Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Childhood (2)
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"One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! One more lap!!!"
"Huff... huff... huff... Yes, Your Highness!!"
Yuno was running laps around the training grounds alongside knight trainees who were about 18 or 19 years old. Though they were fresh recruits who had only recently joined, they were trainees of the Imperial Guard Knights, handpicked from the fiercest trials across the entire Valkan Empire as the nation's top talents. Their stamina surpassed that of most full-fledged knights. Yet even they couldn't keep up with the pace set by Prince Yuno, who was merely 11 years old.
On top of that, Yuno had already finished one lap ahead and was now driving the laggard trainees from behind. The knight trainees knew full well that falling behind while running with His Highness would mean a brutal scolding from the knights after stamina training ended, so they gritted their teeth and desperately tried to stick with him.
However, a few trainees lacking in stamina began to drop off, and every time Yuno picked up speed, the number of stragglers only grew.
Watching Yuno and the trainees' stamina drill from the viewing platform were Richtenaur Count, captain of the Imperial Guard Knights, and Spier Viscount, the vice-captain. They gazed at the prince and trainees with beaming smiles.
"Whoa~ The Third Prince is truly remarkable. His stamina, strength, reflexes—all his physical abilities are already so impressive... Haha. I hear he'll turn 12 next month; the expectations are sky-high already, aren't they, Captain Richtenaur?"
"Hahaha, indeed. He dominates the hand-to-hand spars against trainees seven years his senior, doesn't he? Once he turns 12, learns swordsmanship, and starts handling mana, he might surpass even me in no time."
"Even so, do you really think he'll overtake the empire's strongest Swordmaster that quickly, Captain? Well, who knows once His Highness reaches adulthood."
"Hey, you...! Kahahaha!"
Richtenaur Count and Spier Viscount were so thrilled about Yuno's future potential that they began discussing whether his upcoming swordsmanship lessons should be conducted separately from the regular trainees.
"By the way, Vice-Captain. Is it really okay for us to be standing around like this? I heard the princess being sent as a hostage from the Leon Kingdom is arriving soon via the capital's spatial magic circle, and you're in charge of her escort, aren't you?"
"Everything's already prepared. We can head out in about 15 minutes, so until then, I'd like to watch His Highness train a bit more. If he keeps growing like this, won't he become the pillar we need to lead our knight order and the military ministry in the future?"
"You're right. I'm looking forward to it myself. Kahahaha."
As the two chatted, Yuno finished his laps around the training grounds and moved on to his personal strength training. Naturally, he invited the trainees to join him, but more than half had already dropped out during the run, and those who had struggled to keep up with his pace were utterly spent, collapsing to the ground and writhing in exhaustion.
Spier Viscount's brow twitched at the sight. On his way out of the training grounds for escort duty, he spotted Jude, the leader of the 8th batch knights currently handling the trainees' basic training, and called him over.
"Sir Jude!!"
"Yes, Vice-Captain! Did you call for me?"
Jude, thrilled that his respected vice-captain had summoned him, rushed over, saluted crisply, and awaited orders with a pounding heart.
'Whoa... Could he be assigning me to the escort detail for the Leon Kingdom princess arriving today?'
Though Jude lacked the experience for such an important mission, his title as leader marked him as the top talent of his batch, with skills rivaling even senior knights. He secretly hoped for the opportunity. But the words from Spier Viscount's mouth hit him like a smack to the back of the head.
"You're in charge of overseeing the 12th batch trainees' training, correct?"
"Yes, that's right... Is there a problem?"
"A problem? This is beyond a problem... Haha, has training gotten so lax these days? I saw trainees dropping out, unable to keep up with an 11-year-old prince running laps."
"Ah... That is..."
"Of course, it's not your fault, Sir Jude. His Highness could already be called a knight in terms of physical prowess. Back in my day, if stamina fell short, we'd push through with sheer willpower... But these days... Tsk tsk."
"Ah... I'm sorry!! I'll straighten out their heads!!"
"It's not that your instruction was lacking, Sir Jude. It's their attitudes that displease me. Ahem... Sir Jude!! Let's do better! The captain saw it too and has many concerns!"
With that, Spier Viscount patted Jude's shoulder and left the training grounds for his escort duties.
Jude's forehead bulged with veins as he realized he'd disappointed his revered Richtenaur Count and Spier Viscount. His face flushed with anger and embarrassment, and that fury turned fully toward the 12th batch trainees.
"8th batch, assemble!!!"
Jude gathered all his fellow 8th batch knights and pointed at the collapsed 12th batch trainees on the training grounds.
"The captain says those bastards are a mess and we need to rewire their brains from the ground up!"
"Huh? What happened?"
"They couldn't keep up with His Highness's training right in front of the captain and dropped out. Since we trained their mental toughness, he told us to take responsibility and toughen them up."
"Toughen them up how...?"
"Our Imperial Guard Knights' main duty is protecting the imperial family, but those guys would abandon missions and desert at the first sign of hardship. Are we going to bear that disgrace?"
"No, sir!!"
"Then beat some sense into them!! A good thrashing will build their willpower!"
Jude led by example, charging into the 12th batch and personally pummeling their leader. The rest of the 8th batch followed suit, laying into them.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!
"You little shits!! Falling behind like that!! What have you been doing with all the food the empire's shoveled into you? Think we feed you just to flop around during training?! Huh?!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
"What are you?! Aspiring Imperial Knights, aren't you?! If you're weaker than the prince you're supposed to protect, what's the point?! Better to die now than later!!"
"Gah... Seniors!! His Highness is just born superior... We can't... Gurk!!"
The 12th batch leader tried to explain, but as the batch leader, Jude was beating him personally, offering no mercy.
"No excuses! Just take it!!"
After a long while, Jude called off the "mental training" beating and rounded up the 12th batch. Though battered and ragged, the threat of more punishment if they didn't move forced them to drag their limp legs to the center of the training grounds.
"I know His Highness has better stamina than you lot. But!! Even if you can't keep up, you don't drop out!! The training leader here thinks it's all because you lack grit. So from today, after every dinner, you'll run three laps around the palace outskirts in full armor."
The 12th batch trainees' faces paled at Jude's words. The palace outer walls stretched about 7 kilometers. Three laps weren't impossible for aspiring knights, but doing it in full gear was on another level entirely from regular jogging, draining the color from their faces.
"Sir Jude~ Will that be enough? I'd like to lend a hand."
"Yes, Your Highness! Give the order!"
The devilish voice of the prince—the very source of their hellish fate—rang in the trainees' ears.
'No! What is that demon about to make us do now?'
'Your Highness, please just stay quiet—that's how you help us. Please, Your Highness~'
Oblivious to the trainees' inner curses, Yuno dropped a bombshell and walked away.
"Run them in ranking order!"
"Your Highness, ranking order?"
"There are 100 trainees in the 12th batch, right? Make them do grit training like that for a week, then starting the next week, exempt the top five from the next day's training. From then on, they'll run like mad dogs. On the final day, the bottom 10 out of 20 get another ten days where only first place is exempt—cycle it like that. I guarantee, after a few months of this, they won't trouble you with their stamina again, Sir Jude."
Jude inwardly admired the prince's method and vowed to grind the 12th batch down exactly as suggested.
The already grueling training had grown even harsher thanks to the prince's idea, filling the trainees' eyes with resentment toward him. But showing it would mean charges of insolence and worse beatings from their seniors, so they abandoned all hope and prayed daily for rain.
"Got it? After dinner tonight, assemble at the palace rear gate by 19:00, full gear—no swords. Understood?!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"You all seem rested enough now, so on to the next training!!"
The 12th batch trainees inwardly grumbled that the beatings weren't rest, but they couldn't utter a word against their towering seniors and were dragged off to sword training.
Yuno thought it might be fun to join them in the evening and was about to resume his strength exercises when a voice from behind made him pause.
"Yuno oppa~~~"
"Yuno, take a break."
From where the voices came, his older sister Isabella and younger sister Marie were rushing over with snacks and drinks. Naturally, maids trailed anxiously behind the princesses, but the girls ignored them, beaming innocently as they threw themselves at Yuno.