Commander of the Royal Knights (2)
Commander of the Royal Knights (2)
After returning to the past, I spent a long time pondering what to do next.
I felt I could handle the other matters somehow, but the First Prince was a tough nut to crack.
With the King still alive, he remained the Crown Prince of this kingdom.
Even with the Second Prince challenging him, he was the legitimate first in line to the throne and the leader of the Kingdom's largest faction, backed by countless supporters.
For a mere fifteen-year-old student at the Royal Academy like me to think I could do something about him was almost delusional.
But ignoring the matter was out of the question, too.
Absurdly enough, the First Prince and Ivana were half-siblings.
And if what the Prince had said was true, the First Prince considered Ivana more family than the other royals.
I couldn't do anything about Ivana while leaving him alone.
Unless Ivana kept a low profile, Paula or the Empire's spies would eventually have to make a move.
If that happened, the Royal Knights would mobilize, giving the First Prince an excuse to direct threats at the Princess and the Grand Archduchess.
Ultimately, I needed to tie the First Prince's hands and feet somehow.
Even if I couldn't strip him of all his power, I had to keep him thoroughly distracted while things unfolded.
In that case, the only way was to restore the Royal Knights, who had become the First Prince's limbs, to their original state.
"Are you talking about the reclusive Commander?"
"Yes, I want to test what I've learned against the Commander."
There was no need to mention that the Vice-Commander had sided with the Crown Prince in the Commander's absence, or that the Royal Knights had consequently become the Crown Prince's limbs.
As an advisor to the Royal Knights, he was already well aware of that, and it wasn't something I should meddle in anyway.
"Is having me as your opponent... really not enough...?"
The old man stroked his wrist, looking troubled.
I could see a bracelet clasped around it.
I hadn't noticed it before because I hadn't been paying attention, but it seemed he'd been wearing the bracelet when he first arrived.
The bracelet the old man wore was an artifact capable of storing mana.
With it, the old man, who normally couldn't possess mana, had sparred with me.
Our first spar hadn't lasted long, but when I returned the bracelet fully charged with mana, we were able to spar for quite a while.
Even now, if I charged the bracelet he was wearing to its maximum, I could spar with him for a considerable amount of time.
But in my current situation, I was supposed to know nothing about that bracelet.
So the old man had no choice but to consider the matter, looking reluctant.
It was publicly known that the current Commander of the Royal Knights had stepped down and gone into seclusion at home a few years ago because of failing health.
No one believed that story.
With the Commander's position remaining vacant ever since he left, there was no way people would buy that excuse.
The general consensus was that he had gone into seclusion because he was utterly sick of the princes' power struggles.
He was a knight to his very bones, someone who had always kept his distance from politics.
Since both princes kept pestering a man like that, everyone said it was only natural he'd run away.
There was no guarantee that meeting him would lead to any great results.
He wouldn't take a liking to me right away and decide to help me, and a man who had secluded himself out of disgust with politics wasn't likely to suddenly return to the scene just because of something I said.
Even so, simply meeting him could be a great help.
He was the greatest knight of the current royal family. Just crossing swords with him would undoubtedly help me immensely.
And depending on how things went, I might even be able to plant some rumors within the Royal Knights.
If I could cause even a minor disruption or reduce the First Prince's influence by even a fraction, that would be more than enough.
Ultimately, getting to know the Commander of the Royal Knights would help me expand my backing.
I had learned in my past life that individual strength could rarely triumph over political power.
True, there was power capable of defeating entities like the Demon King, but anyone who wanted to live among people couldn't ignore the power of authority.
I couldn't wield that power right away, but I knew how to counter it.
That was the reason for my acquaintance with the Princess and the Grand Archduchess, and I planned to build more such connections in the future.
After thinking for a moment, the old man spoke.
"I'll put in a word, but you'd better not get your hopes up. He's stubborn; if something doesn't suit him, he won't do it even if it kills him."
"Anyway, before that, let's train together. It won't be a proper spar, but there's a way we can do it."
Unlike before, the old man was the one clinging to me, asking to train together.
He said he'd draw up a contract right away so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping secrets, and that he'd rent an indoor training ground just like before.
"Every day would be too much, so let's meet twice a week."
The frequency of our meetings had doubled.
Training with the Duke of Ceuta was something I genuinely wanted.
So I did as the old man said.
Yet even as I followed his lead, my curiosity only grew.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The old man wouldn't give me such a gift for no reason.
What could he possibly want from me, going so far as to sign a contract at the temple to keep things secret and even introduce me to the reclusive Commander of the Royal Knights?
What did he stand to gain from helping me grow? I couldn't fathom it.
As someone repeating the past, I didn't feel the so-called 'butterfly effect' all that strongly.
It might hold true in meteorology, but the future didn't change so easily because of such minor events.
Seeing the freshman blocking my path, I was reminded of that truth once again.
Perhaps this world had a timeline that desperately wanted to run toward a predetermined future.
But I had already shattered that timeline several times.
A future that kept changing because of me.
If there was a prophet somewhere out there, they would surely be fuming because of me.
Today was the day of my first lesson with the Duke of Ceuta in the indoor training ground.
After showing me the temple contract to keep our secrets, the Duke put on the bracelet from the very start and sparred with me.
The spar ended sooner than it had before my death.
The clash was more intense than before, and my mana ran out much faster than it had back then.
Though the spar was brief, both the Duke and I were satisfied.
The Duke was pleased to experience my skills, and I was glad to witness his true prowess, even if only for a moment.
Yet the Duke seemed much more exhausted than before.
And, just as before, the Duke handed me the bracelet. It was a silent instruction to charge it with mana for our next spar.
Unlike before, I intended to charge it only this much this time.
If I wanted him to introduce me to the Commander of the Royal Knights, my spars with the Duke needed to feel tantalizingly short and leave him wanting more.
After the spar, I headed back to the dormitory.
The Marquis's son blocked my path.
"You are Senior Alex, correct? I heard you're the strongest in the second-year Knight Faculty."
The words were identical down to the last syllable.
I hadn't realized it before, but he'd clearly memorized them diligently.
From here on, I had to stay alert, too.
"There was no one left among the first-years who could help me. That's why, to you, Senior..."
"I refuse."
Whoops. Was that a bit too fast?
I'd rejected him before the word 'spar' could even leave his mouth.
Fortunately, the Marquis's son's reaction was no different from before.
Surprised by my words, he looked back.
Among the freshmen gathered behind him, I could see a female student.
It was Ivana, the Crown Prince's sister.
Knowing she was the Crown Prince's hidden sister made her look different to me.
Her lowered gaze and the charisma radiating from her seemed to signal her high status.
I snorted inwardly. She only looked that way because I already knew.
Without that knowledge, she would have seemed like an ordinary, arrogant freshman.
When the Marquis's son looked back, Ivana raised an eyebrow.
The Marquis's son quickly turned back to me and shouted.
"Gael de Pisen of the Pisen family challenges Senior Alex to a duel!"
Hearing the challenge, I felt a wave of relief.
Unlike the other events, I couldn't be sure this duel would happen.
I tried to react as identically as possible, but I couldn't replicate everything perfectly.
According to the 'butterfly effect,' the altered conversation might have prevented the duel from happening.
I flipped the 'butterfly effect' the bird and replied to the Marquis's son.
"No, not a duel, but..."
"I accept the duel. But since it's problematic for students to risk their lives, let's settle on a different stake for the outcome."
This time, the Marquis's son snapped out of it a little faster.
Even so, once he'd said the word 'duel,' it would be difficult to back out.
"Let's agree that the loser must grant the winner one request. On our honor as nobles."
Seeing the freshman's face turn pale again wasn't particularly amusing.
Instead, I studied the female student's face, looking for similarities to the Crown Prince.
The more closely I looked, the more alike they seemed.
The Crown Prince was handsome, and Ivana was beautiful as well.
Still, recalling Ivana's father, the Viscount, I thought she took after her mother, the Queen.
I must have stared too long.
Ivana frowned at me. But scowling only made her look even more like him.
With the duel decided, we headed straight to the nearest training ground.
Just as before, a crowd began to gather.
Since I already knew the circumstances, I didn't ask the Marquis's son anything else.
Holding my sword, I charged straight in as soon as one of the freshmen gave the signal.
I had no intention of testing the waters, nor did I feel any need to help him grow.
With a swing of my sword, I sent the Marquis's son's blade flying. Then I swept his leg and broke it.
Finally, I slammed my fist into his face as he fell.
Teeth flew, and a spray of blood from his nose painted the air beautifully.
I looked down at the guy sprawled on the ground, arms and legs splayed, and felt satisfied.
Because the Marquis had tested the waters back then, the Princess had been severely injured. And because of that, I'd ended up a fugitive.
It wasn't this guy's fault, but I needed to get some compensation for the hardships I'd suffered.
"I'll tell you my request later."
This time, I planned to wait even longer before telling him.
Just as before, I became famous among the freshmen for pulverizing the Marquis's son.
Many came to dislike me for beating him so badly, but just as many felt a sense of vicarious satisfaction.
At the next group project meeting, the others teased me about the incident, but I didn't care.
Such things were of no importance.
"Would everyone care to share what they've researched?"
At the Grand Archduchess's words, the group members shared their findings.
Their research was the same as before.
Finally, the Grand Archduchess turned to me.
"What about you, Young Lord Alex?"
Before my death, I had mentioned my promise with the Marquis's son.
This time, though, I shook my head.
"My apologies. I haven't researched much."
If I acted exactly as I had before, the same outcome was bound to follow.
"Then, shall we investigate a bit further?"
When she suggested spending more time on it, I stepped forward.
"How about we start by searching the places we've already investigated? Since it's our first visit, it might be good to treat it as a practice run."
It would be troublesome if everyone stayed in the capital. It was better to minimize the variables.
Thanks to my intervention, we chose a dungeon near the capital for our first group project visit.
It was a fully explored dungeon, practically a tourist trail.
While we were unlikely to find any artifacts there, it was hard to find a better place for a first visit.
Once that was decided, I dropped a bombshell on everyone.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to skip the first group project trip. I have a prior engagement."
When I said that, all the group members stared at me, dumbfounded.
We'd decided on the trip almost entirely because I'd insisted on it. Yet the very person who'd pushed for it was backing out.
A few of them looked as though their lover had utterly betrayed them.
Still, I wasn't lying about having an engagement.
Fortunately, the Duke of Ceuta had arranged for me to meet the reclusive Commander of the Royal Knights at just the right time.
The scheduled visit to the Commander's residence fell right in the middle of their trip.
Meeting the Commander of the Royal Knights wasn't my real reason for skipping the trip, though.
It was because of what would happen in the capital during the group's first trip.
Ivana's failed kidnapping and self-destruction.
I intended to intervene in that affair.