Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress-Chapter 695: It’s Better to Be Prepared

But due to the possible war, Benjamin was insistent because he wanted to get stronger. He ensured Ferdinand it would be done somewhere private.

Ferdinand still refused though especially since he accidentally hurt Benjamin when they sparred. He was worried about what Arabella would think and say if her brother got a more severe injury from the said spars than what he got from Ferdinand.

Even if it was kept from the masses, Ferdinand feared that Arabella’s parents and siblings might get angry if they heard Benjamin got seriously injured.

Ferdinand did not want to strain his relationship with Arabella’s family when it was just beginning. Though he wanted to get on Benjamin’s good side, he did not want to sacrifice his relationship with Arabella’s parents and siblings to achieve that.

Moreover, if there was a hidden spy, the information might leak and cause unnecessary friction. Thus, Ferdinand did not want Benjamin to be part of the training.

But Benjamin was insistent so he was trying to ask Ferdinand to agree by showing him that if he kept disagreeing, he could resort to tricks if he wanted to. What he did this morning was an example. Benjamin could ensure that their younger siblings do not get close to Ferdinand.

Ferdinand and Benjamin were both using personal affairs in the matter.

Thinking about future events, Arabella understood what her brother was worried about. Especially after seeing how much of a difference there was between him and Ferdinand after their bout.

"When you compare my brother’s level to other people, how strong or weak is he?" Arabella wanted to now.

For her, she had always seen Benjamin as strong when she was young. But she was wed to Ferdinand in her past life and saw him train with the nights now and then, she no longer knew where her brother stood.

"In human terms, your brother is not weak. He is at most third of Icarus’ strength," Ferdinand said and regretted mentioning Icarus to Arabella of his own volition.

Ever since Ferdinand admitted to Arabella that Icarus liked her too, he avoided mentioning Icarus to her again fearing that just like Benjamin, she might one day think that Icarus was the better choice as her husband.

"I see... I didn’t know Benjamin was on that level," Arabella was surprised at Ferdinand’s response.

If Benjamin was about a third as strong as Icarus who was the only human here who gave Ferdinand some difficulty in battle, then he was quite strong already.

However, with how he behaved this morning, Benjamin was determined to get stronger. It was likely due to the possible conflicts in the future. After all, it was his duty to fight for Lobelius so he had to be strong enough to motivate their knights and soldiers.

The thought of Benjamin getting injured again worried Arabella. However, in the life she once lived, there was no news of Benjamin having an early death due to injury.

"I think it’s alright for him to get injuries now and then if it’s from training. When I was a child, I repeatedly cried seeing him with injuries but he and our parents always said it was for a better future. So even if he gets injured, I think it’s alright as long as he gets stronger. I’m sure my parents and siblings will understand that Benjamin has the weight of Lobelius to carry on his shoulders," Arabella said and Ferdinand was surprised.

[With how she reacted upon seeing Benjamin with injuries this morning, I thought she would be heavily against it.]

"Are you sure? He might truly get broken bones. Of course, Alwin or the others can heal his injuries, but he would still suffer the pain. Humans are quite sensitive to pain," Ferdinand reminded.

[With how worried Arabella and their younger siblings were when he appeared with a sling, it was clear how they treasured him. Would they be able to stomach seeing him repeatedly injured?]

Arabella gulped that. Just the thought of Benjamin having broken bones made her tense. But with how the future may turn out, she knew it was not just broken bones Benjamin would experience if he was not strong enough when enemies much stronger than he appeared. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She recalled the humanoid monster that appeared in Medeus. Benjamin prepared himself to help fight it but Rendell and the other knights stopped anyone from interfering since the humanoid monster was that strong.

If her brother remained the way he was, he could lose his life instantly from something like that. Arabella preferred her brother to be able to fight or at least run away and survive.

"I can endure it. I’m sure everyone would too since it’s for the sake of elder brother and Lobelius. If you can assign a knight you trusted to help Benjamin get stronger, my family and I would be very much grateful," Arabella asked her husband.

"I see... Since this is how you see it, then I will assign someone to train him," Ferdinand agreed.

"Thank you!" Arabella gave him a peck and sighed in relief.

She knew that it was not an easy favor to ask due to their standing but her husband still agreed.

Ferdinand smiled but it was gone in a few seconds when he recalled something and said, "But, you must not blame me no matter what happens to him. Your brother is quite stubborn. He might want to keep training even if he should stop for the day. The wounds on his palms were not my fault. I told him we should stop but he wanted to keep going."

"Yes, I know. I did not blame you for those wounds and I will not blame you in the future either. It’s my elder brother’s choice so he only had himself to blame," Arabella assured her husband and he sighed in relief.

With this, the matter about Benjamin and his prank this morning was finally clear.

Arabella still noted to write a letter to her brother though and tell him off for daring to try to use such underhanded tactics on her husband.