Beep-boop.

I decided to keep “Ojou-sama” as it is, cause……there’s just some things that aren’t conveyed as well if I simply use “Young Miss” all the time. Or rather, I just like the sound of “Ojou-sama”. Makes it easier to differentiate between  ‘ojou-sama’, ‘ojou-san’, and ‘ojou’.

Even after receiving the sword, I continued to use the practice sword for training every day as I did before.

At times, in order for my hands to get used to it, I would at most swing it around.

Thinking about it carefully, for someone like me who wasn"t an active soldier, it was quite obvious and natural that I wouldn"t have any opportunities to wield that sword.

Nevertheless, it was true that I had become even more pa.s.sionate about training than before.

Even when father was in the Capital, those of the Military stationed nearby would accompany me as opponents, so I did not lack in practice companions.

Each of them had their own forte, and since all of them varied, simply watching them was educational, as it allowed me to adopt the good parts from their styles. When sparring with them, I fought while thinking of countermeasures against those styles, so that too was quite the learning experience.

When father returned, I used all my might to face him.

Incidentally, the frequency at which father would return to the territory was rather high.

This was because father didn"t return by carriage, but instead by horse. Thus, his travel speed was quite fast, and his guards were also reduced to a select few, so their group was quite agile.

Leaving that aside, no matter how much I fought against father, currently I couldn"t see myself winning against him at all.

I still have a long ways to go.

Every time I exchanged blows with father, I am clearly shown all the parts in which I am lacking……but that is exactly why, it makes me excited. Thinking about just what I had to do in order to win.

"Fu~……"

Finishing today"s training, I wiped my sweat with a towel.

The current time was just past noon.

"Ojou-sama, Ojou-sama……!"

"Oh, Granny(1). Just what seems to be the matter?"

Seeing Granny run towards me hastily, I tilted my head inquisitively.

Granny is someone who has worked for the Marquis house for a long time.

"For a n.o.ble lady to not learn manners is……!" Although she"d make small complaints like such, as one might expect of one who has served the Marquis house for many years, she hasn"t said anything about the training itself.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the sight of Granny trying to do what she could to make me take etiquette lessons and me defending against her offense, was already a daily scene in this Marquis house.

"Today I shall definitely make you take a lesson."

"Even if you say that, Granny, I currently don"t have any plans to go to any tea parties. That being the case, I much rather continue training like this."

"I too, as someone serving the Marquis House, think that Ojou-sama" diligence is an extremely wonderful thing. However, a written invitation addressed to Ojou-sama for a tea party has arrived."

"Oh my, Granny. With this kind of appearance, just where are you telling me to go? Please use the usual reason to turn them down."

When I started training, it was a hindrance, so I cut my own hair.

From around the back of my ears, in a single stroke with a short blade.

If I remember properly, at that time, the first one to see me with that appearance was Granny, causing her to shriek……..

Even now, whenever it grew, I"ve continued to cut it.

And every time I did that, while shrieking, Granny would, without change, even out my unsightly hair for me.

This hair that was just like a boy"s.

As expected, it would be impossible to go to any other houses like this, so I have been declining all invitations.

Even now there were plenty of n.o.ble houses that hoped to make connections with the "hero" t.i.tle that we held.

While it would probably be good for our house if I had gone to a few of them, father said, "It"s fine for a child whose age doesn"t even surpa.s.s ten to not mind it", so I took him up on those words.

And then when I turned all the invitations down, before I knew it, the conjuncture that I had a weak const.i.tution began to spread around.

It seems that it had to do with the shock of mother"s death……apparently.

It"s not wrong to say that losing mother lead to this, but I was currently anything but ill from it.(2)

However, it was the perfect sort of excuse to use to decline invitations, so I took advantage of those rumors and said that I was in poor shape physically.

Although I thought that the excuse would be good this time around too……

"No, Ojou-sama. The one who invited the Ojou-sama this time was the Queen. Refusing it would be quite difficult……"

"The Queen……?"

Just why, exactly would the Queen……I wondered while tilting my head to the side.

"Yes. It seems that the other party is worried about Ojou-sama. We can use clothes to hide the wounds, and for your hair, I still have the remains of what Ojou-sama cut, so if we weave it to make extensions, then it should be fine."

My path of retreat was cut off by Granny.

Rather, the moment when I received an invitation from royalty, there was no retreat.

"Haa…….even if it"s just a pretence, something is better than nothing……right? I"ll start taking lessons now."

It would be unacceptable to be discourteous to royalty, so for now I began cramming in the training for tea party manners.

Translator Notes: