Kashe had set up a telescope at the watchtower where the outer gates of the castle could be seen.
The telescope had been made by Professor Casalos.
From time to time, she would peer through it.
If “he” came back, she’d know through this.
She couldn’t manage without him.
She couldn’t practice swordsmanship.
She wouldn’t know the raw realities of the outside world.
And those strange jokes he occasionally made. There was no one else around who said things like that.
Classes with Stalfon and lessons in noble etiquette filled every day to the brim, leaving her hardly any time to rest.
So in truth, catching sight of Abel during those brief moments when she peered through the telescope was rare.
Still, whenever she had a spare moment, she found herself looking anyway…
After eating lunch alone, Kashe was drinking tea when a maid approached her respectfully.
“Just now, it seems that Baron Gatu and Knight Ise Ark have returned.”
Kashe immediately stood up from her seat.
She ordered the main gates of the castle to be opened.
Without any attendants, she ran toward the knights’ headquarters.
People like pages looked on in surprise as the beautiful daughter of the count dashed with long strides, but she didn’t care.
Three horses. One beastkin with the face of a wolf.
The knight was a woman with lustrous black hair.
There was also a boy whose dull blond hair sparkled in the sunlight.
Such a bizarre group. There was only one like them in all of Highwand.
Kashe called out to them.
“Abel!”
“Ah, Lady Kashe!”
Abel hurriedly dismounted.
For a squire of low status to greet the daughter of a count while still mounted was a blatant breach of etiquette.
If someone strict about protocol had seen it, it might’ve earned him a fist to the face.
Then again, Abel held a rather peculiar and unofficial “title” as a distant relative of the Highwand family, so perhaps no one would go that far.
Kashe looked Abel up and down, from his toes to the top of his head.
No major injuries.
She felt relieved.
Most of his missions were extremely dangerous.
Subjugating vicious bandits and magical beasts was his main work.
If the worst happened… it was entirely possible.
Kashe then turned her gaze toward the ends of the balance pole that Baron Gatu was carrying on his shoulder.
Rotting heads hung in bunches from each side.
Every one of them bore an expression of bitter resentment frozen on their face.
A weaker person would have fainted at the sight.
But Kashe, by nature, felt no fear from such things.
“You’ve done well with your duties, Abel. Now tell me, what kind of battle was it?”
“Uh… well, I actually still have a bit of work left to do…”
Sensing the situation, Gatu stepped in.
He had a knack for that kind of tact and generosity.
“We’ll handle the report to Sir Lopez. Just take the horses back to the stables.”
“Yes.”
Abel walked with Kashe toward the stables as they talked.
The horses used by the order members were taken care of by the Highwand Knight Order.
After that, they headed to the main castle.
First came the part Kashe had been looking forward to. Training.
It had practically become a routine by now.
Kashe carried a single wooden sword. Always the same one.
She didn’t take to the “Swift Defense Style” which emphasized using a shield that could be handled with one hand.
As a result, the style she followed was effectively “Offensive Blade Style”.
That said, her teacher was Abel, and Abel himself was influenced by Ise, so perhaps it wasn’t strictly traditional “Offensive Blade Style” anymore.
Facing off against Abel, Kashe stood taller than him.
She was currently fourteen, soon to be fifteen in a month.
Abel found her truly becoming beautiful.
Her purple eyes were sharp, almost piercing.
Her eyebrows, extending like willow branches, reflected her strong will.
Her indigo hair had a faint purple color, matching her eyes.
Her bangs were neatly trimmed across her forehead.
The back of her hair was cut cleanly at shoulder length.
Kashe had a distinctly mature presence. She looked older than her actual age.
She was so strikingly beautiful, it was almost intimidating.
Her outfit:
Leather boots on her feet.
A miniskirt that revealed her thighs.
A jacket made of sleek, lustrous black velvet.
Beneath that, a white shirt.
Around her neck, a frilly scarf. Her fashion radiated both noble elegance and youthful charm.
Facing Abel, Kashe raised her wooden sword in a middle stance.
This was known as “True eye stance”. A balanced stance suitable for both offense and defense.
Opposite her, Abel took the “Side stance” stance.
It resembled the high stance, but with bent elbows and the sword held upright. This made it easy to strike with a quick downward slash.
“Deyaaaaah!”
With a spirited battle cry, Kashe rushed forward and closed the distance in one burst.
Abel swung his sword from the side stance.
At the last possible moment, Kashe saw the tip of the blade and dodged.
It wasn’t luck.
She had read the range precisely and evaded by a hair’s breadth.
Before Abel could reset his stance, Kashe launched a thrust from her middle stance.
Abel deflected it with his wooden sword. But Kashe followed up immediately with a flurry of strikes.
“Ei!”
With a fierce shout, Kashe unleashed a kick, her body strengthened by magic, holding nothing back.
Unable to dodge, Abel caught it with his palm.
A loud bang echoed as the impact jolted through his hand.
Abel staggered backward, shocked by the sheer force.
Not missing her chance, Kashe brought her sword down in a one-handed overhead slash, aiming for Abel’s shoulder.
Abel swung his wooden sword upward from below.
Wood clashed violently against wood.
Overpowered by the force, Kashe didn’t let go of her grip, but her control slipped.
Abel swept his wooden sword sideways.
Kashe leapt back to evade.
He pressed the attack.
Strikes aimed for her sword.
With each powerful blow, Kashe’s arm was dragged along.
Abel let a restrained swing land against her bare thigh.
“The match is decided.”
Kashe glared back with her purple eyes.
Her presence radiated such fierce determination that it felt as though she might actually bite him. But of course, she didn’t.
“Abel. That hurts. Heal me.”
It was the usual routine.
Getting struck with a wooden sword was obviously painful.
That was why many trained with controlled blows that stopped just short.
But Kashe insisted that wasn’t real training, and demanded to be struck in full.
She was a Spartan young lady…
Her thigh was firm and well-toned.
Healthy skin without a blemish.
Abel cast a healing spell over the reddened swelling.
Thanks to her training, there was no flabbiness.
Her skin was supple.
Lightly damp with sweat.
For some reason, there was a sensual allure that stirred Abel’s desire.
The swelling faded under the gentle glow of the healing magic.
…This is making me feel weird. She really has a woman’s body now.
Abel tried to hide his inner turmoil, but his face flushed red.
He averted his eyes, if only out of token effort.
“Then that’s it for today’s training.”
“Hey, what are you doing after this?”
“Taking care of my equipment… and helping Lady Ise, I suppose.”
“Stay at the castle today. In the afternoon we’ll study arithmetic and history together. Then let’s share dinner.”
Once she made up her mind, there was no talking her out of it. So Abel had no choice but to silently follow.
They moved inside the castle and headed to the room of her professor Casalos.
Today’s lesson was on calculating the amount of food needed based on the number of soldiers.
He also taught them how to calculate the horses and manpower required to transport the supplies.
It was a fairly practical lesson, and Abel found himself enjoying it.
Honestly, doing calculations about things like apples that are more expensive than mandarins, or siblings who go out of their way to leave at different times, could get irritating…
Casalos’ appearance hadn’t changed much over the past two years.
He usually stayed holed up in his room, making magical tools.
Because he rarely went out into the sun, his face had a pale, eggplant-like color.
There were times when that man would look at Kashe with a blissful expression on his face.
—So he really is the real deal, huh…
Sure, she really is an incredibly beautiful girl, but still.
Abel gave a wry smile.
Next came history class, taught by the Ceremonial Knight, Stalfon.
These days, Stalfon held deep trust in Abel.
It was all thanks to Abel’s diligence.
He would go on patrols through dangerous regions with Ise and occasionally returned with the heads of bandits.
It even became a topic of gossip that he helped the cooks during departure ceremonies.
No matter how much of a lowborn illegitimate child unacknowledged by the count he was, his treatment had been far too poor…
There wasn’t a single person in the main castle who didn’t know that Abel was actually the grandson of Count Barth Highwand.
The more humble Abel’s attitude remained despite his strange birth, the higher his reputation climbed.
People spoke of him in hushed tones:
“That face….doesn’t it look exactly like Lord Barth when he was young?”
“Still a child, yet he has such a noble heart, unmatched martial skill, and can even use healing magic… what a shame.”
“Truly. He could’ve been a great asset to the count’s house, yet they won’t even make him a member of the family… how pitiful.”
“Well, no wonder there’s a shadow in Abel’s eyes.”
“Even so, there’s no other way to describe him. He’s a prodigy.”
That was the general opinion.
Abel thought, They could’ve left out the part about my eyes, though…
The sunset streamed in through the window.
The darkening sky hinted at the approach of night, and red afterglow lingered among the clouds.
Servants lit the candles in the dining hall.
There were rules about the number and types of candles to use.
Technically, neither Abel nor Kashe needed them since they could both use Light.
But things like this had been decided by tradition, so they left it alone.
The dining table was large and made of heavy wood.
It could probably seat twenty people.
But usually, Kashe used it alone.
Apparently, her two brothers Lopez and Monke rarely ate here.
It was said that her brothers ate either at the Knight Order’s headquarters or out in town, accompanied by other knights and warriors.
The meal served consisted of stewed beef, a platter of vegetables, a gelatin-stuffed small bird, white bread, and apples simmered in honey.
By this world’s standards, it was an extravagant feast.
Kashe stuffed pieces of the stewed meat into her mouth one after another.
To be frank, her table manners were terrible.
In truth, she had been thoroughly taught proper dining etiquette, so she was doing it on purpose.
It was a reaction to the repression she’d experienced.
Both Abel and Kashe ate quite a lot.
Those who used both their bodies and magical power were usually big eaters.
However, thanks to the castle’s head cook, Jack Druid, who prepared large portions with great skill, they never lacked for food.
Abel knew that Kashe usually ate alone.
It reminded him of his previous life.
Naturally, he felt a sense of sympathy.
Eating alone, once you got used to it, didn’t really feel like anything. If anything, it could feel more comfortable, but once you got used to eating with someone, eating alone began to feel lonely.
Thinking of that, he couldn’t bring himself to turn down Kashe’s invitation.
“Tomorrow we’ll be interrogating the bandits we captured. There might be a trial, too.”
“There’ve been a lot lately.”
“The security situation keeps getting worse. We don’t have nearly enough knights. It looks like they’re trying to recruit more people, but it’s not like just anyone can become a knight… There’s no real solution.”
“I’ve been asking my grandfather to let me take part in maintaining order as well.”
“What?! Lady Kashe, you?”
Kashe shot him a sharp glance.
It was as if to say, Got a problem with that?
“That’s right. It’s not fair that Abel gets to go out on missions for ten whole days. I want to travel far too!”
Getting permission to leave the castle gates was extremely rare.
That was because the Ceremonial Knight Stalfon would never allow it easily.
Kashe, clearly frustrated, clenched her spoon so tightly that her hands trembled.
The silver spoon bent with a soft crunch.
Abel’s eyes widened. He realized it was about time to retreat.
In a hurry, he made up an excuse about the time and stood up from his seat.
He had no desire to get caught up in Kashe’s explosion of frustration.
“Tomorrow! The trial, the interrogation…I’m coming too! I will be there!”
Her voice rang out behind him, but he gave a half-hearted reply and quickly made his exit.
At times like this, speed was everything.
As Abel walked down the corridor, he ran into the butler, Keifard.
He gave a bow.
“Abel… To be honest, I always feel relieved when you come back. Lately, when you’re not around, Lady Kashe tends to get… difficult.”
“Huh? Really?”
Keifard, who normally handled nerve-wracking tasks with composure, shook his head with a troubled look.
A furrow formed between his brows and his expression was filled with sorrow.
“She’s frustrated. The Highwand family is a proud house of warriors. That blood runs strong in Lady Kashe as well. Perhaps she would’ve been better off walking the path of a soldier… No, forgive me. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
A look of anguish crossed Keifard’s face.
There was a kind of sorrow unique to a man burdened with heavy responsibility.
Lopez and Monke were obsessed with military matters and apparently left all domestic affairs unattended.
Keifard had to handle everything they left behind.
It must be an enormous burden.
Abel couldn’t help but feel genuine sympathy for him…
When he returned to Ise’s room, she had already finished maintaining their gear.
Technically, that too was a squire’s job.
“Lady Ise. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Dealing with Lady Kashe is part of your duties too.”
It was a small room, about the size of six tatami mats.
On the floor was a sack stuffed with dried straw.
That was where Abel slept.
Still, there was no way he could keep sleeping in the same place forever.
And truthfully, two people of opposite sex sharing such a small room…it really wasn’t proper.
He tried not to look, but every now and then, something about Ise would stir him.
Like a glimpse of her well-shaped, modest breasts and pink nipples through a gap in her undergarments…
Or the sight of her clean, hairless underarms…
As Abel’s body continued to mature, the urges welling up inside him grew harder to suppress.
—Maybe I should ask for a separate room…
Lately, he’d been having that thought.
But a mere squire might not be granted a private room.
Pushing away those troubling thoughts, he decided to just get some sleep.
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