Carl turned his head and looked up at Catherine, who was standing behind him to his right.
"… Any imperial knight would have a minimum level of skill. I chose Lady Catherine because she was more desperate than anyone else there."
"…"
"I needed a knight who would not run away when he/she cornered with me, would not cut my head, but would fight to the end to protect me and open a way for me to escape. Lady Catherine was the thirstiest person there...Just like me."
Catherine did not respond to Carl's words.
No, she wanted to say something but she didn't know what to say.
However, it was clear that this young and weak 4th prince had deep thoughts, contrary to rumors.
And the fact that they are in a corner and are very desperate.
There is no way such a desperate person would make a decision without any reason.
For his own reasons, he chose Catherine after doing his best to think about it.
If so, that's it. Catherine just does her best in her duties.
There is silence for a moment.
But it wasn't as awkward as before.
For your information, Carol learned horseback riding very quickly. He was able to become proficient at driving a horse in one day, and was also able to quickly control running. Some of the combat horses given by the emperor were well-trained.
Horseback riding is a physically harsher sport than you might think. Nevertheless, Catherine was quite surprised when Carl followed her with unexpected stamina and strength.
However, there was one thing that bothered her.
Although Carl admired his beautiful white horse, he did not even give it a name.
He just followed Catherine's instructions as if it was fascinating, stroking the bridge of the nose and neck, and then riding on it and driving it.
Even after seeing such a cool and wonderful war horse, Carl had no particular feelings. Azgoth gave it to him, so use it. That's it.
Desperate feelings prevented him from focusing on mere animals, and to Carl, words were just words and had no value beyond that.
In other words, it also meant that Catherine, whom Carl had personally chosen, was of great value to Carl.
Catherine was a little surprised by this sickly prince who had spent his entire life in his bedroom.
***
"It's just the basics, so I'll learn from Bilford."
"Well, Bilford is a squire."
"it's okay. He needs to spend some time for his Lord... Right?"
Carl decided to learn swordsmanship from Bilford.
This was to build a relationship with Bilford, who would be of great help to him in the future, but it was also because there was no need to learn from Catherine since he was literally only learning the basics.
Bilford looked at Catherine, unsure of what to do as he suddenly became the prince's swordsmanship teacher, but Catherine had no way of objecting when Carl said he would do so firmly.
Facing Catherine's stern gaze, Bilford hesitantly stood in front of Carl holding a wooden sword.
He see Harman standing behind Carl lowering his head, raising his eyebrows, and glaring quietly. He also seems a little shocked.
Harman was afraid that Bilford might kill the sick KlCarl and that this would jeopardize his own situation, so he paid attention to Bilford.
"Don't be afraid. I have to learn it anyway, but it would be better to learn it from you, the faithful squire of Lady Catherine."
"… Yes, Lord Carl."
Bilford seemed confused, but thought it would be better to follow the words of the prince, Carl's, rather than the servant, Harman, so he grabbed his wooden sword and took sword man's stance.
Harmon is seen sighing silently and closing his eyes.
… 'This is correct, right? It's right to listen to the prince.'
"Follow me and try to position yourself."
Bilford puts his right foot forward and aims diagonally forward with his wooden sword resting on its middle finger.
Bilford was just there to help Carl maintain his posture, but Carl had to feel pressure as if the tip of the not-so-sharp wooden sword was piercing her neck.
"Lord Carl?"
"… Ah, no, I was surprised by how strong it was. It looks like my throat was pierced."
Carl was embarrassed and belatedly imitates Bilford's posture.
Bilford raised his eyebrows at Carl's words, then slowly lowered his sword and aimed it at Carol's chest.
Carl followed suit, put out his right foot, and aimed the wooden sword at Bilford.
Since Bilford was almost two spans taller than Carl, the sword strike was aimed at Bilford's solar plexus.
Carl wasn't sure if he was following along well, so he glanced at his legs and adjusted the distance between his legs and the angle of his feet.
Then, he raised his head, and when he saw that the tall and long-reaching Bilford was aiming at his defenseless chest, he raised the sword aimed at his defenseless chest and blocked it without realizing it.
"… Great. That's great."
Bilford seemed to have a lot to say, but he praised it that way.
"I don't need praise, just give me advice on how to grow."
"No, it's really great."
Bilford shook his head at Carl's words and spoke seriously.
"The basis of all martial arts is protecting oneself. Lord Carl is protecting himself well right now."
"…Does this mean you were scared and crouched down?"
"yes? no! No, you're doing great!"
Bilford, startled by Carl's cautious question, waves his hands in embarrassment.
Carl really did surprisingly well.
He can tell just by looking at the posture. It must have been Carl's first time holding a sword. Above all, the method of holding the sword is a mess.
But surprisingly, he adjusted his posture a few times on his own and then made a clean stop to block Bilford's sword.
It's a simple thing, but there are countless people who practice basic postures until they die because they can't do this simple thing.
Basics aren't basic for nothing. Once you hold a sword as a swordsman, you must be able to adopt the 'correct posture' at least as basic as possible.
Even if your swordplay is slightly lowered by mistake, your head can be broken by a basic attack.
In that sense, Carl is a bit passive and his upper body is held back, but he has done a perfect job of protecting himself.
Just looking at the posture, He can give it 40 points, and considering that it was his first time holding a sword, it wouldn't be a waste to give it 100 points.
"Really?...I don't think so."
Carl maintained his posture well and persistently interrogated Bilford.
In Carl's opinion, it seemed like Bilford was having a hard time with him and was trying to coax him out of the situation.
'There's no way I have any talent for swordsmanship!'