FSW Chapter 6

Failure

"Sir Russell."

"I greet Your Highness the Princess."

"I'm sorry for being late. Walking was diffi—I mean, my lesson ran a bit long. Were you waiting long?"

"No."

He shook his head, but his eyes remained downcast as always. However, Nishina easily noticed the change in him. Unlike before, he wasn't bowing his head completely, and when answering—though briefly—he met her eyes.

His effort truly touched her, and Nishina's mood lifted instantly. Enough that even the stress from Carlos's lesson and her body's fatigue seemed to diminish.

Of course, it was only a feeling—her physical exhaustion didn't actually decrease.

"That's a relief."

"...Then let's start with stretches."

When Nishina smiled brightly, Lavis quickly began leg stretches. Following Lavis as he spread his legs and pulled one foot upward to stretch his hamstring, Nishina also pulled her toes up forcefully.

"Ahhh!"

Her enthusiasm had been excessive. She should have just gone through the motions.

She hastily covered her mouth, but the scream had already escaped beyond retrieval. Her eyes met Lavis's directly. His red eyes were wide with surprise.

If he discovered her terrible stamina, he'd be disappointed. Last night's entire strategy would collapse. Shrugging as though nothing had happened, Nishina continued stretching. Every time she loosened her muscles, she desperately wanted to loosen her mental state as well, but she exercised tremendous willpower and finished stretching safely.

The problem started now. She was already exhausted before even beginning. Though she pretended otherwise, her legs trembled wildly. He seemed to notice her concerning condition.

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Hm? Of course. Why wouldn't I be all right?"

His impassive eyes lingered on her shaking legs. The moment his gaze touched them, she desperately tensed to hold steady, but it was useless. After a long silence, he spoke with a face showing not a speck of trust.

"...Then for today, let's do ten laps—no, two laps... just one lap."

"...Yes."

She couldn't bring herself to say she'd do two laps like yesterday. Her body's condition was too dire to indulge such bravado.

'Is it just my imagination, or can I actually hear Plan Number Two crumbling to pieces?'

Following Lavis as he turned and began running, Nishina also started jogging lightly. And immediately regretted it. She should have skipped training today, even if it made her look lazy.

Wouldn't that have been better than revealing the rock bottom of her terrible stamina? She wasn't confident she could handle it if he looked at her like an irredeemable poor student.

Though Lavis ran much more slowly than yesterday, apparently considering her condition, the distance between them kept widening. Gritting her teeth, she chased after him briefly. But the moment she finally greeted the dirt ground face-first, Nishina realized: the strategy had completely failed.

The sound must have been quite loud—Lavis quickly closed the distance.

"Are you all right?"

She wasn't all right at all, but nodded her head vigorously. Her scraped knee hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes. But embarrassment weighed twice as heavy. He picked up her fallen shoe and crouched down. The sight of the wrecked shoe in his hands squared her embarrassment.

"We'll need to have comfortable shoes made for you."

Holding shoes clearly unsuitable for running, Lavis spoke matter-of-factly.

Nishina, whose only regular exercise was breathing, naturally possessed no athletic shoes. While not high-heeled, they weren't proper military boots either.

Lavis brushed the dirt off the shoes with light taps before putting them on her feet himself. Very carefully, as though handling glass.

But despite his efforts, Nishina's feet were already ruined. When his hands touched feet covered in scrapes from the shoes, her brow furrowed involuntarily.

"Ngh."

"Ah, my apologies."

At her pained groan, his hands jerked away as if burned. His hands hovered in the air uncertainly before tapping the ground. The atmosphere made them look exactly like perpetrator and victim. When he hadn't even hurt her! Nishina forced her lips into a smile and insisted she was fine.

"I'm all right!"

She tried to prove it by standing, but even that failed. Whether from a cramp or something else, she couldn't even put strength in her legs.

What a complete disaster.

His face darkened further, and Nishina made a tearful expression while cursing herself inwardly.

She didn't want to trouble him further, but the pain of her muscles twisting proved greater than expected. Clutching her leg while groaning was the best she could manage.

Nishina's face must have looked quite distressed—his hand reached out.

"Let me help relieve your leg..."

But it withdrew without touching her. He couldn't presume to lay hands on a princess's body. Earlier, when putting on her shoe, there'd been some contact, but massaging her leg was an entirely different matter.

"It's all right. I think I'll be able to stand if I just wait a moment."

Biting her lip firmly, Nishina spoke with feigned composure. But knights experienced muscle cramps daily. He surely knew this pain well.

As if reaching some decision, the wavering disappeared from his face. Soon Lavis's hands gently grasped Nishina's leg.

"Excuse me for a moment."

"Urk!"

Her spine straightened involuntarily as he pressed down on her leg with considerable force. It hurt enough to make her resent him slightly. But his fingertips dripped with such carefulness that she couldn't even think of pulling her leg away.

The effect was as definite as his resolute action. The pain subsided remarkably quickly. With the pain gone, embarrassment surged in.

What a complete disgrace. Just today alone—arriving late, her terrible stamina exposed, and on top of that, falling pathetically and causing trouble.

'At this rate, instead of earning sympathy, won't I just earn his hatred?'

She pictured him willingly severing her neck, then shook her head vigorously. Her pocket still held almond cookies for him. Nishina surreptitiously withdrew her leg and barely managed to stand.

"I think I'm all right now. Thank you."

"Not at all."

"Shall we continue the lap, then?"

Though the cramp had passed, her ruined feet hadn't magically healed. Gauging the remaining distance, Nishina barely swallowed a sigh.

She'd spoken boldly, but truthfully, with these feet she probably couldn't even walk back to the palace right now.

"No, we should stop here for today."

"...I thought so too?"

Belatedly realizing her image couldn't get any worse, Nishina agreed easily. Having already ruined her strategy, there was no need to push herself unnecessarily.

"Then shall we call it a day and part here?"

It felt embarrassing to end after barely completing half of half of half a lap around the training grounds, but there was no helping it. Standing while limping, Nishina asked this. Contrary to her expectation of immediate agreement, no answer came from him.

His red eyes lingered on Nishina's feet, apparently deliberating something.

"Sir Russell?"

"Your Highness, may I take one more liberty?"

"What? Wh—wait, just a—!"

Instead of an answer to her question, her body lifted into the air. The floating sensation shocked her, but even more shocking was the position. A princess carry, of all things! She was a princess, but still! Sir Hilton had done this before too, but still!

In the original story, he was one year older than Aiden, making him only one year older than her.

The fifteen-year-old boy's height differed from hers by only about a finger's width. To be carried by him—it felt less romantic than deeply apologetic, leaving her completely flustered. The one consolation was that his sturdy arms held her body securely. Only then did she release his clothing she'd been clutching desperately.

"I—I could walk..."

"Can you walk?"

He asked an excessively valid question. Honestly speaking, walking was beyond her. She'd planned to send him ahead first, then wait for Hilton to eventually come looking for her.

"Well, not exactly, but..."

"If you'll permit it, I'll escort you to the palace."

His consideration was certainly appreciated. And simultaneously worrying. What if this consideration ended up raising a death flag? Even if it meant leaving bloody footprints with every step, she felt like she could walk after all.

Nishina's hand fumbled toward her pocket. Rustle—only when she heard the cookie bag did Nishina answer in a barely audible voice.

"Then I'll trouble you, please."

Was there no way to lose weight quickly? Not by the day or week, but by the second. Carried in Lavis's arms on the way back to the palace, Nishina seriously pondered this useless concern.

If she couldn't reduce her weight immediately, perhaps she could distribute it? She considered wrapping her arms around his neck but quickly abandoned the idea.

Distance aside, any movement would only make things harder for him. Body rigid as a statue, Nishina only rolled her eyes cautiously. She looked around with difficulty, but the palace entrance wasn't even visible yet. All because the imperial palace was ridiculously vast.

'Looks like at least five more minutes. Should I ask to be put down now?'

Though small for her age, guilt swelled her body with every step. Nishina examined him with anxious eyes. He maintained his usual expressionless face without any sign of strain, but who knew? He might be gritting his teeth and enduring.

"Um."

At her crawling voice, his gaze—which had been fixed ahead—dropped down.

This was the first time they'd faced each other at such close range. Only about two hand-spans apart from him did Nishina realize: his features were remarkably refined.

Those camellia-red eyes left such a strong impression that she'd never thought to examine the rest. Come to think of it, the original novel had described him as beautiful too. There hadn't been other detailed descriptions, so she'd simply accepted it and moved on.

This level of beauty really deserved more detailed description. Though his features hadn't yet developed the sharp lines of adulthood, even from this angle, his appearance was flawless. Especially those long lashes the same color as his hair—those were the prettiest. Every time he blinked, it looked like a white butterfly alighting on flower petals.

Knowing it was rude, Nishina stared at him openly. Continuously, until his eyelids trembled, unable to withstand her blatant gaze.

"...Your Highness?"

"Ah, sorry. Sir Russell is just so pretty..."

His previously motionless arms gave a brief twitch. Reflexively, Nishina tensed her body, afraid of falling. But he merely walked mutely onward, stubbornly fixing his gaze straight ahead.

She hadn't expected any particular response to her blurted words, but she hadn't exactly said nonsense deserving of being ignored either.

Failing to notice his ears had flushed bright red, Nishina lowered her head dejectedly.

Feeling oddly awkward, Nishina carefully extracted a cookie from her pocket. Then she unwrapped it herself and thrust it toward him suddenly.

"Want some?"

Carrying me must be tiring = He needs energy = Cookies are full of sugar. Therefore, he must eat a cookie! It was an action based on perfectly sound reasoning, but—

He stopped dead in his tracks, making neither a rejecting nor accepting expression, but something strange in between. Nishina tilted her head and placed the cookie into his slightly parted mouth.

With a bewildered expression, he closed his mouth. And remained motionless in that state for quite some time.

'I thought he stopped because he wanted me to put it in. Was that not it?'

The atmosphere had grown even stranger somehow. As she fidgeted with her fingers anxiously, his jaw finally began to move.

In the odd silence, only the sound of him chewing almonds echoed nakedly. Only then did Nishina relax and smile broadly.

She felt enormously pleased at having successfully delivered the bribe.

Translator Rant: Darn, they're adorable.