The field was filled with the clamor of sword instructors spitting as they shouted.
"Swordsmanship is! The art of inflicting definite wounds on your opponent while avoiding injury yourself! A unity of offense and defense...!"
"Lancel!"
In the distance, Marigold kept waving her hand, demanding a response.
"Hey, how did you manage to charm a Count's daughter?"
"Charm?"
"You did charm her. She's been looking for you all day at home."
"..."
"Innocent Kyle, haven't you heard? Lancel's been secretly sending her letters."
"Is that true, brother? You sent letters? When did you do that, you bastard!"
Lancel was completely overwhelmed, with Kyle Dante and Rio Dante constantly nudging his shoulder.
"..."
"Even though our older brothers are behaving, the smallest one makes the first move? You sneaky bastard!"
Kyle was clearly irritated.
He was the type who believed he should always be faster than his younger brother.
It was hard for him to accept that Lancel had befriended a girl before him.
*Don't worry, Kyle. You'll get a fine fiancée too. From a good family... a woman from a good family.*
Just as he was thinking this...
"Ahem, that's enough theory for now."
The sword instructor who had been talking for a full hour finally ended his lengthy speech.
The children, who had been responsive at first, were starting to look bored, and it seemed the instructor had noticed it too.
"Well, since the weather is nice today, each of you will have a chance to cross swords with me."
"Ohhh!"
"When I call your name, pick up one of the wooden swords over there and come forward. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The children's eyes lit up at the prospect of crossing swords with an instructor who was a former knight.
It was an era where "knight" was the default answer when children were asked about their future dreams.
Naturally, these little ones had been playing with wooden swords as soon as they could walk.
The doting love of noble ladies often led their children to believe they had natural talent with the sword.
If nothing else, they all had the confidence of genius knights.
"Instructor! Will there be a first place?"
"First place? Hoho, first place, you say."
The sword instructor stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Then I'll call the first place winner 'First Training Knight' for a month!"
"First Training Knight!"
"Wow!"
"Wooooow!"
Wooow... I absolutely don't want that.
First Training Knight.
Just thinking about the title made Lancel cringe, but the children's reaction was explosive.
Go ahead. Enjoy yourselves.
"Sigh, not at my level."
"...?"
That wasn't from Lancel's mouth.
The voice came from right beside him.
A boy with short blond hair tied in a ponytail was resting his chin on his hand, snorting derisively.
There was something familiar about the way he watched the proceedings with a bored expression.
Lancel soon remembered.
*Kariel Roth.*
The only son of the most prestigious noble family in this remote region—the son of Count Roth.
He caught Lancel's eye for a different reason, despite being well into his childhood years.
*The captain of the Violet Knights.*
Lancel gave a bitter smile at seeing this face after so long.
This boy who had entered the Violet Knights as a trainee alongside the third son of the Dante family.
The one who had risen through the ranks to become one of the 1st Princess's closest knights.
The one Lady Dante particularly disliked.
*The fights between mothers can be scary.*
It made sense that his mother, Lady Dante, would find Countess Roth annoying—the woman who visited their mansion occasionally just to boast about her jewels, art, husband, sons, daughters, dogs, cows, horses, birds, and basically everything possible before disappearing.
"That filthy whore!"
To the point where such harsh words would slip out.
"Lancel, you're new here so you wouldn't know, but that guy is incredibly arrogant about his sword skills, so be careful. You've heard Mother curse about him sometimes, right?"
"Kyle. Quiet."
"Why? Big brother Rio thinks the same, right? That he's annoying."
"..."
"See!"
The same knightly family.
The same provincial origins.
Yet with overwhelmingly greater prestige.
Essentially a perfect upgrade from the Dante family.
That was what Lancel remembered of the House of Count Roth.
Being from a higher-ranking family, they had to humor them to their faces.
But Lady Dante seemed to harbor a rivalry, muttering "flatten that Kariel Roth brat's nose!" whenever she had a few drinks. The memory still echoed in his ears.
Of course, no one but Lancel in his prime had ever been able to do that.
That's how naturally gifted with the sword the Roth family's son was.
*Didn't they say he handled a sword like an extension of his body by age five?*
Lancel narrowed his eyes as he observed the boy.
From his impeccably neat attire to his flawless skin, even the way he adjusted his hair using the silver mirror pinned to his front.
Up close, Kariel at this age looked more like a model student than a knight.
"Why do you keep staring?"
Their eyes met in the mirror.
Kariel glanced sideways.
"Hello."
When Lancel greeted him with a smile, the response was unexpected.
"Our family ranks higher than yours, right?"
"...?"
Caught off guard by this sudden establishment of hierarchy, Lancel was momentarily stunned. Marigold, who was standing next to him watching, was equally surprised.
"He seems like a scary kid."
"He does."
"Lancel wouldn't get angry like that, right?"
"...I'm not sure..."
"I think Lancel would be scary if he got angry."
"Not quite that bad."
"Our family ranks higher than yours, right?"
*....*
Lancel mulled over what he'd just heard. It took him a while to understand what had just happened to him.
*This brat, was he this ill-mannered from the beginning?*
Thwack!
"Ouch!"
A clear sound rang out.
It was the sound of the sword instructor's wooden sword striking the forehead of the first child to spar with him.
"Owww!"
"Hahaha!"
The instructor laughed heartily.
"Your sword grip looks decent, but your arms are too shaky. With movements like that, you'll never hit a moving target. Always remember this!"
"...So what place am I?"
"I'll give you about 8th place."
"8th... 8th? Hmm."
The child rubbed the bump on his head, seemingly unsure about his ranking, and returned to his place.
"Next."
Lancel's eyes met the instructor's.
But almost immediately, the instructor's gaze shifted to Kariel standing right beside him.
"Kariel Roth. Take a wooden sword and step forward."
The chattering children suddenly fell silent.
Kariel, seemingly accustomed to such reactions, calmly walked forward.
"I'll use this one."
From the various wooden swords, Kariel chose a light, straight one.
As soon as Lancel saw him test the sword with a couple of swings, his eyes gleamed with interest.
*Oh.*
Most children preferred long, heavy, two-handed swords.
Why?
Simply because they looked cool.
But Kariel not only chose a one-handed sword like those carried by court knights for ceremonial purposes...
With just a few swings, he perfectly aligned the center of gravity between his body and the wooden sword.
At just eight years old, he had already reached the stage of truly understanding how to handle a sword.
*As expected of the future captain of the knights.*
By current standards, he was far beyond Lancel...
"Is Lancel stronger?"
"...?"
Lancel looked at Marigold, who had somehow moved right next to him.
"You're stronger than him, right?"
"Well, I don't know yet since we haven't fought..."
"If Lancel gets first place, I'll give you a present."
"A present?"
Rio Dante and Kyle Dante perked up their ears at Marigold's words.
"Yes. A special present."
"What kind of present?"
"It's a secret! It wouldn't be fun if you knew already."
It's probably just honey candy anyway.
Lancel didn't have high expectations. After all, it was Marigold.
"Lucky bastard. I want a present too..."
Only Kyle Dante's envious gaze pierced through.
"Lucky bastard... lucky bastard...!"
You'll get one from your future fiancée.
"Bow to each other. Raise your swords. Ready."
At the front, the sword instructor and Kariel faced each other.
An assistant instructor raised his arm from a distance.
"Begin!"
Neither moved first.
Kariel stood with his body turned sideways, sword extended—a defensive posture that minimized his exposed area while deterring a charge.
The sword instructor dragged his wooden sword along the ground, observing the boy's movements.
"Don't be afraid. Come at me with everything you've got."
In the end, Kariel was the one who lost patience.
As if there was no reason not to attack when his opponent had left himself so open, he kicked off the grass hard.
His footwork was noticeably sharp as he leaped forward more than two steps.
But in the end, a child is still a child.
The sword instructor easily twisted his body to avoid the path of the sword.
"Good attempt!"
With just a flick of his wrist, the instructor brought his wooden sword down toward Kariel's head.
For an ordinary child, this would have been the moment to see stars without even knowing what hit them.
But Kariel's footwork suddenly changed into a zigzag pattern.
The instructor's extended wooden sword barely grazed the boy's collar as it missed.
*He dodged by instinct.*
He anticipated the sword coming from an unseen direction and changed his body's movement?
Natural talent.
Whoosh!
That wasn't the end.
Kariel smoothly shifted the direction of his thrust from the instructor's solar plexus down to his groin. Yes, between the legs.
*Ouch, that spot...*
Even if it was just a training sword, it would still hurt quite a bit if it hit.
After all, it had metal reinforcement inside for balance.
Even a grown adult would feel the impact if hit "there."
"Whoa!"
Unlike before, the instructor dodged with a movement that lacked composure.
Though he was a retired knight, he wasn't rusty enough to let a child's attack hit him.
The problem came next.
Whoosh!
Perhaps because the counterattack was so sharp it was hard to believe it came from a child.
The sword instructor seemed to momentarily forget that he was facing a child.
Woong!
The attack that had been holding back suddenly gained power.
The sound of air being torn apart by the blade rang out fiercely.
"Hup!"
The instructor cried out in shock, but it was too late.
The descending wooden sword was about to literally smash Kariel's head.
"Ah..."
He can't dodge it.
Kariel's face darkened in an instant as he sensed the impending pain.
Thwack!
The sword instructor was startled by the crisp sound that rang out.
A solid impact traveled up his shoulder, making his arm tingle.
This kind of force would at least fracture or dent a child's skull.
In worse cases...
*I'm doomed!*
But he soon realized.
Kariel, who had fallen to his knees, showed no signs of injury.
"...?"
Even Kariel himself seemed puzzled as he rubbed his unharmed head.
"Huh."
The next moment, the sword instructor's eyes widened as he discovered something.
A wooden sword protruding beside him.
A wooden sword that had slightly deflected his own as it was about to smash Kariel's head.
He thought it might be the assistant instructor, but it wasn't.
"You...!"
It was a child.
With a posture that suggested he had braced the wooden sword against his shoulder to withstand an adult's strength, he had perfectly redirected the instructor's wooden sword.
The instructor looked at him as if bewitched.
*Lancel Dante.*
Before feeling relief at not having cracked the precious young master's skull, questions arose.
*How?*
It wouldn't be surprising for a child to block an adult's sword.
The Empire was full of naturally talented swordsmen, and those called geniuses among them could be better than most adults.
But this case was different.
To understand the impact point, direction, power, and speed of a sword already in motion, and then block it? From a child who had been sitting and watching?
This would be difficult even for an apprentice knight who had trained extensively.
No, if asked whether he himself could have done it, the sword instructor wouldn't have had the courage to give a definite answer.
"Ah, I apologize for interrupting the match. I'll go back to watching..."
"I could have dodged it!"
Kariel shouted at Lancel, his face turning bright red.
"I could have dodged it!"
"Who said you couldn't?"
"You...!"
Watching the two bicker, the sword instructor quietly stroked his chin.
Was it luck?
Or was it intentional?
"Ahem."
The sword instructor wanted to find out.
"Why are you going back, Lancel?"
"Pardon?"
"Since you've come this far, get ready. You're next."
"Ah."
"Stop, please."
The carriage cutting across the field came to an abrupt halt.
The mounted knights simultaneously stopped in their tracks.
"Your Highness, is there something you need...?"
"It's nothing. I just noticed there are children learning swordsmanship even in this countryside."
The knights looked toward the distant field. They could see a sword training session in progress.
"Even in the provinces, this is known as the land of knights. The territories of old families like Count Roth and Viscount Dante are nearby. There must be many noble children learning the sword."
"Is that so?"
A young girl's voice came from beyond the carriage.
"May I watch for a moment before we continue?"
"Then I'll go ask for their permission."
"No need. I don't think they'd appreciate that. Let's just observe briefly and then move on."
"As you wish, Your Highness."
The purple awning of the carriage was pulled back.
A girl with her eyes covered by pure white lace slightly poked her head out the window.
"This is good land."
Her blue hair fluttered gently in the breeze as she rested her chin on her hand.
A soft smile lingered on her lips.
"Peaceful, quiet, warm. Just looking at it brings peace to my heart."
The cloaks of the mounted knights fluttered.
Under the clouds of early summer in July, along the ridge of the hill.
Centered around the carriage, stretching from one end of the road to the other.
The violet cloaks worn by a hundred mounted knights.
"...I hope this scene remains eternal..."