"So… are you saying that the technique you used on me that day was basically a half-guess, done by feel?"
"Well, something like that."
Hearing Lucian's explanation, Felicia raised an eyebrow.
A moment later, a voice as cold as a cutting wind spilled from her lips.
"My lord, what on earth were you thinking when you did that? If the trajectory of the sword I was about to swing and your prediction had been off by even a hair, you could have been cut in half on the spot!"
"No, it was a method you used too. I got the idea by watching you do it."
"But I can see magical power, so it's a completely different situation! No wonder your movements back then were totally impossible to predict…!"
Even though it was something that had happened long ago, Felicia clutched her forehead at Lucian's recklessness beyond all reason.
The thought that a single small mistake could have cost Lucian his life seemed to send a chill down her spine.
"Haa… what's done is done, so it can't be helped. But please never do something like that again."
"Don't worry. Unless there's someone I want to recruit so badly that I'd risk my life for it, there's no reason to—"
"Even if there is such a person, you must not do it!"
"Alright, alright."
At Felicia's firm outburst, Lucian took a step back.
In truth, if Lucian hadn't known Felicia from his previous life, he never would have done something so dangerous—but there was no way to explain that.
Having extracted a clear promise from her lord, Felicia finally nodded, looking satisfied.
"Very well. I'll teach you the sword the way you wish, my lord. That said, I'm still in the process of learning myself, so it would be best not to expect too much. I'm not very confident when it comes to teaching—learning is another matter."
"I'm not asking for anything grand, so don't feel pressured. I just need someone who can look at swordsmanship from a perspective different from everyone else's."
Lucian spoke words he didn't truly mean and let out a bitter smile to himself.
After all, in his previous life, she had taught so well—lacking confidence was the last thing she should be worried about.
'To be honest, Felicia actually had more talent for teaching than Sir Aizen, didn't she…?'
Despite possessing talent that surpassed Aizen's, Felicia was uncannily good at pinpointing exactly where those less skilled than herself would get stuck.
Considering how so-called geniuses usually fail to understand others' perspectives, this too was a kind of talent.
A swordsman who was not only excellent but also skilled at teaching meant the ability to cultivate swordsmen of an equally high caliber.
"More than anything, my perspective is different from others', so you'll need to take what I say with a grain of salt. In a way, that might sound arrogant."
"That's actually why I need your help even more."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that…?"
"You'll understand once we trade a few blows."
Lucian drew a wooden practice sword and handed it to Felicia.
Caught off guard by the sudden spar, Felicia nevertheless lightly exchanged a few moves with him.
Clack—after several quick strikes rang out, Felicia's eyes widened.
"My lord, surely you don't mean…!"
"It's exactly what you're thinking."
Lucian spoke with a grin toward Felicia, who trailed off mid-sentence.
"I can see the same things you can now."
Felicia, her face flushed with excitement, immediately led Lucian toward the training grounds.
She seemed genuinely delighted by the mere fact that she could now share with him the perspective no one else had been able to see.
"If you can see the same things I do, my lord, then you must also know how these eyes are meant to be used."
"You mean predicting the enemy's movements in advance and responding to them?"
"Exactly. But that method only works against opponents on equal footing, or perhaps those just one step above. Once the opponent becomes stronger than that, these eyes can actually turn into poison."
When Lucian tilted his head, not quite understanding, Felicia took up her stance.
"It'll be faster if I show you directly. I'm going to attack now, so try blocking it."
Lucian did exactly as she said and settled into position.
Even against an opponent with the same eyes, there was no way to block what could be seen.
No matter that it was Felicia—Lucian could clearly see the movement of her magical power itself.
Just as he tried to respond after spotting the magic power moving along its trajectory—
Thud.
Lucian flinched as he saw Felicia suddenly close the distance, coming within a breath of him in an instant.
Before he realized it, a cold sensation from the wooden practice sword in her hand was already pressed against the back of his neck.
"Did you see it?"
"…I saw it. I just couldn't react."
"That's exactly the point."
Felicia smiled and lowered her wooden sword.
"This 'eye' is easy to mistake for something all-powerful. But if you rely on it too much, you end up missing the moment when you should retreat. Because you can see all of your opponent's attacks, you fall into the illusion that you can win against most foes."
"So even if you can see the trajectory of an attack, that doesn't mean you can block it."
"That's exactly it. If you were an ordinary knight, the moment you recognized the gap in skill, you'd realize how foolish a head-on clash would be and look for another option."
I see.
Because a middling gap in skill can be overcome, it's easy to fall into arrogance instead.
It was advice that truly sank in.
Choosing an option he would once have avoided without hesitation just because his eye had improved was undeniably foolish.
"Of course, you can't always avoid a direct confrontation. There will be times when you have no choice but to fight someone stronger than yourself. That's why, from now on, I'll teach you how to use this 'eye.'"
"How to use this eye?"
"The movement of magical power doesn't just show trajectories. Tiny tremors, thickness, the haze around it—all of that tells you the enemy's speed, the force behind the attack, and even changes in their blade."
As if telling him to follow along, Felicia focused magical power into her eyes.
When Lucian did the same, the subtle changes she described became much more vivid.
"This is good. But it's hard to read—too subtle."
"If you practice with me often, my lord, you'll improve."
"Practice? How?"
"By fighting. A lot."
Felicia gripped the wooden sword with a gentle smile.
"From now on, I'll keep attacking you. You must watch my successive attacks and counter them at the exact right timing."
"…You're not saying that if I fail, I'll just get hit, are you? You'll pull your strength, right?"
"My lord, when my father taught me, this is what he said."
With an utterly serious expression, Felicia spoke clearly and deliberately.
"Without the pain of failure, there is no growth."
"…"
"Now then, let us begin."
Seeing Felicia's magical power flare and surge as if about to explode, Lucian shuddered.
For the first time since his regression, he felt a faint sense of regret about his own choice.
***
"Good work. We'll stop here for today."
"Ggh…!"
The moment Felicia declared the end of training, a groan slipped from Lucian's mouth.
A full week had already passed since the special training began.
He'd been hit so many times that he could no longer tell exactly where it hurt.
'No—maybe it's because there isn't a single spot that didn't get hit. Is that why everything hurts?'
Felicia's training was so brutal that all the ease he'd felt before now seemed like a dream.
So much so that even Lucian, who had been the one to propose the training, nearly swallowed his pride and begged to quit more than once.
The problem was that the results of that hellish training were undeniable.
'If there were no results, I'd have quit already—but when I can see myself improving day by day, there's no way I can.'
Grumbling to himself, Lucian nevertheless felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
After a week of special training, he could now make perfect use of the 'eye.'
Now he could see not only the opponent's movements, but also how fiercely they would charge in and what kind of response they were likely to choose.
The same was true of swordsmanship.
His understanding of sword forms was no different from before, but the coordination between his eyes and hands—and his reflex speed—had increased explosively.
'At this level, there's no real need to insist on a one-shot duel anymore. Rather than relying on momentary explosive power, it might not be a bad idea to exchange pure sword blows instead.'
"Let me say this again—do not fall into the trap of arrogance."
As if she had read his thoughts, Felicia spoke with a serious expression.
"There's no doubt you've grown stronger, my lord. You want to test that strength, don't you? But as I've told you time and again…"
"If it's an enemy I would've avoided before becoming stronger, I should still be cautious even after I've grown stronger. I know. One must never let their guard down."
Lucian accepted Felicia's advice sincerely.
Perhaps a knight who had devoted his life to the sword might think differently, but Lucian was, above all else, someone aiming for the throne.
Losing his life to reckless competitiveness would be the height of foolishness.
"I was only considering it as a possibility. No matter how much explosive power is my strong suit, if the opponent is well-versed in countering techniques, I could end up on the receiving end instead. For now, I should be glad that my options have increased."
"Yes, exactly. Limiting your tactics to a single approach is dangerous as well."
At Lucian's calm response, Felicia finally allowed herself a gentle smile.
A knight eager to test his own strength was often the one to die first.
Without cool-headed judgment, even someone who had honed their power would often fall before ever making a name for themselves.
In that regard, Lucian was a lord she could be relatively at ease with.
Though he sometimes embarked on gambles so risky they were startling, he never did so without a plan.
"Young master."
"Hm?"
As Lucian was massaging his stiff shoulder, Hans approached him with a tense expression and spoke.
"The Archduke is summoning you, young master."
***
After washing the sweat from his body and changing clothes, Lucian headed for the Archduke's office.
Even so, questions continued to swirl through his mind along the way.
'This is unexpected. Under normal circumstances, Father would never request a private meeting with me in a situation like this.'
Lucian was already pulling far ahead in the competition to become the next head of the house—calling him in separately would only invite misunderstandings.
People would inevitably assume the successor had already been decided.
That was unlike the Archduke, who always tried to give his children the fairest opportunities possible while avoiding needless speculation.
'Is this about suppressing the Krepfeld rebellion after all?'
The dissolution of the Grand Accord and the Empire's withdrawal had caused a major stir across the continent, but the repercussions were nothing like in his previous life.
The Empire had preserved its forces, and the First Prince had emerged unscathed.
Still, now that Krepfeld had declared independence, the Empire could hardly afford to back down.
For the sake of imperial prestige, it needed to reform a coalition army and crush them thoroughly.
'It's about time they tried a reconquest. Looks like the Emperor must have put in a word with Father.'
The Emperor had shown Lucian considerable favor during the last suppression campaign.
It wouldn't be strange if, before a new coalition was formed, he specifically requested that Lucian be dispatched.
Having reached that conclusion, Lucian came face to face with the Archduke.
"There's a problem in the North."
"…Pardon?"
For a moment, Lucian wondered if he'd misheard and tilted his head in confusion.
The North—coming not from the Emperor, but from the Archduke himself?
"F-Father, I'm sorry, but when you say the North… does this have something to do with my maternal family?"
"Yes. That's why I called you."
"I am already a Valdeck. It's regrettable that my maternal line came to an end, but to dig it up now would be…"
"It would seem completely out of the blue. I understand how you feel. The problem is that someone unworthy has taken possession of the inheritance that should have been yours."
"Inheritance?"
"Count Calyx's house has recently been trying to rally the other northern families. They're claiming they want to end the long-standing conflicts in the North and restore the glory of the old kingdom."
Lucian had heard of House Calyx before.
They were nowhere near the level of House Grimaldi, but they were still a family with a certain degree of recognition in the North.
That said, they were far from possessing the legitimacy required to place other houses beneath their heel.
"They're being overly ambitious."
"Yes—overly ambitious. They know that themselves. Which is why, instead of using the name of House Calyx, they've been raising the banner of House Grimaldi."
"…!?"
Lucian blinked in shock at the sudden mention of his maternal house.
The last surviving blood of House Grimaldi was standing right here—so why was some upstart using that name instead?
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