Second prince, the one with that greasy green hair?

Just as I was about to answer, the training ground door opened again.

“So you guys were here.”

It was one of the senior knights who poked his head in.

“What is it, senior?”

“His Highness the Prince has arrived. We’re to gather in front of the main building.”

Edwin and I looked at each other at the same time.

“Somehow, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“You think so too?”

“The vice-captain said all members not in class should gather, so don’t think about running away.”

Edwin, having assessed the situation, promptly replied.

“Understood.”

Edwin raised his shoulders slightly, gesturing with his eyes that we should go to the main building as there was no choice. When we arrived at the main building, we saw members already lined up in formation.

As we discreetly joined the end of the line, Gabriel’s voice could be heard.

“What brings you here, Your Highness?”

“I heard you recently returned from a subjugation mission, Captain.”

“Yes. I led the subjugation team myself.”

“I’ve come to commend you for that achievement.”

He can act like a prince quite well, can’t he? Is he good at acting?

Even so, he was still a man who flirted with other women despite having a fiancée.

Since he showed his face at every banquet, few wouldn’t know that Enoch was the second prince, but was it shamelessness or arrogance in his own charms?

“I see.”

“But is this all the knights you have?”

At Enoch’s question, Fabian, who had been standing behind Gabriel all along, stepped forward and replied.

“We didn’t call the knights who are in classes. We believed Your Highness would understand with your great generosity, but shall we call them now?”

“No, I understand with my broad-mindedness.”

Enoch slowly examined the faces of the knights, gradually approaching the end of the line.

Why is he coming this way again? It’s making me uneasy.

As I tried to turn my gaze towards the opposite building, Enoch’s footsteps stopped. Soon, his greasy voice settled.

“You’re Lady Winters, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I remember seeing you at the banquet…”

“Did you?”

“There’s no way you wouldn’t remember this face.”

Enoch smiled, pulling at the corners of his mouth as if to say ‘think carefully’, and leaned his face in close. I looked straight into Enoch’s eyes and said firmly.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t recall clearly.”

So why don’t you just go away and stop hovering around?

The message I kept sending with my eyes seemed to not reach him at all. Enoch nodded slightly and then looked me up and down.

“Hmm, your hands look too soft for a knight.”

Just as Enoch’s hand, which had come close, was about to grab my hand, Gabriel hurriedly called out to him.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“I heard from His Majesty the Emperor that Your Highness is an outstanding talent.”

Enoch turned to look at Gabriel with a somewhat bewildered expression, narrowing his brows.

“Who? Me?”

“Is that not so?”

“I can’t say it’s entirely untrue, but…”

“Got him. He took the bait.”

Edwin, standing next to me, muttered in a low voice, and I pinched his thigh. Still, it was hard to suppress a laugh.

“How about showing that skill in front of everyone so that the White Knight Order members can learn from Your Highness?”

“How am I supposed to show my skills?”

“Since Your Highness’s skills are said to be excellent, I think it would be good to have a light duel with our White Knight Order’s best talent.”

“The best talent? Who would that be?”

“Rosebelia, step forward.”

When Gabriel called me, Enoch burst into a fake laugh.

What’s with that exaggerated gesture?

It seems like he’s pretending to be incredulous rather than actually being incredulous. Is there something wrong with my eyes?

“Are you mocking me now? Lady Winters is your best talent?”

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t underestimate based on appearances.”

As Gabriel put on a stern expression, Enoch blinked his eyes slowly.

“No, I didn’t mean to underestimate…”

“Rosebelia is indeed our Order’s best talent.”

“But, but how can I duel with a woman…”

It wasn’t my imagination. Enoch’s gaze towards me was mixed with a strange fear, different from before.

Did he hear some rumors about me somewhere?

Well, this works out well. I might be able to hit him once or twice under the pretext of a duel.

“If Your Highness is alright with it…”

“Then how about me, Your Highness?”

Just as I was about to step forward, a familiar voice was heard. It was Ian, who hadn’t been present until just now.

It was the first time I’d seen his face in two full days since that day when he left after talking about the aura.

“Klein, you want to duel?”

“Yes, Vice-Captain.”

“No. If I have to choose between the two, I’d prefer to duel with the lovely one.”

At Enoch’s nonchalant voice, Ian could be seen clenching his teeth.

“Aren’t you afraid to duel with me?”

At Ian’s words, the members stirred. Words like “What’s wrong with Klein?” and “Is he crazy?” were occasionally heard. Fabian even blinked his eyes rapidly as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

“Klein is talented enough to be selected for the subjugation list despite being a new knight. Would you like to duel with him?”

When Enoch didn’t respond to Gabriel’s question, Ian spoke again.

“It seems His Highness the Prince is afraid of me after all.”

“Why would I be afraid of you? A mere knight order member?”

“Then are you giving this mere knight order member the chance to duel with Your Highness?”

“Well, let’s have a proper match then.”

“Very well.”

As soon as Enoch gave his permission, Ian smiled broadly. The rumor that the Second Prince and Klein would have an event-like duel in the training ground spread quickly.

Before long, the training ground was crowded with members. As I quietly looked around the interior, I glanced at Ian’s back, which looked as solid as ever.

Will he be alright with so many people here?

He said he gets dizzy and his ears ring…

“By the way, was there a rumor that the Second Prince was skilled?”

“If the Captain heard it, it must be so.”

Ian and Enoch stood facing each other under Gabriel’s supervision. The chatter of the members gradually subsided.

The duel began as Gabriel, who had been standing in the middle of the two, stepped back. Enoch, grinning, could be seen gesturing as if to say ‘come and attack first’.

Seeing him so confident, does he actually have skills?

Just as I was about to clench my fingertips in nervousness without realizing it, Ian approached Enoch. Soon, two wooden swords clashed in the air.

He asked for permission to duel with wooden swords, saying he couldn’t dare to wound the Prince’s body.

So that’s why he did that?

This was closer to thrashing Enoch under the guise of a duel.

Isn’t he just toying with Enoch one-sidedly?

Taking advantage of Enoch’s inability to regain his senses, Ian struck his side hard this time.

“S-stop! I, I surrender!”

As Ian leaned forward, pretending to help Enoch up, Enoch’s face turned pale. Enoch stumbled backward and then hurriedly left the training ground.

If it weren’t for Ian, someone like that would have become the Crown Prince and Emperor?

“Rose, aren’t you going out?”

“I’m going to leave a bit later.”

When I pointed with my eyes at the crowd gathered in front of the exit, Edwin nodded in understanding.

If it had been an impressive duel, some might have stayed to fully enjoy the afterglow, but since the duel ended so poorly, everyone seemed to be rushing to leave.

After Gabriel and Fabian left the training ground as well, only Ian and I remained. Ian turned to look at me for a moment and then bowed his head slightly.

What, is he just going to greet me and leave?

“Klein.”

Ian stopped in his tracks at my call.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“There were a lot of people gathered in the training ground. I was wondering if you were alright…”

Ian flinched and turned to look at me.

“I’m fine now.”

“Are you perhaps angry with me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why…”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask why he was looking at me with those eyes.

‘Have you forgotten that I confessed to you, senior?’

‘Or do you not see me as a man?’

It was a situation where Ian could misunderstand. He might have been upset because I casually said I wanted to hug a man who had confessed to me.

“About the Second Prince. Why did he come here?”

“It seems he found out that I joined the knight order while hiding my identity. He probably came to get on my nerves.”

“That’s really mean.”

Ian’s face showed a faint smile, as if he had heard my quiet mumble.

“I…”

In the blink of an eye, his expression changed. Ian, who had completely erased his smile as if he had never smiled, locked eyes with me.

“I will become the Crown Prince.”

“Huh?”

Recalling a dream I had seen before, the conversation between Ian and Rosebelia in the original work, I involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.

There’s nothing to be nervous about. Even if Ian becomes the Crown Prince, nothing will change.

“I’m doing it to protect.”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask “Protect what?” His unwavering eyes were filled only with me.

For some reason, I couldn’t breathe properly. As my breathing kept faltering, I took shallow breaths and slowly curled my fingers.

Just as I was about to say something through my teeth, there was a sound from the entrance of the training ground.

“Rosebelia!”

It was Lucas approaching with hurried steps.

“Lucas?”

“You were here all this time?”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“They say a message just came from Chloe Castle…”

Chloe Castle, isn’t that where the ‘Abandoned Mountain’ is?

Lucas trailed off and rubbed his face. It was then that a sense of unease came over me.

“Why, what happened?”

“Our senior knights who were dispatched to the Count’s territory…”

There wasn’t just one or two seniors. As I was about to ask which one he was talking about, Lucas added with a gloomy expression.

“They lost their lives in a monster attack yesterday.”