Chapter 6 If You Meet Me, You Win
Even after moving into the warm and comfortable house, Doreen still didn't realize what had happened.
Anyone who was struggling on the line between life and death the day before and moved into a beautiful house that only appeared in picture albums the next day would feel a sense of ecstasy.
She turned her head and looked at her sister who was packing her luggage.
Everything that happened today was beyond her understanding.
First, her illness suddenly healed, her sister broke her usual habit of stopping saving and even using the legendary magic, and then well-dressed nobles entered their shack which had never been visited by anyone in the past.
In the end, my sister accepted the uncle's invitation and brought me to this magnificently decorated manor.
She quietly held onto the edge of the windowsill with her hands and looked out through the bright glass. The uncle who brought them here was talking to a mustache man called "housekeeper", and it didn't seem to be going well.
Doreen put her ear to the window slit, and the voices from outside came in sporadically: "...her talent is higher than Bell's, and your young master is not worthy of her...her sister lives with her and doesn't take up space...Sir Charles has no objection...Shut up!"
Gray's voice suddenly rose, drowning out the butler's repeated emphasis on "How could you bring such a dirty lowly person to your house?" His patience had reached its limit, and he finally couldn't stand it anymore: "Marquis Charles didn't say anything, as a servant, it's better not to worry too much about your master."
"The master is trying to save your face, but as his loyal third hand, I have to consider the reputation of the Charles family." Compared to Gray's anger, the butler remained calm and said, "Master Lynch does not need a companion who comes from the slums."
"If you want him to become a useless spellcaster, please do as you wish." Gray said coldly, "If I remember correctly, Master Lin Qi just drove away the seventh tutor? He is really good at educating people."
The butler's expression suddenly changed.
Before Doreen could hear more, her sister, who had packed her things, carried her back. "Be careful not to fall down," Edith said calmly, "Don't worry about them. Just sit still."
The words of the Grand Mage still carry a certain weight. Although Gray depends on the Charles family for survival, the Marquis Charles also uses his fame for social purposes - it's all an exchange of interests.
She doesn't care what others think, as long as she can achieve her goal of going to the royal capital.
Sure enough, within ten minutes, Gray walked into the house with a cheerful face. "The butler will deliver the clothes and food in a while." He touched Doreen's head, "I will pay for your share personally - it may take some time."
Doreen thanked him crisply.
"Don't worry, everything has been arranged." He looked up at Edith, "Starting tomorrow, you will be taught by a tutor together with Lynch - by the way, have I not introduced Lynch Charles yet?"
Edith nodded silently.
"My head." He knocked his head, "...well, Lynch is quite arrogant, you should pay more attention to him."
"However, although his father is not a good man, he himself is not a bad person. He has been well protected since he was a child, and his tutor is mainly encouraging, so he is relatively..." Gray was struggling with his words, and Edith on the side nodded in understanding.
She understood. She had seen many arrogant young masters who had never experienced setbacks.
"So please be more considerate of him when it comes to getting along..." Gray saw the girl nod and silently swallowed the words "be more considerate of him", "It's good that you know it."
Edith: "Yeah, I understand." Let him suffer a few setbacks, and any bad habit of arrogance can be cured - she is best at doing this.
The two looked at each other and nodded slightly, everything was said without words.
......
It was unknown what Gray had threatened the servants with, but after he left, Edith and her sister were not disturbed. Two groups of people came, one with a tailor to alter the clothes, and the other brought dinner - after traveling for so long, Edith finally had a normal meal.
My sister had already sat at the dining table with shining eyes. Edith closed the door and raised her eyebrows at the dinner on the table.
Broad bean porridge with olive oil and honey, served with bread, bacon and cheese.
A very common tenant farmer food.
The broad beans were not cleaned very well, and some crumbs could be found in the bowl. Although the staple food was freshly baked white bread, the crust was dry and hard, probably from the batch of "defective products" that were put on the oven.
The cheese was shredded and could not be sandwiched intact between the bread, while the honey, bacon and other foods that looked pretty good were obviously produced by the manor itself - these two things were truly precious to the slum residents, but for a family like Charles who owned an estate with vast land, these unprocessed agricultural products were "bargains".
But in Edith's memory, in order to show the kindness of the host family, the dietary standards of the companion should be the same as those of the host - but she didn't believe that the "arrogant" Master Lynch would eat such things.
Gray's threats allowed her to enjoy superficial peace, but she still felt disrespected deep down.
She shrugged, sat down, and taught her sister to bury the cheese bits at the bottom of the porridge bowl and stir the fat in the bowl thoroughly. Although letting them eat these was out of contempt, it unexpectedly met Edith's expectations.
The nobility pursued the fashion of "the original taste of food", pursued freshness, and looked down on secondary processed products. However, compared with the "expensive dishes" that looked exquisite but actually lacked meat products and seasonings, she still preferred the "cheap dishes" on hand.
She and her sister need nutrition and a strong body, and lack of oil and salt is not good for them.
......
The next week passed uneventfully.
The housekeeper said that they wanted Edith to get used to the life in the manor first, but he didn't send anyone to show her around. This was obviously an excuse, and Edith guessed that Charles' family hadn't discussed how to accommodate her, so they had to keep delaying it.
She was happy to have free time and took her sister around everywhere, completely ignoring the eyes of people around her. She enjoyed the days when she didn't have to work and someone took care of her daily life.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, she also carefully recalled the scene before her death in her "previous life". Relying on her vague memory, she roughly drew the magic circle on the cup, revised it repeatedly, and saved it for discussion with Shelly when she arrived in the royal capital later.
She didn't know if there were similar things in her own house, and she couldn't tell whether the mastermind behind the scenes was targeting Shelly alone or intended to kill both of them, but she could be sure that the person who could sneak into such a secure apartment must be a wizard.
That's the nobility.
With her current status, if she wants to get in touch with the nobles, she still has to enter the academy.
Time passed quickly, and a week later, Edith finally had her own ending - sword fighting sparring
She couldn't even hold back a laugh when she received the news from the servant.
The nobles really do things in the same way.
He was so afraid that the common people would learn something about magic and that his educational monopoly would be destroyed that he was so cautious that he didn't even want her to attend a single class.
It’s okay, it’s just a sword, she is good at it too.
......
The next morning, at the fencing practice ground at Charles Manor.
Edith looked down at her thin arms. Although she had been eating well for a week, she couldn't grow flesh that fast. In her previous life, she had no magic power. In order to protect herself, she practiced swordsmanship to a very high level, but skills also require strength.
Her body was so weak now that she couldn't even lift a metal sword, let alone fight.
Edith looked towards the fencing teacher not far away. Fortunately, the teacher brought a wooden sword and probably only wanted them to learn some moves. She still had the confidence to fight with this thing.
Now we just have to wait for that young master to come over——
——Then she waited in the cold wind for a full hour with her swordsmanship teacher.
"The wind in the morning is too cold in winter. We can't let the young master get sick." The servant who came to inform them said with a hint of impatience towards them. "Young Master Lin Qi just woke up. Please wait a little longer."
He said trouble, but his tone and actions showed arrogance.
The swordsmanship teacher was obviously angry, but he still endured it and said "OK" with a red face.
This also formed Edith's first impression of this young master - he really does whatever he wants.
The two could only wait there. While waiting, the whispers of the servants around them entered Edith's ears.
"That's her. I heard she's from the slums." "Goddess, that must be so dirty!"
It was so quiet around me that it was hard to ignore this only sound.
"Not only is she dirty, but she also has no manners. Look at how she's been walking around these past two days - she really hasn't seen the world."
These servants were confined in this small training ground every day and were extremely bored. They finally came across such a fresh topic as Edith, and they chatted with great enthusiasm as if they were not the person involved.
Edith didn't feel anything as she was the center of the conversation, but for some reason the fencing teacher became annoyed. She didn't listen for long before she took the initiative to speak, raising her voice to try to drown out the chatter around her.
"Well, what's your name?"
"Edith, Edith Griffin."
"oh."
The swordsmanship teacher called herself Mashi, and was the daughter of a blacksmith from the outskirts of Oliver City. She had brown-black hair and skin that was almost the same color as her hair. She had large muscles on her body, and she stood in front of Edith like a thick wall.
She seemed to be not good at speaking. After introducing herself, her face turned red and she didn't say the next sentence. She thought for a long time, and suddenly picked up the wooden sword on the ground as if she had found a life-saving straw and handed it to Edith.
"Let's fight first, let me test your skills."
She turned her neck slightly, and all the muscles in her body were mobilized, shaking slightly in front of Edith.
Edith looked at the other person's arm, which was thicker than her thigh: "......"
It seems that it is absolutely impossible for me to win by strength.
"What are the rules?" She was indeed somewhat numb from the wind and urgently needed to move to warm herself up.
"Touch me with the tip of the sword or both blades. The limbs are the worst, the chest and abdomen are barely acceptable, and the face or neck are high marks - no magic assistance is allowed." Mashi felt a little embarrassed by Edith's stare, and smiled with a red face, "I don't have magic, but Lynch has never defeated me with swordsmanship alone."
"Don't worry, you haven't practiced before. I can only sense your talent through your movements." She saw Edith lowering her head and stroking the hilt of the sword, and thought that she was nervous, so she said with a grunt, "The use of strength, rhythm, and feel... You don't have to show it off deliberately."
"I understand." Edith's voice was not as trembling as she had imagined. On the contrary, she was quite calm, and there was even a hint of imperceptible... excitement in her tone?
Mahi becomes unsure.
"Can you give me a few minutes to prepare?" Edith stroked the sword up and down, but felt that it was not to her liking. After getting Mashi's affirmative answer, she quickly squatted down, mobilized the magic power in her body, and began to carve the shape of the wooden sword.
Mashi waited in boredom, occasionally looking in Edith's direction with curiosity. Her swords were specially made by carpenters, and although they were not real swords forged by fierce fire, they felt normal.
There should be no room for modification for a sword like this...
"Okay." Edith's voice interrupted her thoughts. Mashi came back to her senses and glanced at the girl's right hand. She felt even more strange: it seemed to be no different from before.
Didn't change it in the end?...
She shook her head, cleared the thoughts from her mind, and picked up her sword.
"I'll count to three."
Mashi instantly retracted her gentle aura.
"three,"
Just as she opened her mouth, she suddenly saw a white-haired boy flash past outside the practice field and hide behind a pillar.
Young Master Lin Qi actually came at this time?! Why didn't he come over, but hid and observed instead?
But at this moment, Ma Xi has no time to pay attention to her employer, nor does she have time to guess the other party's thoughts. The competition is coming, and she must face every opponent in the best state.
"two,"
The second hand moved forward one tick, and Edith in front of her suddenly swung her sword sideways without any warning, with the most lethal tip of the sword pointing at the empty left side.
Mahi didn't understand, but it was obvious that she only had one second left to think.
"one."
As soon as she finished speaking, a sound of breaking air was heard, and a gust of wind with great tenacity rushed straight towards her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
