Chapter 45: First Training at the Combat Order (3)

On one side of the small training ground, I stood facing Lucia.

‘I finally get to meet you, Lucia May.’

Her height was similar to Chloe’s. So, slightly taller than average. She was a female cadet of the Combat Order, but she didn’t give off a particularly fierce impression.

Compared to Uriel, who had a toned and athletic physique, Lucia’s body seemed more like that of an ordinary female student than a warrior.

However, her appearance was striking enough to attract the attention of others. Alluring pink… no, it was pink hair that made a man’s heart flutter.

‘She’s not another protagonist for nothing.’

The protagonist Julian, in other words, me, was surprisingly handsome. Lucia was also a beauty who was not inferior to the other heroines I had met so far.

Well, Lucia’s illustrations received rave reviews. Only the illustrations, though.

On the other hand, the Lucia route was far more divisive than the Julian route. Compared to the Julian route, the freedom was severely restricted. The difficulty was also doubled.

Julian, despite his delinquent personality, had the strongest family and bloodline in the world. As the game’s title suggested, he was the Demon Lord’s son.

But Lucia, unlike him, was a pure-blooded human. Her family might have been comparable to some extent, but even that was unfortunate for Lucia.

‘She was the illegitimate child of Duke Orhain, who ruled the South.’

Fortunately, she had been adopted as the daughter of a Baron in the Duchy, barely escaping commoner status. So, when playing as Lucia, the game’s title changed.

The title was ‘The Duke’s Illegitimate Child Surviving in the Holy Empire’. Just like Demon Survival, the game company’s naming sense was terrible in many ways.

Therefore, as befitting the setting, the Lucia route was prone to ending in bad endings at any moment.

And every time I restarted the game, Lucia’s personality changed. In other words, it was like drawing a random personality gacha every time.

And the most divisive aspect of the Lucia route was, of course, her personality.

‘Her personality changed every time I played.’

I looked directly at Lucia. She didn’t particularly avoid my gaze.

‘Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to have a self-deprecating or gloomy personality.’

Then, I must have drawn a great gacha. Due to her birth as an illegitimate child, Lucia’s random personality was often melancholic.

A naturally gloomy, illegitimate daughter of a Duke. Her personality was the same even when I played as Julian. Except for her appearance, her personality changed every time, always to a depressing type.

So, a personality like the one she had now, where she could meet my gaze, was definitely not bad. Compared to other personalities, it was at least S-rank. And this personality was very important.

Because Lucia was a character who would become the main damage dealer in the future Nest raid.

“Um, Lord Count? Aren’t you going to start the spar?”

Lucia spoke to me. A puzzled expression as she urged me on. Even that ordinary expression had the unintentional charm unique to beautiful women.

And her pink hair, which could be even more captivating depending on one’s preferences. Honestly, I wished Lucia was just a normal heroine, not a playable character.

Although Lillia’s big breasts were my favorite, I confess that I also liked pink-haired girls…

‘But since her personality is random, I can’t approach her carelessly. If I make a mistake, our relationship could become extremely distant.’

The heroines I had met so far were relatively easy to build a friendly relationship with. For example, like with Chloe, if I knew her personality accurately, I could approach her from a position of advantage.

But I couldn’t do that with Lucia. If I made a wrong move and she became hostile towards me, I would lose a valuable main damage dealer.

It was also a problem if I showed too much favoritism. Because, as befitting her gloomy personality, there were cases where she became overly obsessed with me.

‘A pink-haired yandere. That’s too dangerous.’

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have such a troublesome personality. Her calm expression as she faced me showed intelligence.

“Count Julian? We need to start the spar now.”
“Oh, my apologies. I was just thinking about your skills.”
“Skills? What do you mean?”
“It’s normal to think about your opponent’s skills beforehand. A man of Reinhardt doesn’t let his guard down.”

I made an excuse to hide the fact that I was lost in thought. Lucia nodded silently.

“That’s not wrong. But you don’t have to be too nervous. Because I’m your opponent.”

Her slightly self-deprecating expression made my heart sink. As she said, Lucia was the lowest-ranked cadet in the Combat Order.

Although I had shown some skill with the Lionheart Swordsmanship earlier, my skill evaluation in the Combat Order was at the bottom. Considering that I was chosen as her sparring partner, it spoke volumes about Lucia’s skill level.

Of course, her potential with the sword would be comparable to mine, but…

So, I thought I could give Lucia some advice through this spar. However, since it could touch a nerve, I would have to speak carefully while observing her reaction.

‘But if her personality is as it appears, it shouldn’t be a negative.’

Also, since Instructor Darren had praised my Lionheart Swordsmanship, it would add credibility to my advice.

Lucia drew her sword from its scabbard. Just the fact that she wasn’t running away from the spar was enough to give her a passing grade.

‘Fortunately, she has some initiative. Then, it won’t be difficult to train her. I’ll raise her well.’

During the banquet at Chloe’s mansion, I had gathered information about Lucia’s personality in this current reality.

I had subtly asked a noble young master from the same Combat Order about Lucia. But even though they were both nobles, he said Lucia didn’t stand out much.

‘Although her appearance is so beautiful, her skills as a warrior are average, or rather, poor. If she had entered another Order instead of the Combat Order… she would have been a popular young lady throughout her time at Pantheon. So, many young masters felt it was a shame.’

Well, with her looks, she couldn’t help but stand out if she was also skilled. Like Chloe or Lillia.

As I was lost in thought again, Lucia spoke.

“Does that mean you’re conceding the first move to me? Then, I won’t refuse and will attack!”

Her tone was indifferent and calm, but it was a declaration of attack. I also drew my sword at her words.

‘Since I don’t know her exact personality, there’s no need for unnecessary provocation. It’s best to just focus on the spar and do my best. I can’t go easy on her, and I can’t lose either.’

With Lucia’s current gaze, a fair and square match would be the best way to avoid any trouble.

At that moment, Lucia’s thrust flew towards me.

---

Lucia’s heart pounded.

She was a Holy Priest belonging to the Combat Order. However, her grades had been at the bottom throughout her first year, so training wasn’t very enjoyable for her.

But when she thought of her current father, Baron Joshua, who treated her like his own daughter despite her being an illegitimate child, she couldn’t just graduate from Pantheon half-heartedly.

Just as she had made up her mind and come to her first training session, Lucia spotted a blond-haired man and her heart skipped a beat.

‘It’s Count Julian!’

Rumors spread quickly in Pantheon. Although Lucia wasn’t actively involved in noble social gatherings, she had heard rumors about the Count through some of her noble lady acquaintances.

‘Count Julian has become incredibly handsome. Or rather, he was originally handsome, so he finally cleaned up his messy hair and beard. And his clothes are perfectly neat. He’s become a completely different person.’

Actually, Lucia knew that Count Julian was originally handsome.

The Reinhardt Margrave family, the rulers of the North. And the Orhain Duke family, the rulers of the South. At the invitation of Duke Orhain, Margrave Wilhelm and Julian had once visited the South.

They had stayed for a day at the territory of Baron Joshua, Lucia’s adoptive father, which was famous as a resort area.

So, she remembered Baron Joshua and the people of the Baron’s mansion personally attending to the distinguished guests. It was about five years ago.

And Lucia had fallen head over heels for Count Julian when she first saw him then.

‘Don’t get distracted by irrelevant thoughts. I’m in the middle of a spar.’

Her sparring partner today was, of all people, Count Julian. Their spar began.

Lucia desperately thrust her sword at Julian with the Imperial Swordsmanship’s Form 1, the Thrust. But the Count dodged it with a very light movement.

‘I practiced this so hard during the vacation. He dodged it!’

And then, he launched a series of attacks with his sword. Actually, Lucia had a hunch. Although her swordsmanship was honestly lacking compared to other cadets, her eye for it wasn’t bad.

Julian was the one who had performed the fearsome Lionheart Swordsmanship that had surprised even the terrifying Instructor Darren. So, there was no way she could be a match for him in a spar.

She barely managed to dodge and deflect the Count’s attacks with her sword. The Count must have realized it after seeing her previous attacks. That Lucia’s skills were terrible.

But the Count was still serious against her. He didn’t look down on her.

‘…He’s even more handsome because he’s serious. A Northern man… A Reinhardt man… Different from the Southern fools.’

Lucia actually hated Southern men. They were never serious and only full of bravado.

She especially hated irresponsible men like her own father, Duke Pedro de Orhain.

But Northern men were different. Margrave Wilhelm was a burly and dignified man, as rumored. Yet, he was extremely kind to women and children.

And Julian, although a rascal, was honest with his emotions. He was one of the few people who had complimented her pink hair, saying it was beautiful. And above all, he was incredibly handsome.

‘Reinhardt… If only I wasn’t an illegitimate child of the trashy Orhain family, but a woman of Reinhardt…’

The Orhain family was actually a renowned swordsmanship family, not inferior to the Reinhardt family. They were the masters of the Sentiac Knights, considered second only to the Knights of the White Night.

Unlike the majestic Reinhardt swordsmanship, the Orhain swordsmanship focused on extremely fast sword drawing and changing techniques.

Of course, Lucia, who hated her own bloodline, didn’t imitate the Southern quick swordsmanship at all.

‘Reinhardt… If only I were a Reinhardt…’

Of course, there was a way. To become Julian’s wife. But that was even more difficult than learning the Lionheart Swordsmanship herself.

Julian was the fiancé of the Third Imperial Princess Lillia. And he had perfect legitimacy, unlike her, an illegitimate child.

‘Someone like me can’t… Then, even as the Count’s mistress… Even if it’s just a physical relationship… No, what am I thinking!’

As her concentration wavered due to the sudden surge of delusions, the Count’s Imperial Sword thrust at her again. Lucia instinctively dodged it.

The Count spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re in the middle of a spar, so it would be better to focus a little more, Lucia.”

It was an undeniably correct point. And although they were sparring partners now, all cadets were essentially rivals.

The fact that he said such kind words to her, a rival…

Lucia’s secret place twitched for a moment.

‘He’s so kind…’

Their sword exchanges continued. The outcome was already decided from the beginning. Unlike herself, who couldn’t focus because she was infatuated with the Count, he was serious from start to finish.

So, Lucia’s heart ached.

‘I don’t want to be useless to the Count like this…’

If she unleashed the Southern quick swordsmanship she had sealed away, she could counterattack with faster attacks, as she also had the damned Orhain blood flowing through her.

But she didn’t want to abandon the Imperial Swordsmanship, the swordsmanship born from the Reinhardt’s Lionheart Swordsmanship, as the instructor had said.

Even if her talent lay in the quick sword.

However, at that moment, as if sensing her feelings, the Count thrust his sword at her at twice the speed.

If she didn’t do anything, she would be rolling around the training ground. Lucia instinctively moved her feet quickly, dodging the attack and launching a counter.

It was the Orhain quick swordsmanship that had come out unconsciously. But even that only grazed the Count’s cheek.

“Good attack, Lucia. It seems quick swordsmanship suits you better than a sword with heavy power.”
“Quick swordsmanship?”
“When you suddenly accelerated your attack like that, it was quite difficult to react to. So, I thought that might suit you better. It was a different feeling from the Imperial Swordsmanship. It was good quick swordsmanship.”

Count Julian had momentarily denied her. He had denied the Imperial Swordsmanship, which emphasized powerful blows with weight, and which Lucia had been diligently practicing, even if it didn’t suit her.

And to her, who hated the Orhain quick swordsmanship more than anyone, he said it suited her.

But if he had noticed Lucia’s true nature, it was actually a positive statement more than anything.

‘The Count acknowledged me… He’s so kind… It must not be easy to give advice to someone like me…’

If it was Count Julian, Lucia felt like he would even acknowledge the bloodline she hated.

And if it was the Count’s order, she felt like she would even wield the Southern sword she hated so much.

‘He said it was good quick swordsmanship. Count Julian did.’

Her heart pounded again. And her secret place twitched along with it. That ecstatic feeling filled Lucia’s mind as if it would explode.

Lucia thrust the Orhain quick sword at the Count.

---

The spar was over. As expected, Lucia’s skills weren’t bad.

If she unleashed the strengths she had deliberately suppressed, she had the talent to quickly become an excellent swordsman. The system and the trait’s judgment were accurate.

“Thank you for your advice, Count Julian. I’ll consider what you said.”

And Lucia bowed politely in a calm voice.

‘She’s indifferent. Then, unlike other heroines… it might be difficult to win her over with a pleasurable night. But she could become a good swordsmanship partner.’

We continued to exchange blows for a while longer. As Instructor Darren had said, we sparred seriously enough to crawl out of the training ground.

With this spar, Pantheon’s Monday schedule was over.

When I returned to the mansion, my whole body ached, so I skipped Eileen’s service that day. I focused on the Combat Order training for a few days.

By Thursday, even with my increased stats, my body was starting to feel the strain.

‘I’d like a nice massage. The priests of the Medical Order would be perfect for that.’

Of course, I meant it in a wholesome way. So, I didn’t attend any lectures in the morning and was resting in the atelier of the Hesos Hall.

And in the afternoon, I had a lecture at the Alchemy Order. I was scheduled to meet Chloe again after a few days.

Just as I was relaxing in a plush chair, the atelier door suddenly opened.

Lillia appeared in the doorway.