Chapter 7

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“Filina, what in the world happened to you?”

Amy looked at Filina with a startled expression as she entered the banquet hall. (*Amy is the mother)

Bruno and Ariel also had the same expression.

“The Crown Prince and Miss Haley also went outside earlier, don’t tell me the three of you got in a fight.”

Amy clicked her tongue with a look of pity towards her.

The people around her could be seen whispering to each other as they looked at Filina.

With a tired face and a small sigh, Filina spoke in a calm voice.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the ball in this disheveled state, so I’ll be leaving first.”

“You’re right. It would be better to do so. If the Crown Prince sees your appearance, he might be disappointed.”

Amy, who was holding out a white feathered fan to cover her mouth, nodded casually. Then she called out to the Grand Duchess as she passed by, pretending to be friendly.

“….. sister.”

Filina turned to the side.

Ariel, who was standing alongside Bruno, held out a butterfly white handkerchief to her.

“Use this. There’s a lot of dust on your clothes.”

Her hand trembled as she extended it toward Filina.

‘If I refuse it, will I become a bad person again?’

Filina gave a small smile. An awkward smile also came to Ariel’s face as she watched her.

“Enoch.”

Filina called Enoch, who was guarding her with an indifferent expression.

“I’m going home right now and I need your help.”

“Yes.”

Enoch’s hand silently covered Filina’s waist as he stepped to her side.

It was a skinship that was even more daring than before.

Filina turned away, ignoring Ariel, who froze in place with the handkerchief in her hand.

“Wait.”

Bruno, who had been standing quietly by Ariel’s side, walked broadly and stood in front of Enoch.

Bruno spontaneously loosened Enoch’s hand which was holding Filina’s waist.

“I’ll send sister home, you stay here and protect Ariel.”

Bruno’s large hand gently wrapped around her waist.

Filina gestured to Enoch, who stood by her side.

She meant he should do what Bruno said so it would not cause a scene.

Filina turned away, and Enoch stood there, staring blankly at her back until she left the banquet hall.

“How did this happen?”

She bit her lips as she heard Bruno’s voice.

He asked the question too easily, a question Enoch would never ask.

“You don’t need to know.”

Filina replied in a bored, insincere voice.

Expecting to hear a rebuttal from him, Bruno closed his lips tightly.

She glanced at his side face as she walked forward, supported by him.

His light brown hair was scattered in the wind.

Past his smooth forehead, his high nose and firm pink lips.

Filina looked at Bruno with a gasp.

“Don’t tell me you’re upset?”

The moment she said a word to him, Bruno’s feet came to a halt.

When he stopped, Filina, who was being supported by him, naturally stopped as well.

Because they saw the Crown Prince walking towards them.

“Crown Prince.”

Bruno pulled Filina slightly to his side and greeted Ian.

Filina bowed her head and frowned, as if she was seeing something unpleasant.

It was due to the failure of the plan to get out quickly before running into him.

Next to Ian was Cecilia.

“Lady Debussy.”

Ian’s golden eyes stared at Filina.

“Why are you in this state?”

A low, mid-bass voice rang in her ears.

She raised her head and looked at him.

She could feel Cecilia’s eyes staring at her.

Filina answered with a smile.

“I just took a little tumble, that’s all.”

Ian frowned at her answer.

“Are you still playing like a child? What the hell did you do?”

“I don’t need to tell His Highness about my private matters.”

Her insincere voice made Ian’s face hardened.

Cecilia, Bruno, and moreover, the guard standing behind the crown prince looked surprised.

To dare to give such an ill-mannered reply to the Crown Prince of the Alvar Empire….

Moreover, she was a woman who had sent numerous gifts to the imperial palace to win his favor since she was a child.

Of course, it was Amy’s work that had been done regardless of Filina’s will.

“I’ll leave you to it, then. As you can see, Your Highness, I’m looking absolutely horrible right now…”

Filina grabbed her wrinkled dress and made a proper greeting.

Ian’s eyebrows were all distorted, but she didn’t care.

Filina raised her head briefly and looked at Cecilia.

Cecilia’s clear, emerald eyes were staring at her.

She was so lovely that anyone could tell she was the main character.

The original Cecilia was not able to keep her promise to God. Because she fell in love with Ian even to the point of her own death.

She lost her innocence, hoping to have a baby with Ian.

Ian wanted to use Cecilia’s vision of the future to become emperor, and that greed eventually destroyed the heroine.

However, Ian’s approach was not as pure as hers.

Knowing this fact, Filina couldn’t just look at Cecilia with a calm face.

Because she couldn’t imagine how hard and demanding the heroine’s life would be.

Filina bowed her head to Cecilia with a smile on her face.

“May peace and stability always be with you.”

It was Filina’s sincere wish.

Filina turned and moved her halting steps. Bruno also bowed deeply and followed Filina.

***

“Have you ever handled a sword before?”

Enoch asked with a curious look on his face as he looked at Filina, who was holding the sword in her small hands.

The weight of the sword was considerable as she tried to grasp it with her muscle-less hands. Filina, who had been slicing through the void, replied quietly.

“Yes. It was a long time ago.”

She knew that Enoch had purposely given her the lightest sword he could find.

The one Filina was holding was a practice sword used by beginners. Even so, it was quite hard to bear the weight.

She remembered that she used to be able to wield much heavier things freely. It seemed to have become a vain dream.

Filina murmured as she stared at the sword in her hand.

“I must first increase my muscle mass.”

As Enoch approached her, he extended his hand cautiously.

“You need muscles, but it’s important to learn your posture first.”

His burly hand inserted itself through the gap between Filina’s fingers.

“When you hold the hilt, you must hold it by twisting your hands inward.”

His long, slender fingers were well classed in the correct position.

“The left hand should be focused on the little, ring, and middle fingers, while the rest should be lightly attached.”

Filina had never formally held a sword before. So Enoch’s teachings were new to her more than anything else.

In her third life, she approached the rebels to somehow prevent the mastermind from kidnapping the female lead.

The rebels, who were hostile to the Imperial Palace, took an active role in abducting the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

The hope was that the people of the Imperial Palace, who had never dealt with them before, might listen to them for the first time….

Even though the results were disastrous…

It was a poor environment from the start.

No matter how many weapons they wielded at their disposal, the majority of them didn’t even know how to hold a sword.

Each person just had a different way of learning. The same was true of Leon, who made her hold the sword for the first time.

“Both feet must be slightly narrower than shoulder width.”

Enoch snuggled up behind Filina and shielded her arms.

The distance was close. A fresh, woody scent wafted from him.

It was a faint woody scent that flowed from the green garden that was in front of the training hall.

“Once you have a firm grip on the hilt, make an equilateral triangle with both elbows. At this point, your hands should be slightly to the left of your navel. This way, if your opponent suddenly hits you, you can react quickly.

This sentence was very unfamiliar to me, due to the fact that the hilt of the sword must be on the left side.

It was a posture to anticipate and catch the opponent.

Since most normal people were right-handed, the person holding the hilt had to learn more on the left beforehand.

“In this position, try to hit the wooden post in front of you down with all your might.”

He took a step back from Filina’s body.

Seeing the exact target point, she swung the wooden post down with maximum force.

A sharp, wind-swept sound grazed her ears.

Clang.

“What’s ……?”

An empty sigh escaped from Filina’s mouth.

It was because the blade was blown into the air before it hit the wooden post.

She couldn’t believe she dropped her sword without being able to hit the post once.

If there was a hole, she would have gone right in and hid.

She handled swords in her past life, so she thought that with a little practice, she could catch up quickly.

That was just arrogance.

‘Perhaps I underestimated the sword.’

Enoch, who looked as embarrassed as she did, stared blankly at Filina.

She bit her lips, then brought back the sword that was far away and got in position.

Just as Enoch had taught her, the posture flowed without a single jolt.

“Lady Filina, please wait a moment.”

Glaring at the wooden post, he stopped her from swinging her sword again.

He thrust his sword out to Filina.

“Would you like to try this?”

She was bewildered by Enoch’s words.

“Didn’t you see how you just missed your sword? Mine is much heavier than yours.”

“So I want you to use this one.”

Filina glared at him wickedly and grabbed Enoch’s outstretched sword.

It was so heavy that her hand tipped downward in a steady motion.

She gritted her teeth and gripped the handle of the sword tightly.

“You have to make a wide equilateral triangle with both elbows. The narrower the spacing, the more you can only lose speed and strength.”

Hearing his voice, Filina took a quick look at her posture.

Then she looked at the wooden post again.

It was much heavier than the black practice sword, but a stronger mental strength brought it all to the fore. Taking a small deep breath, Filina swung the sword in her hand diagonally after she had accurately identified the target point.

It was a precise speed and a united movement. In addition, the finish was beautiful.

None of the movements were impeccable.

Her eyes glittered with toughness.

Thud.

With a loud thud, the huge wooden pillar collapsed backward.