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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Lesson
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A while ago, Daphne had given Teiti an order.
—Go and make a potion so this body can recover its strength. So it can slow the curse and let me build up my power.
An order to create a potion that would make this wretched body somewhat useful.
About ten days had passed since then.
—The potion is complete, Lady Daphne!
Teiti had contacted her.
And the potion was delivered immediately.
Believing a potion made by an elf would surely be effective, Daphne had gulped it down without a second thought.
To her surprise, her stamina improved. The rapid increase in her physical strength was likely due to the potion's effect as much as her own efforts.
“Excellent, my lady. It has also boosted the knights’ morale, which brings me great joy.”
“Huh?”
Daphne tilted her head, as if she didn't understand.
“Seeing you train so diligently despite your frail health seems to have motivated the knights. The atmosphere is much better than before.”
Come to think of it, she had seen quite a few knights training at dawn. She hadn't seen them at first.
Daphne watched the knights running and shouting commands for a moment, then smirked.
“That's not my problem. They should handle it themselves.”
If their morale could be boosted by a single child, it meant they were a mess to begin with. So Daphne paid it no mind, but Lloyd seemed to think otherwise.
“My lady.”
Lloyd approached Daphne, knelt on one knee, and spoke.
“Do you wish to become stronger?”
Daphne’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Why else would I be doing this?”
“…”
Lloyd took a deep breath.
“Only a few people in the estate know that you are cursed, my lady.”
Everyone else, including family members like Arius, believed she had an incurable disease.
“Therefore…”
Lloyd swallowed hard.
“Please, do not give up.”
It might have sounded cruel.
After all, Daphne was destined to die.
But, despite that, however.
Lloyd hoped Daphne would overcome it. He had a baseless feeling that perhaps, she just might.
Daphne stared intently into Lloyd’s eyes, then scoffed and lifted her chin.
“Don’t be absurd, human.”
Then she declared proudly.
“For I am a magnificent being who does not know the meaning of the word ‘give up’.”
***
“Pant, pant…”
She was on her twentieth lap around the training grounds.
But she hadn't collapsed yet. The potion’s effect seemed to be tremendous.
‘That kid. He said he couldn't, but he made it just fine.’
Deciding she would have to make use of Teiti often, Daphne pushed more power into her running legs.
It was then.
Thud!
Something fell at her feet.
“A wooden sword?”
Looking closer, she saw it was a wooden sword.
Who threw it?
She turned her head and saw a surprising figure standing there.
“Arius?”
“Yeah. It’s me!”
It was none other than Arius.
With a wooden sword slung over his shoulder, Arius shouted triumphantly.
“Let’s spar!”
“…”
Daphne tilted her head.
“A spar! Let’s do it, let’s do it!”
Arius bounced on his feet, his body brimming with a competitive spirit.
“We didn’t get to fight properly last time. So let’s have a real fight this time!”
Daphne was dumbfounded.
This blockheaded child…!
Daphne spun on her heel and walked toward Arius.
“You.”
“Wh-what?”
“You want to fight even though you know perfectly well how weak I am? Don't you remember how I fainted after just one vertical slash?”
Daphne was irritated.
Her body was already gasping for air just from running around the training grounds. And he wanted to spar!
Daphne thought Arius was saying this to mock her. So she glared at him, annoyed.
“B-but.”
Arius took a small step back and looked Daphne over.
“Your body… you’re in better shape than last time, right?”
Daphne’s eyes widened.
Indeed, her body had improved significantly. Her stamina and strength had increased, and she had even formed a mana vessel.
But she had thought it wasn't noticeable enough for others to see.
For a mere eight-year-old child to notice this.
Daphne found herself once again marveling at this family and let out a dry chuckle.
“Still, it's not enough. I have a long way to go before I'm strong.”
It was a clear refusal to spar.
“Hmph…!”
Arius stomped his feet in frustration.
This can’t be, I have to fight her!
Growing anxious, Arius blurted out without thinking.
“I want to see your form!”
Ah.
He had gotten straight to the point too quickly.
Arius fanned his beet-red face to cool down and whipped his head away.
“I mean, it’s not that I specifically want to see that. It’s just an expression…”
Daphne had a feeling she knew why Arius was acting this way.
He must have realized there was a problem with his own form and was trying to learn her swordsmanship by observing it during a fight.
Thinking of it that way, Arius seemed rather cute.
“Then you should’ve just asked me to teach you, not to spar.”
Heh heh.
Daphne crossed her arms and looked at Arius.
“Go on, say it. Ask me to teach you.”
“What?”
Arius’s eyes went wide.
“N-no way.”
He turned his head away with a huff! and scoffed.
“What could I possibly have to learn from you? I’ll never say that! No, I can’t!”
Since Arius had intended to learn her form through a spar, asking for lessons was a blow to his pride. So he shook his head, his face bright red.
There was no way Daphne wouldn't notice a child's petty pride. So she let out a dry laugh.
“Then you'll swing your sword with terrible form for the rest of your life.”
Daphne stated it as if it were a fact.
“They say if you don’t fix it when you’re young, it’ll stick with you forever. But since you don’t want to learn, I guess there’s nothing I can do. Now go away. I have to run.”
“Hmph…!”
Arius’s mind raced.
Daphne was right. Sword-wielding posture, if not corrected at a young age, would last a lifetime. That was why he had practiced hundreds of times, trying to replicate Daphne’s form, but had failed and come to find her.
And she was telling him to just go back?
Arius weighed his future growth against his current humiliation.
The deliberation didn't last long.
“…elp.”
“Huh?”
“…elp me.”
“I can't hear you when you speak like a mouse. What was that?”
“Help me!”
A smile spread across Daphne’s lips.
“You should’ve just done that from the start.”
Daphne replied, lifting her chin, and Arius’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.
But Arius couldn't back down now. Having already asked for teaching, he was determined to stick with it until the end and learn Daphne’s swordsmanship perfectly.
“Swing your sword.”
So, at Daphne’s words, he obediently swung his sword.
“No, not like that. Straighten your back more. Yes, like that.”
Daphne, who had moved closer, poked Arius in the back as she spoke.
Swish! Swish!
Arius continued to practice the vertical slash endlessly.
“You need to keep your arm straighter. Put more power into it when you swing down.”
Daphne, too, corrected him endlessly.
“Bend your elbow slightly when you raise it. No, are you a fool? Didn’t I just tell you to put more power into it?”
“Argh, what do you want me to do if I can’t do it!”
After swinging the wooden sword a few more times, Arius wiped the sweat from his brow and shouted, “Whew!”
“Hah! This is hard!”
Whining after just this much… she thought, but Daphne acknowledged the vast difference in mental fortitude between herself and humans. And the boy before her was still far too young to even be called a boy.
Still, he’s getting better little by little. A strange sense of competitiveness sparked in Daphne’s eyes.
“Daphne.”
Arius spoke to her.
“Show me how you swing, too. That’s the only way I can watch and learn.”
He had a point.
“Fine.”
Daphne picked up the wooden sword that had fallen at her feet.
“Here, like this.”
Swish!
Daphne’s vertical slash was truly perfect in form.
It was so impressive it was admirable to see again.
There was no wavering, no unnecessary movement.
How could a mere five-year-old child execute such swordsmanship?
Arius thought there could only be one answer.
‘Bloodline.’
There was no other explanation.
Daphne was astonishing everyone with her innate talent.
‘That’s why I’ll climb even higher.’
I’ll defeat Daphne and rise above her.
With that vow, Arius followed Daphne’s movements with his eyes.
“One, two, three.”
Daphne continued her vertical slashes without difficulty. Four, five, six… Her arm trembled slightly, but she could endure it. It seemed her improved stamina was paying off.
And so, Daphne was able to complete ten vertical slashes with satisfaction.
But just then.
‘Huh?’
Something was wrong.
Her chest began to tickle, and then,
“Cough!”
A mouthful of blood spurted out. Huh, huh?
“…Daphne?”
“No. I was fine, why all of a sudden… Cough!”
At that moment, Teiti’s words flashed through Daphne’s mind.
—Symptoms that feel like side effects will appear.
—It is all part of the healing process, so do not be concerned.
Coughing up blood like this is part of the healing process?!
That quack…!
Daphne’s body trembled with rage. But Arius seemed to mistake this for a seizure.
“Physician! Get a physician!”
Arius hastily supported Daphne’s body and cried out.
“Dammit! Daphne! If you weren’t feeling well, you should have said something! Why were you foolishly teaching me!”
What? Foolish? How dare a dense human use such words!
Daphne wanted to scream, but she had no strength left in her body.
Teiti, you quack.
I’ll definitely kill you…
With that thought, Daphne closed her eyes.
“Daphne! Don’t die!”
Leaving Arius’s cry behind her.
