Book 3: Chapter 14
“Come, son. The key to swordsmanship is not in the sword itself but in your footwork and wrist, but of course adept swordsmanship is also necessary. However, the physiques of us elves are not suited. The swordsmanship that elves use leans towards smaller steps, flicking the wrist and stabbing techniques, just like this….”
Mom flicked her wrist, stepped forward and then switched to a lunge, lifted her sword up horizontally to her eye level, and then quickly and fiercely stabbed at the wooden dummy before her like a snake attacking its prey. Her sword moved through the air as a blur. The next thing I knew, mom had returned to her original pose, but the wooden dummy had a hole in it.
“This is the most basic sword technique elves learn. It’s called ‘Python Bite’, and just like its name, you need to thrust as fast as a snake attacking its prey. Your movement needs to be smooth and simple. What you need is explosive power from your waist, wrist and calves…. Needless to say, you won’t have time to prepare on the battlefield. But once you master this move, you’ll be able to easily utilise your explosive strength. That’s why all those who learn swordsmanship are required to learn this technique first.”
I nodded to show I understood, then looked at mom and said: “Mom, please teach me swordsmanship!”
“No. Stay away from this sort of stuff, son.”
Mom turned me down with a smile and then sheathed the sword. She placed it on a shelf by the side, then tapped on my lip with her finger and said: “Once you pick up a sword, you’ll never be able to put it down. Once you’ve killed, you will no longer feel guilty about killing, and thereby won’t be afraid of the meaning of life. You saw that woman, didn’t you? She used to be a naive and bright girl, but can you associate the way she is now with the words kind and humane? I refuse to let you become like her whenever I see her.”
Mom looked at me and then touched my face. She affectionately crouched down and looked into my eyes. Her blue eyes showed gentleness and love. She softly said: “Son, mommy is very happy to see that your eyes show kindness right now. Mommy doesn’t ask that you achieve any major accomplishments. Mommy just hopes that you can maintain your kindness like this. You’ve gone through too much war and bloodshed since you were born. Mommy will be satisfied as long as you can remain kind and protect this gift the gods gave you.”
I lowered my head. Mom must’ve been referring to the war over their son ten years ago. Mom and the empress are different. Mom doesn’t wish for me to become a competent king. Instead, she wants for me to continue living happily. I guess this must be the difference between lifespans for humans and elves. Mom can live for a very long time, but the empress can’t wait. This must also be why I wasn’t too satisfied when I was with humanity. A human’s life is too short, yet they desire far too much. As a result, they resort to scheming and fighting.
I believe that mom has experienced everything the empress experienced. However, if she did experience everything the empress did, could she maintain her current self?