Everyone watched Maxine as she also went on the center of the training ground with the wooden sword in her hands. His five brothers stopped from swinging their swords when they saw Maxine approaching them.
“What…” Maxwell could not continue what he was about to say when he saw Maxineirah smiled and stood at his side. Their circle widened to give space for their younger sister.
Maxine was between her eldest brother, Maximillian and the youngest, Maxwell.
Maxine looked at her left side where her Brother Millian was placed, hoping to see the latter’s reaction. Maximillian looked back down to her wearing his blank face. Maxineirah stared at her oldest brother for a moment and sadly diverted her attention when Millian’s expression did not change a bit. She felt dissapointed on the reaction she wanted to see.
Millian’s sweat rolled down from his forehead to his cheek unto his neck and also, dripping from his hair infront of his face. He was just wearing a plain white shirt despite the weather. Well, frankly speaking, Maxine’s brothers were all wearing a thin shirt except for her whose wearing a thick one and with a collar at that.
Maximillian did not know what to say to her sister. Should he be saying sorry? Or should he ask her why she was here? In the end, he did not said anything because he had a hard time thinking about what should he say to his sister. He felt broken when his sister’s expression changed before avoiding him to look infront.
‘How adorable.’ He smiled inside his thoughts when he saw her sighed given her age and using that little lips of her.
A sudden thought rushed in his mind, she looked like an adult in his eyes for a moment. Maximillian thought it was so unique of her but immediately dispelled the thought when he realized that he was fantasizing too much about Maxine.
When he finally looked back infront of him, he was welcomed by his little brothers’ burning gazes and so, the small smile he unconsciously had in his lips have vanished instantly. They were blaming him a little for not consoling the youngest and even avoided her hug when she ran upon him that almost made her stumble on the ground. Maximillian avoided what his brothers wants to.
He ignore their qualms and took a glance of his sister again who was currently standing beside him. He unconsciously smiled again while watching Maxine talking about something with Maxwell in a whispher. Her cheeks were being stretched out while she speaks which seems too interesting for those men watching in the sides.
“Hey, why are you here?” Maxwell asked in al low voice and even leaned a bit closer to Maxine.
“To receive punishment?” Maxine replied in an asking tone, not really sure in her reply.
“Huh? You do not have any faults on what happened.”
“I want to join you.”
“You-“ Maxwell could not finish his words when their father cut him in a shout, standing not too far away from their place. “Continue swinging your swords!” Maximus, the Duke shouted in a strict voice that made all of them look infront and stop their chatters. How could anyone not know they stopped when they literally did stop because they were dwelled too much by their youngest sibling’s pressence and cuteness?
Maximo, Maxlein and Maxillary were pouting when they continued swinging their swords in the middle of the circle. They did not had the chance to talk to Maxine.
Once again, Maxineirah stole a secret glance from her cold Brother Millian before she started swinging the sword made of wood in her hands.
‘I think, he is the only one who did not fall for my smile.’ Maxineirah was thinking about her indifferent brother.
The sword was heavy for Maxine even if it was only a wooden sword and it became more heavier and harder for her to use when she started swinging it back and forth and her muscles immediately got tired. She always thought swinging a sword was just easy as cake, little did she know, she also need strength in order to swing it properly.
Like her, Maxillary and Maxwell were also using wooden swords and having a hard time to swing it while Maximillian, Maximo and Maxlein who already started and was training with the Knights were able to swing their swords with ease.
The Knights had fallen for their Young Miss while watching her from afar. From her little outfit, the way her hair were tied, the way she swung her sword and the expression she was giving were too adorable for them to see.
The rumor they heard from the servants inside the main house was true! The Young Miss has changed over three days in the bed and became much cuter with her innocent face, gone the cold and blank face.
When Kathelina arrived again on the place together with the other servants they saw their Miss swinging a sword. In surprise, she ungrasped the basket she was holding and almost fell onto her knees because of the sight.
Before the basket of snacks fel in the grass lawn, the Knight near her caught it and swifly helped the maid to stand properly using his other arm. His arm snaked on Kathelina’s waist to support her weight from falling.
“Are you alright Miss Vigar?” the Knight who helped her asked.
“A-ah, I am fine, Knight Castrozia. T-thank you.” Kath was flustered when she saw Hushker Lifre Castrozia was the one who aided her from falling and dropping one of the baskets full of snacks.
Kathelina regained her footing and could not look properly to Sir Knight because of embarrassment. She tried to grab the basket of snacks that her lady asked to from the Knight’s hand but Knight Castrozia diverted it away from her reach.
“Let me do it, Miss.”
Kathelina blinked on what the man did while they were still in that position when she tried to grab the container from him and the Knight’s arm holding the basket was just over her.
Hushker’s tall figure was towering Kath, shadowing her from the sunlight but they immediately distanced theirselves from each other when they heard fake coughs from their comrades, as if teasing them. Both of their faces turned red while wandering their eyes around them as if they did not get in any awkward position a while ago.
The other Knights and the maids that came together with Kath holding the other snacks were all looking at them, grinning from ear to ear so the two could not help but to be more embarrassed. Kath prayed that the ground she was standing would cut open and swallow her whole, moreover, when Kath saw the Duke from afar, lalso looking at them from her peripheral. She wanted to shrink out of shame.
On the other side, Hushker caressed the back of his head and a lump on his throat formed that made his breath go uneasy. He could feel his heart go rigidly ‘ba-dump’ inside his chest.
Kath was not in herself when she went to fix the picnic blankets and baskets with the other maids under the shadow of the trees. It was still winter and so, they used heat stones and placed it under the blankets so they would not feel the cold snow in the ground.
The scene happened between Kath and Knight Hushker a while ago kept playing inside Kathelina’s mind. She wanted to shout to let the unfamilliar feeling inside her chest out but she could not do it because of the crowd and embarassment. Up until now, the other maids were looking at her with this expression on their faces, the same look in their eyes and grin to their lips, teasing her.
Kathelina could not look at her co-servants because of that, it was already to be expected that she would just receive more teasing from them. After their works, Kathelina decided to watch her Little Miss in swinging her wooden sword to divert her attention from what have happened, to avoid the teasing maids, and to erase Sir Castrozia from bothering her mind.
Maxine already made 50 ups and downs by swinging the wooden sword. While her brothers were already in 120. They have to make 200 pair of swings before they finish the punishment except for Maxine who only need to make 130 swings for her to be able to finish swinging the sword with her brothers because she was late.