As time went on and my training continued, I noticed that some things had changed. The guards, who once stared at me with either contempt or hesitancy, now looked at me with a sense of acknowledgement in their eyes. I could only assume this was due to my relatively fast improvement. The most surprising and interesting change was my relationship with the Duke's daughter. After my talk with the Duke, she began pestering me to duel. I initially didn't plan to, but I figured it'd be quicker to beat her and get it over with.

"What's the matter? Scared to fight a girl?" She mocked, arrogantly smirking at me with one hand gripping the short-sword hanging from her waist, the evening sun producing a gleam. "To fight? No. To hurt someone who isn't training me nor have I animosity towards? Yes." I answered, breaking eye contact. "What a long winded way to say you're scared to fight me. Guess you demons aren't all that tough." My last thread of resistance snapped, as I began to pace toward the training ground. "Fine. If you want to be beaten that badly, who am I to stop you." I growled, never turning to see if she was following.

"Scary~" She teased me again, confidently stepping toward the arena. Evidenced by the sound of her footsteps, she was either taking unnatural steps or her pace was abnormal. Making it to the arena, I looked in her direction to see her skipping toward me. If not for the previous conversation and interaction, it'd be reasonable to assume she was frolicking through a field and not about to fight a demon. I could feel a vein about to burst.

"Taylor, did you forget why you-" Before I could finish, my instincts flared, causing me to pivot off my right foot and rotate. "You had the same misconception everyone else does right? That I look too delicate to be involved in a fight?" She accused, a smile playing on her face that didn't reach her eyes. Instead of responding, I only raised my guard and warily observed the noble daughter. She had laid down the steel sword and had grabbed a training blade.

"You'd think it'd be common sense...why would a Duke as strong as my father have a daughter and intentionally not teach her survival skills? His strength only made my early stages of training that much harder." Inwardly, I acknowledged her words, but I could've done without her inwardly calling me stupid.

"Unbelievably, I think I can finally relate to you on something. I also had an evil bastard train me. If we judged only by actions, he's much more demonic than I." I felt a small smile form, thinking of our many interactions.

"You seem to hold him in high regard." She smiled for a moment before completely wiping it from her face, only to replace it with something else. Something deeper.

Before this mushy crap could continue any further, I swung my blades around a few times before reattaching them to each other. Throughout these months, it slowly felt less like a weapon or a means to an end, and more like a partner. Something I could rely on, as long as I relied on it as well. It won't do to use these against her. The only people here who could handle me using this, are her father and the lady guard I met on the first day. Instead, I opted to pick up a training sword off the wooden rack that was off to the side.

Wordlessly, I pushed off my right foot and arrived directly in front of Taylor and brought the wooden training sword up. She was somehow able to react in time and harmlessly deflected my attack. Without changing her posture too much, she raised her leg and prepared to kick me in the solar plexus. Near instantly, I raised my sword and managed to block the attack, though it still made me slide a few meters back.

"I wouldn't hold back for some arbitrary reason like, 'I don't want to hurt her.' I've sparred with nearly every warrior here and sustained no visible injuries. That includes my aunt." She stood confidently, though there was no trace of arrogance. Her eyes were taking in my every move and her tensed stance implied she was ready to react at any time.

Guess I can get rid of any thought to take it easy on her, she seems pretty tough.

As I surged forward once more, Taylor mirrored my movements with equal fervor. Our blades clashed in a series of violent thwacks, our forms melding into a blur of calculated chaos. Despite the heightened acuity of my senses, a reluctance to tap into my qi lingered, even as I suspected Taylor to be drawing upon mana. Her strikes found their mark, leaving behind marks that would have blossomed into grievous wounds had our weapons been of true steel.

Taylor's fighting style was a testament to agility and precision, a dance of evasion punctuated by swift, calculated strikes aimed at exploiting the slightest opening. It was an artful defense, yet vulnerable to a relentless onslaught. Recognizing this vulnerability, I abandoned the safety of defense and evasion, opting instead to channel all my focus into overpowering her with sheer force and relentless aggression.

For every trio of slices Taylor delivered, I countered with a single resounding strike aimed at her vulnerable torso. Each impact reverberated with a satisfying 'thud,' a testament to the efficacy of my strategy. Minutes stretched into eternity as our duel raged on, our breaths labored and ragged. Superficially, it appeared that I had borne the brunt of the confrontation, my body adorned with scrapes and bruises. However, while I stood tall and resolute, Taylor's posture wilted, her hand instinctively finding purchase over her injured side.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The intensity of our clash ebbed, the air thick with palpable tension as we took stock of our respective conditions. Despite the toll exacted by our exchange, a fierce determination burned brightly in both our gazes, a testament to the unyielding resolve that propelled us forward. Suddenly, she jumped backwards while maintaining her hold on the right side of her torso.

"Are....we done?" I asked, exhausted. "Are you...crazy?! Why would you...stop defending and only attack? If...this were real, you...would've died or...be really injured from all those!" She fell into a sitting position yet managed to raise her voice despite her situation. "But it...wasn't." A bitter smile made its way onto my face. "I know someone...who fights like...that so I...wanted to test...it."

"Either way...not fair. We're doing this...again, and I'll win." She complained but a confident smirk slowly formed on her face. "Heh, we'll see...about that. You gotta...make me...feel like I...need to use something...else first." I shot back, slowly and tiredly striding toward her. I reached my hand out to help her up, but upon taking it, I fell over next to her.

Making eye contact, we both lightly laughed at the state a few measly minutes of sparring left us in. Despite my desire for strength in limited time, this fight against her was fun. It didn't feel like fighting for survival against monsters which both master and Duke Ainsworth made me feel, or the boredom that sparring with guards gave me, but actual amusement.

She flashed her assured smirk and I revealed a toothy grin as our fists collided.

"Having fun you two?" Duke Ainsworth appeared through the entrance with one eyebrow raised. "Duke? Shouldn't you be managing your land at this time or something?" I asked, a slight mocking tone present in my voice. "Normally, but my sister overheard the two of you about to spar and immediately reported it to me. She decided to take over the paperwork while I came to make sure neither of you went too hard and tried to kill the other."

"Sister? You have a sister?" I questioned, thrown off but then Taylor's earlier comment came back. "Oh yeah, you said something about an aunt earlier. Have I met her?"

"Indeed, she was the head guard at the gate when you initially arrived." He simply answered, looking both of us up and down. "Wow, Taylor really did a number on you Ashoc. I'd have to say that she won this duel due to the difference in injuries, wouldn't you?" His face seemed mostly serious, but his tone betrayed the mockery in his question.

"I was the last standing." I shot back before Taylor interjected. "Next time you won't be."

"With your newfound friendship blossoming, it's the perfect time for the next subject to begin. Starting next week, it will be a two on two sparring session each day. The two of you against me and my sister. Any complaints?" He asked, though it seemed pretty rhetorical. "Good, then I'll be going. I don't want my sister doing the boring work of a Duke for too long. Try not to kill each other until then." As he turned to walk away, I turned to look at Taylor, but her face was unreadable. "...it."

"What?" I asked, not hearing what she said.

"I don't want to do it! It's hard enough to fight them one on one, but now we have to deal with their monstrous ability simultaneously?! Don't you get it Ashoc?! We're screwed!" She complained, forcing me to really think about the situation. Would it really be that bad facing them both?

"Then we just gotta keep sparring with each other until we're either strong enough or our teamwork is good enough. Easy enough." I thought aloud, nodding my head to my rational analysis. "Spoken like someone who hasn't truly fought my aunt. She must hold back against you." She whispered just loud enough to hear.

"I remember you asked me why I pushed myself so hard. For you to be this strong, you must also push yourself. I gave you my reason, but what's yours?" There was a beat of silence between us before she answered. "I want to be strong enough to live my own life instead of being at the whims of others. Like my aunt was. I want to be so powerful that no one ever dreams of forcing their will on me."

"Speaking of, why is the sister of the Duke serving as a guard? Shouldn't she be treated like him?" I voiced my inner doubt.

"She is, to an extent. The only time she's treated like a guard and not his sister is when other nobles would visit. Their ages are very similar so both could've inherited the position, but apparently, neither wanted to be the Duke or Duchess because they found it bland and boring. So when my grandparents weren't around, they told me they had a fight in this arena and told all servants and guards to keep quiet or be executed, but I doubt they would've actually done it. Anyway, the winner was my aunt so when the official duel came around, they put on a show that eventually led to her 'defeat.' As a result, they tried to marry her off to another family for political leverage but father was against it. In exchange, she had to forsake her name of 'Ainsworth,' but everyone minus my grandparents still treated her as one. Pretty long story huh?" She asked, looking upward and facing the night sky.

"A little, but it seems nice to know about your family and their lives. I never really thought about it until hearing your story, but I guess I never really had family, in the sense of blood relation at least. Through my early life, I just had a demon named Baomu. She never really said anything but I could tell. We weren't blood-related, but she was the closest thing I had to it." I reminisced, once again thinking about her.

"Hmm, got any funny or cool stories regarding her?" Taylor questioned, though there was no curiosity in her voice.

"Off the top of my head, I d-"

"It's getting late, you two should return to your rooms and get rest." I was interrupted by Taylor's aunt who's name I still didn't know. "Same time tomorrow? You won't be winning." She pridefully remarked. "Whatever you say."

We both struggled to stand, but after some assistance by her aunt, we were both on our way.

That was how my week of training with Taylor began, with her adapting to my fighting style more and more with each encounter, and myself doing the same. The time to spar with her father and aunt arrived faster than either of us cared for.