Chapter 50: Don't struggle, you'll fall

In response, Rishe held her sword up and lowered her stance. She took a step forward, then another, slowly closing the distance between them.

Arnold raised his own weapon. They breathed as one, and she lunged forward, striking out to the side. He dodged her slash. Rishe slipped past him and spun around without a moment's delay. Arnold turned at the same time, swiping out at her. Their swords made strong contact.

"Ngh!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The blades clashed up high, went low, then clashed high again. The clack of wood smacking against wood rang out, and Rishe's hand went numb. Arnold might've had one eye covered and one leg restrained, but you never would have known from the way he moved.

I'm not done yet!

She took half a step back, then sprang forward again, swinging her sword once more. Arnold dodged backward and Rishe's sword hit air, but she didn't stop her charge.

That feeling… The moment I was able to land one blow on Arnold Hein!

She scoured her memory, putting all her strength into her final attack. For a split second, Arnold's face lit up with surprise. Then he slashed out and knocked Rishe's blade off course.

It was over.

"Ack!"

The sword flew from Rishe's hand, grazing the cheek of a dazed knight spectator, and finally slammed into the training area's stone walls.

"Whoa!"

"Oh no, are you okay?! Agh!" Rishe tried to run over to the knights, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

"I'm impressed." Arnold looked down at Rishe, not even a little out of breath.

"I only planned on taking a single step at most, you know. I underestimated you."

"As if you weren't dripping with handicaps!"

"If it were anyone other than you, I wouldn't have had to move at all."

Ignoring Rishe, whose shoulders were heaving as she tried to catch her breath, Arnold signaled the knights. One of them rushed over and undid his restraints.

Arnold removed the knee restraint on his own and knelt in front of Rishe, freeing her left arm.

"Thank you very much…for your instruction…"

Rishe had known the loss was inevitable, but it still disappointed her. It must have shown on her face because Arnold rested his elbow on his knee, chin in his palm, and smiled.

"What was our agreement? That you'd do any one thing I asked you to?"

"Yes, go ahead and ask!" Rishe declared, hopeless. "I don't go back on my word!"

Without a serious chance of winning, Rishe had ensured this was a bet worth making whether she won or lost. If by some miracle she'd won, she would've been allowed one question of the crown prince. If she lost—as she'd suspected she would—she could see what kind of request he'd make. Thus, she was one step closer to figuring out why he'd proposed to her.

This is all according to plan. I'm not mad about it… Nope, not even a little.

Rishe tried to convince herself otherwise, but she was incredibly frustrated.

Arnold watched her for a time, eventually removing his eyepatch and saying, "Well, let's see… Leave your afternoon open two days from now. We're going into town."

"Into town? Of course I'll come, but what are we doing, exactly?"

"I'll tell you then."

Arnold stood, handing his eyepatch to a waiting knight.

Hmm… Some kind of "Crown prince and fiancée" official business?

Rishe decided there was no use pondering the matter now, although she realized that she hadn't been in town since she went to see Mr. Tully. She'd snuck out, gotten caught, and thereafter promised Arnold she wouldn't visit the town without him.

He was always a step ahead of her. As she stared off into the distance, he stared down at her, perplexed.

"What's wrong? Get up already."

From the ground, Rishe wouldn't meet his eyes. "Uh…I'll stay here for a little longer. Please feel free to leave, Your Highness."

"Why?"

She didn't want to tell him, but she figured she had to. Resigning herself to her shame, she slowly said, "Well, to tell you the truth, my arms and legs are still shaking from our little match."

"What…?"

"My body isn't equipped to keep up with how I was moving."

Rishe felt truly pathetic. If she tried to stand now, she'd just fall face-first back to the ground.

"I'm just taking a little rest. I'll be sure to close up the training ground when I leave, so don't worry… Uh, Your Highness? "

His expression turned pensive. "Wearing gloves means it's fine, right?"

"Huh?"

Rishe had a very bad feeling. Her instincts were telling her to say no, but she didn't know what he was asking. Before she could properly reply, Arnold knelt in front of her and reached out with his gloved hands.

"Ack?! Wh—! Hey! Your Highness, I—"

Rishe was lifted abruptly from the ground, Arnold holding her in his arms. As soon as Rishe's mind had caught up, she opened her mouth and screamed.

"Wh-whaaa?!" She reflexively flailed her legs.

Arnold studied her, the picture of calm. "Don't struggle. You'll fall."

"W-well, no, I… What are you doing?!"

"You can't stand on your own, right?" Arnold asked, striding off as he carried Rishe bridal-style.

Realizing he intended to take her all the way to her room like this, Rishe blanched. "Let me down, let me down, let me dooown! I just need a breather, so please don't trouble yourself!"

"Again, don't struggle."

Why not?! It's not like struggling will do me a bit of good!

Rishe kept that thought to herself as Arnold looked at her in exasperation.

"Do you really think I could just leave my fiancée on the ground and go back to work?"

Okay, maybe he's got a point, but still!

Rishe had an iron grip on her composure in ordinary circumstances, but this was just too much. Arnold Hein himself was carrying her in his arms! With her limbs still immobile from fatigue, there was nothing she could do to extricate herself from this situation. She gazed at the knights imploringly, but when their eyes met, the men just furiously shook their heads. They were as flustered as she was.

S-somebody, save me!

Rishe was shouting on the inside, but no one came to her rescue.

The knights they passed on their way out of the training area watched them with blank looks of shock, like they were seeing something incomprehensible.

To his credit, Arnold chose a route to avoid contact with crowds, although reaching the detached wing without meeting anyone would have been impossible.