Chapter 75

The next morning, Alvis woke up and tried to get out of bed, but felt a weight on his arm. Looking to the side, he saw Elina still sleeping, holding onto his arm. Elina was breathing deeply, as if still in a dream. Carefully, so as not to wake her, Alvis removed her hand and quietly left the bedroom, heading to his private room.

"Good morning, Master Alvis."

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Tiria and the others were already there. With their help, Alvis got dressed and headed to his morning training. At the training ground of the Royal Guard, the soldiers had already started their drills. Handing his jacket to Edward, Alvis joined the training.

"Good morning, Your Highness. I will be your partner today."

"Din, good morning. Thank you."

"Yes, sir."

The one who spoke was Din. It seemed that Din would be his partner today. In terms of skill, Din was superior. And Din would not hold back, even if his opponent was Alvis. If Alvis were to get injured, it would only mean that he was not yet skilled enough.

After warming up, Alvis moved to the edge of the training ground and did some stretching exercises before starting to jog lightly. Din ran alongside him. At first, they jogged at a moderate pace. Gradually increasing their speed, they ran several laps around the training ground before slowing down to a moderate pace again. The purpose of the training was not just to practice combat; it also included building stamina.

"Ha... ha..."

"Shall we take a break?"

"No, it's fine. Let's keep going."

In a real battle, the enemy would not wait for him. Although it should not happen, as the Crown Prince, Alvis believed that he should still prepare for the possibility of combat. This was training. It was different from the Royal Guard's drills. Still, he did not want his skills to become rusty.

"Were you a bit stimulated by the selection for the Knights?"

"Perhaps."

The sparring with Filareta and Muse. Alvis had changed his training routine after that. Before, he had maintained the form of training, taking breaks at appropriate intervals and doing a different set of exercises from the Royal Guard. The timing was too obvious.

"I'm not a knight now. But I can't lose to a woman so easily."

"I think it would be more of a problem if a knight lost to the Crown Prince."

Din was right, but this was not about logic. Sighing, Din handed the practice sword to Alvis.

"Shall we begin?"

"Yes."

Taking Din's stance as a signal, Alvis kicked off the ground.

◆◇◆◇◆

Filareta and Muse, now part of the Royal Guard, watched Alvis from a distance. As the dedicated guards of the Crown Princess, they were part of the Royal Guard and thus participated in the morning training.

"Hey, Filareta."

"What?"

"Isn't the Crown Prince here for training?"

"That's what I've heard."

"But it looks like he's doing the same exercises as us."

It was well-known among the Knights that Alvis, a former Royal Guard, often visited his old unit. At first, it was only a few times, but it eventually became a daily routine. It did not interfere with his duties as Crown Prince, and since it seemed to clear his mind, the king allowed it, which was quite surprising.

"But he's newly married, right? Wouldn't he usually spend time with the Princess?"

"…I can understand what you're imagining, Muse, but I don't think it applies to the Prince."

"Ah..."

Muse looked disappointed, but for Filareta, Alvis's marriage still felt strange. However, she had noticed that he treated Elina with care. Still, she wished he would not show up when she was around. Just being seen together would lead to rumors, which she definitely wanted to avoid. Probably, Alvis did not even notice her presence.

"Really, he's such a troublemaker just by being there."

"While you say that, you look a bit happy, Filareta."

"No way!"

"Are you thinking about sparring with him?"

Muse looked at Filareta with a sidelong glance. Filareta was at a loss for words. Sparring. She could not resist the appeal of that word. After all, she had lost. Alvis's visits to the Royal Guard meant that there was a chance for another match.

"By the way, I'm aiming for it."

"Muse?!"

"Because, the main duty of the Royal Guard is to protect the royal family, right? It's impossible to be weaker than the person you're protecting."

Muse smiled, but it seemed she was holding a grudge. She did not think Alvis had held back, but she was angry that he had not taken it seriously. According to the Knight Commander and the seniors, Alvis rarely went all out.

"Even if we go on a mission together, the Prince himself won't fight, right? I just want to see him flustered, even once."

"…Yeah."

She could not entirely disagree. But Muse's expression was like that of a hunter who had set her sights on prey, and Filareta felt a chill. Muse might have a bit of a combat obsession, which made Filareta a little afraid of her.

◆◇◆◇◆

After returning from the Royal Guard training ground, Alvis, dirty from the training, encountered Elina and worried her about any injuries.

This concludes Chapter 4. Thank you for reading this far.

Next, I want to write about the country we haven't covered yet before moving on to Part 2.

Thank you for your continued support.