The carriage stopped, and all three came out, with Edmund coming to the front and stopping right in front of the two of them, looking straight into Ariadne’s eyes.

  ‘Duchess, this is important; I don’t understand why you let her do whatever she wanted, even though she was learning to heal.’ Edmund looked at the duchess, confused.

  ‘She is my friend, peasant; I will not force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. What is your point? I have better things to do.’ Ariadne crossed her arms.

  ‘Hum, ok, I understand. After our training, I will show you the refrigerators we will sell. Sorry for the question, duchess.’ He turned around and walked to the side, going around the mansion.

  ‘Your Highness, I’m sorry for everything; I should have focused more on learning. Can I spend time with you as a friend, not your maid?’ Eliza stepped forward and turned around, facing Ariadne.

  ‘You will always be my friend, Eliza; even if you wanted to stop learning and just came back as my maid, there would be no problem; don’t concern yourself with the peasant.’ Ariadne smiled.

  ‘I think he stopped because he saw you consider me a lot; as an actual friend, not a maid, Edmund wouldn’t push me to do anything if I didn’t want to.’ Eliza looked at Edmund as he vanished from the corner of the mansion.

  ‘I don’t know. From what I can see, if it is the demon lord, he will do everything possible to get what he wants.’ Ariadne passed Eliza and entered the mansion.

  When the sun was in the middle of the sky, Alon showed the training field behind the mansion for those who wanted to be soldiers. The idea was to reinforce the villages.

  'Well, let me introduce myself again. I’m Alon Agron, the captain of the Duchess army. In the next few weeks, we will train you on the basics, but your real training will start in your respected villages.’ He walked left to right, looking at the man.

  The mixed bunch looked at him with conviction as if this were a last chance. According to Alon's calculations, around a hundred men volunteered to be soldiers, making their army almost two hundred strong. Still, they could protect themselves from the many monsters the kingdoms threw at them.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ‘Behind me is one lieutenant, Bartel Adler. He will show you everything you need to know, from how we talk to how we act. It is an ever-changing way of fighting, so pay attention and be open to change at any time. Yes?’ Alon looked at them with serious eyes.

  Bartel came forward and looked at everyone the same way Alon had before him; he noticed they had the most young men among them.

  ‘Right now, I just want you to see to your left those two over there, Edmund and the Duchess Ariadne. Just watch.’ He pointed to his side, and everyone’s gaze followed.

  Ariadne was walking toward Edmund with her sword, making a path on the ground like every time they train. She didn’t say anything to him, but she was grateful for what her abilities could do.

  Compared to Edmund, it was nothing, but he says to her every day that she is getting better, and in a way, it makes her happy. It was strange because, outside of this moment, she didn’t like Edmund much; he was a nuance that helped her, but a nuance nonetheless.

  The way he talked to her made her remember the nobles who mocked her at every opportunity they had; he didn't know his place even though he was her slave, and she was his master.

  ‘Duchess, you need actual combat experience, so from today forward, I’m going to hit you like we are fighting to the death. You will face something you can’t even imagine in the dungeon.’ Edmund prepared himself in an attack position.

  ‘Peasant, are you trying to use this to kill me? I will allow it. Come with everything you have; teach me what an actual fight is.’ Ariadne stopped and assumed a defensive position.

  The soldiers came closer to look at them, but the first thing they noticed was the strange sword they were using. They were interested in how the two would fight with such swords; they only trained basic forms to protect themselves. Bartel stopped the man from getting any closer to the two of them.

  ‘We are too far, lieutenant; we can get closer.’ One of them spoke from the back.

  'No, you can’t; this is too close to my liking, but I wanted to show you guys what your leader can do.’ He turned around and smiled at the man.

  Edmund jumped forward and attacked Ariadne’s side, her eyes following his movement. She had positioned her sword not to block but to parry, swinging toward the sky, making the young man’s sword spin with him still holding it.

  Edmund used the momentum to come crashing down into the duchess from above, but again, she saw him making a move, and again, instead of trying to block Edmund’s attack, she swung upwards, clashing her sword into his. This time, she felt her feet crack on the ground under her.

  ‘My turn.’ She thought to herself.

  To others, it felt like she was given into Edmund’s blow, but quickly, she positioned herself following her sword movement. As Edmund came down, Ariadne attacked his side using the momentum Edmund's blow had given her. The moment it was about to land, he completed a loop, and instead of his sword meeting the ground, the two blades clashed, and Edmund was launched to the side.

  ‘What just happened? I just saw them doing something completely impossible. How can someone move like this? It was like a drunk man with a giant sword,’ a young soldier in the front spoke.

  ‘This is the duchess and her slave Edmund; respect them; don’t look down on him because he is a slave.’ Bartel crossed his arms.

  ‘Now that you've seen the show, start the training.’ Alon Yelled.