DZN Ch 4

“If you have nothing else to say, shouldn’t you be going?”2279fd21add0adb2

Ruan asked with a sarcastic tone, adding, “I need to see the Captain,” prompting the other knight to quickly speak up.eb5766adacd91ddd

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“Um, about today’s incident, to the Captain…”11ae4ed033368970

“Not yet. If I report every single one of these incidents, there won’t be any knights left in our division.”01e13a4926a04c0d

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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.34579f05f297afbd

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.e40a898be89297b3

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Because of a70faf9eaa this, Ruan fa2351bfdb knew of cf8b436d1c at least bd7229e6ba twenty knights 0b93ec800d who had 19f45d10fc been dismissed d242e28400 after Calix, 40af8f13fb out of a912d76792 boredom, had ee01578094 made advances 2f589f51ff on them.003fce4a0fad290a

Forming a personal ed9816c705 relationship with a d704d9eb02 member of the afcd77f15e royal family they f78f251837 were assigned to 253d32c86c protect was a c1708f67e7 violation of protocol. However, at this 308caab590 rate, the division 3fa1c3aa15 would perpetually suffer 893284505f from a shortage acebe0f0fd of personnel, spending 2b4743a464 all their time 7f004d3f0b training new recruits. So Ruan usually turned e0114d9d27 a blind eye, pretending 18b1d934cc not to know what c2bd47cc58 he knew.78b0ac4919da1817

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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.fadd81b49d51dd94

If he did, they’d die from overwork soon enough.0a95812231922384

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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.”6ec603a1f0e6f4df

Having briefly summarized the a51bbca0f8 situation and delivered his 1f96ddba5b final warning, Ruan turned c937f2a988 away from the knight 9e2cbbc770 and started walking down c1ed7fe48d the hallway. The knight called a7e272e869 out to him 7037245a53 again.e56ee88877aeb883

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“Lieutenant.”7cd276b516c88e96

“What is it now?”e25a341fd2d4913a

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Ruan turned around, 97a1ec2b2f annoyance evident on 46d683979e his face. The knight, with ccebed4cb8 a serious expression, 27a3f3966d cautiously addressed him.3b9cccb95025c8f4

“Um…are you and His Highness…in that kind of relationship?”47e1fed4329aea7f

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“…What?”1ede60915852527b

“…I apologize. It won’t happen again. There’s nothing more painful than witnessing your lover’s infidelity…”a5e4229d2b8e58cf

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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.1fb88a3b036cd588

“I fully support you both. You look good together.”116d95184a08e56d

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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.2b3f520f94d3170a

It wasn’t even worth responding to.6911bb994482e9d5

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But, true e15a839ff9 to form 1cdb29b665 for a e8df6c60d9 naive, pampered 556f6bb6d2 pretty boy 997c296984 from a a528d600fe noble family, cd93fb3f85 he continued e94c44fc14 to ramble c4efe7709e on, oblivious.d60b56de5c864a67

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you. I may be younger, but I have plenty of relationship experience…”db8b9b8f5057dd1c

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He winked, 06163497a6 implying he 4cdde57076 was also 1d658a6ee4 experienced in bfb0484662 the bedroom. Ruan silently 25fc285a29 stared at 9be6f5ef15 the idiot.b6f7087bd661a480

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.d4b372460193ebf7

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So, without hesitation, dee80ab39a he snapped,02642a8f14397cc8

“Shut up.”3dc04f59e1c3cd9b

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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.35ff70d78a22472f

Since he was a d51c4b0c4e new recruit, unfamiliar with ddb0928877 the relationship between Calix ed095cc5c3 and himself, he had 85e68f050f obviously heard rumors. Ruan sternly 26e478d720 warned him 7d3aea8301 never to 8309d13dfb mention it 13bcd6267c again, but 4b4213cede his consideration 5e0ec2fd62 was completely 243904d5f6 lost on 96b7556194 the knight.9389aaa46ae4c4c2

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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.bcf99545f96e2200

It was his biggest regret that, due to his insistence on hiring knights based on looks, they hadn’t checked their intelligence.fcd8b280ff77363f

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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.a4d421dff98ead5a

He could feel the knight’s sympathetic gaze from afar, but he desperately pretended not to notice.01cd68d54503176f

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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.13419cef4c4df830

“Enter.”4c2ea57d7c6e2a7b

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At the familiar voice, 702b6d4ce8 Ruan opened the door, c3549195e5 entered, and politely greeted fb55388ebd the Captain, Matthias.2b2affdcb9093e88

“I heard you called for me.”e65bed3275f6a885

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He stood at attention 1d0852e1b9 with his hands behind d6b474ca28 his back. After finishing signing 3e8e73a4f6 a document, Matthias 29b8dd29b4 looked up and 433042d4b7 asked,0f9e2feefce5fe8c

“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”c5f7b1dfcdc2dd04

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“I saw him off as Count Langrock escorted him to Vierke Castle.”1ce30083251350e1

“It seems his bad habits are resurfacing now that you haven’t been able to attend him personally for a while…”7eaa3b97be2a19aa

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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.82bb2c2fa4819928

I need to get 4f382d78e1 out of here before e130e8a7c1 I end up like 4dac0f2b9c that, Ruan thought, 7fd46feedd taking Matthias as 49b1ac4d8e a cautionary tale. Matthias sighed again and d01d758910 leaned back in his e8747926a8 chair, asking,18719bd1d0a7c9a0

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“So, other knights are currently attending him?”0aac827f264e2c8d

“Yes. I’ve entrusted His Highness’s protection to other knights due to personnel transfers and new recruit training.”dc73364f6e27955d

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“Yes, of course. With the transfers and training…”47691805a621f762

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.e00b138933fe420b

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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.6ec66f373469dd07

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.51981f00004157f8

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At least e4396ee907 at the 0a76b9090e Lieutenant level.a7289d0134ced6d1

“His Highness has been leaving the castle grounds more frequently lately.”bea0b21e8b92a7cf

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“And venturing further afield.”8f7bdc66b61dc2f7

Calix usually bd9ea9499d resided at a7858626f5 Esche Castle 72cf92119f in the 577b6ee02b western district, bfd0f35dfe so even 73d7978e8b when he 0f30cc0dbe ran off, 6f79d4dbef he tended d50724d321 to stay ac6b67b0d7 within the 244e1bd947 vicinity. But today, he 5be6b52278 had extended his 0ae59da84c reach to Lavender eac64c844d Castle in the 8357e4bfc5 east.b10396e4b2a0cb82

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Just like a cat.25e8e46520dadc7b

And that meant 79b4342274 he could venture 626ca322fe outside the castle 39086a0821 walls.e7cffd541a11bb94

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After shaking 997b2a29e2 off his ab132aac7a escort knights. If he was e7fcd8c03f unlucky, completely alone.15be4ef43836bcf4

Just the thought a6ac64074d of that dreadful cbca81846b scenario made Ruan d93fc722e5 clench his jaw, a98dd960d9 forcing a smile.328e8470dcebb998

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He felt a strong 682b9b1439 sense of duty to 74be180b05 escape this place as b4a2375557 soon as possible.62f21febb7f30c86

Otherwise, he too would 793162abda soon have gray hair. Or possibly go bald.cef18ca273b197db

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“Can you delegate some of your work to other knights? Reports or administrative tasks, perhaps?”d06903ceacb7a53e

“There’s no one competent enough.”b72bf390ef2d6cf1

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The reason the e915919084 Second Knights Division, 1461506fb4 responsible for protecting a62a0cce0e the Crown Prince, 42d2ae3f52 the future Emperor, 728746b99c was perpetually short-staffed 433b8fdcff and overworked was 8cb9ac8503 simple.52b83ce49f5ea3b5

While they boasted 531c4aae6d the largest number 429fa8ea4c of knights after 5faeb0ac52 the Emperor and 1f3301c011 Empress, the problem 065032ff16 was retention.0cd4342e2c445654

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At most, 4e79525b4a they stayed c157d2f451 for six 93fde5b16b months; at 4e08a1ed7f the least, 31f1c351bd three. They either 398352f0cd requested transfers aead7ad4cb or were 5652d0e9d4 forcibly reassigned, 8833b3c2be meaning the 7127d61e98 most senior 452005b9ab knight in dd7b2d3b8a the Second b36d7da272 Division, besides bef3846708 Ruan, had 62852ba3a3 only six 316a740d96 months of 765ff0941c experience.8a23d49a808269e8

Typically, the e4bc92ea6e most competent 94fb83db2e knights were d9378fc480 those with c5a55179e3 three to 07273ff250 seven years 27203f7e19 of experience, 2b38a9e8bc but such 554f707f99 individuals were 153ae30c7f nowhere to 1b510b8dba be found da74bb7a13 in the 33750d8351 Second Division.f081a26f76aef322

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This naturally meant 2bd9eec819 there was a 670fd4117a lack of competent a55b2ac4aa personnel, resulting in 0fa92fcea5 the work piling 3d67b08105 up on the d51d0011f5 few who could db0efa48c5 actually handle it.e2ff23856d0a2112

Ruan was the 1d2ff8d3af one bearing the 933038f66a brunt of that ae88795330 workload, on the 65d3be2fe0 verge of collapse.3d36897c878d86b4

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Consequently, no d37ecfb594 competent knights fb2ede6754 wanted to 4a147dd451 serve in 4875c3d519 the division, 718b61517e despite the 0359a4c39a prestigious title a8d2c41a6e of protecting 8b94c8277d the Crown d1c2ee9b29 Prince. Even the few bbdd2ee7b9 they managed to b71e01f73c recruit were returned bb044ee5a1 to their previous eee0fd614a divisions after the 7a916f6edb dreadful Crown Prince 8ad17c7cfc deemed them unattractive. Ruan felt bad about a027516cde requesting more personnel from f86fff00db other divisions.571b2a9792ef50dd

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.3f4c742faac14456

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“That is certainly a problem. We can’t pull personnel from other divisions either.”1b73d8ffb385bce3

“I know. That’s why I want you to transfer me.”3fc64f4e3b8498ba

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