88: Control Freak

Control Freak

It was infuriating.0

Ever since Dante officially started training his swordsmanship with Augusta, which the sword instructor thought was awful under his critical judgement, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his emotions under control. Now, there were a few variables actively contributing to his ire.

The biggest problem was the budding relationship between Dante and his daughter. Ever since Lilia was capable of walking and spitting out nonsensical words, she has also possessed a shyness to her that allowed him a smidgen of control over the girl's thoughts and actions.

Within just a few days of the two spending time together in the dojo, Augusta quickly noticed a concerning peculiarity in his daughter, which was a very slow change. Nevertheless, it was still gradual enough that it would most likely have a significant impact on the redheaded girl in about three to four years.

She was gaining confidence.

If Augusta wasn't capable of asserting and reinforcing his control over his daughter soon, he would have no choice but to teach the girl a valuable lesson.

Defying him comes at a cost.

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Two months later.

(Here's a picture of what the Dojo and a young Lilia looks like.)

Sweating and panting heavily, an obvious side-effect of sparring for six hours with only short breaks in between each round before it started all over again, Lilia tightened the grip that she had on her wooden sword as the sensation of physical and mental exhaustion began to once again settle within the child's aching bones. While it felt the worst in her arms, the girl's legs periodically shook under the weight of her own body as well, trying their hardest in an attempt to keep up with the boy that was standing right next to her.

There had been a significant improvement with Lilia's swordsmanship over the past couple of weeks. Not only that, however, but the girl's lack of courage had increased by a few notches with the assistance of Dante. With each passing day, it seemed like they were growing closer as friends, and asking him for advice on things that she perceived as struggles within her life had also helped the girl become more outgoing during instances that required socializing.

After two weeks or so, Flute noted with a certain degree of happiness that her daughter was in the process of changing for the better.

Ever since Dante had met the girl, he also noticed her shy disposition, and made sure to talk with her quite a bit whenever it was possible. In turn, he quickly grew fond of the redhead, and the same thing could be said if it was the other way around. Due to this, he eventually made plans to help the girl with her issues. taking on the role of an individual that she could rely on with certain problems that she had difficulties facing on her own.

The changes that were occurring within Lilia had become increasingly more noticeable, but it eventually caused Augusta to reach his own tipping point, which would incidentally serve as a small catalyst for another one.

Before either of them could give their bodies a small resting period, Augusta shook his head in the negative. Doing something that neither of them were prepared for, much less expected to occur at such a vulnerable moment, the grizzled man first set his sights on his daughter before rushing towards them at a speed that appeared to be a blur. It was only after the fact that Dante was capable of even realizing what had actually transpired as a result.

Augusta shot forward like a cannon, nearly splintering the wooden floor underneath him with the sheer power left behind in his wake, which Dante would later account towards the man's precise control over his body. Utilizing that same talent once more, perhaps in a manner that would be deemed somewhat distasteful to nobles that preferred a more delicate approach, the veteran sword instructor's arm seemed to momentarily flash in and out of existence right before Lilia dropped to the ground like the invisible strings connected to each of her limbs had just been cut.

After a loud thud resounded throughout the spacious room, her back roughly making contact with the floor, Dante's head snapped towards the noise and immediately assumed the worst as his red-slit eyes widened at the sight in front of him. It all felt like a fever dream at that point, more so due to the fact that Augusta turned towards him just after seemingly paralyzing his own daughter without a care in the world, and subsequently raised his wooden sword with a metaphorical flame ignited behind the man's narrowed eyes.

What felt like an iota of heat that writhed underneath Dante's skin brought him back to a more coherent state, but it still wasn't enough to make him realize what was truly happening. However, as his own anger grew to a boiling point from the sight of Lilia, the sliver of energy contained inside his body hardened to the point that it immediately snapped Augusta's weapon in half as the man violently swung it downwards with malicious intent.

The near trance-like state that Dante was in evaporated, allowing the boy to witness shock course through Augusta's body as the man realized what had just occurred. Taking advantage of his opponent's strange reaction, Dante lunged forward. The last few embers of the unknown energy remaining within Dante quickly traveled towards his wooden blade.

When it made contact with the left side of Augusta's face, it somehow became sharp enough to pierce the sword instructor's skin with ease. It started near the area around his eyebrow and eventually stopped next to the man's cheek bone, resulting in a gruesome injury that would eventually require treatment with healing magic at some point.

Augusta yelled out in excruciating pain, clutching his bleeding face as he dropped the broken sword in his hand. Collapsing onto the ground, the man seemingly came back to his senses right as Dante hurried over to Lilia. It wasn't long after that he watched with blurry vision as the boy picked up his daughter and ran for the exit.

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"Ma'am, your daughter needs healing right now!" Dante exclaimed with a sense of urgency in a panicked voice, holding the redheaded girl in what resembled a princess carry.

It had taken about five minutes just to find out where the woman was located. Even when Dante tried using his enhanced senses, it was difficult for him to not focus on Lilia.

The scent of her blood was mouthwatering.

Running into their spacious backyard, Dante eventually found Flute and Sara doting on a small rabbit that they had just finished healing. Aside from the archery lessons that the blonde was undertaking, Dante allowed the girl to also begin learning healing magic from Flute after the woman asked him about it.

Turning towards the sound of my voice, the blonde gasped in shock while Flute quickly ran over with nothing but concern for her daughter. Immediately noticing a head injury, as well as a broken wrist after checking the girl's body for wounds, Flute took her from my arms before leading all of us back into the house. Climbing a flight of stairs, I opened a certain door at the woman's request, and came to realize that it was a bedroom.

Flute gently laid the girl down onto the bed as Dante closed the door and sat down with Sara in a corner of the room. Their circumstances felt tense, but neither of them dared to say a word as the woman put all of her focus into working on Lilia's injuries.

However, after a few minutes passed, Flute turned towards Dante with a serious expression on her face. He assumed that she must've healed the girl's body enough that it was adequate to leave alone for a while. With a visible amount of restraint keeping the woman from grabbing ahold of Dante's shirt and interrogating him for answers, Flute gave a sigh of resignation before finally cutting through the silence.

"Please tell me everything that happened leading up to this, Dante."

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