There were two people in a well-decorated room. The surprising thing was that one was sitting on the other, who was forced on the ground.

“Hehe, see? I managed to get MY chocolate!”

“Yes, yes. May I ask milady to stop sitting on me? My back is kind of hurting right now…”

“No. If I let you free, you will snatch my sweets again!”

“Fine. Don’t blame me when milady fails her etiquette exam, though.”

“I just have to show that I know etiquette during the exam. No need to learn it.”

“If milady does that, she’ll look as stiff as a mannequin, though. Without practice, all the movements will look stiff.”

“Nah, don’t worry. It’s my problem anyway.”

Once she was done eating all the sweets on the tray, Estelle finally climbed down her butler’s back. Having been finally freed, Vince stood up and started to stretch.

‘Now, what should we do?’

‘There’s still two hours or so before dusk, and I don’t want to learn etiquette anymore.’

‘Ah! I’ve got an idea!’

Estelle slowly turned her head towards the boy who had dared steal her sweets with a big and not-so-innocent smile.

“What if we go train a bit? It’s been a while since I last had a training partner my age.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

‘He isn’t worried at all. He must be underestimating me because I’m a girl. I’ll make him regret it. I have to show who’s the strongest immediately so that I establish a clear leadership.’

Estelle thus led Vince to her personal training ground. It was a separate building, as tall as a three or four storeys tall building.

Two guards were currently guarding the entrance at the front door, which was filled with off-limit signs everywhere.

“Milady, I don’t think we’re allowed here. Is milady sure this is the right place?”

“Yup. Just trust me and follow behind.”

Once they were at the entrance, the two guards slightly bowed. They had somewhat troubled expressions seeing the kid following behind their lady, but they nonetheless opened the door.

Still sporting a slightly puzzled expression, Vince followed Estelle.

‘I can’t wait to see what kind of expression he’ll make once he sees the training facilities and gets to know that all of this is mine. Let’s see if he dares steal my sweets again.’

She kept track of the boy’s expression all the time to be sure not to miss the astonished expression he was bound to make.

Estelle finally opened a big double door after struggling a little to reach the door handle. Beyond that double door, there was a vast room whose floor was made of rugged rock.

The white floor had marks clearly left behind by blades in many places. There were also spectator stands near the walls, which now pretty much served as storage for the utilities.

With a slightly raised brow, Vince asked Estelle about the building out of curiosity.

“Was this once an arena?”

“You’re right. A few months ago, this was an arena for friendly spars among the guards, but it was turned into my own personal training ground! Impressed? Do you now see how great your lady is?”

“Mmh, I see. Well then, what sort of training do I have to help you with?”

In the end, the one getting surprised was Estelle.

‘Huh? No reaction? How could it be… he’s from a minor noble family. I thought any minor noble would at least remain agape for a few seconds…’

She was like a kid showing off their favourite toy to another kid, but the latter just ignored them.

‘I’ll have to get him back during the training!’

Having decided on her course of action, Estelle picked up two wooden swords and handed one over to Vince.

“You’ll spar with me!”

“Fine. I’m ready; attack as soon as you’re also ready.”

‘He even gave me the first move; what a gentleman. I’ll pay back his kindness by not hurting too much. I just need to teach him a lesson.’

‘Uncle Albert doesn’t want me to reveal my Cultivation, so I’ll avoid using mana. His stance looks steady and confident, but what kind of idiot would have his sword touching the ground with its tip? Well, whatever, it’s just easier for me this way.’

After observing for a while more, Estelle charged. Drawing a beautiful arc, she threw a slash to Vince on the left side.

‘As soon as he moves to parry, I’ll change the trajectory into a slash to the neck. Even if he manages to parry, my sword will hit the upper side of his’, breaking his stance.’

But, to her surprise, Vince dropped the sword and stepped forward instead.

‘Crap! I can’t stop my sword now. I’ll have to try and hit him.’

As she began to apply even more force, Vince’s left hand caught her tiny hands wrapped around the sword handle. Vince had to take a step to the right to absorb the momentum and then turned.

Grabbing her arms with both hands and using his right shoulder as a fulcrum, he made Estelle spin and drop to the ground.

While staring at her, Vince made a slight smile and then began explaining.

“Rule number one in a fight: never assume your opponent is going to use a weapon only because he has it. Milady went all-in in the attack, assuming I’d parry and didn’t consider that I had the time to shorten the distance and get out of your effective range. Once I’m out of your weapon’s range, I can win in any way possible.”

“But what kind of swordsman would drop his sword?! It’s the same as losing every ounce of honour one has! Unless it’s a life or death struggle, nobody will do that!”

“Every fight is a life or death struggle. And what you’re talking about is merely common sense. Milady should never expect certain behaviour from an opponent merely because of common sense. In a real fight, you would already be dead. Fighting isn’t a game. Milady should always play all her cards in a fight, even if it’s going to taint your reputation.”

“B-but…”

“No buts, milady has lost. Don’t come up with excuses and learn from your mistakes instead.”

‘What did I do wrong? I usually always win no matter whom I fight against… I’ll try to suppress him with Cultivation instead. There’s no way he can beat me in that field.’

Standing up once again, Estelle threw the sword Vince had dropped earlier back at him again.

“Another time!”

“Fine. Feel free to attack me when you’re ready.”

Estelle then steadied her stance once again and observed his enemy.

‘I’ll use sheer strength. I can’t use my whole Cultivation, but it doesn’t matter. He hasn’t started cultivating yet. One vertical central slash, and it’s going to be my win.’

‘I don’t get what he’s doing, though. He’s still holding his sword like before… He looks like one of those guardian statues with their sword stabbed in the ground. Let’s see what you’ll do this time, hehe…’

Estelle raised her sword high above her head, preparing a vertical slash to get through his guard. She was sure she would beat him in terms of sheer strength, even though her opponent was a male.

As she started swinging her sword, Vince also started swinging his. His sword was much slower than hers, giving her the confidence in a frontal confrontation. He drew a beautiful arc starting from the bottom all the way to the top.

The tip of his blade touched hers, making a dull sound, which resulted in the trajectory of her sword changing slightly, enough for Vince to dodge the strike without moving.

‘He didn’t confront me head-on and went for a dodge. He’s planning on an all-in stab.’

As she expected, Vince exploited her attack to do a stab. But, she had already initiated a dodge. The stab went past her, only cutting air, but before she could take a breath of relief, Vince turned the stab into a slash, going for her side.

At this point, having regained control of her sword, she prepared to parry. But something at the corner of her sight caught her attention.

‘He is initiating a kick. Either the kick or the slash is a feint, but which is it? I don’t have time to think; I’ll stop the kick.’

Unluckily for her, her bet went wrong. The kick was a faint while the slash stopped on the side of her neck.

“You win. I admit defeat.”

“What mistake does milady think she committed this time?”

“None. I merely lost a fifty-fifty chance over whether the slash or the kick was the feint.”

“Even though that is the case, milady would have lost anyway. If milady stopped my slash, milady would have been vulnerable to a kick. Pardon my rudeness, but at that point, I already had the victory in the bag. The biggest mistake milady did was going for that initial attack thoughtlessly.”

“Should have I just stared at you and done nothing?”

“At least milady shouldn’t have gone for an all-out attack. That said, milady, my time serving you today has run out. See you tomorrow.”

Even though she was about to say something, Vince just ignored her and made his way towards the library.

‘You even ignore me… aaaah… what am I supposed to do? Well, I still have time to establish leadership anyways. I’ll get him tomorrow.’

‘If I can’t beat him in a one on one fight, then I just have to find something else to challenge him in.’

Estelle once again felt she had a competitive spirit. It had been a long time since she last had a challenge, and she couldn’t wait to see what surprises her new attendant would bring her.

‘One day, I’ll make sure to become better than you at everything and make you recognise as your real master, and not one you only have because of circumstances!’