Romanâs eyes fluttered open. He stretched his body and sat up. The sun had already gone down, but a soft light still illuminated his room.
It was evening time, meaning he had slept throughout the entire afternoon. Roman was even more tired after sleeping as he lay back on the bed.
After a minute of just lying down, Roman stood up and went into the bathroom. He washed his face and proceeded to take a quick bath, something he should have done after his battle.
After that, he changed clothes, placing the dirty ones on his bed, as the maid would take them away; then he stepped outside his room.
Roman walked to the usual place where the girls train and he could see some of the girls.
Aurelia, Ava, and Elena were training with magic dummies while Reina was watching them. The barrier mage who was here yesterday wasnât here today, so the girls focused on their training.
The rest of the girls were back in the palace resting, since they already lost their battle, they had no use for training at night.
As usual, Roman walked towards the girls and sat down beside Reina, who wasnât training. The other three saw him but still continued training.
"Iâm sure I have a battle tomorrow, I wonder who Iâm going to face...who do you think I stand a good chance at winning among those three?" Reina asked.
"You didnât include me?"
"You fought a battle today, Iâm sure you wonât be participating tomorrow, and Iâm sure we wonât face ourselves since Iâm not going to let you lose" Reina replied.
"Youâll throw the match because Iâm a male"
"Thatâs one of it, Iâm just saying this, thereâs also a possibility of me losing, but weâre not going to face each other," Reina spoke.
"Well, I hope youâre right. Iâm going to train with Aurelia. Iâm curious about swordsmanship," Roman spoke as he stood up, walking towards the part of the training ground where Aurelia was.
"Roman, do you have something to tell me?" She asked before seeing Roman pick up a wooden sword from the rack beside where she trained. She also held a wooden sword in her hand since it was training.
She used enchantment on her wooden sword, and some of the sword doesnât normally survive and break apart after a while; she also tests techniques and other things.
Seeing Roman pick up a sword and then stand in front of her made a smile on her face. She knew Roman was a little interested in sword fighting after last time, but didnât really think he would want to on his own.
"If youâre trying to plan ahead just in case we face each other, then using wooden swords is meaningless", Aurelia spoke.
"Plan ahead, why would I need to do that? I just wanted to do something different from my training, and since I have a swordmaster for a friend, why not join her in a friendly duel" Roman said with a smirk enough for her to see.
"Swordmaster...I wouldnât call myself that yet, but itâs nice to hear it from someone, alright then, shall we get started?" Aurelia spoke as she began closing the distance.
"Hey, hey, you should teach first," Roman spoke, and she laughed.
"Fine," Aurelia said, lifting her wooden sword and stepping back to create space between them.
"I wonât go easy just because this is training. If you want to learn, youâll have to feel it, I know you probably wonât use a sword permanently, but itâll be nice to know how"
Roman smiled a little as he adjusted his grip, the wooden sword felt a little heavier than he expected since he wasnât used to it.
Still, he planted his feet one in front of the other and faced her.
Reina stayed seated at the side, watching closely with a smile on her face as she knew Roman was about to get his ass handed to him, while Ava and Elena slowed their training a little, so they could also see.
They had no idea why Roman was training with a sword, but they, too, had picked up a sword once in their lives. Almost all the students from noble families had picked up a sword once in their lives.
"Just remember," Aurelia spoke, her tone calm as she began stepping forward, "A sword isnât about strength alone. Footwork, timing, and control matter more than how hard you swing the sword"
Roman nodded as he also closed the distance and once they were in range, Aurelia moved first.
She stepped in with a clean overhead slash. It was fast, but Roman reacted on instinct, raising his sword to block.
The moment both swords connected, the impact sent a dull shock through his arms, making him realize just how solid her stance was. His feet slid back, and Aurelia pulled away before he could counter.
"Thatâs what happens when your footing is loose, you absorb everything, that strike just now gave you the perfect opportunity to counter and win the fight"
Roman adjusted his body. He knew what she was saying. The strike allowed him to attack below or block and strike, but he wasnât fast or strong enough to do either.
When Aurelia attacked again, this time from the side, he met it better, though his block was still clumsy.
She twisted her wrist and tapped his side lightly with the side of her blade, enough to make her point without hurting him.
"Opening," she simply said.
Roman exhaled and stepped forward, trying an attack of his own. His swing was straightforward and lacked finesse.
Aurelia parried it easily, their wooden swords scraping as she redirected his strike and stepped past him.
Aurelia backed away, creating a little bit of space, and then she dashed forward with incredible speed, aiming for Romanâs neck. This time, it wasnât just training; she had a different look on her face.
Roman raised his sword to block the attack, and as he did, the strength behind her attack knocked him off balance, and Roman fell to the ground, rolling some feet away before stopping.
The girls were all shocked at Aureliaâs sudden outburst, but Roman, who was on the ground, had a smirk on his face.
âShe figured me outâ