Chapter 16
***
“Your dad is really.”
My mother, who was next to me, opened her mouth with a smile.
But somehow, my mother’s eyes seemed as if she was looking at her immature son…
Really, My father is not cool in front of his family.
“Wow, Dad! Daddy is the coolest! Lara will cheer you on!”
Still, my sister seemed to like it very much.
Of course, I also couldn’t ignore my father’s hopeful eyes, so I just gave him a clumsy applause.
“As expected of my daughters, wait a little longer!”
My father blew a hand kiss towards our side, and then lightly gripped the wooden sword.
My father’s intrusion was that, but I was curious about the match itself.
Based on the responses of the knights and the way my father handled them, I don’t think I would have stood there if I wasn’t skilled.
The flags flapped to mark the start.
The look he had while smiling towards his family until a while ago was nowhere to be seen, and a beast-like expression appeared on my father’s face.
‘He’s just standing there but.’
In an instant, I felt a sense of intimidation.
Without realizing it, I leaned forward and found an opportunity.
If it was me, how would I have attacked him? He’s been an intriguing opponent for a while now.
“Our Anastasia, did you want to see your father closer?”
After saying that, Damian held me and took a couple of steps forward.
Taking care not to get out from the wide shade.
In a different kind of comfort from Mikhail, I sat still and watched my father’s movements.
The frozen knight couldn’t move first even though my father waited for tens of seconds.
‘It would be better to attack first than to defend.’
Still, It would be hard to win.
My father’s opponent was a new apprentice knight, so there were many places where he was clumsy.
My father thought that his opponent wouldn’t attack even after waiting, so he lightly took off his foot and approached the opponent in an instant.
Clack–! Clack–!
The sound of wooden swords hitting each other resonated.
“Come a little closer, with more strength!”
“Yes? Yes! Duke!”
Is it a match or a training spar.
Even though my father could finish it at once, perhaps considering that he was a young knight, my father faced his sword several times.
Snap–!
Nevertheless.
“Ah……”
The match ended blandly with the devastated exclamation of the opponent.
As soon as my father pushed him a little, the opponent couldn’t stand it and he lost his weapon just like that.
“……”
The knight looked at the wooden sword that flew away for a moment, then lowered his head and meekly acknowledged his defeat.
“It’s okay, you’re still young, from now on you can train more.”
“Yes, Duke!”
Father also ended the match warmly with encouragement instead of rebuke.
“My son, daughter~! Was Dad cool?!”
Lastly, I think you would have been really cool if you didn’t say that, Father.
* * *
Mikhail, who went out confidently, became the winner of the final match of the first round.
He faced the youngest knight among the contestants -although he was still almost ten years older than him- whether he knew the difference in size or not, like my father, he didn’t take it easy in the beginning.
As soon as the flag was raised, Mikhail quickly approached the knight with his unique light body, giving the knight a valid hit, and blowing his sword away while he was taken aback.
‘If it had been prolonged, it would have been disadvantageous for Mikhail.’
I thought that he had a great sense of combat.
It was a match that ended in an instant, but as I focused, Damian spoke in a tone filled with complex emotions.
“Anastasia really likes Mikhail, huh?”
“Aya, –bba. Mieo.”
[No, brother. I hate him.]
It was a misunderstanding that I really didn’t want, so I shook the hem of my brother’s clothes and shook my head.
I mean, he’s a mean guy, not a good guy.
How can he be good if he keeps on saying ‘small’ every time.
I need to grow up fast!
Besides, I have a strange feeling that I shouldn’t get too close to him.
‘It’s the first time something like this has happened.’
Even though I was wondering if I should believe this feeling or not.
My babbling was messy, but this time my brother seemed to understand.
“Brother is cool?”
“Woo-!”
As expected, he was my older brother who was also famous for being smart.
He didn’t even miss it and remembered what Mikhail interpreted once.
“More than Mikhail?”
“Woo!”
Why are you asking something obvious?
I turned my head away, seeing Mikhail waving to Damian from below the venue.
Because of you, my brother keeps getting anxious.
* * *
Is it good luck or bad luck.
Mikhail was my very own father’s opponent in the second round.
However, he attacked more fiercely than my father’s opponent in the first round.
My father smiled leisurely, but avoided all the attacks.
“Father, is amazing right?”
“Woo.”
I replied like that, but on the other hand, I thought that I wanted to applaud Mikhail.
‘He knows he can’t beat my father.’
Usually, thinking like that was a way to get discouraged.
However, Mikhail tried his best to pursue my father, as if he had erased the idea of losing from his head.
‘Because you’re still only six years old…..’
I suddenly portrayed that guy after ten years.
‘I’m sure he’ll have the same level of skills as my father right now.’
Perhaps 20 years from now, he will surpass my father and become the best swordsman in the country or the continent?
Well, by then, I won’t be here anymore so I won’t know.
It was also the most regrettable thing for me, to not be able to exceed 20 years.
‘That’s why I stopped making disciples.’
In any world, there were those who wanted to be strong.
They asked to learn from me, regardless of my age or status.
But I have never seen my disciples rise to the top.
‘Because I died before that.’
Or they betrayed me before that.
Eight out of ten betrayed me, one died early, and one was a late bloomer.
I lived quite a wonderful life, huh.
Still, habits are very scary.
Looking at the match between my father and Mikhail and seeing the qualities of the two, it was possible.
‘As always, maybe I just want to leave something behind. I……’
I chuckled inside.
Since that day, when I met the strange baby in my dream, there were times when the emotions that I had tightly suppressed in me, rippled.
‘In this life, it’s enough to be motivated to live as long as I can with my family.’
[tn– i think she’s saying it’s enough to be motivated to live during the less than 20 yrs she has w her family]
So I shouldn’t be greedy any further.
‘I’ll have to investigate that strange baby as well.’
While I was thinking about that dream, the result of the match between the two came out.
“I lost, Duke.”
As Mikhail looked at my father’s wooden sword pointing down at his neck, he meekly admitted defeat.
At those words, my father put down his sword with a smile on his proud face.
“It’s much better than the last time, little duke.”
“Thank you.”
I was amazed that he was so polite.
So that guy is polite towards my father.
Mikhail Leventis landed two hits on my father, and was eliminated in the second round.
Even if it’s mean….
I shouldn’t be thinking that I also want to watch over his swordsmanship, right?
[tn– can also be *overlook his swordsmanship, as in supervise him or smth]
It will definitely help him later though.
* * *
Well, obviously, of course, the winner of the martial arts competition was my father.
The moment the championship was confirmed, my father opened his arms to me, my sister, and my brother.
“This father will continue to receive the congratulations of my babies!”
No, Father.
Are you going to continue this fake contest again?
When I walked up to my father while holding hands with my older sister and older brother, he greeted us with open arms and a soft look, unlike when he was fighting a match.
“Daddy, you were cool! Lara’s dad is the best!”
“Oh, my daughter. Really?”
“Yeah! Lara is going to marry Daddy later!”
Ack, my sister is piling up cases representing a dark history during her childhood.
[tn–um, in simpler terms her sis is just piling up her dark history or embarrassing things she said/did during her younger years.]
If one talks about such a thing once, there are many fathers who worry about their daughters for a long time until they really get married.
‘I should absolutely never say that.’
A dark history is a dark history, but I have a reason not to.
A promise you can’t keep isn’t something you just spit out.
“–bba.”
I couldn’t speak properly anyway, so I called my father and gave him flowers instead of congratulating him.
But my father was overjoyed by that alone, so he held the three siblings, including me, tightly in his wide arms.
“I’m so happy this year, my babies are so cute and lovely, and I was able to show my babies a cool side!”
“Yeah! Daddy, you’re cool!”
“………”
“………”
However, my nice sister, Laurentia, was the only one who responded to my father’s words.
I pretended not to know and turned away, and my brother’s face blushed as if saying that he wasn’t a baby.
And Mikhail.
“When will the youngest lady stop pretending not to know?”
Seeing me not responding to my father’s words, he spit out mean words again.
Those words completely entered into my training plan for that guy’s future.
And my father was poked in the side by my mother about three times, so he was all over the place.