small nod, then looked at Felisiana for a moment before speaking.
“However, today’s mock battle was not entirely meaningless for me either… By exchanging swords and words with the intent to settle things, more earnestly than ever before, it conveyed to me more deeply than ever that the Third Princess truly cherishes Lux-sama.”
“That’s true… in that sense, I feel the same… but precisely because of that, I cannot understand why, despite harboring such strong feelings for Lux-kun, you would hesitate to take the life of those who would try to harm him.”
“I also find it very difficult to understand how, despite the Third Princess caring for Lux-sama to such an extent, you are able to act in a way that seems to disregard Lux-sama’s feelings… but from here on…”
Then, Felisiana spoke.
“From here on, we’ll settle things another time, in another place.”
“Yes.”
Though neither of them had relaxed their hostility in the slightest, they gazed into each other’s eyes with an atmosphere somewhat different from before.
Then, Florence closed her eyes once, and when she opened them again.
“Then, please excuse me.”
Saying that, she turned her back on Felisiana and walked away.
After watching Florence’s back as she left, Felisiana next turned toward Lux, who was being approached by many people…
“If you’re willing, would you practice sword training with me sometime?”
She recalled how Lux had invited her to something that, for Felisiana, could just as well be called a date.
Because of the setting, she made sure not to show it on her face, but in her mind, imagining that moment had her so excited she felt like she might leap into the air at any moment.
Elizalina’s Side
“You! That just now was incredible!”
“To stop those two’s swords…!”
“I thought so during the swordsmanship tournament too, but that’s unbelievable skill!”
“Huh? Ah, um… th-thank you.”
Because he had stopped Felisiana and Florence’s swords earlier.
Lux, who was being praised by many people, seemed a bit flustered as he responded, even while slightly embarrassed.
Watching that from a short distance away, Elizalina felt very pleased seeing Lux being praised.
Seeing Lux being praised makes me feel happy like it’s happening to me… actually, even more than if it were me!
As Elizalina was enjoying herself watching Lux like that.
“Second Princess.”
Florence approached Elizalina.
“Earlier, in place of us, who had become absorbed in what was right in front of us, thank you very much for swiftly bringing the situation under control.”
She bowed her head slightly as she expressed her gratitude.
At Florence’s words, Elizalina did not make any particular show of it.
“That was simply my role in that situation… in this case, more than me, it was the result of Felisiana’s judgment in placing me there.”
There’s no way I’d let something like that cause bad rumors about Lux.
As she thought that to herself, Florence raised her head.
“I see… until just now, I had the honor of crossing swords with that Third Princess.”
But, she continued.
Florence looked into Elizalina’s eyes and spoke.
“If you would allow it… next time, would you be willing to have a conversation with me, just the two of us?”