“Huh?”

For a moment, Delrina blinked rapidly, wondering if she had misheard. But her ears were perfectly fine. That’s when Delrina’s mouth fell open.

“What, what… are you saying?”

Stunned by the absurd statement, Delrina stammered. She wasn’t the only one taken aback. The faces of the five children were changing constantly.

“Love?”

Zen tilted his head, unable to comprehend the word ‘love’ from the beginning. The other children were different.

“Has the definition of love changed?”

Vancent, with a bewildered face, as if he had heard the most shocking thing he had learned in his brain, muttered.

“Is today’s training about honing the mind rather than the body?”

Noah asked with a still-smiling face.

“…”

Calix had no words, but he had a face as if he’d eaten some moldy dessert.

“…How should we interpret this?”

Although Ashud asked a reasonable question, his expression looked as if he was ready to accuse the other of high treason if it weren’t Vellion.

‘These kids.’

Delrina’s eyebrows rose at the colorful refusal of the children. Then Vellion spoke again.

“Or forget it.”

‘That’s it?’

After confusing the children like this, Vellion’s response ended there. The bewildered children were staring at Vellion when the door opened, and Pellic came in.

“Ah, Your Highness, as expected, you’re still here.”

“Why.”

“Isn’t it the day to watch the knights’ training? I forgot and came to get you.”

Vellion seemed to recall the schedule, raising his eyebrows. He looked briefly at Pellic and the children, and then tossed the wooden sword he had been holding to Pellic.

“Then you do this.”

“Eh? Me?”

Pellic stepped back, clearly reluctant.

“I really want to follow Your Highness’s instructions, but unfortunately, I have many matters to deal with right now…”

“Do this and don’t come tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it here and go on your way.”

Pellic, rejuvenated by the rare vacation, bid farewell to Vellion in an extremely courteous manner. Delrina was silently aghast.

‘Who leaves after creating such an atmosphere!’

Pellic seemed to notice the awkward atmosphere that had settled among the children as he tilted his head.

“Um, so… anything happen?”

“No, nothing.”

“Really?”

Ignoring Delrina’s words, Pellic surveyed the children and mumbled.

“But it’s not. Something more must’ve happened… otherwise, the atmosphere…”

“…”

“How could I rudely ask about what happened when I was with Your Highness?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s start training quickly.”

Vellion would certainly tease for ten years if he knew what had just happened. Not wanting to miss out on something fun, Pellic looked at Delrina, who was struggling to change the subject. Finally, Pellic changed the topic.

“So, today’s training will be this? Successfully knock the wooden sword out of my hand within the set time.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Delrina, eager to get it over with, found Pellic changing the terms.

“But that alone could mean you don’t actively participate in the training. So, if you fail, you’ll receive a very small penalty. Tell us what just happened.”

Hey, you…

Pellic’s cheerful face, trying to satisfy his curiosity under the guise of training, made Delrina lick her lips in disbelief. She then thought quickly. She felt she had some chance of success against Pellic, unlike Vellion.

“…?”

However, the faces of the other children were hardening. Before Delrina could ask them why, Pellic’s wooden sword quickly flew at her.

“!”

“Ah, as expected. It’s been a while, so it’s hard to control the strength.”

The quite thick wooden sword broke with just a flick of Pellic’s wrist. While Delrina hesitated in astonishment, Pellic, who had fetched another wooden sword, smiled slyly.

“Shall we start?”
The children immediately straightened up at Felix’s words. The first to charge was Zen, but he was quickly launched into the air and tumbled down next to Delrina.

“What the, what the!”

Delrina, who had never considered Felix’s combat skills, opened her mouth wide in astonishment. Noah, seeing Delrina’s reaction, spoke.

“What, you’re surprised? Didn’t you know?”

“……Know what?”

That’s when Bancent muttered.

“Duke Ulfrim’s youngest knight-commander, and also the youngest to retire.”

“……!”

“His skill still ranks among the top in the duchy, if not the empire.”

Hearing the children’s conversation, Felix chuckled and shrugged.

“Well, I was better back in the day. Now, I ache all over when it rains; there’s not a spot on me that doesn’t hurt.”

As if to show off, Felix pounded his waist with his fist, then swiftly reached out toward the children. Delrina, unaware of Felix’s background, dodged hastily, her mouth still agape.

“Oh, young lady, you’re dodging well. But, you should move a bit more to the left here.”

Watching Felix effortlessly knock back the approaching children, Delrina anxiously looked at the hourglass. More than half of the sand had already fallen.

‘I can’t let this go on. I need to do something…’

“Do you guys want to win?”