A week had passed ever since my first wake in this world. During the previous days, I had to learn noble etiquette and also had to take academic lessons from a tutor. It was troublesome, the lectures bombarded me with assignments and topics to review every single day. This was not the form of stimulation that I was looking for.
Thankfully, I was quick to adapt and easily got used to the norms of my new environment. But when it comes to what I've observed from the people who work here… they appear to act peculiar towards this young master.
Numerous workers go around the manor, yet whenever I take a stroll, not even a strand of their hair could be seen. It's like they're keeping their distance and avoiding any contact with me. One would assume that it's a normal interaction between a servant and a noble; something I doubt very much.
After seeing how my 'father' exchanges words with servants, I've become convinced that Coulin was someone that they feared. If I remember correctly, the only servant I ever had a conversation with was the butler who first knocked on my door.
Nevertheless, my current life feels a lot more peaceful. Though it does make me feel lonely since everyone is basically a stranger to me, I would rather make do with this than go back to being stalked by a bunch of paparazzi everywhere, I'd be lying if I deny not missing my phone though. My life mainly revolved on the internet whenever I had time for leisure.
I attempted doing physical tasks in order to somehow keep me entertained, but my doctor prohibited me from doing so. He said that it'll strain me and I had to rest for a few more days before inflicting physical stress on my body.
Then again, it's already been a week. I'm supposed to be discharged by now. I also need to do something about my current level shown by the system. And what better training could a noble do in his free time for an exercise? It's none other than swordsmanship.
'Now all I need is to locate the training area.'
During my private lessons, I was obliged to memorize all the significant servants' names, appearance, and occupations. At first I deemed it unessential since I could just go around asking them directly, being ignorant of how Coulin was treated in the march. I later realized that it's beneficial to learn them myself for various reasons, such as enabling me to recognize potential teachers in the way of the sword.
Upon looking through the documents containing their background profiles, a certain knight caught my attention.
'Jasper Ferluna'
A member of the march's knights. In the novel, he was known for serving the household for over 8 years with skills far more advanced than of a grandmaster. It further explains his exceptional abilities in terms of swordsmanship, which is pretty impressive as he achieved all those titles at 23 years old.
He apparently has a sleeping build and you wouldn't guess that he's a knight with one look. His appearance isn't that bad either, having natural brunette locks and tanned skin, scars all over his arms.
I also noticed in the current date that he's only 17. The novel did mention that he was suffering from a block around that age, although he was already more skilled in comparison to the other knights. I need to get him to teach me.
It might be peculiar for a noble to personally seek out their own teacher or even request for a course, but the problem is, my father purposely left out swordsmanship lessons thinking that I'd be too sickly to go through it.
Hence my first obstacle arrived. Right now, I'm staring at the scenery of a mountain range from a distance, located in the deserted area of the estate.
'I'm lost...'
I shouldn't have gotten ahead of myself. This was the worst possible outcome I anticipated to happen, how would I even get back home? It was already a pain reaching this part of the woods, my current body's stamina is that of a 5 year old's.
Lamenting about my foolishness, I had myself lay down on the grass, resting my back on a large tree. The regret I had upon getting ahead of myself crept onto my skin.
I agree that I might be overreacting a little, but I was so desperate to get into shape and do something to stimulate my senses. Boredom is inevitable; there's not much I could do other than studying, doing homework, and attending lectures. There's no presence of communication in this household either, and my unfamiliarity of this world makes my situation even worse.
'I'll be taking a small rest then.'
As my time in the forest grew longer, fatigue that built up while I was searching for the training area slowly consumed me, eventually giving in.
★
Small sounds of rustling from the wind's impact to the bushes in the forest served to be a soothing ambience to the young master's rest; several birds chirped as if they were forming harmonies with the noise.
Not so far of a distance away from the sleeping figure, were heard the sounds of an iron sword unceasingly being swung by a knight's heavy hands. The visible veins in his marked arms almost poked out of his skin, which could be the effect of his excessive training. The ground that was receiving the strength of his weapon seemed to have cracks and dents unusual to be deemed as a natural part of the ground.
The knight was well aware that this method of training would give no improvement to his skills, but he didn't have the position to choose how he could enhance his swordsmanship.
After the final swing, his shaky legs soon took an effect, falling on his butt. His upper body was completely drenched in sweat as he tried to catch his breath.
He desperately needed help, yet he was afraid of revealing the fact that he already fell into a slump despite his eagerness to destroy this block that was straining his growth. The only matter that prevented him from improving and why he had been secretly torturing himself in the middle of the woods, was none other than his pride.
It took the knight a couple of minutes to at least recover a bit of his strength. As soon as he did, he traced his steps back to the manor. A humongous tree was located near this area and had easily become his landmark. Upon reaching it, he noticed a slender figure of a young man who appeared to be asleep. The child's outfit was enough for him to recognize who he was.
'Young master Coulin!'
★
Dizziness haunted my body as a quake-like force oppressed me, I felt sick from the sudden shaking of the surroundings. Opening my eyes, what I saw before me was a man with a familiar build, being the source of what disrupted my rest.
"Young master Coulin, are you okay?"
He entreated, continuing to shake me despite his knowledge of my conscious state. His grasps were rough and the manner he shook my body was so strong, it felt like my brain was being rattled inside my skull.
"S-stop! I-I'm a-already a-awake!"
I struggled to voice out my answer due to the nausea I was feeling, luckily, he stopped. The moment he let go of me, I fell to the ground as I attempted to get my wits intact once again.
"Urgh…"
A small wince escaped my mouth, my hand massaging the side of my head for the uneasiness that echoed within my body. Meanwhile, the knight remained looking at me with a concerned yet skeptical expression. He must be wondering how I reached this place, although I'm also clueless as to how.
"Young master… Why are you even wandering around such a place?"
The knight asked, holding both sides of my shoulders, supporting me as I got up. My vision still was spinning and it was hard for me to remain balanced. I unconsciously reached my hand near his collar in order to stand properly.
"I-I was trying to go to the knights' training area."
"You got lost?"
I stayed silent, still holding onto him as I averted my gaze as the feeling of mortification engulfed me. Although I wanted to tell him that it was inevitable to happen due to my 'memory loss', my helplessness might've just troubled him. I don't like being seen as a burden.
"I was planning to go back anyway. Let me lead you there, young master."
He replied, as he continued to keep me balanced whilst guiding me to the path towards the training area. Still, there was something that he didn't explain, leaving me curious.
"By the way, what were you also doing here?..."
There was a long pause of silence after initiating the question. My heart beat a bit fast as I thought of the possibility of hitting a landmine with its suddenness. Asking such a question, it couldn't be helped on my behalf. I found it weird seeing him here too.
"Nothing special, I was just training."
I only nodded upon hearing his reply. It's clear he was lying, since if he was then why didn't he go in the training area instead? I still chose not to pry.
A couple of moments passed before I realized that he was the person I was looking for. Jasper, brown hair, arms engraved with deep scars, his arrival was just an opportunity for me since he was the reason I even took the effort to go outside.
"Just follow me, young master. Be careful not to get lost."
As I was about to answer, he took my hand and pulled me whilst speeding up his pace. It became hard for me to keep up, it's as if he was just dragging me with him.
"W-wait..! Haah… S-slow d-down!"
I yelled out; sounds of panting were mixed into my tired voice. Jasper on the other hand, didn't even look back nor slowed down at least one bit.
"Haah… ha.."
Ultimately, we reached the training area. It took me a rough time to arrive at this place. As soon as we stopped from running without rest, I immediately felt the impulse to just collapse on the ground.
I desperately tried to stabilize my breathing, oxygen was barely touching my throat due to the heat and my lack of stamina. Jasper remained on the side, looking at me with a seemingly cold expression.
"If I may ask, what's your purpose for coming here?"
After calming myself down, I looked back at him, feeling conflicted. His attitude towards me is concerning, aren't I his young master?
"Actually… it's you who I was looking for."
"Huh"
I gulped my saliva before attempting to answer, it's possible that he won't accept my request. Judging on his behavior towards me, it might be that he's usually like this to others except the marquis himself.
"I want to be taught swordsmanship by you."
He paused for a few moments, looking at my figure from head to toe as he thought about something that provided me with a little suspense. Was it really hard to just make a decision right from the bat?
"Build your muscles first, then we'll talk."