Chapter 52 - Why People Change (2)
I Quit Being The Male Lead's Rival
Why People Change (2)
âWhat are you saying againâ¦â âItâs true though. Right?â Our conversation didnât go on any longer, as the servant who had been on Leslieâs errand had returned. The servant held out the sword he was carrying to Leslie. âCome on, Annabelle. Would you like to hold it?â Leslie, who handed the sword, recommended it to me. âIt was mine, and itâs a very good sword. In fact, it was a gift from Braden some time ago.â âI seeâ¦â Then it was a sword with a very romantic history. I took the sword with a slightly trembling hand.
Seeing how well the shape was in, it was clear that Leslie had always taken care of this sword, even though she di not use it.
Even though I had only held it once, I could feel the essential difference from the sword I had been using.
I looked at the sharpened blade of the sword as if possessed.
âIâm glad you seem to like it.â âYes?â Leslie smiled kindly. And then she added lightly. âItâs a gift, Annabelle.â I was so startled that I forgot to breathe for a moment. âEven if Ian continues to grow, we need a great rival.â Leslie continued to speak timidly.
âA child with chivalry like you is welcome. If so, shouldnâ we at least compete in a similar environment?â
My conscience began to prick me at the word âchivalryâ, but now I canât even say was actually a villain .
Therefore, even now, I had no choice but to become a chi equipped with chivalry.
âI always went to competitions with cheap swords, but Braden said that he wanted to compete under similar conditions in the last competition.â
âUhâ¦â âThat is the spirit of Wade.â
The spirit of Nadit, which was told to win the final competition by committing even a crime, was incomparable.
Leslie added bitterly as if she recalled that time.
âIn the end, I got injured and couldnât compete, and I havenât competed since. So this sword is practically new.
âSomething like this⦠Do you dare me to accept it?â
There was no sound like âa garbage like me canât accept this!â
Once I grabbed it, I couldnât put it down.
âIf it stays in my room, itâs just a decoration. It shines th â brightest when in the hands of a swordsman â
âStill, itâs a gift from the Duke, can I use it like this?â
From what I heard, it was something that contained a lo story between the two of them, so it seemed that Leslie should not make a decision alone.
I asked anxiously in case there would be a couple fight later, but she shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal.
âI do not care. Even Braden didnât think Iâd keep this sword with me.â
âUm, really?â
âReally. He thought about passing it on to our daughter-in-law in the future.â
Leslie continued her words, kicking her tongue as if out curiosity.
âBut what daughter-in-law would want to get a sword from her mother-in-law?â
âAh, urnâ¦â
âYou have to think about handing over the best jewels or relics with a good value for money. But to get a swordâ¦â
She let out a deep sigh as if imagining it was pathetic.
âReally, Braden has no sense. I told him last night.â
âI see.â
âAnyways, itâs better for it to go to someone who can handle it properly rather than just passing it on to my future daughter-inâlaw for nothing. So donât be afraid.â
âThen⦠I will be grateful.â I bowed for a long time to express my gratitude. Even so, she made it seem like there was no possibility that Ian would not be able to meet a woman. âOkay then, letâs start training.â Leslie grabbed Ianâs arm and placed it in front of her. A short distance away, our eyes met again. In fact, after Leslie-sama said âtrainingâ, I was feeling a bi regretful inside without realizing it. `If I had known this would be the case, I would have bee training hard for just a few hours every dayâ¦â In particular, I had never been able to compete properly, I was not sure how well my body would match.
After thinking about my life, I was very neglectful of my training. It was because I had given up on my desire to win over Ian.
I was already a good enough swordsman, so there was no problem.
I had already lost my earnestness and was barely training, but after finding my family, I did not touch a sword at all.
It was because it felt good to spend time hanging out with my new family, wearing pretty clothes and eating delicious food.
So my parents didnât even think about buying me a sword.
âIf itâs an excuse I hated the life I have been living in the past, so I must have lived the opposite way.â
Actually, my training time was huge until I remembered my previous life.
Until now, I had never enjoyed wielding a sword.
I only slashed and swung a sword with the desire to defeat Ian.
But now seeing the excitement of taking Leslieâs sword as a gift and taking classes, it seemed that even though I hated the old life, it was not that I hated swordsmanship itself
After all, even when the inheritance right of the Marquis of Abedes was right in front of me, I never thought of quitting swordsmanship.
Leslie, who had her eyes changed with her sword in front of me, firmly opened the door to the class.
âWell, first⦠You have to learn the basic postures from .â
If it was , it was a book for children who were holding a sword for the first time
âAnd Ianâs posture is more accurate than the illustrations on itâ
It was quite paradoxical.
After giving up winning over Ian, I had an opportunity to sharply improve my skills.
It was good for both Ian and I to become his real rival.
âLook at Ian and do the same. It is rather poisonous to imitate other techniques due to their different physiques and other things but it is better to learn the basic postures in the same way.â
I nodded resolutely, and Leslie added kindly. âItâs like looking in a mirror.â Leslie continued, asking Ian to try the basic posture.
âYou must have had a lot of bad habits by holding the sword for a long time, but it would be nice if I could correct it even a little.â
I didnât think that I would be able to follow the same basic posture.
It was a habit Iâd had since I was very young, so it was obvious that it wouldnât be easy to fix right away.
But with a little bit of anticipation, I quietly observed Ian taking a basic posture and started to follow him.
âHm?â âOh?â âOhâ¦â
As soon as I followed his first posture, all of a sudden I heard murmurs here and there.
Leslieâs eyes widened in admiration.
âOh my gosh. Itâs like looking in a mirror! I have never seen anyone other than Ian take such an exemplary posture.â I was also very surprised. When I saw Ianâs posture, my body moved completely different from my existing posture.
However, what surprised me more was the hypothesis that suddenly came to mind from the phrase âlike looking in a mirrorâ.
`And the god said: every time you destroy the origins of black magic Annabelle will be blessed.â
âItâs good to learn the basic posture in the same way. Itâs like looking in a mirror.â
`Maybe, after destroying the mirror, did I get the ability to imitate my opponent like a mirror? Is that a blessing from god?â
I hadnât been training since I broke the mirror, so I didnât know about my recent physical condition, but it was definitely different from before.
Amidst the commotion, Ianâs movements continued.
I looked at him seriously.
How strong his arm moved, how much strength was applied to a leg, how his back muscle was tense.
`⦠Even his exceptionally handsome appearance.â
Each time my eyes scanned him closely, his expression hardened more and more.
He, too, watched silently as I followed his posture. Our gazes were entangled in each otherâs body in tension. As time went on, the strange tension grew more and more intense. âUgh, Ian.â Leslie sighed and glared at Ian.
âAnnabel said that the beginning itself was different from you. If you are a true knight, you should want to compete under the same conditions. Do you have to make a stern face and show that you donât like it?â
Aaron also spoke right away.
âNo matter how good she is at copying you, why are you so nervous?ââ
I think he didnât want me to look at him for a long time so closely, so I didnât necessarily intervene.
ââ¦Thatâs not it.â
âYou look like a little boy. Youâre not nervous just because Annabelle is looking at you, are you?â (din: SPOT ON)