"Clare, get up." I said standing next to her bed.
I said it loudly enough that she was a little scared.
"Miyabi… what time is it…" she said yawning as she sat up on the bed.
"About six." I replied.
"What? Why did you wake me up so early?" Clare asked.
"For a morning jog." I said.
"Did we…"
"Clare, do you think that fighting with a sword is that easy? No, it's not. You must be quite tough because you might encounter an opponent who will be hard to defeat, and therefore the one with more stamina will win." I said.
"I see…" she replied yawning.
"In any case, I'll wait for you outside. Let the maids dress you appropriately." I said to the girl who barely reached my waist.
After leaving the mansion, I waited for Clare, who appeared in a sports uniform that was quite modern for the Middle Ages.
"Okay, now your task is to run ten laps around the estate." I said, and then I saw how the girl's face turned pale.
"That's impossible…" she said, but I interrupted her.
"Clare, as long as I'm your teacher, the word "impossible" doesn't exist. Understood?" I asked in a stern voice, turning on the teacher mode that I had been turning on for a long time.
The last time it happened was with Chriss…
Damn, now is not the time to miss her!
Now the main thing is training Clare
Clare nodded to me and started running, I am certainly not one of those teachers who give a task and abandon their students. So I ran next to her, and in case she gets sick, I will catch her.
I saw her determination in her eyes when she ran, but pretty soon, around the second lap, she began to slow down, but she did not stop.
As we approached the third lap, I saw how it became more and more difficult for her to move, but she did not give up.
Around the middle of the third lap, her small child's body finally made itself felt, and she almost fell, but of course I immediately caught her, putting her on the grass.
I handed her a bottle, which she took and began to greedily drink water.
"That's enough for today," I said, she put the bottle away and looked at me.
"But you said ten laps, and I didn't even run four." She said.
I just smiled and patted her head.
"Clare, you did what most kids your age can't do. Ten laps is your ultimate goal, so I don't expect you to run ten laps anytime soon." I said, continuing to pat her head, and she just hummed in response.
"Come on, breakfast will be ready soon, after which we will continue training." I said.
She nodded at me, and we returned to the mansion, where she was immediately taken away by the maids to wash her.
Meanwhile, I noticed Clare's mother standing by the window.
I decided to go up to her.
"How is she?" She asked when I approached her.
"Determined, doesn't give up until she collapses from exhaustion." I said.
"She's a strong girl… You know, I didn't want her to pick up a weapon at all… but in the times we live in, it's the only thing that can protect her from danger." She said, to which I simply nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm here to protect her in case of danger." I said.
She looked at me and smiled.
"I know, thank you!" She said.
Within the next hour, we had breakfast, and now Clare and I were at the training ground.
"I want you to do three sets of 20 push-ups, and three sets of 30 squats." I said.
"What? Why?" The girl asked.
I simply sighed, and pulled the katana out of its sheath, and held it out.
She happily took it, but the next moment, she almost dropped it, and barely held it in her hands.
"To wield a sword, you must have at least some muscle strength. Otherwise, every sword you pick up will be too heavy for you." I said, taking the katana from her.
"Now begin." I said, and she immediately assumed a prone position, starting to do push-ups.
The first twenty times, she was able to do it normally, but after that it became more difficult for her. On the second attempt, she fell on her stomach. and instead of getting up, she caught her breath a little, and continued doing push-ups. This happened two more times, and she did all sixty push-ups, and did not complain once, like girls her age.
Next, she began to do squats, which were easy for her, but by the end her legs were shaking from the strain.
"Well done, and now you'll rest a bit and gather your strength, and I'll go look for some books on fencing for you," she said, picking her up in her arms and carrying her to the pond, which was not far away.
After I left her, I headed to the library, where I looked through books that would suit Clare, after all, she's still a child, and it's too much to demand from her.
Taking two books, I returned to her.
"Here, read these, and then get ready for dinner," I said, to which she nodded.
I didn't ask her right away, but I'm glad that she had already been taught to read, so she began to read the books I gave her without difficulty.
About two hours later, the maids took her away to clean her up before dinner.
Only Clare's mother was present at the dinner, her father was currently in the palace for an audience with the king. I'm pretty sure his visit to the king was related to the empire.
Speaking of the king...
He had three sons, at least that's what everyone thought, but his youngest son was never a man, he just got sick with some magical disease that changed his gender to male, and he was forced to live the life of a prince...
As far as I remember, in the novel, he still returns to the gender he was given at birth, namely becoming a woman, and also starts a relationship with Rae Taylor's friend, whose name is Misha, who already had feelings for the prince, and therefore was not embarrassed by the fact that the prince became a princess.
It's all pretty confusing...
Also in the anime, Clare was in love with the eldest prince. who also turned out to be a villain and worked together with the demon lord, Rae Taylor…
As I said, it's all too complicated…
After lunch, we returned to the training field.
"Here, I want you to do two sets of 500 sword swings," I said, handing her a special wooden sword.
She nodded and began doing the exercises, and I simply watched her until I felt someone watching us.
I immediately disappeared from where I was standing.