Chapter 10
Some time ago, Daphne had given an order to Teiti.
“Make me a medicine to help this body recover its strength. Something to slow the curse and let me build up my power.”
An order to create a medicine that could make this pathetic body at least somewhat useful.
About ten days had passed since then.
“The medicine is complete, Lady Daphne!”
Teiti had contacted her.
And soon after, the medicine was delivered.
Since it was made by an elf, Daphne assumed it would naturally be effective and gulped it down without a second thought.
To her surprise, her stamina improved noticeably. The fact that her strength had increased so much in such a short time was likely due to both her own efforts and the medicine’s effects.
“Well done, young lady. Thanks to you, the knights’ morale has also risen, which makes me quite pleased.”
“What?”
Daphne tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.
“To see a young lady with such a frail body continue training like this seems to have motivated the knights. The atmosphere has gotten much better than before.”
Come to think of it, she had noticed quite a few knights training at dawn. They hadn’t been there before.
Daphne glanced at the knights running while shouting commands, then let out a small chuckle.
“Not my problem. They’ll have to figure it out themselves.”
If a single child could boost their morale, it meant these guys were a mess to begin with. So Daphne didn’t pay it much mind, but it seemed Lloyd felt differently.
“Young lady.”
Lloyd approached Daphne, knelt on one knee, and said,
“Do you wish to become stronger?”
Daphne slightly furrowed her brow.
“If that wasn’t the case, why would I be doing this?”
“…”
Lloyd took a deep breath.
“Only a few in the mansion know that you’re under a curse.”
Everyone else, including family members like Arius, believed she had an incurable illness.
“So…”
Lloyd swallowed hard.
“Please, don’t give up.”
It might sound harsh.
After all, Daphne was destined to die.
But even so, despite that.
Lloyd hoped she would overcome it. Perhaps he had a baseless hunch that she might actually succeed.
Daphne stared intently into Lloyd’s eyes, then let out a scoff and raised her chin.
“Don’t talk nonsense, human.”
And she declared boldly,
“I am a great being who doesn’t know the meaning of giving up.”
***
“Huff, huff…”
She was on her twentieth lap around the training ground.
But she hadn’t collapsed yet. The medicine’s effects seemed truly remarkable.
‘That guy. He said he couldn’t do it, but he made it well.’
Thinking she should make use of Teiti more often, Daphne put more strength into her running steps.
That’s when it happened.
Thud!
Something fell at her feet.
“A wooden sword?”
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a wooden sword.
Who threw it?
Turning her head, she saw a surprising figure standing there.
“Arius?”
“Yeah, it’s me!”
It was none other than Arius.
With a wooden sword slung diagonally over his shoulder, Arius shouted confidently,
“Let’s spar!”
“…”
Daphne tilted her head.
“Spar! Let’s do it, let’s do it!”
Arius bounced with competitive enthusiasm.
“We didn’t get to fight properly last time. So let’s have a real match this time!”
Daphne was dumbfounded.
This blockhead…
Daphne spun on her heel and walked toward Arius.
“You.”
“Y-Yeah?”
“You know full well the state of my stamina, and you’re still challenging me to a fight? Don’t you remember how I fainted after a single vertical slash last time?”
Daphne was annoyed.
Right now, just running laps around the training ground was making her pant. And he wanted to spar!
Daphne thought Arius was saying this to mock her. So, with irritation, she glared at him.
“B-But.”
Arius took a small step back, looking her over.
“Your body—it’s gotten better than before, hasn’t it?”
Daphne’s eyes widened.
It was true that her body had improved significantly. Her stamina had increased, her strength had grown, and she had even developed a mana vessel.
But since it wasn’t outwardly obvious, she assumed no one else would notice.
Yet this eight-year-old kid had picked up on it.
Daphne felt anew that this family was something else and let out a wry chuckle.
“Even so, it’s not enough. I’ve still got a long way to go to get stronger.”
This was a clear rejection of the spar.
“Ugh…!”
So Arius stomped his feet in frustration.
No, he had to fight!
In his agitation, Arius shouted without thinking,
“I want to see your stance!”
Oh no.
He’d blurted out his true intentions too quickly.
Arius fanned his flushed face to calm himself and turned his head sharply.
“No, I don’t mean I *really* want to see it. I mean, it’s just a figure of speech…”
Daphne thought she understood why Arius was acting like this.
He must have noticed something wrong with his own stance and wanted to spar with her to learn her swordsmanship by observing.
Seeing it this way, Arius seemed rather cute.
“Then instead of asking for a spar, just ask me to teach you.”
Tch, tch.
Daphne crossed her arms and looked at Arius.
“Go on, say it. Ask me to teach you.”
“What?”
Arius’s eyes widened.
“No way.”
He turned his head sharply with a huff.
“What would I even learn from you? I’d never say that! No, I *can’t* say that!”
For Arius, who had hoped to learn by sparring and observing her stance, asking her to teach him directly was a blow to his pride. So he shook his head vigorously, his face bright red.
There was no way Daphne wouldn’t notice this childish pride. So she let out a wry laugh.
“Then you’ll swing your sword with that sloppy stance for the rest of your life.”
Daphne spoke as if it were a fact.
“If you don’t fix it when you’re young, it’ll stick with you forever. But if you say you don’t want to learn, there’s nothing I can do. Now go. I have to keep running.”
“Ugh…!”
Arius’s mind raced.
Daphne was right. If you didn’t fix your sword-swinging stance when you were young, it would stay with you for life.
He’d practiced hundreds of times to mimic Daphne, but it hadn’t worked, which was why he’d come to her.
And now she was telling him to just leave?
Arius weighed his future growth against the humiliation of the moment.
The decision didn’t take long.
“…Give.”
“What?”
“…Help.”
“I can’t hear you with that tiny voice. What did you say?”
“Help me!”
Daphne’s lips curved into a smile.
“You should’ve said that from the start.”
Daphne raised her chin as she replied, and Arius’s face grew even redder.
But he couldn’t back down now. Having already asked for her teaching, he was determined to stick with it and learn her swordsmanship to the fullest.
“Swing it.”
So, at Daphne’s command, he obediently swung his sword.
“No, not like that. Keep your back straighter. Like that.”
Daphne, who had come closer, poked Arius’s back and said,
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arius kept practicing vertical slashes.
“You need to extend your arm more. Put more strength into the downward strike.”
Daphne continued to point out flaws.
“When you raise it, bend your elbow slightly. No, are you an idiot? Didn’t I just say to put more strength into it?”
“I’m trying, but it’s not working, okay!”
After swinging the wooden sword a few more times, Arius wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a loud “Hoo!”
“Ha! This is exhausting!”
To think he was whining after just this… But Daphne acknowledged that there was a huge gap between her mental fortitude and that of humans. And the boy in front of her was barely old enough to be called a boy.
Still, he was improving little by little. Feeling a strange sense of competitiveness, Daphne’s eyes sparkled.
“Daphne.”
Arius spoke to her.
“Show me how you swing too. I need to see it to learn.”
It was a fair point.
“Fine.”
Daphne picked up the wooden sword that had fallen at her feet.
“Like this.”
Whoosh!
Daphne’s vertical slash was truly perfect.
Even watching it again, it was impressive.
No trembling, no unnecessary movements.
How could a mere five-year-old wield such swordsmanship?
Arius could think of only one answer.
‘Bloodline.’
Otherwise, it made no sense.
Daphne was astonishing everyone with her natural talent.
‘That’s why I’ll surpass her.’
He would defeat Daphne and rise above her.
With that resolve, Arius followed her movements with his eyes.
“One, two, three.”
Daphne continued her vertical slashes effortlessly. Four, five, six… Her arms trembled slightly, but she could still hold on. The stamina training seemed to be paying off.
So Daphne happily completed ten vertical slashes.
But right then.
‘Huh?’
Something felt off.
Her chest tickled, and then,
“Cough!”
A handful of blood spurted out. W-What?
“…Daphne?”
“No, I was fine just a moment ago, why—cough!”
At that moment, Teiti’s words flashed through Daphne’s mind.
“There may be symptoms that feel like side effects.”
“It’s all part of the healing process, so don’t worry.”
Spitting up blood like this is part of the healing process?!
That quack…!
Daphne’s body trembled with rage. But Arius seemed to think she was having a seizure.
“Doctor! Call a doctor!”
Arius hurriedly supported Daphne’s body and shouted,
“Damn it! Daphne! If you weren’t feeling well, you should’ve said something! Why were you foolishly teaching me!”
What? Foolish? How dare a lowly human say such a thing!
Daphne wanted to yell, but her strength was draining, and she couldn’t.
That quack Teiti.
I’ll make you pay…
With that thought, Daphne closed her eyes.
“Daphne! Don’t die!”
Leaving Arius’s cries behind.
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By Anna 💓
