"Where is Grandfather?" Amishta was nervous. She doesn't know if her grandfather was disappointed with her and won't train her already, or what? She was frustrated.
"Princess, calm down. The Lord was in his residence. He said that you need to rest because he hasn't even started yet." Amishta smirked. She was, after all, the only granddaughter he had.
"Tell me what happened."
"The Lord was carrying you when he came back and asked for a doctor. The doctor said that you are just exhausted, but it is nothing to be afraid of. You slept for almost 10 hours. I suppose you are hungry, so I prepared you dinner."
Amishta, stand up slowly. She knew that she was still in pain, but she didn't have time already. Since her body can still make it, she moves and does her thing. Jane just stepped away reluctantly. She didn't begin her training, but Butler gave her useful tips to serve the princess.
The next morning, Amishta woke up early and jogged to the mountain top. After arriving, she was out of breath, but compared to yesterday, she was just fine. She was not able to put weights on, as she didn't know where to find them.
"You are late!" The Old Duke looked at her angrily. Amishta can only pout her lips. She mentally complained that she was not informed about the right time, but she just closed her lips.
"Give me 5 laps of running from here until the other side." Amishta instantly saw how breathtaking the scene on the mountaintop was. She completely disregards her grandfather.
"Amishta! 5 laps now!" The Old Duke shouted, and Amishta was a bit shaken. The area was just the same as the training ground at their mansion, but this is much more grand. Five laps is just fine because she doesn't hold some weight, and she was running on a flat surface.
"I want you to work on your strength endurance. Every day and night, you need to take a jog as much as you can and try to add some weights. Push yourself to your limit, but don't kill yourself, since your body still needs to recuperate. For this day, I will show you some swordplay. Look carefully and try to practice on your own."
Amishta stared intently at her grandfather as he was teaching her some moves. She was very happy that she could immediately memorize the steps that her grandfather was showing. She felt very emotional as she noticed her grandfather make the steps thrice for her to get everything.
The old duke smirked as he saw his granddaughter, who was clumsily following his steps. Though it was not perfect, he was proud that she could recite the steps after. Amishta took note of every step into her mind and tried to follow it, but somehow she just really needed a rest.
…..
"Father, where is Amishta?" Crown Prince was just back because of his mission, and the first thing he did was to find Amishta, but she was not there, or just her residence was closed.
"She went to Jinya. She wants to live there for a year and learn from your grandfather." Prince Axel was furious, but the king remained cold.
"Father, why did you send her there? You already knew how ruthless Grandfather was."
"She said that she wanted to fight in the battlefield beside her brothers." Prince Axel was stunned. He already knew how his sister stubbornly followed her plan, but as an older brother, he didn't want his sister to get her hands tainted. He composed himself and tried to walk away.
"Don't bother her."
"Father, she is Amishta, your dear daughter. If you as a father wanted her to continue that stupid plan, I as an older brother can't help but be worried." The king's dangerous aura has surrounded the place. Prince Axel was afraid that his father would go berserk.
"Amishta is my daughter; thus, the pain toward her living away from us was much more than you think you can imagine, but I, as a father, wanted her to be happy and achieve her goals in life. You have seen the changes in her this month. She is much more like your grandfather, but with the exception that she can express herself with us."
"Axel, trust Amishta. She will only achieve her goal without us backing her. She will be safer in Jinya. No one knows where she is, so the attempts on her life will be lessened." Axel's face softened.
"Father, I am sorry. I was just consumed by my anger and---"
"I understand. No worries, I already sent a letter to Father-in-law hoping to protect our princess. He agrees and declares that she is his granddaughter, but he warned us to not disrupt the training of Amishta. If you show your face, she will only feel guilty for leaving and interrupt her goal."
"Father, do you think that Amishta can be a warrior in a year?"
"I believe her. I want you to talk to your brother about this. He is much more emotional, so it will not be easy to convince him, but you must convince him no matter what. For now, we need to prepare the palace for the return of Amishta. Let's take this time to clean the palace and safely welcome our princess." Axel smirked and nodded to his father.
…..
"Princess, after you took a run a while ago, your uncle seemed to be back and was expecting to see you for breakfast." Amishta scratched her head. How can she forget about her uncle? She quickly cleaned herself and changed her clothes. She nervously walked towards the dining room while Jane was following her.
"Grandfather, good morning. Uncle, good morning," Amishta curtsies and smiles. Duke Hiro stood up and patted her niece's head. He was quite expressive, unlike his father. He thought that the princess didn't like him when she was young, but since she smiled, he thought that she was quite approachable.
"Uncle, how was your mission?"
"It was good. I killed them all. Your uncle never loses to an enemy." Amishta giggled and gave an approval sign to her uncle.
"My uncle will surely not lose to an enemy." Amishta proudly says that, causing Duke Hiro to laugh his heart out.
"Later, you take her to train with the soldiers in the training ground." Duke Hiro stared at his father and Amishta but just shook his head and smiled.
"Sure, but---" Amishta curiously looked at him.
"You are too beautiful, and probably soldiers won't even dare to touch you, much less train with you. Your existence in the kingdom has always been quite dangerous to everyone knowing the king and your brother."
"Uncle, what do you have in mind?"
"How about we change your identity, though you can still be a girl, but you need to make your face a little bit ugly or just normal. It is easier for you to train in such a scenario. I will give you an identity of an orphan whose father has died fighting in the war. You want to become a soldier, so I brought you to train. What do you think?"
"Sure."
"No worries. Your princess will remain inside our inner residence, but when we go to train, you need to change it." Amishta was loving his uncle already. She didn't actually think of her identity when trying to merge herself with the soldier.
"You will train with soldiers as a new recruit for a month, and after that I will evaluate you," the Old Duke stated with arrogance. Amishta was kind of pressured, but she believes in herself and her determination. She will not waste this life she was given because she was blessed with lots of love; thus, she will cherish her life and achieve her goal the sooner, the better.
Duke Hiro then brings the princess into the training ground with her disguised. She was obviously the only woman who was there to train. Though the soldiers don't believe her and are actually mocking her because even with her disguise, she still looks soft.
Duke Hiro was observing her niece as he was very interested in her. He was actually pleased when his father took her as a discipline, and he knew his father too much. Even if she loved the princess very much, he would only go to the extent of just sharing some knowledge, but since he made her a disciple, then her niece has greater potential than him.
He once wanted her father to teach him, but his father declined, saying that his mother was the best teacher for him. He sulked for it, but after seeing how ruthless his father was and how he works. He felt very scared and thought that maybe he couldn't really be his father's disciple. He just fought for the kingdom, and not because he yearned for blood.
He never understands how his tiny, beautiful niece is a person who yearns for blood. Maybe she was yet to express herself, but since he was still taught by his father and mother, he can basically see through a person. His niece is actually a demon in hiding. No matter what, since she is his niece, then just support her.
He never intended to get married and have his own family. Since he already has a niece and a nephew, he will just see them as his own children. As for the dukedom, he can always adopt, as his father doesn't have any opinion about it.