Memoirs of A Second Life

The Rose Knight

It took an entire day for us to gather everything that we needed for the journey. I spent half of the money Marius had given me, and I came out with two gold pieces and ten silver. I spent the same amount on several items, such as healing herbs, mana restoration potions, preserved meat, a water pouch, a traveling pack, and fresh sets of clothes.

Furthermore, I also bought a chainmail, along with leather armor fit for someone of my height. Truthfully, it made me look like a mercenary, similar to the ones I used to see on anime series or movies. I was quite surprised when I saw myself in the mirror looking like a warrior, but I couldn't say that I didn't like it.

The black leather armor underneath the chainmail brought out the golden brown color of my hair. Now that I had seen myself in the mirror again, I realized that I was slowly resembling my father more than my mother. My hair was no longer as blonde as my mother's, but it was now golden brown, almost the same as Azlan's.

My eyes, though still as kind as before, now held a certain fierceness, similar to whenever Azlan was fighting. The shape of my face remained as cute as my mother's, but it was slowly becoming chiseled.

I used to dislike seeing myself in the mirror, but now, I find myself being taken by my new appearance. My eyes were no longer as sad as they once were back in my old world, and there was a smile on my face that I had not worn in years.

Suddenly, Marius entered the store I was in and saw me looking at myself in the mirror. He put his arms over my head and leaned on me, as if declaring his dominance in height. "You almost done here, Altair?"

I composed myself, straightened my clothes, and nodded. "I'm done, Prince Marius. Where are we heading next?"

"Beatrix asked me to get you. She says she wants to test out weapon she bought," Marius replied, leading me out of the store.

As we walked back to the castle, I wondered what he meant by that. I couldn't bring myself to ask questions because I still felt a little awkward being here, so I just decided to see it for myself. It didn't matter if I knew about it anyway, because Marius was just going to coerce me into doing it anyway.

The sun was already setting by the time we met up with Beatrix. Marius had brought me to the training hall, but there was nobody else around aside from the three of us. It was then that I realized what Marius meant earlier by "testing out the weapon she bought".

It seemed that Beatrix wanted to do a practice match, though I wasn't sure which one of us she wanted to go up against. But judging by how casual Marius was sitting in the sidelines, I'm the one she wanted to duel.

Beatrix was casually admiring the weapon she had bought. It was a broad-bladed rapier, obviously meant to be used for a long period of time. I didn't buy a new sword because I had our family heirloom with me, Lionheart. Instead, I bought a sturdy set of metal tonfas, designed to be attached to the white armguards that I bought from the armory earlier.

Truthfully, I had never used Lionheart since I set foot inside the capital because I wasn't that confident in my sword skills yet. For all my years of training under Azlan, I developed an affinity towards the use of blunt weapons, and I excelled at it. I was even able to land a solid hit against Azlan with the use of a Bo staff, despite the fact that the staff was twice my height back then.

Beatrix brandished her newly bought rapier around, as if testing its durability. The way she swung it around was captivating, and I couldn't help but admire her swordsmanship.

"Are you up for this, Altair?" she asked.

I attached the tonfas to my armguards first, before going into battle. At first they felt a little heavy, considering my small stature, but as the seconds went by, I was able to adapt to their weight.

Without even asking me if I'm ready, Beatrix lunged her rapier forward, closing the distance between us in half a second. I was fortunate to have reacted just in time to dodge the attack, but it was followed by another one, which I narrowly avoided as well.

I decided to exchange blows with Beatrix with a masterful display of the Heaven Six. However, the technique was not enough to overcome Beatrix's defenses. The unrelenting swings of my tonfas weren't enough to land a hit against her. And before I knew it, she had swept my legs from beneath me, and placed the rapier, inches before my face.

And with that, the battle concluded.

I wondered if she was an even better swordsman than my father, but perhaps that wasn't just the case. Five years of studying Azlan's movements had given me a certain familiarity of his strengths and weaknesses, so I was able to use that information to my advantage.

Beatrix, however, was someone unfamiliar to me. Aside from this duel, I had only ever seen her display her swordsmanship one other time, and it was back when she saved us in the outskirts of the capital.

She reached her hand out to me, which I grabbed right away, and helped pull me up. "You did well," she said with sincerity.

She's a humble winner, it seems.

It was then that Marius butted in. "Bea, how come you were able to bypass that technique Altair used against me? It looked like the perfect combination of offense and defense from where I was standing!"

Bea chuckled as she sheathed the broad rapier back to its scabbard. "Observation, my prince."

"Observation?" Marius and I asked at the same time.

"The technique Altair performed used to be a fundamental skill in the art of Eskrima called, Heaven Six. I have only ever seen it being used by two people. The first was Azlan, and then you, Altair."

Beatrix took out her rapier again and swung it around the air from different angles, similar to the Heaven Six, and then she finished the attack with a lunge of her rapier. "The Heaven Six is not exclusive to blunt weapons. Eskrima is an art that can also be applied to bladed weapons, and quite effectively at that. I merely performed the same technique based on what I observed earlier, and added a touch of my own."

Both Marius and I were so astonished that our mouths were left agape. My father had taught me several fighting techniques, but they were all conventional ones. He had shown me a few techniques with the sword and he bragged that he was the only one capable of doing them, though to give him some credit, I couldn't emulate the personal techniques he showed me no matter how hard I tried.

"I guess you're not the famed Rose Knight for nothing, Bea. Next time, you should spar against me an Altair at once!" Marius suggested.

"We have all the time in the world to do that, your highness." Bea sheathed her rapier back to its scabbard again, and made her way to the door. "Anyway, I must go back to my house and talk to my mother and sister. I want to spend this day with them because I'll be away for a while. I suggest you two do the same."

There was nobody here that I could talk to aside from Master Teo, and she was nowhere to be found. My mother, on the other hand, was taking some time off teaching because my father went and got her pregnant again. At the very least, I had something to look forward to when I get back to our house.

Left with no other choice, I went back to the guest room that I was staying in. And as I stepped into the room, I felt the cold wind blowing in from the window, and it seeped into my skin. The night breeze sent a chill down my spine. For some reason, it added to the loneliness I was feeling.

I could not help but wonder what my family was doing right now, and if they were thinking of me as well. But know them, I was certain they were thinking of me, too, especially Liana.

Then, I remembered Farina as well. I'm sure she was probably feeling lonely that I wasn't around anymore. The last time we saw each other was when she ran out on me, and I imagine she could still be upset about my departure.

"Someday, we'll be able to study at Arcane academy together, Farina," I muttered under my breath. "But for now, wait for me. I'll come back for you."