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nWhen Yvonne reached the training grounds, she was not alone as Roselie insisted on accompanying her.

nHoward turned around when he heard the sound of footsteps coming in his direction and found his sister coming along with a maid he had not seen before.

nThis wasn't his fault as Roselie was often stationed in the Kitchen, a place where he did not frequent hence he had no clue who she was.

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"Big Brother!

" Yvonne's excited chirp brought him back to his senses.

nNodding his head to her greeting, his eyes glanced at her clothing which was similar to the one she had worn during the assessment.

nHe then turned his gaze to the maid who bowed to him but his eyes were fixed on something she was carrying.

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"What is that?

" He questioned and raised his brows in curiosity when he saw his sister's eyes glimmer.

nYvonne smirked when she heard his query as this was the perfect opportunity to flaunt the gift that she had received.

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"Papa bought me something special because he punished me.

" She announced with pride, not ashamed that she had received this as a bribe from him.

nThe confusion on Howard's face at the statement she had made was great but the happiness on her face made him smile as well.

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"Let's see what it is.

" He gestured for the maid to open the box.

nHowever, to his surprise, Roselie first glanced at her Miss and only moved when she saw the little head bobbing in approval.

n'She has loyal maids already.' He rolled his eyes at this scene and waited to see what was inside.

nRoselie pulled the box open and turned it towards her Miss, making sure that the Young Master could not glimpse at it.

nThis made Howard frown but that frown turned upside down when his sister was gracious enough to show what her gift was.

nThe little girl now held a beautiful sword in her hand and raised it up, letting the light from the sun fall on it.

nThe reflection that fell on the ground were like tiny symmetrical patterns one would see in a kaleidoscope.

nHoward too had the same mesmerized look on his face as he gauged the sword she was holding.

nShe had worn the gloves before arriving so he could catch the resemblance between the two items.

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"You have begun training with this sword?

" He interrogated, both astonished at this information and worried about her safety.

nYvonne smiled when she saw the concern in his eyes and explained how she had come to obtain this sword.

nHoward nodded at the end of her tale of how their father and the Captain had worked together to prepare this surprise for her.

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"I still do not understand why you were punished?

" He wondered out loud while scratching his chin.

nRoselie looked down as she was not supposed to hear this conversation even though she was aware of what had taken place on that fateful day.

nYvonne on the other hand placed the sword back in the box and signaled for her maid to return.

nThe young boy watched in confusion as the sword was sent back and shot her a questioning gaze once the maid was far away from their position.

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"Captain forbade me from using it in his absence.

" She grumbled the condition that her trainer had laid out if she wished to learn everything from him.

nBegrudgingly, she had accepted his condition and hence could not wield her sword in their sparring match.

nHoward nodded as she was still too young to handle it all alone, fearing that she might injure herself or someone else by accident.

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"We can still use the wooden ones.

" He added to ease the pouting face that she had on right now.

n'Yea, I guess…' She nodded as they walked towards the tables where the wooden swords were placed.

nTheir little conversation diverted Howard's mind and he momentarily forgot all about his other question.

nThe siblings chose their swords and returned to the field as they took their position opposite each other.

nHolding their swords in their hands, Howard and Yvonne gazed into each other's eyes and knew that they were ready to begin.

nAs always, it was the brother who made the first move as he leaped towards her at lightning speed.

nYvonne dodged to the best she could and held her sword in the air to block the attack he had made on her head.

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"I won't let you strike me that easily!

" She declared with an arrogant smirk as she leaped away from him.

nA sneer left his lips as he nodded, willing to see if she could hold true to her words.

nThe siblings clashed repeatedly as they moved to and fro, attacking and defending the other person's moves.

nThe two were left alone in the training field so they weren't worried about prying eyes as they continued to battle it out with each other.

nSweat formed on their foreheads at the exercise they were taking part in and invigorated smiles could be seen on their faces.

n*Smack*

nHoward's sword struck her elbow, causing her to wince at the pain that jolted through her arm.

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"What happened to those big words?

" He mocked her and leaped forward without giving her time to recover.

nYvonne gritted her teeth when she realized that the last time they had fought, he had been holding back a lot of his strength.

nThis was true as Howard was considering the wellbeing of his delicate sister.

nHowever, ever since the assessment, he was treating her as an equal in his sword training, and thus, this time he did not hold back.

nThis was a tough situation for her as for every three hits she suffered, she could only land a single strike on him.

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"You still have a lot to learn.

" He muttered as he flashed past her and in the blink of an eye, he was right behind her.

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"Give up.

" He whispered and smiled when he saw his sister glance at him from the corner of her eye.

nHowever, before Yvonne could think of a way to escape from this position, she felt something press against her neck.

n'Dammit!' She cursed when the sword in her brother's hand was now in line with her neck.

nIf this was a real battle and they were using real metallic swords, then Yvonne was afraid that she might have her throat slit open by now.

nThankfully, this was not such a scenario and all she had to do to save herself was to drop her sword.

nCaptain Desmo had taught her to recognize her limitations but at the same time, work harder to push them further to strengthen herself.

nTherefore, paying heed to his teachings, she tossed the sword aside and in the next second, felt the sword move away from her neck.

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"It was a good match.

" Howard commended her for lasting this long when he was not controlling the power he used in his strikes.

nThe fact that his five-year-old sister accomplished this feat was truly a great merit on her part.

nWith this thought, he was not stingy with his praise.

nYvonne frowned at her limitations but smiled when she heard his kind words.

nAs the siblings walked back to the table to return their swords to their rightful places, Howard asked something that she had been avoiding until now.

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"So, why were you punished?

" His curiosity had been piqued and he needed answers now.

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