Chapter 8 Lynch's sword broke.
The biggest advantage of communicating with such a proud person is that you don't have to worry about him going back on his word after making a promise.
Edith received the promise of "pick any one you want" and picked up her wooden sword happily.
"Wait." Lin Qi's face changed, "Don't use that!"
He had never seen this kind of sword technique that bounced back and forth, and he would definitely lose if his opponent used it.
"Okay." Edith was very tolerant of those who gave her money. She put down the sword she had modified, waved to Mashi, and took her sword from her.
"You are not allowed to use this one either!"
Lin Qi snorted and whispered, "Who knows if you were sent by my father to attack me... Anyway, you are not allowed to use it!"
Edith understood: Yes, he also suspected that Mashi was in collusion with him and deliberately played the role of a genius girl in front of him, fearing that she would cheat in other places.
Yes, anyone would feel unconvinced if he couldn't even take two moves from his opponent whom he hadn't met for three years.
"for you."
Edith threw the sword in her hand to Lin Qi, and watched him frantically catch it before she continued, "Is it fair that you use the teacher's sword and I use yours?"
Lin Qi then realized that his behavior was somewhat rude and muttered: "...Fair."
He quickly began his preparations before the game, turned his head, and without saying a word, his personal servant beside him skillfully took out the hair tie and tied his hair behind his head in three strokes.
While tying his hair, Lynch raised his hands, and someone quickly came up from each side, fastened his sleeves with cufflinks, and hung them in the middle of his forearms, revealing his smooth wrists.
Edith couldn't help frowning.
Wearing a shirt that doesn't stretch to practice swordplay...
She raised her eyes to look at Mashi beside her, who was confused and didn't understand what she wanted to ask until Edith spoke clearly.
"Master Lin Qi has a good talent for magic and will become a wizard in the future. He only practices swordsmanship as a noble etiquette and does not need to go into depth." She explained in a low voice, "Because he is very interested in it, Sir Charles has kept this course until now."
Edith nodded. She understood that swordsmanship was originally an elegant sport for the nobility, but compared to magic, which required talent, the threshold for swordsmanship was much lower. In recent years, more and more families would grit their teeth and send their children to swordsmanship schools, hoping that they would earn the title of knight.
Under this wave of learning, the nobles voluntarily gave up swordsmanship in order to preserve their scarcity, and this course gradually became a "hobby" for the young ladies and masters of each family, and was no longer their main occupation.
"Interest" for the purpose of viewing naturally focuses on dressing appropriately rather than comfort and convenience.
Edith narrowed her eyes and looked the other person up and down.
Probably because no one around him was learning swordsmanship, this young master was naturally better than others driven by his interest. It was estimated that except for being defeated by his teacher, he had never lost to his peers.
"Unstoppable"?
Edith rubbed her fingers over the sword a few times and understood.
"...Do you need me to stop Lynch?" Ma Xi hesitated and asked. She was not sure whether it was a good thing to let Edith have a conflict with the host family on the first day of being a companion.
"Well, I hope you can promise not to interfere throughout the process." Edith thought about it and felt that this sentence was unnecessary.
The "battle" will most likely end soon.
"I'm ready." Lin Qi, who had finally finished cleaning himself, walked over with his chin up. He shook the wooden sword in his hand, and after getting used to the feel, he quickly took a fighting stance.
Edith stepped forward and glanced down to briefly review the other person's movements. Holding the sword with both hands, the tip of the sword pressed down - hmm. It was an obvious upward thrust.
It's been a long time since I've seen someone who exposed his tactics right from the start.
Mashi took a step back. For some reason, as a bystander, she also became nervous in an instant, and the countdown sound was shorter than usual.
"start!"
Lynch took a step forward and poked Edith's chin from bottom to top.
But the figure disappeared the moment he moved upwards.
The low wooden house behind the practice ground was exposed in front of him. Lynch was stunned for a moment and turned his head left and right urgently to look for Edith, but he felt a sharp pain in his collar.
Edith took a step back the moment he thrust his sword upwards, then squatted down, treating the decorative gem on the young man's collar as a bull's eye and poked it straight up.
“Hmm!”
Lin Qi couldn't help but groan in pain. He stepped back subconsciously, but he fell to the ground because he didn't stand firmly.
Edith kept her back foot still, and lightly slid her front leg on the ground, taking a circular step to the side of Lynch holding the sword. The opponent subconsciously turned his wrist to chop, but was blocked by the tight cuffs and was stopped halfway.
He tried to withdraw his hand urgently, but the sharp edge of the cufflink pierced into the surface of his skin when he bent back, preventing him from going any further. Edith had a calm expression, raised her foot, and stepped straight down on the fixed sword.
“Crack—”
Lynch's sword broke.
There was dead silence all around.
Mahi swallowed. She could hear the rapid breathing of the talkative maid beside her, but she didn't have time to laugh at her at the moment.
Excluding the final "stepping on the sword" action, Edith actually only used one move to subdue the opponent.
Retreat, thrust forward, advance and retreat, and directly secure victory.
Victory is worth celebrating, but, but...
Mashi subconsciously reached for the sword on her back and rubbed it gently up and down, as if trying to soothe the weapon.
It's horrible... Death is a compliment to a warrior, but having the sword taken away and damaged is a complete insult!
Lin Qi obviously understood this as well. He stared blankly at the broken sword head on the ground, then looked at the hilt tightly held in his hand.
He, he lost.
Not only did he lose a move, but even his weapon was taken away, leaving him with no power to fight back.
A complete crushing defeat.
His lips trembled violently, his cheeks quickly became red and hot, and a sour feeling surged into his eyes. He didn't know whether it was due to pain or some other reason.
The personal servant not far away was the first to notice something was wrong. He shook off his shock, stepped forward quickly, held onto Lin Qi's arm and began to excuse himself, "Master is injured! It must be very painful, doctor, doctor——"
"Shut up!"
Lin Qi shook off the servant's hand. He knew that the other party was giving him a way out, but the boy's stubbornness made him subconsciously refuse.
But he immediately regretted it.
Damn it, why didn’t this stupid servant help me after just one try?
The servant who was thrown away stood aside, at a loss. Mashi's brain was overloaded and she didn't understand what was going on. Edith was watching the show, and only Lynch sat there awkwardly, with his head down, making it difficult to see his expression.
It would be shameful whether he got up or not, so Lynch simply stood still and waited for a chance to rise.
His mind was a mess.
This was the first time he was defeated by someone his own age, an orphan from the slums who was said to have a great talent for magic. Moreover, he lost so miserably that he fell directly to the ground in front of so many people.
There were too many things to focus on, and he couldn't find the right step, so he was caught in a dilemma.
At this moment, a pair of hands appeared in front of him.
That idiot finally figured out what was in his mind?
Lin Qi immediately extended his hand, fearing that if he hesitated, the other party would withdraw his arm because he wanted to do something. But he soon found something wrong - the hands were thin, pale, covered with calluses and tiny scars, even smaller than his own, and obviously did not belong to an adult male.
It was Edith's hand.
Before he could react, the other party had already lifted him up. It wasn't a very pretty scene, but at least it broke the deadlock.
"Not enough warm-up." The girl didn't say any words of comfort, "The speed of the opening move was too slow. If you stretch your muscles, you can speed it up by at least one second."
"It's too tight and I can't move freely."
"Too many messy decorations, the hair is not tied tightly enough, and the hand holding posture is not correct." Edith spewed out one flaw after another, but there was no mockery on her face. She just read out the list calmly and slowly, as if reading a purchase order, "...The reaction speed is too slow, the visual search ability is too poor, and the ability to predict danger is not good."
"If this is the level you get after three years of study... it's totally unacceptable."
She once again delivered her conclusion calmly.
Lynch was completely frozen in time.
He stood up straight now. His well-balanced body was a whole head taller than Edith's, but he felt that she was looking down on him, from top to bottom, making him smaller and smaller.
His whole body began to tremble, and he couldn't even hold the remaining weapon in his hand. But at this time, Mashi didn't realize that the atmosphere was wrong - she thought the handshake meant peace, and she returned to her cheerful state.
With a serious face, she added rigorously, "What you said is not quite accurate. Master Lin Qi has only studied with me for three years. Before that, he had studied with his enlightenment teacher for six years."
Edith: “…”
This is the first time I have heard such inappropriate words.
As expected, Lin Qi, who was already holding on, completely collapsed after hearing this revelation. He shook off Edith's hand in embarrassment and staggered out of the practice field. Several personal servants hurried forward, but did not dare to get too close, and followed him anxiously a few meters behind him.
Edith suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted, "Don't forget the sword you promised me!"
I almost forgot about the lottery.
The other person stumbled again, quickened his pace, and disappeared from her sight in a few seconds.
Forget it, let him take it easy.
Edith regretfully withdrew her shaking hand.
The practice field returned to peace again.
Mahi didn't understand what was going on. She turned her head and looked at the maid who had just expressed her doubts, revealing her white teeth.
"See, I told you, Edith really beat me on her own."
The maid stammered and was unable to speak. Edith turned her gaze over and quickly lowered her head, blushing as she pretended to be very busy, sweeping the floor as she walked further and further away.
"Why are everyone so weird?" Mashi sighed and turned to look at Edith. "But, although the young master shook hands with you, will he secretly hold a grudge against you for defeating him?"
Edith raised an eyebrow: "No."
Before finding a better way to get to the royal capital, she must hold on to the path of being Master Charles's companion in study.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles must be dissatisfied with her, so the only one who can decide to keep her is Lynch himself - this kind of person has received countless flattery since childhood, and if he shows his kindness for no reason, it will only annoy others.
It would be better to find another way and give him an unbeatable enemy. Before he achieves his goal of defeating her, her position as his reading partner should be secure.
......
"So sister, does he really not hate you?"
Doreen, who had already learned the whole story from the loud-mouthed servant, leaned against the window and tilted her head to ask Edith, who was setting the table.
"Maybe, but why do you ask?" Edith answered without raising her head.
"Because he has been lingering at the door for a long time."
Doreen pointed at the white-haired boy who was pacing back and forth by the door. The man probably thought that the people in the house couldn't see him, so he couldn't stop making small movements while standing at the door.
Edith: “…”
It's really rude to show up at meal time.
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