77.
Although the Duke wore a displeased expression, he didn’t stop Lyunne’s actions. This meant they had discussed it beforehand. Still, his disapproving gaze fell on Jinhyeon.
How twisted he must feel to have his daughter learn swordsmanship from a commoner of battle slave origin, instead of the promising knights of their family. It seemed the teaching period wouldn’t be smooth. It was an atmosphere that would intimidate ordinary people, but Jinhyeon smiled boldly instead. He welcomed challenges and hardships anytime.
If his heart raced for things like this, he wondered how he had lived peacefully in modern Earth. Jinhyeon and Yu Jin greeted and stepped back. As they slowly retreated, the next person immediately came forward with a gift. It was jewels, like countless others had brought before.
‘She doesn’t seem to like those things.’
As he was thinking this, Yu Jin elbowed Jinhyeon’s side. Turning to see what was wrong, he found Yu Jin’s expression fierce.
‘Still pretty, though.’
They say some Asian beauties are pretty even when frowning, and Yu Jin was the same. Jinhyeon’s gaze naturally filled with affection as he looked at him, but Yu Jin’s words were not so kind.
“Is your mouth going to tear from smiling so much?”
“I didn’t smile that much.”
“You did. You looked happy?”
Jinhyeon rubbed his mouth with his hand. He thought he understood why Yu Jin was acting so prickly.
“Are you jealous?”
When he whispered in Yu Jin’s ear, Yu Jin glared at him with a shocked face.
“Who is!”
Yu Jin inadvertently raised his voice, then quickly shut his mouth and looked around. Fortunately, everyone’s attention was on Lyunne, so no one was looking their way.
“Who’s jealous?”
Yu Jin’s attitude remained consistent. It seemed clear that Yu Jin liked him, but he had never tried to express it until now. Perhaps that’s why this was the first time he openly scolded Jinhyeon. Jinhyeon raised the corners of his mouth again, but for a different reason this time.
“You don’t like that I’ll be having lessons alone with that woman?”
Given Lyunne’s background, it was unlikely that she would be alone with a former slave like Jinhyeon, but there was no need to speak the truth right now.
“Why would I?”
Yu Jin answered sharply and then looked down at his own feet. Jinhyeon wondered what thoughts were running through that small head. As they stood like this, the gift-giving ceremony continued endlessly. After some time, words suddenly burst from Yu Jin’s previously quiet mouth.
“…I want to go back.”
Their participation in that day’s party ended like that. Yu Jin, who had been angry at first, became quiet at some point. Jinhyeon wanted to speak to him, seeing his depressed appearance, but Yu Jin rejected everything and locked himself in his room. Jinhyeon could have gone in right away to comfort Yu Jin and say sweet things, but he didn’t do that today. Even without dating experience, he could tell. Now was the time to step back a little.
Lyunne called for Jinhyeon starting from the very next day.
“Go alone.”
Yu Jin, still with a depressed face, told Jinhyeon.
“What about you?”
“I have to go meet someone else.”
“It seems dangerous for you to go alone.”
“Keith agreed to accompany me today.”
Yu Jin said this while waving his hand weakly. Keith, standing next to him, was smiling unpleasantly.
“Can’t you take Haruna?”
“Haruna is busy. And Keith is better at protecting people.”
Then, before Jinhyeon could grab him, Yu Jin quickly left.
“Huh?”
It was frustrating, but there was nothing Jinhyeon could do at the moment, so he had to move separately from Yu Jin. To bring Jinhyeon, Lyunne sent a four-horse carriage bearing the Duke’s family crest. It was a luxurious mode of transportation for a single commoner.
“Lady Lyunne is very much looking forward to her lessons with you, Sir Jinhyeon.”
Moreover, the person who came to pick up Jinhyeon said he was Lyunne’s assistant. The man, who introduced himself as Grey, explained with a gentle expression what Jinhyeon would need to do. He looked frail on the outside, but seemed much stronger than he appeared. He looked more like a guard knight than an assistant.
“We’ll be using this training ground.”
In the training ground Grey guided him to, four knights were already waiting. Two were about Jinhyeon’s age, and two looked older.
“Hello.”
He greeted them politely as he was a commoner, but instead of a response, he received blatant disregard. After some time had passed, Lyunne finally arrived at the training ground. She had tied up her usually loose hair and was wearing a tight-fitting training outfit that showed off her slender body.
“I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”
As she smiled brightly, the knights who had been wearing stiff expressions also smiled. It was completely different from how they treated Jinhyeon.
“So what should we do now?”
“Since it’s the first time, let’s have a light sparring match. We need to know how much swordsmanship you’ve already learned, Lady Lyunne.”
“Good! You’ll be surprised when you see me in action. I’ve been consistently practicing swordsmanship.”
Lyunne said this as she raised her sword. Then she had a light sparring match with Jinhyeon. As she had boasted, Lyunne handled the sword better than expected.
“You’re quite skilled.”
“Am I? Still, I think I have a lot to improve. Please teach me a lot from now on.”
At Jinhyeon’s gentle voice, the knights frowned again. Then one of them stepped forward and said to Jinhyeon,
“She may be skilled, but it seems to be just above the level of a battle slave. It seems inferior to the knights of families who have received systematic education. Lady Lyunne, I think you should reconsider.”
At the knight’s words, Lyunne made a troubled expression.
“Sir Jinhyeon is an excellent swordsman too.”
She was trying to defend him in her own way, but it didn’t feel like she was actively stopping the knight. As a result, the knight began to say increasingly harsh things and finally challenged Jinhyeon to a duel.
“Let’s have a match. I need to see if you’re qualified.”
Jinhyeon readily agreed. He had been wanting to fight with officially knighted individuals anyway. Thus, Lyunne’s lesson suddenly turned into Jinhyeon’s duel. The knight raised his sword vertically and said,
“A knight never retreats.”
And with the sound of tapping the scabbard, the duel began. At first, their swords clashed lightly as if gauging each other’s skills, but gradually the movements became more intense.
‘Hmm.’
The knight moved to the best of his ability, but it didn’t feel challenging to Jinhyeon.
‘Weaker than I thought.’
Everyone had been talking about how great knights were, so he expected more, but it wasn’t to that extent. At first, it seemed like Jinhyeon might be pushed back slightly, but it didn’t take long for him to catch up to the knight.
Now the knight was struggling just to block Jinhyeon’s attacks. Sharp metallic sounds rang out, and rough breathing erupted. The knight had to keep retreating. And finally, when Jinhyeon lifted the knight’s sword and completely disarmed him, the knight sat down with a dazed expression.
“I… I lost.”
The expressions of the knights who had been giving contemptuous looks changed. The oldest among them stepped forward and asked Jinhyeon,
“Do you have a master?”
“Everyone in the world is my master.”
At Jinhyeon’s answer, the knight let out a hearty laugh.
“That’s not wrong. So you’re saying you learned swordsmanship from countless people?”
“That’s right.”
“For that kind of learning, your foundation is quite well-established.”
As the two were talking, Lyunne smoothly interjected.
“So, is his skill good enough to teach me?”
“…Yes, it is.”
“Great. Shall we continue the lesson then?”
Lyunne said with a bright smile. As she had promised, she was an excellent student. After the lesson ended, Lyunne wiped her sweat with a towel Grey had brought and suggested to Jinhyeon,
“I’m hungry after all that movement. Would you like to join me for a meal, Sir Jinhyeon?”
“I’d be happy to.”
He hadn’t yet uncovered Lyunne’s purpose. He thought he might learn more if they had more conversation. With that in mind, he sat at the dining table, but the topics of conversation were just trivial matters. Thus ended the first day of Jinhyeon and Lyunne’s swordsmanship lessons.
Lyunne provided the Duke’s carriage for Jinhyeon’s return journey as well.
When he returned to the mansion, Yu Jin had also finished his work and come back. He looked at Jinhyeon with narrowed eyes, then turned his back without a word and went into his room. Whatever had happened to him today, Jinhyeon could ask Keith, but he didn’t want to. He would probably just say things that would upset people. Jinhyeon cleaned himself thoroughly and stood in front of Yu Jin’s room door.
Knock knock.
He knocked, but there was no sound from inside. Just in case, he tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. At first, he thought it might be better to give him time, but it seemed this couldn’t go on.
Jinhyeon hit the door forcefully. Then the door opened by itself. Cautiously entering, he found Yu Jin holed up in the bedroom.
“You jerk.”
Yu Jin’s hand struck the pillow on the bed.
“You philanderer!”
He hit it again with a thud, and the pillow dented.
“You should just become impotent!”
Now he was even cursing.
