A Bit About the Knights

As Howard walks out of the throne room, he puts up a calm expression on his face to mask his true feelings within him. He could have felt those men, those powerful men close to the prince's father, subtly staring at him, analyzing every bit of his face to determine if he was Kant Maybale or not. But then again, that could just be Kant's paranoid brain playing tricks on Howard's mind.

He knew there was no choice in the matter. Whether Howard liked it or not, he had to show his face to these heads of the five families. Otherwise, it might arise suspicion deep within their them. 'Why didn't the king allow us to meet our new mule boy? What is he hiding?'. Howard could already imagine what they would have thought if they weren't allowed to see him.

Once Howard is out of the throne room, he looks around to try and find Knight Adam. Yet, no matter where he searched, Howard couldn't find him anywhere! He searched nearby the entrance, only to learn that he had wondered off!

"Excuse me, do you know where Knight Adam is?" he asked one of the knights nearby, hoping that they have seen him.

"Knight Adam? I think he went that way…" the knight points at a random hallway. Howard thanked the knight, and continued on his way.

As he looks around for Knight Adam, Howard wonders if they had bought his disguise, that he was some commoner and not the prince they 'allegedly' tried to murder. The man was rocking a completely different hairstyle, alongside some drip unbecoming of a royal prince.

Plus, if they happen to saw his body-double's carcass in the coffin, they might be more inclined to believe that they were looking at a mere peasant in fancy clothes.

The whole situation reminded Howard of that one actor who played a Superman, Henry Cavill. One day, he stood out in broad daylight in the middle of times square, wearing a superman t-shirt near a billboard portraying his face.

Despite being out in the open, people failed to recognize him. This is because when a person is taken out of the context or clothing, they are usually seen in, they have a hard time being identified. He hoped that he would be in the same position, because if he wasn't, he would have hell of a hard time staying on this mortal realm, let alone getting things done.

"I sure hope they managed to pull off a convincing funeral. This entire operation relies on my Clark Kent disguise," Howard thought to himself, whist still keeping that smug face intact.

He eventually finds Knight Adam resting his back on a wall while standing outside a door. Howard was surprised to find him in a more formal uniform.

"There you are, Knight Adam! I have been looking for you!" Howard spoke up. As he got closer, Howard picks up a strong scent of roses mixed in a little bit of sweat, emitting from the man. Looks like he put on a lot of perfume.

"What's up with you smelling like roses? And who gave you those clothes?" Howard asked.

"They gave me some formal clothes to change into. I changed into them while you were inside getting the title," Adam replied.

"And the smell?"

"I may have eh… borrowed some perfume from a lady that works here. She was kind enough to lend me a helping hand," he claimed.

"Hmm… Alright. Anyways, what do we do now? Aren't I supposed to get a new bodyguard?" Knight Adam nods.

""Yes, you are. I am just waiting for them to bring me the book. It has everything we need to know about the candidates. It wouldn't be wise to select someone without it."

"Alright then. How long do you think will they take to bring this book?"

Just as Howard mutters those words, a knight adorned in metal came out of the door, and handed Knight Adam a book with a few hundred pages. Inside, Adam found the pages written in the native alphabet of the people.

"Not too long, I presume," Knight Adam joked.

"Follow me, Mr. Bright. They told me where to go," he claimed.

"Alright then. Lead the way."

As the two walked through the passageway of the palace, Howard noticed the men and women clad in iron giving him strange, dirty looks. It made him wonder, did the knights also not know he was Kant? The same people, who literally saw him walk, talk and eat among the royal family, did not know he was the same person.

Although it did spark confidence in his disguise, and the entire operation as a whole, Howard wondered how they managed to pull it off. For now, there was only one concern he was worried about.

"Excuse me, Knight Adam. How many do you think bothered to show up? I doubt any of the knights here would want to work for me," he brought up, remarking the attitude of nearly everyone in the place.

Given what he knew about the Legion of Knights, mainly through Knight Adam, Howard was unsure as to how Danial would be able to convince any of them to help him without spilling his secret. All the good ones, that is.

"About 53 candidates showed up. That's what this book claims," Knight Adam responds.

"53?!?" Howard spoke up, surprised at the total count of candidates. Although there was a chance that some might not even show up, Howard did not expect this many people to volunteer.

"Yes, 53. Though, I am not surprised, considering a suit of armor and a powerful position is at stake," Adam remarks, while simultaneously confusing Howard.

A suit of armor? Howard could understand the promotion; despite most knights being satisfied with their standing, there was guaranteed to be some who wanted to rise the ranks. That much is obvious. But a suit of armor? How could that be?

Nearly every knight he had lay eyes on dressed themselves in clad of iron. Unless they are expensive piece of equipment only given to the best knight of the kingdom, Howard was unsure how that it could convince so many to join.

"Maybe it is extremely expensive, but this city or the crown can afford it. I mean, they are paying a lot of money for protection. I doubt they would want to cut corners there," he thought.

Howard would have loved to question Knight Adam about it, but his current location was not a safe space to speak out his thoughts. Thus, he decided to keep his trap shut, and ask about it when the time is right. Instead, he moved onto a different question.

"Speaking of which, where are the candidates? Where are we meeting up with them?"

"They are in a building settled just outside the city. We are going to have to take a carriage to get there," Adam answers. Guess the palace didn't have the area to hold the selection here.

The two eventually venture outside the palace and hop on their carriage, the same one they used to come to the palace. After Knight Adam instructs the driver where he needs to go, they set off deep into the city once more.

"Hey, do you think the driver hear us talk inside?" Howard asks.

"I doubt it. It's a very busy morning today. It would be a miracle if he can hear anything happening inside."

"Good. Good. Because I have two questions to ask you," Howard told Adam.

"Go on."

"First, you told me that there were 53 candidates. You reasoned that they entered because they wanted a suit of armor. What makes you think that?" Howard asks.

"Do you not know how expensive a suit of armor is?"

"No, but I presumed it was cheap. Everyone around me wore one," Howard replied.

"Ah. I see. Well, it isn't cheap, your highness. A suit of armor takes a lot of time, money, and effort to make. The kingdom only issues a suit of armor to the most loyal knights of the kingdom, as it gives them a great advantage over anyone else," Knight Adam explains.

"Loyal? Not Strength?"

"The kingdom and the crown deem loyalty more valuable," he answers.

"Alright, but then why do I see a lot of knights wearing it here then?"

"This is the capital, Mr. Bright. At least half of the knight given a suit of armor lives here. Its why they are so common."

"Believe me when I say this, you will see a lot less of them when you head to Lukeword. The knights there would be lucky to have a breastplate," he adds.

"Hmm… Good to know. Anyways, about the other question…"

"Yes?"

"Back in the palace, I don't think the Knights recognized me. The same ones that saw me walking around the place, and talking with people the moment I walked up. I even talked with one of them!

But back there in the palace? They all threw these dirty looks at me, as if they didn't recognize me. Do you know why that is?" Howard questions. Knight Adam stays silent for a minute, clearly giving himself some time to think it through to give Howard a satisfactory answer.

"I do not know much, your highness. We only work on a need-to-know basis. I assume they just told everyone you died of something else. Maybe an infection, or some other disease you caught while they were healing you," Knight Adam replies.

"Hmm… Do you know anyone who has an answer?"

"I presume a lot of the candidates do. I mean, they must have heard of um… the prince's passing. So they might know what their excuse was."

"Good to know."