Chapter 21.2

They held each other for well over a moment. Every time Eirwen thought she had herself under control again, a tightened hug or a tear caused her own to flow once more. And yes, she could have forced her emotions shut behind her mask, but she wanted to be a hurt young woman just this once, rather than the Duchess of ice.

Eventually her friends let go of her and sat down, returning to tea and drinks while trying to find a good conversation subject. It took them some tries before ending up discussing the combat training, trying to figure out what Eirwen was planning and why, while she smilingly refused to give any hints. Their conclusion ended up being that Eirwen wanted to show off a unified front, to scare off anyone who wanted to try next.

Several moments later, Bethan arrived with an entire group of Verglas healers, all veterans who had proven their worth at the frontlines. And today, they had come solely for treating them all for their tears, gently healing their eyes. A duty they handled as seriously as they handled combat.

It took some time, all healers making sure nobody would realise the group had cried. A while later, her friends reluctantly left her by herself as they went to switch clothes for the occasion. Aoife stayed behind, as did Bethan, plotting their next move. The combat training would be useful indeed.

Before she sent them off, Eirwen gave them both a hug. It was out of character for her, but today she could use the affection. By now the weapon master had returned his senses to her side, but that wasn't enough for her. She wished she could have him right next to her, knowing full well why that was a bad idea right now.

Lunch was offered spread out over several locations, allowing everyone to keep their knights at hand without crowding the rooms or keeping people inside rooms with few exits. They all pretended not to understand or care, though many let their relief slip through. Eirwen ate with her own nobles, both Verglas and Iceheart, while finalising the plans for the combat training. She secretly did regret the weapon master was eating at the kitchen. His absence gnawed on her.

But he had done his job, allowing everyone to contact their dukedoms, reporting events to their Dukes and their parents. And even though he hadn't been in the room during those conversations, he had still documented their full contents. She wasn't really happy with it, but given yesternight's events, she understood all too well why he was spying on people once more.

Still, this wasn't how they should handle things. He was reverting to who he had been during the war, a person whose acts he had felt guilt and shame over. They needed a better approach than forcing him to become that person once more. He too needed to be freed from his past.

After their meals, Eirwen geared up. Part of today's demonstration was to make clear she was more than just a damsel stuck in an ivory tower. When her guests arrived at the rear courtyard, they found her there already, crossing swords with Vicomtesse Pertrellan. Both of them were in full armour, though for their warm-up they were using practice swords.

Around them, two dozen knights did the same, to the guidance of Aoife and Sir Caerbychan, while the weapon master quietly observed. Aoife and the weapon master were the only ones without armour on, all others wore their best. Only the shields were of lesser quality, damaged leftovers that would be discarded afterwards.

After most had arrived, Eirwen quit her spar and turned to her guests. "I greet you all and welcome you to our combat training. For the past while, we have been training knights to learn from each other, stand together rather than opposed. I am eagerly awaiting to oversee their progress. I hope you will enjoy yourselves."

She nodded at Sir Caerbychan, who stepped forward with a trained smile. He had grown, nothing reminding her of the hesitation he had shown her back at the Verglas estate. "Greetings, my Lords and Ladies. I am Sir Llywelyn Caerbychan, a humble knight in the direct service of Duchess Verglas. I will be orchestrating today's spars for your entertainment."

He gestured at the knights at attention. "As you can see, the knights gathered before you are a varied bunch, serving many a Verglas or Iceheart noble. We will first divide them into groups and let them get used to each other in group combat. After that, they will have a larger confrontation of sorts, showcasing their control of various techniques. The final spar will take place after, between selected individuals. But first, would the first two groups please step up?"

The first few spars were performed in groups of three against three. Once everyone had participated, groups of six were formed. At that point, it was hard for anyone not to notice an important detail of the group compositions. The knights were equally distributed between Iceheart and Verglas. Each dozen originated from three territories, represented by four knights each. But they were not teamed up. Instead, each group of six originated from all six territories. And they were alternated, so each Verglas knight was flanked by two Iceheart knights, and vice versa.

A showy way of pretending the two dukedoms were unified. Or so one would like to think, but each group did collaborate properly. They marched together, moved together, attacked together. Each group illustrated perfectly that they could hold the line together, no matter the fact that they were not from the same dukedoms, never mind noble territories.

And the show was far from over. Next was a demonstration of mana techniques. Each side had one group in front, one in the rear. The first move was to have six archers fire arrows at the opposing frontline. Anyone with decent skills immediately noticed the arrows were Verglassed. The first salvo was allowed to pierce the shields. The second was stopped through applying the Carraig defence to the shields.

Neither Eirwen's personal knights nor the Carraig knights were included in the spar. These all were sent by other nobles. Yet both Verglas and Iceheart knights all managed to use both techniques properly. Next, the frontlines and rears separated. The archers switched to spears and shields, stabbing at each other and showing they managed to hold both a Verglas blade and a Carraig shield at the same time.

Lastly, the frontlines approached. Verglassed swords thrust forward and found shields able to block them. Next, all raised their sword-arm, then Verglassed not just the tip of their blades, but the entire edge. This time, the shields didn't entirely hold them back, each sword cutting several digits into its opposition. The demonstration ended there, leaving the crowd stunned in silence.

They understood all too well what this illustrated. First of all, the most important techniques of the respective dukedoms were being taught to knights from both. Furthermore, the knights had already begun training as a group. This no longer was a situation where each noble had their own knights with their own techniques. This wasn't just a show, it was a warning. Whoever came after Eirwen would face not separate groups, but a unified front.

Sir Caerbychan continued, barely holding in his smirk and disguising it as an overly happy smile. "I hope you enjoyed our demonstration. As I mentioned before, there is one last thing I have left for you. Two pairs will face each other. And this time, it will be an actual fight. On one side we have Vicomtesse Pertrellan and her second, the Verglas weapon master."

The crowd hushed at this. They had expected specific knights to face each other, not actual nobility. But they knew this was far from ceremonial. Pertrellan had served well in the war, both as a commander and on the battlefield. And as for the weapon master, only a fool would pretend to not have faith in his skills. They all knew his father had refused to leave the Flameheart estate, so it was the weapon master who had led battle after battle. And most crucially, had won most of them.

The two stepped forward, Pertrellan on the right. Caerbychan smiled and turned. "As for their opponents, may I present you her Grace, Duchess Verglas, as well as her second, Vicomtesse Carraig." The crowd had been mostly silent. But at this reveal, it wasn't. Made worse by the fact that here too, the second was on the left. In other words, Eirwen was facing her former fiancé directly.

Another thing of note was the equipment. All used a sword and shield, but while Pertrellan and Eirwen were in heavy armour, the other two wore simple leathers. If anyone wondered why, they had but to pay attention to see how both their armour and skin had a glow to it. Aoife's was subdued brown, the pure Carraig technique that her father had refined for his family. As for the weapon master, his was a reddish-brown, illustrating the mix of fire and earth that he commanded. It was clear that these two felt as if they were in heavy armour already.

"Combatants. You will start on my mark and hold on my mark. All techniques are allowed, but be careful with any killing blows. I wish you a proper fight. And start!"

If anyone had expected a prepared exchange of techniques, they were partially proven wrong real quickly. Both sides immediately used various techniques, both magic and combat, as they engaged each other. Of note, both sides proved to be decent pairs, even if minor frictions were somewhat easy to notice.

Both Eirwen and her weapon master showcased a large variety of mana techniques. Whenever a technique was added to the fight, another came to counter it, and so the fight moved on. Aoife and Pertrellan knew less, but they still brought out a decent number. Though it was clear the fight was partially to show off, it was still impressive.

At some point, Eirwen noticed how the weapon master subtly raised a knee. Both she and Aoife responded faster, each bringing down a foot just as he did his. When he hit the ground and sent ripples their way, trying to paralyse them, they both countered with the same. The surprise on his face made way for shock and mild panic as their techniques overwhelmed him. Pertrellan tried to intercept as two swords flashed towards her second's neck, but too late.

"Halt! Victors, Vicomtesse Carraig and Duchess Verglas!" They hadn't needed Caerbychan's mark to hold their blades, but this too was a performance for the crowd. Frozen as they were, it was easy for all to see that both swords had actually managed to pierce his neck a bit, despite his magically hardened skin. They withdrew their blades and smiled broadly at each other.

As for their opponent, blood flowed yet stopped just as quickly as he began treating his wounds. Bethan joined him with a curse, the healer carefully looking things over to make sure he didn't scar horribly. Given the grin on his face, Eirwen doubted he'd have minded though.

They turned and greeted the crowd, Caerbychan stepping aside to let Eirwen address her guests. "Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoyed our form of entertainment. We will see you once more at dinner. Until then, rest well." After the nobles and knights finished applauding their performance, the audience left the courtyard, leaving just the participants behind.