“Everyone, move to your positions.”
Joint training had become a tradition after Commander Denver took office, and this time the visiting knight order was Bissel.
The same order my cousin, Mars Artiella, belonged to.
‘Around now, Mars should be glaring at me from somewhere…’
Thinking of his usual behavior, I unconsciously looked toward the Bissel side.
And sure enough, our eyes met—Mars had been staring right at me.
“……”
The strange part was that the moment our eyes met, Mars abruptly turned his head away.
His expression even showed tension, as if he had just remembered something frightening.
Normally, he would’ve been muttering insults under his breath while glaring at me.
‘What’s going on?’
Not that I was particularly curious. Something must’ve happened, I guessed.
‘I still have to write him that recommendation letter.’
That had been the promise I made to my uncle in exchange for having the authority over my own marriage proposal.
“Looking forward to working with you today.”
Junik, the commander of the Bissel Knight Order, approached and greeted the knights of Erne.
The knights returned his greeting with proper courtesy.
On the opposite side, I could see Commander Denver greeting the Bissel knights as well.
Soon, the training began.
The first exercise was a swordsmanship duel.
Each order would send out five knights, fighting one-on-one for five rounds.
In the first match, a newly recruited member from this year stepped forward, and from the other side came a knight who looked to be of junior rank.
Clang!
Their swords collided.
‘His blade is quick, but his swing radius is too wide. I’ll need to correct that.’
Since the rookie belonged to the Golden Lion division, I watched him while thinking about how to give feedback.
Two matches passed like that.
‘Next is Cassium’s deputy.’
A knight with short ash-gray hair stepped forward, looking extremely tense.
Milia Aswid—one of Cassium’s deputies from the Black Panther division.
‘That ugly rabbit!’
She was also the knight who had called our golden rabbit ugly.
‘It’s so cute, though.’
Without realizing it, I began watching the duel with a cold gaze.
At the sound of the signal, the two knights clashed.
Milia moved quickly, never giving her opponent a chance to thrust in.
Her opponent kept missing his strikes, and in those moments, Milia would slip behind him.
‘Getting your back exposed means losing the advantage in a duel.’
Her swordsmanship was flawless.
I didn’t want to admit it after she insulted the golden rabbit, but she truly deserved to be chosen as Cassium’s deputy.
The fourth match passed as well.
In that one, a Bissel knight stood out.
His name was Gale, and he showed great potential.
‘He’s good enough to join the Imperial Knights if he applied.’
If I hadn’t already promised to write a recommendation letter for Mars, I might’ve wanted to recommend that knight instead.
And then came the final duel.
From Erne’s side, a blond man stepped forward with light, easy steps.
‘Oh right, Senior Yanis said he’d be sparring too.’
Yanis Crusell.
He was the division leader of the White Fox unit within the Erne Knight Order.
And back at the academy, he had been two years my senior.
‘Thinking about it now, that incident was pretty ridiculous.’
As I watched Yanis casually extend his sword forward, I recalled my academy days.
The Imperial Swordsmanship Academy, Veldegium.
In a small plaza in front of the academic building, now dyed red by the evening sunset, five people were sitting together.
Me and Cassium, now second-years.
Ilad, a senior.
Asha, a junior.
And Yanis, a graduating senior.
We were taking a short break during a tactical meeting for an upcoming competition assignment.
“Hm.”
Yanis let out a thoughtful hum and smiled as he looked back and forth between me and Cassium.
“I want to be the one who throws flowers.”
Then he suddenly said something completely out of nowhere.
No one understood what he meant, so silence fell.
“What do you mean?”
I broke the silence and asked.
Yanis smiled even wider.
“At your wedding.”
“Wedding? Whose?”
When I asked, Yanis pointed at me and Cassium in turn.
“Me? Him? Which one are you talking about?”
“Both.”
“…?”
Cassium, who had been sitting quietly with his arms crossed, uncrossed them.
Then he spoke to Yanis in a dry voice.
“That’s enough, senior.”
“Why?”
Yanis grinned even more and playfully poked Cassium.
Since I still hadn’t gotten a proper answer, I pressed him again.
“I asked whose wedding.”
“I told you—both of you. You and Cassium, getting married to each other.”
Only then did I fully understand what he meant, and my expression immediately hardened.
I had no idea what kind of reasoning led him to that conclusion.
“Say something that actually makes sense.”
My voice and gaze were filled with disdain as I looked at Yanis.
Ilad and Asha, who were sitting with us, held their breath and glanced around nervously.
“Just wait a few years. You’ll be treating me to a meal, saying I was right.”
“How do you even come up with something like that?”
“Now listen, Rize—”
At that moment, Cassium let out a long sigh and stood up.
Then he grabbed Yanis by the arm, who was just about to start explaining, and pulled him up as well.
“That’s enough, senior.”
His eyes had turned cold.
It looked like if Yanis said one more word, Cassium might flip him over regardless of rank.
Yanis smiled mysteriously, then nodded.
After whispering something into Cassium’s ear, he left.
Cassium also left immediately afterward.
“……”
Asha and Ilad’s eyes shook in shock.
Faced with the empty silence, I spoke.
“Let’s continue the meeting next time.”
Then I stood up as well.
‘How many years has it been since then?’
As I recalled that moment, I watched the duel with a bored expression.
Back then, I had once again realized just how much Cassium disliked me.
I had at least stayed, but he had stormed off.
Even now, whenever Yanis saw the two of us, he would still sigh in disappointment.
‘You two shouldn’t be like this.’
That’s what he always said.
I refocused on the present duel.
Yanis lightly tapped his opponent’s shoulder with the hilt of his sword.
He had sharp reflexes and was quick to read his opponent’s intentions.
Once again, he easily outmaneuvered his opponent and extended a hand with a relaxed smile.
‘By the way, what did Yanis say to Cassium back then?’
He had whispered something, but I still didn’t know what it was.
‘I should ask Cassium when I see him.’
But when exactly is he coming?
‘Even when something this important is being discussed…’
Suddenly, I felt a bit annoyed.
‘Does he just not care whether there’s a marriage proposal or not?’
Being disliked is one thing—but being completely ignored feels worse.
“Rize, you look determined.”
“Commander?”
At that moment, Commander Denver’s voice came from behind me.
“You look like you’re about to crush something with that fist.”
I hadn’t even realized I was clenching my fist so tightly.
“It’s your turn next. Are you ready?”
“Of course.”
With the duels finished, it was time for the next event—the team match.
The team match consisted of five knights from each order.
Starting from opposite ends of a forest, the goal was to reach the enemy camp within one hour and plant your sword into their “treasure” first to win.
It was a mission that required both offense and defense, making it ideal for evaluating each order’s tactics and adaptability.
‘I’m in the attack position.’
My role was to break through the forest and strike at the enemy camp.
On Erne’s side, I would take that role along with Hedel of the Black Panther division.
The defense team consisted of Dejerus from the Golden Lion, Astel from the White Fox, and Benu.
‘On Bissel’s side, defense is handled by Sir Rive, Sir Polus, and Sir Jude. Attack is Sir Ellis, and…’
My eyes met Mars’s again.
‘Mars is on attack too.’
He had been staring at me—but the moment our eyes met, he quickly turned his head away again.
