The Regressed Princess - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Sword; Hoping the Two Sisters Get Bored Quickly…!

No one took the Princess’s claim that she wanted to practice the sword seriously.

While Andra remained half-skeptical, Miscella was already slapping her chest and laughing heartily, guaranteeing to everyone: “Lily definitely won’t stick with it. She won’t even last half a day!”

“Fine then, let’s make a bet,” Eleanor said solemnly. “If I can stick with it, for every day I persist, you have to persist for a day too.”

“Hmph, I’m your elder sister; I can persist twice as long one for me equals two for you!” Miscella held up two fingers.

“Good, it’s a deal!” The two sisters struck their palms together, swearing to each other.

At first, everyone thought it was just children bickering. Andra didn’t take it to heart either; based on her understanding of Miscella, this arrogant Nolanna Crown Princess was certain to lose. That girl had plenty of energy, but if you forced her to do something she didn’t like, there was no room for negotiation.

As for Eleanor, she was held to a different standard. Andra had spoken with a worried Coral, and both were filled with tender sentiments: The little Princess is just doing this to spur her sister on. She’ll go through the motions for a few days, and once her anger fades, we’ll persuade her to go back and rest.

“Her Highness often has headaches; you must not let her overwork herself,” Coral had warned while bringing snacks, and Andra had readily agreed.

In her heart, Andra didn’t think such a delicate child was suited for holding a sword. Perhaps Eleanor’s movements would be cute, but letting such a little Princess fight personally was a failure on the part of her guards and knights.

I will protect her well. Andra swore silently. That night, after eating snacks and at the Princess’s invitation, they slept head-to-head, enjoying a rare peace.

The next day, as dawn just began to break, the room within the curtains was completely shrouded in darkness. Andra’s eyelashes trembled, and she woke up on time as usual.

She could vaguely discern shapes in the dark, so she stood up naturally, preparing to change clothes in the dark and slip away to the training grounds to begin her day. Just as she draped her coat over her shoulders and prepared to get off the bed, a faint whimpering came from the pillow.

“Mmh…”

The little Princess struggled groannily, one hand resting on the edge of the bed, mumbling: “Wait for me… I want to… go with you…”

It took her half a minute to get the sentence out, and the moment she finished, her chin knocked against the corner of the bed. Her eyes closed, and she seemed to fall back asleep.

Let the Princess keep sleeping.

Andra tiptoed toward the door, only to hear a “Thud!”

The little Princess had actually struggled and fallen to the floor, letting out a pained cry of “Ow, ow.”

“Highness!” Andra dropped the door handle and rushed over. Coral also pulled back the curtain and rushed in a few seconds later.

The two scrambled to lift Eleanor back onto the bed, discovering a purplish bruise on her forehead evidently from the bump just now.

“Andra…” Coral grit her teeth, glaring at Andra as if she wanted to bite holes in her.

“Don’t blame Andra.” The little Princess raised a hand and gently patted Coral, then snuggled into Andra’s embrace. She said firmly: “We agreed yesterday to go. We must go.”

“Oh, my Princess~” Coral knelt on the floor, pounding the floorboards with her fists and complaining: “What hour is it even? The Mother Goddess’s eldest daughter is still sleeping!”

“I’m going…” Eleanor said halfway through, but her eyes closed again, and she suddenly slumped into Andra’s arms.

Coral gasped and hurriedly said: “It’s not light yet. The instructor said to wait until dawn to go to the training grounds, right?” She shot a look at Andra, and Andra had no choice but to say with a wry smile: “Right, that’s how it is.” Though she herself liked to practice in the early hours; she could be full of energy on just five hours of sleep.

However, Andra couldn’t bear to let the weak and sickly little Princess ruin her health by staying up with her. So, she obediently went along with Coral’s words, tucked the little Princess back into her quilts carefully, and the two lay back together for a short nap.

By the time they woke up two hours later, the sky was fully bright. Andra hurriedly rolled out of bed. Now that the little Princess was slightly more awake, several attendants scrambled to help her change and brought two tables of food at top speed.

Andra was used to practicing before eating, but since she was already there, she sat at the table and unhurriedly finished the lavish breakfast with the little Princess.

They headed out half an hour later. Andra held the little Princess’s hand; the soft touch of their palms made her mind sway. When they walked sweetly into the training grounds, Manju and Thorns were already training.

Andra skillfully pulled out a longsword and began practicing against the wooden dummy. Meanwhile, Eleanor raised her voice and shouted: “Where is Miscella? Bring Miscella to me at once!”

An attendant sprinted across the long bridge. It took another half hour for Miscella to walk over from the bridge, grunting with every step. She had argued with her sister yesterday and hadn’t slept together, and she was still being huffy.

By now, Eleanor had already put on her practice sleeves and leather armor. She looked at her sister with a stern expression: “Sister, you’re too late!”

What? Eleanor really got up this early?

Miscella’s expression became awkward. She had bet that Eleanor definitely wouldn’t get up, or even if she did, she wouldn’t come to practice, so she had slept in… this time she had lost to her sister.

Her eyes darted around. Looking at the specially made small sword in her sister’s hand, she grinned: “It’s so tiring for me to swing a longsword every day, unlike you with your tiny sword. I’m at a disadvantage~”

Hearing this, the gathered Princess’s Guards all turned their heads and stared at her. Miscella’s face turned redder and redder until she had to puff out her chest and snap back: “What? A bet has to be fair! You’re allowed to use a small sword, but I’m not allowed to be late?”

Hearing such a poor excuse, some guards cracked their knuckles, ready to spar with the Third Highness. Andra even let out a cold laugh, lifting her sword to walk toward Miscella. But before she could take two steps, she heard a Clang behind her.

“?!”

She turned around. The little Princess had shoved the small sword back into the rack and forcefully pulled out a standard longsword used by everyone. The moment the longsword cleared the scabbard, it fell to the ground with a Clang.

“Highness, be careful not to cut your hand!” Coral lunged forward, wanting to snatch the sword.

However, Eleanor shook her head and said: “Wait, let me try first.”

She weighed the sword and lifted it twice. She could only hold the hilt while propping the tip on the ground; she couldn’t swing it at all. The sword was simply too heavy for her ten-year-old self. If Eleanor had practiced swordplay on Earth, she would have realized that the swords here were much heavier. The ordinary practice arming sword she held already exceeded the weight of a heavy two-handed sword from Earth.

Eleanor sighed. This body of hers was truly a world apart from the other Royal Daughters of this land. Although she had commissioned smiths to forge swords multiple times in her first and second lives, the weapons she actually used were mostly daggers and short blades. As for Miscella’s fine steel sword, it was actually far less heavy than Andra’s “Holy Sword” from the first life. Back then, she had been an adult, and in a fit of rage, she could just barely swing it.

Even with that level of rage, Andra had snatched it away with a gentle twist.

Eleanor frowned slightly.

I want to kill Andra with my own hands.

This thought had been born from the start of this life. She truly hoped to kill Andra personally, to bring their grievances to a complete end. If she were also a peak swordswoman, challenging Andra to a duel where they resolved their enmity in the most direct way, how wonderful that would be.

Eleanor knew this goal was hard to reach. First, she would have to drink the mysterious decoction to undergo the Third Development to bridge the physical gap between them. But now, actually trying to lift the sword with her own strength, a sense of crisis surged within her.

Even a beginner could use these practice longswords at will, and “beginner” in this world usually referred to children over six years old. A six-year-old child likely hadn’t drunk the decoction; even if some had, they hadn’t developed much.

Could my body be far worse than even an ordinary person’s? Is that why Eva never considers me?

She tried a second time but still couldn’t lift it. Frustrated, she switched back to her custom-made short sword.

“Highness…” Coral walked over, heartbroken, but someone was faster than her.

Andra bypassed the others and held Eleanor’s hand. The youth’s eyes were full of seriousness. “Your Highness needn’t worry. In the future, I will be your sword.”

But I don’t need you.

Eleanor suddenly looked up and asked softly: “Andra, how much did you change before and after drinking the decoction?”

Andra was stunned by the abrupt question, but she quickly replied: “A lot. It can be said to be a total transformation. I could only kill a wild wolf with a knife before, but after drinking the medicine, I could wrestle a giant bear.”

Eleanor was silent for a few seconds, then asked dryly: “If there’s someone physically weak, can drinking the decoction bring a significant improvement?”

A weak person? Weak people were generally not given the decoction. Tribes had a high demand for child-bearers, and the materials for the decoction were expensive; they wouldn’t be wasted on those born weak. Andra thought for a long time before remembering a few exceptions. When certain Great Lords had only a few, or even one child, even if that child wasn’t good at fighting or was physically frail, they would be given the medicine.

She said hesitantly: “There should be improvement, but I’m not entirely sure. Those people never participate in any duels.”

Mainly, she didn’t want to admit that the heirs of some Hetuyan tribal chiefs were so weak that they remained at the bottom of the class even after drinking the decoction; they were just much stronger than before.

Looking at her awkward expression, Eleanor already knew the answer. She clenched her fist and whispered one last question: “Has anyone been very weak but became very strong after drinking it? If I drink the medicine… would I be able to swing a sword normally?”

Cough, cough, cough!

Andra originally wanted to be blunt: such cases only exist in fairy tales; in reality, there aren’t any. But the little Princess was clearly hoping for comfort: Highness, if you drink the medicine, you’ll surely be strong; you’re only weak now because you haven’t drunk it.

Instinctively, Andra didn’t want Eleanor to become interested in the decoction, but she also didn’t want to make her sad. So, she thought about it and comforted her gently: “The decoction is a blessing from the Mother Goddess. If the Goddess is willing to favor someone, they should become very strong after drinking it.”

This was merely a beautiful vision. How could someone not favored by the Goddess at birth suddenly gain favor after drinking medicine? She held the little Princess’s slender wrist; the contrast between Andra’s powerful fingers and hers was so stark: Give up while you can, Your Highness.

However, light flickered beneath Eleanor’s lowered eyelids.

The Goddess’s favor before the Mother Goddess, she was such a willful child. If she could drink the decoction ahead of time in one of her lives, would the Mother Goddess be willing to grant her a body stronger than Andra’s, or at least comparable?

“Your wish, I grant at this moment.”

Thinking of the Mother Goddess’s merciful voice, she felt a glimmer of hope. Eleanor calmed down quickly, as she organized her plan in her head: Before killing Andra personally, let’s at least achieve the act of killing her in this life. She had to head to the slave market soon, use special means to convince Eva, and simultaneously delay Andra’s progress in becoming stronger. She truly had no time to introduce the “medicine” variable, which might cost extra resets.

So, she nodded to Andra, then raised her small sword and poked slowly at the wooden dummy.

Splat.

The little Princess missed and looked at Andra with pleading eyes, as if saying: Quick, teach me.

Andra hurriedly walked to her side, supporting the Princess’s right hand with her own, carefully guiding her arm so she could feel the trajectory of the sword.

“Please move this way… then like this~ Yes, good, very good.”

Andra supported the Princess’s wrist with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist to prevent her from falling. Nominally it was the Princess practicing, but in reality, all the power came from Andra. A faint fragrance wafted to the tip of her nose, and Andra felt an electric tingling in her palm. The feeling was strange, but it rivaled the exhilaration of sword practice… the little Princess in her arms occasionally let out cute exclamations, sometimes asking about the practical application of a certain strike.

Just as she was immersed in this sweet atmosphere, a pig-like squeal came from the side.

“Oink-oink” Miscella pinched her nose and mocked: “Andra, I don’t know how to swing a sword either. Hold my hand and swing it too.”

the sweet illusion was instantly swept away. A drop of cold sweat trickled down Andra’s cheek. The moment her wrist wavered, the little Princess let out a startled cry.

Andra had to resume holding the sword and helping the Princess train one, two, three, four while a secret irritability surged in her heart: How long will these days last? I hope these two sisters get bored quickly…!

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