Gevanni looked at me sharply. "Who taught you that move?"

He did, but he wouldn't believe me. For him, this was the first time we talked face-to-face.

"Did I do well?"

Gevanni laughed. "Except for that last move, you're still pretty much a beginner, my Prince."

"Gevanni!" Dutro looked chastised. "Please forgive him, Your Highness. He lacked manners."

"It's fine." I  dismissed him and sat down to polish my sword.

Gevanni had taught me how to sharpen swords in the last loop. There was no point in doing it to a rusty weapon like mine, but I found the gesture calming.  Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught Dutro and Gevanni exchanged a glance.

"Your Highness," Dutro kneeled in front of me. "I am glad you don't take Gevanni's jokes seriously, but I also wish you pay attention to your status."

"Why?"

This was a war. Did I have to be the weak seventh prince in a bloody place like this? 

Dutro smiled as if he was dealing with a particularly stubborn child. "Because you're still a prince, Your Highness."

I turned to look at Gevanni. He sighed. "Dutro is right, Your Highness. It's important not to let commoners walk all over you."

||They're right, Erik.||

I stared at the floating text.

"I get it." I didn't get it.

Another knight laughed and stepped in. "It's fine, isn't it? Prince Erik is still young. He'll grow into his status eventually."

He looked like one of those crapheads that would try to scam you, but his smile was warm and sincere. If I remembered it correctly, his name was Quarten. He didn't stand out much, but the more I heard about him from the other knights, the more I felt like he purposefully avoided attention.

Instead of kneeling like Dutro, Quarten simply bent down in front of me. "Your Highness, instead of playing with swords, why don't you try daggers?" He presented the dagger in his hand.

Unlike the sword Commander Range gave me, the dagger was one of high quality and well-maintained.

It was treasured preciously. I took it with a lot of hesitation.

Quarten patted my back. "Well, why don't you try it?"

The knights around here always said that Quarten didn't fit to be a knight. When he swung another pair of daggers with ease, I could see why. Quarten, with his scamming smile and weapon of choice, would fit more in the assassin class.

Dutro glanced between us warily. Gevanni looked intrigued more than anything.

"I am not sure if I can do well." I swung the dagger in my hands, copying Quarten's move.

Quarten's smile widened. "We don't know until we try, right?"

I expected this, but the dagger was really light and small in my hand. It didn't have the safe distance that the sword provided. To attack someone with it, I had to get closer, risking my own safety.

Now that I thought about it, Derita focused more on the long-range attacks, didn't she? I remembered her split-second panic when Commander Range got into her face and managed to cut her arm off.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

"It's nothing," I pointed the dagger forward. "Let's start, shall we?"

"What is it, Luvius?"

Luvius Range turned to see Derek, the Vice Commander, smiled mischievously at him. Out of everybody here, only Derek was close enough to call him on a first-name basis. And, even though Livius didn't want to admit it, they also had become close enough to understand each other.

"Are you worried about the Prince?"

Luvius looked back at the training ground where the knights watched their prince struggling with a dagger.

"Something's weird about His Highness."

Derek's expression turned curious. "Weird how?"

Everything about him.

It was in the way Prince Erik talked about Derita as if he'd fought her before, the way he called the other knights with familiarity. It was in his eyes, older and grieving.

Just yesterday, Luvius caught him holding a casual conversation with the other knights. The brat who came here puking his stomach out was not the type to make small talk with other people.

It was almost like the kid had changed overnight.

Instead of explaining all of this, Luvius asked, "What would you do if the royal family you serve turned out to be a summoner?"

Unlike him and most of the other knights here, Derek didn't believe in the Night Sky. Luvius was grateful for once.

Derek hummed. "I don't know. But if the people want them to be disposed of, then I have no choice but to listen, right?"

"Is that so?"

He had a good point.

"But why do you ask?"

Livius looked back to where the prince continued his training and answered flippantly, "No reason."