Episode 36: Recommencing Training
“Eric-sama, do your best! Everything depends on you.”
“Yes, Commander!”
“…Eric, you should ask ‘What?’ before replying,” Ilias said, gently correcting him.
In the courtyard of the Karamanlis Estate (our home), Eric and Ilias, as usual, had come for ‘Dragon Knights training.’ One wore a blank, cheerful smile, while the other chuckled and offered corrections.
The Marquis had strictly told me not to leave the mansion when meeting Eric, but I figured the courtyard was okay, so we were doing it outside today. Eric, dressed in clothes suitable for movement, and Ilias, who for some reason was also dressed similarly, faced me and began stretching. Of course, I was stretching too.
While stretching, I was encouraging Eric.
Ati is in love with Samuel, her tutor. Indeed, he is the closest male figure to her. It’s only natural she might develop feelings for him.
In other words!
If Eric got closer to Ati, she might reconsider and fall in love with him! That’s why I was encouraging him.
Well, she doesn’t necessarily have to fall in love.
Becoming good partners, good buddies, good teammates would be fine. In fact, that’s more important than romantic feelings.
Marriage is about two people cooperating in life. Romantic feelings will fade someday. There must be a solid foundation of trust left behind!!
“Why do I have to do this too…”
“Samuel, movement, strange.”
A different voice of discontent came from the side.
Samuel, the tutor, unusually not in his suit, and Ati, also unusually not in a dress, were stretching with us.
That’s right!
Today is a day for everyone to exercise together!
Exercising together creates a sense of camaraderie!
And eating from the same pot afterward strengthens that bond even further!
It’s the beginning of Ati and Eric’s bond-strengthening month!!
Samuel the tutor is just along for the ride.
I didn’t say anything to Ilias the Obsessive Boy, but he’s participating voluntarily.
“Stretching is always good to do to avoid injuries. It’s also good for stiff shoulders.”
“Oh, really?”
Samuel latched onto my words.
“You become so talkative when it comes to health, old man.”
“Old m──”
Ilias’s smiling jab silenced Samuel.
Ah, Samuel isn’t used to being called ‘old man’ or ‘geezer.’
I’m constantly called ‘old woman’ or ‘hag’ by strangers, mostly old men. I can’t be bothered to retort every time, and if I cared, I wouldn’t be able to live.
But Ilias is awfully critical of Samuel.
Could it be that his object of obsession is shifting to me──no, I’ll pretend I didn’t notice. That’s not it. That’s not it.
“Ilias, building up your basic fitness now will strengthen your cardiopulmonary function and make life easier. But don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes, Selene.”
Ilias replied with a beaming smile.
Come to think of it, I used to call him ‘Ilias-sama,’ but he asked me to drop the honorific, and then he started dropping the honorifics with me too.
…Well, it’s fine, I guess. …It’s okay, right?
The Love-Obsessed Maniac Ilias in the otome game had a weak constitution and was the type to trigger Nightingale syndrome in the otome game’s protagonist.
I won’t let him build such an unhealthy relationship with anyone. I don’t want such a dangerous person near Ati, and there’s a chance Ati might fall in love with Ilias.
The people around Ati must be healthy!
For that, first exercise, second exercise!!
“Well, is that enough stretching?
Now, today we’ll be learning how to handle knives.”
“Knives!!!”
Eric raised his hands in joy at my words. He jumped! His jumping power is amazing, Eric.
“Selene-sama, isn’t that a bit much──”
Samuel the tutor immediately voiced his disapproval. Well, that was expected.
“It’s not for combat, but an extension of things used in daily life. Even nobles should be able to handle a knife or two.”
“…Really?”
“They should!”
I ignored Samuel’s interjection.
“Knife?”
Ati tilted her head, a cute treasure of the angel kingdom.
Ah, right. Ati has only used knives for eating, so she must be wondering why we’re talking about cutlery after stretching. That’s fine. I don’t want her to lose that innocence, at least not in spirit!!
“That’s right. Being able to do anything with a knife will be very useful later on.”
Ilias had an incredibly bright smile. …The words themselves are perfectly normal, but I feel like I can see the darkness behind them. It’s such an innocent, dazzling smile, so why is it so dark?
Now.
Ideally, I’d like to use real knives here to show them the danger firsthand. But if I did that, Eric’s family, the Andreu Estate, wouldn’t stay silent, so I can’t do that.
──When I taught my younger sister how to use a knife, I first had her lightly cut her fingertip to show her the danger and pain. Of course, I prepared everything beforehand, including disinfection. But I can’t do that here.
Oh, and Mom found out later and slapped me hard. She hit me in a bad spot, and my eardrum was ruptured. Mom was bad at slapping.
I handed out wooden branches carved into the shape of knives to everyone.
“…So you were holed up in your room making these.”
Samuel the tutor can’t help but comment on everything I do. Yes, as he said, these are my handmade creations. I got the branches that the gardener was going to throw away after pruning and carved them. Yes.
“Fufu. A gift from Selene.”
I pretended not to hear Ilias’s happy murmur.
“Since these are wooden, they’re lighter than real knives, but first, we’ll get used to this shape. Now, first, we’ll practice how to handle the knife when holding it.”
I spun the wooden knife around and held the blade.
“A knife has a ‘blade’ for cutting and stabbing, and a ‘handle’ for holding. Did you notice that when I handed them to you earlier, I held the blade and offered the handle?”
When I asked that, Eric was spinning the wooden knife around to check. Good. Try to understand the structure properly.
Ati was also staring intently at the wooden knife. If you stare at it that much, it’ll get a hole in it!
“When handing a knife to someone, always offer the handle like this. Otherwise, it’s dangerous.
Also, when holding the blade, don’t grip it, but pinch the side of the blade──the side.
If you grip it, your fingers will say goodbye the moment the other person pulls the handle.
The person receiving it shouldn’t pull until the person handing it lets go.”
I beckoned Samuel over and handed him the wooden knife as I had explained. Samuel carefully accepted it, then switched hands and offered it to me as I had done. I accepted it in the same way.
“Now, Ati, you can practice with Samuel. Eric-sama, you can practice with Ilias.”
No sooner had I said that than Eric thrust the knife at Ilias.
…I told you not to grip the blade.
“Eric. When holding the blade, pinch the side.”
Ilias took Eric’s hand, released his fingers, and carefully taught him.
As for Ati, Samuel was first carefully showing her how to hold the knife, then taking her hand and explaining.
Yes. Good.
After a while, when they got used to it, I had Eric and Ati pair up and try it.
I carefully instructed Eric, whose movements were always big and rough, to handle it gently, and I told Ati, who was gripping it weakly out of fear, that it was dangerous to drop it if she didn’t hold it properly, and taught her to put strength into it without being afraid.
Eventually, the two of them started interacting happily.
Good, good! The bond! The bond is being formed like this!
It starts here! Yes! It’s going well!!
Watching the two of them learn so cheerfully, I smiled contentedly and watched.
I could watch this precious scene forever.