I Became the Heroine’s Stand-in - Chapter 57

“By the way, you’ve been training quite diligently.”

Joel commented as he pointed to Diana’s sword. Despite not having had it for long, the blade was already dulled.

“His Highness must have taken offense; I seem to be getting worked too hard.”

“If you get busier, I won’t be able to teach you as often, so I worry about my student.”

“Fewer lessons? That sounds like a breath of fresh air.”

“Of course, you must still continue on your own. At the very least, I’ll come to check on you every other week.”

Diana struggled to suppress the guilty feeling that crept up at his remark, as if he had seen right through her intention to take it easy.

“But you’re still a beginner. It’ll be difficult to train alone.”

“If I assign someone else, they’d likely be inadequate.”

“Exactly. How many in the empire are truly qualified to teach the Duchess?”

The three of them effortlessly carried on their idle conversation. It was no wonder they trained together and spent their free time in each other’s company, given how well they got along.

Just then, Anthony clapped his hands as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.

“Why don’t we teach her ourselves?”

Joel and Coon blinked in surprise at Anthony’s suggestion. Diana and Ersivan, who had been bickering over trivial matters, were equally taken aback.

“We will?”

By some strange coincidence, all the individuals qualified to instruct the Duchess were gathered in this very place.

Coon, who had joined the knighthood as the top recruit, Anthony, who had entered as the runner-up, and Joel, who had been directly employed by Ersivan without even needing to take an entrance test.

They were all prodigies whose skills needed no further validation.

“There are three of us, so we can take turns without it being a burden.”

“Not to mention, each of us excels in different areas.”

Their eyes gleamed as they eagerly began planning.

Under the guise of lessons, they would not only have a legitimate reason to meet the Duchess but also an opportunity to grow closer to her. What better arrangement could there be?

The knights were ready to begin the lessons as early as the next day. Amused by their enthusiasm, Diana finally intervened in an attempt to stop them.

“I can’t possibly trouble you like that. Until His Highness recovers, I’ll manage on my own.”

“We cannot neglect the duty of protecting the Duchess!”

Anthony immediately dismissed her concerns as if they were out of the question. Before she knew it, Joel and Coon had also joined forces to solidify their resolve.

Realizing she couldn’t control them on her own, Diana lightly tapped Ersivan’s thigh.

When he raised his head, she pulled him closer to whisper in a voice only he could hear.

“Talk some sense into them!”

“Must I?”

“…Don’t tell me you’re on their side too?”

“But there’s no real reason to refuse, is there?”

“Well… It just feels wrong to impose on them…”

Of course, Diana preferred receiving instruction over training alone.

However, she felt uneasy about them going out of their way to do something they weren’t obligated to.

Diana, looking awkward, scratched her flushed cheek. Then, the corner of her lips twitched slightly as she let out a small, bashful smile.

She looked so endearing that E Ersivan felt fortunate Joel and Coon were too engrossed in their discussion to notice.

“Are you worried this might seem like an abuse of power?”

“…Something like that.”

“It’s not as if you’re commanding an army.”

Ersivan shrugged and added that he would support her decision if that was what she wanted.

“Anthony, Joel, Coon.”

At Ersivan’s quiet call, the three, who had been deep in discussion, immediately straightened their postures and responded.

“Our Duchess is concerned that she might be wielding her authority over you.”

At his words, their gazes simultaneously turned toward the same person.

“What is a knight’s duty?”

“To uphold the honor of House Valencia!”

“And what defines the honor of House Valencia?”

“The Duke and Duchess of Valencia!”

For once, it seemed Ersivan was openly siding with her.

“…There’s no way around it, then.”

Diana let out a sigh. Her brief look of fatigue soon faded into a graceful smile.

“I’ll be in your care, sirs.”

Anthony, Joel, and Coon bowed their heads repeatedly, their eyes shining with reverence.

As expected from Ersivan’s subordinates, they had a knack for leaving Diana with no room to refuse—just like their master.

The lessons with the knights began immediately after a three-day break.

The first instructor was Joel, who had a free afternoon every fifth day of the week.

Joel was the most technically skilled among the knights. If Coon and Anthony specialized in offense and defense, respectively, Joel’s strength lay in his mastery of various techniques to dominate his opponents.

To assess her fundamentals, Joel suggested she strike a wooden training dummy—something typically used for warm-ups.

Diana unsheathed her sword and swung downward in a diagonal slash at the wooden figure. As the blade struck, a powerful recoil shot up her arm.

Reflexively, she glanced toward Joel. He simply encouraged her to repeat the motion so he could observe more closely.

Thus, she struck the wooden training dummy five or six more times.

Joel, who had been silently jotting something down on a piece of paper, finally told her to stop.

“Well done.”

“…Was there anything I lacked?”

“You were flawless.”

His gentle tone reassured her. No matter how favorably he viewed her, he wasn’t the type to blindly praise someone with poor skills.

“From what I’ve observed, it seems you’ve only mastered a single technique.”

“His Highness never taught me anything beyond that…”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to belittle your skills!”

Seeing Diana’s embarrassment, Joel quickly clarified to prevent any misunderstanding.

“Rather, I was going to say that your fundamentals are solid. In fact, no matter how long it takes, one must fully master the basics before moving on to swordsmanship.”

It made sense now why Ersivan had drilled her relentlessly in the same move.

“The technique you’ve been practicing is called Zornhau—a diagonal slash.”

“It even has a name? That makes it sound like I’ve learned something impressive.”

“It’s a fundamental technique, so you’ve taken your first step. It might not seem like much, but when combined with other moves, it becomes incredibly powerful.”

“Combined?”

“For example, after striking downward, you could follow up with an upward slash, twist your blade, or even use the momentum to counter an opponent’s stance.”

“That sounds interesting.”

Hearing her interest, Joel became even more excited and started chattering enthusiastically.

Before long, he vowed that no matter how much time it took, he would teach her every technique he had mastered.

“Shall we try practicing this first?”

Joel expertly drew his sword and demonstrated the movements.

First, he slashed downward diagonally, then immediately followed with an upward strike.

Diana quickly realized that using excessive force wasn’t always beneficial.

For instance, if she struck down with too much power, raising her sword again became strenuous. Her movements became sluggish, and the blade’s trajectory wavered.

On the other hand, if she applied too little force, the initial attack lost its purpose entirely. The world of swordsmanship was far more complex than she had imagined.

Still, the difficulty only made it more thrilling. Even though she was clumsy now, she had no doubt that one day she would perfect these techniques.

“You’ve done well today, my lady.”

“You’re the one who worked hard, Joel. Because of me, you had to spend your day off working…”

“This is something I want to do. It feels more like a privilege than a hardship.”

Joel’s slightly visible snaggletooth whenever he smiled left a distinct impression.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t know your full name.”

Diana casually brought up the topic.

At first, she had assumed Joel was his surname, but after noticing how his friends addressed him without formality, she realized it was his given name.

It was considered improper for someone outside the knighthood to address a knight by their first name—something typically reserved for lovers.

“My apologies for the delay. I am Joel Franz.”

“I see. Sir Franz, may I ask you something?”

“Of course, feel free to ask anything.”

“I heard you joined the Order through His Highness’s recommendation. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

While it wasn’t unheard of for some to bypass the standard entrance exam through special privileges, joining under a direct recommendation from the Duke himself was highly unusual.

Seeing Diana’s curiosity, Joel took the initiative to explain.

“His Highness took me in. Since I wasn’t eligible to take the entrance exam, receiving a recommendation was my only option.”

“That means…”

“I wasn’t officially registered in any household. I had no status. After I joined the Order, His Highness arranged for me to be connected with Baron Franz.”

In other words, he had grown up in the slums.

How had the Duke, of all people, come to cross paths with a child from the slums?

“How did you come to know His Highness?”

“He visited our village.”

“…Are you saying he personally traveled there?”

“Yes. I heard he makes it a point to stop by nearby slums whenever he leads a monster subjugation. I believe he came to offer aid.”

Though the subjugation wasn’t his only purpose. Back then, Ersivan had been desperately searching for someone.

But Joel chose not to mention that detail.

Now that his master was married and had a good relationship with the Duchess, there was no need to bring up an old flame. It would only stir up unnecessary trouble.

“That’s surprising.”

She had known that Ersivan was active in hunting monsters, but she had never imagined that he would personally visit impoverished villages to help.

“He may appear rigid, but in truth, he cares more for the people of the empire than anyone else.”

Joel added, his voice filled with admiration.

What benefit was there in helping those in the slums? And yet, he had continued such an “useless” act for years.

Truly, Ersivan was a man impossible to understand.

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