Mistaken for a Wicked Woman!

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a duel with someone.”

“Didn’t Archie learn to use a sword?”

The duke shook his head at my question ruefully.

“Archie can carry a wooden sword, but no she couldn’t.”

‘I heard that she was weak and had many nagging illnesses, but she was the heir to House Bright, so I thought she would have learned a little.’

“She never learned the sword, but she used to come to the training halls often. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereI’d give her a ride on my neck, and play horse, but she’d be scared, she seems to liked it when she played with numbers though…”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

The Duke muttered as he recalled his faded past.

As he murmured, his voice was filled with an undeniable longing.

“Now, enough of this old story.”

He turned his head slightly, the Duke of Bright raised the sword, and the mood changed in an instant.

“Come.”

Indeed, the knight, the so-called Shield of the Empire, would just stand firmly in front, but I can’t find any gap to start.

I swallowed dryly, feeling the air grow heavy.

“Why are you standing still? Are you going to keep doing that?”

“No.”

I smirked at the Duke of Bright.

I was amused after finally finding a formidable foe that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I put my sword back to its sheath and planted my feet.

“Here we go.”

The Duke grunted and moved his sword, after I drew my sword forward, a metallic clang was heard when his blade went against mine.

Without pausing, I swung my sword again, encircling the Duke of Bright.

I easily lunged the sword towards his chest, but he parried it with ease.

“You’re fast.”

Duke Bright let out a small exclamation.

We exchanged blows a few more times, but my sword never reached him.

It was as if it was blocked by a large boulder.

I drew back to put some distance between us, and this time Duke Bright made the first move.

He was fast beyond his years.

Boom, bang, Clang!

Our swords clashed one after another.

Duke Bright didn’t make any unnecessary move.

He merely swung his sword backwards.

Nevertheless, I still had to rush just to block it.

“Hah.”

Duke Bright’s sword was heavy and fast.

Normally, a heavy sword loaded with power would be slower, but instead, it was getting faster and faster.

“Huh, ku–.”

“Are you tired already? Where’s your strength from earlier?”

‘Where did it go?’

This is the strength of a man who has spent decades on the battlefield.

Compared to my sweaty body, Duke Bright was still relaxed.

Above all, he hadn’t yet shown his full strength.

I’m definitely not his match.

But in speed, I’m still a little faster.

I organized my thoughts as I wiped the dripping sweat off my sleeve.

Duke Bright was different from my mother.

Where Mother was light and swift as a feather, the Duke was heavy and hard as a rock.

“Why are you staying still? Are you giving up?”

“No way! Hah..”

I took a deep breath and switched the hand holding the sword.

Then I pulled out the dagger that was in my waist band.

“That’s… That’s Wendy’s swordsmanship, an inherited one from House Sabrina.”

Wielding both a longsword and a dagger at the same time was a trademark of House Sabrina’s swordsmanship.

The Duke of Bright smiled in amusement, and corrected his stance.

He held his sword with both hands, and his eyes were shining.

“Strike with all your might or—”

“I will!”

Tadak!

I lunged into his arms again, before he could even finish his sentence.

The moment the Bright Duke took a defensive stance, I spurred skyward.

I landed behind him in a flash.

As I turned and swung my sword, he moved his arm as if he had expected it.

Boom!

Sword against sword clashed once more.

The impact was harder than I expected, and my hands trembled a little.

I almost lost my sword for a moment, but I caught myself and held on to the dagger firmly in my other hand.

“The strike was a bit weak.”

The moment I heard the chuckle in my ear, I realized that my attack had been seen through.

“Oh no!”

Clink.

He blocked my dagger with the hilt of his own sword, then moved down, still tilting his sword to prevent me from finding a gap.

“This is the same trick Wendy tried to use on me, and it failed.”

After he finished his speech, Duke Bright spun around and shoved me with his shoulder.

My body, exhausted from the hard impact, couldn’t hold on and I was immediately knocked backwards.

Thud!

My hand shook from the impact.

The dull sword clattered and rolled across the floor.

“I lost…”

I sprawled on my ass on the floor, and declared defeat under my breath.

“Excellent.”

Duke Bright picked me up off the ground and roughly brushed the dirt from my clothes.

“You’re strong.”

“Strong huh,” I said, “But I couldn’t even land a decent hit on you.”

“Then you thought you could beat me?”

“Not really, but… I thought I could hold out a little longer than that, but it was over in a flash.”

I closed my mouth and puffed up my cheeks.

“Haha, you’re quite the fighter!”

As I pouted my lips in disappointment and frustration, Duke Bright couldn’t help but smirk.

“Don’t be so disappointed. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereThere are many who can’t use a sword better than you in the family.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

“… Really?”

“Indeed. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereI don’t make empty remarks.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

“So do you think I’ll pass the selection test?”

“With your skills, you’ll probably make it to the final exam. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereIt’s just a matter of whether you can finish on time.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

I thought I was going to hear some criticism, but his words were quite unexpected.

I was stunned by the unexpected compliment, and Duke Bright stroked his chin. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereHe seemed to be lost in thought.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

After a moment, he looked at me again.

“When is the first examination?”

“In about ten days.”

“Ten days.”

Duke Bright, who had been muttering to himself, hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Would you be willing to learn the Bright Family’s swordsmanship?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected offer.

As I opened my mouth in surprise, the Duke of Bright suddenly wore a condescending expression.

“If you’re willing… I’d like to teach you…”

“Great!”

I quickly responded before the Duke could even change his mind.

My heart immediately skipped a beat at the thought of being able to learn swordsmanship from the Duke.

He was still one of the best knights in the Empire.

“Huh?”

Duke Bright’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected me to say yes right away.

“Absolutely!”

I said again, in excitement.

The Duke’s face gradually blossomed into a smile.

He frowned as if he was at his wits’ end and then smiled awkwardly

It was a strange expression, it was both happy and sad.

“Do you think you can start learning today? Umm. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereWell, if you like…”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

“Yes, please!”

✤

I learned swordsmanship from Duke Bright every morning for the next ten days.

I practice swordsmanship in the morning, prepare for the débutante in the afternoon, and practice again in the evening.

Then after that, I would end my night with a call to the crown prince through the spirit stone.

After ten such nights, the day of the first selection test finally arrived.

“Hah.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and stretched my body a little.

“Are we still a long way off?”

I leaned back in my chair as I watched the scenery change outside the window.

It had been an hour already, and I was getting a little frustrated.

The only saving grace was that the Bright family carriage was one of the most comfortable I’d ever ridden in.

It was a far cry from the public carriages that made my butt hurt after a long ride.

As I was singing praises for the Bright family carriage and thinking about what a piece of crap the public carriage I had been riding in was, I finally heard a cautious voice.

“Miss Iris.”

At the same time, the carriage came to a stop.

“We have arrived at the examination venue.”

The coachman who got off his seat finally announced our arrival in a polite manner.

He opened the carriage door without delay.

“Woohoo.”

Before I could take a step outside, I took one last breath to calm my nerves.

I didn’t think I would be nervous, but when I was told we had arrived, my body immediately shuddered.

I stepped out of the carriage, trying my best to ignore my heart beating hard.

The people gathered around outside spotted me and shouted immediately.

“She’s here!”

“It’s Lady Sabrina!”

“Hello, Lady Sabrina. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereCan I have an interview with you…”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

Man, what a surprise.

I was expecting reporters, but there were more than I expected.

If anything, the revelation that my Cavalier was the crown prince just turned the entire capital into a mess.

We even caught a reporter trying to get over the estate’s wall.

He had to be chased away by one of the Duke’s soldiers.

These people had so much guts.

“Wow.”

“It’s so alike…”

As reporters swarmed in, their gazes naturally fell on me.

People who were about to go inside stopped and looked at me and chattered amongst themselves.

I could hear them all.

“Please move aside!”

The knight Duke Bright had assigned as her escort stopped the rushing reporters.

The coachman also stood between them, protecting me, but the two of them were not enough to stop the horde of reporters.

“Young Viscountess Sabrina, please say something!”

“Is this why you applied to be an imperial knight, to take over the name of the Bright family?”

I walked in silence, ignoring the reporters’ questions.

As long as I could get inside that examination center, I would be free from the hordes of hungry hyenas.

『Newspaper reporters are not allowed to enter the selection examination area, and if they do, they will be severely punished for disrespecting the emperor.』

The crown prince was worried about the uproar, so he sent a notice to the newspapers to warn them in advance.

Knowing that they wouldn’t have the chance to approach me once I get inside, they started to become relentless in their attempts to get a story.

“Can you tell us why His Excellency the Marquis suddenly attacked the newspapers…”

“My Lady!”

Wow, so persistent. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not thereEven leeches are better than this.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there

Just as the persistent reporters were beginning to lose their nerve, the spirit stone necklace around my neck suddenly glowed.

At that moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew around me like a blade of grass in a dry sky.

“Ugh!”

“What, what?”

The gust of wind blew the reporters back.

The wind was so strong that some of the reporters dropped their pens and notebooks.

Those notebooks were then blown away by the wind, even their hats, and recorders were not exempt.

“No!”

“My notebook!”

If nothing else, notebooks were the journalists’ lifeline.

So they scrambled to catch them before they could be blown further away.