"Coachman, Lawrence Family, thank you!"
Ryan, with Noelle, ran to the street and stopped a carriage.
As usual, the coachman, upon hearing the destination, immediately wanted to refuse. But Ryan was prepared, and the golden Mora flowed like water!
He gave too much!
"Handsome sir, please take your Knight companion and be seated!"
The unpleasant expression turned into one of continuous joy.
"Well said!" Ryan gestured for Noelle to get in first, then he entered the carriage.
After a rapid journey with added fare, the horses were trembling on all fours from exhaustion.
They quickly arrived at the Lawrence Family's mansion.
"This… this is the Spindrift Knight's home?" Noelle covered her mouth with both hands after getting out of the carriage.
Although she was in the Knights of Favonius, she and Eula were not very familiar. She could only watch her from afar each time and had never spoken more than a few words to her.
She had long admired this leader of the guerrilla squad, who used a Claymore and her own Favonius Bladework style.
If not for the rumors of the Lawrence Family's Sinner, and Eula's aloof, distant, and unapproachable demeanor, she would have long ago gone to Eula for guidance.
"Ryan, I didn't receive an invitation! Should I not be here?" Noelle clasped her hands together, a little nervous.
The arrogant and unfriendly doorman at the entrance made her unconsciously move closer to Ryan, who was striding confidently beside her, as if he were returning home.
"Dinner as usual, ten servings, prepare one extra plate for the lady beside me!" Ryan casually instructed a servant who came to greet him in the dining room.
"Noelle, sit next to me, closer!"
"Later, when they bring up anything, take what you like!"
"This is the people of Mondstadt's revenge against the hateful aristocrat." Ryan said, joking with Eula's catchphrase.
"Once we're full, we'll forgive them!"
Noelle was stunned by his bold words, looking left and right, truly afraid that someone in this noble mansion would rush over to teach them a lesson.
"When you get beaten, I… I will protect you!"
Sitting primly, Noelle's words were as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"What?" Every word from Ryan made Noelle's heart pound.
A noble gentleman sitting there wiped his handkerchief.
"An ill-mannered fellow, his posture isn't even as good as the Damselette next to him."
"There are more people trying to bask in the Lawrence Family's glory! It seems Eula isn't just idle all day outside!"
Noelle quietly asked, "He is?"
Ryan: "Don't mind him! Our food is paid for by Eula."
After eating and drinking his fill, Ryan took a deep breath, preparing himself for a beating, before going to find Eula.
Today, he must fight back!
"You…" Eula, holding her Claymore and waiting on the Training Field, looked in surprise as Ryan pulled the shifty-eyed Noelle over.
"Do you want the Damselette you admire to remember your embarrassing moments when you get beaten? What a perverted hobby!"
"Or… have a few pointers inflated you to the point where you want to show off in front of the Damselette you admire?"
"Using me as a tool."
"I'll remember this grudge!"
Noelle looked uneasy: "Ryan, did we make the Spindrift Knight angry? She's holding a grudge, let's go apologize!"
"It's fine! It's fine!" Ryan waved his hand, "Let me introduce you to the secret of my rapid progress in Favonius Bladework."
"Later, you can watch from the side, you should be able to learn something too!"
"Eula, you wouldn't mind, would you?" Ryan said brazenly, "Amber told me to help you make more friends."
"Look! Haven't I brought someone understanding, gentle, and lovely, who doesn't care about your identity at all, and whom you probably see every day, so you already have a familiar foundation?"
"Next time, for the cooking competition, it's good to have another judge!"
Given the friendship they had forged through their sparring, Eula naturally didn't mind Ryan bringing someone.
"Noelle, right?"
"As a maid, your work is excellent!"
"I look forward to the day you become a Knight!"
"I… I am honored!" Noelle brightened up completely upon hearing Eula's praise.
The Spindrift Knight wasn't as cold as the rumors said!
Ryan drew the wooden Sword, freshly painted with red dye, and his spirit and Aura changed with it.
"Oh!" Eula looked at Ryan's Aura, and that indescribable Dao, "Have you made progress again?"
"Jean came to your Training Field today, didn't she! It seems you've learned a lot!"
"I wonder how much of her Sword's true meaning you've inherited!"
Ryan did not answer, his robes billowed without wind.
Noelle walked to the side, watching the two with a nervous expression.
The Sky was clear, the moon was large, and even without torches, one could clearly see the gaps between the wooden boxes and saplings where one could hide.
The long Sword swung.
The blade disappeared.
With a step, his figure seemed to split into two.
The murderous intent, like water, was everywhere.
Even the moonlight was distorted beneath the Sword marks.
"Oh! Not bad, are you? To have acquired the soul of Favonius Bladework so quickly."
Eula's perception was very keen, and she instantly sensed the change in Ryan's swordsmanship.
Her figure moved, her dance steps elegant and beautiful.
Her body avoided the first slash, followed by successive downward chops, horizontal sweeps, and crisscrossing attacks that blocked all her retreats.
Ryan's potential was such that the higher the pressure, the faster he progressed!
The more external changes there were, the more his body was stimulated, and the more his body adapted to danger, moving towards strength.
Therefore, a few days of suppression had greatly increased his nerve reactions, movement and evasion abilities, physical recovery, and defense… everything.
This kind of intense training without life-threatening danger was the best catalyst.
Eula's expression became solemn, and the frequency of her Claymore swings was faster than on all previous training days.
Suddenly, Ryan lunged forward.
Then he suddenly retreated, faking a move.
The Claymore grazed Ryan's abdomen, and Ryan lunged forward again, taking advantage of Eula's Claymore not yet having returned to defense, and thrust his Sword out sharply.
Swift and precise.
The Sword tip pointed at the heart.
Eula stepped back, her body leaning back, her Claymore already swung back, rotating into a circle.
Ryan's body felt a sharp pain, and he flew out like a sack, crashing into a wooden box.
Clutching his waist, he got up and flipped behind the stacked wooden boxes.
Eula looked at the tiny red dot on the white clothes over her chest.
That Sword, she hadn't completely avoided it.
This was the first time Ryan had left a mark on her.
"Did it succeed?" Ryan gasped for three seconds, then rushed out from behind the wooden boxes again.
Seeing the red dot left by the Sword tip filled him with motivation.
Eula stepped forward, actively meeting him, her Claymore swinging, clearing the saplings that blocked her path.
The two combatants moved like a rabbit and a falcon.
The exciting duel left Noelle dazzled!
"Ryan actually injured the Spindrift Knight!"
Tense, exciting, two hours passed faster than ever before.
Later, Eula became more prepared, and Ryan could no longer rely on trading injuries or a mutually destructive fighting style to achieve a tricky victory.
"Today's guidance ends!" A few beads of sweat appeared on Eula's body as she stopped her Sword glow.
Ryan took off his clothes, which only had over a hundred Sword marks, leaving large untouched areas.
"Next time, I'll stab twice!"
The usual healing balm was left, but today Eula seemed to lose Face and didn't help apply it to his back.
Ryan had to seek out Noelle.
So comfortable!
Soft hands and cool medicine, truly nice.