Chapter 58 Sword hopes the two sisters will get tired of playing with it soon...!
No one took the princess's claim of wanting to practice swordsmanship seriously.
While Andra was still somewhat skeptical, Mysella patted her chest and laughed heartily, assuring everyone, "Lily definitely won't last long; she won't even last half a day!"
"Okay, let's make a bet."
Eleanor said in a serious tone, "If I can keep going, and I can keep going for a day, then you have to keep going for a day."
"Hmph, I'm your sister, I can hold out twice as long, one against two!" Mise stretched out two fingers.
“Okay, it’s a deal!” The two sisters clapped their hands together and made a vow to each other.
At first, everyone thought it was just a child throwing a tantrum.
Andra didn't take it to heart. Knowing Myrcella as she did, she was certain that the proud Crown Prince of Nolana would lose.
This guy is full of energy, but if he forces her to do something she doesn't like, there's no room for negotiation.
As for Eleanor, that's a different standard altogether.
Andra and the worried Coral talked, and their hearts were filled with warmth: the little princess was just putting on a show for the next few days to spur her sister on; once her anger subsided, she should be persuaded to go back and rest properly.
"Your Highness often suffers from headaches, so you mustn't let her get too tired," Coral said, bringing over some snacks. Of course, she readily agreed.
Andra didn't think that a child as delicate as the princess was suited to wield a sword.
Eleanor's sword-wielding pose might be cute, but making such a little princess fight herself is a dereliction of duty on the part of the guards and knights.
I will protect her well.
Andra silently made a vow in his heart. After having dessert that evening, at the princess's invitation, they slept head to head together, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
......
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the room behind the curtains was completely shrouded in darkness.
Andra's eyelashes fluttered, and she woke up on time as usual.
She could make out things in the dark, so she naturally got up, prepared to change her clothes in the dark, and then quietly slipped to the training field to begin her day's workout.
Just as she put on her coat and prepared to get out of bed, she heard a soft whimpering sound coming from beside her pillow.
"Mmm..."
The little princess struggled groggily for a moment, one hand resting on the edge of the bed, muttering, "Wait for me... I want to go with you too..."
She spoke for half a minute, and as soon as she finished, her chin hit the corner of the bed, and she closed her eyes as if she had fallen asleep again.
Let the princess continue sleeping.
Andra tiptoed to the door, and then heard another "bang!"
The little princess struggled and fell to the ground, crying out in pain, "Ouch, ouch!"
"Your Highness!" She quickly threw down the door and rushed over, and Coral also rushed in a few seconds later, lifting the curtain.
The two men hurriedly carried Eleanor back to bed and discovered a purplish-blue bruise on her forehead, clearly from a recent bump.
"Andra..." Coral gritted her teeth and stared at Andra, as if she wanted to bite holes in her.
"Don't blame Andra." The little princess raised her hand and gently patted Coral, then snuggled into Andra's arms.
She said firmly, "We made plans to go yesterday, and we definitely will."
"Oh, my princess~"
Coral knelt on the ground and pounded her fists on the floor, complaining, "What time is it? Even Mother Goddess's eldest daughter is sleeping!"
“I’m going to…” Eleanor said, but then closed her eyes again and slumped into Andra’s arms.
Coral gasped and quickly said, "It's not even dawn yet. The instructor said we have to wait until it's light before going to the training ground, right?"
She winked at Andra, who could only smile wryly and say, "Yes, that's right." But she preferred to practice in the early morning, since she only needed five hours of sleep each day to be full of energy.
However, Andra couldn't bear to let the frail and sickly little princess stay up with her and ruin her health, so she obediently agreed to Coral's suggestion, carefully tucked the little princess back into the blankets, and the two of them went back to sleep together for a nap.
When I woke up from my nap, two hours had passed and it was already broad daylight.
Andra quickly got out of bed. Now that the little princess was a little more awake, several servants hurriedly helped her change her clothes and brought over two tables of food as quickly as possible.
Andra usually practices before eating, but since she was already there, she sat down at the table and leisurely finished the sumptuous breakfast with the little princess.
They left the house half an hour later.
Andra held the little princess's hand, their palms touching, the soft touch making her heart flutter.
When they walked sweetly into the training ground, Manzhu and Jingji were already training.
Andra effortlessly drew a longsword and casually brandished it at the wooden dummy on the training ground.
Eleanor raised her voice and shouted, "Where's Myrcella? Bring Myrcella to me right now!"
A servant ran quickly across the long bridge.
It took half an hour for Mysella to walk slowly across the bridge. She had argued with her sister yesterday and hadn't slept together, and was still sulking.
Eleanor had already put on her sword practice sleeves and leather armor, and looked at her sister with an unfriendly expression: "Sister, you're too late!"
What? Eleanor actually got up this early.
Myrcella's expression was a little unnatural: she had bet that Eleanor wouldn't get up today, and even if she did, she wouldn't come to practice her sword, so she stayed in bed... Now she had lost to her sister.
Her eyes darted around, and she chuckled as she looked at the specially made little sword in her sister's hand. "It's so tiring wielding a long sword every day, unlike you who can use a little sword. I'm at a disadvantage!"
Upon hearing her words, all the princess guards who had arrived turned around and stared at her, making Mysella's face flush red. She had no choice but to puff out her chest and retort, "What's wrong? A bet has to be fair! She's allowed to use the small sword, but I'm not allowed to be late, okay?"
Hearing her sophistry, some of the guards were itching to spar with the Third Prince, while Andra sneered and walked toward Mysera with his sword.
However, she had only taken two steps when she heard a clanging sound behind her.
"?!"
She turned around and saw the little princess put the small sword back on the shelf and forcefully pull out a longsword that everyone used. The longsword clattered to the ground as soon as it was drawn.
"Your Highness, be careful not to cut yourself!" Coral rushed forward to try and snatch the sword.
However, Eleanor shook her head and said, "Wait, let me try first."
She weighed the sword in her hand and tried to lift it a couple of times, but could only hold it by the hilt and lean it on the ground; she couldn't swing it at all.
The sword was far too heavy for a 10-year-old. If Eleanor had practiced swordsmanship on Earth, she would have known that the swords here were much, much heavier.
She was holding an ordinary practice sword, but its actual weight already surpassed that of a two-handed greatsword from Blue Star.
Eleanor sighed; her body was so different from the princesses of this world.
Although she recruited craftsmen to forge longswords in her first and second incarnations, the weapons she actually used were mostly daggers and short swords.
As for Mysera's steel sword, it was actually far less heavy than the "holy sword" of the first Andra.
Moreover, she was already an adult at that time, and in her anger, she could still manage to swing it with difficulty.
...Even with such anger, Andra easily took it away with a gentle twist.
Eleanor frowned slightly.
I want to kill Andra with my own hands.
This idea had been born from the very beginning of this life; she truly hoped to kill Andra with her own hands and put an end to their feud.
If she were also a master swordsman, and challenged Andra to a duel with her sword, how wonderful it would be if the two of them could resolve their grudges and entanglements in the most direct way.
Eleanor knew this goal would be difficult to achieve. First, she had to drink the mysterious potion to undergo a third growth spurt and resolve the physical differences between the two of them.
But now, as she actually lifted the sword with her own strength, Eleanor suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
Because even beginners can use these practice swords at will, and "beginners" in this world often refers to children over six years old.
Most six-year-old children have never drunk herbal medicine, and even if some have drunk it before, they haven't developed to that extent.
[Is my body much worse than that of other ordinary people?] That's why Eva never considers me.
She tried to lift it a second time but still couldn't, and somewhat frustrated, she switched back to the specially made short sword she had used before.
"Your Highness..." Coral walked over with a pained expression, but someone else was faster than her.
Andra stepped past the others and took Eleanor's hand, his eyes filled with earnestness. "Your Highness, do not worry, I will become your sword from now on."
But I don't need it.
Eleanor suddenly looked up and asked softly, "Andra, how much have you changed before and after you drank the medicine?"
Andra was taken aback by the abrupt question, but she quickly replied, "It's huge, it's like a complete transformation. Before, I could only kill wolves with a knife, but after drinking the medicine, I can fight giant bears."
Eleanor was silent for a few seconds, then asked dryly, "If there are people in your area who are physically weak, do they experience significant improvement after drinking the herbal medicine?"
People with weak constitutions? People with weak constitutions are generally not given herbal decoctions.
The tribe has a high demand for pregnant women, and the ingredients for the herbal medicine are quite expensive, so they will not share it with people who are naturally weak.
Andra thought for a long time before coming up with a few exceptions.
When some great lords had only a few children, or even just one, for various reasons, they would give the child medicine even if that child was not good at fighting and was physically weak.
She hesitated and said, "There should be some improvement, but I'm not sure. This group never participates in any competitions."
She didn't want to say that the successors of some tribes in Hetuya were so weak, so Andra didn't dare to say that those special cases were still at the bottom of the class after drinking the medicine, only much stronger than before.
Seeing her embarrassed expression, Eleanor already knew the answer.
She clenched her fists and whispered one last question: "Has anyone ever been very weak but became very strong after drinking this? If I drink the drug... will I be able to wield a sword normally?"
Cough cough cough cough!
Andra originally wanted to be blunt: such cases only exist in fairy tales, and none of them exist in reality.
But the little princess was clearly hoping someone would comfort her: Your Highness, you would definitely be very strong if you had taken the medicine. You are only weak now because you didn't take the medicine.
Andra instinctively didn't want Eleanor to become interested in the medicine, but she also didn't want to upset her.
So she thought for a moment and gently comforted her, "The medicine is a blessing from the Mother Goddess to mankind. If the gods are willing to favor someone, she should become very strong after drinking it."
This is just a beautiful wishful thinking. How could someone who wasn't favored by the gods at birth suddenly gain favor after taking medicine?
She held the little princess's slender wrist, the contrast between Andra's strong fingers and hers so stark: "Give up, Your Highness."
However, a glint of light shone in Eleanor's lowered eyes.
The favor of the gods—how willful she was in front of the Mother Goddess!
If she could drink the medicine earlier in one of her lifetimes, would the Mother Goddess be willing to grant her a body stronger than Andra's, or at least similar to Andra's?
"Your wish is granted at this moment."
Thinking of the Mother Goddess's merciful voice, she felt a surge of hope.
Eleanor quickly calmed down as she mentally reviewed her plan: rather than killing Andra herself, she should at least kill Andra in this lifetime.
She needed to arrive at the slave market at the last minute, and also persuade Eva through some special means while trying to slow down Andra's progress in becoming stronger. She really didn't have time to introduce the variable of "drinking the potion," which might consume extra attempts.
So she nodded to Andra, then raised her delicate sword and slowly stabbed at the wooden dummy.
*Slap*
The little princess, having missed her target with her sword, looked at Andra with pleading eyes, as if to say: "Teach me!"
Andra quickly went to her side, took the little princess's right hand with his right hand, and carefully manipulated the princess's arm to let her feel the trajectory of the sword.
"Please come this way... Do it again~ Yes, very good, excellent."
Andra held the little princess's wrist with one hand and wrapped the other arm around her waist to prevent her from falling.
It appears to be the princess practicing her swordsmanship, but in reality, all the power comes from her.
A faint fragrance wafted to the tip of her nose, and Andra felt a tingling, electric-like sensation in her palm.
This feeling was unfamiliar, but it was just as exhilarating as practicing swordsmanship... The little princess in my arms would occasionally let out adorable exclamations of praise, and sometimes I would ask her what the implications of that sword technique were in actual combat.
Just as she was immersed in this sweet atmosphere, a pig squeal suddenly came from beside her.
"Ooh-ooh—" Mysera pinched her nose and squealed, "Andra, I can't wield a sword either~ You can hold my hand and swing it~"
The sweet illusion vanished instantly.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Andra's cheek, and the little princess screamed as soon as she shook her wrist.
Andra had no choice but to pick up her sword again and help the princess train, counting one, two, three, four, a secret frustration rising within her: How long would this go on? She hoped the two sisters would get tired of it soon...!
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