A few days later, Sionad and the two children visited the Duchy of Wade.
"This is Annabelle Rainfield, and this is Aaron Rainfield."
Ian calmly looked at the two children standing in front of him.
It was a girl with light purple hair and a boy with pink hair.
Annabelle was the only one Ian invited, but even Aaron, her younger brother, seemed to have followed.
"He made a fuss to follow his sister… I brought him with me."
"That's great."
Braden grinned at Sionad's words and stroked Aaron's pink hair.
"We're all here to watch."
Leslie was with him this time.
Originally, Leslie had little interest in her son's education, because every tutor in any subject said the same thing.
Excellent, smart, upright, diligent, mature, exemplary…
So Leslie, who quickly lost interest, did not bother to attend classes or interview teachers from some point on.
Meanwhile, Braden was too enthusiastic about his child's education…
He was even more interested in swordsmanship because he had been teaching Ian since he was young and saying, 'I think he's more of a genius than I am'.
But this time, Leslie was interested in watching because he said something very new.
Ian had a formidable partner of his age.
'Will I finally see my son's new expression!'
Leslie looked at Ian standing upright with anticipation.
'Well… But that girl, Annabelle…'
And naturally, eyes were directed at the girl who tied her light purple hair high in front of Ian.
Annabelle stood still, but she looked distracted from looking around.
'She's the same as me when I first came here.'
In fact, Annabelle was more fascinated by her surroundings than by the neat boy in front of her.
Knights fighting here and there, training systematically, all sorts of weapons piled up…
'If you're a swordsman, it's a sight to see.'
It was a new world for Annabelle, who was banging a wooden sword with Aaron in the front yard every day.
'Mr. and Mrs. Rainfield must be keen on educating their children.'
Leslie smirked inwardly at Oscar, who had refused their request to be a duke's chef.
No matter how well their business was taking place now, a teacher hired by Braden would have a very high tuition, and it would be a burdensome amount to entrust it to two children.
Still, both of them were said to be talented, so they seemed to have put them there right away without thinking about money.
In fact, the two siblings looked as good and strong as any other aristocrat, whether they were growing up eating well or wearing well.
"Well, then…"
Sionad made Ian and Annabelle face each other and gave them a wooden sword.
"First of all, let's be polite to each other before the battle."
The younger the children were, the more strict the etiquette education was.
Braden and Leslie happily watched the nine-year-olds greet each other.
"Let's get started."
Soon after, the two children's wooden swords faced off.
~*~
"Now! Stop!"
Annabelle and Ian were both panting when Sionad stopped the two children.
"Oh."
Braden expressed his surprise at the situation with a short exclamation.
Even though it has been a while, the game had not been decided.
If Ian thought he was pushing, Annabelle avoided him appropriately, and if Annabelle thought she had the upper hand, Ian fought back.
Originally, if it was a competition of adults, they'd see to the end, but since it was a competition of children, Sionad called for the suspension of the game before they lost their physical strength.
At Sionad's words, Annabelle and Ian looked at each other as if they were disappointed, but they immediately drew their swords and greeted each other.
"Oh my."
Leslie even clapped as if she were really interested.
Ian, who had been growing up only hearing that he was "too good" throughout his nine years of life, had a confused expression.
Ian, who had easily beaten adult swordsmen in the Knights, who were bigger than him, seemed to have not expected this situation.
"What do you think?"
The children immediately began to drink the water and eat the snacks, and Sionad looked at Braden and said proudly.
"I can recommend her as a good partner, right?"
Braden admitted to himself that there was a reason why Sionad's tuition was so high.
Indeed, she was a genius comparable to Ian.
'What will it be… We don't know if Ian will win the swordsmanship contest.'
Braden had a history of winning when he was 15.
He met 17-year-old Leslie in the final.
Ian, who took over Leslie and Braden's blood, was far superior to him in his childhood, so he thought he could win the championship by beating 14 year olds this time.
However, it was unexpected that his ultimate rival was the same age.
"It sounds fun."
Braden grinned to himself, while Leslie went to the table where the children were eating snacks and talked.
"Really? Is the snack you eat at home better than this?"
Children's snacks included fruits, cookies, and sandwiches.
Aaron nodded as he cut down on the sandwich.
"Yes. The truffle sandwich with shark's fin and lobster, which my father sometimes makes, is more delicious."
"Oh…"
Leslie sighed as if her heart was beating faster just by hearing it.
"They don't sell it at the restaurant, do they?"
"I think so. When we doze off to have a late night snack, they make it with the ingredients at home."
"Oh my."
While Aaron and Leslie were talking, Ian was glancing at Annabelle.
They were just nine.
Nevertheless, in Ian's head, the match against Annabelle continued to play.
He didn't show it, but it was so shocking to him that everything was easy to her.
Annabelle didn't notice that Ian was peeping at her.
This was because she was still distracted by the scenery of the Knights.
Annabelle was gazing around the training ground, drinking only water.
"Annabelle."
And Leslie smiled as if she understood Annabelle and talked to her first.
"Isn't the training ground amazing?"
"…Yes."
Annabelle nodded earnestly. Then she asked, blinking her big blue eyes.
"Does everyone have a training ground like this?"
"Only where there is enough wealth and power to run the Knights. There are only a few in the capital."
Leslie explained briefly.
"Wade, in particular, has a long history of swordsmanship… It's comparable to the Royal Knights. You'll be disappointed if you think other nobles have Knights like this."
"Ahhh…"
Annabelle blinked with a thoughtful look for a moment.
Then she asked cautiously.
"Then how can I join the Knights of the Wade?"
"What?"
It was when Leslie, who had no interest in running the Knights, asked back in a slight embarrassment.
Annabelle said as if to declare.
"I want to come in here too. I'll be here every day."
~*~
So when she had her first confrontation with Ian at the age of nine, Annabelle was fascinated by the Knights of the Wade and the massive training ground.
From then until she was 22 years old, Annabelle went to work every day at the training ground of the Duke of Wade.
Even if she was not feeling well, she said that she would watch other knights' training, and she went to work full time.
That meant that since he was nine, Ian had seen Annabelle every day.
In the meantime, they participated in two swordsmanship competitions and shared 1 win and 1 loss side by side.
But that didn't even make a small difference in their lives.
It was natural for rivals with similar grades to achieve similar results.
The swordsmanship contest was just a swordsmanship contest, and Ian and Annabelle met again at the training ground the day before or the day after the swordsmanship contest and continued the same routine.
He heard rumors about who would win the final swordsmanship contest that was coming soon, but he wasn't particularly interested in that. Read only at pm tl.
No matter who won, they would face each other calmly as usual at the training ground the next day.
So that was it.
It was difficult for Ian to accept the resignation letter in front of him.
The final swordsmanship contest will be held in a few days, but she has finally decided.
'She's quitting…'
What does Annabelle's quitting mean in his life?
His memories are also sparse, and from the age of nine until now, he hadn't been without seeing her for a single day.
It was the first time that the future was so unimaginable. He stayed up all night like that.
And it was finally dawn.
Annabelle, who should have been training since dawn, was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, my sister is coming to work this afternoon. She's spending all her vacation before she quits."
"Can't you tell her to go to work now? If she needs a vacation, I'll let her go home in the afternoon…"
Instead of Annabelle, Aaron, who was checking the status, said cheerfully.
"Ah… That is probably not going to happen."
Ian, who had been thinking about how to ask the reason, was slightly nervous, and Aaron scratched his chin in reply.
"I heard that she's having lunch with Prince Robert today."