Chapter 77: I was thinking how everyone here might have a dangerous future in store for them…

"ALL RIGHT! What about this, Lucius?!"

Something sliced through the air in concert with Sven's shout. Dressed as a boy, Rishe clapped, her eyes sparkling. Sven's sword drew beautiful lines in the air.

"That's amazing, Sven! Your form was perfect just now!"

Rishe was always excited to watch people improve.

Sven's face lit up at her praise before he schooled his expression and straightened up.

"It's only natural for me, really… Heh."

He swung again and again, tracing the same lines he'd drawn before.

Repetition was one of the best ways to learn—she was happy to see him being so proactive about it.

Rishe put her own wooden sword down, gauging the hour from the position of the sun. "It's about that time—let's take a break and then clean the training grounds."

"Hmph, I won't let you clean better than me either. I'm gonna go drink some water first."

Rishe watched Sven head toward the well. She spun around. "Hey, Fritz. In that sparring match, you—"

"Wagh!" Fritz, who was doing practice swings behind her, dropped his sword.

"Sorry! You were concentrating, huh?"

"Oh, n-no, not really! Er, I mean, yeah! I was!"

Fritz reached for his sword, fingers brushing against Rishe's as they went for it at the same time. They only touched for a split second, but Fritz yelped and leaped back like he'd been electrocuted.

"Huh, did I shock you? That's strange… It shouldn't be dry enough in this season for static electricity."

"No, Lu! Why are your fingers so slender and dainty?!"

"M-my fingers?!"

Rishe jumped, remembering a time in her knightly life when someone had found out she was a woman from her build. She smiled to cover up her reaction as best as she could.

"Mine are normal, don't you think? You two train a lot, so yours are probably sturdier than most people's."

"R-right… Yours are normal… They're normal…"

She found herself worrying about Fritz again as he muttered to himself. He'd said he hadn't slept well the day before; maybe he really was feeling under the weather.

"D-don't worry about me. What about you, Lu? Are you okay?"

"Hmm? I'm fine. My muscles are a lot less sore than before."

"That's good—though you do seem kind of down. Normally, you never let training get to you, no matter how tough it is, but you were hanging your head and sighing earlier. I was just a little concerned."

Rishe was surprised that Fritz had been paying so much attention to her.

He really does have the makings of a knight. He keeps a watchful eye on everything around him, and he looks out for others even during his own training. That's not easy.

Knights like this tended to be suited to leadership positions.

Basking in her renewed appreciation for Fritz, Rishe apologized for worrying him. "I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"I get it. I won't ask you what it is you're worried about, but let me know if there's anything I can do. Sometimes just talking about something can help."

"Thanks, Fritz."

"Don't mention it. You should sit and rest for a bit longer. Want me to get you some water?"

"No, I'm fine," Rishe said. "Watch your own hydration levels, though."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be right back."

Rishe waved to Fritz as he headed to the well, then slowly sank onto the bench.

There's no way I can tell him my worries.

She couldn't say she needed to change the future and prevent a war from breaking out several years from now, nor could she explain her current task of improving Galkhein's relations with Coyolles. How would Fritz react to, "Hey, how would you put two countries on an equal bargaining footing?"

Moreover, Rishe hadn't spoken to Arnold since she'd overheard his conversation on the balcony last night. Well, they'd talked, but not about anything significant. Under scrutiny of the party guests and their own guards, she couldn't mention important matters. Even if they had been alone together, she would've been at a loss over how to bring up his discussion with Kyle.

I wonder if last night's events happened in my other lives too.

She could barely sleep after witnessing it. Rishe hugged her knees, resting her forehead on top of them, and thought.

Prince Kyle's pretext for coming to this country was to celebrate my engagement to Prince Arnold. That makes me think this might be the first time.

And even if the princes' conversation had occurred in her past lives, Galkhein and Coyolles had never been allies. In other words, the talks never went well. She really couldn't let this opportunity pass by.

As her thoughts went in circles, she was approached by a presence she recognized.

"Alcott. You're early."

"Lord Lawvine!"

Rishe's guard went up at the sight of him; he shot her an odd look as he entered the training grounds. She didn't think she'd been that obvious, so he really was observant. She couldn't very well say, "I spent all last night fleeing from your presence—this was just reflex!"

"I heard Fritz Knowland yelling, so I came to see if there was trouble. Are you not feeling well?"

"I was just resting!" Rishe hurriedly brushed the dust from her clothes.

"I was brooding over something pretty pathetic, and the guilt really got to me. I couldn't help my knee-jerk reaction when I saw you." She was trying to play off her suspicious behavior, though it wasn't even a lie.

"Something pathetic, you say?"

Rishe hesitated for a moment, then said, "When we cadets become knights, and we end up going to war, then…they'd all have to fight in that war, wouldn't they?"

"I suppose they would."

"I was thinking how everyone here might have a dangerous future in store for them…and that kind of scared me."