So the rest of the tea party proceeded as you might have expected.

I basically made polite talk with both the Queen and the Prince which didn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things and it was mostly just gossip here and there.

Prince Hisami went back to being quiet and became a bystander and just sipped on his tea while the Queen did most of the talking.

But when the tea party officially came to an end, the prince got really excited and was even bouncing around enthusiastically.

The reason was, of course, the fact that we were going to spar right now.

Queen Asami was also following us alongside Katsuki and Minnera, my two lovers also seem to be looking forward to the spar for some reason.

We reached the training room and it looked exactly the same as the last time I was here.

Prince Hisami leapt over to the other side of the training hall in a single leap before a nodachi also appeared in his hand.

Looks like he really was taking after his father, though it’s quite clear that the nodachi he was using was smaller in size as compared to the King’s.

"Let’s do this, Lady Aster! Please fight me seriously and don’t hold back!"

I did the same thing when I faced the King, bringing out both my swords but hiding my Shadow Sword behind me.

I’m not really sure of his skill so I’m going to treat him like he is on par with the King.

I wonder if he could sense swords like his father?

The both of us just stood there staring at each other, neither of us making the first move as we watched each other for an opening.

Unlike the King who would raise his nodachi parallel to his body, Prince Hisami seemed to favour a stance where his sword was lowered diagonally in front of him.

I tried to feint him out by shifting my weight to my left foot like I was going to leap at him and he fell for it, the prince jerking his nodachi up in preparation to parry whatever he thought was coming.

When he realised it was simply a feint and tried to recover, I had already kicked off in another direction, aiming to flank him from his left.

I swung my Light Sword towards his neck, but instead of trying to parry it, he leapt back to avoid it, letting my sword swing through empty air.

I tried to chase after him as I kicked off the ground once more, swinging my Light Sword in a backhanded swing to try and cut him once again.

This time, he opted to parry the blow by swinging his sword in a circular motion in front of him, knocking my sword to the side.

He immediately tried to follow up with a pommel smash towards my face and I decided to take the risk to reveal my Shadow Sword early by stabbing it towards his side.

To a normal person, it should look like I was trying to punch them or something instead of an invisible sword thrusting towards them.

But instead of ignoring it, his nodachi was swung to the side and my Shadow Sword was knocked away from him.

I thought he also knew there was a sword there like his father but the look of confusion on his face told me that he did not do the parry deliberately.

That’s why he needed a moment to recover before he raised his sword up to attempt an overhead slash.

By then, I had already retreated out of his range by hopping backwards.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "That... I see... You are actually wielding two swords but one of them is invisible..."

I smiled at him, "I’m surprised you noticed actually."

"I only moved my sword because I felt a chill coming from your hand as it was thrusting towards me... If it wasn’t for that, I would not have realised it. I assume father already knew you had that sword in your hand from the very beginning?"

I nodded, "He said he sensed there was a sword edge from my hand or something."

"As expected of father... It seems like I still have much to learn."

He then leapt towards me without warning, swinging his nodachi towards my feet in an attempt to trip me.

I still wasn’t sure of his strength so I avoided it by jumping over his slash, responding to his attack with a horizontal slash of my own aimed at his chest with my Shadow Sword.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t able to see my sword, he still managed to avoid it by leaning back, letting the sword cut the air just inches away from him.

I flipped myself mid air to create distance between us and landed on my feet, taking a moment to confirm where my opponent was before I leapt towards him with my Light Sword thrusting at him.

He spun away to avoid it, using the momentum to also swing his nodachi at me from the side.

I decided to test his strength so I raised my Light Sword parallel to me to block the blow.

Instead of being sent flying away, I simply felt a tremendous force smashing against my sword but it was still something I was able to hold my ground against without being flung off.

I shoved against his sword, forcing his nodachi back while I aimed my Shadow Sword at his chest to attempt a stab at his torso.

He smirked at me as he thrust the pommel of his sword in response, slamming the bottom of his sword handle against the tip of my blade, completely stopping me.

Just saying, he managed to do this while not being able to see the sword at all.

"Are you sure you really can’t see my sword?" I asked, disengaging from him to create distance between us.

He smirked, "I’ve had to fight opponents whom I can’t see on more than one occasion... And also opponents who are faster and stronger than I am so I’m used to dealing with something like this."

Huh... What a coincidence since I also grew up fighting in the same conditions as he did too.

He brought his nodachi up again and stepped forward to swing it down towards my head.

I parried it with my Shadow Sword, knocking his blade aside to slash my Light Sword at his neck at the exact same time.

He took a step back to avoid it, only to see my Light Sword stopping mid swing to point at his throat and thrusting forward.

I could see him panicking from that unexpected attack as he tried to take another step back to avoid it.

My sword stopped an inch away from his throat and it looked like he would be able to completely avoid it after all.

But at that exact moment, I used my tail to slap against the ground, springing me forward the last few inches needed to stab my sword through his neck.

The moment my sword touched his neck, he disappeared like an illusion and I already knew that he was safely teleported outside the training area since I had experienced its effects first hand before.

I turned back and sure enough, the prince was standing in the exact same pose as before though his face was one of shock, most likely still wondering how I managed to close the gap between us at the last moment.

He slowly straightened himself before turning to face me, his sword held loosely against his side, "Seems like it was my loss, Lady Aster. As expected of the one who managed to make my father fight you seriously, I couldn’t even come close to landing a hit on you."

I shook my head, "Don’t sell yourself short, Prince Hisami. I had to fight you seriously in order to secure that win and I had to use a number of my cards just to get close to you."

He let out a laugh, "Hahahaha! It’s alright, Lady Aster! You forget that I spar with my father as well. I know very well the limits of my skills and when I am bested! I know that I still have a long way to go if I want to match with father!"

Oh good, I was worried he might feel depressed over this loss or something. At least he’s quite reasonable and--

"That’s why, Lady Aster! Let’s start another round! I aim to at least score one hit on you by today! Please!"

...

You’re not being serious, are you?

By the looks on his face, it seems like he actually meant what he said...

Before I could reject that idea, the Queen had suddenly appeared beside him and gave the prince a smack on his head.

"That’s enough. What did I say about troubling Lady Aster again? You really are like your father..."

"But mother!! That spar was too fast!! It was barely even a warmup!! At least let me have another round! I will learn more if we go at least one more time! Please?"

"I said no."

"Mother, please!!

He’s really a battle junkie huh...