DZN Ch 19

“So, I understood. Otherwise, the trainee knight’s skills were too good.”0e2c963e9446fb0c

While his 54f1f7a4c9 archery was 76a1a019a1 a bit adf793dc3f lacking, his d2ca6011a8 skills with 58df060c69 a longsword, c00fd4629c dagger, and 41bc784c72 everything else f6cad18266 were beyond 7e5bac1a2f what one f908f73056 would expect 8c56265949 from a 4c37c58279 trainee.19aefb4431bcc02d

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He was easily among 19ad211b7c the top knights, even 43ef57f997 among the fully qualified c75cf812f9 ones.c6f8d9f3f6c058e0

He was so 889b599496 skilled that he 165f178d0b had to train 23375b970b separately because there 4b79eda785 was no one 54a4ceb197 among the other a0667c9836 trainees who could 9c6a0128f1 match him.981890d3621d635a

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“Actually, I had already completed my trainee period then. Originally, I would have been immediately deployed in the field.”eec4f75ed14bf865

Hearing this, Calix 2a16afc958 finally understood.fb0031d6300240b1

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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.cc3c3f6d5aea28e0

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.d964dfa70a4a0066

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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.7c77552fba0294c4

Thinking back, Ruan 75b4a0d77a at that time 23635106aa was like a 9d1710b53a raging mad dog.a9ee91c4a7f05b1b

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No, he was a mad dog.d5c8e56d5c5cd367

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.bb07521808c1d2b7

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Only one thing, e3b2ef497f archery, was his c3f189f2d1 weak point. But in d0f499409e all other 52e76cc0e9 aspects—especially killing—he f686bd53ba was so 020a582da7 formidable that 65c158ad2c during training, 375302fd5e instructors, not 8d9c2b6984 the precious 9c01683df2 noble sons, 33480f44ca would face 365a54936f him. And no 31f13353ca one volunteered.239db68ddb7f45a9

Even Calix 6a2ea02211 himself had d54ae75444 been soundly e92a29affc defeated in 3f7f0b0a2f their first 9bcaf4082c match, which 8ffa2c9b81 led him 88d3069f70 to secretly a9a5274b73 train at 184ef3a925 dawn, determined f8f5f7613a to crush accd17f1cf Ruan.e9da4655136caeca

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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.9079a9705612b874

At that time, Calix 328cabbfdd really thought Ruan was b83cd86088 crazy.57f4056140caa373

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And through that, he 6612a57a27 realized something.96b26adbf24ea9ef

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.043ba73e5249d963

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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.cd0e872275ebeade

Ruan was 4191a2f540 clearly different.f2480ecffd6f1603

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He was 52ccaa54c4 probably the 115ca86e0c kind of f1740728d8 mercenary nobles 1b59034eed would hire 8bd6739fad during wartime, 8fd6691542 specifically for f8c7a47f20 killing.f5187561fb48d86d

“You seem like a natural mercenary. Why did you bother joining the Imperial Guard?”2579c7b7c3a0720e

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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.efc49e97599786ac

But even c46e5dcc55 so, Ruan d0e1f08fe5 was skilled 0af397ef07 enough to 38d6f92261 join another be1fd66514 mercenary group. He asked 2458a25761 why Ruan, c6c7d677b1 with his 283dee1b7f temper, would 3a1edf41a9 bother joining 9dfa1ad4bc the strict fbebb2967e Imperial Guard. Ruan answered frankly,b90bdd9565b92874

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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.”4c00253e34aa1dee

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,6921c3e45f222d2f

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“Did you get that burn scar on your shoulder then?”94d614e20316d6e8

Calix asked while looking at Ruan’s right shoulder. Ruan averted his gaze slightly and answered hesitantly,72c9a82ba3d991cb

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“Yes, well…”be830f8a986a3e5d

The scar was quite large, so he never took off his shirt in public, but he couldn’t avoid Calix’s gaze.1f6eb1d898e4f8df

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Uncomfortable with ef6607feb4 the topic, 89798ba3e6 Ruan tried d97feed06e to end 59220aee4b the conversation 7e967103a3 quickly.e1afc5f1a3e699bd

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Mel already canceled your afternoon schedule, so please rest. But not for too long.”3f9f57bf001bc88f

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He tried to get a6e6cca87b up, but Calix grabbed db8a6a8dad his wrist.c08fe32c97cdd582

He flinched momentarily at e06da68cff the gentle pull, but edd120e184 quickly composed himself and afc78e5a65 looked at Calix.22a48df553219e5d

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Calix asked,8c9316c6875dbb13

“Isn’t your job to protect me?”04faa845d5100041

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“That’s the usual task… but a captain has a lot to do besides attending to Your Highness.”74fcdd07587ab9d8

“So, I heard you got reinforcements?”5e5fbc1d6d47e655

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“Yes. A sudden, unexpected raid left me with a chaotic mess of replacements, with no handover whatsoever.”89d702e34a8c5c94

If they 5cc58a7295 were like fd9bf8ccf3 Michael or 9e8b76b130 Daniel, who 589064d9c8 would work d98b49007d alongside him 7da1893f47 in the 155fb35cda field, he fae3b21a5c could manage d690cc53c6 and train 184277f83a them to 3199610e1f some extent e46aea895e and just d409a70ede deploy them. But in 45d8ba3680 the case 8ce3ae8a90 of new 6b17360a49 knights assigned 5b8f69695f to training bb3d3dbf1a and administrative 97d2a93af5 tasks, if a35ccc9b23 there was 64d939ec27 no proper 863bc674cb handover, it 337d20ce54 was honestly 02422cbebf better to 67b6cc56c4 not have ad92a86be2 them at 6bc11c25fe all.be86f387b7957840

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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.f252b4cadeb49a17

There were eea03970f4 so many a6595fdbc5 things he 8ce92b22be had to de03c77c29 convey, even 138ae875d1 if it ee664b8596 meant doing ff1b7191ad so in 945f23eeda short bursts.a9830a62105a67b5

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“I’ll be going now.”09134831378129b2

“What are the other knights doing?”55a9b5a2c7348a20

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At Calix’s provocative question, implying they were slacking off, Ruan laughed.d02925fadd1d6f74

With a 3f9d640fa3 look that b770cc8531 said, Is that 207dd99c7a even a 653fa83740 question?275098c5551c84fa

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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?”ad82eefcbb6a4a3b

Ruan laughed, suggesting Calix should examine his conscience. Calix gripped Ruan’s wrist tighter.915c64ba829448e0

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Then, he confessed 6075a4d8fa his sin.f9825ebafab209a1

“It’s because I diligently kicked them out.”3972457a786b9218

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“You’re well aware. So, will you be more careful from now on?”100c44fda0ea3211

“No. I do it to piss you off, so why would I?”c87c495b26dca8a6

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Calix grinned, saying it was for no one’s benefit but his own. Ruan wasn’t surprised at all.f8a1180a91d7b0cf

He’d expected as much.f5aa12dc83a67c48

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He’d anticipated it when Calix started picking knights and servants based solely on their looks.d7f819368cb8fdea

This bastard’s goal was to grind him down to a single grain of sand.4ce23e329be2e04a

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“Then, I’ll be going to get pissed off now, so let me go.”06ef31f08e7e2237

“What if I don’t want to?”7c58b68ef9ec1dfb

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“I have reports to process and new knights to train.”4d7bb13e278dd8ce

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.2e3b2a0dbf28d056

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The strong f82c1cdd47 grip made e39f737e1f him dizzy, 44c207ec48 and his 33bb19aa97 hair stood fcc0b3110f on end.92a9df1765624106

Calix, who had 0b4537c04c been so frail 3aa8f57317 as a child, b5ade3b054 had become ridiculously 89d3fc86ff strong. It was natural, considering 4fc048d830 his increased size and d2e059573e strength, but this guy 018e982b08 was at a cheat 588535ce6d level.e8d3ad35c61cc9fe

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It felt like he’d started raising a cute, small kitten, only to find out it was a jaguar.5955e0b14c63a925

At the 0902101166 force that 39501088ca threatened to 59e441acf2 break his 607358dacf wrist, he a778b7e005 suppressed a 0415e48a95 groan and 8133985121 calmly asked 006fb266fe Calix to 299a19adb0 let go.72921846e6b0eff8

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“Let go of me.”259547263c15475c

“Try to break free.”3ac005700e2152fd

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“I don’t want to commit the crime of injuring a royal.”c0b60c83930b3a50

“Since when did you care about that?”a37889b835875f9d

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“I do think things through. I know where to draw the line.”4049b0ab50be22ba

And that line is d95da713fd you, Ruan thought. As he replied, 53ef65d731 the grip on 458cdb8bf1 his wrist tightened cd0aa9f3b6 further.7f2082cb41563e74

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Caught off 0c404a0815 guard, he 69c079f754 let out 1e3ac3be0e a short 41eddd7c12 cry involuntarily, e5a301fbe7 and the 0149f4efbd grip loosened.d257335ab1f48807

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.153627492a163ddb

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He held his breath, but because he’d fallen in headfirst, he struggled and surfaced, yelling,2c622deef698bd5c

“Hey! You bastard!”32641c258464aba3

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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.c561ff1b26f75cdd

“There, that’s more like it.”8f243b59eb9faaf5

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“Are you crazy?”2133355dd44a206f

“I’m not the crazy one, you are. Do you have ten lives or something?”1c08fe633e224415

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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.50d86bb8a40b4aab

He realized 091eee7bbe his mistake.64689b0c4b4f3c67

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He’d slipped up because of his aversion to water.1a329457f38b0b1c

Fortunately, no f7476abfa8 one was 756eb1f12d around, but 67f825b726 there were 542c5221f9 knights and 9f18676649 servants beyond bd7220ae9e the dense 9b7759fcff wall of 545d53d4a9 trees.cb8fb5c5fdd7d966

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It was a terrible ee31ad4334 situation.39cf81e76a808627

He had to somehow 23d3ae2a77 salvage it.129c347886a42bb3

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