Digital Edition Bonus Short Story "The Duke's Daughter's Day Off"

Lady Celestine Crocus.

She was the beloved daughter of House Crocus, the premier ducal family in the Kingdom of Iwood.

Carrying royal blood in her veins and having the prime minister as a father, she possessed a status tantamount to a princess in an era when the royal family had no daughters of their own—making her the supreme lady of the next generation.

Blessed with beautiful platinum hair, striking features, a figure sculpted in golden ratio perfection, and the academic intellect to rank first in her year, she was a young woman of matchless beauty and talent.

"Hah! Hup! Hah!" she grunted.

Yet this faultless noble maiden was currently throwing rapid-fire punches with all her might.

What Celestine was pummeling was a human-sized leather bag stuffed with sand—in other words, a heavy bag.

Clad in the academy's official athletic wear, droplets of sweat sprayed through the air from her fair skin each time she swung her gloved fists.

She had been hammering away at the punching bag for well over an hour now.

"Hah! Hup! Hah! Seiyaah!" Celestine shouted, driving her fist forward.

"...You're certainly dedicated," Rest remarked from a short distance away. "I didn't expect you to get so absorbed in it."

As he watched Celestine practice her boxing, Rest let out a voice that carried a mix of exasperation and admiration.

The two of them were in the academy's indoor training hall, a room typically reserved for classes like Swordsmanship and Self-Defense. While it generally saw no use outside of instruction, students could reserve it in advance for personal use.

Rest and Celestine had reserved the entire training hall for themselves, throwing themselves into a vigorous boxing session.

"Yaaaaah!" Celestine let out a particularly sharp cry.

As her high-pitched voice echoed across the room, she drove a punch with all her remaining strength straight into the heavy bag.

A crisp, satisfying thud resonated through the hall, and Celestine lowered her fists with an air of complete satisfaction.

"Phew... Phew... Haaaaah..." she exhaled heavily, catching her breath.

"Good work out there," Rest offered, holding out a water bottle. "Want some water?"

"Rest-san... Thank you very much," Celestine replied softly.

Rest handed her the water bottle he was holding.

Accepting it with a polite word of thanks, Celestine brought it to her lips, gulping down the cool liquid.

"Still... you've got a surprisingly solid punch," Rest admitted, looking at her with wide eyes. "I was genuinely surprised."

"I have been taught basic self-defense, after all," Celestine explained with a refreshing smile. "Though I never realized how exhilarating it could be to hit a sandbag."

Celestine smiled with a bright, serene expression.

The reason the two of them had gone out of their way to rent a room for boxing was simple: it was to relieve Celestine's stress.

She was betrothed to a certain foolish prince, a predicament that caused an enormous amount of mental strain to build up inside her.

Some time ago, Rest had taken her to a batting center, and she had taken quite a liking to it.

When she asked if there were any other ways to blow off steam, Rest had suggested boxing.

(I wondered if boxing was really appropriate for a duke's daughter, but she seems to love it. She looks so demure on the outside, but she's surprisingly active.)

Rest casually shifted his gaze to observe Celestine.

Her hair, usually worn loose, was gathered into a neat ponytail. She was dressed in a T-shirt and shorts—an outfit designed for ease of movement.

Drenched in sweat from over an hour of intense exercise, she possessed a strangely captivating, voluptuous charm.

(I've heard that sweat contains substances similar to pheromones, but is that actually true? For some reason, she looks insanely alluring...)

"Rest-san, is there something on my face?" Celestine asked suddenly.

"Wh-whoa?!" Rest let out a squeak.

Caught off guard by her question, his voice cracked.

Celestine's face was right before his eyes—she had leaned in until she was barely ten centimeters away, peering intently into his eyes.

"N-No, it's nothing like that... Uh... M-Maybe I should get moving a bit, too?!" Rest stammered, flustered.

Unable to admit that he had been staring at her sweat-translucent undershirt, Rest scrambled to his feet and strapped on his gloves.

"In that case, would you mind sparring with me for a bit?" Celestine asked, tilting her head.

"Sparring...? Wait, you mean actually fighting each other?" Rest stammered, eyes wide with surprise.

"Yes. Let us hold a mock battle," she replied smoothly.

Rest widened his eyes at the completely unexpected invitation.

He frequently sparred with Deeble, the butler of House Rosemary, but he had never engaged in a fistfight with a woman before.

"Fighting a person provides far more practical experience than hitting a stationary sandbag," Celestine reasoned. "Would you grant me the honor of being my opponent?"

"Well, I don't mind, but..." Rest hesitated.

"Then please, treat me well," Celestine said, bowing slightly.

In the center of the training hall, Rest and Celestine stood facing each other head-on.

(I agreed to the mock battle, but... where on earth am I supposed to aim?)

Rest took another long look at Celestine standing directly in front of him.

Her face was completely out of the question. Punching a girl in the face was something he could never bring himself to do.

Her torso, then? Striking her abdomen felt wrong for some reason. He couldn't articulate why, but he felt an odd resistance to the idea.

What about her chest, then...? That was even harder to hit.

Laying a hand—or a fist—on those plump symbols of fertility felt downright predatory.

(This is bad... I feel like no matter where I aim, something awful is going to happen...!)

Rest immediately regretted agreeing to this mock battle so casually.

"Here I come!" Celestine announced, springing into action.

Before he could make up his mind, Celestine made her move.

With a sharp, lightning-fast step, she closed the distance to Rest in an instant and swung her right fist straight toward his midsection.

"Ngh...!" Rest grunted, bringing up his guard in the nick of time.

He barely managed to block her attack.

It was a surprisingly sharp, heavy blow—she was enhancing her physical capabilities with magic.

He couldn't afford to underestimate her just because she was a woman. Taking a clean hit from that would surely knock the wind out of him.

(I can't afford to hold back out of misplaced chivalry!)

Steeling his resolve, Rest traded blows with Celestine.

He blocked, parried, and dodged the barrage of punches she threw in rapid succession.

"Hah!" she barked, launching a furious blow.

"Ngh...!" Rest gasped.

To make matters worse, just as he was getting used to her punches, she unleashed a high kick straight at his head.

Rest hurriedly ducked, narrowly dodging the whip-like kick.

"Ah, what a pity. I truly thought that one would land," Celestine remarked, letting out a soft sigh.

"You really show no mercy..." Rest panted, wiping his forehead. "Right, it's not like we agreed on any set rules...!"

This wasn't a sporting event or a structured competition—it was training modeled after real combat.

There had been no prohibition against kicks. Celestine wasn't cheating by any means.

"In that case...!" Rest shouted.

"Eek...!" Celestine squeaked.

Dropping his stance low, Rest exploded forward like a cannonball.

He drove a tackle right into Celestine's waist, driving her down onto the floor.

"Alright... That's a match!" Rest declared.

Since punching her was out of the question, he had brought her down with a tackle instead. That sealed Rest's victory.

"I lost..." Celestine murmured, looking up at him. "It seems I am no match for a gentleman after all."

"No way... You're stronger than most men I know... Whoa?!" Rest started to say, only to let out another yelp.

For the second time, Rest found himself uttering a strange squeal.

He had taken Celestine down with a tackle, which meant he was currently pinning her beneath him.

Celestine lay directly underneath Rest.

Her skin was slick with sweat, and her moisture-soaked shirt clung tightly to the contours of her body.

"Ah..." Celestine gasped softly.

She, too, seemed to realize the position they were in.

Her eyes widened, and a rosy flush bloomed across her cheeks.

"S-Sorry!" Rest stammered, frantically pulling back.

"No... It is no trouble at all," Celestine replied, her voice trembling slightly.

Rest scrambled backward as if shot, while Celestine slowly sat up, her face bright red.

(Tackling her to the ground... Isn't this way worse than sexual harassment...?!)

"Please, do not pay it any mind," Celestine said, resting a hand on her flushed cheek. "I was the one who challenged you to a mock battle in the first place."

She offered a shy, gentle smile, her hand lingering against her glowing cheek.

The blushing smile of this highborn lady—personifying the very essence of cherry blossoms in radiant bloom—was so utterly captivating that he knew he would be unable to erase it from his mind for a very long time.

ToC