S1192, January.
It was now the wintertime.
The autumn leaves have finished falling around Trista.
Thin blankets of snow could be seen, covering the vibrant leaves of autumn. Toward the northern ridges, mountains were more white-capped in powdery snow than ever. A littlie hot spring town was enjoying its full splendor right now.
As for the outskirts of Trista, this cold weather didn't seem to bother the several figures who could be seen in the back of a large villa. As for two of them, one appeared to be a violet haired boy who was now around four feet tall.
No longer was he the little child he was three years ago. He went through a considerable growth period during this time, but in the end he was still a child in the views of others. He still had a ways to go, considering this child was still only six years old.
Right at this present moment, this violet haired kid could be seen standing in a certain stance, wielding a rapier with his left hand. He had gotten used to fighting with his weapon in his left hand, despite being mainly right-handed.
Across from him was an aged man, sporting gray hair that was neatly combed back. He was currently wearing a blue-black tux with a golden trim, over a white dress shirt. He too, was wielding the same stance as the violet haired kid, both rapiers pointing each other at the same height. If it weren't for the several feet of distance, the two blades would be within touching distance.
The aged man spoke out to the violet haired kid.
"Let us begin the sequence again, Young Master.", An aged voice said, reaching in the back of our villa. This voice came from who appeared to be a butler. A very thin but long bladed weapon could be seen in his hand.
"Must you always keep calling me Young Master? If anything, at least address me as Your Excellency or Your Highness. Calling me this gives me weird vibes, Phillip.", The violet haired kid replied, retorting the old butler. And yet, it only caused him to reveal a rare smile.
"I am but a mere person of servitude. To me, you are a Young Master before you are a Duke or a Prince. I won't change the way I address you until you come of age.", Phillip responded.
"Now, ready your blade. En garde.", Phillip continued to say, firming his stance as he pointed his rapier out straight with his left hand, as did I.
"Please treat me kindly.", I responded in resolution.
"Center strike.", Phillip said, calling out the first move. The moment he did, both of us acted swiftly, and in the same manner. I dashed in, and so did Phillip. In the next moment, a loud sound of clashing metal resounded in our backyard. However, there was a good difference between the two, Phillip left behind a good afterimage, causing me difficulty to keep up.
But the result was still clear. Triingg!
Two rapiers struck out forward. One would expect the other to brush past its blade, or have one of us two be pushed back. But for Phillip and I, we struck out at the exact same angle, which caused a burst of wind to fly out. Phillip smiled seeing this, as our blades' tip now were evenly positioned, not powering over the other.
"Good. The rapier is different from other weapons. It has much a thinner blade. You must focus on the impact you deliver. "Ha!", Phillip continued to say, only for me to see a swift motion of his left arm. Clink! I felt some force strike my way, causing me to get thrown back a bit, letting out a low groan.
"Ugh...", I replied, feeling some strength leave my arm. Despite his age, Phillip packed quite the force in that strike just now.
"Your precision has also been improving. Unlike other blades, our strikes may be weaker, but we can be much more keen on where we strike.", Phillip said. He quickly moved in, only to strike out a second time. "Upper right.. Defend.", Phillip continued to say.
With me now on the defensive, I saw Phillip swoop in fast. However, he gave just enough time for me to react, and I moved my rapier upward as he called out. The window was small, but my blade successfully blocked his strike, with his blade striking right into the center of mine. Clink!
Another clash echoed around us, but the spar was still underway. However, for Philip, from the spot he first stood, he was now fairly further ahead, with me behind from where I last stood. Just goes to show he hasn't lost his strength at all, eh?
"However, if this was against a normal blade, you would lose in this position a hundred percent of the time. By the time you try to recover with another precision strike, your head would already be lost. To counterbalance this, the moment you enter defense, you need to react swiftly, and strike hard. A spontaneous force if you will.", Phillip explained the current situation where I still had my rapier blocking his.
Even though we've practiced these movements several times, it still surprises me each time he does it. Phillip let out another yell, giving strength to his arm that held his rapier. At the same time, he quickly spun around, causing another metal strike to echo around us, and parted from my block. But he didn't back away, instead, he continued his spin into a full circle, and struck down hard, fast. It was as if he became a flying swallow.
The moment I saw his rapier fly upward to try and and knock mine out of my hands, I used this momentum to spin the other way. I then quickly retreated backward to create my own distance, but I didn't stop my momentum.
"Haah!", I let out a yell, putting strength into my arm. This time I did a frontal slash downward after swiftly arriving in front of Phillip. Phillip responded with a slash of his own, striking in the same way I did. Clink!
Two rapiers caused another blast of wind to strike out, only to see one pit against the other vertically now. Despite me still being a few feet smaller than Phillip was, for a moment, both of us could be seen with an even strike.
"Good. It's not like rapiers can't slash like bigger blades can, but Young Master, if you do this clash head on, you need enough force to do so. Otherwise, your blade will just crumble away at the might of a bigger blade.", Phillip continued to say. And this time, I couldn't even see Phillip move, before I saw a shadow of a rapier slash down hard, much harder this time against our same position. Triiingg!
"Ah...", I said, taking a second to respond. Once I saw that shadow, I only felt my arm go numb. Once it did, my hand loosened up, only to see my rapier fall down onto the thin blanket of snow that currently covered our backyard. That spontaneous force is quite something Phillip can dish out. I know my current stats are no match for his, and as a result, I felt strength leave my body, with my knees the first to collapse onto the ground.
Phillip walked up slowly, only to point his rapier at a forty five degree angle, which aimed right at my neck.
"And if this was the battlefield, you would now be lying still in a pool of your own blood.", Phillip said, bringing me back to reality.
"Haha, I really am no match for the famous Sword Fox now, am I?', I replied with a dry laugh.
As I said that, I saw my rapier in front of me, but I couldn't even go to retrieve it. If I did, I would get my neck sliced apart. On top of that, I looked down, and I saw my hand was quite red and bruised now.
"Man, I'm going to feel this later.", I said, letting out a low groan.
"You've been improving a lot lately, Young Master. As your Teacher, I couldn't be happier to see your growth now, even if I am just a rusty old man with a little skill.", Phillip said, humbling himself.
"If you say you're just and old man with a little bit of skill, I wonder how Uncle Cassius would feel? After all, he basically took your spot in the military back in Liberl, didn't he?"
"That he did, along with that other stern fellow. It is a shame I submitted my servitude to His Excellency. Otherwise I wouldn't mind becoming your butler.", Phillip said, revealing a smile. He then sheathed his rapier, letting me catch a breather now that the spar was over.
"It is unfortunate but this might be one of our last sessions. I mostly want you to remember that rapiers rely on precision, accuracy, impact, and striking force. With that you can support your sword training with speed. You must always find a way to overpower a sword that is bigger than yours.", Phillip said, concluding his teaching.
"Thank you for your guidance, Phillip.", I said, taking this time to stand up and sheathe my own rapier and pat the snow down on my training outfit. "But must you go? You are always welcomed at our villa.".
"I am grateful, but I must return to His Excellency's side as soon as I can. Coming to Erebonia a few times a month has already taken a toll on him. And with things escalating, I need to ensure his safety and protect the Palace.", Phillip said, gently shaking his head.
"If that is the case, then give Her Majesty our regards. I thank you for taking time out of your schedule for these last couple of years, Sword Fox.", A firm voice said, reaching our side. It was of course Giliath Osborne, and he was currently dressed in his military attire.
"Has your military found the cause for this escalating uncertainty, General Osborne?", Phillip decided to ask on a whim. He only saw Giliath shake his head.
"We can't be for certain. It seems some nefarious pro-war nobles do not like His Majesty's new enthronement. They might try resorting to means that we need to take measure for, but we do not know where they will strike. This conflict may very well lead to another war.", Giliath responded, letting out a sigh.
"That is rather unfortunate. Liberl has entered a period of peace, but that might end up breaking before long...", Phillip also responded with a sigh. He then had one more look at me. "I will pray to Aidios for your well-being Young Master, should Erebonia and Liberl be swept in the tides of war. After all, you are a rightful heir of Liberlian royalty. You may very well sit on that throne some day.", Phillip continued to say, giving me another smile.
"Thank you, Phillip. I will take your words to heart. Can you do me a favor and pass this letter to Miss Klaudia? Hopefully if she has worries about me, this will help alleviate them.", I said, going into one of my pockets to retrieve a sealed letter, stamped with my own insignia.
"With pleasure. I will need to make haste to Heimdallr should I catch my flight.", Phillip said, taking the letter only to put it away.
"Why don't you stay for lunch at least? You know you like Kasia's cooking.", Giliath asked.
"Haha, well I could take you up on your kind offer. There is still a bit of time.", Phillip answered.
It was at this time the couple of other figures watching from further away quickly made our way here. One was about a five year old black haired child, and sparkles could be seen in his eyes. Another figure was a silver haired girl, seemingly six years old. The third figure was of course Kasia, Giliath's wife. Unfortunately a three year old golden-blonde girl could not be seen right now, as she was now back at Valflame Palace for safety purposes.
"That spar was really cool just now, big brother!", The black haired child said in excitement.
"It really was. I can see you are getting stronger pretty fast. Naoto.", The silver-haired girl also responded, revealing a smile.
"Haha, thank you, Rean, Elie. it is sad that Alfin can't play with us either for the time being.".
That's right, the five year old black haired child was of course, Rean Schwarzer, the future main protagonist of the cold steel saga. But right now he was still an Osborne, and not a Schwarzer. If things still go down in a couple months, he will end up as a Schwarzer soon enough.
The six year old silver haired girl was of course Elie MacDowell, granddaughter of the now current Mayor of Crossbell, and one of the leading figures of the future SSS.
The three, no, the four of us have grown quite close in these last three years, but sadly this will not be able to continue for much longer. This was also going to be my last sparring session with Phillip.
For me personally, I will need to prepare for what is to come come April.
I now have three months left to prepare until the Hundred Days War to start. And like father just mentioned, the War will trigger with our villa being the first to be raided. This wonderful home will soon be burnt to the ground in flaming cinders.
But the main question is, do I attempt to save Kasia, or let her perish just like she did in the games?
She is now my acting mother despite my birth mother being Aurora, but I have grown quite attached to her. It would be a shame for me to not attempt anything, will it? After all, my presence is here now. No doubt some thing will change, whether I like it or not. So instead of waiting for things to happen, I can take some things into my own hands, right?
And if I do attempt saving Kasia, I will likely reenact the scenario so Rean will still suffer from the loss. That way he will be able to continue his growth and have father submit his will fully to Ishmelga.
*
One or two chapters likely remain for Volume 1 (:
For those who do not remember the Hundred Days War,
the Hamel Tragedy took place during this time.
Don't forget to drop those power stones!
I know I release my chapters when I typically can for 3-4 times a week, but I will try to strive for a schedule. Tentatively it will be currently Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for posting.