The Male S*ave of the Count Sianella Family

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I couldn’t show my surprise, but I was amazed.

Anyone who saw this would surely think the same as me.

The men wielding spears and swords were either soldiers who wanted to serve the country or mercenaries who lived off the sword.

What kind of person could show such skill as a servant of a noble family, born a commoner, and never having been properly educated?

I thought he was a natural genius.

But that wasn’t all.

He was strong.

He was persistent, and even had a certain demeanor.

As if he was born for combat.

Clang!!

Look at that.
Even now, when a spear is thrust directly at him, instead of closing his eyes in fear—

He’s staring wide-eyed, engrossed in reading my sword movements.

I exchanged blows with him, and my thoughts flowed freely.

On the first day, the last strike aimed for my neck.

On the third day, he focused only on parrying my attacks with only the necessary movements. It was astonishing that he seemed to be making my sword twist in the air like a ghost. He truly understood the sword.

On the fifth day, he took full advantage of that and reached out to me from my blind spot. I could have blocked it if I wanted, but his sword had a unique lethal quality that sent chills down my spine. For a moment, it was as if Siabel’s sword overlapped with his.

It was remarkable.

The time we shared crossing swords each day wasn’t very long—just about an hour. And even then, we spent quite a bit of that resting.

He was rapidly increasing his skills.

No, perhaps “increasing” isn’t the right word.

To me, it’s more like his sword was making progress day by day.

“Seriously…”

I felt as if I was regaining a sense I had forgotten.

Knights understand each other through the clash of swords, but with him, instead of understanding more, I only found myself filled with deeper questions.

I could go crazy wondering about his true identity.

And honestly, it was somewhat regrettable.

‘If only Ray were a woman.’

…He could have awakened his mana and reached even greater heights.

As soon as the duel was over, Ray elegantly twirled his sword.

With a seamless motion, he sheathed it cleanly.

“Thank you for your efforts.”

“You too, well done. Our duel with Siabel is tomorrow, right? I’ll be cheering for you.”

He had asked me for a duel because he wanted to live up to Siabel’s expectations.

Having learned the sword dance of Siabel that I had mimicked, I was sure it wouldn’t just meet expectations; I might even surprise Siabel.

*

Ten days passed.

I was confirming my gear in the training hall, donning all the protective gear that wouldn’t hinder my movement. I double-checked the training sword hanging at my waist.

At that moment, Shione was watching me with sparkling eyes.

She had insisted on coming with me, postponing her usual archery practice, wanting to see my duel with Siabel today.

“Ray, Ray. What do you think?”

“What do you mean by ‘what do I think’?”

“Since you’ve been practicing with Lady Diolia every day, do you think you can win against Siabel?”

“Of course…”

I hesitated to answer right away, drawing out my words, and Shione nudged me to respond quickly.

“I can’t win. How can I defeat an expert knight?”

“…You took your sweet time, and yet that’s such a deflating answer.”

Shione’s eyes lit up with expectation instantly dimmed.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction.

“Just cheer from the sidelines. I’ll do my best to win for you.”

Shione nodded in agreement.

As we passed some time chatting idly…

“Your sister has arrived.”

Siabel Shianella, who had been hard to spot recently, appeared in the training hall.

She wore loose clothing suitable for sword training instead of the formal attire she had donned when we last met.

The various pieces of armor she wore hinted that today’s duel would likely get intense.

“Ray, I will be cheering for you from behind.”

Shione exchanged quick greetings with Siabel and stepped back.

Then Siabel took Shione’s place, bringing her training sword.

“It’s been about a week. How are you? I’m sure you’ve recovered from your travels.”

“Thanks to your consideration, Siabel, I’ve been able to rest and prepare for our duel.”

“Hooh. Preparing, you say?”

“I’ve been practicing for several days with Diolia’s help to get my body warmed up.”

Siabel’s previously indifferent expression softened.

“That’s good.”

She nodded with satisfaction as she looked over the sword at my waist, my chest guard, and my protective gear against heavy impacts.

“I heard from my mother about the achievements you had at the royal castle.”

She held up two fingers in front of her red lips.

“You protected the princess and cut down two demons with your sword, right?”

I could see the underlying feelings in Siabel’s tone.

She seemed to have higher expectations of me than I thought possible.

Certainly, even if they were incomplete, it was only natural for her to expect much from someone who had cut down two demons.

Moreover, she had once suffered a heavy blow from a demon herself…

It seemed that I was occupying more of her thoughts than I’d realized.

“It may be hard to properly gauge your true skills from the outside—”

“…”

“I’ve been looking forward to this so much, so I hope it won’t end awkwardly. Can I trust you?”

“I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”

Siabel smiled brightly and nodded.

Then we faced each other, stepping back to create distance.

Calming my mind, I gently placed my hand on the sword hilt, and slowly, spectators began to gather around us.

After all, who would want to miss such an entertaining sight?

The promising knight Siabel Shianella against someone with suspiciously similar skills to her.

If I were among those spectators, I would have placed bets on who would win, eagerly anticipating the outcome.

“Ray. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m all set.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Ping!

The moment I flicked my grip.

At that instant—

-Siabel was going to try to initiate a quick thrust in a rapid succession of strikes, aiming for about seven out of ten.

Just like Diolia had told me before.

Siabel confidently displayed a powerful thrust.

The only difference was that unlike Diolia, who lunged straight for my throat without mercy, Siabel was considerate.

Her heavy strike surged toward my chest guard.

‘No mercy from the start, huh?’

But the problem was just how immense the power behind her attack was.

Even with armor, I could easily imagine not being able to breathe or would be gasping desperately if I let a strike of that force land.

“Clash!”

I quickly countered her attack as my sword met hers.

Clang!

Oh…

The sound of our blades clashing and the surrounding gasps filled the training hall.

As Siabel ascended, she struck for the air.

With our swords locked, I swiftly closed the distance between us.

“Ha.”

Siabel’s eyes widened in surprise.

Not only her eyes, but her smile reached her ears.

“…This is fun. Did Diolia teach you that?”

Before I could even respond to her question…

My hand had moved in close to the shaft of Siabel’s sword.

Whoosh!

Applying pressure to push her sword aside, I lowered my stance.

With the intent to strike her abdomen with the end of my sword, I saw her foot rising up in front of me and dodged.

“Using kicks against a fragile man? Now that’s cruel.”

“I don’t think you’re in much position to be saying that after trying to nail my solar plexus.”

Siabel chuckled softly.

Clang!

This time we stood with our swords at the ready, engaging in a test of strength.
In this situation, with no mana being circulated, it was purely a battle of raw power.

Given that women here are much stronger than men, it was foolish to prolong this.

I slowly took a step back, creating distance from her.

For a while, we tangled our sword tips, both measuring each other and waiting for an opportunity.

Like a cunning snake, I nudged my sword toward her.

Siabel’s pupils gleamed.

“Ha!”

With a short and defined battle cry, I felt the iron vibration pulsating in my grip.

Instinctively warning me, declaring that for this attack, I needed to focus completely.

The crowd was silently captivated, watching Siabel’s attack. Her swift and powerful thrusts, and her legs were firmly poised to change direction at any moment.

Most were in awe of Siabel’s flawless maneuvers.

Some sighed.

“Ray…”

Shione was no exception.

No one thought that I could block Siabel’s incoming blow aimed straight for my collarbone.

Yet, I tightened my grip on the sword, determined to repay their faith in me.

‘…This is troublesome.’

If this continued, her sword would embed itself in my solar plexus.

I opened my eyes wide, focusing intently on the tip of Siabel’s blade.

I twisted my body, swiftly drawing my sword.

The sunlight reflected off my training sword, creating a sharp gleam.

Clang!

The sound of heavy impact rang out.

I felt Siabel’s blade scrape fiercely against the protective gear on my chest.

Siabel’s red lips parted slightly. Her expression was dazed, as if surprised that I could block it. Then her lips curled into an amused smile.

Fueled by the desire to land a counterattack on that smug face of Siabel’s, I pressed on, moving my sword.

I wielded it much like Diolia had shown in Siabel’s sword dance.

Siabel’s sword was solely meant for the death of her enemies. It was a weapon designed to tear apart ferocious monsters and demons.

The traces of Siabel’s swordsmanship I had glimpsed from Diolia mirrored my own technique surprisingly well.

I too, just like them, had wielded my sword with an unforgiving intent to claim the lives of those damned monsters that I couldn’t shoot down with my arrows.

Drawing upon the memories of the past, I approached Siabel’s sword dance convincingly.

“You are—”

Wriggling my way around Siabel’s entwined sword, I successfully pressed forward.

Once again, we faced each other, and the struggle for strength began.

I was out of breath. Displaying skills that didn’t match my condition was quite taxing.

Yet, if there was something I could take solace in…

“Honestly, you are—”

Even as I felt like I might die after such exhausting efforts,

Siabel wore an innocent smile, genuinely enjoying herself.

“…always exceeding my expectations.”

[Siabel Shianella feels a deeper interest in you.]

[Your mana efficiency has improved significantly due to Siabel Shianella’s interest.]

It was growth for me.