Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

After his sparring session with Aira, Christian took a quick shower at the training grounds and returned to his room.

As he opened the door, he found Neria sitting grumpily on a chair. Anyone could see that Neria was in a foul mood, so Christian instinctively shut the door.

Neria opened the door herself and glared at Christian.

“Explain. What were you thinking when you decided to spar with Sir Garcia? And what’s this about getting an allowance?!”

“Well, it’s not an allowance…”

“Do you know what your aunt said to me? She claimed you were so envious of the training Aira receives that you groveled in front of her!”

“I-I didn’t grovel!”

Wow, seriously…

Aunt, where do you get off creating such fabrications?!

Christian wanted to confront her immediately, but for now, it was more important to calm his mother, who was seething with anger.

“P-Please, calm down. It’s just a fabrication by Aunt.”

“Fabrication?”

“Yes. Did you meet her today? Are you really going to believe everything she says?”

“Hmm, true. One shouldn’t believe your aunt’s words until they’re signed and sealed in a contract.”

‘Does that mean she has credibility or not…?’

Christian steadied his breathing, ensuring he was not swayed by Neria’s pace, and clarified his position.

“I didn’t grovel or plead in front of her. It was a fair deal.”

“A deal? So is it a lie that you’re sparring with Sir Garcia?”

“Well, that’s actually true, but…”

“It’s true?!”

“Let me explain why I wanted to…”

He hesitated for a moment, avoiding his mother’s gaze as he spoke.

“…to get some allowance.”

“Allowance?! Didn’t you just say your aunt’s words were all fabricated? Yet you’re sparring with Sir Garcia for an allowance?! Are you lying because you’re afraid I’ll be mad?!”

“W-Why would I lie to you, mom? Besides, you know how significant it is to receive an allowance from Aunt.”

“I know, right! Who doesn’t know what it means for that household to offer money in this country?”

“Uh, but that household includes us…”

No matter how estranged they were, they were still family on paper, yet they treated each other as adversaries.

Christian sighed internally, seeing that the relationship between the two mothers was worse than he thought.

“And don’t I give you enough allowance myself? Was it not sufficient?”

“It’s enough. It’s not insufficient, but…”

“But?”

“If I win, it would be a disgrace for Sir Garcia and deeply wound Aunt’s pride, wouldn’t it? And if I lose, well, that’s expected, so it won’t harm anyone.”

“Oh my! Was that your intention?”

“Yes?”

“You sparring with Sir Garcia to demonstrate to your aunt that the knight she hired to teach Aira couldn’t even defeat a trainee, hence her current condition? Ah, I knew my son was filial. You want me to enjoy seeing your aunt absolutely seething in anger, right?”

“… Pardon?”

Could it be that the Worden family selects character defects while choosing brides?

Neria, uttering harsh words with an innocent face, was enough to bewilder Christian.

“But your opponent is Sir Garcia. What if he bears malice afterward…”

“That won’t happen. Even though we’re fighting each other, we’re still family members. Swords being drawn over something like this? Would the head of the household stay silent?”

“True, if it was your father, he would likely hang Sir Garcia’s severed head at the front gate.”

“… Yes, so there should be no problems.”

After accepting Liana’s suggestion, Christian investigated who Garcia, the knight, really was.

Based on his findings, he learned that although Sir Garcia seemed a bit dull, he was a rigid knight loyal to chivalry.

Traditionally, knights are those who show mercy to weaker opponents. Unlike gladiators in the Colosseum or mercenaries who perform any task for money, they value honor greatly.

No matter what orders they receive from their lord, if it goes against their convictions, they absolutely refuse to comply.

In extreme cases, they might kill the lord they serve and die themselves, claiming they failed to serve properly.

Unless one wished to experience firsthand how sharp their swords were, they should never issue strange orders.

Therefore, though one might end up with a few broken bones, there would never be any serious harm to the body or any life-threatening situations.

“Sir Garcia will not do anything for Mother to worry about.”

“Well, that’s true…”

Though his mother reluctantly nodded, she still seemed a bit dissatisfied. To reassure her, Christian smiled confidently and spoke.

“And there are more important matters than pocket money or embarrassing aunt.”

“More important than embarrassing that woman?”

“The truth is, because of training with Aira…”

As there was nothing particularly secretive, Christian shared the conversation he had with his aunt.

At first, Neria listened with interest, but as he continued, her complexion worsened and eventually turned pale.

“You, you, Chris, surely not…”

“Yes?”

“Are you planning to keep Aira close and utterly destroy her?! No matter if her mother vexes you, you shouldn’t do such a thing!”

“No, hold on?”

“Aren’t you and Aira siblings? Even if you compete for the head position, this is wrong. You mustn’t betray blood ties! Just vent your anger on your aunt!”

“I’m not doing anything like that!”

How could a mother not trust her child so?

Was Christian actually a sinister guy who, while pretending to be nice and polite, did strange things behind the scenes?

Christian’s face stiffened like a person who had realized an uncomfortable truth.

“The reason I want to train with Aira is not solely to torment her—though I admit there’s a tiny bit of that intention—but because there is something for me to gain.”

“Gain something?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s fine. You won’t kill her, right?”

“… Yes.”

“Good, don’t ever make a move; still, you’re siblings after all.”

Christian was bewildered by Neria’s comments, unclear if she was joking or serious.

“Uh, but what if I end up helping Aira? Aren’t you worried, mom?”

“Worried? Why would I be?”

When Neria asked if he would kill her, Christian shook his head vehemently.

She fondly patted his head, thinking Christian was being kind.

“Helping those who are in difficulty and lacking is a good deed. If my son intends to help a pitiful child with nothing to boast about apart from money, why would I oppose? It’s not like he’ll neglect his duties, fail the successor selection, run away from home in shock, and then ruin his life at rock bottom.”

“You seem confident I’ll become the head.”

“Haha. That’s because you’re my son. Is it wrong for a mother to have expectations? Is it a burden?”

“It’s not wrong, but…”

“Then that’s settled. Though you’re in a competitive relationship now, even if Christian becomes the head, you’ll still be family. Being friendly to avoid worsening relations now might be a good idea.”

‘If the plan to make Aira the head succeeds this time…’

‘Will my mother run away from home?’

“Uh? Why?”

I glanced at Neria, and she flashed me a kind smile.

“Well, anyway, please just watch what I’m doing now.”

“Yes. Mom will cheer for you wholeheartedly. And make sure to become the young master. Fighting!”

“F-Fighting…”

“It seems like you have a complaint.”

“I do not.”

To Liana’s words, Garcia Felton simply responded calmly.

However, his face betrayed emotions that he could not hide.

Though it wasn’t a complaint, he was evidently curious about something he couldn’t ask outright.

“The rumors you heard are true. I want you to spar with Christian.”

“Uh, lady Liana. Although I am well aware that Young Master Christian’s skills are already exceptional compared to his peers, to match him against me is a bit…”

“I understand.”

“Then why…?”

Already, the entire residence buzzed with rumors of a sparring match between Garcia and Christian, established as a fact beyond Garcia’s control.

Surprising and even absurd as it was, he couldn’t express it openly.

The source of the rumor was none other than Liana Worden, the first wife, and he was a knight sworn to serve her.

“Are you hoping to give Young Master Christian what Miss Aira suffered? If that’s the case, I, Garcia Felton, would gladly bear the disgrace.”

“… How could you, a knight, regard chivalry so lowly? I understand your loyalty, but do not utter such words carelessly.”

“No. To me, nothing is more important than Lady Liana and Miss Aira’s honor and pride. What is my honor compared to theirs? Now that it’s come to this, I’ll ensure he’ll never walk on two legs again. No, I’ll teach him such a lesson that he’ll never hold a sword again!”

“Stop, stop! The conversation isn’t over yet!”

As Garcia was about to rush to Christian, Liana hurriedly called him back.

Truly, dealing with someone so earnest and single-minded was exceedingly challenging.

“I desire an official sparring match, not to bring harm to Christian.”

“Huh? You didn’t intend to cripple him or make shudder at the sight of Miss Aira?”

“I am not that kind of person.”

“Oh? I see.”

Seeing Garcia’s disappointed expression made Liana frown slightly.

“The only thing I am wishing for is the potential of that child.”

“If you speak of potential…”

“I don’t know much about that child. Partly out of choice, since knowing more invariably leads me to compare to Aira.”

“….”

“But now I wish to know. How high has that child reached, how much further could he grow, and whether he truly has the right to speak so boldly before me.”

Garcia didn’t know what this bold statement referred to.

But what he could tell was that it was interesting enough to catch Liana’s attention and concern.

“Garcia Felton.”

“Command me.”

Garcia knelt on one knee in front of Liana, looking up at her.

“Through this spar, find out everything about Christian Worden.”

“Yes! I, Garcia Felton, will perfectly execute your command, lady Liana!”