...The Training...

After cleaning the whole place, Lucia managed to cook a lot of delicious food. Sergio stayed beside her and never left her side until she finished. He kept watching her moves while looking amazed. No man, no matter how strong he is, was able to clean that dirt in such a perfect way.

- Wow, you are amazing!

- Well, yeah, I'm a competent servant.

- Thank you for accepting to do such a job. Giving soldiers delicious food will cheer them up for a bit.

Lucia smiled brightly which made Sergio's heart flutter.

- I'm happy that you recognized my efforts. Most people thought that servants must work all the time without a stop.

- Well, I don't know about others, but I'm really glad that you accepted to serve the soldiers.

- Yeah, I hope Jonathan won't feel offended. I acted a little harshly.

- It's okay, he deserved that. And if...If anyone acts rude, just tell me. I will deal with him.

- Alright, Thank you...

- Is the food ready to be served? The delicious smell made the soldiers drool.

- Yeah, everything is ready. You can ask them to come.

When Sergio called for them to eat, usually, they took time to gather and lined up, but this time, in a few seconds they were all ready to take their food.

They were very excited:

- Is this the smell of our food?

- Yeah, I can't wait to eat. It has been so long since I had a decent meal.

The delicious meal made them happy and more enthusiastic.

Suddenly, they heard the commander yelling. Sergio stood up immediately.

- Thank you again, Lucia. The commander is calling for me...

Lucia felt scared, she took a plate and went back to Anastasia's tent.

- My lady, I brought some food. Are you still asleep?

- Yeah, just leave it there, I will eat later.

- Alright...

Meanwhile, Sergio went to the commander's tent while feeling anxious.

- What is the matter?

- What is this food?

- Don't you like it?

- I'm the one asking here.

- Count Gilbert's daughter came. She brought so many supplies and she ordered her servant to cook food for everyone.

- She did?

- Yeah.

- And you ate it?

- Of course, we did! The soldiers are very hungry.

- HOW CAN YOU LET A COMPLETE STRANGER COOK OUR MEAL? WHAT IF SHE WAS WORKING FOR THE ENEMY AND SHE PUT POISON IN IT? THE ENTIRE ARMY WILL BE DESTROYED AND THE EMPIRE WILL BECOME DEFENSELESS.

Sergio sighed, he knew that his commander is so paranoid, but he went too far this time.

- Don't worry, I kept watching her the whole time. Nothing of that happened.

At that moment, The commander threw the plate on the ground while looking furious.

- BRING THAT SERVANT TO ME!

- Commander, please, if you want to blame anyone, it must be me. I'm the one who allowed her to enter the kitchen and cook for everyone. The soldiers seemed to have low spirits, so I wanted to cheer them up with good food, that's it.

The commander left his tent, made a tour, and watched how much the soldiers were enjoying their meal. Also, Sergio showed him how clean the kitchen became which impressed him.

- Next time, inform me before such a thing happen. In the last few years, we made a lot of enemies and they are willing to do anything to get their revenge. So, be careful.

- As you wish...

- Bring me another plate, I'm hungry.

- I'm sorry, the soldiers finished all the food.

- WHAT! ISN'T THERE ANYTHING REMAINING?

- No, there isn't. The next time, please think carefully before you throw your food on the ground...Now, excuse me.

Sergio left while smiling, he got his revenge on the commander.

The next day, Anastasia woke up early to be ready for the training. She was very excited and anxious at the same time.

" I must show them how good I am so no one will look down on me, but What if I was too weak compared to them? The commander will surely kick me out... Anyway, I will try my best. "

She went to the training ground and looked around hoping to see the commander, but he didn't come.

" He is not here. Only the soldiers arrived to train...there are no nobles either. What is going on here? "

Sergio introduced Anastasia to Sir Ron. A tall and muscular man. He had black hair and Blue eyes.

- Sir Ron, is responsible for the training.

- Good morning, lady I see that you are ready.

- Yes, I'm...By the way, I heard that there are a lot of nobles that joined the army. Why I can't see anyone of them?

- They only train when they feel like...

- Is the commander okay with that?

- To be honest, he didn't care because they won't participate in the war anyway. It is only a show. As long as they don't disturb the training, they are free to do whatever they want.

- This is not fair. Your commander should kick them out.

- Yeah, but the nobles who gave their money to finance the expeditions won't be happy about that.

- Though the nobles can buy everything with their money, they can't buy honor...Now tell me what should I do, I'm ready to start.

Sir Ron decided at first to test Anastasia's skills.

" I must know at which level she is. Well, I don't have high hopes. I will try to not be harsh towards her and to convince her to go back before the commander interfere. "

- At first start with some warm-ups. Then I will assign someone to duel with you.

- Alright...

Anastasia started running, After some time, a noble came. It was a son of a Marquis. Anastasia recognized him immediately.

"Marquis Hugo sent his son as well, his mother is Agatha's best friend. She helped her in spreading rumors about me. Did they send him to watch me? Well, that can be possible. "

When their eyes met, she headed toward him while smiling.

- Hello, Hamilton, I see that you came here as well.

- Oh, yeah, I...I wanted to join the army and....and to train as well...

Anastasia noticed that he was confused:

" What a lie, it is obvious that he hated being here. "

She smiled brightly while pulling out her sword:

- What a good coincidence, I was waiting for someone to train with. Come on, bring out your sword and show me what you have.

Sir Ron approved their duel

- Alright, let's start.

Anastasia attacked Hamilton and defeated him in a blink of an eye.

She kept smiling which made him annoyed:

- Don't worry, we will train together, every day so you can become better. That's the least thing I can do for you...

- Oh, sure...

" Bastard, I will make you regret coming here. "

Sergio was watching, he became more curious about her:

" Her posture and skills are not bad, I heard that she trained for several years. I will report to the commander. Maybe he will give her a chance. "

Lucia cooked again, this time no one dared to oppose her even the commander himself. After eating, he decided to assign her as their chef.

- I see that you liked the food.

- Yeah, it is not bad...Tell that servant to keep cooking.

- Aren't you afraid that she will poison our food?

- I checked her background...

- What about the Count's daughter?

- She must go back to her home.

- What if she is good, I heard that she used to train for the past few years.

- Even so, she is a woman.

- At least, meet her. even for once.

- Don't worry, I will send her away, myself.