Living My Fourth Life as the Dragon's Daughter

“All right.”

It’s better to be together anyway.

It was only after a long persuasion that a positive answer came out when Kael seemed relieved.

“Papa, I’m sleepy.”

“Yes. Sleep tight.”

He slowly tucked the hair that had fallen down her forehead.

With a gentle pat on her head, Hyazelki slowly closed her eyes.

* * *

“…….”

Hyazelki thought the word of rejection would come back at once, but Lihan seemed to be surprisingly a little worried.

“Are you sure?”

As usual, Lihan should have shook his head firmly at Hyazelki’s challenge of sparring.

However, he couldn’t refuse at once, as if something had changed a little since he went to the Euston family.

Lihan fought with other knights in the Euston family and realized how important experience was in swordsmanship.

He fought with the knights until the day he returned.

However, since Hyazelki did not go to the Euston family, it was right to comply with the training for her swordsmanship.

Of course, Lihan’s real intention was never to confront her with a sword.

So he couldn’t accept it. He couldn’t say he didn’t want to nor could he refuse her.

“I’ll compete with you today, Miss.”

There was a little time until morning training. Hyazelki and Lihan appeared on the training ground early in the morning as if they were competing.

Owin, who appeared at the training ground a little earlier than usual, stepped up instead after seeing Lihan, who could neither respond to nor refuse the challenge.

Owin wasn’t very happy with it either.

Owin, who warmed up lightly, stood facing Hyazelki with a wooden sword in hand.

“The time is……I’ll give you before the morning training.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Come first.”

“Yes!”

With Owin’s permission, she kicked the ground without delay.

The dull sound of the wooden sword hitting the training ground rang.

At first Lihan looked at the two with a little nervousness.

However, he quickly calmed down and observed the two’s battle as if he would not miss any movement.

Hyazelki didn’t slow down, and her movements were neat and tidy.

But the attack was simple, and she could see how the result would come out.

No matter how many times she swung her sword, it couldn’t reach Owin.

On the other hand, Owin had been leisurely blocking the attack and occasionally catching her off guard.

If he doesn’t attack at all, she won’t learn anything from the sparring.

Owin, who was watching how she wielded the sword a little, soon moved quickly.

He hit the stabbing sword and swung his body straight away. Owin stopped his wooden sword around her neck.

“It’s over.”

With a long breath, Hyazelki, who had her sword stretched, checked the time.

“Let’s do it one more time.”

Owin said he would spar with her until the end of morning training. There was still time left, so she had no choice but to comply with his challenge for another sparring.

The second time, the result was the same.

“Lihan.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What do you think is her problem?”

Rather than being angry, Hyazelki waited for Lihen’s answer with anticipated eyes, as if sparring was more fun than she thought.

“The attack was simple. It’s good to be faithful to the basics, but she won’t be able to beat a knight with just the basics.”

“Yes, Miss doesn’t have to be strong enough to beat a knight. But if you want to, keep that in mind.”

Hyazelki looked up at Owin quietly.

‘To beat a knight?’

Her reason for learning swordsmanship was to protect herself from threats.

In fact, she succeeded in protecting herself from the dark energy, and was more proud than she thought.

Hyazelki, who was agonizing over why the standard of “to beat the knight” they set, quickly found the answer.

“I want to be strong enough to beat a knight.”

That’s right. It could be a knight who tries to hurt herself.

Then, she had to be stronger than that to protect herself and her loved ones from the threat.

In response to Hyazelki’s answer, Owin asked with a serious look.

“What’s your goal?”

“Goal?”

“Something like, ‘I want to be strong to some extent’.”

“Ah.”

She pondered for a moment without giving an answer straight away.

Then before answering Owin’s question, Hyazelki asked one question.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Did you ask the same question to Lihan?”

“Yes.”

“What did Lihan answer?”

Instead of answering her question, Owin turned to Lihan.

He meant he wanted Lihan to answer it.

“To be the best in the world.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lihan immediately came up with an answer. As if he had already made it up in his mind.

In response, Hyazelki smiled lightly and told Owin her answer.

“I want to be the second strongest person after Lihan and teacher.”

Even with a slightly vague answer, Owin nodded positively that he understood.

“I want to protect myself from any threat.”

Owin recalled Lihan’s answer and asked without realizing it.

“May I ask why?”

He wondered what the answer would be.

And she replied as if it were natural.

“Because Lihan and the teacher won’t hurt me.”

In response to the unexpected answer, Owin recalled her answer with wonder.

To help him understand, Hyazelki added one more word.

“I’m satisfied with it if I can protect myself from any threat.”

She didn’t know if she became greedy or if it was enough.

If she wanted to be the strongest knight in the world after Lihan, who wants to be the strongest knight in the world, it would be greedy.

But if she could protect herself, she would be satisfied with that. Somehow it was a contradictory statement.

“Owin, are you going to spar with me again after the morning training?”

Owin seemed a little troubled by Hyazelki’s excited question, but soon nodded.

“Yes, but only once a day.”

“Only once a day?”

Owin also smiled softly at her words.

“It’s the best I can do for you.”

After morning training, they wiped off their sweat and gathered at the dining room.

Thanks to the fixed breakfast time, morning training was always regular.

Otherwise, they would have spent more and more time sparring with each other.

“How are you today, Hia?”

“Yes? Yes?”

“Since Lihan is back, I think we can go.”

Hyazelki, who was about to put the fork with salad in her mouth, opened her eyes wide and looked at Kael.

Then, soon after, she understood what he was asking and looked excited.

Kael smiled lightly, perhaps expecting her face.

“Oh, there?”

“Yes.”

Lihan didn’t know what they were talking about, so he stared blankly at Hyazelki.

She spoke to Lihan with an excited face.

“The forest I went to on your birthday. Papa said it looks prettier in autumn and winter.”

“Oh, haven’t you gone there once?”

“Yes. But I waited to go with you again.”

Lihan smiled softly at Hyazelki’s answer.

It’s a smile that he could master over a long period of time.

It was also a very light smile, but it didn’t look ludicrous that made the corners of the mouth twitch.

Unconsciously……the gaze stayed.

“I want to go with Hia, too.”

Staring at Lihan unconsciously, she suddenly came to her senses and turned her head away.

“What do you say? Will you go?”

“Yes! I want to go.”

Kael’s smile deepened as she nodded loudly and looked somewhat cute.

After eating, they quickly prepared to go to the forest.

Yuri, freaked out when she saw Hyazelki trying to take a wooden sword, saying, “You never know.”

Yuri wanted to dress her in a cute dress, but Hyazelki refused.

The reason was that it might be uncomfortable to move in the forest.

It was Lisa who mediated their scuffle.

Since no one was watching anyway, her opinion that she would wear what she thought was comfortable. So Hyazelki was able to wear the pants safely.

“If you’re going to use your pretty face like that, you should’ve given it to me.”

Lisa laughed when Yuri, who was grumpy, muttered.

Since they were going to a forest and it was winter, they covered her with a thick coat so that she wouldn’t be cold.

After putting on a fur hat, she looked very lovely even if she wasn’t wearing a cute dress.

“Well, that’s it.”

“I’ll be back!”

When they were ready, they got on Kael’s back, who turned into a dragon, and left the castle.

The surprisingly cold wind blew, and Hyazelki’s shoulders shuddered at the chill.

Then Lihan silently moved in the direction of the wind to block the wind from touching her.

It wasn’t unbearably cold, and they were going to arrive soon anyway.

“Lihan, I’m fine.”

“Yes.”

“If you stand there, the wind will blow at you.”

“Yes. I like the cool wind.”

In response to the return, Hyazelki pursed her lips and covered Lihan’s hand with her own.

“Look, your hands are so cold.”

“Hia, look over there. I can see the forest.”

“Really?”

She quickly turned her head away after Lihan’s words to change the subject.

The forest in the Northern part of the country, which was approaching at a tremendous speed, was certainly more beautiful than what she had seen in the summer.

In summer, it was full of green leaves, so it looked fresh and cool. But now it was beautiful enough to look at it with rapture.

Snow was piled up on the delicate green leaves.

The forest turned white was beautiful even from a distance.

“Pretty!”

“Yes, it’s pretty.”

Hyazelki, who answered with a bright smile, turned her head casually.

Then she made eye contact with Lihan, whose eyes were fixed on me. Lihan had stared at her countless times, but it was a little strange this time.

“Yes, the forest is beautiful.”

Adding unnecessary nonsense, she turned her head again.

Lihan seemed to have said something more, but she couldn’t hear it because they arrived in the forest quickly.

The forest was more beautiful than seen from a distance.

It was beautiful just to see snow piled up on the green leaves. Hyazelki couldn’t take her eyes off when seeing it up close.

“Wow…”

The green leaves that she saw in summer were different in shape.

At that time, it was an ordinary leaf, but now it looks like a diamond has grown.

“Pretty…”

In addition, it was more beautiful because the snow was piled up.

Hyazelki, who found a leaf that was hanging down a little from a branch, reached out, but could not touch it.

Then Lihan, who was standing next to him, grabbed the branch and pulled it down a little more.

She couldn’t look at Lihan properly because she remembered the expression he had saying she was pretty.

So she focused more on the leaves while ignoring his gaze.

“Will you take a walk?”

“Yes.”

Hyazelki, who quickly let go of the leaves at Kael’s call, ran and naturally held hands.

Kael in one hand and Lihen in the other. When Hyazelki held two people in both hands like this, she was not afraid of anything in the world.