I stared blankly at the girl before finally coming to my senses. "Who might you be?" She was very pretty, but I was certain I'd never seen her before.

"Aren't you Alex? I heard you're the ducal family's third son—and an illegitimate son." There was no hint of contempt in the way she said "illegitimate son." She sounded as though she were simply stating a fact. The lack of disdain was refreshingly unusual, but that didn't make her any less rude.

I took a closer look at her. She seemed three or four years older than me, about middle-school age by the standards of my previous life. The problem was that her dress looked extremely expensive. She was clearly a nobleman's daughter. I doubted I was in any position to lecture her on manners, so I answered plainly.

"I am Alex." "I knew it!" "But I'm no hidden blade. Besides, I have no reason to cross swords with someone I don't know."

Nor did I have any reason to discuss it in the middle of a corridor where people were passing by. I was on my way to the training ground. I wasn't late yet, but I had no time to waste like this.

"I'm Adria de Hierro, daughter of House Hierro! I'm visiting the ducal household as a guest of Young Master Simon!" The girl introduced herself with her wooden sword held in both hands. It was a crisp knight's salute, completely at odds with her dress. The situation remained absurd, but at least I now knew who she was.

I'd heard about Simon's fiancée. Their engagement was a political arrangement to forge an alliance between the ducal and marquis houses, but rumor had it she was so beautiful that Simon was secretly pleased with the match. At the time, I'd wondered how pretty a child barely in her teens could be. Seeing her now, I understood why the rumors had spread. But no one had told me she had such an outrageous personality.

And what was this about the ducal family's hidden blade? I'd spent years tucked away doing nothing but training. I had no idea what sort of rumors were going around. In any case, she was certainly someone I couldn't handle lightly. Though why hadn't I heard that Simon's fiancée was coming?

While I was thinking, she pointed her sword at me again. "Now that I've introduced myself, we can fight, can't we?" She looked eager, but I'd already stalled long enough.

"Adria!" A low shout came from behind her. Simon, a noble boy in his midteens, was striding toward us with his face flushed red. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he approached. The girl answered without missing a beat. "I happened to find someone to spar with, so I was asking him for a match."

Simon glanced at me. I gave an awkward shrug. His eyebrow twitched—the expression he always wore when something displeased him. "I haven't even finished showing you around the mansion. You can't wander off as you please."

"I've already paid my respects to the duke and the Duchess. We were only passing time until my room was ready anyway, so why not make use of it? Unless you'd care to spar with me, young master?" Simon's face grew redder. Was it because of what she'd said, or because I was there?

"I'm showing you around the mansion right now. I would be most. Grate. Ful. If you would allow me the honor of continuing the tour." Simon bowed as he spoke, the very picture of a courteous nobleman.

Simon's fiancée let out a silent sigh. "Very well. Please spar with me another time, then." She bowed politely too. Of course a daughter of a marquis's house knew her manners. So was it just me she treated like that? I found it rather irritating, but right now I only wanted to get away.

"I'll consider it," Simon replied, avoiding a definite answer. He'd certainly been taught how to handle people. He held out his hand, and his fiancée bowed to me. "I'm sorry. It was rude of me to take up your time. I'll see you later." The beautiful girl rested a hand against her chest and curtsied as though posing for a painting.

A sight to make my heart race... Like hell. After seeing how she'd behaved a moment ago, I found it more ridiculous than stirring. And despite her farewell, I had no reason to think I'd run into her again. I hardly ever saw Simon, even though we lived in the same mansion. His fiancée would presumably go everywhere with him, just as she was now. Since Simon deliberately avoided anywhere I might be, I was sure I wouldn't see her again.

Having thoroughly worn me out, Simon and his fiancée left to tour the mansion. Once they were gone, I set off too. The path to the training ground behind the mansion was one I'd walked with Flora until a few years ago. Now I went alone. I was old enough for that, at least. Of course, I was still a short child whose voice hadn't broken, but none of the mansion's servants treated me carelessly for being young.

I passed the family tomb and followed the path through the woods. After walking it for years, I could have found my way with my eyes closed. Before long, a clearing surrounded by trees came into view: the ducal family's training ground.

As always, Miguel was waiting there alone... Huh? He wasn't alone. A middle-aged knight stood beside him, his face set in a surly expression. As usual, his face all but proclaimed that he didn't much like me. It was Knight Commander Alonso. Miguel explained why he'd come. "He wishes to assess your skill, young master."

A test? But surely Miguel had been keeping him informed. At first, the duke had come by occasionally, and the knight commander had shown his face too. Lately, though, no one had visited the training ground. Was that how the rumors about a hidden blade had started? In any case, Alonso should have known plenty through Miguel even without coming himself. Why did he suddenly want to test me? I had questions, but the test came first.

"Are we sparring with wooden swords?" I asked, picking one up. Miguel shook his head. "Not wooden swords. Real ones." He handed me a steel sword, slightly smaller than those used by the knights. It was the kind squires used. I looked at him in surprise. I'd handled swords like it often lately, but only during training. "Don't tell me we're sparring with real swords?" "Yes." I asked cautiously, "Um, will that be all right?"

The knight commander gave a short, incredulous laugh. "Real swords or not, if a trainee gets hurt while sparring under a knight's instruction, that knight ought to surrender his title." I looked at Miguel. Cold sweat had gathered on his neck. "N-no problem," he said. The knight commander frowned at his stammer.

Miguel and I faced each other. For an instructional match, he looked extraordinarily tense, and I was nervous too. "Do your best. I need to see your abilities accurately," the knight commander added. This didn't seem to be a simple test after all. I raised my sword. "Come at me!" Miguel called. The instant he spoke, I charged.

A short while later, the match was over. I lay sprawled on my back, panting. Dust covered me from head to toe, and I had bruises all over from tumbling across the ground. Thanks to my training, at ten years old I had the physique of an adult—no, almost that of a knight. Miguel marveled at how much I improved with every session, but against a full-fledged knight, I still ended up rolling in the dirt.

My body had grown stronger, but my arms and legs were still as short as you'd expect for my age. The difference in reach was enormous. Miguel's sword could touch my body when mine could barely reach his arm. To move around, I had to work twice as hard on my short legs, and whenever our swords met, my light weight sent me flying. Sparring with real blades meant I had to move as though my life depended on it.

Still lying down, I looked toward the knight commander. He was watching us both with a grave expression. "Have you been reporting his progress properly?" he asked Miguel, his tone scolding. Miguel shook his head. "I've reported it accurately." "You call those reports accurate?" "Yes. A knight's physique, swordsmanship approaching a knight's level, and good judgment. His weakness is that his body hasn't finished growing. That's what I put in my last report."

The knight commander thought back for a moment, then said reluctantly, "... I see. Was I the one who misjudged him?" Miguel scratched his head. "Well, considering the young master's age, it's not easy to believe the reports."

Unlike me, Miguel hadn't rolled on the ground. He and his clothes looked perfectly fine: no dust, no dirt, not a bruise in sight. That was only to be expected in a match with a knight acting as instructor. Yet he didn't look happy. His face was still red from how tense he'd been, and faint cuts marked several places on his leather armor. Faint as they were, they showed that my sword had touched his armor. A trainee's blade had reached a knight during an instructional match. By the knight commander's own words, Miguel ought to have surrendered his title. But Alonso didn't scold him. He only stared at me in surprise.

"Your skills are improving far faster than I expected. I'll have to report to His Grace again." I was pleased by the knight commander's admiration, but I hadn't shown him everything. Deep within me lay mana I had yet to awaken. It would surprise him even more if I showed him that, but mana wasn't something to reveal in a match like this. Mana was my hidden blade.

Having confirmed my skill, the knight commander got to the point. "At this level, there's no need to worry." So he hadn't tested me for nothing. "These are the duke's orders." Orders from the duke? What on earth did he want me to do? I would have liked to hear the rest while lying down, but the knight commander fell silent and looked at me. He wanted me on my feet. Ugh. What a stuffy old man. I forced myself up, and once I stood before him, he continued.

"Young Master Simon's fiancée arrived today." Huh? That came out of nowhere. "She's the daughter of the Marquis of Hierro. This isn't an official visit, so a conspicuous security detail would be difficult." Uh, I had a bad feeling about this. Surely not? "Young Master Simon is busy and can't stay by her side, so we'd like you to guard her while she's staying with the ducal family." My bad feelings were never wrong. Couldn't I refuse? "Fortunately, she was delighted to agree."

I thought of the girl I'd met earlier, wagging a wooden sword in front of my face and asking me to spar. "You can begin guarding her tomorrow. Just spend time together like ordinary friends." Friends? What nonsense! And who asks her future brother-in-law to serve as her guard? Simon certainly wouldn't stand for it if he found out. I swore up a storm in my head, but all that came out was a sigh.