Episode 21
“Everyone, move to your positions.”
The joint training was a tradition established after Commander Denver took office, and this time the guest knight order was Visel.
The order to which my cousin, Mars Artiel, belonged.
‘By now, Mars must be glaring at me from somewhere…’
I unconsciously recalled his usual behavior and looked toward Visel.
As expected, I made eye contact with Mars, who was already looking my way.
“……”
What was strange was that as soon as our eyes met, Mars quickly turned his head away.
His expression even showed signs of nervousness, as though he had remembered something frightening.
Normally, he would have glared at me while muttering curses under his breath.
‘What’s going on?’
Honestly, I wasn’t that curious. Something must have happened, whatever.
‘I do need to write that recommendation letter, though.’
That was the promise I had made to my uncle in exchange for having decision-making authority over the marriage proposal.
“I look forward to working with you today.”
Junick, the leader of the Visel knight order, approached and greeted Erne’s knights.
The knights responded politely with greetings of their own.
On the opposite side, I could see Commander Denver greeting Visel’s knights as well.
Soon, the training began.
The first session was a swordsmanship duel.
Five knights from each order stepped forward to face off one-on-one in five rounds.
In the first match, a rookie who had just joined this year participated, facing a junior-level knight from the opposing side.
Clang!
The two swords clashed.
‘The sword moves swiftly, but the swing radius is too wide. I need to guide him on that.’
Since the rookie belonged to the Golden Lion unit, I began thinking about how to provide feedback.
Two matches passed while I was contemplating.
‘Next up is Cassium’s lieutenant.’
A knight with ash-gray bobbed hair stepped out, visibly tense.
Milia Aswid—she was one of Cassium’s lieutenants from the Black Panther unit.
‘The ugly rabbit!’
She was also the knight who had called our Golden Bunny ugly.
‘It’s so cute, though.’
Without realizing it, I began watching the duel with a cold gaze.
At the sound of the whistle, the two knights’ swords collided.
Milia moved swiftly, not allowing her opponent any chance to thrust forward.
Her opponent repeatedly made futile swings while Milia moved behind him.
‘Being targeted from behind means losing dominance in a duel.’
Her swordsmanship was impeccable.
Even though I hated to admit it because of her insult toward the Golden Bunny, Cassium was right to have her as a lieutenant.
The fourth match passed during that time.
In this match, the Visel knight’s skills stood out.
His name was Gale, and he seemed to have great potential.
‘He’s skilled enough to be accepted into the Royal Knight Order.’
If I hadn’t promised to write a recommendation letter for Mars, I would have wanted to write one for this knight instead.
Then came the final match.
On Erne’s side, a blonde man casually walked forward.
‘Come to think of it, Senior Yanis said he’d be dueling too.’
Yanis Crusel—he was the division leader of the White Fox unit in Erne’s knight order.
He was also two academic years ahead of me during our time at the academy.
‘Even now, that incident still seems absurd.’
As I watched Yanis leisurely extend his sword, I recalled our academy days.
***
The Royal Swordsmanship Academy, Beldeium.
In the small square in front of the academy building, now beginning to glow red under the sunset, five people were seated.
There was me and Cassium, now in our second year; our senior Ilard; our junior Asha; and Yanis, a senior in his final year.
During a tactical meeting preparing for the competition tasks, we were taking a short break.
“Hmm.”
Yanis let out a meaningless hum and smiled brightly, looking back and forth between Cassium and me.
“I want to be the one who scatters flowers.”
He suddenly declared this out of nowhere.
Since no one understood what he meant, silence fell for a moment.
“What do you mean?”
Breaking the silence, I asked on behalf of everyone.
Yanis grinned even wider and said, “At your wedding.”
“A wedding? Whose?”
When I asked, Yanis pointed at both Cassium and me.
“Me? This guy? Which one are you talking about?”
“Both.”
“……?”
Cassium, who had been sitting silently with his arms crossed, uncrossed them and spoke in a dry voice toward Yanis.
“Please stop, senior.”
“Why?”
Yanis smiled even more mischievously and playfully poked Cassium.
Still not having received a proper answer, I pressed Yanis again.
“Who are you talking about?”
“I mean both of you—Lize, you and Cassium. If you two get married.”
Finally understanding his words, my face twisted into a frown.
I had no idea what kind of thought process led him to such a conclusion.
“Say something that makes sense.”
My voice and gaze were filled with contempt directed at Yanis.
Ilard and Asha, who were sitting nearby, held their breath, their eyes darting nervously.
“Just wait a few years. You’ll say, ‘Yanis was right,’ and treat me to a meal.”
“What makes you think something like that?”
“Listen, Lize—”
At that moment, Cassium let out a long sigh and stood up.
He grabbed Yanis, who was about to start explaining further, by the arm and pulled him up.
“Let’s stop this, senior.”
His eyes had turned icy cold.
His expression looked as if he’d overturn the entire situation if Yanis said one more word.
Yanis, his face still filled with a mysterious smile, nodded.
Then, whispering something to Cassium, he left.
Cassium soon followed suit and left as well.
“……”
Asha and Ilard’s eyes wavered visibly.
Facing the lingering silence, I spoke up.
“Let’s continue the meeting another time.”
I stood up as well.
***
‘That was already years ago, huh?’
I reminisced about that moment as I absentmindedly watched the duel.
Back then, I once again realized just how much Cassium disliked me.
At least I stayed in place, but he had stormed out altogether.
Even now, Yanis still occasionally showed regret when he saw Cassium and me together.
‘You two shouldn’t just be standing around like this.’
That’s what he would always say.
I refocused on the current duel.
Yanis pressed his opponent’s shoulder lightly with the hilt of his sword.
He had excellent reflexes and could swiftly read his opponent’s intentions.
This time too, he had easily overpowered his opponent and extended a hand for a handshake with a relaxed smile.
‘By the way, what did Yanis whisper to Cassium back then?’
I realized I still didn’t know what he had said.
‘I should ask Cassium when I see him.’
But when was Cassium even planning to show up?
‘Even when such an important topic is being discussed…’
I suddenly felt irritated.
‘Does he not care whether marriage talk comes up or not?’
Being indifferent was somehow more aggravating than outright disliking it.
“Lize, you’re steeling your resolve, huh?”
“Commander?”
At that moment, Commander Denver’s voice came from behind me.
“Your fist looks like it’s about to shatter.”
Apparently, I had clenched my fist without realizing it.
“You’re up next. Are you prepared?”
“Of course.”
Since the sword duel had concluded, it was time to proceed to the competition match.
In the competition match, five knights from each order participated in a team event.
Both teams would start at opposite ends of the forest, and the team that planted their sword in the opponent’s “treasure” within an hour would win.
It was a match that required both offensive and defensive strategies, making it an excellent test of each knight order’s tactics and situational response abilities.
‘I’m in an offensive position.’
My role was to break through the forest and aim my sword at the opponent’s camp.
From Erne, I and Hedel of the Black Panther unit were assigned this role.
On defense were Dezers from the Golden Lion, Astel from the White Fox unit, and Bennu.
‘On Visel’s side, the defenders are Sir Rive, Sir Polus, and Sir Jude. On offense, Sir Elise and…’
I made eye contact with Mars.
‘Mars was assigned to offense too.’
He had been glaring at me, but as soon as our eyes met, he swiftly turned his head away again.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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