The Male S*ave of the Count Sianella Family

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It has been two days since we returned to the Count’s House.

The schedule during this time was simple.

Once she said it, she stuck to it. Shione had been holed up in the shooting range, shooting arrows just as she had stated in the carriage.

Whenever she got tired, she would take a suitable break, and when she regained her energy, she would string her arrows as if it were her duty.

When I asked her if she might take a little more rest, she stubbornly shook her head. All I could do for my master was to adjust her stance when it became off. Providing feedback on her archery was all I could do.

And today was no exception.

“Ray, Ray.”

Bouncing up after finishing her morning jog, Shione called my name from the bed.

“The sun has risen, and you’ve had ample rest; let’s head to the shooting range.”

Is this really the same Shione Shianella from a year ago?

When I compared her to the plump Shione who had despised leaving her cozy nest, it truly amazed me how much a person could change.

It was a rather satisfying development, yet it worried me a little.

She used to lounge around in bed for more than half the day, except during banquet days and her coming-of-age ceremony.

Now, she had become someone filled with enthusiasm, and of course, that would be a cause for concern.

There’s a saying that when a person changes too much, their death may come near.

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little more? I’m worried that you’ve been pushing yourself too hard these past two days.”

“Well, what’s it matter? Even with this appearance—”

Shione confidently rose from her place.

“I’m at the level of a Sword User. It’s nothing to worry about when my body is harmed this little.”

Indeed. She’s not some mediocre individual who barely learned mana.

Even if she seems that way, Shione is indeed a Sword User. While she may be clumsy with imbuing mana into her sword, it’s not a problem for her to incorporate and utilize mana in her body.

Given her body has adapted to the accumulated mana, two days of shooting arrows wouldn’t break her.

Sure, she wouldn’t break, but… undoubtedly, her body would gradually accumulate fatigue.

Seeing her obviously neglect the importance of rest, I spoke willingly for her sake.

“Then promise me you’ll take sufficient rest in between. While it’s good to work tirelessly, don’t you think sometimes you need time to pause and reorganize?”

“Hmm… if you’re asking that much…”

After briefly trailing off, Shione started to look at me with a gentle gaze.

Then, with a teasing grin curling at the corners of her eyes.

“Hehe.”

For some reason, Shione let out an exaggerated laugh.

She clasped her hands behind her back and approached me with light steps.

With a staccato-like stride, Shione quickly came to my front. Leaning slightly forward, she looked up at me and said.

“Ray. Are you that worried about me?”

It was so clear what response she desired.

I could easily brush off her words casually, but I decided to play along for a while.

“Of course.”

I leaned forward to match her posture, our foreheads touching.

“Of course, I can’t help but worry.”

Her eyes trembled as if she couldn’t believe I would go this far.

Just watching her ears turn crimson was enough to confirm she was flustered.

But she had started the teasing first.

“If we start this, we ought to see it through.”

Since this wasn’t just between a master and servant, but between Shione and me.

I had become quite comfortable with this playful banter.

I gazed into her expressive eyes, my lips curling into a slight smile.

Then, I swiftly seized the hand she had hidden behind her back, intertwining our fingers.

“If your delicate hands end up with blisters, it’ll be difficult both to shoot arrows and to hold my hand like this, right?”

“Ugh…”

Shione finally surrendered, her head drooping as if raising a white flag.

I watched as she froze stiffly, standing there awkwardly behind me.

I took the bow she had been keeping in one corner of the room, handed it to her, and said.

“You mentioned you wanted to go to the shooting range, so please take this.”

“Ugh…”

Shione glanced back and forth between the bow in my hands and my face.

Then, whoosh!

She snatched the bow from my hand and marched out of her room, leaving me behind.

Seeing her reaction, I couldn’t help but let out a deflated laugh.

*

Contrary to her hurried exit from her room, Shione awaited me not far ahead.

As we walked silently toward the training ground without any further conversation.

“Hem, hem. Ray, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Shione cleared her throat gently, beginning to speak in a serious tone.

“What is it you want to tell me?”

“Yes, it’s about Siabel. It seems we’ve decided to schedule a duel about ten days from now.”

“Aduel in ten days? That’s quite a generous amount of time we have.”

“After our long carriage ride back, my sister had your best interest in mind… Moreover, our mother has quite a few things to discuss regarding recent events in the territory. From what I’ve heard—”

Shione paused for a moment, crossing her arms.

After a brief pause, she released her arms and continued clearly.

“Recently, it seems monsters have been appearing unusually around the territory.”

“Monsters, you say?”

“Yes.”

Shione nodded with an exaggerated serious expression.

“It’s fine if it’s just small, weaklings like Goblins or Kobolds. I’ve heard this winter has seen even Orcs coming down into the territory to cause ruckus.”

“…That doesn’t sound good.”

“Indeed. Apparently, just before we returned, Orcs entered the territory and created havoc, and the knights resolved the issue.”

I nodded along with Shione’s words, pondering.

Goblins and Kobolds are fairly unimpressive creatures, even when compared to other monsters, so as long as they don’t form swarms in overwhelming numbers, even a farmer accustomed to fieldwork could easily handle them.

Slicing their heads off would be as simple as harvesting ripe wheat.

But as for Orcs, unless several mercenaries or soldiers hold them down, it would be tough to catch them.

So, it certainly wouldn’t be a good situation for Orcs to set foot in the territory.

I could only hope this was just a sign that more troublesome situations wouldn’t arise.

*

Shione and I arrived at the shooting range.

When I first saw my master arrive under the bright midday sun, the instructor of the shooting range rushed to please her. Now, she was welcomed naturally.

The other archers were the same. They had all come to know that once Shione started handling a bow, she showed remarkable accuracy on stationary targets.

Everyone was becoming accustomed to Shione’s presence.

Shione donned a quiver full of arrows resting in a corner of the range, preparing her spot to shoot.

Before she shot, I grabbed a piece of protective gear readily available at the range and handed it to her.

“Princess Shione, you forgot your protective gear.”

“Oh, thank you.”

With a smile, Shione accepted the protective gear and put it on.

Since the drawing of the string would strain her fingers as she pulled against the taut bowstring, it wouldn’t hurt her to wear protective gear properly.

Even if she’s a superhuman who accepted mana, it can’t hurt to be cautious; she had been shooting with leather shooting gloves for two days now.

Drawing the bowstring with the Mediterranean method, she maintained her posture with Dead Release, and not only supplying mana to the arrowheads but also attempting to condense it.

“Ha…!”

Swish!

While she was still lacking in adding mana to the arrowhead, Shione smoothly shot her first arrow, hitting the center of the target.

I approached her.

“You seem to have adapted well to the Mediterranean technique. Would you like to try practicing another style?”

“Really?”

I nodded at Shione’s eager question.

“Well, it’s not too different from a new technique.”

This new method wouldn’t be particularly novel or special as it was only a variation of the Mediterranean method.

You fit the shaft of the arrow between your index and middle fingers, using the ring finger as well to draw the string in the Mediterranean method. In contrast, you would drop the ring finger for the Flemish draw, using only the index and middle fingers.

Since you have to draw with two fingers instead of three, it requires more strength, but the reduction in interference to the arrow will considerably improve accuracy.

“It’s similar to the Mediterranean method, but take the ring finger off the string, and only use the index and middle fingers to draw and shoot.”

“Got it.”

Shione shot the bow using the Flemish draw.

The arrow flew through the air strongly and landed perfectly in the center of the target.

“Oh! Just removing one finger has made the feeling completely different when shooting and aiming.”

“While it may take more strength to draw with two fingers, you’ll face less interference on the arrow and suffer less impact from hand tremors, so your accuracy will definitely improve.”

Shione nodded in understanding.

After confirming her response, I positioned myself beside her, saying.

“Then please adjust your stance. I will teach you another technique.”

The newly introduced method was the Three Under draw.

The notched end of the arrow is more behind than the fletching, creating a V-shape to easily fit the arrow on the string.

Once the nocking point is on the string, pull the bowstring down using the index, middle, and ring fingers.

The Three Under method makes it easier to align the arrow’s tip with the target, as the arrow sits nearly at eye level, reducing interference on the arrow, thus enhancing accuracy.

I stood closely behind her, slowly guiding her through the Three Under method.

At first, Shione seemed quite tense standing so close to me, but she soon followed my instructions and shot an arrow.

“…This is amazing. I never imagined I could shoot without even holding the arrow.”

With that, Shione found it intriguing and shot arrows using the Three Under method for a few minutes, eventually returning to her usual Mediterranean style.

She said this style felt the most comfortable to her.

After teaching her the new technique, I quietly watched her while we passed the time. As sounds of soldiers and knights practicing with swords began to echo outside the shooting range.

I spoke to Shione, who was enjoying a brief rest from shooting arrows.

“Princess Shione, may I take a moment to speak with a knight outside?”

“Speak with a knight? What do you intend to discuss with them?”

Shione tilted her head in confusion.

“Well, since you have a duel with Siabel Shianella in ten days, I thought maybe I could seek some advice to meet her expectations—”

I glanced outside at the knights wielding their swords under the bright sun.

“I plan to ask Diolia about Siabel’s swordsmanship.”