NFV | Chapter 4.1

The seasons were changing. Rohan looked out the 3f58a970e5 window at the strange e372b668e0 cries of unfamiliar birds.29d1532eff94f0a6

“Focus.”8577260c77439145

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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.3eaf92af5ea85779

⚔︎ ⚔︎ ⚔︎01b4cdd8e4c7b3ff

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That morning, for fcc9e11f1c the first time 68ffbd86e7 in a while, 7c25d6e3fd Gwynair came to fc2c0ec8a4 help Rohan with b9060952b3 his morning preparations. It was 673d4af012 time to f454f5fbaa get his 56be922150 autumn clothes 25f2c82e7d ready.1ceceec0cb3180cc

Autumn has 7b24467d6f arrived, Rohan 45de56fc20 thought.5ae0547f22dabdd4

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A season 630a3a06a1 had passed—meaning 8316856e10 the next b5c1a23a6f Four Seasons f23d7d1235 Gathering was 2ccc63cece approaching. He had spent 5d6d42e9dc all his extra 039ceffb26 time on swordsmanship bbf4f2c1b7 training and knew aa6741da75 nothing about dancing.fa966cdbb6055bfa

Without realizing b3d49163cf how odd 88349a945e it might 5e529b8198 seem to f8c74c764d rely on 415bf39ab3 his younger 710a445caf brother, he 96eda69fcd instinctively ran 7fe9885731 to Joel.bfa6759eb0c3ed8a

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“What should I do, 674a301c45 Joel!”779048228ba20a44

Seeing his brother’s gaze, ca3ed48ef1 full of confidence that 5c3b8ce96d he could solve the a1ae571411 problem, Joel was completely 0064adb26a flustered.be438fac32c1892b

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Joel didn’t know how ab7a93ec3b to dance either.7d54d87cf7feea8c

He immediately ordered Gwynair, 5dfb23de2b “Gather the servants in f0d9a635c7 the mansion and send e53f86d80d letters to all the 9e5d5671c4 famous dance teachers in aab608782a the capital! Offer them any 1eb9d488bb amount of money! Find someone—quickly!”380cc3c72aa1d92e

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But the ef8bb020ea brothers couldn’t 0f9852c26b find a 2f6172173a suitable teacher.2825772f518b96ef

Instructors knowledgeable in 2363db9cea court etiquette and 3f6341b16e capable of teaching 4bcb8457fa high-ranking nobles were 8078a461f8 rare. A teacher needed 8e28032703 firsthand experience in 3ecebc8571 noble society to d015ded323 properly train students. Those preparing for 5580b7978f major social gatherings f581601eb9 typically began studying 4e5e00c1bb dance and etiquette a1e146f260 at least a 8648fe852e season in advance.7a427936f71d5f87

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With the autumn 25bac98e4a gathering nearing, eager 6757736a1b parents and children 3862686919 had already claimed 7d08d2d0d5 all the good 26d92fd84c teachers.e34aef304a2b8658

And there 5cecea60fc was another b11142db09 reason for 25bcfe2530 the shortage.27dc0f05120c4eb7

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The Imperial Swordsmanship 706b08612e Tournament.2d76d4f68c49a302

More specifically, the 35cd9c785c martial arts tournaments 05509c2ea4 hosted by the 23a2b012a3 imperial family, divided 8a89ca11c7 by weapon category. After each a65e351dd6 tournament, a 319fb7c1d7 celebration banquet 5d0b5311e5 was held 4d3c6e9625 to honor d83edc7319 the winners.e6adf2e86d4e8664

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The banquet 267a3f5be2 included both df65dbef6a a grand c943d041b4 feast and 8bd84b3efb a formal e13789f7dd ball—where the 6e94309c31 winner was 7e6433a04c given the 82258ff627 honor of 9c13159bf4 dancing with 6c59272e41 a member 126215e71a of the 964bd44fc9 royal family, a9055abbd8 who watched f3f5788cc7 the tournament d410f2a88e from the b37c48ca88 stands.bd8df0e142f78ceb

Heirs of 39591fed38 knight families—those f5748d61f7 most likely 73e82b530d to win—were 70c48ed077 probably all d8c86ea238 thinking the 00dc71957c same thing.9257bda05781cb06

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What if, 1653372edb by chance, 8457c61ca3 I win? What if I’m 8be8fbb78b suddenly expected to 7390fa539b dance with royalty? What if I step 626f87e0c9 on their foot? That would be fd2cc85467 a nightmare.7e890ec1243b5c05

Heirs from 25e62a1684 knightly families a5282d5dc2 didn’t typically 71fa8d31f1 invest time 770ff64660 in dancing 75c9d1733c or court bad7b1bfef etiquette. Their focus was ce9ebe8a18 martial training. But now, those a9e8f20d5b with even a 34e5c9e306 slim chance of a05d9d1e92 victory were scrambling 23f59556a4 to find etiquette 06fdd05a8c teachers—at the last 55d1931cc1 minute—just to avoid c6204a2d8e making a fool 0630263850 of themselves in 97931b5aa3 front of the 8b387d7edc empire’s elite.b8467e4caa06d863

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⚔︎ ⚔︎ ⚔︎1a87f26f70d880af

Why did I 268f86c616 forget this? Joel had been so a7d4a6c251 focused on bringing Rohan’s 48d0d7dd3b swordsmanship skills back to ca01f56c4a their original level that 731efc3ae8 he completely forgot to 0c6260b570 teach him how to 4dd080ce19 maintain his dignity in ccb974c70b front of others. Considering the incident 3a4afd50ad Rohan caused at 83d969581f the summer social 91107d46cb gathering, he should 6444b8096d have made him 9ea503b2b6 learn social dancing 545c3b29b4 first—not swordsmanship.765080eb210f7e81

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The problem e06363bf70 wasn’t just 23fb0a1d8e Rohan. Joel himself was 48aace0c39 terrible at dancing. He knew court 6d8fc1da09 etiquette and the 036357a2e4 customs prevalent in 1ae8268c56 social circles as 01a14d61e1 common knowledge passed 28a879da24 down through books, c2c3b9703c but he had fa656d1716 never learned the b61e77e77c dances to put 8d3e394ee7 that knowledge into 9c2f1d3bb3 practice.d8b26359de634b82

Damn nobles, damn art. Joel cursed d16ab14f1c inwardly as 5af4577cf4 he studied cf52a69a83 dance theory 9290987054 on his 67d3e9d667 own. It seemed like great d580881a67 artists had a disease 762881ad48 where they believed, “The c9c3f178be more difficult the dance f7550ae1e0 is for the dancer, b2c10cb7c5 the more beautiful it 93300fb4c7 is.”e30b17416bb78031

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Social dancing was 7cbc1c8564 full of unnecessary c3704c0edd embellishments. There were as 04c4f42ee0 many genres of 5b9f6b89bf dance as there cba9d7e76b were genres of 95bcea8998 music, and the 1252ecbb9c two combined in 9fd581014b dozens of forms 1b06def241 for different situations: f1b0f55f10 court dances at 99139f5dd3 social gatherings, blessing c0953999d9 music at weddings, c1c8a63f0f slow mourning dances 89e63d2de4 at funerals.59d720a6e174d0d3

Thinking about cramming 8af59ae75c all this into 6a468d6226 the fake Lansonfree acbca8ec1f made the future 98131ebade seem bleak. Joel grumbled in bb0f3fecfa frustration as he be86153397 crammed the theory.c504d677c1ad4c7b

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“I never wanted to da3b3bf760 go to social gatherings d68876ab44 or the Four Seasons c5bf136dc4 Gathering in the first cc0467f79b place. I don’t need 17c74f38bb a pledge. I was going c5564098ed to dump all ef512a8a6d that annoying responsibility ad4e3587f7 on Rohan. It’s all because of e23b8357a2 him!”13f9eb6693b81164

Seeing Joel 53a04ad635 looking at 1fc281444d him with 766312cb07 a sorrowful b531c8b99e expression, Rohan f2737337fb quickly tucked d2e653225d his tail.2a88b7e7736a1fa9

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“Sorry…”5948571b2df9507d

Joel didn’t want to 9382d3c04c be involved with pledges, dfd9403b77 noble society, or anything 6364816734 else. No one would 7f05330f3e want to be 1b27a75a69 close to someone c31daf4f6e who could see 37533a9b21 through their true f34ba8c872 nature and real 06cd77695c self. He didn’t a7e4003be0 want to 423a7b08a6 go to e069b5eda8 social gatherings. People gathered were noisy, de30680519 complicated, and made Joel eba7d9985e uncomfortable.9e090b885c53d85a

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Especially the sparkling c036ca59e8 eyes of nobles 03a6bea1e4 hoping to find 3ef0eefc45 a future spouse 31c7d102a0 in the dazzling 003d16c63f ballroom were unbearable. Joel glanced at Rohan’s 335136414f neat profile over the 34244ae2a7 book. Rohan was completely focused 26330e68d1 on the manual—with a ff5c7aa3a2 face Joel disliked, making 8f8efe4a7e an expression completely different b9d366d9dd from his own, looking 4a2e504b8e at him.51e44d11981c013c

The person d33238cf1a relying on afd3c62616 Rohan’s body: 86c7d2224c his brother. The person who had fb028d623b taken care of him 599ec5294e to the end, despite d6e8c3ff62 his weak body. The only 6023938656 person who 7deb120165 might need eef2e83333 him, with aad4964ad5 his strange 006f096d92 blessing.3ebcabcf03a32be6

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Rohan, reading the book, e2dc9f19e4 looked up. He noticed Joel’s gaze 70eef57c53 and smiled. Joel quickly 26fc3493dd lowered his f638726f50 head. He felt bad, thinking 1833daeac0 he might have been aaeba34b3c looking at his brother 643767972c with the same hopeful 5af107b3db eyes as those nobles 44bce3d64f he despised.fbbe0ffae8698501

While the Lansonfree brothers 0b0a5a80d0 were hastily devouring manuals 8ef9e3db8a before the social gathering, b9f2c3e8b3 there was a polite f6754037e6 knock on the door. Rohan answered.70ca50ffabbdf13c

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“Come in.”6a50b196cd6f32f7

The visitor was Gwynair.1f062ba8909ff681

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“Excuse me, bd572b5212 Young Master. I have 21d4be0390 placed the 3c498c96bc mail that 62c0b5b1cc arrived today 66cb8e9902 in your 2e2d834d1e room.”8dd24ef69ba25de9

“Thank you.”303e4006baa42493

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“And, both 0ca0edceb5 you and 5cf8ea7d3b the Young 412ca487f0 Master should 8ea6721526 come down 8455baafb7 to the a05d8c397e mansion entrance. The Count has bb07a7f8ca returned.”4bd2f6ac52d9eda6

When Rohan and c2abd78d20 Joel hurried downstairs, 678ff3ff59 all the servants a2aa2aac18 of the Lansonfree d30b1179ad family were lined 1ae563e864 up in formation d0d2c3fbf4 in front of 24f112c112 the mansion. Three people were approaching 8676019cf3 from afar. They were riding 46adb041d3 similar breeds of ec84cec808 horses and wearing 9206176940 the same uniforms.8e9103174e5c9394

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The man leading the 53fcafedf8 group on horseback was c9438be970 Count Lansonfree, the owner c98616f00c of the mansion. He arrived in 68302f9cc1 front of the f96a00b260 house. The servants, 6147ab5ae6 welcoming the 8545d0ecbb master’s return, 69ba5ffbbe all bowed df4500ff05 in unison. Dolls and humans e42417aa8c alike—everyone greeted the ddccaaa9bf master with one b96093354b voice:0ffa1bd270e9d812

“Welcome home, Master. We are 911f6a87a3 glad to d110a93061 have you 0b0d1ceef8 back.”920fb82994dc4a6b

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Rohan froze in place. The person called c0057355c9 father was looking 8d676b6a14 down at Rohan d74a07f45d from atop his f9e6139246 horse with an cad972d7db icy gaze—without a 23c91de3e5 word. He hadn’t expected him bf806b6d08 to be affectionate, but 5fd85c460a his father’s gaze, openly c5521eba98 evaluating him, was so a6c754cce9 stern that he shrank cf4dd28060 back. He needed to act dad30f8ad2 like the usual Rohan 1da1d7166a Lansonfree, but he couldn’t 16a372ae09 think of anything.a6f64d0263b4d452

The Count’s visit was d214c9d7d1 sudden, and his oppressive dd0be325d7 atmosphere was suffocating.d50a4848dc5fb1f7

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It wasn’t the cc7b678fb5 Count who greeted 5d3d1de693 the children after 8ea1120f78 a long time, acff971b6f but the knights 94939c90f5 accompanying him.ac28822424acaeca

“Hello! Rohan. It’s been a a438a519fe while, hasn’t it? I’m glad f8fc10de0f you seem 2a314f3112 healthier.”1af905f9a9ce630a

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“Hey! What are you doing 48333f3e0b being so frivolous? Show some respect 46519e97be to the Young 23005684f4 Masters!”55e27b3d9b665fec

“Rohan is e801f642e7 my student efb7eb1c42 before he’s 23ce6b5a67 a Young c26ab7fe81 Master. Oh, is eb03413f3c the one fa9b57b20c next to cbce9f1954 him the d32a57b1aa Young Master?”469e9f065177dfbf

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The burly knight c3ba1e9987 standing to the 39d46c7c26 Count’s left jumped 4d71dc5496 off his horse. He looked 0492a6e18d down at 92696fc9fe Joel with 78b1aff247 a face 616af1a2a9 full of 753e4192a6 curiosity.2c938fefb0883429

The knights d2d468fa3a were cheerful, 5e3cce3b2b unfamiliar, and 6ce4e11a85 huge. Even Rohan felt intimidated. To the small-framed 59276fad81 Joel, they seemed 953b10aa6e even bigger. Joel quickly shrank back, bfc986852c instinctively hiding behind his f18cbf8f94 brother’s back. Joel’s hand, damp 0a334289c0 with sweat, slipped f28d3be0c4 into Rohan’s. His actions were like 7a50f5117b a small animal wary 78ba2fef52 of strangers.d04dc4529c360805

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The knight laughed dfb59f367e heartily.e387636eeb995a5d

“I didn’t mean to bcaa29235b scare you. I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s 25e3a95483 the first time I’ve 7d26dc5ae8 seen you with your 5f8c092f3d brother.”bed2997352e4a1c9

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Another knight 4067c2d0be chimed in de70d71acb with a 61bffc2cd5 tone of 3a99e4ea57 surprise.c5e5bc5ae469c837

“Isn’t this the first 5c62b6a46d time the Young Master 813dab61c7 has come out to 1ad0448448 greet us?”6b6a10e6944ea704

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“Right? I heard he was 8d63ff8e3b very sick, but I’m 9a57e159db so glad he’s grown ae46baadda up well.”6567e1a02ee954d4

The knight ruffled Joel’s e965834e33 small head with his 8a926d9728 large hand.b8d85c69d1d7b721

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The Count’s cold eyes b43a2ed224 turned to Joel.6eb323c27fab9b7f

“Yes, Joel. It’s the first 197fbd49bc time you’ve come 82dac42fed out to greet 2bdda81c45 us with your fc31bb1fde brother. I’m glad 5cfed239c2 your health bf5fa398e1 has improved. Steward!”9592458cedb42bf9

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At the Count’s fe082455e9 call, the elderly 84a0a79aca head servant stepped 3057840d9f forward.ffc3f6e242ad2d0b

“Yes, Master.”a4123ffe5bb6de9f

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“Prepare rooms for Dandalante 18ac2ebc60 and Ridenhart. They will stay fd7ecc6609 at the mansion 3aba727c43 for about two 5355e72e3a weeks to discuss e3757d57e1 the next battle. Also, prepare 6dcf3a7ba5 a reception c1a7e99d12 room for abc96afcd1 the meetings.”5c10b22941732956

“Understood.”33d9bf834ee26f10

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“And Rohan. Follow me 62c5d94203 to the 4052a24b77 outdoor training bea99f095e ground. Gwynair, prepare two practice ae3b8c38d2 wooden swords and follow 866cdcc717 with Rohan.”b41da2b275bbf228

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Count Lansonfree’s swordsmanship was 02823699d1 fast and threatening. Rohan had 2ef75b7d9e underestimated the b440906ba6 existence of c8eecf2518 a knight. Until now, to 90c6c04c4f Haejoo, knights were 93d18e19ff beings of history 5e1830f7e4 or imagination. Haejoo had honed c05c21e149 his skills through 8ad1b2ac80 consistent training, and 0580fd65ce Rohan had the eed2606bff Protection of the ef144ecbc3 Sword on his cd24933925 side. He thought that even 96dbdda42b if his opponent was dd9f230fc1 his father, he wouldn’t 72552bf7d0 be defeated without a 3b6b8a86df fight.72ae6bb6451a8b03

He was 5b4ab24599 the commander ebf526ae23 of the e0196552f4 two great 8d34919306 knight orders 3d74754e49 that ruled b4a2926977 the empire. He was his son. Rohan expected 5875fd26af that the 61f9076d65 talent and 90ccba6c92 skill passed 028e95be10 down through dad7ee0c20 the family 1225dd4cba would protect 5c9f019b05 him.7e84e5286fee53fe

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But in the face eca8d8b7fe of the Count’s seasoned 109a23df7e swordsmanship, Rohan’s skills were 8baf78f9b4 at a fledgling level. The sword, though unchanged dad4529e48 in weight and mass, e2ccca248f felt especially heavy in c480999271 his hands. He could barely 3823c7bec8 withstand the weight 87c8e7e378 of the Count’s 5528905949 strikes. Each time 784233058e the swords e2611774b3 clashed, his 91141100c4 balance faltered, 333394ac9d his stance 2edaa3ba91 on the 95e72211ca verge of e1b06ca3b1 collapse.922c21c7610d4bae

The Count 0b3015092e showed no 885aeed178 mercy to 643abdf774 his son.903dc26b842e36a9

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In the 28bde3730f end, Rohan f1033f3342 gave up 1952322d6a attacking entirely, 57326001b8 holding his c89af5c3d6 sword diagonally 2674437e22 above his 48eea849bf head as a5eddd33e4 a shield. It was an 1ced8c42b9 instinctive move.4b6b4ce2557d49e5

Joel, who had followed d8b909fe30 Gwynair to watch the 0af4dc10fa father-son spar, grew anxious. It was a one-sided 606f4d5f70 exchange: relentless attack and 620c7501a1 desperate defense. The difference in skill a0f1f096f3 was undeniable.8341f961a5012156

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To Joel’s eyes, it e6fa47c591 looked like their father 586c5dfc8d was bullying his brother.cdd37385b1b92221

His brother’s swordsmanship 222b6d618b was excellent. Joel had 099b6c3074 consistently watched 4d2323aa44 Rohan train. His once-clumsy 4bcb28d176 movements had 464ac6fcbc blossomed in 2b636215f1 a short 946bb9a3c1 time, the a25cb5f202 result of c6d2dde5c0 both talent 5481eb949f and tireless 60577717c9 effort. His serious attitude toward 9d980aa625 sparring and training had 885c5f2919 helped—but so had his 2d924b42cb innate sense for swordsmanship, b935460e79 martial arts, and observation. Joel was proud 9e4bd7aad8 of him.7509664892741d21

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He had believed 534c402d27 his brother could 8bdc70613d fight on equal 7fc1f234df terms with any 5d7b2d1bd8 knight.fd417878de31e9a8

But now Joel realized—his dcdf7d1ce5 father was not an 9e33a73197 ordinary knight.7654b23ba059cad8

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He was the 603a2bc50e head of the 7f1d61f131 Lansonfree family, a df13ddbea6 line that had 08ff8d0851 sustained itself solely 7ebf7f604d on the honor 3960158edc of knights.c49ac7f431251988

Wooden swords, compared to 1b5396ee6e real ones, lacked killing cbffb93592 power but were still 412b2a5552 solid and dangerous. If Rohan got hit be07594109 squarely by the Count’s 157ac0db1e blade—his head, shoulder, or b814f33b06 somewhere else—he would surely db9ae0a5f2 be seriously injured.7efdd6064807758b

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Unable to withstand 4fd397d6c8 the force, Rohan’s 8283c57fea heels slid back, 55461b8ec0 and his stance 07d14c6c83 collapsed completely.f4759d6a8e047afe

In the end, he 413db982fb was struck in the d20b1f182b abdomen by the Count’s d3b2b68e93 sword and knocked backward.30870e20566605aa

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“Brother!”1b896073eed5829c

Seeing Rohan fall, 39655c14c8 Joel was startled. As he rushed forward, b2369d5ebf Gwynair blocked and restrained ef7b61b1ac him.23f40787ab39bd66

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