By Zephyria 
The only thing I could be confident about among etiquette was how to drink tea.
This was a result of the influence of my mother, Seiren Ernhardt, who had long ingrained etiquette into her body.
It was the result of blindly starting to imitate my mother’s movements, which were more elegant and stylish than my father’s, during tea times held daily with my mother alone, or sometimes with my father joining us, from around the age of three or four.
In the Central Plains, too, knowledge such as how to greet elders, how to bow, and how to perform ancestral rites was compiled into books and passed down through generations.
As I grew older, I often clicked my tongue at ill-mannered children, so I intended to observe at least the minimum required etiquette.
When I firmly stated that I did not wish to learn etiquette involving fans or physical movements, my parents allowed it, but in terms of speech, tea drinking, and eating habits, I had absorbed my parents’ influence completely and was confident that I did not carry myself in a way that would cause shame.
However, seeing Shayden Rose and Lucilla Anti Sierran elegantly conduct themselves and chat merrily during a meal that was not a formal banquet made me feel like a shriveled, young kitten once again, just as I had when I saw Shayden’s colorful note-taking the other day.
I kept glancing in their direction throughout the meal.
My gaze was drawn more to their gestures and movements than to the words I overheard.
“…Young Master Ernhardt seems to be quite close with Young Master Rose.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve seen you together often.”
Suddenly, Prince Rubel spoke up, bringing me into the conversation, and Shayden smiled faintly, turning his gaze toward me.
The way he smiled, and the way his hands moved as he picked up or set down his cutlery, were unusually alluring, and for a moment, I was lost for words. Honestly, I felt like I was being put through this much by a peer who was only a year older than me.
“The Rose family and the Ernhardt family have had frequent interactions, Senior. We met at Young Master Ernhardt’s first birthday party and have been close ever since.”
“…Ah… The first birthday party, you say.”
“It’s just over 8 years since we first met. I’m very happy that we were able to enroll in the Academy together.”
His words were as sweet as honey, spoken in a gentle tone.
It sounded partly true and partly false. Of course, Shayden Rose had attended the first birthday banquet I held when I was five, and he had consistently made appearances since then.
He must have spoken with many children, as he gathered all of them in one room for every birthday to foster friendships.
However, I did not remember everyone equally, nor was I close to everyone equally.
Furthermore, the notion that I had applied for early admission to be with Shayden was news to me.
My early admission application was approved because I was the eldest son and heir of House Ernhardt, and I had already reached the realm of Sword Expert.
After learning of the Academy’s existence, my father could not resist my pleas to see the world as I sought the next realm.
Therefore, I, who might have made a mistake if I hadn’t spoken with Shayden beforehand, nodded along with what that child was saying, having heard at least a little in advance.
I felt that I should be a helpful companion to Shayden, just as he had helped me.
“We also attend most classes together. Since I am younger than the other students, I receive a lot of help.”
“It’s more accurate to say you help each other.”
“That’s truly enviable. They say childhood friends last a lifetime.”
“I cherish all the new acquaintances I’ve made within the Academy, but naturally…”
It seemed that my closeness with Shayden was indeed beneficial to him. Seeing the subtle favor in Lucilla’s eyes, I played along more than usual.
Just as I wondered how long this game of compliments would last, Shayden placed a delicious meat dish on my plate, which I immediately accepted.
Noticing that this meant I had done my part and should now focus on eating, I ate my food while listening to Shayden and Lucilla’s cheerful chatter.
The atmosphere was entirely different from when I had dined with Benjamin and Rubel, and it felt awkward and difficult to adjust.
As I quietly ate my food, occasionally nodding, Prince Rubel also placed the same meat dish Shayden had given me onto my plate.
I looked at him in surprise, and he seemed flustered, as if he had copied me without much thought. I smiled briefly.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“…Mm.”
In any case, it would be rude to refuse something that had already been given, and I had always been good at accepting food, so I just ate it.
I was at an age where I often got hungry from physical exertion, even when people offered me food as I came and went. Only when my plate was clean, having eaten my fill, did I rise.
Shayden also finished his meal and bid farewell before leaving.
After Shayden left, with only the four of us remaining to practice throwing knife technique, Lucilla praised Shayden, calling him cute, and I agreed that he was cute, which elicited a big laugh.
Lucilla’s hearty laughter, which sounded a little like Professor Cedric, who taught the camping class, made me feel slightly uncomfortable. It was a stark contrast to Rubel, who remained silent and did not laugh.
Lucilla, who had taken the throwing knife technique class last year, was also very skilled.
Unlike Rubel, who quietly stood and offered consistent advice on how to throw knives and maintain proper posture, Lucilla enjoyed throwing knives while running, sitting, or jumping, saying she liked to play around.
To me, that was also an amazing skill, and I applauded her several times, though a part of me felt hesitant, as if watching a clown show.
Even with her boisterous nature, I wondered if it was appropriate to treat someone of noble blood as mere entertainment.
However, when Lucilla took off the tie around Rubel’s neck to blindfold herself and try throwing knives, I thought, “If they want to do it, what can I do?” and decided to watch with keen interest and enjoyment.
A faint aura flickered, and I let out a hollow laugh.
“If you blindfold yourself and activate your aura, isn’t it all the same?”
“No, it’s important that I can throw the knife in the direction I want even without sight. It means that even on a pitch-black night, or when I’ve just woken up and am disoriented, I won’t be at risk of assassination if I can sense my surroundings with my aura.”
“That may be so, but…”
“Hm? You’re not surprised. Usually, people get startled when I mention assassination.”
“Why?”
“Oh? No, it’s just that some people have a strong reaction when assassination is mentioned.”
I replied casually with a smile, but after hearing her explanation and thinking it over, I realized she had made a mischievous joke to fluster me.
However, I had also trained myself to use a sword with my eyes closed for the very same reason.
The world of martial arts and favors in the Central Plains is one where beginnings have no end; it was a time when the friends and colleagues of the many villains I had killed came seeking my life.
Even though it wasn’t intentional training, I had become accustomed to it long ago.
I made an effort to remember that this land was one where a princess would be surprised if assassination threats were mentioned, and I chose my words carefully.
When I stated the principle that any swordsman must be able to react to threats at any time, she laughed heartily again, and I felt relieved.
Although I tried to follow Lucilla’s methods, which involved adding various pieces of advice intermittently, the slight change in posture each time only made me more confused.
I grabbed Prince Rubel, who was hovering nearby, and asked him to correct my posture again.
He adjusted my stance as he had done last time, allowing me to focus comfortably on the target.
After a few attempts, I managed to hit the target with the throwing knives, as I had wielded a sword my entire life, but the accuracy and the force applied were lacking.
The results were inconsistent because I didn’t know how to channel my internal energy when throwing the knives, forcing me to experiment in different ways each time.
The first time, I channeled the force directly from my Dantian to the Yangji Acupoint (Acupoint on the wrist), but it was unsatisfactory. The second time, I tried to channel a distinct flow from my Middle Dantian to the Qu Chi and Shao Hai Acupoints (Acupoints on the elbow), but that was also ambiguous.
It was even more frustrating that I had to figure it out myself, given that my martial arts foundation was built upon Namgung’s sword, which had meticulously defined forms, methods of channeling internal energy, and techniques.
How easy and good it was to follow a predetermined path.
Most of the studies I was undertaking at Sierren’s involved simply accepting and learning what was already established, but throwing knife technique was not something I could master on my own.
I even considered whether it would be better to train my martial arts further to reach a level where Telekinesis (the art of moving distant objects using energy) or Energy Sword Control (the state where a sword detached from the hand moves freely to attack enemies) would be possible.
“Um, Young Master Ernhardt. Rubel looks like he’s about to explode.”
“Pardon?”
“No, no…”
“Ah. I apologize. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
It was only after Lucilla pointed it out that I realized I had been holding Rubel’s forearm and tracing the shape of his muscles with my hand every time he moved his arm to hold a throwing knife.
I looked up, thinking, “Do men really make an issue out of something like this?” and was startled to see Rubel’s fair skin flushed bright red, causing me to let go of his arm.
Now that I thought about it, he had hesitated when I asked him to check my stance earlier.
Considering that Lucilla had been more forthright and had adjusted my posture as if molding clay, it seemed this child was simply very shy.
I suppressed a chuckle, wondering how someone so shy could aspire to become an Emperor of a nation.
“It’s, it’s okay. You were just curious about how to use your arm, right?”
“Yes. It seems like you extend your arm and draw up your aura in a similar way to me, but I can’t predict the path of the throwing knife I throw, so I don’t know where it goes wrong. You mentioned ‘overlaying aura,’ but I’m curious about where and how you attach and use it.”
“Um, I’ll show you, so please take one step back…”
“Yes.”
I obediently stepped back and watched Rubel.
Although the child’s effort to show and explain was commendable, even with my Eye Technique active, it was insufficient to read the energy occurring within another person’s body.
Realizing that no matter how hard I looked, I saw nothing, I furrowed my brow and swept my hand across my face to compose my expression.
Rubel, who seemed even more hesitant than before, threw knives several times, allowing me to refine my stance a little more.
As the training neared its end, Lucilla laughed loudly and patted my head, but I couldn’t fathom the reason and was puzzled.
Benjamin patted my shoulder, letting me know it wasn’t a big deal, so I decided not to dwell on it.
I focused more on how to imbue the throwing knives with internal energy.