Raine had just finished swordsmanship training and was preparing to walk home with George when a pretty maid in a neat gray uniform approached.

"Raine, Head Maid Shadia requests your presence in the rear garden."

Raine paused.

After a brief hesitation, he nodded.

"All right. I'll go at once."

He turned to George. "Go on without me. Tell my parents I may be late and that they should eat dinner first."

George nodded, confusion plain on his face.

When had Raine become acquainted with Head Maid Shadia?

The head maid was a senior servant. Within Habsburg Estate, her status stood below only the butler and the treasurer.

Before long, Raine followed the maid through the castle's tall rear gate and entered the rear garden for the first time.

"Please go in. Head Maid Shadia is waiting inside."

The maid smiled and withdrew.

Raine bowed slightly in thanks, then walked calmly into the garden.

He already had several guesses about the summons, but only the people waiting inside could confirm them.

Sure enough, Head Maid Shadia stood in the rear garden.

She wasn't alone.

Two people waited among the flowers.

Shadia, a stern woman of around forty, stood beside one of the flowerbeds. Her black maid's uniform and unsmiling face gave her a severe, capable air.

Yet she wasn't the central figure in the garden.

That position belonged to the noble girl in fitted hunting attire.

Claire stood at the garden's heart, wholly absorbed in swinging a two-handed greatsword while contemplating some sword art.

Surprise and excitement stirred in Raine.

He hadn't expected to attract the attention of someone so important.

Being noticed by Instructor Humbert had already exceeded his expectations. Better still would have been the attention of Lord Lloyd, the butler and knight of Habsburg Estate.

The count's youngest daughter stood far above even Lord Lloyd.

Raine had never imagined she would take an interest in him.

"Raine, there are swords on that rack. Choose one and attack me."

Claire stopped her movements and turned toward him.

Had Raine not suspected this possibility, the command might have thrown him into a panic.

"As you command, Miss Claire."

When he reached the weapon rack, he discovered that every weapon held a sharpened steel blade.

Short swords, knightly arming swords, hand-and-a-half swords, and two-handed greatswords filled the rack. Every one looked finely made.

After considering his options, Raine chose a knightly arming sword close in length to the ironwood blade he used for training.

He stepped into the center of the garden and took his position.

Across both his lives, this was the first time he had held such a sharp weapon. Now he was about to use it in a fight.

He couldn't avoid feeling nervous.

"If you're ready, we'll begin."

Claire smiled faintly. She had exchanged her two-handed greatsword for a hand-and-a-half sword.

Raine nodded.

Swish!

Claire slashed down.

Raine's body reacted before thought. He raised his sword horizontally and blocked with the strong portion of the blade.

Clang!

Steel rang against steel.

That was only the beginning.

Claire followed with three rapid strikes.

Raine's pupils tightened, and he retreated sharply.

Even while giving ground without pause, he could barely defend himself. He had no opportunity to counterattack.

Three seconds later, Claire's blade rested against his neck.

Three seconds.

That was all he had lasted.

Claire had even suppressed her physical ability to roughly match his own. Raine could feel the restraint in every strike.

He had seen her swing a seventy- or eighty-pound greatsword with the ease of a wooden stick.

Yet those three seconds still rewarded him.

[Basic Swordsmanship EXP +15]

[Militia EXP +4]

[Militia has reached Lv. 2]

[Remaining Attribute Points: 1]

[Remaining Skill Points: 1]

"Your Basic Swordsmanship is good, especially for a page boy." Claire studied him. "Unfortunately, your physical ability is poor, and your talent for the sword isn't exceptional either."

She turned away.

"Shadia, take him out. It appears I expected too much. Finding someone with knight potential among commoners truly is difficult."

Disappointment colored Claire's voice.

Raine stared.

Who was she looking down on?

The dismissal in her eyes made him understand exactly why a woman could drive a man to work himself half to death.

"Wait, Miss Claire."

Raine lifted his head and met her gaze, determination burning in his eyes.

"I'd like to try again. Would you grant me one more chance?"

"Oh?" Claire regarded him with a faint, ambiguous smile. "You can still continue?"

Her voice remained pleasant, but the goodwill and curiosity she had felt toward him were already fading.

Another boy who couldn't accept defeat.

Did he believe stubborn persistence alone would impress her?

Naive.

Raine wanted to tell her that when a woman asked whether a man could continue, only one answer was possible.

Of course he could.

Even if he couldn't, he had to.

Without hesitation, Raine assigned the Attribute Point he had just earned from reaching Militia Lv. 2 to Agility.

Speed overcame all martial arts.

Claire's sword had simply been too fast for him to answer.

Agility rose from 6 to 7.

Heat flowed through his body, and strength filled him once more.

That was the finest part of assigning points. Every time, his stamina returned in full.

Claire had been about to refuse him.

Then she saw him rise again, the stubborn resolve in his eyes unchanged.

She nodded.

"Very well. This is your last chance."

Raine bowed slightly.

An instant later, he moved.

Swish!

His step was at least twenty percent faster.

Claire's heart jolted.

Clang!

Raine's stamina had fully recovered, his Agility had increased by one point, and the first exchange had familiarized him with the steel sword in his hand.

This time, he fought at least one full tier above his previous performance.

"Oh?"

Claire's surprise grew as the exchange continued.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their blades met in rapid succession.

At the side, Shadia's gaze changed. Clear approval entered her expression.

"Stop."

Claire snapped her sword and forced Raine back.

"Raine, not bad. You may leave for now."

Raine was the one left uncertain.

Had she accepted him or not?

He had deliberately kept his new Skill Point in reserve. If Claire remained dissatisfied, he could still...

But after her dismissal, he had only one response.

"As you command, Miss Claire."

Raine bowed and left the garden.

Claire watched him go.

*Was he deliberately concealing his strength? Or did he hold back during the first exchange because he feared injuring me? Interesting.*

She had been ready to give up on him, only for Raine to overturn her expectations.

Judging by his expression, even his second performance might not have revealed his limit. He still appeared to have something in reserve.

It had been a long time since Claire encountered anyone so interesting.

Far too many men strutted before her like peacocks, desperate to display one hundred and twenty percent of their ability for a scrap of attention.

Shadia considered the exchange, then asked with some confusion, "My lady, why do you value Raine? His talent appears decent, but Young Master Dennis and Young Master Marcos are already third-level knight attendants. They're close to his age and far stronger."

Shadia had watched Claire grow up. She didn't want the young lady wasting time or energy on someone who didn't matter.

Raine might possess some talent, but he had only just begun sword training.

He had started too late.

Shadia didn't believe he could catch Dennis or Marcos.

If Raine's highest prospect was becoming an ordinary guard, he wasn't worth Claire's effort.

"Shadia, Raine is fundamentally different from them," Claire said.

"Dennis is Baron Norman's son. He has practiced his family's knight breathing method since childhood. His current strength is nothing remarkable."

"His pursuit of me also has impure motives. We haven't fallen out only because I've never rejected him directly."

"As for Marcos, he is the son of the president of the Bordeaux Trade Association. Since childhood, he has swallowed countless potions to enhance his body. His progress may look fast now, but his potential was exhausted long ago. His chances of becoming a Knight are extremely low."

This was the first time Shadia had heard her young lady discuss these matters.

Her eyes widened.

"You mean Raine has great potential?"