[CHAPTER 70]
When Dianu arrived in the courtyard together with the Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris, an unexpected sight was waiting for her.
At the very center of the courtyard paved with beautiful tiles stood a large fountain, and in front of it, Ravelan Arasas and Sir Marek Loisen were bowing to each other with swords in hand.
Both men were dressed comfortably for movement, and each of them held a longsword.
A short distance away, Princess Elpenlira stood watching the two men with her sweat-damp blond hair roughly tied back, while Erin clung to her side with a dazed expression.
The Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris let out a long sigh.
“Young men, honestly, it seems they cannot restrain themselves even for a moment.”
“What exactly are they doing…?”
Dianu was sure she had heard that Princess Elpenlira was learning swordsmanship, but how had it come to this?
The Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris shrugged her shoulders as she replied.
“A spar.”
Before Dianu could respond, Princess Elpenlira loudly shouted, “Begin!”
The two men who had been quietly facing each other sprang forward at the same time.
Before Dianu could even gasp, their swords collided.
Whether it was Ravelan Arasas or Sir Marek Loisen, both moved at a startling speed.
After exchanging a single clash, the two men retreated almost simultaneously.
They then began circling each other at a distance just beyond the reach of their blades, their sharp gazes tense and alert, ready to respond at any moment.
Sir Marek Loisen attacked first.
Despite his large frame, he moved with remarkable lightness as he aimed for Ravelan Arasas’s side.
Ravelan Arasas narrowly twisted his body and avoided the thrust.
Several exchanges of attack and defense passed in the blink of an eye.
For Dianu, it was impossible to even follow the flow of the spar.
“What if one of them gets hurt?”
If even grazed by such fearsome attacks, their bodies would not remain unscathed, and Dianu knew that better than anyone who had once been lightly stabbed by a blade.
The Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris waved her hand dismissively.
“They are using blunted training swords, and unless used as blunt weapons, they cannot kill a person.”
“Still…”
“And both of them are skilled.”
“Sir Marek Loisen has been His Majesty’s sparring partner for nearly ten years, and not once have either of them been injured.”
While she reassured Dianu, the situation suddenly changed.
Before Dianu could even register what was happening, Ravelan Arasas’s sword extended at a strange angle and touched the back of Sir Marek Loisen’s neck.
Dianu sucked in a sharp breath.
Had it been a sharpened blade, it would have been close enough to shave the fine hairs on his neck.
“Oh my, Sir Marek Loisen, what a rare sight…”
Sir Marek Loisen himself seemed just as surprised.
He glanced down at the blade touching his neck as if he could not believe it.
Princess Elpenlira, who had been watching, broke the silence.
“Do you concede?”
The sword still in Sir Marek Loisen’s hand fell to the ground.
Almost at the same time as the clanging sound echoed, he bowed his head to avoid the blade at his neck.
“I have lost.”
“I do not know whether you truly lost or merely yielded, but either way, it does not feel bad.”
Ravelan Arasas lowered his sword and extended a hand toward Sir Marek Loisen.
Sir Marek Loisen grasped it with a bitter expression.
“Your skill has improved.”
“It is not that I did well, but that you were distracted.”
“There were too many thoughts in your movements.”
Sir Marek Loisen neither denied the assessment nor offered any excuse.
Only then did Princess Elpenlira approach the two men, a towel in hand.
“How did you do that last move earlier?”
Ravelan Arasas accepted the towel she offered and replied with a chuckle in his voice.
“Her Highness still has a long way to go before learning that.”
“But you said I have talent.”
“No matter how talented one is, it is not a technique that can be learned in a single day.”
Dianu and the Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris exchanged surprised glances.
The conversation between the two felt rather amicable.
There was no rosy atmosphere, but compared to the tension of the previous day, it was a dramatic change.
Only then did Dianu gather her dress and head toward Princess Elpenlira.
Seeing her approach, Erin immediately ran over and clung to her.
As Dianu patted Erin’s back affectionately, she spoke.
“Princess Elpenlira, you should begin preparing soon.”
“His Majesty has sent word that we must return to the Oak Palace before sunset.”
Princess Elpenlira, who had been exchanging dissatisfied remarks with Ravelan Arasas while linking her arms, finally turned to look at Dianu.
Dianu was startled.
What appeared on Princess Elpenlira’s face was unmistakably regret.
Ravelan Arasas quickly interjected from the side.
“I will teach you again.”
“When?”
“Whenever Her Highness wishes.”
Then he added, pointing at Sir Marek Loisen.
“For reference, that man is a genius, so he is utterly terrible at teaching beginners.”
It was an obvious attempt to insist that she should learn from him instead, yet it was not unpleasant.
And even through the mask that concealed his entire face, one could feel his gentle smile.
How could I ever forget.
And how could I not have recognized him.
“Your Majesty!”
A frantic voice burst out before Dianu could stop herself.
Rision turned toward her in surprise.
Dianu began to run.
Just like that day when she had run toward him with a rose in one hand and her skirt gathered in the other.
She all but threw herself into Rision’s arms.
Rision caught her steadily, his eyes wide with surprise.
Dianu shouted, her voice filled with resentment and joy.
“Why did you never tell me that we had met before?”
“Ah.”
It was fortunate that he was not wearing a mask today.
If she had not been able to see his embarrassed expression, her sense of injustice would have doubled.
“Since you did not know, it felt strange to tell you for no reason…”
After fumbling for excuses, he finally added,
“It was not that I meant to hide it.”
Had Dianu not seen Rision again against the backdrop of this garden, she might never have realized that this was where she had first met him.
She tightened her arms around him in lingering frustration, but Rision merely laughed as if it tickled.
“To be honest, I never thought it would take you this long to realize.”
“How many guests pass through the grand ducal residence!”
“If he was a gentleman hiding his status, should I not have tried even harder to forget him?”
Rision’s gaze as he looked down at Dianu was endlessly gentle.
“Perhaps.”
“But since the first time I saw you, I have not forgotten you for a single day.”
“Oh…”
“It is all right.”
“The one who falls in love first is the one who loses.”
In the end, Dianu buried her face in Rision’s clothes.
“…I regretted giving that gentleman a ribbon back then.”
He did not miss her murmured words.
While gently fiddling with the ribbon in her hair, the one he himself had gifted her, he asked softly,
“Why is that?”
“Because I did not have many ribbons, and it became troublesome later.”
In truth, her ill-fated connection with Bertona Aldebaron had begun from that very incident.
Rision let out a theatrical sigh.
“How unfortunate.”
“Still, I have no intention of returning that ribbon.”
“It belongs to me now.”
“That is fine.”
“I have one that Your Majesty gave me now.”
That answer seemed to please him greatly.
With a sweet smile, Rision lowered his head and lightly kissed her lips.
