Swords, magic, and martial arts

Ilya noticed that several strange people had come to the castle today. Two of them were almost as tall as her father, though still a little shorter. There was also a short stalker and a young, handsome bard.

Her grandfather also invited them to dinner, during which the bard sang them the most popular songs in the Kingdom of Fish. It was the first time she had heard such gentle and beautiful songs; before, in the far north, she had only heard the heroic and majestic Nord war songs.

During dinner, she felt like she'd seen the burly, bald adventurer somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place him. The bald adventurer glanced at her a few times and then ignored her.

A few days ago, Ilya met her older cousins ​​and a seven-year-old younger cousin for the first time. Her older cousins ​​were very kind to her and gave her some small gifts, but the eight-year-old younger cousin was very annoying and was always trying to tease her.

Her maternal grandfather, the Marquis Charles Fors, did not want to send her back to her father. He intended to keep her in the South and raise her himself, and sent a letter to her father.

Ilya was her father's only daughter, but she had two older brothers from the same parents. Her mother died in childbirth. After her mother's death, although many noblewomen and young women wanted to be with her father, he kept his vow and never remarried.

A few days ago, for some reason, she suddenly had the urge to learn swordsmanship. She mustered up her courage and went to her grandfather's study to ask him to arrange a swordsmanship teacher for her. To her surprise, her grandfather agreed. Previously, her father had always wanted her to become a lady and had arranged many teachers to teach her needlework. When she wanted to learn to ride a horse, her father objected, and it was her two older brothers who secretly taught her.

A few days after she learned to ride a horse, she tricked the guards under cover of night and drove away from the castle in a carriage. She forgot everything after that.

The Marquis of Foss arranged for her to choose one of his knights as her teacher. The knights under the Marquis were loyal and not at all angry that the Marquis had arranged for them to teach a little girl swordsmanship.

In the end, she did not choose the knights who were busy with the affairs of the territory, but instead chose Sean, the captain of the castle guard who did not have a knighthood.

Sean is the son of the castle steward and is in his thirties. He is said to have grown up with her uncles. Elijah has only met her eldest uncle, Oliver. The Marquis of Forth also has a son who is currently serving as an officer at Winterfell Fortress. As the heir, Oliver has begun to handle the affairs of the territory in place of the Marquis of Forth.

Along with Elijah, her disliked cousin Charlie was also receiving training from Sean. Her cousin shared the same name as her grandfather, a common tradition on the continent where grandchildren share the same name as their grandfathers.

On the first day, Sean had her practice swinging a blunt iron one-handed sword at the air a thousand times in the morning, and then at a scarecrow a thousand times in the afternoon. The second day, he had her repeat the first day's training, holding a shield in her left hand…

The tedious and boring training was getting to Ilya, and she protested to Sean, but he ignored her. Days passed, and even today, she continues to abuse the defenseless scarecrow.

"I don't want to practice this anymore," Elijah complained to Sean, who was correcting Charlie's movements.

"Do you want to swing your sword at thin air?" Sean asked, stopping his movements.

"I don't want to either! I want to hone my swordsmanship through real combat," Ilya said loudly.

"Then you try it with Charlie. If you can beat him, I'll allow you," Sean said, still having some confidence in Charlie who had been training for two years.

Although Charlie was only eight years old, he was already taller than Ilya, who was almost thirteen. "I would never bully a child," Ilya said angrily.

Charlie was furious: "Then let's have a match and see who bullies whom!"

The guards who were also training nearby stopped to watch the commotion. Sean yelled at them, "What are you looking at! Bring me two of the dullest wooden swords!"

He tossed a wooden sword to Charlie and Elijah each, saying, "Try it out, but be careful and don't hit any vitals." He then tossed them each a shield.

Elijah and Charlie picked up the wooden sword and shield. "I'm going to attack, watch out, you braggart," Charlie shouted.

The guards watching nearby laughed, and Ilya blushed and shouted back, "You're the one who should be careful, you little brat who's still wetting the bed."

Upon hearing this, Charlie angrily grabbed his sword and shield and charged at Elia. He attacked with his sword, but Elia blocked it with her own, and with a sudden burst of strength, knocked Charlie's wooden sword to the ground. Elia then swung her shield at him, but Charlie raised his shield to block it.

Unexpectedly, Ilya stepped on Charlie's foot, and while Charlie screamed, she released her grip on the sword and delivered an uppercut, knocking out one of his baby teeth that was about to be replaced.

Charlie, who had been punched, burst into tears, crying, "You promised not to hit my head, and you knocked out my teeth!"

Sean rushed over to check Charlie's injuries and comforted him, "It's just a minor injury, it's nothing. She knocked out your tooth that was about to fall out."

"Can I fight against real people now?" Ilya asked.

Sean turned around and said helplessly, "Okay, I'll train with you starting tomorrow." He felt a little frustrated. Training with a little girl could easily hurt her, but he was too embarrassed to break his promise in front of so many subordinates.

Ilya happily left the training ground and returned to the castle...

While having dinner, Ilya looked at the group of adventurers again. The bald adventurer was much thinner than he had been a few days earlier, but he was still as strong as a bear, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

"Thank you for your help, Marquis Fors. Weber and I are setting off tomorrow to find the temple to lift the curse on us. Please take care of him for a few more days." The bald adventurer stood up and toasted Marquis Fors.

"Don't mention it, it was just a small favor. You can set off tomorrow with peace of mind. Mr. Amore said the child is safe and could wake up at any time, so don't worry." Marquis Fors waved his hand; he hadn't touched a drink in many years.

Amor is the castle's physician, and is said to be the most experienced physician in the entire province of Winterfell.

"Thank you so much," the bald adventurer said, downing the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Even if Hammer hadn't brought you here, according to the ancient oath, I would still have helped you," said Marquis Foss.

Ilya couldn't understand what they were saying at all, nor had she ever heard of the ancient oath. She asked her cousin Stacy in a low voice, but Stacy shook her head and quietly reminded Ilya that it was best not to talk while eating.

After a dull dinner, Elijah picked up her training blunt sword and went to confront Sean. She was determined to show him that she wasn't someone to be trifled with...