Chapter 841: The Captain Wasn’t Happy
While the breakfast at the Rosenhyde Royal Palace had been filled with twists and turns, revealing newer sights that had never been seen before, the same could not be said about the St. Claire family.
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Earlier, when Yvonne met the Captain for her training bright and early this morning, she was surprised to find too many people assembled there before her.
Excluding her parents, the rest of her family members had all made an appearance at the training grounds beside the mansion early in the morning.
Grandpa Valente and the twins who had slept over at this mansion with them were smiling as they waved at the little girl as she had arrived after them.
Even Howard was standing next to Captain Desmo whose forehead was wrinkled because she was late today.
Yvonne’s conversation with a certain pair of etcher and etched had delayed her arrival to the training ground and by the looks of it, her trainer wasn’t happy about it.
.....
However, she first turned to her Grandfather to greet him before glancing at the Captain and doing the same.
Once she had done what was expected of her according to the etiquette followed by nobility, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Why is Grandfather here?” She inquired and the old man explained that he wished to see how she trained with the Captain.
“I need to see for myself if the ‘Spawn of Neo’ torments my only granddaughter.” His reply brought an uncomfortable cough from Captain Desmo.
He was already aware of the name he was called behind his back by his recruits in the Red Scorpion Knights but no one had ever said the same right to his face.
Therefore, he was embarrassed when the old man looked right at him while uttering those words.
At the same time, he could not refuse those claims and declare that he wasn’t being too harsh on the child because he most certainly was.
Since she wished to learn how to control her aura and manifest it for longer, he had been pushing her to her limits so he averted his gaze right away.
Howard and Jax were the only ones who had watched Yvonne being put through hellish training as even the twins had seen a class in the past which wasn’t nearly as fierce as the one she was undergoing right now.
Yvonne was unable to decide whether she should chortle at the Captain’s awkward expressions or worry about her situation once her grandfather witnessed the training modules she followed each day for more than a few months now.
“Grandpa...” She muttered, choosing to reveal the truth of the matter before he was shocked with it later on.
However, the old man only shook his head and gestured that she should carry on with her training, not bothering about his presence.
He wanted to see what kind of training she was put through by this man hence he would not interfere and would only observe from afar.
The twins and Howard were worried but seeing his resolve to stick around, they swallowed the suggestions they had thought up to take him away from the training grounds.
Even Yvonne and Captain Desmo had no choice but to follow his desires and begin their class for the day.
‘I won’t go easy on you.’ The Captain’s voice reached her mind and she understood that it was due to her late arrival this morning.
He would not go easy on her even if she were to ask him to be considerate of the fact that her old grandfather was here to watch her training.
Therefore, she simply nodded as they soon began their class together.
Just as the Captain had informed her earlier, the little girl was put through the same training she had been undergoing the last few months.
After running around the grounds for twenty laps to test her stamina and endurance, he had asked her to practice swordsmanship with Howard as he sat under the shade of the canopy that had been set up for many years now.
The old man and the twins were also seated under the same canopy so he could feel their leering gazes every few seconds but he did not bother about them.
His attention was fixed on the siblings, advising them on where to improve and what steps needed to be taken to counter the attacks aimed at them.
At certain points, Howard was at an advantage while at others, it was Yvonne who was in the lead due to her nimble movements and small size that allowed her to be agile, slipping away from most attacks.
However, she wasn’t entirely out of harm’s way as a few times, she had received blows from Howard who was a much better swordsman when compared to her.
Her only advantage was her stamina and agility which had been honed and enhanced through years of training with the Captain.
If she could use her aura in this sparring match then the winner would already be clear but that would be unfair to Howard who had only awakened his aura but wasn’t able to use any of it since his etcher had not yet been found.
Therefore, this was a battle strictly between the skills that the siblings had developed through years of practice and perseverance.
In the end, it was Yvonne who was declared the winner after a long and strenuous fight but she wasn’t too pleased with this outcome.
“Big Brother did not put his heart into the attacks.” She grumbled as they walked back to the canopy.
In the past, Howard would have attacked her with all his might but this time, she had seen him slowing down just before the blow could land on her body.
He was the one who had declared that he would not be lenient towards her just because she was his baby sister back then but he had done just that today.
Therefore, Yvonne was dissatisfied with the victory she had attained earlier.
The match was judged on the basis of the hits that were landed and it was Yvonne who had the least number of injuries on her body.
This was due to the fact that Howard wavered right before he could land his blow which gave her the chance to either retaliate or avoid his attacks.
This had continued throughout the fight so it was obvious that Yvonne was declared the winner.
She was on both offense and defense, alternating between the two whenever she got the chance and wasn’t merciful while sparring with him.
Whereas Howard was mostly on defense and even the few times he went on the offensive side, he gave way to her in the end.
Therefore, her annoyance with him was valid as his actions were akin to letting her win when she wished to gain victory through her capabilities.
Howard smiled before patting her head, gently this time lest he earned her fury again, before stopping in his path.
This led Yvonne to halt as well, as she turned to look at him.
They had just sparred at a high speed yet only a sheen of perspiration was evident on their foreheads while the rest seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.
If it had been in the past then they would have been huffing and puffing to catch their breaths but this sight only proved that they had come a long way since back then.
“We can spar sincerely after I find my etcher.” He revealed a certain decision he had made.
He needed to find his etcher for his and his family’s sake so that he might not end up being a disappointment to the St. Claire family name.
Therefore, to achieve this, he had made a pact with himself.
He enjoyed sparring with his baby sister and just as she had pointed out, he had done so without being lenient in the past.
However, he had abstained from going all out on her today as a means to punish himself.
Since he liked sparring with her, doing so without using full force could become a means for him to remind himself that he needed to work harder.
Only when he finds his etcher would he come back and spar with her in the true sense.
Therefore, until then, he would continue to stay on the defense, not entirely attacking her even when he had the chance to do so.
Hearing the method he had come up with to push himself further in hopes of finding his etcher, Yvonne only had one thought in her mind.
‘Is he a masochist?’ She tilted her head as he was willingly putting himself through such an unsatisfying situation.
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