STARTING THE TRAINING

"You have worked hard, Princess." Butler Henry said with a smile, as he handed Aristia a glass of water.

Aristia wanted to ask, 'Is this considered working hard?' But she settled with saying, "Thank you Butler Cedmond, I will try harder." She smiled at the middle-aged man who smiled at her the same way Mrs. Jacqueline smiled at her.

[They sure are husband and wife.] She thought as she walked back to her room to wash off the sweat from her body.

Adeline had returned to being her shadow, walking close behind her. When she heard that Aristia had been running, she walked around her and asked frantically, "Princess, are you alright? Do you feel pain or discomfort anywhere? Are you hurt? Do I need to—"

"I'm fine, Linny. Really. I'm not hurt anywhere. Stop worrying, you'll get wrinkles." Aristia interrupted with a smile, smoothing out Adeline's furrowed eyebrows with her thumbs.

"Are you really okay?" Adeline probed.

"Yes, Linny. I'm okay." Aristia assured, even though her legs hurt a little from not being used to exercise.

After her bath, Aristia sat on a chair in her room and opened a drawer. She took out a book with words written on the front page and marked the first option on the list:

{Convince Wilson and Catherine to let me take other classes✓}

She placed the book back in the drawer. "I feel like I'm forgetting something…" Aristia paused as she tried to recall. "Gasp. The famine!!! How could I forget?!!! I hope Father has been making the necessary preparations." She muttered. "There's still two years until the famine. I'll be seven years old by then if I'm still in this world."

She was conflicted because, call her crazy, but she was enjoying her stay in this world, even though she also missed her parents and wanted to return to her world.

She sighed tiredly. It wasn't in her power to go back.

***

One week later...

Aristia got up in high spirits. It was her first day of training. Her mother had gotten a training cloth made for her after a little persuasion.

That time, she had said to her mother, "Mama, could you please get me training clothes? Here is the design." She handed over a sketch of her envisioned training outfit.

"But this... This is men's clothing," Catherine was caught off guard. How could her daughter wear male clothes?

[No, these aren't men's clothes. They're practical female training pants. Thank you very much.] She thought, but didn't voice it.

"Please, Mama. I need this so I can avoid tripping and falling during training, and so I have the freedom to move. The gowns are too heavy and restrict my movement. What if I fall and injure myself?" She asked coquettishly.

[I've gotten used to acting pitiful and coquettish with them. If this were my world, I wouldn't know where to hide my face.] She maintained a pitiful look, waiting for her mother to give in.

Catherine frowned, "I will get the clothes made. Did you design this?" She asked, surprise replacing the frown on her face. She only truly looked at the sketch now, noticing how detailed and fashionable it was. It didn't look bad at all. She thought.

[Of course, I'll make it fashionable,] Aristia thought with a confident look, wanting to flip her hair but stopping as it would be odd.

Catherine mistook her cocky look for pride and sincerely praised her adorable daughter. "Tia, this is beautiful."

"Thank you, Mama." Aristia smiled as she left the garden where her mother was.

Aristia smiled mischievously, as she thought of her ability to persuade her parents.

After her bath, she put on the training clothes her mother had indeed gotten prepared for her with the help of Adeline.

"Ooh, princess. You look so good in this attire. No. You look good in anything and everything." Adeline gushed, cupping her cheeks in her hands as she stared at her.

"Hehe." Aristia chuckled. "I'm ready. Let's go Linny." She turned to leave the room.

***

"Good morning, Mama and Papa," she greeted as she took her seat in the dining room. Alaric was already seated beside her.

"Good morning, Tia. Did you sleep well?" Her parents spoke at the same time, then paused and exchanged smiles.

[O...kay.] Aristia thought, "Yes, I did." She replied, turning away from them and focusing on her meal.

"I'll take you to meet your teacher after breakfast, Tia," Wilson informed.

"Okay, Papa." Aristia smiled and resumed eating.

After breakfast, Aristia went with Wilson and Alaric to meet her new trainer and Alaric's future trainer.

Stepping onto the training ground, they saw a man dressed like the captain of a knight order. They approached him.

The man turned as he noticed them. "Prince Wilson," he bowed.

"Captain Hugh," Wilson nodded and turned towards Aristia. "This is Captain Hugh Lancelot, my good friend. He'll be your trainer."

"Greetings, Young Prince, Young Princess," Captain Hugh bowed.

"Greetings, Captain Hugh," Aristia curtsied, and Alaric followed suit with a light bow.

"Well then," the captain said roughly. "We shall begin training right now, as I see you've come prepared." He motioned towards their outfits and the wooden swords her father had made for them. It looked like Wilson had already informed the Captain of the arrangement.

[So he's actually okay with this? I thought he'd be against the idea of training a girl.]

"Alright, Captain." Aristia replied with a nod.

"I will be going then. Ally?" Wilson asked.

"I'll stay with Tia," Alaric replied resolutely, earning a nod from Wilson. "Be careful and do not get hurt," he added as he left, but not before sparing a final glance at the Captain. He looked like he was communicating with his eyes. The Captain looked unwilling.

Aristia didn't have the time to dwell on that, as the Captain ignored Wilson and spoke, "Even though you are a princess and the daughter of my good friend, you are my pupil. You shall train like the others. Do not expect special treatment." Captain Hugh addressed Aristia, aware of the usual bratty behavior of most noble children.

"That is a given, Captain. Shall we begin?" Aristia asked to show she understood, and the captain nodded.

The Captain was surprised. He wondered why the little princess would want to train. It was unusual for noble ladies.

'I could tolerate her for this short while, as she would probably quit after a few days,' the captain thought as he started the training.