Chapter 15

— — —

The next day.

The moment I stepped onto the training grounds, Damian spoke bluntly.

“Starting today, we’ll begin real training.”

“…What?”

“Real training?”

I couldn’t help asking.

Real training?

So everything up until now hadn’t been real?

The half lap that left me gasping.
The push-up I couldn’t even complete.
Repeating the same stance until I nearly passed out.

I stared at him.

“What was all that, then?”

“Warm-up.”

He answered calmly. Without blinking.

“I needed to see whether the Princess had the will to train.”

This man.

Was he serious?

I glared at him hard enough to scorch stone, but Damian merely smirked.

“Why that look? I can’t teach proper techniques to someone who quits halfway.”

“If this were the Imperial Palace, I’d have you flogged.”

“The Grand Duchy is extraterritorial.”

“…Ha.”

Unbelievable.

So that torture had just been a test? A confirmation of intent?

He could have warned me!

But arguing was pointless. He would simply twist it back around.

“…Fine.”

I swallowed my irritation.

Endure it, Rhea.

“So what are we learning today?”

“Self-defense.”

He stepped closer.

“A method to break your opponent’s balance if they grab you. Try to throw me.”

He demonstrated—grabbing my wrist, twisting his torso, shifting his weight. If executed correctly, the attacker would lose balance and fall.

It looked easy.

Because he made it look easy.

I grabbed his arm.

Twisted.

Shifted my weight—

Thud.

I hit the ground.

“…….”

“Truly pitiful.”

“That was a mistake.”

I jumped up and tried again.

Thud.

“Your angle is wrong.”

Of course it was wrong. I didn’t even have the basic strength to execute it properly.

And more importantly—

Damian was too large.

We were only three years apart—why was he built like a tower?

With our size difference, it was practically impossible.

A head and a half taller? That was unfair.

Weren’t girls supposed to mature faster?

I tried again.

Ten times.
Twenty.
Thirty.

Fall. Stand. Fall again.

My knees scraped raw. My palms burned. Every muscle screamed.

But I stood up each time.

Damian watched.

This time, his gaze wasn’t mocking.

It was… puzzled.

What now?

I reset my stance.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly, he placed a hand on my shoulder and pushed me back gently.

“Let’s eat lunch first.”

Only then did I realize how high the sun had climbed.

It was well past noon.

“Yesterday you didn’t let me eat lunch.”

“If anyone overheard, they’d assume I deliberately denied the Princess her meal.”

Oh please.

You didn’t say it outright—you just never stopped the training.

“One more try. I almost have it.”

“That so?”

“I’m getting the timing.”

It wasn’t a lie. I understood the mechanics now. My body just hadn’t caught up.

“One more.”

He stared at me for a long moment.

Then sighed.

“That’s enough.”

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and hoisted me over his shoulder like baggage.

“What?!”

“We’re eating.”

“Wait! I’m not—!”

Too late.

The world flipped upside down as I dangled over his shoulder.

“Put me down! I’m not finished!”

“You’ll collapse if you don’t eat.”

“I won’t!”

“You almost did yesterday—”

That was different!

He finally set me down in a chair at the dining hall.

“You should gain some weight. No wonder you have no strength.”

“I’ll handle that myself.”

“Doesn’t look like you can.”

I glared at him and bit into the sandwich Mia had prepared.

Only then did the soreness truly hit.

My shoulders. Arms. Legs. Waist.

Everything throbbed.

“Ugh…”

“Techniques don’t work if you brute-force them.”

Says the one who brute-forced me.

I continued chewing.

“…Unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I thought you’d quit.”

Quit?

I nearly laughed.

I had been stoned. Dragged to a dungeon. Stabbed through the heart.

And he thought this would break me?

“I have something I need to do.”

“And that is?”

“I have to go west.”

The land of mages.

I had to meet him there.

It was the only way to free Carlos—

And myself.

Damian looked as though he wanted to ask more.

But he didn’t.

“Eat slowly. Afternoon training resumes when you’re done.”

He left first.

“…Strange man.”

Eight Days Later

Every day, I fell.

And stood.

And fell again.

Bruises layered over bruises.
Blisters burst, hardened, and split again.

But I didn’t quit.

On the eighth day—

“Haah!”

With a shout, Damian’s steady frame shifted.

For the first time—

His balance broke.

Thud.

He fell beside me.

“…Huh?”

I stared at him on the ground.

My heart pounded wildly.

“Did you see that?! I did it! I threw you!”

He stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

“Yes. I saw.”

Flat tone.

Didn’t matter.

“I did it! Finally!”

I jumped in place, exhilarated.

“See? I said I could—”

My leg gave out.

The world tilted.

“Princess!”

Damian lunged forward.

The ground rushed up—

Then—

An arm wrapped firmly around my back.

The world flipped again.

Thud.