Chapter 78: Don’t talk ill about Master
The Gannon Estate’s training ground was bustling with activity.
It was particularly loud this evening, thanks to a certain boy.
The trainee knights had gathered around the practice ring, forming a loose circle as they watched the two figures standing in the center.
"Hey, hey. What’s happening?"
One of the younger trainees pushed his way through the crowd, craning his neck to get a better look.
"Who are they?"
"The new rookie picked a fight with someone."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
A few more knights squeezed closer to the ring.
"It’s getting fun."
At the center stood two figures.
One was a man in his late twenties, tall and broad-shouldered, with the solid build of someone who had spent years training with a sword. His dark hair was tied back neatly, and there was a faint scar running along his jaw. He wore the standard training uniform of the Gannon knights, already damp with sweat from the evening’s exercises.
The other was much smaller.
A boy.
He barely reached the man’s chest, and at first glance, he looked far too young to be standing in the practice ring against a grown knight. His body was lean rather than muscular, his dark hair slightly messy from training, and his youthful face still carried some of the softness of childhood.
Yet there was nothing childish about the way he stood.
His practice sword rested naturally in his hand.
His feet were positioned firmly beneath him.
And his eyes remained fixed on the man before him without the slightest trace of nervousness.
One of the trainees frowned.
"Wait."
He looked at the boy again.
"Isn’t that the new kid?"
"The one who came back with Sir Gareth?"
"That’s him."
"Arthur?"
"Yeah."
It had been four months since the party had returned to the Gannon Estate.
During that time, Arthur had continued training under Sir Gareth.
The progress he had made had been remarkable.
After only four months of training, the boy had opened his first Star and officially joined the Gannon family’s trainee knights.
He was now a soldier of House Gannon.
And today, he was fighting someone.
Arthur stood silently in the center of the ring.
Across from him, the older knight rolled his shoulders and raised his practice sword.
"So you’re the famous rookie."
Arthur said nothing.
The man laughed.
"What’s wrong? Lost your tongue?"
Arthur continued staring at him.
The surrounding knights chuckled.
"Looks like the kid’s nervous."
"He’s fighting someone twice his size."
"That’s not what I’d be worried about."
The man raised his practice sword.
"I heard you were picked up from a bandit stronghold?"
Still, there was no reaction.
"Tch!"
The man gave up teasing him and took position.
Arthur tightened his grip around the wooden sword.
"Begin."
The moment the word left someone’s mouth, the man moved.
His foot slammed against the ground as he rushed forward, the practice sword swinging diagonally toward Arthur’s shoulder.
Arthur stepped back.
The wooden blade cut through empty air.
The man immediately followed with another strike.
Arthur raised his sword.
–Clack!
The impact pushed him backward.
The man pressed forward.
Another strike.
Then another.
He attacked with the confidence of someone who had already decided the fight was over.
Arthur’s sword moved constantly.
Block.
Deflect.
Step back.
The boy refused to meet the man’s strength directly.
Instead, he let each blow slide past him, redirecting the strikes rather than stopping them.
The knights surrounding the ring slowly became quieter.
"He’s reading the attacks."
"Not bad."
"Look at his feet."
Arthur stepped sideways just as another strike came down.
The man’s sword struck the ground.
Arthur’s practice blade immediately snapped toward his wrist.
The man barely managed to pull his hand away.
His expression changed. For a moment, they both stood still and moved again.
The next exchange was faster.
The man attacked from the right.
Arthur parried.
A thrust followed.
Arthur turned his body and let the wooden blade pass beside him.
The man spun and swung again.
Arthur ducked.
The blade passed over his head.
For a moment, the larger man’s back was exposed.
Arthur stepped in.
His sword struck the man’s ribs.
–Thud.
The crowd erupted.
"Hit!"
The man stumbled sideways.
Arthur did not chase recklessly.
He reset his stance.
The man’s face had lost its smile.
"You little–"
He charged again.
This time, there was anger behind his attacks.
His strikes became heavier and faster, but they also became less controlled.
Arthur waited.
He watched the man’s shoulders.
The movement of his hips.
The position of his feet.
Then the opening appeared.
The man swung too wide.
Arthur stepped inside the arc.
His sword struck the man’s forearm.
Before the man could recover, Arthur’s blade swept against his thigh.
The man lost his balance.
He moved with him.
One step.
Two.
A final strike landed squarely against the man’s chest.
–Thud!
The man froze.
Arthur’s wooden sword was resting against his chest.
Silence fell over the training ground.
The man looked down at the blade.
Then back at the boy.
Arthur lowered his sword.
The man had lost.
The surrounding knights stared.
Some looked impressed.
Others looked stunned.
Arthur turned away.
The man gritted his teeth.
"You think you’re something just because Gareth-"
Arthur stopped.
He turned back.
His expression was completely different now.
There was no hesitation in his eyes.
"Don’t talk ill about Master."
The words were quiet.
But everyone around the training ground heard them.
Arthur sheathed his practice sword and walked away.
Behind him, nobody laughed.
✧ ✧ ✧
From the window of his office, Duke Aegis had watched the entire duel.
His eyes narrowed slightly as Arthur delivered the final strike.
Behind him, Steward Corvan stood with his hands folded inside his sleeves, watching the scene below as well.
"It seems the Young Master has a good eye for people."
Duke Aegis said nothing.
His gaze remained fixed on Arthur as the boy walked away from the training ground.
For a moment, the Duke’s eyes shifted toward Sir Gareth, who stood at the edge of the gathering crowd.
Then they returned to Arthur.
The boy had only been training for four months.
Yet he had already opened a Star.
And now, despite being the youngest person among the trainee knights, he had defeated a man with years more experience than himself.
Aegis’s expression remained unreadable.
He said nothing.
He simply continued watching.
Corvan glanced at him but did not speak again.
There was no need.
The Duke had already begun thinking.
✦ ✦ ✦