The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Rehabilitation (5)

"I've brought it!"

"Thank you."

She received the bow and checked its draw weight with practiced ease.

Judging by how smoothly and powerfully she drew it, the instructor had luckily chosen one that suited Sione well.

Has that person ever handled a bow before?

No, that should be impossible.

Her skilled inspection made everyone at the range question what they were seeing.

The range grew so quiet that neither the sound of bowstrings being drawn nor arrows hitting targets could be heard.

"What are you all doing? Your hands are idle. Will you keep standing around just because I arrived?"

At her words, one or two people began shooting again.

Still, the soldiers couldn't completely dismiss their interest in the unexpected visitor that was Sione Sianella.

Finally, as if understanding that they would at least peek while doing their work, Sione calmly began practicing at an empty target.

The distance was a 70-meter circular target.

Once again, without fail, dead release and pinch draw.

Having practiced only this for a month, at least her form had been corrected.

Twang! Thud!

The arrow shot from her corrected stance struck the target's center.

Not just striking center at an angle—it was a solid hit with the arrow shaft perfectly horizontal from the point of impact.

A result possible only with proper power and aim.

Those watching offered brief reactions.

"Oh..."

"She hit it... ?"

"...Must be luck."

As these brief impressions gathered, a small commotion arose.

She simply kept drawing her bowstring and shooting the next arrow without reaction.

Sione showed no response to their reactions.

Naturally, as the number of arrows hitting their mark increased, their murmurs changed tone.

"...She's targeting the center too well for this to be luck."

"And her form... looks properly trained, not something casual."

"Has anyone ever seen Lady Sione practice?"

From initial comments about arrows consistently hitting the target to finally questioning if anyone had seen Sione practicing archery.

As their opinion began shifting from lucky shots to actual skill, I spoke up:

"Are you alright? With so many people around."

"...Indeed, having so many eyes on me is a bit difficult. My body feels stiff."

"Those forms seem to have become completely natural to you now."

"After practicing only these every day, it would be strange if they hadn't. How was it, was it decent?"

"Yes, good enough to learn something new now."

"Huh?"

Joy and surprise bloomed together on Sione's face.

"Is that true?"

"How about practicing other techniques now, along with sliding release instead of your usual dead release?"

"Of course I welcome it! Sliding release—that's the one where you shoot immediately while drawing, without stopping, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I'm looking forward to it!"

Realizing how loud her voice had gotten, Sione's eyes went wide.

It was amusing to see her face redden as she forced a cough in embarrassment.

To help her focus back on archery rather than feeling embarrassed, I used my bow to explain split finger and sliding release.

"I'll teach you the new technique first."

"I'm listening carefully."

"Good. Place the arrow vertically between your index and middle fingers. Hook your ring finger on the string like this."

"Like this?"

"Your index and middle fingers are too far apart. Mm, try to feel like you're fixing the arrow tip against your index finger—that will make aiming easier."

"Ah, I see."

I confirmed she had properly copied the split finger, also called Mediterranean draw, position.

Though she still held it awkwardly...

She'd get the feel after shooting a few times.

"May I demonstrate?"

"Of course."

I took the bow from Sione and stood before the target she had been shooting at.

Having shown the split finger grip, all that remained was to slowly demonstrate the sliding release for her reference.

"After taking this grip, draw like this..."

Twang!!

"Release from the string before your hand reaches your chin, when it feels sufficient."

Thud!!

My arrow flew without wavering and pierced the target's dead center.

Was a man shooting a bow really such a spectacle?

Even the women who had been shooting stopped to watch me.

Why so much attention when I wasn't even under a spotlight?

I trampled their attention underfoot and added:

"It might also be good practice to just think about relaxing your fingers and pulling your arm back."

"I see. Pulling the arm back..."

"Let me position you. I'll guide your form."

"...You mean that thing where you guide from behind?"

"Is there a problem?"

Sione's cheeks turned bright red as she looked around.

"N-no, but with so many people around..."

"Well, it's not like you'll die—why are you being so sensitive?"

"I might die of shame... but are you really not bothered at all...?"

"Of course not. What's there to be embarrassed about when I'm just teaching archery? Take your stance."

Though trying it based on observation alone might work, I think it's more effective when someone directly helps with body movement and timing.

Sione would probably get the feel after I helped her two or three times.

"...You really want to take such an embarrassing pose here?"

However, my master, head full of pink romantic fantasies, was refusing because of the people present.

It's not even a full back hug—I'm just going to show her the bow grip and drawing timing from behind.

Why be so picky about it?

I stared intently at Sione with narrowed eyes.

"The more you react like this, the more attention you'll draw from the soldiers around us. Let's just finish quickly."

"Hah... fine, I'll do it."

"A wise decision."

I moved close to her to correct her bow grip.

Then began guiding her drawing arm.

At the same time, I could feel gazes boring into the back of my head.

Glancing back, I saw women who had forgotten their practice watching us, looking at Sione with something like admiration and envy.

What remarkable people.

I quickly ignored the attention and focused solely on assisting Sione.

Her arm continued drawing back without stopping while maintaining tension.

When the string was drawn back and enough power had gathered for the target, I tapped her arm.

"Keep pulling your arm back while releasing your fingers from the string."

Twang! Thud!

After confirming the arrow had hit the target, I asked:

"Should I guide you once more?"

"N-no, quickly get away now."

Sione waved me off.

She must have been terribly embarrassed, with even her ears bright red.

In that state, she glared around with a frown.

Under her fierce gaze, those who had been watching us had no choice but to look away again.

After taking several deep breaths, Sione nocked another arrow.

"I'll try what you taught me now, so tell me immediately if you see any problems."

"Understood. Shoot comfortably."

She began shooting calmly as I had taught her.

As the number of arrows shot increased, her sliding release speed increased.

Sione shot in one breath, pulling her arm back smoothly.

Though the bow wavered momentarily and missed the center, she was smiling.

"Careful, deliberate shooting is good, but shooting freely like this is enjoyable too. This technique feels more comfortable than the previous one."

"I'm glad the new technique suits you. Ah, your arm is tilting slightly diagonally when drawing. Just keep that in mind."

"I'll try my best."

Her practice continued until her stamina ran out.

Sione put down her bow and began resting.

I approached and asked her:

"How do you like shooting at this time?"

"I regret not coming at this hour sooner. It's really nice."

"When you have questions in the future, it wouldn't be bad to ask the archers around you for advice."

"...I don't really like initiating conversation with others."

"You talk well with me, a man—wouldn't it be easier to talk with women?"

"Mmm..."

She lowered her head.

"You're... different."

"Pardon?"

"N-never mind. It's nothing important."

...Her voice was so tiny I couldn't hear properly.

Though disappointing, Sione showed no intention of repeating herself even if I asked.

Well, she said it wasn't important.

"Well, if that's the case... how about practicing archery at this time from now on instead of dawn?"

"Yes, let's do that."

The corners of my mouth turned up.

But they quickly fell at Sione's next words.

"From now on, let's just do light exercise at dawn instead of archery practice. That's fine, right?"

No, let's be humane and get some sleep in the morning. Please.

***

The warm spring days had become summer.

Sion had left the Count's house as the academy term began, and Sione, who had been consistently going to the archery range, showed remarkable progress.

She became close enough with her sister Siabel to exchange normal greetings, and even developed enough social skills to converse with some of the female archers.

To think the Sione who used to shut herself in her room and only torment her servants could change this much.

Thanks to this, at least at the archery range, Sione's reputation had improved from before.

Through these changes, we consistently woke our bodies with light exercise in the morning, and burned fat with archery and full-body workouts during the day.

If we couldn't spend 100 days eating only mugwort and garlic, we had no choice but to become human through exercise more than eating just mugwort and garlic.

I watched Sione drinking water and resting after finishing morning jogging.

"Those chunks of fat were real killers."

With her weight gone, Sione had regained beauty rivaling her mother's.

Unlike Siabel with her cold, sharp features, or Sion with his beautiful decadent charm, Sione was a beauty who gave off an innocent, cute impression.

Though it was really annoying enough to drive me crazy, I'm glad the effort of waking her up and running with her every morning paid off.

"Good work today too. Let's go in and rest now."

"As you wish."

"Ah, that reminds me—I have a favor to ask. Could you bring me something sharp? A small knife would be best."

"A sharp knife... you say...?"

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You shouldn't have bad thoughts."

"Am I really that untrustworthy... I have a specific use for it, so don't worry."

"Hmm... then I'll go fetch what you ordered. Please go to your room first."

"Thank you."

Sione and I turned our backs to each other and parted ways.

Her room was that way, and the training grounds this way.

Afterward, I found a sharp short sword at the training grounds and returned to Sione's room.

If she was going to ask for this, she should have told me to get it when we passed the training grounds.

Such a hassle.

Knock knock.

When I knocked on the door, an immediate response came.

"Enter."

I went straight into her room.

Entering Sione's room while holding a blade made me feel like a treasonous minister.

"You asked for something sharp, so I brought this... is it alright?"

"Let me see."

Sione examined the blade I brought.

"Perfect. Good work."

With those words, she brought the blade to her long platinum blonde hair.

"...Lady Sione?"

"Just watch."

Without hesitation, Sione cut her hair.

Thud thud.

Most of that hair, which had grown down to her waist from years of neglect, fell to the floor.

My expression froze as I looked at Sione, who had gone from long hair to a bob cut.

Of course, it wasn't frozen because she cut her hair.

...I'll have to clean up all this fallen hair.

She's creating work for me on her own, worried I might get bored.

"Hehe, that feels refreshing."

Truly, as she said, Sione smiled innocently and brightly.

Like someone who had completely shed their stifling past.

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