FSW Chapter 22

Her Imperial Highness the Princess was definitely strange today.

Lavis quietly lowered his sword, watching Nishina stare vacantly at some unknown point in space.

Today's training was supposed to cover the "different stance" she'd been singing praises about, yet she couldn't concentrate at all. She'd been so happy yesterday when he'd finally told her she was being freed from downward strikes.

This was the fourth time he'd explained the stance. Nishina hadn't even noticed when his explanation stopped. He'd have to repeat the same words and demonstration yet again—but Lavis felt not irritation but restless worry.

She seemed somehow drained of energy. The eyes that normally sparkled now floated with gloom like impurities in water. After hesitating briefly, he carefully parted his lips.

"Your Highness?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"Is something wrong?"

"Haa, well... I ran into my brother on the way here and he'd injured his hand. I'm a bit worried..."

The moment Nishina finished speaking, Lavis's face hardened like stone.

'Is Aiden being injured really such a grave matter for him?'

Of course it was serious to her, but it shouldn't be to him. His expression had grown so severe that Nishina found herself flustered instead.

"Sir Russell?"

When Nishina called to him, voice full of puzzlement, Lavis immediately lowered his head as if ashamed. Then he apologized in a strained voice.

"I apologize."

"What?"

"It was my fault."

"What do you mean..."

"Before I saw Your Highness, His Highness the Prince requested a sparring match."

"A sparring match?! With my brother?"

At the unexpected revelation, her eyes went round. He confirmed with a solemn manner.

"Yes. During the match, I injured His Highness the Prince through my mistake. I'm truly sorry."

Injuring imperial flesh constituted a serious crime—usually punishable by beheading, with one exception. When an imperial requested the match first. Such exceptions existed because holding-back matches didn't aid skill development.

Of course, inflicting serious injury would still cost one's head. He spoke as if his blade had deliberately cut Aiden. But judging by Aiden not pursuing any blame, he'd simply failed to control his strength properly.

She was still a novice who'd never sparred once, but she'd heard tales of palms tearing while receiving strikes during matches.

"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

"...No."

When her worried gaze reached him, his lips moved hesitantly before finally releasing just one syllable and closing. He didn't need to blame himself this much. Her gaze grew troubled as she looked at his bowed round head.

She was upset that Aiden was hurt, but she had no intention whatsoever of blaming Lavis. The match had been Aiden's request to begin with, and the situation wasn't as serious as she'd feared—if anything, she felt relieved.

"You don't need to blame yourself. My brother surely enjoyed sparring with you."

Aiden was hardworking and excelled in other subjects as well, but swordsmanship was where he truly shone—he was even called a "genius." For someone like that, Sir Russell, who was even more skilled, would have been good stimulation. She couldn't understand it herself, but even in the original novel, Aiden had taken pure joy in facing strong opponents—so this was surely the case.

Ah, now that she thought about it—in the original work, their first meeting had been at Sir Russell's knighthood ceremony, but they'd met two years early. The reason for the change was obvious without much thought. This was entirely Nishina's influence.

If she hadn't taken him as her instructor, he wouldn't have been at the training grounds in the first place, and he'd never have encountered Aiden. The fact that she herself—no one else—had created the connection between them wasn't exactly welcome.

He was essential to Aiden, but this meant Sir Russell's death flag had only darkened.

Nishina hurriedly traced through their relationship in the original work.

When Aiden went to war, Lavis volunteered as his sword and soon made a name as the youngest Sword Master. Moreover, shortly after Aiden's coronation as Emperor, he established himself as the strongest person in the entire continent.

'The more I think about it, the more incredible he is, isn't he?'

Deep admiration mixed into her gaze as she looked up at Lavis. Was it really all right to make someone so remarkable teach a talentless person like her? The worry struck her anew.

Moreover, he would receive formal knighthood at the unusually young age of seventeen. Which meant in two years, he'd truly become an imperial knight.

Then he'd really be "Sir Russell."

Nishina's brow furrowed slightly at the thought. What settled in that faint wrinkle was hesitation. After wavering over whether she should voice the absurd words that had suddenly surged up, Nishina called to him with determination.

"Sir Russell."

"Yes."

"Um, may I call you Lavis?"

It was quite a cute request to make while adopting the posture of a general offering up his neck. Well, she'd already blurted it out. At his eyes widening in surprise, Nishina waved her palms frantically in explanation.

"It's just—once you formally receive your knight's title, I'll have to call you Sir Russell for the rest of our lives. The only time I can use your name is now..."

Her gaze, which had been unable to settle in the air, fixed on him surreptitiously. Please. She blinked her large eyes earnestly, but he still had no answer.

His mouth opened slightly, then froze in place.

Had her proposal been that absurd and ridiculous?

She understood. Even she didn't quite know how that train of thought had reached this conclusion. Still...

Nishina, now deflated, murmured quietly.

"...If it makes you uncomfortable, you can refuse."

"...It's all right."

"Oh! Really?"

He nodded shyly, lips pressed in a line. At the unexpectedly ready acceptance, Nishina's mood brightened immediately and she stepped closer.

"Then what about calling you Lavi? Since it's Lavis—shortened to Lavi!"

In complete contrast to her cheerful voice, his expression grew even more rigid than before.

'Ah, I guess that was going too far.'

She'd raised her internal sense of intimacy alone—what a blunder.

"That's probably too much, isn't it? ...I'm sorry."

Nishina hurriedly gathered up her words.

Normally, nicknames were used between family, lovers, or very close friends. But Nishina preferred calling people she liked by nicknames even without such relationships. It felt affectionate somehow. "Joy," her maid, was also a nickname rather than a given name.

But even that constituted rudeness if the other person didn't want it. Nishina had decided to be satisfied with just his name when his response came—late and from an entirely unexpected direction.

"...It's all right."

The barely audible voice trembled terribly. Nishina narrowed her eyes and observed him carefully, checking to make sure he wasn't forcing acceptance out of reluctance.

His gaze beneath quivering lashes remained fixed on the floor. Yet she could smile broadly because the weight of that name was different. What clung to him now wasn't something negative but embarrassment.

Discovering his ears burning bright red between strands of silver hair, Nishina finally smiled fully.

"Then Lavi can call me Shina too!"

The number of people Nishina called by nicknames wasn't large, but the number she'd permitted to use her nickname was actually even smaller. So this was an offer made in gratitude—he'd readily allowed her to step into his territory beyond his boundaries, and she wanted to reciprocate.

But unlike his previous compliance, the answer that returned was sharp as a blade.

"That won't do."

She thought people couldn't spit on smiling faces.

Despite Nishina's smile radiating enough light to blind, he shook his head firmly without even a second's consideration.

His decisiveness was enough to leave her speechless.

"I cannot address Your Imperial Highness so casually."

"Wow, talk about distance..."

Even her exclamation—which bordered on shock—didn't disturb his composure. Nishina deliberately let her shoulders droop and murmured in a deeply sunken voice.

"I thought we'd become quite close... I guess I was the only one who thought so."

"..."

This would trouble him. As she'd expected, cracks appeared in his poker face. What good was an expressionless face when his gaze wandered so obviously?

Tsk. Clicking her tongue internally, Nishina continued:

"It's not like I make this offer to just anyone—Lavi is my first friend, and you're my swordsmanship instructor."

"...Friend? ...Me, you mean?"

"Don't tell me I wasn't even a friend to you? Wow... this actually hurts."

"How could I dare... Your Highness, I could never..."

He seemed quite flustered—he kept starting and stopping sentences. Finally, he trailed off and closed his mouth. There was the difference in status, and emotional scales weren't equal—so even if he felt no intimacy toward her, she had no reason to be shocked.

But she felt oddly petulant. Even though she'd started this half-teasingly, she didn't hide her sulky expression and continued asking difficult questions.

"I've always thought of Lavi as a friend... Do you not want to be friends with me?"

"That's..."

"If we're not friends, I should stop calling you this way too. I'm sorry for making things uncomfortable."

The more she spoke in that bitter tone, the more his face looked ready to cry. After brief silence, he answered with difficulty, as if something painful was caught in his throat.

"...I don't dislike it. Rather..."

"Rather?"

"...Never mind."

He withheld his words, dripping hesitation.

The complicated emotional mass had neither measurable size nor name. But its very existence softened her heart, so Nishina could finally deflate her puffed-up cheeks.

"Then we are friends, right?"

At her confirming question, his head nodded deeply.

"Then you'll call me Shina, won't you?"

She'd slipped that in sneakily, and he couldn't quite answer. It wasn't entirely satisfactory, but Nishina decided to retreat one step here. She'd demanded too much today already.

She'd been officially recognized as more than just teacher and student—as a friend—and he'd even permitted the nickname. By the standards of herself from a few months ago, this was enough harvest to fall over in shock. Feeling pleased, Nishina added lightly with a smile:

"All right. But remember I already gave my permission. So call me that anytime you change your mind."

He nodded carefully while still hesitating. It was simple really, but that made her happy—so Nishina ultimately decided it didn't matter either way.