Waking up at dawn, she got out of bed and went to the window. Then she admired the scenery outside the window for a while. The landscape of the twilight garden might look dreary at first glance, but it didn’t feel that way at all because of the people walking around as if it was daytime. She always wondered if it was like this, but even when she stayed with a noble family because of a previous request, there was no place to start the day this way. Perhaps it was the ball that kept them so busy.

After dinner last night, it was decided to hold a ball to welcome her mother and her home. 

The Grand Duke of Crichton called all the attendants who could accompany him and instructed them to hold a splendid ball, no matter the amount, so as not to be inferior to any other ball. Time said that two weeks later, not only would a ball be held at the mansion, but the warehouse would be released to feed the poor. Time was running out, but there were so many things to do, so it seemed like there was no choice but to move busily.

Just as she was pondering whether she had asked to have a prom for no reason, she heard a knock on the door.

“Little lady, this is Anita. Are you awake?”

What came through the door was the voice of a young girl. Anita, who said she came to assist her closely.

“Huh. Come in.”

After she gave permission, Anita opened the door and came inside. The series of actions of Anita pushing the wagon relatively sluggishly, opening the large door with her small hand, bringing the wagon inside, and then closing the door again was very cute. A smile bloomed on her face when she saw Anita. Would it feel like seeing her here at the Grand Duchess of Crichton? It seemed that she could now understand the appearance of the strong and cool-headed people in her memory being released as if the seal had been lifted.

“I ordered the washing water.”

What Anita brought was a small washbasin that could be used by a child. As she watched the lukewarm water splashing around, she felt apologetic.

“It must have been difficult to bring. Sorry.”

“No! Don’t worry about me! It wasn’t hard at all when you brought it on the wagon?”

Even though it must have been tiring and difficult, she smiled at Anita, who was smiling bashfully. Then, using the water, she washed her face slowly. It was a moderately lukewarm temperature, so it was more comfortable to wash. After she finished washing her face, Anita handed her a towel that was prepared in the wagon. After wiping her face dry, Anita handed her a piece of clothing this time.

“The Duke told me to put you on this and bring you to the gymnasium.”

Apparently, it was riding clothes. It was unlikely that she was going horseback riding today, and she had sent these clothes to the mansion while looking for active clothes for a child her age. She readily agreed and went into the dressing room connected to the bedroom to change clothes.

“I-I can help!”

“Huh? No. I’ll do it myself. It’s fine.”

She shook his head at Anita, who was horrified to see her undressing alone. Although she was in an aristocratic family right now, the only time she had been helped to change clothes by someone while she was alive was when she borrowed her mother’s hands. She could see Anita was visibly flustered, but since there weren’t other people around anyway, and it was just the two of them, she thought this was fine.

She changed into the riding clothes Brian sent her. Surprisingly, it was the perfect size for her body. The material of the clothes that were wrapped around the body seemed to be quite expensive. Well, it was natural since it was the clothes that the Grand Duchy had prepared.

“How is it? Do I look okay?”

“Yes! Good luck!”

Anita replied with a nod of her head. In the meantime, she moved her body greatly to check the activity. Fortunately, there was no discomfort in moving the body.

“Anita, you can rest. I’m training with my uncle anyway, so you don’t have to follow me.”

Remembering that it was still bedtime, the child proposed to Anita.

“It can’t be! I learned that I must be with the little lady on her way.”

“It’s okay at times like this. So get some more sleep.”

“No. I will follow you.”

“You must be tired?”

“I’m not tired at all!”

Anita held up her hands to show that she was okay. She wondered if it would be better for Anita to rest a little longer since Anita didn’t seem to have anything to do with her anyway, but since Anita was so stubborn, she couldn’t leave her either. Anyway, if she couldn’t win after repeating it for a few days, then she could just send them into rest.

She thought briefly and left the bedroom. And only then did she realize why she needed Anita’s help.

“Anita.”

“Yes? What’s wrong, little lady?”

Looking at Anita with her innocent face, she let out an awkward laugh.

“Where is the gymnasium?”

“…ah! Just follow me!”

Anita smiled brightly as if she had finally found her job and began to lead her to the gymnasium. At the gymnasium where Anita arrived, the knights and soldiers of the Grand Duke of Crichton were already training. And on one side of the gymnasium, there were Brian and Elliot.

“Mirabel!”

Elliot, who spotted me first, shook his hands with a bright face. She was able to get in front of them by running lightly.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Elliot tapped her on the shoulder and asked.

“Not at all.”

“I’m glad. Don’t overdo it though.”

“Okay. Thanks, Elliot.”

As she thanked Elliot, Brian brought his lightly-clasped hand to his mouth and cleared his throat low.

“I guess I should start with stretching. Come on, Mirabel, follow me. Elliot, can you do it alone?”

“Yes, Father.”

When Brian finished, Elliot took care of her and started stretching her. She also knew how to stretch because she had been a mercenary for many years, but she thought it would be better to learn from Brian from the beginning, so she warmed up as he told her to.

“The basis of training is stretching. If you use your body excessively, you may get injured without even realizing it. It’s to prevent that in advance, so don’t forget to stretch before using your body. And it would be good to stretch after training.”

Brian stood in front of her and demonstrated the stretching position first. And it was the order in which she followed the motion. As she knew in advance, it was the order of stretching the entire wrist, shoulder, ankle, and knee, starting with a very small part, the knuckle. After spending 20 minutes stretching, Brian smiled with satisfaction.

“Good work. From now on, you will repeat this motion before and after training every day. Either I or Elliot will be happy to help, so if you can’t remember how, ask.”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Then let’s check your stamina first. Elliot, it’s been a while, you too.”

After stretching, the first thing Brian told her to do was run. It was to check her physical condition by estimating the time it would take to run one big lap around the gymnasium.

“Then let’s go!”

Starting with Brian’s signal, she and Elliot kicked off the ground. In terms of experience, her running speed was noticeably slower than when she worked as a mercenary in the past. Back then, she had to train her body all day long to survive, so it was a natural result. She started to get short of breath after about half a lap. She tried to match her pace with Elliot, controlling her breathing with as much abdominal breathing as possible. But Elliot had already started to get ahead of her, as if this speed was nothing.

“Mirabel, I’ll go first. Cheer up!”

Elliot, who even showed her the leisure to cheer for her, spurred his speed. Then, in an instant, the distance began to widen. Seeing Elliot getting farther and farther away, she started running with all her might. She felt that the top of her head was tight as she was out of breath and her hamstrings were tense. It felt unpleasant at first, but she knew at some point she could take it comfortably.

She ran desperately and arrived in front of Brian. She stumbled for a moment because she ran with all her might.

“Are you okay?”

Fortunately, Elliot and Brian caught her. After taking a deep breath, she nodded.

“I’m fine.”

However, because of her young age, her recovery was quick.

“The speed is on the fast side for the first time. Still, my stamina is too low. It would be better to strengthen your stamina first and then practice swordsmanship.”

“Yes, I will.”

“And I’m going to check a few more things, okay?”

“Sure. I’m still fresh.”

“Good thing. Then follow me.”

She followed Brian and moved indoors this time.

* * *

After basic tests such as running and sit-ups, she sat down on the bare floor completely exhausted.

“Little lady! Sit down here with this!”

Anita, who had been watching, came running over and took her handkerchief from her bosom, but she couldn’t afford to sit up again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

When she answered while breathing heavily, Anita, who ran right next to her, cried. She was sorry, but she couldn’t afford their consideration now. Eventually, it was only when her breathing returned to normal that she was able to rise from the floor. She got up and walked over to Brian.

“First of all, the priority is to build stamina with this routine every morning. everyday… can you do it?”

Brian’s voice, which was full of disbelief at first, seemed weak but full of hope. She happily expressed her affirmation. It was a fact that she knew that in order to wield a sword, she had to have basic physical strength anyway.

“Please take good care of me in the future, uncle.”

She purposely bowed her upper body toward Brian and nodded.

“It was your first time today, but you did really well.”

Brian patted her hair lightly with a smile on his face more than ever before.