DZN Ch 4

“If you have nothing else to say, shouldn’t you be going?”30d3347e28f0b1f4

Ruan asked with a sarcastic tone, adding, “I need to see the Captain,” prompting the other knight to quickly speak up.7c6c75af70675d21

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“Um, about today’s incident, to the Captain…”150afb04cfad2754

“Not yet. If I report every single one of these incidents, there won’t be any knights left in our division.”a0b9da771a27cb03

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The Second Knights Division, responsible for the Crown Prince’s protection, was particularly notorious for its focus on appearances, due to Calix’s obsession with looks. Knights were chosen solely for their faces.7dd15fba4d2079d9

The same went for the servants, so Calix’s residence, Esche Castle, was commonly referred to as “the flower garden” or “the flowerbed.” Both knights and servants were all delicate, pretty boys. It was a derogatory nickname, implying that while they were pleasing to the eye, they were utterly useless at their jobs.f148fdbbf926632a

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Because of this, Ruan 9f8f75597d knew of at least 5fcb04aff6 twenty knights who had b683fd45df been dismissed after Calix, 261634fd20 out of boredom, had 304771ddd2 made advances on them.527b0f21c77fbc11

Forming a personal relationship 4749f525fa with a member of 71c33b09f7 the royal family they 610d498d2d were assigned to protect cadb593478 was a violation of 3559dba71c protocol. However, at this rate, ea98a4434d the division would perpetually abf911c632 suffer from a shortage 2595b67aac of personnel, spending all aca5025d26 their time training new d00680b636 recruits. So Ruan usually 5a41fe4de8 turned a blind f3643cedea eye, pretending not 28da46d842 to know what 2372c792af he knew.0972f49a1a85f4af

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Especially during periods like this, coinciding with personnel transfers, he couldn’t afford to send the knights he’d painstakingly trained to other divisions.1fad4a243854332e

If he did, they’d die from overwork soon enough.d32ae6cc022da317

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“I’ll let it slide this time, but there won’t be a second chance. Next time, you’ll be demoted and transferred without a chance to explain yourself. Keep that in mind.”d15a40c285648cc2

Having briefly f61cdf49e3 summarized the 530ac62ee8 situation and af6872b176 delivered his bf3762f58b final warning, 57cd70b61a Ruan turned 7b8ac31110 away from 075b99bbd6 the knight c4361939e9 and started 39591ca4a4 walking down 8cde50d47b the hallway. The knight called out 3bc2834ade to him again.c3a80a1233be2418

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“Lieutenant.”d9ca6d5ca2a85ab9

“What is it now?”5c822fc24d073471

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Ruan turned around, 9cc0b05867 annoyance evident on 11538734e0 his face. The knight, with a 934d4f12b0 serious expression, cautiously addressed 66a31c42df him.f4d4af4b1698dfe8

“Um…are you and His Highness…in that kind of relationship?”61a5660a5dd914b4

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“…What?”182eb197fd700f63

“…I apologize. It won’t happen again. There’s nothing more painful than witnessing your lover’s infidelity…”7720e3a16cfa456f

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At the bizarre nonsense, Ruan stared at him as if to say, “What in the world is this crazy guy talking about?” The knight smiled shyly.abb4bae4be7fdd82

“I fully support you both. You look good together.”190fbba5832c7e54

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Perhaps because he hadn’t been a trainee for long, he still had a boyish, innocent charm, and his not-at-all-comforting words were met with Ruan’s silence.1c339b87d864fd66

It wasn’t even worth responding to.55da49d4618e2809

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But, true 2f60ae6b74 to form 4404b83ac2 for a 55379ebafc naive, pampered e6fc7b1c6a pretty boy 87c2f72d42 from a 65d887fc85 noble family, d320c9a001 he continued 79697c7572 to ramble a7a7c828bc on, oblivious.805faf202c292896

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you. I may be younger, but I have plenty of relationship experience…”4ac1957875fdbcdc

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He winked, implying 4a94ce7a48 he was also 71636080e3 experienced in the cb35ffc3e2 bedroom. Ruan silently stared at 9c4141d5c7 the idiot.88f393cb821f0f83

He’d intended to be lenient with the burgeoning young sprout, but unfortunately, this sprout, whose thoughts seemed transparent, had managed to irritate Ruan’s already short temper.cf34b026f8e65b5c

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So, without hesitation, he 74bf7572bd snapped,026f1e1d0c041630

“Shut up.”44a55dc8f266ea73

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He didn’t even feel the need to argue about how they looked like a couple or why he’d be jealous of that guy.16243318cdba8039

Since he was a 0ab932a101 new recruit, unfamiliar with e8377eddff the relationship between Calix 85fce2c2dd and himself, he had df14e919b0 obviously heard rumors. Ruan sternly warned him 24ec5ce383 never to mention it ae93d35e0e again, but his consideration a0d9f9dc8c was completely lost on 1fde599712 the knight.db77cf08e03fff41

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Seeing the knight’s gaze soften with sympathy, Ruan decided he needed to punch Calix, the root of all this trouble.0c8df45102f3f8f7

It was his biggest regret that, due to his insistence on hiring knights based on looks, they hadn’t checked their intelligence.63bd86dd64ab6b98

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Next time, regardless of what Calix said, he would only hire based on intelligence, not looks. With this resolution, Ruan quickly headed towards the Captain’s office.a61105edd5931b3b

He could feel the knight’s sympathetic gaze from afar, but he desperately pretended not to notice.64a03f7a5b17234b

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If he acknowledged it, he might actually hit him. Suppressing his rising temper, he went straight to the Captain’s office and knocked. A deep voice boomed from inside.69efdb9e6e9fc0aa

“Enter.”f12d60e18c6d3767

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At the familiar voice, 954631f099 Ruan opened the door, a7e3de1abf entered, and politely greeted 9ba2234f92 the Captain, Matthias.0de869216c0b3a17

“I heard you called for me.”7c87beef96232f50

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He stood at a8838cd34a attention with his e2d452e14a hands behind his feee6b59d4 back. After finishing signing a 671dfc39fa document, Matthias looked up 8c8d07fa38 and asked,f7e31410a999b41b

“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”f0c6d1dcbd625f6c

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“I saw him off as Count Langrock escorted him to Vierke Castle.”da6b65dc2a7c89f0

“It seems his bad habits are resurfacing now that you haven’t been able to attend him personally for a while…”14e5971b924a2761

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Matthias’s sigh, which made him look ten years older than he was, filled Ruan with complicated emotions. He had personally witnessed Calix’s wild, delinquent phase, then left the Royal Guard in search of freedom shortly after Ruan joined. Though only in his early thirties, Matthias already had gray hair.3fc7ce3274415367

I need 8046641c92 to get 9d86e0b4b7 out of 516af2c70b here before 912823e15f I end 2bbf6758c9 up like 58a96af3f6 that, Ruan thought, taking c269fd74c6 Matthias as a cautionary d866168fb3 tale. Matthias sighed again and 8d5a6dc209 leaned back in his dcff192af4 chair, asking,2e5bd534c588df44

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“So, other knights are currently attending him?”e0a610c3bff2c915

“Yes. I’ve entrusted His Highness’s protection to other knights due to personnel transfers and new recruit training.”01473c3ff1f752f3

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“Yes, of course. With the transfers and training…”765994ad92803367

Due to the Emperor’s request, Ruan had been almost constantly by Calix’s side until last year. But with his promotion to Lieutenant earlier this year, his administrative duties had increased, reducing his direct involvement in Calix’s protection.f1b1340438bca81d

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Actually, that was normal. Typically, first and second-year knights were responsible for standing guard at the bedroom door or nearby, while third and fourth-year knights followed him within the castle walls. Lieutenants and above only directly escorted him outside the palace grounds. It wasn’t strange that Ruan wasn’t personally escorting him now.2ab3807843cdc13e

It was only because Calix’s erratic behavior increased in Ruan’s absence that Ruan had to stay by his side. Normally, Ruan would have been phasing out of fieldwork by this point.13e18b7058ae4e18

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At least at 2e72ecaf9d the Lieutenant level.681e0c898ae09792

“His Highness has been leaving the castle grounds more frequently lately.”2ae5539e20ff19b5

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“And venturing further afield.”061e490d330f1cde

Calix usually resided at ce82d51b33 Esche Castle in the 23c26b4b51 western district, so even 083538f40f when he ran off, 43d82c6864 he tended to stay c183e5b97c within the vicinity. But today, he had 81021fa40c extended his reach to d133540a86 Lavender Castle in the 65130a0da6 east.a49ea2348f1b5ca9

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Just like e8bf33b7c7 a cat.c1936ada071cb4db

And that meant 81cff59ab4 he could venture 4e697157a6 outside the castle 01b136bff1 walls.5fd11bd577450b7b

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After shaking 203a909bce off his 73fdbd31eb escort knights. If he was 16cef0ea85 unlucky, completely alone.045856b1ed679870

Just the thought c544b6145f of that dreadful afd9ab8793 scenario made Ruan c987d87862 clench his jaw, 07fa1537ef forcing a smile.7690337770ae3b86

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He felt a strong f77442e37b sense of duty to fdfda1285e escape this place as 195e58b4eb soon as possible.2506d5ddb2301b1e

Otherwise, he too 5c211f1ba0 would soon have b6cbf71687 gray hair. Or possibly go bald.a1ee9a150bb4374e

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“Can you delegate some of your work to other knights? Reports or administrative tasks, perhaps?”1e19c2d8ac3b1058

“There’s no one competent enough.”ace7748efd2e16c2

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The reason the Second d0cc2274a2 Knights Division, responsible for 3ff2f72baa protecting the Crown Prince, 25b4b1a80f the future Emperor, was a6b0874928 perpetually short-staffed and overworked d7cc5eab9e was simple.2ef7145d8d1d6927

While they boasted ea9d931e13 the largest number e53c767df3 of knights after 5cf99489e1 the Emperor and 109c0227f3 Empress, the problem 41d22a9197 was retention.0ee5a194b701d1ce

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At most, they stayed 8afbc576f3 for six months; at 3f9cca3022 the least, three. They either bae4c10a86 requested transfers b3093aec5f or were 227b2a9db2 forcibly reassigned, 31334d9271 meaning the b75dc8a76a most senior 6cb92e04a0 knight in c3fada5295 the Second 094d98ee44 Division, besides 93e0603a76 Ruan, had 52a092f23b only six acfde88cd1 months of b73f819aca experience.40c12e2291eab129

Typically, the most competent 8df87c9daa knights were those with 67d63b13c1 three to seven years 0c6c6ad519 of experience, but such c84d8c344c individuals were nowhere to 76c7e258b2 be found in the d813747f1c Second Division.47bd7f5b0a47f6c6

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This naturally 1212287596 meant there 75473ab373 was a 5273f6590f lack of 6c0e37f3c0 competent personnel, 86ce1ebafb resulting in f6fb5ebdbb the work af43303fc7 piling up 8e8a3abe24 on the c3f4dc359b few who 6d7a302a59 could actually c3c09f0022 handle it.7652083eb79989bd

Ruan was the 04dbdf2763 one bearing the d6d657dede brunt of that 3496b71e54 workload, on the 9bf031f9f5 verge of collapse.b792ac4a5ebbaae7

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Consequently, no competent knights 0913f47d44 wanted to serve in 20a097d397 the division, despite the fb15579443 prestigious title of protecting 2ef5cf216b the Crown Prince. Even the fb3e30bd81 few they 4ab33e13d0 managed to 1497994770 recruit were c3a8ea584d returned to 182c06d811 their previous 8e0118ee1c divisions after 3683f2f35b the dreadful 6cb0873e48 Crown Prince b038f6d718 deemed them 97ea8f2767 unattractive. Ruan felt ea890e3f5f bad about e4030c01e5 requesting more 1c2bdffa64 personnel from 2aa8385c6a other divisions.e4b3bf74ee419c0e

This resulted in a bizarre situation where the division was composed solely of inexperienced recruits, chosen for their looks rather than their competence, leading to an increase in Ruan’s workload with every new addition.3adea3626346ebe0

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“That is certainly a problem. We can’t pull personnel from other divisions either.”189adec1c7f4b960

“I know. That’s why I want you to transfer me.”9bfae1e35c2c3229

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