Merlin held the practice sword with both hands, his arms stretched out rigidly in front of him. He looked at Adelheid who stood a few feet away.
She looked totally relaxed, devoid of any sort of alertness. Like she didn't even acknowledge him as a partner in duel or even a training dummy.
It felt a bit annoying, but considering what she had done in the slums.
Oh God don't ever let her be serious.
But I think I am praying to the wrong person. She, who is so powerful, so beautiful and even so rich, must be God's favourite.
Reinhard must fall into the same category too.
And if she and Reinhard were God's favs, then why would that bastard even listen to me?
Urk. This is so irritating.
Adelheid looked at him intently from her place. Her form remained casual—almost lax, totally unfit to be seen on a battlefield.
The keyword: "battlefield". To her, this was anything but that. But this was not her being arrogant at all. Simply put, this was simply just not meant to be a battle.
She had come here to help him become skilled with a sword. That old giant did say that Merlin did decently in terms of swordsmanship.
Then there must be hope that he can become better.
Her eyes roamed over him from head to toe. Then, she spoke in a clear, didactic tone, making sure every word reached him perfectly.
"Legs are too wide apart.
Hands are too stiff and the way you hold the sword looks childish."
Three arrows, three thousand damage.
But even when she ruthlessly critiqued him, she noticed his grip. It looked...okay at best. She asked curiously—"Have you done this before?"
Oh no way I haven't!
Not at all!
This body taught me, you know? In fact I'm even having an existential crisis because of it! Ahahahaha!
Like hell I'd say all that.
"Yup. Barely though," he said, fixing his features into a mask of unblinking, pleasant candor.
"I skipped practice multiple times. So I'm not good at it.
But I think I can hold my ground if time came. Not for long." He gave a friendly smile. Finishing his speech in a single breath, so much so that his voice became audibly shrill by the end.
Truthfully, he had never even touched a sword in his entire life. Why would he need to? Kings and soldiers were long gone. And back in India, a big, thick bamboo was all the people needed. Guns are overrated honestly.
But it would've been nice if he had at least been able to hold a gun once. Sure, he can forge it now.
But mana problem aside, there was some sort of requirement that he noticed. One, which he couldn't wrap his head around.
Because when was creating it in the loothouse, it was almost like....his visualization of the gun fell apart the moment he tried to construct it.
It collapsed like a lego building.
Lacking, something?
What? Why? Don't know. But it really was necessary to know.
Oh yeah, we're going off topic here.
Anyways, he can't really disclose everything from the get-go, can he?
They're still new people to him, and Merlin knew exactly how dirty things can become when it came to politics. He did feel safe here, of course. These people felt genuinely kind and caring.
He wanted to trust them. But for now? He can't.
Maybe when he's close to them, he'll tell them. But for now?
No.
Not yet.
He focused back on Adelheid, the only light that illuminated the dark environment was the lamp by the garden's door. But it didn't light up everything there. It was still considerably dim.
He who stood with his back to the light, his expression—if they had any fluctuation—must be hidden well enough by the darkness. So he felt nothing.
But the moment he saw her face.
That nothingness, his reassurance, became filled with something he desperately wished it lacked.
Anxiety.
My vicious friend.
Her eyes felt like they were drilling straight through his skull. Boring into where his deepest lay. Which carried the message even when it lacked words.
Then as he remembered a crucial detail, a cold wave crashed into him—
Adelheid could read minds.
F...uck.
"....hey? Why're you so silent?"
She did not reply immediately, her brows furrowed as she closed her eyes for a moment. When they opened again, her usual deadpan expression was back.
"Why am I silent? It must be because I am waiting for you to begin with our task."
She knew.
"N-no. It's not like I lied, b-but—" Fuck, what are you saying?! Merlin let out a shuddering breath to prevent his face from coming down crumbling. "Well I said I never went right? So it's not really a lie."
Adelheid froze. Her eyes widened a tiny bit.
A face that looked so stiff suddenly felt...
"...so that too was a lie?"
'Too'?
What did she mean by 'too'?
"What, do you mean?" His heart drummed against his ribs as he maintained his smile, cautiously weighing each word.
The direction of this conversation was going wrong.
He could feel the thick air choking him.
"Your words about having practiced this before. They were a lie, huh?"
A shudder ran through his frame.
"What are you talking about? Of course not! Your lie-detection or mind reading whatever must have misinterpreted my meanin—!"
"What are you talking about? I cannot read minds."
....
...
..
.
Huh?
Wait. What?
"What I can do is simply read emotions."
Oh, so that's how it was….
T-then that's good? Isn't it? But how did she—?
Before he could complete his thoughts, she did it for him.
"What I read from you was," she hesitated for a moment, but then narrowed her eyes.
"Distrust."
....
Not again.
I hate you God.
"Wait, that's not it!"
"Please don't worry. Everyone has things they can't talk about. Don't worry, I will not pester you for explanations.
Nor am I bothered by it. Though it would be nice if you were to trust us more." Merlin could not read anything from her blank face.
Why do people need to be so perceptive?
"After all,"
Why do these guys need to be so smart? And even if you are smart, then at least keep it to yourself.
Don't bring it into relationships please.
Everytime a smarty pants does this, it's always certain how it will end.
Everytime.
And that is why—
"If I am to be your knight, then you should place some trust in me."
—without acting—
"Or else I would not be able to do my duty."
—no human relations can remain.
*****
Author:
Well that was short huh?
Sorry. It took so long. You know school and all such bullsh*t.
I tried to experiment with tension a bit and tried to get my toxic character out a bit. But I guess I'm just not at all good with my prose.
Whatever.
I'll not promise to post more because we all know how it ends. So next time.
Also please criticize me all you want. I really need it.
And if you have some educational videos on writing novels then---
PLEASE GANG I NEEDDD ITTT
IM KINDA SKILLLESS AND I WANNA HELP MYSELF OUT😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭