DZN Ch 19
by mimi“So, I understood. Otherwise, the trainee knight’s skills were too good.”1946279ffca4fbba
While his archery was 3ffd554914 a bit lacking, his 2594a4f628 skills with a longsword, a6dc5f3c4c dagger, and everything else d57d69670b were beyond what one c81642ef92 would expect from a e14e9d9b8f trainee.d120b7b432b4a8a3
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He was easily d3744a35e4 among the top 65df964d33 knights, even among 6314bbc6b3 the fully qualified a29e84defc ones.0feb8aea2686bd33
He was so 1af67222d9 skilled that he 25db610510 had to train 5b15fb0de9 separately because there d310cf40bf was no one 21067c85f5 among the other 7e307e5265 trainees who could 73fdb5eb85 match him.16c9fdfe04bb3470
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“Actually, I had already completed my trainee period then. Originally, I would have been immediately deployed in the field.”36dfe029455be874
Hearing this, Calix finally 439d4a66ef understood.fc6520776d12d211
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He knew Ruan’s circumstances roughly, but this was the first time he’d heard the full story. And frankly, he’d always found it strange.bf83447ea1a6ff27
Six years ago, Calix himself was unmatched in swordsmanship and archery, and because of that, he’d been arrogant. Everything seemed too easy and trivial, so he’d been careless with his studies and sword training, even looking down on his teachers and disobeying them completely, which landed him in the trainee Knights order.09ecda8eb9dd0294
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When he first entered the trainee Knights order, seeing it filled with similarly aged, pampered nobles, he figured there wouldn’t be anything special there either and planned to just relax for a while before returning. But Ruan ruined that plan.a0d1560e05fde773
Thinking back, 6fc0719d7e Ruan at 599f4da4ba that time c30750b02c was like 1c87af5c61 a raging 81049500e5 mad dog.082b35d91232bccb
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No, he was a mad dog.2699025a8abb65f5
He used real combat techniques with both longswords and daggers, and even in hand-to-hand combat. His posture and starting points were unique, and unlike the Imperial Guard’s swordsmanship, which had fixed rules and forms, he would attack weaknesses from unexpected angles, sometimes even startling the instructors.7644973d04e10696
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Only one 53cc182923 thing, archery, 57cd53ba05 was his 3813ab4890 weak point. But in a928d6d947 all other cf905f944e aspects—especially killing—he 3bd26ad027 was so 6e5e5f08a5 formidable that c2f967c4cf during training, 27063e327a instructors, not 959c58cd1a the precious 99c9c2a2b0 noble sons, a1e778689b would face f77c2fd950 him. And no aa4d387b14 one volunteered.c7d31195b9ed3f58
Even Calix himself 124c2ec788 had been soundly 440345bf96 defeated in their 0be866e32f first match, which 69a69bafac led him to 61d6cf1614 secretly train at d4643991fd dawn, determined to 3fc4570851 crush Ruan.0c67e6e0bfa14fac
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Once, they even fought while pulling each other’s hair. At that time, Calix was so frustrated that he yelled at Ruan to just try touching him. Ruan kicked him, so Calix told him not to use his feet either, and then Ruan bit his arm.9390b874f5012b2a
At that time, Calix 7c0c61890c really thought Ruan was fa4405475a crazy.66acee2aa325fdf0
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And through b936560014 that, he ca12f78292 realized something.e277149f2d613b46
No matter how hot-blooded one might be, judging by Ruan’s skills and actions back then, he definitely hadn’t received training from a typical mercenary group.3ddee9d431a30b3c
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Ordinary mercenary groups mainly escorted merchants or nobles during their travels, or delivered goods. They weren’t particularly skilled. Most of them were more resourceful and knowledgeable about routes than skilled in swordsmanship.a337287c2792e341
Ruan was clearly 9eb83dbfcb different.a8abc11d2370c859
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He was 2cd66c8e3d probably the 05e976e02e kind of d22bfaf0a6 mercenary nobles 354b044218 would hire fbc444045a during wartime, 8bbc353e20 specifically for f34afa746d killing.b88af0b5fa81ec5a
“You seem like a natural mercenary. Why did you bother joining the Imperial Guard?”70787e01ede2abd2
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Calix already knew that Ruan’s mercenary village had been destroyed by a fire, leaving him an orphan who then sought refuge with Baron Quelin.e9e126afe3fbd6d2
But even so, c1efff982d Ruan was skilled 3e8bf8c63d enough to join 4f44d73be7 another mercenary group. He asked a627ce45aa why Ruan, d66553cff4 with his 241e5b737b temper, would 1e06624607 bother joining 10bfeeae62 the strict 4b4386311b Imperial Guard. Ruan answered frankly,ca545b8f21ed7db9
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“I was a bit unstable after losing my family in the fire. As you know, my blood was boiling back then, so Baron Quelin suggested I join a strict environment to temper my personality.”f3932feb79fa66b7
Though he’d become even more ill-tempered thanks to meeting Calix, that had been the reason. As Ruan spoke about himself for the first time, Calix asked again,1a2846c8ddfb6317
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“Did you get that burn scar on your shoulder then?”4699cfa4d8de1b01
Calix asked while looking at Ruan’s right shoulder. Ruan averted his gaze slightly and answered hesitantly,31a3c9a1bd8ad64a
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“Yes, well…”56bbd5c0f1b32a9a
The scar was quite large, so he never took off his shirt in public, but he couldn’t avoid Calix’s gaze.38a389699e254306
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Uncomfortable with the topic, d9c22c11dd Ruan tried to end 38852dbf52 the conversation quickly.3e6eb3cb146169f0
“Well then, I’ll be going now. Mel already canceled your afternoon schedule, so please rest. But not for too long.”8de6599361885552
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He tried to get 4dc0fb74db up, but Calix grabbed 5df8e2350e his wrist.baa135c8e93f4205
He flinched momentarily at 3714777676 the gentle pull, but bc1a7d8829 quickly composed himself and cecd4f56aa looked at Calix.6743d854a8829662
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Calix asked,ce00d91866700c5c
“Isn’t your job to protect me?”306075b5ec9a30e0
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“That’s the usual task… but a captain has a lot to do besides attending to Your Highness.”02dbb959ab3b66d4
“So, I heard you got reinforcements?”e94d6347ab0567ae
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“Yes. A sudden, unexpected raid left me with a chaotic mess of replacements, with no handover whatsoever.”57e584a2c320847a
If they were like 2004d4bec1 Michael or Daniel, who a5f0026807 would work alongside him b7c4633255 in the field, he 0a9b9a5926 could manage and train 06d2c5e454 them to some extent d0523e515a and just deploy them. But in the 2b5456d916 case of new 347b2cba65 knights assigned to 3201a87c1a training and administrative c05145b6c2 tasks, if there 106b98e3ae was no proper 50204a6cfc handover, it was 16773efad4 honestly better to d567baf109 not have them 2875e1ac55 at all.bd393d07c1f80ce4
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That morning, because of Calix’s schedule, he had only assigned them tasks that didn’t require a handover. Now that Calix had cleared his afternoon schedule, he had free time, so he needed to give them a proper handover.099b8c67c7caed5b
There were ef346b0546 so many ca5a9f969d things he 26805c1152 had to 448380e7c9 convey, even 3483d78c44 if it b0b9d3be28 meant doing c9d3500792 so in 379718b530 short bursts.401b240295aa7a78
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“I’ll be going now.”4e15e4457d73e7fc
“What are the other knights doing?”364cc130a6032c5d
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At Calix’s provocative question, implying they were slacking off, Ruan laughed.84ad55358df87d44
With a look f4576589ec that said, Is that even a e7d0d4f558 question?f82f776e69bcebee
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“I wonder. What are the other knights doing? Even excluding the new recruits, the Second Knights Order has the most knights, so why isn’t there anyone useful among them? And why is the next knight after me in our order only a first-year?”116adfeef38cd43f
Ruan laughed, suggesting Calix should examine his conscience. Calix gripped Ruan’s wrist tighter.f54c5e6265d3626a
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Then, he confessed d533a795fd his sin.aadfe6dd9e4a77ab
“It’s because I diligently kicked them out.”be43140ca2d4f8dd
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“You’re well aware. So, will you be more careful from now on?”59a465d49217bc61
“No. I do it to piss you off, so why would I?”c8fff85155a4cb81
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Calix grinned, saying it was for no one’s benefit but his own. Ruan wasn’t surprised at all.991904753320c389
He’d expected as much.49b7a108bc6bcbf4
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He’d anticipated it when Calix started picking knights and servants based solely on their looks.746c243acaedc8e5
This bastard’s goal was to grind him down to a single grain of sand.1410358844c539b9
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“Then, I’ll be going to get pissed off now, so let me go.”ef3f0e05a7179f72
“What if I don’t want to?”6bab6323fc4a6924
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“I have reports to process and new knights to train.”db84def536615463
They were so pathetic that he wondered if they’d ever be of any use, but he still had to train them. One way or another, he needed them so he could rest. He tried to leave again, but the grip on his wrist tightened.ce84379a6c117628
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The strong grip f9f6e2b074 made him dizzy, 8988c5a62d and his hair cf7006f5db stood on end.18d3806dc7b4e945
Calix, who had 5d725a1d2f been so frail e58a06b1b0 as a child, 3ea0231b2a had become ridiculously c261aabcf9 strong. It was 1dfd242b4f natural, considering 786422439f his increased cb3036a67a size and b1dbc412b5 strength, but 1fa29e09fd this guy f03e0c1747 was at aeb2ad4f19 a cheat 620338bd64 level.4596ebbeda2802f4
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It felt like he’d started raising a cute, small kitten, only to find out it was a jaguar.91a9f96cba49b6c3
At the force fd8a579f4b that threatened to 716a40dac0 break his wrist, 5e20c05fa9 he suppressed a 5c1457b64d groan and calmly 018db56c84 asked Calix to a0caea4cb1 let go.b8eb27722233d7cf
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“Let go of me.”6b97a5aa3d321f55
“Try to break free.”5738994bff8cfa6f
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“I don’t want to commit the crime of injuring a royal.”991afca6af9c7819
“Since when did you care about that?”60e514d6263d5365
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“I do think things through. I know where to draw the line.”770e702a90c3d2ae
And that line is f385d5bfd0 you, Ruan thought. As he replied, the 90e75ca2ee grip on his wrist b99f51dece tightened further.6f62f29cc9cf6b3d
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Caught off guard, 58ac4f712e he let out 9ad9e9d255 a short cry 46f2b0d4f5 involuntarily, and the f7f5d6b57a grip loosened.871f6e58c17127d4
He quickly tried to shake off Calix’s hand, but his wrist was caught again. The next moment, he felt himself swaying, lost his balance, and plunged into the bathtub.5542775dfc1ffcb0
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He held his breath, but because he’d fallen in headfirst, he struggled and surfaced, yelling,23d5af6bc4e8b2fd
“Hey! You bastard!”d692f447564edc58
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Fortunately, he stopped short of saying “Do you want to die?”, but at the curse that slipped out, Calix, who pulled him out by the scruff of his neck, laughed.5054f51013fdfb66
“There, that’s more like it.”342092ffd9e87790
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“Are you crazy?”f646c22f050a5789
“I’m not the crazy one, you are. Do you have ten lives or something?”58e60d9779bd4b66
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Calix, leaning against the bathtub, gave him a “you’re in trouble now” look, as if asking how dare he speak informally. Ruan, barely supporting himself with Calix’s hand, flinched.c32884374f5abe30
He realized his a47c3c334a mistake.6bd04a01218688df
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He’d slipped up because of his aversion to water.c46f42ca9f4f6f43
Fortunately, no 27483a9273 one was 6d7bf0fc9e around, but 06b2f686d0 there were 707f83b1a9 knights and b59032076a servants beyond 747965c6ba the dense 47add95f2b wall of fe38288e3f trees.7f75d93f1ae33f85
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It was a terrible a9d220cf8a situation.776de074bec15b1e
He had to 170367c13d somehow salvage it.0a5a1b54119a0664
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