"D-does that mean she wasn't told off for saying something like that?"
After a couple of anxiety-filled peeks, Blanid dared to ask, as her conscience simply didn't allow her to leave it at that.
"At first, no. Not at all. Not by her father, my father, or any of the adults in the castle… That is, until her mother returned from some important trip and learned of the issue by chance. If I'm not mistaken, Saria's deep-seated fear of her comes from the scolding she received that day."
"!"
Blanid's eyes widened, and her mouth opened in shock while Rotsard revealed.
"It honestly annoys me that she doesn't appear to remember that it was the reason too… I might go out of my way and look for a chance to remind her~"
Rotsard added playfully, but his words were lined with melancholy, as if there was a part that he chose not to say out loud.
"...you're really choosing to stay on the floor…"
"Eh…? Ah… Umm… y-yes… I'm sorry…"
The sudden change of subject took Blanid by surprise, making her jump and stutter a lot.
"Close your eyes."
"Wha…?! O-okay…?"
Once wasn't enough, and Rotsard jumped the subject again as the shocked Blanid ended up going along with his request without thinking twice about it.
"..."
"..."
She really closed her eyes and waited, doing her best not to fidget or flinch when she heard him standing up and walking towards her, stopping right in front of her.
"As I said, today there's no training. You've already far exceeded my expectations in a truly splendid fashion. Instead of more exercises or tests, I have prepared something more enjoyable for you."
"...!"
Rotsard said while the petite girl could barely contain herself, she wanted to sneak a glance at what Rotsard was doing, what kind of expression he was making while speaking those words to her, but her upbringing as a maid won over, and she remained obedient.
"A gift. Sort of a graduation gift to commemorate you completing my special training."
"!"
Rotsard said, and Blanid simply could not ignore the fact that he sounded close, so close that he had to be either crouching or leaning down over her.
There were so many possibilities of what he could do from that position, Blanid's thoughts were racing, her mind full of increasingly wild expectations, when….
*chuu*
A delicate but cold, soft but slightly rough sensation on her forehead suddenly turned her head blank.
For a good second, Blanid just… froze… completely, forgetting that breathing was a thing.
"Wh-wh-wh… j-just what hap…"
*pomf*
The moment she regained some semblance of clarity, she began to mumble, blushing heavily, and finally decided she would open her eyes after all... but the moment she did, something bluish white dropped past her head right into her lap, and she caught it by reflex.
"Eh…?"
She glanced down at the object, hurriedly looking back up towards the bleached-blond-haired youth towering over her, but then the realization dawned on her, and she lowered her head to stare at her gift in pure disbelief.
It was a sword…
A uniform crystal-like sword… opaque but with distinct luster. It seemed to be a training one, with a great handle and wide crossguard but thick dull blade, incredibly light for its size and dimensions.., Regardless of its looks, it was giving off the aura of intense cold… and was literally pulling in mana!
Even in an awkward grip Blanid had on it, she could feel the weapon's intention to become an extension of her own body.
"It's something I made in my spare time, more of a spell than an item, really, but it turned out well enough to pass as a sword, so… yeah. I hope you'll like it."
Rotsard shrugged his shoulders, trying to play it off as he explained, all while the absolutely stunned girl could not take her eyes off her gift.
"It's incredible…! I… I never even…"
"Oh, you might want to thread some leather over the handle. I kind of made it slightly thinner just to account for that. You know, since you don't have much ice resistance… But still, why don't you try pulling it out?"
Blanid managed to let out a gasp, deeply moved, but then Rotsard interrupted her, continuing the explanation while also looking very expectant.
"...eh…?"
"?"
The petite girl let out a sudden voice that made the youth tilt his head to the side as he looked at her in confusion.
"Wait… wha…? Eh? P-pull out?"
Blanid started tripping over her own words, her head bobbing like a chicken's between the weapon in her hands and the one who gave it to her.
"Yes? It's a sword, don't you want to check the blade too?"
"!?!?"
Rotsard pointed out, his head still tilted, causing Blanid's eyes to widen.
"It's okay to show excitement. U-unless you don't like it…"
The youth added with a smug smile that immediately turned into an awkward expression as he realized there might be another reason for the girl's hesitation.
"Wha…? NO! I…! I love it! I….!"
His reaction made Blanid panic a little, and she haphazardly raised the sword, grabbing it properly, holding the sword vertically, and then beginning to pull it out…
*tk*
"!!!"
The blade unsealed with a soft yet distinct sound, and it completely took Blanid's breath away the moment she slid it out.
It was the first time in her life that Blanid thought a blade of a sword was beautiful.
Pure white, like an untouched snow yet with a shine of a precious gem, even without testing it against a solid target, the girl wielding it knew that it was more durable than any weapon she had held in her life.
That wasn't all.
From the moment she unsheathed it, the mana that was drawn in gently before was now being sucked in like a vortex, and within seconds, the blade gained a golden tinge.
Given a few more seconds, it began emanating delicate golden mist, similar to a breath turning visible in the sunlight on a cold morning.