By Zephyria 
That afternoon, Cecile headed to the Saint Palace. He had been instructed to come in comfortable attire and discreetly.
Upon arriving at the garden, he found some guests who had come before him. Claude looked as stoic as ever, while Yuria was dressed in pants instead of a dress, her long hair tied back with a leather strap down to her waist.
“…Ah.”
Seeing the two, Cecile hesitated for a moment. He knew the misunderstanding had been cleared, but since that incident, they hadn’t faced each other properly, and a subtle tension arose.
“You’ve come.”
“Cecile, it’s been a while. The weather is quite clear today, isn’t it?”
However, Claude and Yuria greeted him warmly as if nothing had happened. Claude’s expression remained unchanged, but Yuria wore her characteristic bright smile.
For some reason, a fluttering sensation stirred in Cecile’s chest. Feeling unfamiliar, he absentmindedly touched the back of his neck and scanned the surroundings. Alexis, the one who had summoned him here, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is His Highness?”
“There’s no need to fret.”
A voice cutting through the air from behind startled him. Turning around, he saw Alexis just stepping out of the palace.
As the crown prince appeared under the hot afternoon sun, everyone slightly bowed in greeting. Only Cecile held his head high.
“…What on earth did you call me for?”
Alexis merely smiled at Cecile’s bewildered expression without providing any answer. His blue eyes leisurely scanned the crowd.
“Claude, haven’t you explained yet?”
“Yes, I just arrived myself…”
“Oh dear, my apprentice is being quite irresponsible.”
Apprentice? The sudden mention of the word deepened Cecile’s confusion.
Looking directly at Alexis, hoping for an explanation, their eyes met easily. Alexis wore a peculiar smile.
“I was quite worried, as there were two individuals who were incredibly fragile. At the very least, you should be equipped to protect yourselves in a crisis. The commander will personally teach you. He has made time for this, so please follow his instructions well.”
While Alexis continued his message, Claude nodded with his arms crossed behind his back. He stood tall, his nose held high, looking rather arrogant.
“…So, you mean Commander Claude will teach us self-defense?”
“What’s the problem? I don’t see a better instructor than him.”
Cecile and Yuria exchanged glances at Claude. Claude raised an eyebrow at the doubtful looks directed at him.
“Why the reaction…?”
Yuria quickly turned her head away.
“Your Highness, can’t we have someone else instead of Claude? It’s obvious he’ll just scold us and say mean things.”
“I hope you reconsider.”
With Cecile adding his opinion, Claude let out a frustrated sigh. It was the first time he had been rejected like this, despite being the commander. His mood visibly soured, and his stubborn lips pouted.
But no one paid him any mind. Yuria, feeling desperate, approached Alexis and gently grasped his clothing. With a voice full of longing, she pleaded.
“Couldn’t you teach us, Your Highness? Since we’re inside the Saint Palace, there shouldn’t be anyone watching.”
“Yuria, I’m not that free, am I?”
Alexis smiled gently as he patted Yuria’s shoulder. His tone was kind, but it clearly contained a refusal.
In the end, it meant they had to do as instructed.
“I’ll be watching, so do it properly. Learning this will surely be helpful.”
With only that remark, Alexis turned and walked away. Seemingly busy, he didn’t look back as he headed into the palace.
The people left in the garden remained quiet. Cecile sighed at the unexpected order, while Yuria stood there in a daze. Claude alternated his gaze between the two, then smirked.
He casually stretched his body and said, “So, who should we start with?”
Alexis went straight to his office. He had only stepped away for a moment, but his chief aide rushed in as if something serious had happened.
“Your Highness, regarding the tax report for this year, there’s a point you need to address.”
Thick documents arrived even before he sat down.
“Dike, there’s no need to rush.”
Alexis shrugged off his jacket and plopped down into his chair. He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, ready to immerse himself in state affairs.
Cecile and Yuria, initially indifferent to the training, gradually found self-defense quite interesting as time passed.
Unlike swordsmanship, which required adherence to fundamentals, self-defense could be applied immediately as learned, making it uniquely enjoyable.
Especially when Claude acted out the typical swagger of a street thug, it was quite amusing, and when he subdued someone of considerable size with technique, it brought a thrill.
Since he couldn’t handle both at once, Claude called in his trusted deputy.
While Claude took charge of Yuria, the deputy approached Cecile and firmly grabbed his collar.
“If you don’t want to die, follow my lead… come on.”
The threat was polite. Cecile stared blankly at the hand gripping his collar. When his gaze returned to its original position, a chill flickered in his jewel-like emerald eyes.
“How dare you speak such nonsense?”
“Um… you know this is a role-play, right?”
Seeing the murderous glint in Cecile’s eyes, the deputy seemed to falter and muttered. He was an easy opponent to overpower, both in strength and skill, but he didn’t forget that Cecile was of royal blood.
While he hesitated, Cecile firmly grasped the deputy’s wrist and struck his bicep hard with his fist. As the sudden blow made the deputy gasp, he didn’t forget to kick his knee.
“Ugh!”
The hefty man collapsed helplessly. Even in the chaos, he didn’t let go of Cecile’s collar, causing Cecile to tumble to the ground with him.
“T-This is unfair!”
“Unfair or not, you said we need to survive. By the way, you’re really heavy. It feels like I’m lifting a boulder.”
Cecile said while tangled up on the ground. He had succeeded in pinning the deputy down, but the man was so solid and heavy that he was already feeling drained.
Yet, his mood was refreshingly light. Sweat poured down, and dirt and grass clung to his body, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
Cecile wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and slightly raised his torso.
“But we shouldn’t be lying here together, should we?”
“Yes, we need to quickly follow up with an attack. As you can see, I’m still holding onto you, aren’t I?”
“So what should I do?”
“First, pressing here rather than my wrist would be….”
The deputy, still lying down, maneuvered Cecile’s fidgeting hands. He even demonstrated to help him learn through practice.
“This is quite fun!”
“Yes… I’m glad you find it enjoyable.”
“Let’s do it one more time. This time, don’t hold back and attack with all your strength.”
“Then you won’t be able to handle it!”
The deputy suddenly flipped over and pinned Cecile down. Though he said that, how could he go all out against royalty?
Having successfully thrown him down once more, Cecile laughed out loud, feeling good.
Standing by the window in the office, Alexis looked outside at the sounds of laughter coming from beyond.
He could see people in his garden wrestling and entangled. A faint smile spread across his otherwise dry face, which had been focused on state affairs.
“Seeing them laugh is indeed pleasant.”
Beside him stood his chief aide, Tristan Dike. As Tristan continued his report enthusiastically, he noticed the crown prince gazing out the window and cleared his throat.
“Your Highness, may I continue?”
“Speak. I’m listening.”
Alexis replied without shifting his gaze.
“When the Emperor’s birthday celebration begins, guests from various countries are expected to pay their respects. We should arrange a meeting to discuss diplomatic matters accordingly…”
“Why are they touching each other like that? Isn’t the contact excessive?”
At Alexis’s words, Tristan also leaned forward to look outside. In his view were Cecile and Yuria, deeply engaged in learning self-defense.
Tristan saw nothing wrong with it. In fact, it seemed like they were both enjoying themselves.
“…Isn’t it ordinary?”
“Excessive.”
Alexis frowned, clearly displeased.
Just then, Claude lifted Yuria high and spun her around. With a small scream of delight, laughter erupted, and Tristan inwardly clicked his tongue, understanding the crown prince’s feelings. Who would enjoy seeing their woman play around with another man?
The thoroughly traditional Tristan Dike had yet to notice that the crown prince’s gaze had shifted from Yuria to someone else entirely.
Cecile Adrian and the deputy, wrestling and grappling, were naturally exempt from his attention.