Under the jovial sunlight of Spring──an event that doesn't suit such clear weather was occurring.
The mansion of the Curzon House was one worthy for a Knight. The term mansion implies a certain grandeur, but don't be misled. It's just the mansion of a lower-ranking noble, so it lacks most of the opulence that you might expect.
The mansion has rooms such as a study and a warehouse (to store food, money, goods and armour), but from what I can see, it's only a hair nicer than the house of a wealthy merchant.
In a corner of this Curzon House mansion, there was a place where the lawn was gouged out and the soil exposed. A boy had been swinging his sword for quite a while there. A suited figure who looked much older than the boy swinging the sword was observing him. In his hand, he held a pocket watch that I think he's using to pay attention to the time.
How much time has passed? Several hours? Or perhaps several minutes? ...Really, how did it become like this? Thinking so, I looked towards the wooden sword in my hand. It had become slippery from the sweat trickling down my hand.
──It was a very thick wooden sword.
It was shaved to the point that it would at least look like a sword in shape, but it was so thick that if a grown man were to hold it, he wouldn't be able to touch his thumb and index fingers together. I had been swinging that wooden sword around continuously for about one hour.
The strength of my grip had already been long gone for quite some time. Right now, I was barely holding onto the sword using only the strength of my fingers.
I mustered the last bit of my last remaining strength and swung the wooden sword down powerfully, and then the I fell on the ground face-up.
I finally finished my daily training. 2000 practice swings.
「I-I'm dying...」
Those words slipped out of my mouth. I didn't know how many times I'd said those words up until this point. I looked up at the sky as I gasped for breath.
I thought to myself. Even throughout this whole continent, my Curzon House must be the only one that made a 5-year-old child swing a wooden sword around until he couldn't move any more.
I knew some other children that were nobles like me. They were introduced to me through my father's connections. Right now, they'd likely be receiving lessons from their private tutor, or they'd be receiving training that would feel like a light game at best.
「I see, you're dying. You really had a short life, my son...stay in good health in the other world too.」
「That's not something a father would say! Damn it!」
A spear descended from the sky like an arrow. I twisted and barely dodged it.
There was a piercing sound. The ground where I was lying on just now was pierced by the spear's tip.
Seeing that, my survival instinct commanded me to stand up.
That attack would surely give me a lethal wound if I didn't dodge. I gritted my teeth and gave an angry shout as I felt something cold on my back.
「Are you trying to kill me!?」
「What's this, you can actually still move. It's not good to slack off, even though you're still young.」
「I would've died if I didn't move back there!」
My father──George laughed off my fury as if it were just a breeze. He then brushed his hair and laughed fearlessly.
There was definitely affection toward me within that fierce smile, but the one who could perceive that was only her wife at best, and that was only because she knew him so well.
Of course, for me, that smile only looked like the portent of even harsher trials.
「Come on! What's wrong? I'm going to be coming at you without holding back, so you better quickly take your stance, you know?」
「I'll dieeee! This time I'm gonna die for sureeeee!」
I was completely exhausted from the practice swings. My father, who had switched his spear with a wooden sword, attacked me.
The thick wooden sword was the same as mine. It was a brutal weapon that could kill a human if it hit the wrong place.
I felt like I wanted to cry. Even so, for the sake of my survival, I had to keep handling the consecutive attacks of my father, which were extremely hard to predict.
Without any strength in my grip remaining, the thick wooden sword was hard to use.
I couldn't grip the sword firmly. If I lost focus, the sword would immediately slip from my hands. But if that happened, then the father's attack would hit my body directly.
The attack was merciless even though this was just training. I had experienced getting hit or having my bones fractured many times until now.
Thinking back, it was mysterious how I was still alive now.
I was intentionally using a thick wooden sword so that I would be used to the weight and impact of a real sword. But to endure the burden, I had to let go of my body's tension perfectly at the moment of impact.
It was because it'd be impossible for me to keep a strong grip the whole time even if I had some stamina remaining.
If I clashed with father in a contest of strength, my sword would immediately be sent flying, I understood that, so I didn't exert any more strength than necessary and took great pains to parry the attacks with the suitable amount of strength.
If I made any blunders here, a blow that held nothing back would land on me.
「That's right. Using your pinky as the base, transform your grip strength itself into the strength for your parry.」
「There isn't any persuasiveness in it if you're looking that joyful while talking!」
「Fuhaha! Now, don't say that. This is a joyful skinship between parent and child.」
「In what world is skinship something where one person's an inch away from death!?」
Finally, I couldn't even put any more strength in my fingertips, which were just barely holding onto the sword. It was only then that the training was finally over. I fell on the ground and looked at the vast blue sky.
「Aa, being alive is wonderful...」
Today too, I managed to get out of training alive somehow. I looked up to the sky as I felt emotionally moved from that.
「Here is your drink, young master.」
「Thank you!」
An old maid with brown hair that reflected the sunlight held out some lemon water towards me. I lost myself drinking it in big gulps.
The refreshing sourness of the chilled lemon was permeating into my extremely exhausted body.
I let out a sigh 'puhaa' like an old man. I got a bit embarrassed by that and returned the cup to the maid.
The maid giggled and took back the cup. She was looking at me with the eyes of a grandmother watching over her cute and naughty little grandson.
「Do you want to drink one more glass?」
「Yes, please.」
Just an instant of carelessness might become deadly──such dangerous training, constantly accompanied by the spectre of death, was just morning scenery that had become custom in the Curzon House.
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After finishing my daily training, I stood up and along with my father went to eat breakfast in the mansion's dining room.
The dining room looked rather spacious, probably because the only furniture present there was the dining table on which we were currently eating.
I stare down at the meal in front of me. Corn soup, bread and even salad. Quite an extravagant meal. There was even a small portion of meat, and it looked quite delicious. It seems like eating meat in the morning is the mark of nobility.
With the cold days that had been upon us, a hot bowl of soup was exceedingly fulfilling. While I enjoyed the warm feeling spreading through my stomach, and the flavour of the broth along with the bread and meat, I heard a women's voice that sounded rather commanding.
「Claude, don't play around with the food and eat your salad too.」
「But I don't like it.」
「It's not about liking it, it's about what's good for your body. You are still a young and growing boy too.」
I looked in her direction. With her flowing black hair, violet eyes, and above all else the pearless beauty she possessed looked like she were a blooming flower.
This woman was my mother. Her name is[Mary Curzon]. She was my father's legal wife. Probably sensing that I won't answer her back because I was very much engrossed in the meal in front of me, she turned to speak to my father.
「Dear, scold him for once now, will you?」
「Ummm.....Ah! Yeah, yeah! Claude, eat your food.」
My father said in a nonchalant tone. He too was busy devouring the meal in front of him. My mother looked at him and sighed. She then continued eating.
Suddenly, I heard another voice directed towards me. This time it felt like it was a mocking one.
「Look at you go! Well, I guess it a given considering how harsh father's training program is, Man, am I grateful to be finally free from that nightmare.」
I turned my head around while my mouth was still stuffed from food. I looked at him. He had a rather lean body build. He had medium length, brown hair, and brown eyes. This man was my 2nd elder brother,[Ralph Curzon](8, the second son). Just as I was about to refute back, I heard another voice from beside him.
「Don't be like that now, Ralph. Still, how is your training going on right now, Claude?」
Trying his best to hold back his laughter, this boy was my 1st elder brother, [Karl Curzon](13, the first son). He has blond hair and blue eyes. I gulped down my food quickly and looked at him with bloodshot eyes.
「Do you want me to punch you right now?」
Hearing me say that, they started laughing loudly. They were laughing so hard that tears had formed under their eyes. This was getting on my nerves, but what they said was true.
Apparently, my father was coincidentally asked by my mother to train Karl when he was young. At first, my father didn't feel any need to do so as he thought that children must learn on their own. Still, my mother persuaded him to just train Karl once and give him directions so he may grow faster.
However, while training Karl, my father was weirdly excited.
『This is really fun...I never thought that there would be something besides a war job that was this fun.』
His beloved son was growing right before his eyes. What's more, that growth was caused by his own hands in a direction that he preferred. He never thought that such a thing would bring him this much enjoyment.
As such, he took it upon himself to train Karl from that day on. But his training methods were rather brutal. So, to escape from my father, Karl used Ralph as a sacrifice and made him take his place in training instead. After even Ralph couldn't take it anymore, I was the one next.
The training my father puts me through is so harsh and painful. I swear to god, if hell exists, then that must be it. If hell doesn't exist then, that must have created it.
「Now, now! Don't be so angry would ya? We both have gone through the same pain as you have too, you know.」
「Now I get why big bro Karl use to laugh at me when I had been training with father.」
Saying so he started laughing more loudly than before. Karl was trying to calm him down but it had the opposite effect. Together, they were making fun of me and started becoming louder. As we continued fighting, our voices started becoming louder-
*Bang*
My mother hit her hand loudly on the table. All of us three turned our heads to look at her. She had a very menacing aura surrounding her. She spoke in a very gentle and dominating way.
「Boys! I thought I had made it very clear the last time, that no ruckus must be made while we were having meals.」
The moment she said so, both of my brothers and I shut our mouth up. We cannot afford to offend her. The last time we crossed her──Oh! God, it sends a shiver down my spine just by trying to remember it.
Trying to ignore my brother Ralph's mocking gaze, I continued to eat what was left of my meal. While still lamenting over how unfair my father's training felt, our family breakfast came to an end.