Chapter 52

Translator: wuttisyun

“There would be no worries if the Crown Prince was a great man. However, if he was not…”

The 3rd Prince was no longer with us. Soricks who suddenly stopped mid-sentence broke out into a smile that a young boy would make and continue speaking.

“The Crown Prince already has his white-haired Duke but the rest of the Imperial Children do not. There are still six available seats left to become ‘Guardian’ that would accompany them for a lifetime. The 2nd Prince must be worried about the power struggle between the two forces, the Curules (The aristocrats that were templars) and Plebes (The aristocrats that were not templars). Other than those who were abroad, ill and without divine blessings, he must be looking for his own between the two forces. Most of all, I’m looking forward to being picked by the Princess.”

“The Princess?”

“Ah, do you not know? The Empire’s most precious flower.”

Auresia. Did the Princess look at all like the most beautiful woman in the entire Empire? That was what he seemed to be wondering judging from his flustered expression.

‘I never thought I’d meet a fan of my birth mother here.’

Feeling complicated, I looked up at him. He went on about Auresia’s long and enviable light purple hair and was full of praise for her violet eyes. From what he was saying, it did not matter what the Princess’ age or appearance was, or whether she was actually living because she was going to be an adult soon.

“The Princess must be a very beautiful person.”

I could not help but to smile bitterly in front of Soricks.

“Just being her knight is enough for me.”

“Uhm… Sure.”

I thought it would be best if he did not keep his hopes up. I looked away as I scratched my cheek. I felt as if rumours had tainted this naive man.

But this was weird. Were training grounds usually located between the bushes?

With Granius’ permission, we should have been heading to the training ground. Either we have gone the wrong way or we were lost. Otherwise, there would be no other reason why the training grounds would be in the middle of the forest. More importantly, since a little while ago, I felt as if a voice was getting closer and closer to us. I was mistaken, right?

“Sir Soricks, the path looks strange.”

“Huh? It’s not though? We’re on the right track.”

“We keep walking on grass.”

“Ah. It was made thick on purpose.”

Soricks who only turned his head to look at me, smiled before replying playfully like a young boy.

“Wouldn’t it be difficult for them if they were to train in somewhere they were clearly visible?”

What? What was visible?

I guessed Soricks and I had different ideas of where we were going.

“Tada!”

At the end of the shrubbery, I realised what he was referring to when a huge wall entered my view.

“… Just now, didn’t you say you’ll show me around the capital another time?”

“Yeah. I’ll show you around another time.”

RIght now, Soricks was trying to make me play hooky with him.

Insisting that he was not bringing me out, he then pulled out some bricks from the wall, actually looking like the playful young boy I had till then only seen glimpses of. This felt so dumb.

Mister Soricks, I thought you were a diligent worker but it seemed not.

I had been betrayed by someone whom I thought was a sharp shooter but I helped him enlarge the hole.

“Come on, let’s go.”

He reassured me by saying that he would go first since I was so scared. It was not that I was scared of holes but I was worried that where we were going was not what I expected it to be. I was afraid he might be disappointed to find out that the Princess was not that amazing person he imagined her to be.

“Is this a date?”

If it were not for the man I saw at first sight, I would have actually thought that we were sneaking out without Granius’ permission to tour the city today.

“Where are you going?”

The man who jumped from the tree and landed lightly waved at us. Boom. He was so strong I almost mistook him for a boxer when I saw Soricks flying through the air with his punch.

The man, who had thrown the punch, stood where Soricks was standing and waved his hand as he looked at me before moving towards Soricks.

“She’s too young for my taste.”

“Have you gone mad?”

“I hope you haven’t either. I don’t want rumours going around that my close friend was a pervert.”

“Don’t spit out whatever you’re thinking just because you have a mouth. This is the Aedile’s errand girl. Did you not hear from Penne?”

“Ah.”

The man turned his head before quickly lifting me. ‘So this is her’ was what he was probably thinking judging by his gaze. His eyes were almond-shaped just like a cat’s and it looked like his tail was slowly rising.

His skin was unusually dark like the colour of coffee beans. I lowered my head as I thought he looked like an actor who would appear in a movie filmed in a desert.

He blinked his dark brown eyes the colour of tree roots slowly, fluttering his long eyelashes, before answering slowly.

“I’ve heard of her. You said that a little girl came instead of a boy. But why is she so small? Is she nine?”

“I don’t know since I never enter the palaces. She’s 14. Please come to the Central, alright? I’m doing all the administrative work you need to do.”

“Why should I do it when there’s someone good doing it already?”

He rubbed his eyes leisurely before giving a long yawn. He sounded relaxed.

“So, why did you bring this little one? Is this a date?”

“I already said no!”

“Then why were you here on a side road when the Aedile sent a message saying that you were headed for the training grounds.”

Looking at the silent Soricks, I thought for a moment.

Soricks, you habitual criminal.

Eventually, Soricks was dragged by the man whose name was Metaus to the training grounds.

“That man is Metaus. He’s a handyman.”

“Look here, you’re misunderstanding. I’m a templar of thieves, you know?”

As he chatted with the man we met on the road, I learnt that the man’s nickname was Meta who was Soricks’ colleague and partner. He was also a Templar of Deception and Thievery who could use the sword very well.

“It’s your fault I missed the sight.”

“Yes yes. Sorry for bringing the little one, Sir Metaus. But what did you mean by sight?”

Soricks asked after avoiding a fist being swung at him by lowering his head quickly.

“While I was trying to find your guy, Lord Potaterus and Lord Chosone was struck by a random knight. The Hall of Freedom went nuts.”

“What? They’re both sword templars. You mean the Commander was struck?”

“Right. So do you know what you did wrong? I could not see it. An amazing knight appeared before disappearing as fast as he came.”

Throughout their conversation, fists continue to fly in the air as my feet was being constantly lifted up from the ground. Was this alright? I was not that surprised since this might be their own way of training. Both were one of the best even within the 4th Administration troops so their training was vigorous.

“So who was the crazy guy who beat those two? Did the Duke of Devolo pass by?”

“I don’t know. He did not sound like a templar. His hair was not white and neither was he a duke. Moreover, Peronel said that he was not a templar. Though he’s not as good as you, Peronel is also quite good at striking the right places.”

“It’s not about striking, it’s about being able to distinguish the right places in the first place?

“Lord Chosone said that with his sword alone, he could even defeat templars.”

“The Commander must be in a huge shock.”

Looking at the rectangular plot of land that could be seen from a distance, I wondered if the ground was soft.

“I’m not so sure but Lord Chosone seemed to recognise him.”

“Oh my, who is he?”

“I heard he had been kicked out a long time ago when he was in the Central Division. Then, no one spoke of him since.”

As soon as he stepped onto the training ground, Soricks replied.

“The Central Division? That means he’s an absolute elite. Are you sure he’s a normal human?”

“That’s what Peronel said.”

“That’s a little suspicious. Honestly, Peronel’s not as accurate as me.”

Soricks tilted his head.

“First of all, it is almost certain that a templar’s body will be stronger than that of a normal’s. He’s just human and he’s capable of that? He must be a templar candidate.”

“That, I do not know.”

When he noticed a gang of men approaching loudly, Meta tried to add more but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the men’s chatter and the training soldiers.

“He had navy coloured hair and looked young. Remember that.”

“What, who’s this cute child?”

“This is the errand child?”

“Oh my lord, so the Aedile’s been playing with such a cute child all by himself?”

The troops were dressed in comfortable clothes and rushed over at the sudden appearance of a child curiously. They showed interest by asking about my age after guessing for a while and offering me some iced water. Of course, they were all wrong in their guesses.

“Back off, you guys. You’re scaring her!”

At some point, Soricks pushed me behind him and held me so that I would not get pushed around by anyone.

“Come on! Are you guys not going yet?”

Watching the men pushing against Soricks behind Soricks himself, I felt like a celebrity that just got out of her van. With a wave of my hand and a glimpse of smile, they would go nuts. If these people were their fans, any celebrity would be happy.

“Seriously, stop humiliating our troop’s image! Since when have you made a fuss when you saw children?”

Receiving the hands of an Imperial for marriage was rare and the same went for templars and noble which include high-ranking templars. The more templars there were, the more individuals there were for each deity so the strength of the deity would be further divided amongst them.

The Imperial Family and some temples in which the divine powers were passed down through blood inheritance have implemented some birth restrictions in order to continue their divine lineage which limited the number of new templars. For that reason, children were rare in places like the Imperial Palace since women rarely gave birth unless they were young footmen, maids or staff. Children were especially rare in groups of templars or troops.

Furthermore, most templars were often kept in isolation from their childhood and were rarely seen as a child. That was why Soricks had to shield me from these crazy men. Only then did I realise that their interest in me was borderline obsession.

“Child, I have a gift! A gift!”

“Do you like shiny things?”

“Hey, I have something shinier!”

Since their job was to patrol the capital and try to prevent crime, they did not know how to treat a child, But since they said it was a gift, I took it from them. It looked like a very sharp dagger. Something an assassin could be seen using.

“Hey, are you mad? Who gave a child a shuriken!”

Soricks, who was the only one sane in this situation, scolded the troops. They still did not understand what was wrong with their gift but they apologised though some were still confused.

“It’s because they’re single templars. They like children your age. Everyone’s longing for their homes and want to get married.”

Listening to the men’s stories, I heard about their struggles be it physical battles or mental barriers. Once the questions turned on me, I noticed the gap between our ages and realised that it was time to head back.

T/N:

I think we all know who that knight is. Also take note that I’ll be changing ‘Sir Ray’ to ‘Lord Ray’ yeet