Chapter 13
“Have you already started?”
“Yeah. Actually, I wanted to start learning two years ago, not just last year.”
Ellen, whose legs were hurting, struggled to climb onto a nearby rock and asked.
“Why so early?”
“Remember the first day we attended Pollet?”
Helping her up onto the rock, he continued.
“Uh… do you remember that?”
He grew cautious, worried that he might be bringing up something she’d tried to forget. Roil didn’t mention it directly, carefully dancing around the subject.
“Yeah, I remember. How could I forget something that shocking?”
She understood what he was referring to immediately. She remembered the event vividly.
“That day, both of us ran in without thinking and got caught by the Crown Prince’s guards.”
“Yeah.”
That’s right. The moment Ellen saw what was happening, she instinctively rushed forward to stop the man from hitting the girl—completely forgetting she was only seven years old.
The girl’s blouse had been ripped in several places, her skirt was hiked up, and she was being held by a man. Her face was bruised and swollen from how much she’d been beaten for resisting.
Ellen frowned deeply as she recalled the scene.
“If we hadn’t been caught by the guards while rushing in… if we hadn’t delayed them… maybe they would’ve subdued that man right away. And then, maybe the girl wouldn’t have been slashed by his sword and gotten even more hurt.”
That’s right. That’s why I screamed at the guards to stop holding me and catch the man instead.
Ellen felt a little gloomy. She had tried to help despite being so small and powerless, but in the end, someone else got hurt even more.
Seeing her downcast expression, Roil continued.
“As soon as I got home after Pollet, I told my father. That I wanted to learn swordsmanship. I want to get stronger so that next time, if something like that happens again, I can help. Or at the very least—not get in the way when someone else is helping.”
Ellen understood exactly how he felt.
Maybe I should learn swordsmanship too. I’ll have to eventually anyway.
✿ ✿ ✿
The next day, during dinner with her parents, Ellen brought it up.
“Dad, please teach me swordsmanship too.”
Gerald’s eyes widened at his daughter’s request.
“Ellen?”
“I’ll need to learn eventually anyway. I just want to start now.”
The idea of his precious daughter holding a sword shocked Gerald so much he quickly shook his head.
“Ellen, I’m still strong, and our family’s knights are among the best. There’s no reason for you to hold a sword.”
“That’s right, Ellen. It’s good for you to take an interest in swordsmanship as the heir of the Quinter family. But defending the territory doesn’t rely solely on sword skills.”
Gloria added supportively.
“Exactly. Even if the nomads invade or war breaks out, it’s unlikely that you’ll be on the front lines. Tactics can protect the territory. Learning administration is also a form of protecting it.”
As her parents spoke gently and logically, Ellen opened her mouth, then closed it again.
They seemed to believe she was interested in swordsmanship simply because she was the heir.
Ellen thought about telling them the story of what happened during the first Pollet and what she had discussed with Roil yesterday—but decided against it.
Her parents had already removed every painting, tapestry, and sculpture from the house that might remind her of that incident, fearing it had traumatized her.
If she brought it up, they’d surely worry that she was still emotionally scarred by it.
So Ellen rephrased her reason.
“Still, I think self-defense is necessary. I’m not disregarding our knights, but we never know what might happen… At the very least, I should be able to protect myself until they arrive.”
A silence settled over the table.
Gloria, who had been slowly swirling her wine glass, took a sip and finally spoke.
“Then how about archery?”
Archery?
Both Gerald and Ellen turned to Gloria.
“It builds strength, allows for ranged attacks so you don’t need to approach enemies directly, improves concentration—and it’s relatively safe to learn with little risk of injury.”
The conversation was going somewhere completely different from Ellen’s original intent.
She was flustered. I was going to learn swordsmanship!
“Attacking from a distance sounds like the best part. And the low risk of injury while learning. Also, Gloria, you can teach her archery, can’t you?”
Gerald asked.
“Mom can?”
Ellen turned to Gloria in surprise. She had no idea her mother could shoot a bow.
“Believe it or not, I’m pretty decent with a bow.”
“Your mom can hit a pinecone from a hundred steps away.”
Gerald said proudly.
“Wow! Mom, that’s amazing! I never knew you had that side to you!”
Ellen’s eyes sparkled. A woman skilled in combat—so cool!
“You’ll pick it up quickly from your mom.”
“Then we’ll need to build a new archery range in the backyard. I’ve been thinking of doing that anyway since my body’s been feeling stiff lately. This works out nicely.”
And so, Ellen’s lessons were settled—though not in swordsmanship, but in archery.
“Huh? I feel like I somehow got talked into this…”
Ellen tilted her head in confusion as she walked back to her study.
✿ ✿ ✿
While the archery range was being built, Ellen visited the capital with Roil. They had received an invitation from the Viscount of Dumfrie.
Actually, the invitation had been for Erica alone, but she didn’t want to go to the Dumfrie estate by herself, so she roped in all her friends.
Can they all come with me?
Faced with Erica’s letter, Santuke couldn’t say no and ended up inviting everyone.
On the day of the trip, Ellen and Roil met at the teleportation office, as usual, and headed straight to the capital.
This time, only Masha and Roil’s nanny, Emma, accompanied them. Their fathers had gone to lead the knights against a nomad invasion, and their mothers were busy managing the estate and the house.
When Ellen and Roil arrived at the capital’s teleportation office, knights from Dumfrie were waiting with a carriage. They got in and headed straight for the Dumfrie estate.
✿ ✿ ✿
By the time they arrived, the other friends were already playing in the garden.
After greeting Viscount and Viscountess Dumfrie, Ellen and Roil went out to join them.
Since it wasn’t an official Pollet gathering but just a friendly visit, the children seemed much more carefree than usual.
Normally, they sat politely in the salon, sipping tea, chatting, or playing chess. But today, they were running around the garden like wild puppies.
Kids really are bundles of energy. Like beagles.
Ellen and Roil waved to their friends as they walked through the noisy garden.
“We’re here!”
The kids, who had been playing tag, came running.
“What took you so long?”
Ellen rolled her eyes at Santuke’s words.
“Hey, we came from the far north, you know?”
Like kids do, they immediately slipped back into familiarity, acting like they had seen each other just yesterday. They dismissed the servants and began climbing trees, shaking branches, and plucking leaves.
Then they started thinking up their next game.
“What should we do next?”
“Say what—?”
“I said, what should we do next!”
“Should we go outside?”
At Erica’s suggestion, the kids looked at one another.
“Sounds good!”
“I want to see the Brown District!”
Surprisingly, everyone agreed.
Even Adrien, whom Ellen expected to object, went along, and Serel even pushed it further—leaving Ellen shocked.
“What? You seriously want to go to a commoner district?”
While Ellen was still unsure if they were serious, Erica quickly climbed down from the tree. Then Santuke followed, and Adrien and Serel carefully came down after them.
Ellen looked at Roil with a face that seemed to ask, Are we really doing this? But Roil just shrugged and joined the others.
Even Roil? As the group looked up at her, Ellen sighed and climbed down.
“So, where in the Brown District are we going? Do you even know a place?”
“How about the marketplace? There are lots of people and things to see.”
Roil responded after a moment’s thought. Then Erica added:
“We can take my carriage.”
Ellen added cautiously:
“Erica, is it the same carriage you take to the palace and salons? That’ll really stand out in the Brown District—it’s big and flashy.”
“Oh, no. My mom used that one today, so I brought a smaller one. It’s black. Not flashy, so it won’t stand out too much.”
Relieved, Ellen nodded—but then raised another issue.
“Okay, so that’s settled. But if we go in these clothes, not only will we attract attention, but we won’t even be able to move around properly.”
They looked at each other’s outfits.
Their clothes were definitely eye-catching: rich fabrics, voluminous skirts, fancy lace, gemstone buttons, silk shoes, and accessories—not ideal for maneuvering through a crowded marketplace.
They had read enough about commoners’ lives in books to have a general sense of how out of place they’d look.
“Santuke.”
Serel turned to him.
“What? Why?”
He looked at her as if to say, Why are you dragging me into this?
But Erica had already figured out what Serel meant and turned to Santuke.
“Don’t you have clothes that commoners would wear?”
“Well, I could get some if I ask for them… but are you seriously planning to wear that kind of thing?”
His annoyed expression quickly changed to one of resignation as he realized she wasn’t joking.
“If you don’t want to, just don’t come. The rest of us can stop by my place and change.”
Erica said firmly. Reluctantly, Santuke replied with a dissatisfied look.
“If a noble lady like you is going to wear commoner clothes, I guess I have no excuse. Fine. Wait here.”
His posture as he walked back to the mansion screamed, I hate this.
“Let’s go too. We have to change anyway.”
Adrien, chuckling silently at how Erica always had the last word with Santuke, nudged the group toward the house.
