Unbelievable.

Looking at Braden's expression, it didn't sound like a joke.

"..."

I thought it would be good to shut my mouth slightly in embarrassment and then change the topic.

"I heard that the Duke was very kind to my family while I was returning to the capital. In particular, thank you so much for not letting them leave the duchy just in case."

"Yes, that grace can only be repaid through marriage."

"..."

"Ahaha, that's a joke. Isn't it too burdensome? Actually, I left the word "please" out, but..."

Fortunately, the road with Braden was not long. After walking for a while, a luxurious warehouse building appeared.

After all, the duchy was really spacious. I thought that I had been blatantly coming and going all this time, but I didn't know that such a place existed.

"I want to appeal to your family somehow, but delicious food and pretty clothes don't seem to have any meaning."

Braden said with a smirk.

"Leslie said she could eat a lot of good stuff when she became a Duchess, but that's definitely not going to work for you anyway."

There was no one in the Empire who was unaware of the fame of the Duke of Wade, but in a way, to appeal to it as 'delicious' was a word that was very considerate of me, a commoner.

"Well... And for some reason, it seems that Ian's relationship with Prince Robert is one more appeal..."

He said with a very serious face.

"I hope to hand over the dukedom soon, but I think Ian will have more leisure time than Prince Robert. Far from getting better, the Imperial finances are going to get worse."

"Oh?"

As one of the people of the Empire, that was very worrying. But Braden smiled kindly.

"But, whatever, Prince Robert will be fine if he has the ability. That's something we don't know, right? Rather than that, how should we look good to Miss Annabelle? My wife and I discussed it head-to-head last night."

"Uh, um..."

"So the conclusion is..." (pr/n: is it swords)

Braden opened the warehouse door wide. I swallowed dry saliva involuntarily as I watched the scene unfolding before my eyes.

"Uh... This..."

All kinds of swords were displayed there. Just looking at them, they were very luxurious, well-maintained swords. (pr/n: lmao of course)

"Annabelle."

Among the displayed swords, Leslie was smiling.

"Come here when you're married to Ian and if it gets too boring. Wouldn't it not be fun without this gift?"

It was not that Ian wasn't that fun, but indeed, Ian's parents were underestimating him.

"I didn't want to burden you, but... I was so nervous that I couldn't help it. I've never felt so insecure about my child."

Leslie sighed and said.

"I wonder if he's a gentleman and hesitating and making you feel no man's charm at all..."

I realized once again that Leslie's senses were poor.

Because Ian's gentlemanly behavior had already disappeared from the day of the banquet.

"I'm not saying you should get married right away, but I want you to think about the future. Don't just think about throwing it away because it's not fun. It would be best if we could allow you a place to abandon our son."

Braden spoke seriously and then stepped back with a grin.

"Okay then, I hope you have a good time. I'll go see Ian."

He made one heart-shaped beckon to Leslie and then added.

"It seems like he's working harder than ever to see if he could really win against Miss Annabelle. Shouldn't one of his parents be on his side?"

With those words, Braden disappeared. Left alone with Leslie, I smiled awkwardly as I looked around the swords on display.

"Ahaha, what can the Duke say... Of course, you will also support Ian."

My parents also supported me, so there was no need to share parents.

"It was actually like that at first."

But Leslie answered with a smile.

"At first, when I said that I was going to teach you, I thought I wanted you to be a good rival for my son. Being too proud of yourself is poison to yourself after all. In fact, I didn't even know that your skills would rise this much."

Leslie's tone was so serious that I had no words to answer.

"But right now, I really don't think I want Ian to win. This is the truth."

"Uh ... Well..."

"I didn't want to look at the sword, and I didn't go to the training grounds because I was heartbroken, but I overcame it by teaching you. I guess I was healed by teaching you."

In fact, looking at her casually standing in this warehouse, it seemed that Leslie didn't hate looking at swords anymore.

"And leaving my swordsmanship era... I've lived my whole life in the status of a duchess. I wasn't ashamed of being a commoner, but I wasn't even able to fight properly. But looking at you, I feel ashamed now."

She came slowly and hugged me tightly. And she whispered in a sincere tone.

"In the past, there have been many times when I have been humiliated by the Empress, and I am really glad that you took care of it. So I think I will support you as a commoner who was born with nothing before being Ian's mother."

My heart was so full that I couldn't say anything and stayed in Leslie's arms.

At first, I was attached to her because I liked her sympathy, and the person I thought was good for feeding me delicious food recognized my worth more than anyone else.

"I don't think your skill has improved because of the origins of black magic. I think it gave you the skills you should have had. Shouldn't you know by how much you practice?"

"Leslie."

I said in a trembling voice, before going into my final training session and my friendly match.

"I will do my best. I won't disappoint you, who taught me first."

"Yes. If you lose despite my support..."

Leslie smiled grimly and whispered.

"Be my daughter-in-law and pay me back."

...Unbelievable. They said that couples are alike.

I was a little frustrated inside. What if I really did become boring?

~*~

In the garden behind the warehouse, Ian was watching Annabelle from a distance behind as she wielded her sword with Leslie.

'Ah.'

At first glance, it looked different from before.

After she cut down the bamboo forest, her ability to instantly erase her trace had greatly improved.

'Even if she told me to watch it for 100 years, I think I could see it.'

Ian swallowed dry saliva as he gazed, possessed, at her fluttering pale purple hair.

It was last evening that Annabelle returned to the Rainfield mansion, but it seemed like years had passed.

'We were always together when we came back to the capital.'

In addition, there were more than one or two questions he had about whether she fell asleep with the window open, and whether she tied her hair without drying it completely because she was lazy.

'Tomorrow is a friendly match, but don't you want to see me today?'

He couldn't understand Annabel's thoughts, so he was a bit reckless in revealing himself.

No matter how many times she had told him that she would abstain, she was still Annabelle and she had been trying really hard in her bones to beat him for 8 years.

When he was next to her and looked at her up close, he was even more amazed at the amount of her training.

'If we run into each other, even if it's a friendly match or something, I think I'll want to hug her first...'

The night Annabelle went to Rainfield Manor, Ian realized that he had been living in the same place with Annabelle for too long.

It was terribly painful to have to make an appointment elsewhere to meet.

'It's not a burden, but I have to put the ring on first.'

How burned every time the magic item ring that Robert gave her on her hand flashed.

At that time, he just wanted to put rings on all ten of her fingers just thinking about it. (tl/n: my dad would like to argue that the thumb is not a finger)

So while Annabelle went to see Lanella with her family earlier, Ian bought the ring himself.

When the jeweler asked for the size of the ring, he was ignorant of the ring purchase process enough to draw a circle on a piece of paper saying 'this size?', but he knew exactly about Annabelle's body. (tl/n: PLEASE)

'That doesn't mean I'm going to do what my father said...'

At least for the proposal, he wanted to do it his own way without listening to others.

Of course, it was just his thought that it would be less interesting and less impressive than the method Braden suggested.

Ian watched Annabelle from afar and smiled.

'It's been less than a day, but the withdrawal is so severe.'

Come to think of it, when Annabelle was still Annabelle Nadit, he seemed to feel empty not long after she suddenly cut him off.

He promised once again that he would do his best in this match.

It was also courtesy of being a swordsman, but seriously, it was because the difference in ability with Annabelle could no longer be measured.

'Now let's go back. The more I look at her, the more I feel like I can't stand it but to run and hug her.'

Ian sighed and headed to the secluded garden where they had always trained together.

Before the duel with Laigan, he trained every day with a proud heart, but on the other hand, it was the garden that made him flutter with excitement because he could be with her all day.

There was still no one in the secluded garden, and it was time for him to reminisce about those times with a grin.

"It's been a while since I've come here."

He clearly felt no presence at all, but the voice he had longed for the whole time reached his ears.

"In that sense..."

Ian's body quickly heated up as she hugged him softly from behind.

"I have an important match tomorrow, can you train me?" (pr/n: bold of her to ask her rival for training)

It was his lover who even said that she had come to meet him.