72: A Taxing Process

A Taxing Process

Outside of the manor, Norvella and I stood in the backyard while Helena kept an eye on us from the sidelines, watching our one-on-one with a very keen interest.

It was my first day of sword training.

We were still trying to figure out the schedule for all that was being taught to me, which was mostly due to the fact that I was beginning to pile on a lot of subjects to learn.

However, I was usually the one that brought it up in the first place.

The white haired maid held a short sword in one hand, keeping it down at her side until the training session officially started. "Are you ready, young master?" Norvella questioned, getting into an unknown stance.

Her face was a completely blank slate, lacking any sort of emotion as she stared me down from the other side of the backyard.

I tightened my grip on the short sword that was given to me, which was the exact same as the one that she had as well, and nodded in assent with a slight feeling of uncertainty. However, I quickly reaffirmed my determination to better myself in more ways than one, and learning to become a swordsman that was above average in skill was just another stepping stone for me.

At least, that's how I felt in the moment.

Norvella was the one that made the first move, launching off the ground at a surprisingly high speed, her eyes locked onto my form like a hawk.

Rain dropped from the cloudy skies at a sedate pace, meaning that it wasn't a very hard downpour or anything like that, but just set more of a calm and relaxing atmosphere while allowing me to focus on the task at hand a little better than normal.

The rain just always resonated with me for some reason.

Having no experience with swordsmanship, I simply decided to wait until Norvella got within range, which didn't take very long for her to do. It was probably a bad idea, but those were obviously going to pop up with a noob such as myself.

In an attempt to listen to Norvella, I was going to try and not overly-criticize myself for not being really good at something right off the bat, and instead just allow the woman to beat the lessons into me if it was truly needed.

The white haired blade user was clearly holding back as she raised the short sword over her head with the intent to swing it downwards, which would no doubt kill a person if they didn't do anything to protect themselves.

Quickly stepping backwards, the blade passed through the spot that I was just standing in, but that didn't last for very long as Norvella readied her weapon to attack me once again.

This time, she brought it back to her body in a manner that reminded me of how I used to shoot a bow and arrow, and that alerted me to the fact that I should probably start using my own weapon to defend myself.

Norvella's blade clashed with mine a split-second later, resulting in a loud sound filling the air around the two of us. Not only that, but the power behind her strike nearly sent me off balance, which caused my eyes to widen a bit in surprise. The grip on my sword actually loosened momentarily from the vibration that went through my arms.

Tilting the blade a certain way, I was able to push it just enough to where she grazed my right shoulder instead of sunk it into one of my pectoral muscles.

It still fucking hurt though.

Right as I was about to start trying to fight back, Norvella followed that up with a kick to the stomach, which knocked all of the oxygen out of my lungs. The sword previously held in my hands flew through the air, sticking into the ground just a few feet away from us.

That's how our little spar quickly ended, only lasting for about eight seconds in total.

My back hit the wet grass, soaking the clothes that I was wearing, as well as dirtying the rest of my body. The area that had been grazed by Norvella's blade was slightly bleeding, a small trail of blood falling into the dirt beside me while I laid on the ground without moving a single muscle.

All I did was let out a quiet groan in pain while trying my best to get back some fresh air.

'I've got a long way to go...' I thought to myself, trying to resist the urge of mentally berating myself for not being good enough.

"Are you okay, young master?"

Norvella stood next to me, no longer lacking any sort of emotions, but instead had a smile painted across her visage. Looking at my downed form, she offered an arm out for me to take.

I nodded my head in confirmation, which served as an adequate reassurance to the woman.

"Considering this is your first introduction to swordsmanship, you actually performed quite well." The white haired maid complimented, a genuine tone of honesty in her voice.

Not even bothering to disagree with that, I just nodded my head in acknowledgement as she helped me back up to my feet.

Both of our heads turned at the sound of Helena clapping, a big grin on her face for an unknown reason, but Norvella seemed to oddly understand the sentiment. I wasn't really in the mood to figure out what was going on, simply because I was covered in dirt and grime.

Not to mention, I was currently bleeding from my shoulder-

Looking at the wound, it had already healed up to the point that it was only a scar now, which reminded me of the natural healing factor that the vampire race in this world possessed. Even though the two women witnessed it as well, that must've been why neither of them really paid it any mind. They knew that I would heal from the minor cut.

That just left one last question...

Why wasn't it healing completely? I've still got a scar that wasn't going away.

My shirt covered up enough of it to where neither woman could really notice the strange phenomenon. I didn't voice it either, simply walking back inside the manor in order to clean myself after talking with them for a while longer.

Helena's eyes lingered on my body until I was out of sight, the scent of my blood nearly driving the woman insane as her voluptuous body shivered with desire.

--------------------------------------------------

Drying myself off with a small towel, I sat on my bed in contemplation afterwards.

A couple days ago, I had caught the thief that attempted to steal from a merchant. In return, that same old man decided to reward me by handing over the smaller pouch, more so because it wasn't nearly as important to him as the larger one.

I held the small pouch in my hands, contemplating whether or not I should open it in this moment, simply because it wasn't all that important to me. Even while I shook it a couple times, the only thing I could really hear inside of the bag was some kind of currency. However, I wasn't sure if it was copper, silver, or gold coins to be exact.

Due to the fact that I was already in a very wealthy family, the contents of the pouch weren't really all that exciting to me, but the bag might also have something in it that's completely different than what I thought of.

Honestly, it was more exciting that there was a mystery behind it. Ever since I got the reward, it has allowed my mind to wander and distract itself from other things, which can be pretty nice at times.

There was a knock on the bedroom door that caused my train of thought to abruptly end. Peering down at the small pouch held in my hands, a quiet chuckle of mirth filled the air for a split-second before I placed it back in my nightstand.

'The mystery shall last for another day...' I thought in my head, walking towards the door before opening it up in curiosity. Surprisingly, it was Norvella holding a strange looking wooden box, clad in her usual maid outfit.

"May I enter, young master?" Norvella inquired, her mannerisms not giving me a single clue as to the real reason for why she was here. While I was filled with confusion, I stepped aside in order to let the woman in before closing the door behind her.

Raising an eyebrow at the woman as she set the wooden box on my desk, the white haired maid signaled for me to approach in order to check out what was inside. There was a little smile on her face as well, which threw me for another loop.

"What's all this about, Norvella? You're really throwing me off right now..." I told her, sitting down at my desk before undoing the metal latch on the unexpected gift.

She decided to keep quiet, waiting for me to open the box all the way instead before saying anything else, which didn't take very long as I slid the top section of it off a couple seconds later.

I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be some type of knife, which also possessed marks on the blade that indicated a few past experiences in physical conflicts. It was obviously quite old, possibly even an item that might've been passed down to her by somebody else.

(For reference.)

That was why I slowly turned towards Norvella with an uncertain look on my face, who had been smiling down at me for the entire duration of my bewilderment up until now. However, there was an unspoken flicker in her eyes that told me to simply go with the flow, which was mostly due to the fact that she obviously wasn't going to take a rejection.

Not to mention, I actually liked the gift, and I stood up to hug the woman in order to show my appreciation for it. She eagerly returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around my back with just as much affection.

"Since you've now begun the arduous process of learning swordsmanship, I figured that adding another different yet similar avocation wouldn't hurt all that much." Norvella said, pulling back a little bit to look me in the face. "Of course, if you feel like it's becoming somewhat overwhelming, the option of holding off on taking those lessons is perfectly fine as well." The white haired maid reassured, rubbing my back in a soothing manner.

'Knife throwing, huh... that seems interesting.'

I shook my head, breathing out a sigh of resignation. "No, it's alright... I'm already at a disadvantage in this world because of my mana problem, or lack thereof to be more specific." While Norvella was opening her mouth to no doubt dispute that claim, I cut her off with an optimistic turnaround to the conversation. "Due to that, I've decided to try my best at learning what's readily available to me in the moment. That way, I can still be at least somewhat capable of defending myself against those who would have less than savory intentions towards me."

Norvella didn't really have much against that, which is why the woman couldn't find a good enough reason to oppose it. "Well, I'm glad that you haven't become depressed about your shortcomings, instead coming up with a more positive outlook to the overall picture." She giggled before the happy atmosphere quickly dissipated once her eyes just so happened to land on the scar that was engraved into my shoulder.

"...How is that possible?" She muttered to herself, the woman's voice filled with a barely restrained outcry of shock.

Norvella gently made contact with the scar, using a single finger to go across the surface. "There's no way that you shouldn't have healed yet. A couple of hours have already passed."

Rubbing the back of my neck, all I could really do was shrug my shoulders evasively. Not in a disrespectful way but the topic made me feel uneasy and I honestly didn't even know the reasoning behind it.

She quickly picked up on it, deciding that my comfort and happiness was more important at the moment. If the scar wasn't causing any pain or discomfort then the discussion could just resume at a later date.

The two of us simply talked with one another about random topics after that short little incident, which served as a nice distraction from everything else going on in the world, as well as provided us the time to have a wholesome juncture between each other since Norvella is usually busy with a lot of other different errands that are required for her to do every day.2

It felt really nice.

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