“Let me apply some medicine, at least so it doesn’t get infected,” Rosaline pleaded, unable to bear the way Adrian was treating him.
“Thank you,” Prince Yuasa replied.
“Rosaline, I’m the one who’s too weak. Don’t blame Adrian anymore. He only wants to train me in his own way. I’m sure he has a reason for not letting me heal this wound,” Prince Yuasa continued.
Rosaline sighed and snorted in frustration, left with no choice but to accept the prince’s decision.
“If he does anything worse than this tomorrow, then we’ll stop the training,” Rosaline suggested.
“And then find a new trainer? You know better than anyone that no one wants to train me.” This time, Prince Yuasa looked at Rosaline gently.
“Try to understand, Rosaline. Adrian is the only one who can train me right now. I’ll endure all of his training,” Prince Yuasa said, reassuring Rosaline.
The wounds were wrapped in bandages. The stinging pain remained, especially whenever he used his hands for activities.
The next day, Adrian asked him to do the same thing again: swing his sword a thousand times, and afterward, he was not allowed to heal his wounds with his healing ability.
“That’s outrageous!” Rosaline shouted.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see that his hands are covered in blood, and you still won’t let him heal?” Rosaline protested. “This is too much!”
“Rosaline!” Prince Yuasa’s voice rang out as he once again stopped her from blaming Adrian’s training methods.
“Let’s go home. Now,” Prince Yuasa urged.
All the way home, Rosaline kept rambling about everything Adrian had done. She looked extremely annoyed.
“Rosaline, stop. You don’t know why he’s doing this, do you? Look!”
Rosaline looked at Prince Yuasa’s hands. All she could see were wounds that had grown wider, with red dominating the sight before her.
“My hands are starting to get used to the pain. It still hurts, but if I ever end up in a bad situation, at least I’ll still be able to swing a sword even with injured hands,” Prince Yuasa explained.
Rosaline fell silent at once. She had never thought that far ahead. Adrian had taken many things into consideration, while she had only looked at the surface.
“I didn’t know that,” Rosaline replied. Regret filled her heart. She promised herself that she would apologize to Adrian the next day.
Just as she had planned, Rosaline apologized to Adrian that morning for misjudging him. And with a generous heart, Adrian forgave her.
A week passed. Prince Yuasa’s condition improved, and he began training to test the results of his practice.
“Try attacking me. Let’s spar,” Adrian ordered.
“All right,” Prince Yuasa replied, beginning his attack as he settled into his stance and drew his sword.
One attack after another was launched. Adrian seemed to have no openings, like an impregnable fortress.
“Come on, don’t give up! Find my weakness,” Adrian ordered.
Prince Yuasa continued attacking while observing all of Adrian’s movements. There didn’t seem to be any opening, but he kept searching until he found a blind spot and attacked Adrian right there. His sword was almost upon him when Adrian, startled by the unexpected movement at his blind spot, quickly raised his sword to block it and instinctively counterattacked.
“Adrian!” Rosaline shouted, now standing in front of Prince Yuasa and blocking the sword aimed at the prince.
“Rosaline, we’re sparring. It’s only natural for Adrian to attack!” Prince Yuasa explained.
Rosaline ignored Prince Yuasa’s words and continued attacking Adrian. Adrian did the same, refusing to back down and choosing to engage Rosaline.
“Both of you, stop!” Prince Yuasa shouted, but neither of them seemed to hear him.
The clang of the two swords colliding grew louder. Adrian and Rosaline fought evenly. Their abilities were different. Rosaline was incredibly agile, attacking with her single-edged sword.
Rosaline’s strength was no match for Adrian’s, but her speed was extraordinary. Adrian had difficulty dealing with her.
“She’s fast. There’s actually a fighting style like this,” Prince Yuasa thought, admiring Rosaline’s technique.
“No, this isn’t the time to be impressed. I have to stop them. They could get hurt,” Prince Yuasa thought.
“Stop!” Prince Yuasa shouted, still ignored.
Just as the two attacked each other’s vital points, Prince Yuasa shouted again, “STOP!”
The two of them instantly froze as if they had turned to stone.