Royal Guard

The commander and I both kneel as soon as the crown prince walks into the chamber.

"I greet the only star of the empire, Prince Xydel Fredyn Eran."

"It's good to see you again, Commander Dyle." The little prince's gentle voice is much different from the king's.

Like Commander Dyle, I got to my feet.

I bowed and said, "Nicholas Avenier greets the Crown Prince."

"So you are the new teacher that His Majesty hires?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I'm truly honored for this given opportunity."

"It's nothing, Sir Nicholas. I look forward to our classes together," he replied with warmth.

The Prince is a more delicate person than the king, who has an authoritative demeanor. Perhaps, for this reason, Commander Dyle is quite attached to him.

"I still have a class to attend, so I'll excuse myself," he whispered before leaving the room.

Commander Dyle accompanied me to the chamber reserved for the knights and guards. I thank him before entering the room to which I have been assigned.

I start by observing everything inside. It was sufficiently large, with a single bed to the west of the room, a broad tapestry to cover the window, and a cabinet to hold my possessions. The commander informed me that they are utilizing a common bathroom, which he had mentioned earlier on the way here.

I started by getting my stuff sorted and then I rested for a bit. Soon after, I heard noises outside my room, including footsteps and chatter. The training soldiers may already be retiring to their own quarters because it is already nighttime.

I need to be ready and get a lot of energy back since tomorrow is going to be the first day of teaching the country's most significant figure.

Upon awakening the following morning, I promptly carried out my daily routine from the training camp. I warmed up and then got ready with all the weapons I would need for the Prince's training. It will be simpler to determine what I should teach him since he has his training area. It's a fairly decent training ground; everything you need is there, albeit there isn't much room for combat. It's just the prince and his mentor's exclusive one.

I noticed the prince enter the premises as I was placing the spear next to the other weapons. Even though the sun isn't quite up, his golden brown hair glimmers. People around him will undoubtedly notice him due to his attractive appearance and radiant complexion.

"No, it's fine, you don't have to kneel every time you see me," he remarked, motioning for me not to kneel as a greeting.

"Good morning, Prince Xydel," I said, bowing since he had prevented me from kneeling.

"Good morning to you too, Nicholas," he smiled benignly at me.

"I hope the prince got enough energy for this morning's practice," I stated politely.

"I did! I am excited today. Commander told me that you were one of the finest weapon masters in the training camp in the Western Region of the Kingdom." He said with enthusiasm.

"Not really, your highness. I was defeated during the tournament this year."

"If you win, you wouldn't have been my trainer right? No offense meant but hearing your fight from Sir Alexander makes me wanna see it with my own eyes, and it made me grateful that you were defeated, and His Majesty decided to make you my tutor." That drew my interest. So my uncle paid close attention to me throughout the event.

"That's too much, I am not as good as the winner, but I'm confident that I can help you develop your skills."

"No need to be formal, Nicholas. I've had enough formality in my life so being casual to someone is like a breath of fresh air," he added with a smile.

I answered, feeling a little relieved, "If Your Highness says so."

"Xydel, just Xydel sir Nicholas Avenier. Should we start now?" 

I gave a nod. To evaluate the crown prince's innate skills, I intended to test his proficiency with a variety of weapons first. I will also be aware of his areas for improvement as a result.

"I assume you can use all these?"I asked, looking at the table covered in various weaponry.

Upon first scanning it, the prince appeared to still be unfamiliar with some of the weaponry based on his facial expressions.

"Commander Dyle was the one who taught me ever since so it's just swords and spears but not these things that seem like more of masonry tools?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and remarked, "Yes, it can be tools for carpentry and masonry, but as far as I can tell, you haven't seen it as a weapon, just a mere tool. I think that's the first thing that you should learn, Xydel."

I hauled the mallet onto the dummy, putting a significant amount of energy into it. It happens too quickly and with too much force, shattering the dummy into pieces. I glance across to the crown prince, who appears astonished by my abrupt movement.

"I haven't tried those things before, I guess I was too narrow-sighted to even look at it as a weapon."

"Could you please share with me how the commander trained you? If you don't mind, I'm curious to know."

"The captain is a very kind and patient trainer. He never allowed me to become exhausted and he taught me a lot of useful skills about the sword and spears.

As I listened to the Crown Prince's words, I was taken aback and couldn't help but place my palm on my forehead in disbelief. The commander's treatment of him made it abundantly clear that the Crown Prince was held in the highest esteem and regarded as a cherished member of the royal family who must not be wounded or even allowed to become exhausted.

"Have you ever tried fighting for real? Or even spar until you drop to the ground?"

"The commander has always emphasized the importance of safety during our sparring sessions or when training with a knight, and encourages me to exercise caution to avoid any injuries."

"Then you should prepare yourself already because we will start your real training."

I seized the bow and forcefully hurled it at him, making my intentions clear. "This is going to be far more challenging than what you had anticipated, Your Highness. I will take the liberty to be straightforward with you as your mentor. I will not sugarcoat anything and push you to your limits. This is the only way to unlock your true potential."

He seemed to be a little hesitant but he nodded on my statement.

I began the training session by requesting that he shoot an arrow. I instructed him in all the techniques that Imelda had taught me, from the appropriate stance to the correct way of handling a bow. Although we were not starting from scratch, it was important for someone who was supposed to be a leader of the nation to possess this level of knowledge.

I can't help shaking my head when I asked the Prince more about his training with the commander. He didn't train with Commander Dyle as expected but rather spent their training session talking about living inside the palace.

The training ended with the prince managing to hit the bull's eye with a small dagger.

"I'm sorry if I'm mediocre at these things. I just didn't expect that this is how I should train. Maybe I'm just used to how the commander trained me," said the prince apologetically.

"Let's not overthink it. The king hired me for this reason, Your Highness."

"I am committed to improving and learning from my mistakes. I promise to make this the last time where I let you down."

"Your Highness, you didn't disappoint me at all. I understand how pressured you are by all the responsibility of being an heir to the throne. But it is also my responsibility now to teach you the necessary things for you to protect the country and those you love."

"You now sounded like a big brother to me," he chuckled. "Thank you for motivating me even though we just started today." I sense a hint of sorrow in his voice as he says those words. 

"It is forever my honor to help you, Your Highness." he nodded and went out of the training area to prepare for his next agenda for today.

While taking all the weapons to the weaponry, I saw Commander Dyle walking towards my way. 

"Good morning commander."

"Good morning, Nicholas. I will accompany you to breakfast for today." I nodded and immediately put the remaining weapons on the weapon rack.

When I was done organizing everything, the commander walked alongside me and asked about the Crown Prince's training with me, which I already saw coming.

"I was kind of surprised that he only received the basic training of weaponry since he started training." 

"You don't have to bring his past training up."

"Perhaps that was the reason why the king asked someone to teach the prince?" I said directly.

He looked at me as if I said something that wasn't meant to be said.

"I was just stating the possible reasons, Commander Dyle."

"Then don't even try to use your petty provocations towards me just because you are the Crown Prince's mentor. I won't tolerate any disrespectful remarks towards me, I'm still your commander," he said seriously as if I added salt to the wound.

I just shrugged it off. He's treating the prince like a baby, without even thinking about things that might happen in the future. 

We were both quiet the whole time until we entered the dining area for all the Royal guards. We caught a lot of attention because obviously, I'm with their commander who looks pissed right now. I really hit his soft spot.

"There is a strict meal plan that we are following. There's no time for you to be picky."

"I got no problem with it, Commander."

The meals are simple, yet it looks delectable. There were staff in the kitchen that were serving us as we walked through the lined-up food. 

Even though the commander was displeased with me earlier, he didn't leave me until we got to the table. All eyes are still on us. Perhaps looking into why I was with the commander, or what makes me unique enough that the King himself selected me.

"If you mind those stares, you will have a hard time adjusting here." 

"The reason why they stare is actually that you were escorting me, which they didn't experience maybe?"

"I see you've been a little arrogant overnight."

I once again shrugged my shoulders and started to eat.

"There's the new girl as well. The one who won your tournament." I immediately look at him and follow his gaze. 

There I saw the familiar tan complexion and short hair. 

Milla Bryson.