The whole family, along with the Emperor and servants, gathered all around both Lawrence and Luca. Lawrence took a long wooden sword and handed the other to Luca. Although Luca acted worried, he still wanted to wound Lawrence. Of course, Lawrence knew that all too well.
"Ready your stances." Dexter was the 'referee' of the spar.
Luca took a deep breath and shot his deathly glare, and went into his stance- Longpoint Sword Stance. Lawrence remembered his thousands stand, his subconscious - as if seeing a hologram of each method he used when he was Gray - appeared one by one in his mind.
Semi Arthur's Legacy. In an unusual stance, the sword points down the ground, and both palms on the pommel. His concentration is at its peak, predicting all the possible movements of Luca in just a minute.
"Prepare... now, begin," Dexter announced.
The two did no movement, concentrating and predicting each other's actions. A split-second passed, Luca rushed towards Lawrence, ready to slash from the air to the ground. Lawrence smirked. His hands moved swiftly like water, preparing a tight grip of his sword, uprooting it out of the soil, ready to counter the slash.
Luca grins at the swift counter Lawrence had done. He pushed his sword onto Lawrence's, jumping backward.
'What was that-?' Dexter asked himself, seeing the movement of Lawrence. 'That was no stance at all...' he mumbled. Lawrence smiled at Luca before returning his sword to the soil.
Luca once again rushed towards Lawrence, ready to launch multiple slashes towards Lawrence.
'I need to hold back.' Lawrence said to himself. Taking a deep breath, he countered each slash from his right and left. 'As I thought... at this point, my fragile body will not be able to keep up.' he said after clashing his sword with Luca's.
"What is this?" from afar, a voice came out. "I'm sorry, Father. I came here late." Lewis bowed in front of Leighton.
"At ease, son."
Lewis gazed back at the two, clashing with each other, "What is happening?"
"Lewis. Take your brother and make him your apprentice." Dexter said out of the blue.
"H-huh?" - "But uncle Dexter. I don't take anyone for my apprentice..." he answered hesitantly.
"Look at your brother. A five-year-old child can hold against a twelve-year-old apprentice knight. He is a talented individual. Here I thought he'll do badly..., and from the beginning, he used a strange stance and was able to counter a powerful attack from Luca. He is no ordinary child."
"Of course, he started training with a twig before his first birthday. Each night, he waits for Estella to sleep and sneak out of the house, and in the garden, he practices slashing and showing these unknown moves. It was lousy, but it seemed like he wasn't used to his built, so seeing this was nothing compared to his solo training." he said while looking at his brother.
Xavier Sage's Point of View.
I can barely hear their words while fighting with Luca. I can tell someone with great strength taught Luca. His movements are swift and reckless, I see many openings, but his performances are hard to predict.
"Stop thinking," Luca said in between their clash.
"I'm sorry," Lawrence responded.
"Tch!" Luca clicked his tongue, moving aggressively and faster.
Here we go, a chance. I hate to use provocation, but as of now, this is the only chance for my victory. I countered each of his aggressive and heavy slashes. Being pushed behind, but it's going according to my plan. As soon as he gets so close to me and loses his guard, he falls into my trap.
He'll fall into the palm of treachery. As soon as he trusts that I'll be on the losing side and move instinctively, his own demise awaits him. Just a little more~
Xavier Sage's Point of View
'Just a little more~' Lawrence thought as the speed of Luca increases. Half a meter- that was the distance between Luca and Lawrence when Lawrence's killing intent radiated throughout the area.
"Enough!" Dexter, Leighton, and Lewis, together, shouted.
Luca fell on the ground, trembling. Along with the servants near the spar fell on the ground, shivering. The men's face grew alert, and the ladies gasped before falling on the spot. Lawrence dropped down on the dirt, panting. Exhausted, Lawrence wiped his sweat.
"Who won?" Ernest asked nonchalantly.
"We will leave it at that," Lewis remarked.
The place quiet downed as the other helped Luca. Lawrence was still panting hard, exhausted. Edith and her children helped Luca up. Spence and the girls aided Edith. Meanwhile, Ernest and Leighton stared intensely at Lawrence from afar. Dexter and Lewis gave their helping hand to Lawrence. Lawrence pushed himself from the ground, refusing to take any of the hand.
"I can handle myself." Lawrence insisted. Dexter smirked at the quirky attitude. "Emilia, come here."
"Yes, your highness."
"Call a physician," Lawrence ordered.
"As you wish, your highness." Emilia bowed and left off.
"Lawrence, are you okay?" Lewis asked.
"Captain of the Chivalry Knights. Please, don't concern yourself." Lawrence spoke before passing by the group and advancing towards Luca.
He faced Luca intensely, "You... you were great, your highness." Lawrence reported, giving a solemn stare.
"T-thank you..." Luca hesitantly replied.
Lawrence continued to progress towards the house. He received a glass of water from one of the servants, and a towel, to wipe his sweat. He paused and cleaned his face before turning back, "Excuse my rude behavior, honorable guests. But I must clean myself before presenting to you." he excused.
Dexter nodded, and Lawrence continued inside. Lawrence pushed his limits and collapsed on his bed. "What could be worse than overworking a five-year-old body," he mumbled in his bed.
"You did great, your highness." a voice popped up from the porch.
"Julia? Is that you?" Lawrence asked from his place.
"It is, indeed, I, your highness. Did you miss me?"
"Thank god. Please prepare my bath." Lawrence requested. "My body won't move."
Julia went close and leaned her head on the bed, "You did really great out there. But I think that was a bad idea.
"You think? I haven't been able to practice my endurance and built for years. Didn't you see how sloppy my swordsmanships were? Now I pushed myself where I don't even want to go up." Lawrence snapped.
"That wasn't what I meant. That wasn't a good idea because rumors will spread throughout the city. Your servants and some other people other than your family was there to observe the fight. Maybe you have forgotten that. Plus, the emperor is super interested in you, the granted marquess was suspicious, and Lewis was worried. You were attracting the attention you didn't want from the first place." Julia explained, sighing.
"Did I~ really do that~?" flustered, Lawrence asked.
"Yes, you did, your highness."
"I'll handle that later." Lawrence rested.
Ten minutes later~
"Your highness. Your bath is ready. You should wake up before I undress you myself."
Lawrence sat down from his bed and stood, lazily moving into the bathroom and removing his garments. He laid himself into the bathtub and rested his head on a pillow. He falls asleep for another hour.
"Your highness, I'll get going. Your secretary has arrived." Julia whispered before running off to the balcony.
"Your highness."
"Hmmm..." he mumbled.
"The physician has arrived," Emilia announced.