By Zephyria 
Harold was being annoying, strutting around and circling in place, killing time. Just when I thought I was going to die of boredom, the unofficial meeting disguised as a friendly chat finally ended.
Anyway, since we were both on duty, we decided to have the sparring match tonight at the training grounds. On the way back, Tarik seemed to be struggling with whether or not to tell Mahir about this.
Normally, he would have told him right away, but now I was glaring at him with fire in my eyes, so he was just moving his lips.
“We’ve decided to keep what happened in the Rollai Mountains a secret, so keep that in mind.”
I knew it would end like this. I nodded without taking my eyes off Tarik.
“That area is prone to strange phenomena, so we’ve decided to conduct a joint investigation starting next month. Calderia will own the Relic that is found, and the information will be shared…”
Then Mahir trailed off. He frowned, looking at me with uneasy eyes.
“What’s wrong now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why is Tarik glaring at you like he’s going to eat you alive?”
Was I being too obvious? But when I think about it, no matter how much I threaten Tarik, he’ll eventually tell Mahir everything. If that’s the case, it’s better for me to strike first.
“I was waiting for you outside earlier and had a little chat with the royal guards. We introduced ourselves and became friends.”
“You?”
I closed my mouth, about to say something. It seemed like Mahir was surprised by something strange. I nodded with a sullen expression.
“What was his name? Something like ‘son of a bitch’ or something. Anyway, we’re going to have a wooden sword sparring match tonight. At the training grounds.”
“…”
“They say knights here build camaraderie by sparring with wooden swords.”
Mahir stared at me for a moment before turning his gaze to Tarik. He recited as if he had been waiting for this.
“He is the green-eyed knight standing on the right. He believes that Your Highness insulted him, so the probability of it ending as a simple friendly activity is extremely low. His name is not ‘son of a bitch’… it’s Harold.”
“What insult?”
Tarik was speechless. To be honest, I was trying to provoke him on purpose, so I had nothing to say. But what came out of his mouth was unexpected.
“Your Highness flirted with him.”
Mahir turned his head to me with a speed that made the wind whistle. I looked at Tarik at a similar speed.
“When did I flirt with him?”
“You kept trying to stand next to him, asking for personal information, circling around him…”
I paused at the muttering. Now that I heard it, I felt like he might think that way. Is that why he kept getting so angry? Besides, many people in Calderia think negatively about homosexuality, so he might have been even more upset.
It wasn’t intentional, but I liked it.
Mahir sighed as I suddenly grinned.
“I told you to stay still, but you couldn’t stand it… Why a sparring match all of a sudden?”
I didn’t necessarily have to keep it a secret from Mahir, but it was difficult to say it now. If I told him honestly, he would definitely not let me spar with that son of a bitch.
I had to tell him after the sparring match was over.
“He doubts your judgment, brother.”
Mahir looked puzzled at my sudden words.
“What judgment?”
“He says my behavior doesn’t seem like that of a royal guard.”
I thought Mahir would be upset to some extent, but his expression was calm. It was as if he had heard someone point to the sky and say it was the sky.
Mahir tilted his head and said.
“I guess so. Who would think of you as a royal guard? What does that have to do with my judgment?”
This was another unexpected reaction.
“You appointed me as a royal guard. So if you doubt that, it’s the same as doubting your judgment.”
“When did I appoint you? You insisted on doing it, so I had no choice but to agree.”
Before I could be embarrassed by Mahir’s firm words, Tarik added.
“We do not engage in idle chatter during work hours just because there is no one watching.”
He seemed to be quite upset about what he had heard from that son of a bitch earlier. I had done wrong in that regard, so I had nothing to say.
I suddenly felt lonely being attacked by the two of them. When will Aska come?
“Anyway, my brother and the royal guard have been insulted, so I can’t just stand by.”
“Kyle.”
I was trying to gloss over it, but Mahir suddenly became serious and called me.
“There is a big difference between actual combat and sparring.”
His voice was full of anxiety and worry. Did he think I would lose? I couldn’t have imagined this reaction.
“Especially in Calderia, there are separate swordsmanship techniques for sparring because sparring is so frequent. It’s more like a game where you move according to the rules and score points.”
Wasn’t it just changing the sword to a wooden sword and fighting? I was dumbfounded when they suddenly said they were going to spar at the banquet, but it seemed very different from what I had imagined.
“Do you think I’ll lose?”
I asked out of pure curiosity. I didn’t think I would lose just because some rules were added, but Mahir seemed to think differently. He hesitated for some reason and said.
“You usually…”
“Usually what? Why are you hesitating so awkwardly?”
“Um, never mind. Anyway, be careful not to get hurt.”
“…?”
He wasn’t stopping me from sparring, so what was this reaction? My expectation that he would definitely say no was completely off. But the feeling was more subtle and bad, a strange situation.
“What about me? Why are you stopping in the middle of your sentence?”
“Don’t reveal your identity. Do you understand? If you get hurt, it could turn into a diplomatic issue…”
Mahir trailed off again. But it was only for a moment. He looked at me and urged me.
“You have to be careful because it could turn into a diplomatic issue.”
“Okay.”
Something was strange, but there were no other words after that. I didn’t ask any further because if Mahir kept nagging, I wouldn’t have anything else to say.
Anyway, the sun quickly set, so I headed to the training grounds where I had agreed to meet Harold. It was an outdoor place, and even though it was night, there were still quite a few people training.
I couldn’t help but be embarrassed because I didn’t know there would be so many people watching. I approached Harold, who was visible from afar.
“Why are there so many people?”
“Why? Are you afraid of being humiliated?”
He sneered and taunted me. It was obvious to anyone that he was trying to provoke me. So I took a step closer and whispered quietly.
“I thought it was a midnight rendezvous just between us.”
“Get lost!”
Before I could finish speaking, Harold recoiled in disgust. Even before that, attention had been focused on me since I entered wearing a mask. But when Harold’s voice rose, people slowly began to approach.
In an instant, about six or seven people gathered around us in a circle. They were all in comfortable clothes, so it wasn’t even clear whether they were fellow knights or not.
“Did we have to clear the training grounds just for a sparring match?”
Harold glared at me and gnashed his teeth. At this point, it was even amazing. How could he show such open hostility? Did he really think I was flirting with him, so he was acting like this?
I also felt bad, but I didn’t bother to correct him because I thought he would feel worse than me no matter what.
“Is this how you just do sparring matches here?”
A man who was standing like a spectator threw a wooden sword at me in response to my question. It was more like shooting it like an arrow than throwing it. I caught the wooden sword that was flying quickly towards my face with one hand. It was a situation where I could have been hit if I had extended my hand even a little wrong.
I politely said to the man who gave me the wooden sword.
“Thank you.”
The man’s expression was momentarily filled with embarrassment, as if he didn’t expect to hear a thank you.
Anyway, this guy and that guy are both childish. Their mental age was questionable. I clicked my tongue inwardly, and Harold said, holding a wooden sword.
“The rules of the sparring match are simple. Attacking vital points is prohibited. It ends when one of us surrenders. Do you understand?”
Mahir definitely said that there were many rules when sparring. Did they think I wouldn’t know and were doing it their own way? Whatever the case, it was better if there weren’t any complicated rules.
“I understand. But where is the doctor? I heard they are on standby.”
Harold gestured somewhere with his chin. When I turned my head, I saw a man who looked very young. I thought he might be an apprentice instead of a formal doctor, or maybe not even a doctor at all.
I said to Harold.
“I’m telling you in advance in case you don’t know, this is a sparring match, not a duel. You know?”
“Of course.”
Harold scoffed and answered briefly. I swung the sword I was holding in the air to check the weight roughly and said.
“Then let’s start.”
Harold’s expression disappeared at my words. He was serious at times like this, even though he was a knight. I thought he would underestimate me and rush at me recklessly, but Harold narrowed the distance slowly, observing me with sharp eyes.
And the moment the swords collided for the first time, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the stronger-than-expected force. His strength was so great that my hand holding the sword was about to lose its grip.
Swaack!
“Ugh!”
The sword that slipped from my hand unfortunately struck the forehead of a man who was watching exactly. Red blood flowed from the torn forehead and quickly covered the man’s face.
Harold was also flustered and missed the perfect opportunity to knock me down, staring at the bleeding man. I quickly distanced myself and covered my mouth with my hand.
“Oh my, what should I do…”
The man covered in blood glared at me fiercely at my small voice of regret.