He seemed to be trying to call out quietly in his own way……. But from my perspective, it was still loud.
His voice, and his gestures.
Having been on edge lately, I checked my surroundings and dashed over quickly.
“Hey, you……!”
“Take this.”
Before I could even cover his mouth, Yashin thrust something out.
It was an ordinary wooden sword and training clothes.
“Last time when I swapped out my broken wooden sword, I secretly grabbed an extra one. Did well, right?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah…….”
“These are the training clothes I wore when I was young. I grew fast so I barely wore them. So they’re clean.”
“Th-thanks.”
I ended up taking the things he handed me without thinking.
It was a level of preparedness from the guy I hadn’t expected at all.
From the look of it, both the wooden sword and the training clothes seemed roughly the right size for Lilian’s body.
He has better judgment than I thought.
“Do I need to change into these now?”
As I hesitated while holding the training clothes, Yashin shook his head.
“Today I was only planning to teach you how to hold the sword and the stance, so it’s fine.”
On top of that, he roughly outlined the future training schedule.
The first day would be how to hold the sword and the stance, the second day how to swing it, the third day…….
While his words continued without pause, I nodded absently.
Can I really do this?
No matter how much it’s Lilian’s body, this soul is a modern person who’s never properly exercised once in her life.
‘No, is it actually a relief?’
The result of swinging my fists alone last time showed that movements driven by my own will didn’t seem particularly influenced by instinct.
I was just as clumsy as ‘me.’
So as long as I don’t create any dangerous situations during training with him, Lilian’s instincts won’t come out.
‘Let me be careful about just that.’
From the wooden sword fragment I instinctively caught to the breakfall I showed in front of the Grand Duke.
Recalling that series of perilous incidents, I quietly pressed my lips together.
‘I’ am not the spy Lilian.
I am the maid Lilian.
“Now, first—”
Yashin, having become a same-age instructor, handed me the wooden sword with a thoroughly excited face.
It seemed his desire to take on a disciple was genuine.
Following his instructions, I awkwardly gripped the sword.
The unfamiliar wooden sword settled into my hand.
And exactly three days after starting training like that.
I realized something.
“Lilian, you…….”
“……”
“You’re a complete genius—!”
That Lilian’s skill far surpassed the ordinary.
* * *
Crack!
The wooden swords clashed, letting out a dull sound.
I successively parried the wooden sword flying at me, seemingly indifferent yet sharp.
The speed of our exchanges grew faster and faster.
Swoosh.
In an instant, the air changed.
The opponent’s light attack suddenly became heavy.
A weighty sword is threatening in and of itself.
Whoosh—
I instinctively ducked.
Because I had a premonition that if I parried this attack, I would be immediately knocked away.
However, it was difficult to avoid even the follow-up attack.
In the end, I thrust my sword forward as instinct dictated.
‘Hup!’
Just before the tips of our swords touched.
The one who stepped back first at that precarious boundary was none other than Yashin.
“Hup!”
Having completely escaped my attack range with a single jump, the guy neatly folded his wooden sword.
And then he spoke.
“As expected, my intuition was right!”
It had already been three days since training began.
Yashin had suddenly suggested a sparring match to me, who had only just learned how to hold a sword.
‘A sparring match out of nowhere!’
‘I just got a feeling, okay? Let’s try it once!’
I vehemently refused, saying absolutely not, but the guy wouldn’t bend his stubbornness in the end.
And the moment I first crossed swords with him.
‘W-what is this!’
My body—no, Lilian’s body—began moving on its own.
As if it were someone who had trained for a long time.
“Yes, this is it! I knew Lilian would match well with my swordsmanship!”
Yashin, having confirmed Lilian’s insane potential, stomped his feet in a state of high excitement.
Meanwhile, I felt like crying as much as he was happy.
‘This is practically assassin-level!’
Lilian, what kind of life have you been living?
While I was alone trying to calm my surging emotions, Yashin was busy showering me with praise and admiration.
Your movements are clean, your blade is sharp, and so on.
‘Doesn’t he even suspect?’
Even I could see Lilian’s identity was suspicious, but Yashin seemed to have no regard for such things.
He merely muttered to himself, mixing in incomprehensible words.
“What was this called…….”
He fell into thought for a moment.
Then, as if something had occurred to him, he shouted.
“Ah, like a killer!”
“Cough, cough!”
Stabbed by the guy’s sharpest attack, I ended up inhaling my breath wrong.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
As my coughing continued, Yashin handed me a water bottle with a worried look.
This innocent yet sharp bastard.
‘From now on…… I need to be more careful.’
Gulp, gulp.
I downed the cold water he offered and secretly resolved myself.
* * *
But when has life ever gone the way I wanted?
I, who had resolved to be more careful, had already quickly become close with Yashin.
Just in case, let me clarify—this was absolutely not my will.
“Good morning!”
Every morning, he came to the main building to greet me.
“Where are you taking that?”
“I need to dust it, so outside…….”
“I’ll carry it for you!”
Sometimes he even helped with my maid work.
“Here, eat this later by yourself.”
“What is it?”
“Something good for your body. The seniors always make sure to eat it, so I snuck a few out.”
Sometimes Yashin even personally fed me medicinal herbs or food good for the body.
How could I not get close to someone who cared this much!
No matter how cold-hearted a person is, they’d be shaken in this situation.
The guilt of deceiving him was a bonus.
‘Lilian isn’t a genius, she’s just a spy…….’
So one day, I asked him honestly.
‘Why are you being this good to me?’
No, honestly, it was strange.
It’s not like I’m the only disciple candidate in the world, and being a maid doesn’t mean I can train diligently either.
I laid out my innermost thoughts in detail.
And the guy answered nonchalantly.
‘I like you, Lilian.’
‘Because I have talent for swordsmanship?’
‘Hmm……. That’s part of it, but that’s not all.’
He even got angry, saying his standards were strict and asking if he looked like someone who took just anyone as a disciple.
Then he added.
‘I told you then. My intuition has never been wrong.’
An answer without proper logic or basis.
But strangely, those confident words calmed my uneasy heart.
It was a moment when Yashin, younger than Lilian, briefly felt like a true teacher.
It felt like I’d made a friend of a different sort from Anna.
“Oh, Lilian!”
Yashin, having spotted me, waved his hand.
I, who had been quietly trying to enter the training grounds, gave an awkward nod.
‘This is my first time coming this far in.’
The Grand Duke visited the east annex every morning for training with the knights, and each time, bringing him water and a towel was always the servants’ job.
However, as several servants had quit recently, this task fell to me, his personal maid.
‘Th-they quit, right?’
Suddenly, Karen (Subject No. 32), who had been disposed of after being expelled from the Grand Ducal estate, came to mind.
Lilian’s former coworker, whose face I’d never even seen.
……Somehow, it gave me chills.
“What brings you here? Did you come because of His Highness?”
Fortunately, before I could sink deeper into thought, Yashin approached.
I nodded and subtly raised the basket in my hand.
“I came to deliver this. When does training finish?”
“It just finished! His Highness is talking with the vice-captain right now.”
It seemed I had arrived at just the right time.
Following Yashin’s gesture, I could see the Grand Duke conversing with the vice-captain.
