Being Loved for the First Time Chapter 16

“Honestly, your father…”

Mother, who was beside us, spoke with a smile.

But why did her eyes look as though she were watching an immature little boy…?

Well, Father certainly wasn’t particularly dignified in front of his family.

“Waaah! Daddy! Daddy’s the coolest! Lara’ll cheer for you!”

Still, my sister seemed absolutely delighted.

And of course, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore Father’s expectant gaze either, so I clapped my hands as best I could.

“As expected of my daughters! Just wait a little!”

Father blew us a kiss before casually gripping his wooden sword.

His unexpected participation was rather questionable, but I was curious about the match itself.

Judging from the knights’ reactions and Father’s manner of handling them, he wouldn’t have stepped into the arena unless he possessed considerable skill.

The flag signaling the start fluttered.

The silly, smiling expression he’d worn while looking at his family vanished completely.

In its place appeared the face of a fierce beast.

‘He’s just standing there.’

Yet an overwhelming sense of pressure emanated from him.

Without realizing it, I leaned forward and began looking for an opening.

How would I approach him if I were the opponent?

It had been a long time since I’d encountered someone who piqued my curiosity like this.

“Our Anastasia, do you want to see Father from a little closer?”

Saying that, Brother Damian lifted me into his arms and took a couple of steps forward.

He was careful not to move beyond the wide canopy that had been set up to provide shade.

Comfortable in his arms in a way I never was with Mikhail, I quietly studied Father’s movements.

The knight facing him was completely frozen.

Even though Father patiently waited several dozen seconds, the knight couldn’t bring himself to attack first.

‘He’d be better off attacking rather than trying to defend.’

Of course, winning would still be difficult.

Father’s opponent seemed to have only recently graduated from being an apprentice knight, and there were many clumsy aspects to his movements.

When Father realized that the opponent had no intention of attacking, he took a light step forward and instantly closed the distance between them.

Clack! Clack!

The crisp sounds of wooden swords colliding rang through the arena.

“Come at me more closely! Put more strength into it!”

“Yes? Y-yes, Your Grace!”

Was this a match or a training session?

Perhaps because he knew his opponent was a young knight, Father exchanged blows with him several times, even though he could have ended the fight immediately.

Clack, clack!

Nevertheless—

“Ah…”

The match ended rather anticlimactically, accompanied by the opposing knight’s devastated exclamation.

The moment Father increased the pressure slightly, the young knight couldn’t endure it and lost his grip on his weapon.

“…”

The knight stared at his flying wooden sword for a moment before lowering his head and accepting defeat.

“It’s all right. You’re still young, so continue training diligently.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Father ended the match warmly with encouragement instead of criticism.

“My son! My daughters! Was Daddy cool?!”

You would have been genuinely cool if you hadn’t said that last part, Father.

Mikhail, who had entered the competition so confidently, emerged victorious in the final match of the first round.

He’d faced the youngest knight among the participants—though the knight was still nearly ten years older than him.

Perhaps because Mikhail was aware of the difference in their physiques, he didn’t take his time at the beginning as Father had.

The instant the starting flag rose, Mikhail used his naturally light movements to close in swiftly.

He landed a valid strike on the knight, then took advantage of the man’s momentary confusion to send his sword flying.

‘If the fight had dragged on, Mikhail probably would’ve been at a disadvantage.’

He had an impressive instinct for combat.

The match ended in an instant, but when I watched it intently, Brother Damian spoke in a voice filled with complicated emotions.

“Anastasia really likes Mikhail, doesn’t she?”

“Aiya, -ppa. Meoieo.”

It was a misunderstanding I absolutely didn’t want, so I shook my head and tugged on my brother’s clothes.

He’s an irritating brat, not a nice one!

How could I possibly like someone who keeps calling me small?

I need to grow up quickly!

Besides, for some reason, I had this strange feeling that I shouldn’t get too close to him.

‘This is the first time I’ve felt something like this.’

I wasn’t sure whether I should trust that instinct.

Despite my terrible babbling, my brother seemed to understand me this time.

“Your brother is impressive?”

“Uuh!”

As expected of my brother, who was famous for his intelligence.

He remembered expressions after hearing Mikhail interpret them just once.

“More impressive than Mikhail?”

“Uuh!”

Why ask something so obvious?

When I saw Mikhail waving toward Brother Damian and me from the arena below, I immediately turned my head away.

You’re the reason my brother keeps feeling insecure.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, Mikhail ended up facing Father in the second round.

But he attacked even more fiercely than Father’s opponent in the first round.

Father avoided every strike with a relaxed smile.

“Your father really is amazing, isn’t he?”

“Uuh.”

I answered that way, but at the same time, I felt like applauding Mikhail.

‘He must know he can’t beat Father.’

Normally, that realization would be enough to dampen someone’s fighting spirit.

But Mikhail seemed to have erased the possibility of defeat from his mind entirely, pursuing Father with everything he had.

‘He’s still only six years old…’

I suddenly imagined what that brat might be like ten years from now.

‘He’ll definitely be at least as skilled as Father is now.’

And in twenty years, perhaps he’d far surpass Father and become the greatest swordsman in the kingdom—or even on the continent.

Well, I wouldn’t be around by then, so I wouldn’t know.

That was one of the things I regretted most about never living beyond twenty.

‘That’s why I stopped taking disciples.’

In every world, there were always people who wanted to become stronger.

They’d asked me to teach them regardless of age or social status.

But I’d never once lived long enough to witness any of my disciples reach the heights they sought.

‘Because I died before then.’

Or because they betrayed me before they reached that point.

Of ten disciples, eight would betray me, one would die young, and one would be the type who achieved greatness late in life.

What a wonderful life I’d led.

Still, old habits were frightening things.

Even now, watching Father and Mikhail spar, I found myself evaluating their potential.

‘Maybe I still want to leave something behind. I…’

I gave a bitter little laugh inwardly.

Ever since the day I’d met that strange baby in my dream, the emotions I’d suppressed so tightly had occasionally begun to ripple through me.

‘I’ve already done enough by deciding to make an effort to live with my family for as long as I can in this life.’

I shouldn’t be greedy for anything more.

‘Still, I really should investigate that strange baby.’

While I was thinking about the dream, Father’s match with Mikhail reached its conclusion.

“I’ve lost, Your Grace.”

Mikhail obediently admitted defeat, looking at the wooden sword Father had aimed just beneath his neck.

Father smiled proudly at those words and lowered his weapon.

“You’ve improved considerably since last time, Young Lord.”

“Thank you.”

His politeness was rather surprising.

So that brat actually knows how to show respect to Father.

Mikhail Leventis managed to land two valid strikes on Father before being eliminated in the second round.

Even though he’s irritating…

Would it really be wrong for me to want to teach him swordsmanship?

It would certainly be useful later.

Well, perhaps it was only natural, but Father ended up winning the martial arts tournament.

The moment his victory was confirmed, Father opened his arms toward my sister, brother, and me.

“Your daddy will be receiving all of his babies’ congratulations from now on!”

No, Father.

Are you planning to keep holding these rigged tournaments?

When I reached Father, walking while holding my sister’s and brother’s hands, he welcomed us with open arms and a completely softened expression.

He looked nothing like the fierce man who’d fought in the arena.

“Daddy, you’re soooo cool! Lara’s daddy is the best!”

“Oh my, my daughter. Do you really mean that?”

“Uh-huh! Lara’s gonna marry Daddy when she grows up!”

Oh no.

My sister had just created one of the most classic embarrassing childhood memories.

There were plenty of fathers who would bring up a declaration like that until the day their daughters actually got married.

‘I should make sure never to say anything like that.’

It wasn’t simply about creating an embarrassing memory.

I had another reason to avoid making such promises.

You shouldn’t casually make promises you can’t keep.

“-Ppa.”

Since I couldn’t speak properly anyway, I called out to Father and handed him my flowers in place of a congratulatory speech.

But even that seemed to make him tremendously happy.

He swept all three of us into his enormous embrace.

“I’m so happy this year! My babies are all so cute and lovely, and Daddy got to show his babies how impressive he is!”

“Uh-huh! Daddy’s amazing!”

“…”

“…”

However, the only one who responded enthusiastically to Father’s declaration was my sweet sister Laurencia.

I pretended not to notice, while my brother blushed as though protesting that he wasn’t a baby anymore.

As for Mikhail—

“When will the youngest princess stop pretending not to understand?”

Seeing my complete lack of reaction to Father’s words, he casually tossed out yet another irritating remark.

With that single sentence, every thought I’d had about planning his future education disappeared.

And Father ended up being poked in the side about three times by Mother, after which he made a tremendous fuss about how much it hurt.