Maria - The Blind Princess

Chapter 9

"Let's see, our next class will be Physical Training." Gerald read the class schedule for Maria.

"Oh great, my most favorite class!"

Maria was excited and rushed Gerald to guide her faster. Eventually he could inhale the fresh air outside during the class time. Also, since Maria had to enter the academy, her time to practice battling had been limited a lot. She wanted to use this precious time to train her body.

At the dressing room, Maria took out a fluffy ball inside her bag. It was a magical item she got from Jacques at the lunch time.

"My Lady, please take this."

"What is it, Jacques? They are so fluffy~"

"It's the invisible bombs, a magical invention from my senior's project and I just copied his formula to make it." Jacques whispered small enough to let both Gerald and Maria listen "Listen you two, I think there will be some situations, where Lady Beauvallet needs to hide herself for emergency cases. You throw this bomb on the ground and it will cause a mist. Anyone inside its area of effect will be invisible in front of surrounding's eyes."

"It's so convenient." Gerald stared at the ball and gave the prince a compliment.

"But!" Jacques continued "The mist's effect is just one minute. Remember one minute only so please use it wisely."

"I understand, thank you Jacques." Maria said.

"You just can use one time per bomb. So if you want more, just come and tell me ok?"

Jacques gave Maria three bombs, she thought this is the good chance to use the fist one. Because as Gerald told her, the dressing room was shared, there wasn't any place for her to hide and change the uniform so using bomb was the only way.

Taking the chance no one would notice, Gerald took his body to cover Maria, so she could throw the bomb on the corner of the room.

The bomb caused a small explosion sound "poof!" then disappeared. Maria could feel the atmosphere around her becoming fresher with sweet scent. The bomb was in effect now.

"Sorry Maria, we just have one minute so I won't be gentle."

"Just do it."

As expect from an old Beauvallet servant, Gerald professionally helped Maria changing from academic to physical training uniform within one minute. The academy's physical training uniform was pretty simple with a fabric sleeveless shirt and a short pant. Additional with the uniform, there were also a long sleeve coat with the logo of the academy. The students will use it if they have to train under the cold weather.

"To prevent you from being dazzled under the sunlight, let me also bandage your eyes, Maria."

"Thanks Gerald."

Maria asked herself since when Gerald had become so skillful at taking care of blind person like her.

At the first day of physical training class, Maria could hear the students discussed about her. Mostly of them are about the admiration toward her, of course some were doubting, since she got 10units at physical strength from the entrance test as a blind student. The rumor had spread everywhere, even the students from noble families already knew her.

The professor tested the physical state of each of student basing on two factors: Strength and Durability, in order to group the students into different groups. Each group will have different program of training.

"First is 200 meters speed run. Just run straight forward. I will help you at the direction." Gerald informed Maria "We both will be second group."

"Understood."

Gerald dropped his mouth, on the 200meters speed run, there were also obstacles and they needed to jump.

"Haha.. Let's see how he will jump with those blind eyes." Other students teased Maria.

"Just shut up and see, assholes!!!"

Gerald yelled in angry, gave them a thumbs-down. He then ended up being scolded by the professor for swearing inside the academy, it somehow made Maria laugh.

"On your mark...

Get set...

Go!!!!"

Gerald and Maria ran straight forward. After 6 years of hardship and battle training, it was easy for both of them, especially Gerald because he focused on assassinating.

"Run to the right a little bit more, you are outside from the lines."

At the obstacles, he then yelled to Maria.

"Let's shout together. I will tell you "jump", you jump okay??"

"Okay!"

"One... Two... Three... Jump!!"

Gerald and Maria surprised everyone. They began applauding and cheering for the duo: "Go Go Tranchants!!! Impressive teamwork!!!". Even the professor looked at them with a proud smile as well.

"What a beautiful sportive spirit... I think I don't need to be worried anymore then." He thought. 

***

Next was the test of Durability by running around the circle with 500meters long, by three rounds. Almost students from the noble families got exhausted after completing the first round. The only ones who survived until the third round were the students from Advanced Martial Art, Gerald and Maria. However, when running half of the way of the third round, Maria also gave up and she couldn't run with Gerald anymore.

As the result, Viscount Egerton still marked Gerald, Maria and some of their seniors in the high-tier group. He planned to train them with harder program than other students.

After the classification test, the rest of class time was the free time for the students.

"Gentlemen, please enjoy yourself the snacks after your exercise."

"Wow, so cool!!" It was first year student's reaction.

The servants of the academy pushed a cart to their training area. There were many sets of snacks which were exclusively prepared for the students after physical training class: A pudding, a boiled egg and a drink. Everyone took for themselves one set and began chatting each other during the break time.

"Here for you, Maria."

"Thanks Gerald."

Gerald and Maria sit on a bench at the training field's corner. They were chilling, enjoying the snacks and suddenly, there were many students surrounding them.

"Your performance earlier was so cool!"

"Can we be friends? I wanna join your team too!"

"Can you teach me your tips how to be as strong as you guys?"

"Wait wait." Gerald answered "Sure everyone can be our friends, right Richard?"

"Of course, the more the merrier right?"

It was how Maria had got many of friends. To her, it was a strange, yet amusing experience. Surrounding her ears right now were full of the chatting, the laughing noises. If she could, she would listen to them forever. 

They even recommended her to touch them so she can imagine how they looked. 

"My name is Clement from House of Delmas, 2nd year. You will know me just by touching my chest."

"Oh.. I think I just touched a cross necklace." Maria touched on Clement's shirt.

"I'm Nicolas from House of Reynaud, 4th year of Advanced Martial Art. Sorry if I don't have anything special for you to distinguish me..."

"I can imagine you're a very big and muscular gentlemen." Maria knew who Nicolas was just by touching the muscle of his arm. 

"I'm Louis from House of De Lacarte. Nice to meet you."

"What is it..? This smell... it recalled me the cheese bread at Trachant Bakery!!"

"Oh? You have very sensitive nose. It's shy to say that my family has a tradition of supplying bread for the capital."

"It's cool actually, my dad is also a bakery's owner too."

"What a coincidence!"

Seeing Maria happily chatting with her new friends, Gerald told her to keep staying with them, while he went back to the reception first to prepare the uniforms for both of them. 

"Gerald Trachant and Richard Tranchant... Oh here they are!" A maid searched the academic uniforms of Gerald and Maria and gave them back to him.

"Thanks for your hard work."

When Gerald brought the uniform to go to the dressing room, the maid earlier called him from behind.  

"Mr.Tranchant, you have dropped something."

"Oh?"

Gerald picked up a small paper dropped from their costumes. "Meet me at the eastern backyard square after your noon class". He read and felt a little confused since he didn't know who wrote it. And since when it was tossed into their uniforms?

This academy was for male only, so Gerald could remove the first possibility that it was a love letter. The second possibility was the one he was worried, maybe someone inside this academy already knew Maria's secret so they wanted their money. The paper dropped when Gerald mixed their uniforms together so he couldn't know this paper was for who. Whoever the paper was for, Gerald or Maria, he decided that he would be the one coming to the backyard. He then hide the paper inside his pocket, did not let Maria know so she wouldn't be worried by him. 

"Richard." Gerald called Maria when coming back. He already changed back his uniform costume "I just recall that I forgot my stuff at the northern classroom so you go back to the restaurant first."

"O... Okay Gerald." 

Maria wondered, she had never seen Gerald being so rushing like this.

***

Instead going to the northern tower, Gerald changed his direction, went to the eastern backyard square. Because almost the students already went out after their noon class to go to the restaurant at the western building. So the eastern square were empty, no one was here, very suitable to do any private business. 

Gerald was waiting at the eastern square as the paper mentioned. Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

"Hi, remember me?"

He turned back, a group of five students coming from behind. When seeing the leader, Gerald thought he had seen this face before. 

"Hmm..." Gerald stared at the leader who were short as his shoulder "Who are you?"

"Beat him!"

One of the leader's underlings rushed forward, holding his baton to hit on Gerald. Luckily, thanks to his assassinating skill, Gerald could avoid at time the critical hit aiming right on his head. 

"Ahh this cocky commanding voice, you were the troublemaker at the capital."

"Didn't I tell you? I will revenge, now it's time for me to do this promise." He continued "You even become our highness's friend, being close with him. How can a filthy non-noble like you get his attention but not me?? While I've already served him the entire of my 2 years at this academy!"

"Ew... Don't tell me you're jealous?" Gerald couldn't understand his sense anymore "Have you ever considered if the prince wants you to do that or not? Also, the prince has the right to choose his friends. You cannot force him to do whatever you want."

"You and that blind brat completed ruined my academy life!!"

"Then I won't hesitate to ruin also your nasty selfishness more and more."

"Go and hit him now!"

Five students charged forward to Gerald at the same time. To him, it was ok if the battle was 2vs1, but if 5vs1, he would never have any chance to win if face to face. He had to run and hide from their vision first. With his assassination skill, he was gonna deal each of them from behind.

Gerald ran behind a tower's pillar and cut their chase. He swiftly moved in silence. Since he didn't have any weapon he had to use his punch and kick and aim to their weakness. At least, he would just do something that they couldn't chase him anymore, Gerald didn't want to kill anyone in the academy. It would give him very big trouble if someone found out.

Gerald successfully ambushed one of them, gave his knee a brutal kick that made his bone displaced from the joints. He screamed in agony. While the other came to him, Gerald already disappeared to aim to the next target.

"Four of them more..." Gerald looked at the clock on the tower "But my dinner time is almost over now..."

He thought the strategy a little moment. When he found the leader revealing the weakness, he rushed to ambush him. Maybe a punch on his abdomen was enough, Gerald thought.

But, unexpectedly, when Gerald ambushed the leader, one of his underlying already prepared the baton, waited for the chance to hit him from behind.

Bang! One single hit on the shoulder, Gerald fall on the ground. Very fast, the pain was burning all of his nerve, he believed that his shoulder bone got already broken.

"A magician once said, you cannot show one single trick twice." The leader stepped on Gerald with his confident laugh "Well, don't mind what I just said. I know your rotten non-noble brain wouldn't understand."

Gerald couldn't yell back. The pain was torturing him even more when his body kept being stepped and kicked by four people at the same time.

"Huh? He fainted?" The leader saw that Gerald not moving anymore "Well that's enough today, now we need to carry this useless pig to the hospitality because of his broken knee. Hurry up before someone found out."

Meanwhile, Maria still stayed at the restaurant despite it was overtime. Next to her there was Gerald's dinner meal.

"Gerald, where are you..? The dinner today is your favorite veggie stew..."