Princess Sherry's Tale - Chapter 6.2

Sherri was hiding alone in a thicket next to the training ground. As Tol was an escort knight, he couldn’t stay by her side all day. In the morning, while Sherri usually worked, the butler of the Marquis’ mansion was present, so it was common for Tol to do his knight training during that period. He could return to Sherri’s side in the afternoon, once his training session was over. Despite how great a swordsman he was, if he didn’t sharpen his skills, it would become dull and rusty.

She normally watched him from the terrace, which had a great view of the training grounds, but today, she wanted to watch up close to see what kind of skills he had. She was curious as to what the normal Tol was like. So, she cleverly hid in the thicket.

“Ya! Hyah!”

“I’m going!”

Sherri thought he was warming up for a while, but it seemed like it was time for a fight. A huge muscular knight walked out as Tol’s opponent. Even the immensely built Tol looked small next to him. Sherri’s gaze shifted to him for a moment before she turned away. Well, from the looks of it, the guy was averagely good looking, but he was far from her type.

A manly face was good, but these days, her type was a delicate-looking young man. On top of that, one with thick muscular features wasn’t exactly appealing to her. In this respect, Tol fitted her ideal type, in an almost perfect way. Being good looking topped her list as well as not looking like a full-time bodybuilder. Tol had just the right amount of muscles and she loved it.

Sherri trembled for a moment at the thought of Tol sparring against someone who looked almost twice his size. Not only did he look older and more experienced than Tol, but he was able to make Sherri quiver in fear. Her escort knight was said to be good for his age and a genius, but right now, the odds didn’t seem to be in his favour. Worried about the outcome of the match, her palms became sweaty while her body became tense.

Even an ordinary scar on Tol’s face would incur her wrath and she wasn’t going to let the other knight go unscathed. She didn’t want a scratch on someone she was yet to properly touch.

In the course of the sparring, Tol, who was confronting the muscular knight, quickly disappeared from his spot. While Sherri’s eyes darted left to right, wondering where he’d disappeared to, he suddenly appeared again and continued sparring.

The knight, who flexed the tendons on his muscle-covered arms, tried to subdue Tol with all his strength but Tol, who seemed to be having fun, straightened his back and quickly moved again.

Is this normally what sparring is?

Even though Sherri was a little distracted, her eyes never left their sight as she watched their movements with utmost concentration. Tol was very skilled to the point of admiration as his movements weren’t normal. She had always thought of him as a sympathetic man, but it was quite refreshing to see this knightly side of him.

From her point of view, it was evident Tol’s opponent looked down on him and didn’t expect the match to last this long. Tol’s response to every movement was quicker than he had anticipated and in a few minutes both knights were sweaty, their clothes sticking to their broad chests. The angry sun didn’t help matters either as the weather was a little hot.

“Whew! You’re good.”

“Knock me down!”

There were a few times when Tol looked dangerous, his eyes set like a predator. Sherri couldn’t deny how sexy he looked each time as she wished he could be like that around her. Cheers were heard from all over the place, fellow knights chanting Tol’s name, because he cleverly let the attacks flow smoothly.

“Hey, stop! This is all for today.”

Sherri released her tightly squeezed palms once another knight who had been monitoring the fight intervened and stopped the sparring. There was a clear difference between the muscular knight, whom anyone could tell was exhausted from his loss of breath, and Tol, who looked exactly the same way he did before the fight had commenced. Even though both knights were from Sherri’s family, her evaluation was particularly leaning towards only one person.

“Hey, you think I’ll lose next time?” Tol’s opponent boasted.

“It’s because you coached me well, partner,” Tol replied with a teasing smile, a side new to Sherri.

His sparring partner came with a big smile, and the two shook hands as he gave Tol’s shoulder a friendly tap. Seeing Tol bow courteously despite the man’s playful tone made him look so cool, causing Sherri’s eyes to glisten. Even the way his slightly sweaty hair stuck to his forehead made him look hot. The thought of driving her fingers through his sticky hair if she had the opportunity, leaves her feeling excited.

His handsome face had a faint smile when a group of young men who seemed to be his colleagues patted his shoulders while conversing with him. As expected, they were in their youth and Sherri was pleased to see such good friendship among them.