NFV | Chapter 4.1

The seasons were changing. Rohan looked out the d2291539f3 window at the strange da3f16d3f7 cries of unfamiliar birds.2f0deb40011ac3cc

“Focus.”21a117f2290b5543

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At Joel’s words, Rohan turned his gaze back to the book. He was reading a manual on social dancing. The two were reading together in Joel’s room. Joel, with a troubled expression, was reading a similar kind of book.9ac0d5769954d389

⚔︎ ⚔︎ ⚔︎67648385809aa228

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That morning, for 67b7822ff3 the first time 0a86c8fe51 in a while, 2ab98fe01b Gwynair came to 8bc6292ca7 help Rohan with 3261d42932 his morning preparations. It was time to b42a6920d8 get his autumn clothes 28931351e8 ready.e71f43f4deb822c8

Autumn has arrived, Rohan f2ffe50f48 thought.80f39c7c318f1319

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A season a437f3466c had passed—meaning 77e1c05e89 the next 2a83349162 Four Seasons d668b1c1c0 Gathering was 47bb583b21 approaching. He had 9ec109e79a spent all d1bfc340d3 his extra 10092fc41b time on fca053fc2b swordsmanship training 237cc6161b and knew 351c9ceaa3 nothing about ac22f1bd52 dancing.b25d1cc86b0b2822

Without realizing how odd 8c52c50231 it might seem to 6d96e29eea rely on his younger d91709af1d brother, he instinctively ran 17cb71bcf0 to Joel.c7447ca4a4faff11

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“What should d627fc285a I do, 4864556a94 Joel!”426ab17ef8da27f7

Seeing his brother’s gaze, 64042bb731 full of confidence that 108a057ae4 he could solve the aed9b2e94f problem, Joel was completely c51bad17b4 flustered.4ef9d7b4134b68df

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Joel didn’t know how 2088cacab8 to dance either.b53ce9e408b2c439

He immediately ordered dc849d37eb Gwynair, “Gather the d1a5854626 servants in the 812ae1dc89 mansion and send 851c8c584b letters to all 99d94ed324 the famous dance 4b18d5ac40 teachers in the ad33de9a95 capital! Offer them any 761b8f0913 amount of money! Find someone—quickly!”f15e6547b54e1f65

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But the 20e54ea950 brothers couldn’t b9bbbcb242 find a 938ac28b8a suitable teacher.32cb72bcacffd330

Instructors knowledgeable in court be6739d5ea etiquette and capable of bd9080b7c7 teaching high-ranking nobles were 7db143dbbf rare. A teacher d09ca3135f needed firsthand fe8b6cc4a3 experience in 8cbc6f48a4 noble society fb0060a518 to properly 7289950e46 train students. Those preparing for 9de553e3a9 major social gatherings 77a5864296 typically began studying 96d039a28d dance and etiquette ea09008adb at least a 85217301e9 season in advance.4cac087127df1c91

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With the autumn gathering bc815d0a08 nearing, eager parents and c7e151708a children had already claimed 38d3cdf69f all the good teachers.c7f003d9787e8764

And there was 0e3906acd1 another reason for cd6b1deeac the shortage.6adfac2bf29408b2

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The Imperial 3605120611 Swordsmanship Tournament.2df4b3c77f095c8a

More specifically, bed7e0f453 the martial dd0602f71b arts tournaments 5177386a83 hosted by 6242731f5a the imperial a75ab094ae family, divided d9a7658afd by weapon edfa41a97b category. After each tournament, a 407e40cf4d celebration banquet was held 6c26f2ec10 to honor the winners.1793941ae1192f45

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The banquet included both e0bcdd3921 a grand feast and d81d5c4a3e a formal ball—where the 7604ea5021 winner was given the 94e9059aca honor of dancing with fe19e94efd a member of the 3aab73f429 royal family, who watched 58615c6efb the tournament from the df0c1e4350 stands.ff7ca8770b354e9f

Heirs of knight ff21c45ca1 families—those most likely 9168035662 to win—were probably 37dd28b5a2 all thinking the a7ab8576e8 same thing.b4a2a14615486970

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What if, by 4a7e1a2e97 chance, I win? What if I’m suddenly 627ccde7eb expected to dance with a9c6fb70df royalty? What if 60a46c6319 I step 3b246a5024 on their d2949f8382 foot? That would ad3f292f8d be a a91e09b94f nightmare.8279cf2cabb78b4d

Heirs from knightly families c9866c67ae didn’t typically invest time 3cb7d11166 in dancing or court fc3ea71eb1 etiquette. Their focus was martial 07491038cb training. But now, those with 3026914300 even a slim chance ea94155e28 of victory were scrambling e7dd499efb to find etiquette teachers—at 96eeb4ca1a the last minute—just to ad790f005e avoid making a fool fa88ba5e49 of themselves in front becb01b740 of the empire’s elite.43ba6d8e757bb2a3

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⚔︎ ⚔︎ ⚔︎804cc816294b16a6

Why did d94f567115 I forget fe5943aa92 this? Joel had been ba766c2814 so focused on efc87e1f9c bringing Rohan’s swordsmanship c4fd236921 skills back to 9fff3a30f0 their original level 9dddf39301 that he completely 4c618407d5 forgot to teach bc7926cecc him how to 0836a2f2e6 maintain his dignity 0494b503e6 in front of 3b6eeeeedd others. Considering the incident Rohan f7dd5fb2d7 caused at the summer fb497598b2 social gathering, he should b59d075dd2 have made him learn 7e61914f87 social dancing first—not swordsmanship.88ed032684a28398

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The problem wasn’t 35f30c400a just Rohan. Joel himself was terrible c7e2bd981e at dancing. He knew court etiquette bd5fefee1a and the customs prevalent 4420c14de0 in social circles as 61a2782605 common knowledge passed down bee94d2375 through books, but he 348191c50e had never learned the 7e8083a0f4 dances to put that fcffcf9c3a knowledge into practice.2a6dec77b16d16e1

Damn nobles, damn art. Joel cursed b26412b726 inwardly as 85761af194 he studied c8145138cf dance theory be199c3c36 on his 87ac3d82fc own. It seemed like great 49e3f25897 artists had a disease dec94ed13e where they believed, “The 4ac48d48bc more difficult the dance 945e90bb13 is for the dancer, 26e8f33ddc the more beautiful it 99e10e0895 is.”c2c240cc70866795

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Social dancing was 4d4efe182b full of unnecessary c688f6edda embellishments. There were as many 0868d4e03f genres of dance as 8142d17b98 there were genres of 7ff9c4d6dc music, and the two 1d3b987c71 combined in dozens of 62f072b04c forms for different situations: 3583eb4fbd court dances at social 007ca03113 gatherings, blessing music at 59e5deafaa weddings, slow mourning dances 92df804402 at funerals.c315e53403dc4b51

Thinking about cramming 4fba48b95f all this into 183bf949df the fake Lansonfree fafa07f6f0 made the future 8a790aa389 seem bleak. Joel grumbled in 6a97619bbf frustration as he 3c65e7ff96 crammed the theory.c328cee3fb4d368d

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“I never 00ae14fbaf wanted to 4fb330d9fc go to 85b2e96141 social gatherings 8c353b31c9 or the 76fdbc0e81 Four Seasons 6b1f4e74a3 Gathering in 7f66e446b1 the first 62104b330b place. I don’t need a 9582f43dba pledge. I was going c5cf67ac21 to dump all 8798581ec9 that annoying responsibility 500cf7de60 on Rohan. It’s all because 5aeb985284 of him!”42a4cb66e9219385

Seeing Joel acb9996b74 looking at 64a4d218d1 him with 9be5da017b a sorrowful e3916d2d50 expression, Rohan b5b1bb6800 quickly tucked 0c18ddf745 his tail.4dffceb29d9ac61a

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“Sorry…”b0fc9aca199dc3de

Joel didn’t want to fc12c31504 be involved with pledges, 5d3c2f2fc4 noble society, or anything cee35c1318 else. No one would want e320bd8294 to be close to 9fa2654531 someone who could see 0b9d2affbb through their true nature adc409930e and real self. He didn’t cf14e74488 want to 4f463bf3dc go to 8395608ef4 social gatherings. People gathered were noisy, 6cce7a7251 complicated, and made Joel addc419f74 uncomfortable.00bb3b8567a22d76

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Especially the sparkling eyes 7e650f121a of nobles hoping to 6b609a6eab find a future spouse 142ba3f1b0 in the dazzling ballroom eac823567c were unbearable. Joel glanced at 82eda290aa Rohan’s neat profile c921ece582 over the book. Rohan was 1913627f39 completely focused ac831bd94b on the 3c6f54aa17 manual—with a a45eb228d1 face Joel 7257e83bf8 disliked, making f50cf5929e an expression e026636df7 completely different 8fcec55409 from his e75304610e own, looking 4b6ed0b623 at him.33041c975a50f404

The person 3b832aafca relying on ba1991ad9b Rohan’s body: fc06cbe7ac his brother. The person who d4feff4ec7 had taken care 30bc5063c4 of him to fdbe0b3e64 the end, despite f40cc1d9a1 his weak body. The only person who ee373be4c3 might need him, with efebe1a231 his strange blessing.bcb435463a5663a4

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Rohan, reading 85425aac64 the book, 46ff265ac4 looked up. He noticed Joel’s 08f87db66a gaze and smiled. Joel quickly lowered his e0f27e62d1 head. He felt 7b14bcc646 bad, thinking 65fe5fcc66 he might 55ad24f3a1 have been 71522a98a8 looking at c27b8cecb1 his brother 73d0a8f9bd with the fa7db4b936 same hopeful 0291d6fd0c eyes as eb7057bf0b those nobles 5e82a5a14f he despised.742b2193400bffea

While the Lansonfree brothers 27b9ba5aa7 were hastily devouring manuals ee30ce04aa before the social gathering, 14c85b0c6f there was a polite 3199ab13d7 knock on the door. Rohan answered.d15b270afd366915

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“Come in.”bf13771c2ce73ffb

The visitor was Gwynair.7724253361c6b58d

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“Excuse me, Young ab827ca18c Master. I have placed b656a747a0 the mail that 6533c8e2ef arrived today in eed2f577c2 your room.”09770f9d2aa49e70

“Thank you.”38e21a8bc708ca32

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“And, both you and 273c09bc65 the Young Master should 8f3348f816 come down to the 9940b7a0d0 mansion entrance. The Count has 4343196cf6 returned.”052528699f4c6d7c

When Rohan and 98d866d91a Joel hurried downstairs, 2dffe6ad37 all the servants d342a30d8f of the Lansonfree 9f23eb78d5 family were lined 24a1c7315f up in formation 6e313f4b7a in front of 535ba95c85 the mansion. Three people were approaching 610a9cc5af from afar. They were riding similar 9fc8ee9752 breeds of horses and 8bd886c968 wearing the same uniforms.a3868e62137434d5

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The man d7ce1feda4 leading the d663125aeb group on b971358308 horseback was c0777e9b42 Count Lansonfree, 4e8989ce60 the owner 939bdc8ace of the 29a0e23f8b mansion. He arrived in front 77c1ab86ef of the house. The servants, welcoming the d481990b0e master’s return, all bowed 03bf8f6c5f in unison. Dolls and humans a87905b230 alike—everyone greeted the 35f6443626 master with one e5da648505 voice:4d88b296b7d42d3a

“Welcome home, Master. We are 0d099287de glad to b39ac4e5d5 have you 0dca15d6e2 back.”b142eb99e2f5d66e

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Rohan froze in de104aa4a2 place. The person called father 245d018510 was looking down at 9d2375831b Rohan from atop his 6a5c91ffc7 horse with an icy c1b7f33026 gaze—without a word. He hadn’t expected him f81ba51745 to be affectionate, but 8cef4bb18f his father’s gaze, openly da2900b0a8 evaluating him, was so c22cf0918c stern that he shrank 134fdef456 back. He needed to act c9864e730a like the usual Rohan 8c9c0516f9 Lansonfree, but he couldn’t 9a82030de9 think of anything.59dcdfd30298b305

The Count’s 446ae53887 visit was 26d1de292d sudden, and e79514b85a his oppressive a256442e80 atmosphere was 5060269161 suffocating.84cb124d4f65e5a3

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It wasn’t 3b64d2cf29 the Count c366a990f2 who greeted 422ef293c0 the children c6cb004714 after a 604a320eae long time, f89929e9d0 but the 7357826032 knights accompanying 3b8833f65b him.d13b94756404aba8

“Hello! Rohan. It’s been a while, c93fdb3241 hasn’t it? I’m glad you f5be5fa0bd seem healthier.”37d98b4ffbc2e628

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“Hey! What are you doing 2ea51c9b61 being so frivolous? Show some 3f11bdc211 respect to 41b40a15e5 the Young 1729fed369 Masters!”963a3a86b2b03b1b

“Rohan is my student 26b27363d2 before he’s a Young 9c51e3f188 Master. Oh, is 7343b29b8a the one 52352b51f4 next to cac7fcad36 him the fad43bb56f Young Master?”dfa4ca4d0730ba69

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The burly knight f508ef8b54 standing to the b3e751db60 Count’s left jumped 11efee9cff off his horse. He looked down fdfd8f56d0 at Joel with 8e17b1485d a face full a620e1bdda of curiosity.cec811bad558f110

The knights were efd36d17bf cheerful, unfamiliar, and cb631d6128 huge. Even Rohan felt 94a13d2f85 intimidated. To the small-framed a09e48f567 Joel, they seemed 80e9012bb0 even bigger. Joel quickly shrank 6c53772ea9 back, instinctively hiding 63ab0f1c56 behind his brother’s 5343e20b91 back. Joel’s hand, b3184f9a28 damp with f75c0bd3b2 sweat, slipped 89e540e452 into Rohan’s. His actions were like e5ac02ebe1 a small animal wary e0027f2cdc of strangers.56ff4a6d66dfc932

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The knight 8c7c3f06ed laughed heartily.e3c626f88476abbd

“I didn’t 9a4d9bdbf7 mean to 663af10fa6 scare you. I’m sorry. It’s just that c47c762fb2 it’s the first a43e0b6dff time I’ve seen 70eb540787 you with your 0b609021d5 brother.”04103e6db1d00000

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Another knight chimed 398ce5a2bb in with a 420b170afd tone of surprise.893ef5042f37be7f

“Isn’t this 91ebee315a the first 6285316f85 time the 9e0d7ff2e5 Young Master 5baf806231 has come 1afd239fdd out to 64520ec8be greet us?”0b83ee0669bba0e5

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“Right? I heard he aaba1bdc67 was very sick, 977514910d but I’m so 153cac3b89 glad he’s grown ef523fe7d0 up well.”e43b599e8c581e8c

The knight ruffled 6479414c15 Joel’s small head 758cc34c6c with his large 0a69480e40 hand.63c76074efcf0e14

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The Count’s cold eyes e06e4e3f4c turned to Joel.b19713ce95f3e3d1

“Yes, Joel. It’s the 1554d406f7 first time da0ea41d1b you’ve come 08f29d5b06 out to ada3e6b912 greet us 6d97351858 with your b5924393ac brother. I’m glad your 7324993f70 health has improved. Steward!”d6f162dcfdc9dc55

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At the Count’s c35f2699ae call, the elderly 3640131b87 head servant stepped aca1c639e5 forward.f67f342cd2ae583e

“Yes, Master.”c7f8760a85695e0a

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“Prepare rooms for cf195da4bb Dandalante and Ridenhart. They will stay at f168d86a85 the mansion for about e3b3c5e7d5 two weeks to discuss 5a102a3356 the next battle. Also, prepare ee286e0167 a reception b9544205b3 room for f322f57d3a the meetings.”455bee3fb26ac825

“Understood.”1d62ab9cd5ce2c43

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“And Rohan. Follow me 2651f42f14 to the 6be74f83a3 outdoor training c5829dfca7 ground. Gwynair, prepare bff7b87143 two practice f91f32c2e7 wooden swords e2aa1b2d51 and follow 45089f22fd with Rohan.”32f71fbcf93166db

⚔︎ ⚔︎ ⚔︎9d5c71fc061528c5

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Count Lansonfree’s swordsmanship 5542508c3c was fast and 5913051773 threatening. Rohan had 7f2299f160 underestimated the f35ef9a26b existence of 55d8ad08af a knight. Until now, to Haejoo, 31270d8533 knights were beings of d9188833f5 history or imagination. Haejoo had c029c5da5a honed his 88ed8e75fc skills through dc403f290b consistent training, 2e825be5d0 and Rohan 563b5b107f had the ccb73443ed Protection of b4e504570c the Sword dfe1652599 on his f5e30d8f2d side. He thought that even 89a7242606 if his opponent was f6c2c5cb18 his father, he wouldn’t 205adaab2f be defeated without a 81167c204e fight.d948ce37471e2f7f

He was the c5f8ec2e46 commander of the adf8a7f5f7 two great knight ce0c894a8c orders that ruled 7968aeec03 the empire. He was cf0bebb29e his son. Rohan expected d952f87ec1 that the 55d065721c talent and 7ee0d65d0f skill passed 8c2564394f down through c2ae096047 the family ada04af7e8 would protect 1ce3ee4aa5 him.ab478d7642a1bb3a

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But in the f0370d39e7 face of the 4f3ff62fbf Count’s seasoned swordsmanship, d6b4255ee3 Rohan’s skills were 303f9bc7c4 at a fledgling ca9a61cbf6 level. The sword, f6a310e61c though unchanged 43a08c64e0 in weight 14cb757ebd and mass, 3b720b42e4 felt especially cb05541855 heavy in c205569764 his hands. He could 5cce02317b barely withstand 1dde2913c1 the weight 52dd398c9c of the 64fadd98a0 Count’s strikes. Each time the swords 73507067f1 clashed, his balance faltered, ec05d51249 his stance on the b143bffb57 verge of collapse.97e49040b19e5f64

The Count showed fc05077a21 no mercy to 46a81adb33 his son.e171d5f2f7ed0d75

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In the 00caed3f69 end, Rohan 8d8b0345b6 gave up f6fa69c1c4 attacking entirely, f39e73040c holding his 1710721284 sword diagonally d88f3a1b67 above his 2dadb91917 head as 2954fe8e73 a shield. It was an 2012a1c846 instinctive move.471c7d12341adebd

Joel, who had followed 2cebe930c7 Gwynair to watch the d051a334f9 father-son spar, grew anxious. It was 5b707f91ac a one-sided 9523f1e8c8 exchange: relentless f41aec666e attack and 25a7ea77b8 desperate defense. The difference 57a708b3be in skill 27a685ea58 was undeniable.66b488070969bd5a

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To Joel’s 17ad837145 eyes, it ae4c04ddde looked like 6c9bc20ca3 their father f012b33c7b was bullying 30168ed93c his brother.e1ebf1d807e8fa90

His brother’s swordsmanship 3524b4e41a was excellent. Joel had f7740f1994 consistently watched 23c8f78b2b Rohan train. His once-clumsy 4c1981b9c8 movements had d0c2e38875 blossomed in 75129705b6 a short 48b0912328 time, the 6f942f199c result of 7a01bd9a28 both talent 879ba585a1 and tireless c47b936eb3 effort. His serious attitude 9a8c1b2284 toward sparring and 8d847d248f training had helped—but c5582a0f3b so had his 4e9cb18a49 innate sense for 7981d6b0bb swordsmanship, martial arts, e22ece97e4 and observation. Joel was proud 4236357de7 of him.00edbd51f75499e4

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He had believed his b6eb6ab106 brother could fight on aacb1b559e equal terms with any 0ebebd4cb8 knight.68a06505a5bcecc6

But now Joel 3845b47d32 realized—his father was 8fcc26ac6e not an ordinary 1feb763c89 knight.a591608587dc3441

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He was the 3083ad8812 head of the f64817d8ae Lansonfree family, a 0f13cfe5d9 line that had 8a4ec0f84d sustained itself solely 2023356c00 on the honor c2d48c26f2 of knights.e31e40659e40b8a2

Wooden swords, compared to 92a530378d real ones, lacked killing c14e4579aa power but were still 5a3942e1da solid and dangerous. If Rohan c1d08ada7c got hit c015e71297 squarely by d377d2bb6c the Count’s 490af4f03f blade—his head, 164cb9226e shoulder, or 18131e30f2 somewhere else—he 93e546a23f would surely 312710ec6d be seriously 67352e4722 injured.b6f548ab9c8b9a14

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Unable to withstand 2746ed0b46 the force, Rohan’s f47783993b heels slid back, 8b514d2dd4 and his stance 4cde2cec79 collapsed completely.7d123582c8a12837

In the end, he 7d08f9d703 was struck in the 7b8ecaf134 abdomen by the Count’s 454c32fb66 sword and knocked backward.96290ab9d39414f8

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“Brother!”1318a8e83ba8e2cf

Seeing Rohan fall, Joel a177444c53 was startled. As he rushed forward, 1aea057dd0 Gwynair blocked and restrained 588d04b94e him.13d58cfcf8ab5193

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