[Throne Room]
"Uh.."
I stare at him as I ponder about what he said.
"Did you not hear me? Are those ears of yours just for decoration?"
"No.. is there any reason why, Your Majesty?"
"Tch."
Hey, did the king of this all-powerful kingdom just clicked his tongue?
"I do not know if you noticed, which I doubt with your low intellect, Alexander appears to be a genius who can learn stuff just by looking at it once, a fitting trait for the future king. Anyway, he has started to take swordsmanship training a few weeks now but he does not seem to improve at all." He says as he continues to look down on me.
So that's where I come in? To become a 'role-model' for him so he can be better? God I just want to drag that bastard off his high horse and beat that disgustingly handsome face of his. Who even asks a princess to learn swordsmanship? Shouldn't I learn more about etiquette and the likes, or is he really just batshit crazy?
"Your Majesty, I don't think that someone with a frail body such as I is suitable for such an activity." I tried to excuse myself out of this.
He snorts. "Do I look like I care? Besides, I don't remember giving you a say on this matter, this is an order."
.. This bastard is and forever will be at the top of my hate list, in fact, the one and only.
"I understand, I'll try my best to not sully the name of the Kingdom." I said as I bow down gracefully.
"..."
"What are you waiting for? Get out."
"Then, please excuse me."
.
..
...
As I am about to enter my room, I sigh. Seriously, that fucking bastard!! He didn't even bother to tell me the details or at least when will I start!
I open the door.
"..!! Sis!" Alex runs towards me and gave me a hug.
"Sis, you're alive! You kept your promise!"
.. Yeah, even I'm surprised as well, I was that close to swearing right in front of him. Hell, I was even expecting a slap or two.
"Well then, shall we read a storybook now?"
"Eh? But you kept your promise." Alex seems to be confused.
"Yup, but I was planning to regardless of the promise anyway."
"I see, then let's read this one!"
"Oh, but before that, I want to say something."
"Hm?"
"Soon, I'm going to learn swordsmanship with you."
"Wow, really?!"
"Yeah."
Alex jumps up and down from excitement.
"Okay, calm down now. Let's read the storybook."
"Oh, sorry hehe."
.
..
...
A day has passed.
[Training Grounds]
"..."
FUCK THAT BASTARD! I know it was sooner or later but I wasn't expecting to start just a day after I received the news!
I try to calm down. *breathes in* *breathes out*
" *sigh* Complaining won't do me any good. Let's just finish this as soon as possible so when Alex is good enough I can finally be spared from this mess."
"Sis!" Alex waves at me.
Alex seems to be wearing a uniform similar to mine. A blue uniform with a red collar, 6 golden buttons as well as a golden belt. There are also a few golden buttons on the red lower part of the sleeves, with the whole uniform being outlined with red thread. I don't know if the gold parts are actual ones but all I can say is that it looks really cool, and it also gives a strong image of an imperial soldier.
I was surprised when I saw that we have the same uniforms. I was expecting to wear some rags for training while my brother will have a fancy uniform. I later find out that it was simply because the commander of the imperial army argued with the bastard to be fair and equal, and that it will damage the reputation of the knights if such an unfair treatment is conducted. I didn't even know that there was someone capable of doing so with that psychopath. Whoever that commander is, I deeply respect and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
...
"Haaah, haaah, haaah." I struggle to keep breathing since I am very exhausted with the training.
"That's it for now." declared by the Instructor.
I breathe heavily but I try to keep it discreet. After the training session, I still have to learn the royal etiquette lessons (which I find to be more exhausting than training) in the afternoon. I shouldn't have hoped for learning etiquette lessons before to escape the training, but.. oh well, I was bound to do so sooner or later anyway.
Alex and I have different instructors. Alex's instructor is a man equipped with a few scars and looks that can lead you to think that he is the commander of a great army, but at the same time looking noble, I'll have to thank him sometime for arguing with that bastard on my account (although it was probably unintended to actually help me). On the other hand, my instructor is a woman. She seems to be taller than some men, with both her eyes and short hair being brown, which is said to be common among commoners. Although she looks like a gentle and careful person, she actually teaches me in a spartan manner with no room for mercy, I don't even know how she is able to wield that sword with those slender arms and body. But hey, maybe I can use this skill someday to stab that fucking bastard.
Regardless of that, I think this training is proving to be helpful for my body (since I don't want to be fat and lower my marriage prospects) and fun if I am to be honest. Not only because of the fact that I get trained by a beautiful instructor with elegant swordsmanship, I also think that someone who is capable of wielding a sword is actually cool especially when saving a damsel in distress. Although I'm most likely to play the role of the damsel.