SLDS 18

Starting with the debutante ball, the social season began in earnest. The nobles held parties and balls every day.

On the other hand, an atmosphere of solemnity, more so than usual, pervaded the Imperial Palace. This was not a place for frivolous merrymaking. They were exercising more caution than ever for the important matter of selecting members for the knighthood.

Cecil came out in simple attire for a change. He had promised to start swordsmanship lessons from today, so even his steps were buoyant.

He was waiting in front of the Saint Palace as he had been instructed beforehand. As soon as the clock struck the hour, the palace gate opened, and a surprising person emerged from within.

Claude approached Cecil and gave a short nod. It would have been fine for him to just pass by after greeting him, but the way he stood there stubbornly was strangely unsettling.

Cecil looked up at Claude with a reluctant expression.

“We meet again, Lord Vandel.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have something to say? I’m a bit busy.”

He gestured with his hand, hoping he would just leave, but Claude shamelessly stood his ground. He spoke with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I heard you are to receive swordsmanship training starting today.”

“That is correct.”

“Please follow me. It is an order from His Highness.”

Claude turned his back first. He walked ahead with the disciplined steps of a Knight Commander.

“Ha.”

Letting out a sigh like a lament, Cecil followed behind him for the time being. Since it was an order from Alexis of all people, he had no choice but to obey.

The place they arrived at was the training ground. The vast, open space was already packed with men.

These men, their discipline at its peak, were all the newly selected apprentice knights. Every one of them was engaged in training, shouting commands in booming voices.

Seeing this, Cecil stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded. He couldn’t understand it at all. Where was Alexis, who said he would teach him swordsmanship? Why was he pushed into this training ground?

Just then, Claude handed him a blunt wooden stick.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“Can you not tell by looking? It is a wooden sword for beginners.”

“Are you giving me a sword that only children use?”

“A sword should be chosen to match one’s own skill level.”

Cecil took the wooden sword and asked with a bewildered face.

“…Surely you’re not the one teaching swordsmanship, are you?”

“His Highness is busy. If you wish to be tutored by him, you must at least possess a certain level of skill, wouldn’t you agree? I will build your foundation, so please follow my instructions.”

“That’s not what was promised!”

“I am not a person with that much free time either. I too am only following His Highness’s orders. If you are not pleased, shall I assign another knight to you?”

Ah, I really don’t get along with that man. Cecil squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed down the curse that had risen to his throat.

First, he firmly gripped the hard handle of the wooden sword. When his eyes opened again, they glinted more fiercely than ever.

“If you’re going to teach me, do it properly.”

“Do not worry. I have no intention of giving you special treatment.”

Claude snorted, hmph. He inhaled until his chest swelled greatly, and then his characteristic thunderous command fell.

“We will now begin striking the straw dummies. Commence!”

It was a repetition of striking, stabbing, and slashing. Every time he hit the shabbily made human-shaped straw dummy, yellow straw rained down. Rustle, rustle. Cecil had been doing this for two hours.

His palms were tingling, and his movements creaked constantly as if his shoulder joints were dislocated. Cecil rubbed his stinging eyes as sweat trickled into them and briefly averted his gaze.

In the open space a short distance away, the apprentice knights were in the middle of their training. They too were sweating profusely, seemingly exhausted.

Still, weren’t they better off than him? What was this embarrassing straw dummy business?

As his lips pouted, the wooden stick flew at him without fail. Thwack. Claude, who had struck the crown of his head with a sharp sound, glared fiercely.

“Ahem, where are your eyes wandering now?”

“How dare you strike a member of the imperial family?”

“Trainees are not distinguished by their social standing. His Highness Alexis also learned by being struck when he was young.”

That damn Claude. If I ever manage to wield a sword, I’ll stab you first.

Cecil ground his molars hard and corrected his posture. The straw dummy swayed feebly from the rage-filled strike.

When the tedious basic training was over, Cecil threw down the wooden sword and lay flat on the dirt ground. The fact that he had to get through this gateway to be able to learn from Alexis made his insides burn with fury.

“There are many eyes watching, so please maintain some dignity.”

“…Dignity this, dignity that.”

You should consider yourself lucky that I’m not cursing right now. Cecil muttered to himself and rubbed his face, which was soaked in sweat.

Damn it, his arms were trembling so much that he didn’t even have the strength to wipe his sweat.

“Well then, I will see you tomorrow.”

Claude glanced at the listlessly sprawled Cecil and turned away. Did he think he enjoyed this kind of child’s play training? His indignant steps headed straight for the Saint Palace.

This time too, he brushed off the attendants’ attempts to stop him and flung open the door to the Crown Prince’s office.

“Our Knight Commander certainly walks fast.”

Alexis offered a casual greeting. His elbow was resting on the windowsill, as if he had been looking outside until just a moment ago.

“Did you enjoy the show?”

“It wasn’t bad.”

“Can I not quit?”

“Is he that hopeless?”

“May I speak frankly? He is worse than Yuria.”

Alexis burst into laughter upon hearing the merciless critique. He had been watching, so he already knew.

Cecil’s shoulder strength was as pathetically weak as a woman’s, and he seemed to have no talent whatsoever for swinging a sword. Was it to be expected, since he was coddled and doted on in the Imperial Palace?

“You, Claude, were the one who taught Yuria how to use a sword. I thought you had quite a talent for handling children.”

“Well, that depends on who the other person is.”

“Since you’ve started, don’t go easy on him, be thorough. He won’t last long anyway. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to nip it in the bud so he never says anything like wanting to learn swordsmanship again.”

Claude silently gazed at the Crown Prince’s stern face.

I thought his wariness toward Cecil had eased, but he still has his blades raised. Reminded once again of the Crown Prince’s objective, he needlessly rubbed the back of his neck.

“What if he gets defiant and actually works hard?”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to be his opponent.”

A faint smile spread across Alexis’s lips. He was certain that such a thing would never happen.

“I have no intention of breaking my promise.”

Alexis turned his body again. From the window, a clear view of the entire Imperial Palace, including the training ground, could be seen. Cecil, who had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, was still lying on the ground, and beside him, his attendants were anxiously stamping their feet.

His face, devoid of laughter, looked merely dry. Afterwards, Alexis roughly shut the window.

✽ ✽ ✽

After half a month, the straw dummy was replaced with a log. The movements for building basic skills remained unchanged. It was a tedious, uninteresting, and blister-forming activity, but Cecil came out to the training ground every day and swung his wooden sword hundreds of times.

Claude looked slightly fed up. At this point, it was natural for him to get tired and drop out, but Cecil Adrian did not miss a single class. As expected, he was no ordinary stubborn person.

He had been spending his precious time because of the Crown Prince’s orders, but now he was reaching his limit. Claude racked his brain and came up with a clever plan.

“From today, you will join the apprentice knights.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you need to learn other sword forms as well?”

“Can I not learn that from His Highness?”

“You are still far from ready.”

Cecil glared without a word. He planted his wooden sword into the ground like a cane and let out a frustrated breath. Hoo. His sweat-soaked, stiffly matted bangs didn’t even stir.

“Tell me honestly. You’re doing this to torment me, aren’t you?”

“…Of course not. This is all part of the process. I am simply being extremely faithful to the basics.”

“Alexis also received private tutoring from Sir Wellington! At a time when you should be providing a separate training area, you’re telling me to mix in with the apprentice knights and learn? Your intention must be to insult me.”

“If you dislike my methods, you are free to quit at any time. Don’t you enjoy having tea parties in well-tended gardens? No one is forcing you, Mr. Cecil.”

Claude spread his palm and pointed toward the exit. His intention of guiding him to the easy path was plain to see.

“Who said I’m quitting?”

Cecil lifted the wooden sword and slung it over his shoulder. His tilted head gestured with a careless flick of his chin.

“Lead the way.”

Cecil, mixed in among the apprentice knights, was, how should I put it, like a swan mixed in among ducklings.

His lean body stood out conspicuously among the well-built men, and it was impossible for gazes not to be drawn to him, as he was the only one with pale white skin among the swarthily tanned men.

The apprentice knights themselves were intimidated by Cecil. They had never expected to see a member of the imperial family this up close. And to be told to engage in rough training alongside him, body to body, their shoulders naturally slumped in awe.

“Will you bastards not straighten your postures!”

At the Knight Commander’s sharp command, the entire group snapped to attention. Claude, standing on the platform, shot a sharp gaze like an eagle’s.

While everyone else bowed their heads, Cecil alone lifted his blank, white face. He was just like a precious member of the imperial family. Claude scanned the dazed faces and, when his eyes met Cecil’s, almost let out a sigh.

Ah… Your Highness, why on earth did you entrust this person to me?

Although resentment toward Alexis was boiling inside him, he schooled his expression like a veteran knight. He then shouted in a stern voice.

“We will now begin commoners’ swordsmanship training!”

“Yes, sir!”

As it was their usual training, the apprentice knights formed their ranks as soon as the command was given. Since no one told him what to do, Cecil had to move by watching others.

With a resounding battle cry, they began to demonstrate the 16 attack forms. Glancing at Claude who was demonstrating at the front, Cecil swung his wooden sword. Only the coarse sound of the old, blunt wooden stick cutting through the air could be heard.

“…This is really pissing me off.”

Cecil finally revealed his inner thoughts as he threw a stone onto the dirt ground. His limbs drooped as if heavy iron weights were attached to his whole body, but his eyes, at least, shone venomously.

Frankly, there was nothing to fault in the sword forms Claude was teaching. Even though he was a thoroughly disagreeable man, he acknowledged his skill.

The problem was that his own body could not keep up. Having spent most of his life like a flower in a greenhouse, his stamina was pathetic.

He stumbled and fell countless times as his steps got tangled, and his movements were out of sync as he was the only one to get the forms wrong. Of course, no one said anything, but strange gazes followed him whenever he broke the flow of the training.

Cecil trembled with a sense of humiliation he had never experienced before. It was only natural for him to be clumsy since it had only been two weeks, but he could not tolerate his own incompetence.

When a short break was given, the apprentice knights flung off their sweat-soaked clothes and walked around half-naked. It was an act to cool off their heat. After all, there were only men in the training ground, and they were all used to each other’s naked bodies.

They coolly poured cold water scooped up with buckets over themselves, then shook their wet hair and torsos like dogs. Shake, shake. The muscular men, under the scorching sun, were all busy showing off their well-built bodies.

But when they passed in front of Cecil, they would suddenly become as demure as if they had become modest young ladies. At the sight of them crossing their arms diagonally to cover their nipples, Cecil let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Do those guys think I like all men?”