Chapter 67…
“Waaah!”
“Kyaaa!”
Ellie was an excellent teacher.
Bavian and Jurna quickly adapted and started enjoying themselves.
“Training like this exists? This is so much fun!”
“I feel like I could do this every day!”
“Right! Right! Doing this every day will improve our stamina and stabilize our magic! Then we can become even better wizards!”
Even their goal-setting was perfect.
For the children united under the name of the Wizard Corps, it was a deadly temptation.
Any thoughts about how awkward their pants felt vanished in front of the Wizard Corps.
Bavian, who had always pictured herself in the world wearing the most sparkling and beautiful dresses, dancing gracefully under dazzling lights, now found her world turned upside down.
The path of a wizard was several times more fun than a ball.
“Let’s try something else quickly!”
“Since you seem to have loosened up your bodies, we’ll start proper training now.”
Cleus said in a gloomy voice.
It was a little scary, but training had to be tough to be proper!
This was also a fantasy that Bavian held.
A cool wizard who had overcome rough and harsh training!
And so, the three wizards stood on the cliff, capes fluttering!
This was the Wizard Corps!
Crash-
The waves below the cliff had to crash, of course.
Bavian, fully immersed in the world of a wizard, shouted boldly without thinking.
“I can do anything!”
“Ho… anything, you say?”
Little did he imagine that this would provoke Cleus.
“Then today, we shall train properly.”
Cleus became a ruthless instructor.
Ellie had gotten used to the training enough to somewhat follow Cleus, but for these two young ladies, who were training for the first time, even mimicking the movements would be difficult.
However, Cleus had no intention of pacing himself to accommodate them.
If they got exhausted and collapsed on their own, that was fine.
Then Ellie would be disappointed in them, and she herself, with her naturally excellent stamina and strong magic, would become their sole, best friend.
It was Cleus’s grand calculation.
“I will demonstrate first.”
Cleus showed highly advanced movements taught only in knight training.
The movements were a combination of jumping, rolling, and crawling.
They looked simple, but were actually difficult to perform.
‘Oh, cheating.’
Rilchia recognized it immediately and chuckled inwardly.
Even the always fair Duke Bernd would sometimes resort to unfair tactics.
If it meant not losing the king, there was no choice. On the other hand, it was understandable.
“I’ll go first!”
Ellie raised her hand and started.
Under Cleus’s careful guidance, Ellie’s body, which had once made her martial arts teacher shake their head seriously, had grown remarkably.
If she met her academy teacher now, they might shine with pride, calling her a prodigy.
She wasn’t quite a genius, though.
‘As expected of our sovereign, excellent at everything.’
Still, Rilchia felt warm admiration and gave a silent applause in her heart.
“Excellent.”
Cleus praised her with satisfaction.
“Now, everyone, try it!”
Was it time to cry and run away?
Rilchia imagined the upcoming scene as she looked at the two young ladies.
But…
“Waaah!”
“Hahhh!”
The two young ladies were braver than expected.
Where had the hesitant girls, shy in just pants at the beginning, gone?
Only the wild, untamed girls remained, rolling on the floor regardless of success or failure.
‘What? That determination!’
Even Bavian’s eyes held a hint of ferocity.
But her eyes were fierce while her body was clumsy.
There was no choice. The only physical activities she had learned before were playing musical instruments, table manners, and greetings.
This was the first time she was doing something she had never done before.
“You’re not doing it correctly.”
Cleus coldly corrected their posture one by one.
By this point, even adults would have been running away in tears at such cold training.
“I’ll try again!”
Bavian, who might have cried or given up after a few tries, surprisingly persevered.
Jurna, crying a little, wiped her tears and stood up energetically because Bavian did not give up.
“I will do it!”
“I won’t go home until I do!”
Determined, Bavian and Jurna ran again without Cleus even instructing them.
Their challenge continued until their limbs could no longer move.
“Ugh… the last one…”
Right before collapsing completely, at the very, very last moment, Bavian forced herself up.
“I can’t do it, ugh…”
Jurna collapsed onto the floor.
But Bavian, staggering, endured.
“You don’t need to overdo it.”
Even Cleus tried to stop Bavian.
He had no intention of making them give up through sheer difficulty.
He was worried they might hurt themselves.
But Bavian shook her head.
“I will do it. I can’t just follow His Majesty’s back.”
The shock of being judged as having no talent as a wizard had not yet faded.
After checking with her parents at home and asking around, she learned that magic rarely appeared suddenly in someone who had none.
Though called the Wizard Corps, she would be a wizard who couldn’t use magic.
So she wanted to have some other ability.
Becoming a famous figure in high society was one option. But when the Wizard Corps fought impressively, she didn’t want to be twirling a fan in a dress.
‘My body can improve with effort!’
Surprisingly, the movements that had seemed impossible at first gradually became easier as she practiced.
Her body felt heavier, but she could see the path of how to move.
It made her even more determined not to give up.
‘I can do it!’
Even someone younger than me, His Majesty, did it.
Bavian put all her strength into her legs for the final attempt.
It was truly the last.
She felt she could not do more, no matter how hard she tried.
Because it was the last, she focused all her attention.
“Ugh!”
Ellie, anxiously watching Bavian, shouted.
“!”
Cleus and Rilchia also widened their eyes in surprise.
“Uh, uh…!”
But the most surprised of all was Bavian herself, who had completed the movement she could not do before.
Bavian looked at her arms and legs in disbelief, then turned to Cleus and Ellie.
“I-I did it, right?”
“Yes! You did it, Bavian! Amazing!”
“Wow! Bavian, that’s incredible!”
Ellie and Jurna ran over and hugged Bavian.
Cleus, dumbfounded, nodded.
‘…Talent?’
No matter how determined, without talent, she couldn’t have done it.
Unexpectedly, the delicately raised Bavian had a natural talent for physical movement.
She hadn’t been able to express it at first due to unfamiliarity, but her determination and stubbornness brought it out. It was remarkable.
Rilchia’s gaze toward Bavian changed.
“If His Majesty hadn’t drawn it out, it would have been a talent never seen in her lifetime.”
It would have been a waste if it had been buried in high society.
Even Cleus had no choice but to nod.
One cannot lie about talent.
“Hehehe! Eat this!”
“Eating this will make my body stronger?”
“I want to be as strong as Duke Bernd!”
“Don’t even dream about it.”
The children, having exerted their bodies, moved on to the next task after training: eating well.
Various gatherings were held in the palace.
Tea parties were most common, but dinner or cocktail parties were also held.
Barbecue parties happened occasionally, but they weren’t particularly special.
They were usually held after hunting competitions, but could also happen at other times.
However, today’s party was rather unusual compared to normal ones.
“It’s easier to eat with your hands!”
“I’ll try too!”
“I think it tastes better this way!”
The children, hungry immediately after training, didn’t even have time to change clothes.
Ellie decided to eat right away, and an instant health-conscious barbecue party began.
Covered in dirt, their clothes a mess, and eating meat with their bare hands, the children looked like beggars or bandits.
It was a scene rarely seen in the palace.
“I knew our sovereign was unconventional…”
“…but I didn’t think it would extend to culture as well.”
Lady Laval and Marquis Simon groaned at the sight.
But Rilchia, confidently shrugging her shoulders, sided with them.
“Isn’t it a sovereign and their retainer? Peace isn’t guaranteed forever, so training like this is important.”
It was a remarkable show of support.
‘I didn’t know the captain of the guard was like this…’
‘He’s extraordinary…’
He was not only skilled, but also socially adept.
