I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 162

I skillfully deflected Gael’s straightforward sword strike with a slanting move. As her fierce blade slid off with a grating sound, I took the opportunity to step back a few paces.

Gael promptly followed, and swung her sword again, this time in a diagonal motion.

After repeating this a few times, Gael’s blue eyes widened in surprise.

Although she relied heavily on brute strength, Gael wasn’t ignorant in swordplay. She had sparred with the likes of Count Daidi and Ruby after all.

Diverting an opponent’s strength sounds easy in theory, but it’s quite challenging in practice. It requires constantly calculating the correct angle for each defensive move, especially in a continuous duel.

Gael must have realized that I was using much less force than before.

Clang!

The head-on collisions between the swords were rare, so the sharp sound of metal scraping against metal was only occasional.

It took longer than the first or second time, but eventually, I won over Gael.

“I even slowed down, Gael. And yet, I could still defeat you, right?”

“Ung.”

“Facing an opponent who far surpasses your level, techniques might seem futile. However, it’s better to have methods to overcome them than to do nothing at all.”

Gael nodded earnestly.

“If you find sparring with Ethyl difficult, you can just practice at home for a while. I’ll be there to guide you.”

Joy quickly filled her sapphire eyes.

“Of course! I’ll send a message to the Bonart house right away!”

Gael ran off to the main building before I could say anything else.

“Excuse me, Miss.”

A knight who had been watching, called.

“Would it be alright if we observe the Second Miss’ training as well?”

A familiar knight from the family asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. By then, a crowd had gathered around us.

“Sorry for the sudden request.”

He bowed deeply.

“We always lose to the Second Miss, so we were hoping to find a way to win.”

“Of course, improving skills is the priority.”

Since the training ground was a public space, everyone would see the training unless we set up tents. It seemed less awkward to just allow it.

“Over there, what are you doing!”

Gael, who had just returned, pointed and shouted loudly.

“Wow, taking advantage of this moment to plot against my sister? Back off!”

“What are you talking about, Miss? We’re just asking for help to find a way to defeat the Second Miss.”

“What? Against me? Pierre, you are quite ambitious, aren’t you?”

“Are you just realizing that now?”

Watching them converse, it was clear that Gael and the knights of the family were quite friendly.

“Gael, I think it’s a good idea. Not only you, but the knights will surely improve their skills. Then, you and the knights can have more evenly matched duels later.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Yes. And training together makes it easier to spar right away.”

Gael didn’t take long to consider.

“Alright. But Pierre, I’ll be watching how much you improve.”

“I’ll show you how I improve day by day.”

“Me too!”

During my childhood, I remember the knights who would greet me with a warm ‘Miss, you’re working hard again today’ as I ran.

After arriving in Alin, I tried to contact them, but only a few responded. Over time, some had become knights in different houses or even transitioned to mercenaries.

Though they couldn’t return, they remembered and were glad to hear from us.

I regretted not being more friendly and engaging more if I knew we would part ways like that.

“Alright, then my first sparring partner will be you. And the second, you.”

“That’s too much. Let me be the last.”

“Hey, if you’re last, then I’m first.”

Surrounded by many, my sister shone brightly as she laughed.

Ah, I’m glad I came back to Alin again.

* * *

A few days later, Ethyl suddenly visited. As I came down to the reception room, he abruptly asked.

“Why? Why didn’t she come?”

“Who?”

“Ganiel!”

Ethyl, who was pacing frantically, clenched his fists. I couldn’t understand such an intense reaction.

“Isn’t it better to stop training if it’s not helping each other? I heard Gael tried to win with brute force.”

“Aurin always comes when Ganiel comes…”

Ethyl’s shoulders slumped as he muttered sadly.

“She would bring desserts, saying she had to support her cute younger sister, and after training, we would always have tea time together…”

“So, that was your motive?”

Ethyl, who once seemed mature, now appeared childlike in love.

“Aurin said she wouldn’t come anymore if Gael didn’t!”

It seemed obvious that Aurin was using Gael as an excuse to visit Ethyl at the Bonart house. Was Ethyl really unaware?

Wow, they’re truly something. How many years have they been like this?

One thing was clear, Ethyl was utterly doing well. Aurin would have found this amusing if she saw him like this.

“By the way, our youngest asked if he could train at your house. Hearing that Ganiel is being coached by you, he wanted to join too.”

“What about Duke Bonart?”

“He admires Count Daidi instead of Father. He’s been eager to have you as his mentor ever since he heard you defeated the Count. He even got Father’s permission.”

Watching the flustered Ethyl was amusing, but I also hoped things would work out well for him and Aurin.

“But Ethyl, isn’t Pyce taking political lessons? I mean as part of his successor training, not just at the academy.”

“That’s right?”

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