TPSR 13

Chapter 13

Damian came to stand beside me with a sullen expression.

It seemed he had already heard the news, and he didn’t look pleased either.
No—he might have been even more dissatisfied than I was.

But in this situation, it didn’t seem likely that he would agree with me.

Of course. Rather than entrusting me to some knight, he would choose to monitor me himself. No matter how much he disliked me.

“…Are there no other knights at the Grand Duke’s estate?”

I glanced at Damian’s profile and, clutching at my last straw, asked Carlos.

“You would have difficulty finding a swordsman more skilled than Damian—not just in this estate, but in the entire Empire.”

…Of course.

He’s a genius with the sword.

That wasn’t what I was asking, though.

‘He shut me down with skill alone.’

Damian would receive the title of Swordmaster just before reaching adulthood.

The tenth in history—and the youngest ever.

He hadn’t yet reached that level, but Carlos wasn’t wrong when he said there was no swordsman in the Empire who could defeat him.

‘He’s making sure I absolutely won’t try anything foolish.’

Not that I planned to.

Still, even if I kept resisting, it didn’t seem like the situation would change.

‘From a pure escort perspective… he might actually be the safest choice.’

Even so, wasn’t it too cruel to the both of us, knowing full well how much he hated me?

But neither of the two men in the room looked inclined to listen to me.

In the end, I was the one who surrendered first.

“…Understood.”

“When do you plan to depart?”

“As soon as possible. Even tomorrow would be fine.”

Carlos, who had been focused on his documents the whole time, finally lifted his head and looked at Damian.

“Is that possible?”

“…Not immediately.”

Damian gave me an unpleasant once-over.

“If it were just me, perhaps. But traveling all the way to the West with the imperial princess as extra baggage would be an unreasonable schedule.”

He just openly called me baggage.

And the worst part was, he wasn’t wrong.

The road to the land of the mages was far from smooth.

“Then when would be suitable?”

“Ten days from now should suffice.”

Damian folded his arms as he spoke.

“In the meantime, I’ll teach the princess some basic self-defense. So she won’t drag us down too much.”

Another subtle jab.

Drag us down.

I had plenty to say, but I swallowed it.

Talking back here wouldn’t do me any good.

“Very well. As for the guardianship matter, we’ll submit it to the temple once the princess returns.”

Carlos nodded and turned his attention back to his papers.

“Anything else?”

It was a clear dismissal.

I quietly left the office.

Just as I turned to head back to my room, Damian’s voice stopped me.

“Princess.”

I froze and turned around. Damian was looking at me with an annoyed expression.

“Report to the training grounds at ten tomorrow morning.”

“…Tomorrow?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. If you’re late, I’ll leave without you.”

With that, he turned sharply and walked away.

‘…What is this?’

The future suddenly felt very dark.

‘Ten days of training under that man, and then traveling to the West together?’

I had a bad feeling about this.

The next day, ten o’clock.

When I arrived at the training grounds exactly on time, Damian was already waiting for me.

Arms folded, one hand resting on his sword, as if he had been there for quite a while.

‘Just how early did he come?’

I wasn’t late, but somehow I felt intimidated.

To think there would come a day when I felt overwhelmed by him.

Even knowing he was my real older brother, the memories from before my regression made me feel unfairly aggrieved.

“…I’m here.”

“Yes. I can see that.”

Damian replied coldly and looked me up and down.

It seemed he had decided to be openly disrespectful now.

“Today, we’ll assess your basic stamina.”

“My basic stamina?”

“We need to know how pathetic it is before planning your training.”

His tone made it clear he expected nothing.

I bristled inside but held it in.

Arguing with him here would only hurt me.

If he refused to act as my escort, I had no alternative. Carlos wouldn’t assign another guard, and I would be stuck here, unable to go to the West.

I didn’t want that.

“What should I do?”

“Run around the field first.”

He gestured with his chin toward the wide open ground.

“How many laps?”

“Just run. Until you can’t anymore.”

…What kind of training is that?

But I had no choice. I walked to the edge of the field and began running.

At first, it was fine.

All I had to do was run. It wasn’t that hard.

About half a lap later—

My breath caught in my throat, and my legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

My heart pounded as if it would burst.

‘…Wait, already?’

It was only half a lap.

My pace slowed until it was hard to tell whether I was running or walking.

Eventually—

“…Huff, huff.”

I barely completed half a lap before stopping.

I bent over with my hands on my knees, gasping for air. A bitter taste rose in my throat, and my vision spun.

I knew I didn’t exercise much, but was my stamina really this trash?

No way.

“…Is that all?”

Damian’s voice fell from above.

He was standing crookedly, looking down at me.

After estimating the distance I had run, he scoffed.

“Half a lap.”

The cold verdict dropped.

“How impressive.”

…Even that blatant sarcasm left me with nothing to say.

“It can’t be helped. Try push-ups this time.”

“…Now? Let me catch my breath.”

“Right now.”

Is he a demon?

Is this man actually a demon?

“Do you want to quit? You’re free to go back inside.”

Damian shrugged indifferently at my irritated glare.

His eyes clearly said he hadn’t expected much in the first place.

‘That pisses me off.’

That look strangely ignited my competitive spirit.

I lay flat on the ground and planted my hands firmly, straightening my body.

So far, so good.

Now, just bend my arms.

I bent them.

And—

Thud.

“……”

I collapsed straight onto the ground.

I couldn’t even do one.

The moment I bent my arms, all strength left me.

‘…Isn’t this a bit too much?’

I was mortified.

If there were a hole in the ground, I would have crawled into it.

When I lifted my head, Damian was, of course, looking down at me.

His expression was unreadable.

“Get up.”

“……”

I slowly pushed myself up.

My whole body trembled. I had only run half a lap and attempted a push-up, yet I was already exhausted.

Damian looked at me as if I were pathetic.

No—he didn’t look as if he thought that. He genuinely did.

“You intend to go to the West in this condition?”

That was a direct hit.

Still—

“Protecting me is the escort’s job.”

I shot back without backing down.

It wasn’t wrong. I had asked for an escort so I wouldn’t get caught in danger. If the escort was capable, why would I need to fight myself?

Damian let out a short laugh. It was mocking.

“Oh? So you intend to trust me completely?”

“……”

“Her Highness the Princess placing her full faith in the heir of the Carter Grand Duke’s house?”

That made my stomach twist.

Annoyingly, he wasn’t wrong.

No matter the title of escort, this was still surveillance. And more than that, this was a man who might abandon me at any moment.

Not just abandon me—he might deliberately leave me in danger.

The only person I could rely on was myself.

And by now, the imperial family might have realized I was missing. If so—

‘They might send him to find me.’

As a familiar face surfaced in my mind, chills ran down my spine.

“…That’s why I said I’d learn.”

I answered through clenched teeth.

“I want to survive too.”

Damian stared at me.

There was something complicated in his eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was mockery or surprise.

Then—

“Very well.”

He smirked.

“Let’s see you try.”

Even if it’s just to spite you, I’ll endure this.