I Have No Intention Of Training The Male Leads - Chapter 5 Part 3

05. The One-armed Knight and the Handsome (?) Magician (3)

Translated by: ???

“Your Highness.”

 

–Margaret. I have heard of your arrival in Cales.

 

“I have just returned from meeting her.”

 

–What do you think of her?

 

“I can’t really put my finger on it, but……. She looked like a starving wild dog, if I do say so myself.”

 

–Haha, a wild dog…….

 

“Plus, contrary to what you said, she’s got a level of strength beyond what you’d think, but…….”

 

–But?

 

“It’s understandable that her stamina and strength are better than her peers because she works out every day, but that momentum and stance don’t come from training alone, unless someone approached her from a very young age and groomed her for it……. That accomplishment at that age, it just doesn’t make sense.”

 

-…….I think that gives you an idea. Sir Margaret, take care of her.

 

“As it is Your Highness’ command, I will obey.”

 

-She even managed to find and burn three separate books of ciphers. She has a very good sense. I think we should refrain from contacting her for a while.

 

“Your orders.”

 

-Do you have a message for your son? I wish I could show you his face, but alas, Castel is out of town.

 

“Mmm. Tell him to make sure he eats three meals a day and gets at least seven hours of sleep a night.”

 

-Hahaha. I see. Then next time, I’ll make sure he calls me first.

 

“Okay.”

 

After the brief exchange, the light that had been leaking from the communications port faded. Margaret retrieved the crystals after the orb had completely lost its glow and tucked them neatly into the depths of her pack.

 

Returning to her chair, Margaret sat in silence for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before rising and calling for her maid to bring her a meal.

 

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The day at the Annex was quite monotonous, but that does not mean that it was uneventful. Eve awoke in the morning with a cup of lukewarm water, and after thirty or forty minutes of full-body stretching and bare-knuckle strength training to loosen her body on an empty stomach, she took a bath.

 

After breakfast in her robe, she changed into her training clothes and headed out to the training grounds to do 300 strikes, 300 transverse slashes, and 300 thrusts with a dulled federschwert (a practice iron sword).

 

For the first few days, she was beaten with a metal paddle by Margaret, who insisted that she had developed bad habits. She told her that if she ever crossed swords with another knight, she’d be mistaken for an assassin, and she’d have nothing to say about it, so she’d get a good thumping on her bad posture. After a while, she stopped getting hit.

 

No matter how strong she is, it’s not easy to perform 900 movements with an iron sword that’s no different from a real sword without strengthening her body, and she has to think about every single muscle movement.

 

Even when she started her morning with everyone, gripping and swinging the sword, her training did not finish until after dark. Every evening, Eve would wash off the sweat from her arms and legs with hot water, shovel a meal that didn’t go down well into her mouth, and fall into a stunned sleep. For some time afterwards, Alberic did not seek her out.

 

The meal, too, was not tasty enough, as Margaret had instructed. Moreover, there were so many of them, so Eve suffered every morning and evening as she shoved bland, tasteless food into her stomach.

 

‘It’s not like I’m some gym newbie anchovy taking one-on-one private lessons from some ancient hellspawn. This is hard training from hell!’

 

Anyway, her diet was controlled, she worked herself to death day in and day out, and every once in a while the maids would give her a balm massage to loosen up her knotted muscles, and while her mind was dried up and withered, her body was in great shape.

 

But Eve was not happy. She craved the refined flour treats Margaret had forbidden her to eat, and a life without snacks while having tea was not a life worth living.

 

“No, I thought I was just going to learn some swordplay, but this is too serious!”

 

After about a hundred sideways slashes, she tossed the heavy sword out of the way and Eve fell to the ground in a heap. Looking down at her younger apprentice, who was flailing her arms and legs and whimpering, Margaret smirked.

 

“It’s not the form that counts, little one.”

 

 

“Oh, no. It’s not the training, it’s the diet.”

 

“I’m running out of sugar! Bread! Sugar! Bread!”

 

“I told you honey is fine.”

 

“Not that taste! Refined sugar! Cane sugar! Let me have something sweet! Give me a snack! I’m sick of meat! I’m sick of grass!”

 

“Ah, this is…….”

 

Laughing at her predicament, Margaret eventually agreed to let her have a treat once a week. As if that weren’t enough, Eve scrambled back to her feet and picked up the sword she’d dropped. It was a rebellion that ended very quickly.

 

“Ah. Speaking of that, the Little Count’s servant has come and gone.”

 

“What?”

 

“He said that an important guest had arrived and that it would be best if you could stay in the annex.”

 

“Aha……. Yes.”

 

‘It’s Callisto.’

 

Eve nodded, a hint of recognition on her face, and straightened up again. Margaret took a few steps back and watched Eve’s muscles move.

 

Eve’s habits weren’t something she’d picked up in a year; they seemed to be at least a decade old, but strangely enough, her body itself was as clean as if she’d never wielded a sword, and because of that, it wasn’t too difficult to break her bad habits.

 

Eve’s habits were in her mind, not her body, so it was just a matter of constantly repeating the right muscle movements to instill the right memories in her fresh body.

 

In a moment of crisis, the body would reflexively move according to the memories ingrained in it through repetitive training rather than thinking. She planned to start teaching the steps in earnest after she had brainwashed them into more correct movements.

 

But the question was, how could she train her body to become a formidable fighter in a way that would leave habits only in the mind? Was she really hunting a huge beast in her dreams, risking her life? Margaret chuckled at the thought and shook her head.

 

“Protect the Lady of Vermell,” was all she had been ordered to do. Trying to guess Eve’s identity, Margaret cleared her head and pointed out Eve’s posture again.

 

“Your shoulders are slumped. Raise your arms higher. Your back is tighter.”

 

“Ughhh…….”

 

?

 

“Welcome, Mr. Callisto.”

 

“Long time no see, Little Count.”

 

Stepping into the parlor, Alberic greeted the pink-haired boy with a polite bow, not showing the slightest hint of embarrassment at the sight of him sprawled cross-legged in an armchair. Callisto waved dryly, giving him a knowing look before dropping his arms again and letting out a long sigh of annoyance.

 

“I don’t understand, no matter how much I think about it, the idea of appointing you just because my father doesn’t like you. What on earth is Edward thinking?”

 

“How dare I guess his will?”

 

“Sometimes he seems like he wants to destroy everything. He wasn’t supposed to support you so openly.”

 

“Well, that’s a good thing for me, then.”

 

“You don’t think that might have something to do with it? I saw a couple of Sidus’ wolves on the way here, though I managed to brainwash them and send them back. Anyway, you’ve already got a bug, and it’s caught up with you pretty quickly. I thought I could hide it for at least another year.”

 

Alberic, who had been sitting across from Callisto and brewing his own tea, paused for a moment as he realized that even the tea maid had been bitten. But then, as if nothing had happened, he poured the black tea into the teacups with a smooth motion.

 

“The Wolves of Sidus, aren’t they a criminal organization of Etruscan immigrants?”

 

“Yes. They’re also a bunch of hounds who do the Second’s dirty work, and he must have been in a bit of a hurry to join forces with a bunch of worms who’ll do anything for money.”

 

“Well, as I said, I’d like to request a protection and concealment spell for the manor, but for the time being, with Margaret here, the protection spell will have to suffice.”

 

“Ha, Margaret? She’s quite resourceful. How did you manage to woo her? She’s stubborn and won’t even do her son a favor.”

 

“I didn’t expect you to send Margaret yourself either, but…… had instructions from His Highness.”

 

“Alas. Where is Margaret? I must say hello to her.”

 

“She is in a separate annex to the right of the main building…….”

 

Alberic did not stop Callisto as he stood up and left the parlor. He wondered if he should let this walking bomb of a man run into her. Already he could feel his heart pounding with the anxiety that was brewing in the back of his mind.

 

Regardless, Alberic’s worries were put aside and Callisto strode out of the main building with light steps. Sure enough, as he followed the wall of the manor to the right, toward the patronage, he saw a small two-story annex tucked into the well-manicured patronage. Despite its small size, it appeared to be meticulously maintained, and the beautiful decorations lining the pathway to the front entrance of the annex made it clear that it was no place for someone of lesser status.

 

Callisto was about to enter the building when he heard voices behind him. He wasted no time in circling the annex and making his way to the back of the building.

 

“More strength in the lower body. How many times have I told you that you need to be more centered in the lower body!”

 

“Oh, what the hell else am I supposed to do!”

 

“Keep reminding yourself that it’s your arms that swing the sword, but it’s your legs that support it!”

 

“Kkuuuu…….”

 

Before Callisto’s eyes, a middle-aged woman, older than he remembered, was holding a stick, her head held high, slapping the bound woman’s thighs viciously.

 

“Margaret!”

 

“Um?”

 

He called for her, trotting over. Margaret’s eyes widened as if she recognized Callisto, but then softened in welcome.

 

“Callisto, it’s been a long time.”

 

“It’s been a long time, too. You look fresh, don’t you?”

 

“Haha, so be it. As you can see.”

 

Eve lowered her sword and caught her breath, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. As she stared at the two exchanging pleasantries, Margaret introduced her.

 

“This is Young Lady Evelyn Vermell, cousin of Little Count Vermell. Lady, this is…….”

 

“Callisto. You may call me Mr. Callisto.”

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