Father really sent me here to die. Lionel sat on the grounds when the shouts erupted. He managed to put a smile on his face. However, it quickly dropped when exhaustion caught him

This was really his first strenuous activity after the retreat.

I feel like I got hit by a carriage, Lionel sighed while wiping the sweat on his forehead.

"Good." Lionel immediately looked up after hearing the familiar deep voice.

He hadn’t even recovered, and yet Sir Reinhardt was already here.

"Sir Reinhardt..." Lionel muttered, acknowledging the man’s presence.

Reinhardt stood in front of him.. His arms were still crossed in front of him. The stern expression on his face remained the same as always, but compared to earlier, there was now a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"You lasted far longer than I expected," Reinhardt said calmly.

"Thank you, Sir." He didn’t know if it was praise or mocking, but it sounds sincere, so it must be the former.

"You fought well today," Reinhardt said as he stepped closer afterward and looked down at him.

Lionel blinked slightly at that. Coming from Sir Reinhardt, those words actually meant a lot. However, before Lionel could feel proud...

"But your mistakes were also obvious."

There it is, Lionel pressed his lips together. He knew that he wouldn’t just get a compliment for free.

"One thing that I noticed is you rely too much on instinct once pressure builds up," he continued seriously. "It helped you survive, yes. But instinct alone is dangerous."

Lionel listened quietly.

"When the two soldiers cornered you earlier, your footing became unstable," Reinhardt pointed out. "You also swing wider whenever you panic. That wastes stamina. It’s such a waste."

Lionel sighed before nodding slowly. Somehow, his words do make sense. It was not bad to listen to Reinhardt, since, however strict he was, he knew how to speak words with sense.

And now that he thought about it... Reinhardt was right. He really did rely on his instincts earlier.

"There were also moments when you focused too much on attacking," Reinhardt added. "You forgot to watch your surroundings."

"Right..." It was strange to have such talks with Sir Reinhardt. It was only when he was a duke that he remembered talking like this with him.

"Now stand up." Reinhardt raised a brow.

"What?" Lionel’s smile disappeared instantly.

"You still have training to do."

"Sir," Lionel stared at him in disbelief. "I just fought ten people."

"And?"

"..."

"We will fix your mistakes right now." Reinhardt pointed toward the wooden swords nearby.

Lionel slowly looked toward the sky as if questioning his life choices.

"I guess we will do that, Sir."

Reinhardt nodded once after hearing his answer.

"Good." He picked up a wooden sword nearby before tossing another one toward Lionel.

Lionel barely caught it in time.

"Now, stand properly," Reinhardt ordered immediately.

Lionel slowly pushed himself back onto his feet while suppressing a groan. The moment he stood completely, exhaustion hit him all over again. Even gripping the wooden sword already felt tiring now.

"Your body is already exhausted, and that’s just one fight," he said calmly. "That is exactly why this training is important."

Lionel’s eyes flew to him.

"In real battles, enemies will not wait for you to recover," Reinhardt continued. "Most people die once exhaustion clouds their judgment."

The words made Lionel fall silent since it was the truth.

"Now, come." Reinhardt slowly positioned his sword afterward.

"Right now?"

"Yes. Attack me."

Lionel stared at him for a second before letting out a tired sigh.

Slowly, Lionel tightened his grip on the wooden sword and stepped forward. He took a deep breath before rushing toward Reinhardt.

Then he swung his wooden sword.

*Clang!

The wooden sword was blocked effortlessly by Reinhardt.

"You attack wide," Reinhardt immediately commented.

Before Lionel could react, Reinhardt lightly struck his shoulder using the end of the sword.

*Tak!

"Ow!"

"If that were a real blade, your shoulder would already be cut."

Lionel clicked his tongue before attacking again.

This time, he tried to control the swing of his sword.

*Clack!

Reinhardt blocked it once more.

"Fix your footing."

Lionel immediately looked down. He didn’t even realize that his stance had become bad after the attack.

"I already told you that balancing your feet matters," Reinhardt said firmly. "One trip and your head will come off your body."

"Yes, Sir." Lionel gritted his teeth slightly before fixing his posture.

"Now attack again."

Just like what was instructed, Lionel attacked once more.

*Tak!

"Again."

*Tak!

"Again."

*Tak!

"Again."

The training grounds soon became filled with nonstop sounds of two swords colliding.

*Clang!

*Tak!

*Clack!

Every single mistake Lionel made was corrected immediately by Reinhardt.

"You attack too slowly."

"Watch your shoulders, Lionel.."

"Don’t force strength into every swing."

"I said fix your footing!"

"Again!"

Hahh...

At some point, Lionel stopped complaining completely. Because, despite how harsh Reinhardt sounded and even if he was already shouting while correcting his mistakes, his words genuinely helped.

The more they trained that day, the more Lionel started noticing things he had ignored before.

*Clang!

Lionel blocked another strike coming from Reinhardt. After hours, his footing on the ground became better.

Reinhardt’s eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded once.

"That’s better."

Lionel unconsciously smiled a little after hearing that. But the next second—

*Tak!

"Ow!"

The wooden sword struck the side of his arm again.

"You relaxed again."

"..." He was speechless at that.

"In battle, one moment of carelessness is enough to kill you."

Lionel could only sigh helplessly while rubbing his sore arm.

The training continued nonstop after that. The only breaks Lionel got were during lunch and a few short moments to catch his breath. Other than that, he spent the entire day inside the training grounds.

"Again!"

"Fix your stance!"

"Your eyes are wandering!"

By the time the sun slowly began setting in the sky, Lionel already felt like his entire body was numb. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his hands were covered with small blisters from gripping the wooden sword too long.

Even lifting his arms made him groan. But despite all that, he had undeniably improved. Compared to earlier, his movements now looked more controlled, and his mistakes were getting fixed one by one.

After 8 hours, "That’s enough for today."

Finally. Lionel almost dropped the wooden sword after hearing those words.

Reinhardt walked toward him afterward. His stern expression remained the same as always.

"Do not forget what I taught you today, Lionel," Reinhardt said calmly.

Lionel looked up at him quietly and nodded.

"When you enter the Imperial Knights, you will represent not only yourself, but also House Exelio."

"Make this household proud once you officially join them."

For some reason, hearing those words made Lionel pause for a second. A strange warmth slowly spread through his chest.

Slowly, a genuine smile formed on Lionel’s face.

"Yes, Sir Reinhardt," he answered firmly. "I’ll always remember it."