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Chapter: 22
Until now, Chloe had been swinging her sword with excessive honesty because she thought of it as merely “the basics.”
But why were fundamentals necessary in the first place?
Ultimately, fundamentals existed for the sake of application.
And right before Chloe’s eyes, Cloud demonstrated the very limit of application.
Just by watching Cloud’s swordsmanship, which was already a step ahead of her own, Chloe picked up countless hints.
Of course, mastering the ability to apply consistent force perfectly came first. Yet despite using nothing more than basic sword techniques, Cloud’s movements made it nearly impossible to predict the path of his next strike.
‘Which means the possibilities are endless depending on when you apply force and how you connect each movement.’
Even realizing that, it was impossible for Chloe to perfectly imitate Cloud’s swordsmanship.
‘Most importantly, I’m weaker than Cloud.’
As a result, she couldn’t completely prevent the trajectory of her sword from bending.
Realizing that and consciously accounting for it, Chloe tried her best to make it look as though she was intentionally altering the path of her blade from multiple angles.
Since it was true that she still looked like a beginner, she figured it would be better to appear deliberate rather than clumsy.
After diligently practicing the basic sword forms until she was sweating, Chloe said,
“How is it? It’s not exactly the same, but it’s pretty good, right?”
Cloud stared blankly at her for a moment. Looking at Chloe’s face as she proudly wiped away sweat after finishing the sword routine, he let out a disbelieving laugh before saying,
“This is seriously ridiculous. Is this what they mean when they say even a grub has its own talents? Of course, compared to me, it’s still pathetic.”
Things had been going so well, and then he just had to throw in an insult.
Whether he understood Chloe’s feelings or not, Cloud still wore an expression of utter disbelief.
After seeming to think about something for a moment, he asked her,
“How long did you say you’ve been learning swordsmanship?”
“Uh, I’m not exactly sure, but it hasn’t been a month yet.”
Chloe had only started learning swordsmanship very recently.
As if her answer was utterly absurd, Cloud scoffed.
“Hah!”
Annoyed by his reaction, Chloe protested in a small, sulky voice.
“Even so, I’m pretty talented for someone who’s been learning for less than a month.”
Was he looking down on her because he considered himself an even greater genius?
That was certainly possible.
In the original story, Cloud had always believed he alone was exceptional and had been arrogantly self-important.
After that, Cloud began teaching Chloe various advanced applications of swordsmanship with frightening intensity.
“How about this? Can you copy this one too?”
Cloud was usually confident or arrogant, but when it came to swordsmanship, he was serious. Whenever Chloe tried to imitate his movements or stance, he watched her with relentless eyes.
Whenever she somehow managed to learn one of his techniques, Cloud would wear an unreadable expression and pressure her into trying something even harder.
And when she succeeded, he would say in disbelief,
“You can do that too?”
‘Seriously. He complains even when I succeed.’
Chloe was the one who felt dumbfounded, but she couldn’t exactly argue with a Grand Duke who had personally shown up at her house before dawn, so her expression merely darkened.
“Then what about this?”
…
Several hours passed like that.
By now, Chloe was so hungry that she could barely do anything.
The training grounds, chilly in the early morning, had become quite warm.
Realizing that, Chloe lowered her sword and said to Grand Duke Cloud,
“Let’s at least eat something! We can’t just swing swords forever in this condition.”
Cloud pressed a hand to his forehead as though she had said something absurd.
“Are you kidding me? With that talent, food is still what you’re thinking about?”
The comment sounded almost like criticism, making Chloe bristle.
Apparently, because he was such a genius, he viewed talent at her level as trash.
‘Is that why he’s trying so hard to improve me as quickly as possible?’
Though slightly offended, Chloe restrained herself and addressed him in the gentlest tone she could manage.
“Even if my talent is inferior to Yours Grace’s, shouldn’t we still eat while training?”
Even if Cloud started cursing at her right then, Chloe was fully prepared to ignore him and go eat anyway.
But his response was strange.
“Did you take some medicine or something? What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Huh? What do you mean, nonsense?”
Only then did he seem to realize she had been completely serious. Looking somewhat flustered, he avoided her gaze.
It was so unlike the shameless Cloud that Chloe found herself surprised.
Then, in a slightly embarrassed tone, he added,
“I’m saying I was surprised because you’re too good. Do I seriously have to spell it out for you?”
As Cloud continued speaking, Chloe’s mouth slowly fell open.
“If you have talent like that, shouldn’t you develop it as soon as possible? Why would you let talent like that go to waste?”
Never in her life had Chloe expected to hear praise for the villainess coming from the mouth of the male lead’s rival.
With a strange expression, she replied,
“You’re not Grand Duke Cloud, are you?”
“What?”
Despite his sharp response, Chloe continued, unable to hide her suspicion.
“The Grand Duke I know would never say something that nice. Who are you?”
Because the words escaped before she could filter them, Cloud narrowed his eyes and glared at her.
Seeing those snake-like eyes rise sharply, Chloe finally realized she might have gone too far.
‘Judging by that glare, it really is him.’
Then did that mean Cloud—the original story’s officially recognized swordsmanship genius psychopath—had just acknowledged her skills?
“That’s not what I meant… I was just surprised that you’re capable of recognizing someone else’s talent.”
She was doomed.
No matter how she phrased it, the situation only sounded worse.
Choosing silence, Chloe lowered her head.
Cloud stared expressionlessly at the crown of her head for a while before finally breaking the silence.
“You really think I’m some kind of lunatic, don’t you?”
“You weren’t? Ah. I said that out loud. Sorry.”
At Chloe’s completely natural response, a vein bulged on Cloud’s forehead.
“Yeah, sure. Since you’re so obsessed with eating, bring me food too while you’re at it.”
For a moment, Chloe thought he was actually agreeing with her without resistance.
Of course, the Grand Duke had to add one condition.
“But you know what happens if it tastes bad, right?”
Despite his irritable response, Chloe answered with a smooth smile.
“I’ll make something incredibly delicious.”
“Are your ears blocked? I said you’ll die.”
Even at that violent threat, Chloe remained perfectly calm.
“Just look forward to it!”
That was because she was completely confident she could satisfy Cloud’s palate no matter how picky it might be.
“What kind of food do you like?”
The moment cooking became the topic, Chloe suddenly turned friendly.
Cloud eyed her suspiciously before reluctantly answering,
“I just eat to stay alive.”
Regardless of his response, it was now Chloe’s turn to show off in her own field and treat him to something special.
“There’s never been anything I thought tasted particularly good.”
That actually made sense.
People’s sense of taste was perfectly normal; it was simply that culinary culture hadn’t developed very far.
Considering Cloud had spent his life eating only the bland, unremarkable dishes of the Lujier Empire, it was only natural that food held little interest for him.
So Chloe nodded casually before informing him once again,
“I’ll definitely give you something delicious!”
“Yeah, please do.”
After thinking for a moment, Chloe decided that the first person to taste her masterpiece—flatfish sashimi—would be Cloud.
…Wait.
‘Is this like putting a cockroach on someone’s plate?’
But it was all or nothing.
Besides, wouldn’t it actually be a good thing if she ended up creating some distance between herself and Cloud, the original story’s second male lead?
Unintentionally, they had become a little… too close.
‘If he gets angry, I’ll just accept it. Every challenge has to start somewhere.’
Having made up her mind, Chloe’s hands moved swiftly and precisely.
Between cooking every day and learning swordsmanship, her knife skills had improved dramatically.
As a result, unlike before, she was able to slice the flatfish into beautiful, clean sashimi.
She tasted a piece first.
“Mmm. As expected, it’s delicious.”
Sashimi was one of those foods people either loved or hated, so simply placing it on Cloud’s plate was a gamble in itself.
