The Third Life of Helena Blackmoore

10. Training

Helena was not strong like a knight.

Nevertheless, she was a lady full of vigour. Her hard labour during her childhood made her remain in good shape. Helena managed to build her strength in her first life by assisting Adham. She helped him carry crates of goods for his business as a merchant. In her second life, Helena gained great stamina from dancing all night long. She received many dance offers from men at the ball.

Everything was back to zero now. Helena lost her strength and stamina. At this point, she could not defend herself if danger arose.

Helena was now standing in the backyard and lifting a wooden sword. Her arms were trembling under the weight of the weapon. Frustration piled up inside her mind. Her memory remained, but her body had regressed. This condition irked her out. Helena yelled obscenity while swinging the sword.

"WHY THIS IS NOT FUCKING WORKING!"

"Lady Helena, cursing won't make you stronger."

Helena turned her head toward her instructor. Violet just shook her head at her behaviour. "I don't understand why you suddenly want to wield a weapon, My Lady. You are only going to hurt yourself."

"Tell me, Violet. How is my chance of mastering a sword?"

She was hesitant to reply, but Violet answered the question. "Zero."

"Damn it!" Helena threw her sword to the ground.

Although it was rare, noble ladies were allowed to pursue knighthood. They learned how to wield a sword early in their childhood. Helena was late compared to them. She could not deny that she was undertrained.

Her oldest maid sighed. "Is there any reason why you suddenly want to do swordsmanship?"

Helena touched her head. "I just want to learn some self-defence. Who knows what danger might lurk in the future."

Violet was stunned hearing Helena's answer. Her master had a point. The knight would not guard Helena all the time. She would be vulnerable without any help. Violet thought about it and came up with one idea.

"Instead of strength training, how about we try something different? Azure and Scarlett can teach you."

"Really? The twin? They do not look strong."

"They are not powerful, but they are nimble. My Lady can quit if the training is too difficult."

Helena agreed since she did not have much choice. The next day, Azure and Scarlett gathered to assist her. They wore shirts and trousers instead of their maid outfit. Even in training outfits, both still looked adorable.

"So what are we going to do?" Helena asked the twin.

"We have to do some warm-up," Azure answered her. "Let's start by running laps!"

Helena was dumbfounded. "What? How about the warm-up?"

"Running is the warm-up!" Scarlett joined the conversation. "After that, we will climb a tree! Let's begin!"

"Climbing? Ah, wait for me!"

The twins' training was hell. They pushed her stamina and body beyond limitations. Helena ran around the house five times, practised climbing the tree and stretched her stiff body to be more flexible. Every night, she sobbed in pain from aching muscles. It was fool of her to think the lesson would be easy.

"Lady Blackmoore, are you okay?"

Helena and the maids visited the blacksmith. Mister Iron was concerned about her haggard appearance. Her eyes had bags, her cheek was thin, and her lip was purple. Helena was exhausted from rigorous training. It had been going on for a week. Helena wondered how she even survived the lesson in the first place.