When I Quit Being A Wicked Mother-in-law, Everyone Became Obsessed With Me - Chapter 51

“Ah, yes, well…”

Elliot glanced at his mother, who covered her mouth with both her hands, with a frozen expression.

Of course, he wasn’t saying Liliana wasn’t pretty.

It’s just that…

‘…I thought Liliana was a big fan of mother.’

Looking at it, his mother seems to have a lot of silly comments, too. Elliot doesn’t know if it’s okay to think about grown-ups like this…

“Now, would you like to grab the wooden sword first?”

As Alexei held out the wooden sword, Liliana, who swallowed a gulp, took the wooden sword and took a stance.

For a moment, his eyes lit up.

‘She’s never seen swordsmanship before, I’m sure I heard that…’

Liliana’s posture was very straight.

Above all, her body was well balanced. As if she instinctively knew how to distribute the power to her limbs.

“…I, can I do this?”

“Yes. So, would you like to swing the wooden sword once?”

He began to check Liliana’s basic stamina, quickness and flexibility in earnest. Anriche, who was watching them, couldn’t hide the nervous look on her face.

‘Oh, that’s too… Wouldn’t it be hard?”

Is it all right for a child who has never done any exercise before to move so violently?

However, Alexei seemed to have a different idea. As he looked at Liliana in his eyes, he said as he pushed the tip of his lips up.

“Oh my, is this all you can do?”

It was just a small provocation, but it was enough to win Liliana’s attention.

A sharp edge stood in the pale pink eyes.

“Hah!”

Liliana rolled her feet with sharp vigor. Then, she rushes to Alexei.

Kaka!

The two wooden swords collided and slipped, making a sound so sharp that it was hard to believe it was of wood.

Kang, Kang, Ka kak!

Liliana, holding the wooden sword with both her hands, began to swing the sword. Meanwhile, Alexei withdrew his sword very lightly.

‘Somehow, Alexei… He looks a little happy, doesn’t he?’

Seeing that, Anriche tilted her head.

In fact, his face was always smiling. Though apparently, that smile, Liliana, seemed to have taken it somewhat differently.

“Tch!”

Liliana clenched her teeth.

She gave strength to her legs and slammed the ground again. The force that stabbed, cut, and wielded the wooden sword was quite strong, not like a child.

‘…However.’

Liliana was feeling tremendous pressure right now.

Alexei standing in front of her was like a cliff that was so high that it could never be reached.

‘All my attacks are being blocked.’

She knew it with her head.

Alexei was the best knight called the greatest sword in the Empire, while this was her first time picking up a sword.

Still, she kept fighting.

She wanted to get to where Alexei was somehow.

No. No matter how long it will be…

‘You will never be able to defeat the Duke.’

As she thought of that, she spontaneously put a lot of strength on her body.

‘If only I could touch even the collar…!’

“Ha!”

Liliana rushed into Alexei’s arms with cheers. At that, he raised his eyes slightly.

‘Are you instinctively trying to use your small body?’

It’s the appearance of making such a judgment in an instant and smashing deep into the enemy without fear.

It was definitely a great talent.

But…

Tsk, Alexei bit his tongue and raised his wooden sword slightly.

Liliana’s movements were blocked, and at the same time, the wooden sword bounced off her hand.

Tung!

The sound of the wooden sword rolling on the floor was deafening.

Liliana gasped for breath and looked up at Alexei.

“Ha, ha—Ha, ha…”

Although she was almost overwhelmingly suppressed, Liliana did not lose momentum at all. She rather opened her eyes as if she wanted to fight more.

Alexei opened his mouth to appease her.

“This is enough.”

“No, ha—More, more!”

“No, overdoing it will only be poison.”

Though Alexei shook his head and called Liliana in a playful voice.

“More than that, Liliana…”

“Yes, Duke.”

“Are you already thinking of defeating me?”

At the sound of the laughter mixed with his voice, Liliana stiffened her shoulders. She looked down and then nodded with her face embarrassed.

“I’m sorry if I was rude…”

“No. I really liked it.”

“….”

“It’s good to be motivated. It’s a necessary talent for those who handle swords.”

Alexei added lightly. “It was also wonderful that you did not give up until the end.”

“Du, Duke.”

“Let’s finish the test at this point. Good job.”

“…Thank you.”

At the unexpected compliment, Liliana’s cheeks turned red.

“…That’s great, Liliana.”

Meanwhile, Elliot muttered in a bewildered voice.

Anriche also agreed.

Eventually, after all the tests are over, Liliana held Anriche’s hands tightly with a nervous face.

“Mother, will the Duke allow me to learn swordsmanship?”

All of a sudden, Liliana had lost all the enthusiasm when holding the wooden sword, and returned to her usual timid face.

She giggled and comforted Liliana.

“If he had no intention of teaching you swordsmanship in the first place, would he have done the test himself?”

“…Probably so, right?”

Because of that, she smiled broadly. Liliana was so tired that she fell asleep faintly after she had barely wiped off the sweat.

Anriche, who had been hearing the child’s new still breath, looked behind at the sound of a brief knock.

“Ah, Duke.”

It was Alexei.

Taking care not to let his footsteps be heard, he stepped into the room.

“Is Liliana asleep?”

“Yes, she must have been a little tired.”

“I think she pushed herself to the limit today.”

Alexei’s expression, looking at Liliana, seemed a little excited. He called her with gentle hand gestures. “Would you mind giving me a minute?”

“Of course.”

And so, Anriche followed him out of the room.

As soon as she closed the door carefully so as not to make a sound, Alexei hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Liliana is definitely gifted with swordsmanship.”

“Um, if the Duke says that… Do you think she’s quite talented?”

“Of course. The world calls such a child a ‘genius’.”

No, that much…?

Anriche stopped and was surprised. No one else, but Alexei, who was said to be the greatest knight of the Empire. He would even be able to say something like that!

Alexei continued to explain step by step.

“Because she’s a girl, she doesn’t have enough muscle strength, but her body is flexible and she moves fast.”

There was a faint heat in his voice.

“Above all, she has an innate sense of battle.”

“That…”

“It means that she has a very good grasp of the situation she is in and has the talent to lead the situation to her advantage.”

Anriche, who heard those words, suddenly remembered Liliana, who was watching Elliot’s sword training.

The gaze that looked intently at Elliot’s fight with his master.

‘Rather than blindly blocking the sword, it’s much better to conserve your stamina and then aim for an opportunity later…’

‘The things you pointed out now, how did you notice them?’

‘Yes? I just showed you because I can see it…’

…Come to think of it, Liliana’s ‘just looking’ reminded her of how she dealt with it. Recalling that, Anriche was a little stunned.

At that moment, Alexei’s voice broke her train of thoughts.

“Actually, in my opinion, Liliana is better than Elliot.”

“Yes? But…”

“I’m not talking about talent.”

Alexei shook his head slightly and continued.

“At first, the two children had similar talents.”

“Then, why do you say Liliana is better?”

“It’s… because of the spirit.”

…Spirit?

Anriche blinked her eyes.

“Actually, Elliot is also quite good at it. If he puts his mind to it, he could easily beat any of the children.”

His expression as he said that was not very bright.

“Though if you actually go to spar, Elliot’s win rate isn’t going to be that high.”

“Why?”

“Because he is a child whose desire to win is not that strong.”

…It was so.

In a perspective she had never thought of, Anriche lost her words. After all, knights are always at the forefront of competition for their lives…

“If you feel down, you lose. If you feel excited, you win.”

Alexei, who had been talking for a while, finished his speech with a short sigh.

“It’s not that such a personality is bad. However, it’s not a very favorable tendency for a knight.”

Anriche silently nodded her head.

She seemed to know what he was talking about.