Chapter 15
The next day.
The moment I arrived at the training ground, Damian blurted out:
“From today, the real training begins.”
…What?
“…Real training?”
I couldn’t help but repeat it.
Real training?
That meant everything until now wasn’t the real thing.
Half a lap running and gasping,
collapsing flat on the floor unable to do a single push-up,
repeating the same posture dozens of times until almost fainting—
I asked, utterly baffled:
“Then what was all that until now?”
“Warm-up exercises.”
Damian answered calmly, not even blinking.
“I had to check if the Princess was willing to undergo training.”
This human…
Was he really serious?
I glared at him, eyes burning like fire.
Yet Damian—receiving my blazing stare head-on—just smirked.
“Why the look? You can’t teach real techniques to someone who would quit halfway.”
“If this were the capital, I would have punished you immediately.”
“The Grand Ducal residence is outside imperial jurisdiction.”
“…Huh.”
I had no words.
Actually, I had a mountain of things to say.
All that torturous “training” was just a test? Just a check to see if I was willing?
Why didn’t he just say that before!
But arguing was pointless.
This human would just smirk and slip out of it no matter what I said.
“…Fine.”
I clenched my teeth, swallowing my anger with all my might.
Hold it, Loreia. You will endure.
“So, what am I supposed to learn today?”
“Self-defense techniques.”
Damian stepped closer.
“It’s a technique to unbalance an opponent when they grab you. Try flipping me.”
Then he demonstrated.
He grabbed my wrist, twisted his body, and shifted his weight toward the opponent—
so the person holding him would lose balance and fall.
It looked easy at first.
When Damian did it, it seemed effortless.
I grabbed his arm, twisted my body, tried to put my weight into it.
And.
Thud.
I fell.
“……”
“…Pathetic.”
“Just a mistake.”
I jumped up and tried again.
Grabbed his arm, twisted.
Thud.
I fell again.
“Your angle is wrong.”
Of course it was. I had no basic strength.
And Damian was far too big for my body.
We were only three years apart, but his height made him feel like a giant.
My size didn’t help.
‘And he’ll get even bigger when he comes of age… unbelievable.’
Every time I twisted, I wobbled first.
Every time I tried to shift my weight, my arms were too weak—I just hung there.
Ten times.
Twenty times.
Thirty times.
Falling, standing, falling again.
Knees scraped. Palms stinging. Whole body aching.
Still, I got up every time. I didn’t think about quitting.
Damian looked at me.
Not with the mocking smile from yesterday, but with a curious, almost puzzled expression.
Why now?
He had pushed me mercilessly yesterday—was it annoying that I still tried hard today?
I ignored him and got back into position.
“…Wait.”
But this time, Damian grabbed my shoulder and gently pushed me back.
“Let’s eat lunch first.”
Only then did I look up—the sun was high in the sky.
Lunch already passed?
I glanced at him.
“You even made me skip lunch yesterday.”
“Who would think I dared to make the Princess miss her meal?”
…Right.
He hadn’t ordered me not to eat, just didn’t let me eat even though it was past lunch.
I gave up arguing and bit into the sandwich Mia brought.
Instantly, my whole body screamed with muscle pain.
Until now, I hadn’t noticed, running and training nonstop.
Now, sitting still, shoulders, arms, legs, and back ached everywhere.
“Ugh…”
Damian sat across from me, tilting his head slightly.
“Techniques like that don’t work if you do them blindly.”
Ha. As if it wasn’t you who trained me blindly.
I muttered the thought inside but didn’t speak.
Instead, I chewed the sandwich. I was hungry anyway.
“…Interesting,” Damian suddenly said.
“What?”
“I thought you would give up, but you didn’t.”
Give up? Me?
I’ve survived being beaten, dragged to underground cells, stabbed, and almost killed… this is nothing.
I chuckled inside.
After twenty years of life, nothing in training would make me quit.
“I have something I must do.”
“Go to the West. I must get there.”
The land of the wizards.
I needed to go there to meet that man.
Only then could Carlos and I escape the imperial palace.
Right now, it was the only way.
Damian looked at me.
He seemed like he wanted to ask more,
but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
“Take your time eating. Afternoon training starts after.”
He got up and left, leaving me staring at his back.
“…Weird human.”
He seemed like he wanted to ask something…
But what?
I didn’t know.
And I didn’t want to.
A few more days passed.
Every day: fall, get up, fall again.
Bruises layered on my knees.
Blisters on my palms burst, hardened, then burst again.
Still, I never gave up.
And on the eighth day of training:
“Ughahh!”
With my shout, Damian’s solid stance finally wavered.
Thud—he toppled beside me.
For the first time, I flipped him.
“…Huh?”
I stared at him rolling on the ground, unable to believe it.
My heart pounded.
“Did you see that?! I did it!”
Damian got up, brushing off the dust.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
His voice was flat, but I didn’t care.
I was too happy.
I jumped up and down in place.
“I did it! Finally!”
After days of falling, failing, and trying again—
I finally succeeded.
My body remembered it. The timing and angles were perfect.
“I flipped him! I knew I could do it!”
I jumped for joy.
Then, wobble.
My legs gave out.
After days of relentless training, my body couldn’t handle the sudden excitement.
The world tilted sideways.
“Princess!”
I saw Damian reaching out, alarmed.
But the ground was too close.
I was already falling, about to hit the ground.
Everything slowed down.
At that moment, his arms wrapped around my back.
The world flipped.
Thud.
