READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 12
At my remarks, Brian’s expression instantly decayed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Brian.
His subordinates yelled at me as soon as they saw the predicament.
“How dare you ask that to the vice-captain…”
Caliberne spoke out just as I was beginning to believe that a red flag wasn’t yet happening.
[That’s the right thing to do.]I felt a bit awful for having the same sentiments about this filthy sword, but I moved past it for the time being.
Brian stopped his subordinates with his arm, while I maintained a stern look at him and stated,
“I’m sure she’s doing this because she doesn’t know anything, so let it go for now.”
He then gave me a grumpy visage and remarked in an eerie voice.
“It’s been a while since she came to the Imperial Palace, so she probably doesn’t know anything.”
At his words, his subordinate knights began to giggle.
In the end, it seemed no different from when they talked behind my back.
I wanted to rip that man’s face off as he had a twisted smirk on his lips.
Brian was groaning his way out of the hallway when I turned to face him and yelled.
“Vice-Captain Tekarke!”
A hard grimace turned to face me with an oval-shaped face.
“How long do you think I won’t know?” Ciel shouted.
Brian didn’t respond.
After pausing for a bit, he simply started walking again in the direction of the training grounds.
⚔️
“You did a good job in today’s class.”
“Yes, Ciel did a great job too,” replied Cedric.
I extended my hand to Cedric, who was beaming broadly.
“Then, could you give me your hand?”
“Yes!”
Cedric offered his hands while displaying a bright smile and white teeth.
So, facing each other with my hands, I slowly opened my mouth to speak.
“You’ve been doing great lately. You’ve done better than I initially expected, so I think we’re making progress quickly.”
“Really?”
Cedric’s face immediately turned pink.
“Yes, you do.”
“Oh… but maybe it’s not because I’m good, but because Ciel taught me well,”
Cedric said while smiling sheepishly.
Was there a young child that would say something comparable at that age?
“Thanks for saying that, but I don’t think so.”
The grades of every student I tutored to make a living in my prior life would have improved dramatically if Cedric’s remarks were accurate.
That was obviously not the case.
“But Ciel’s class was really easy to understand. It’s different from Brian—”
Having run out of things to say, Cedric paused
‘Oops’,
grinned, and then closed his lips.
It’s like saying something that shouldn’t be said.
As I saw Cedric blush in shame, I arched my brows slowly.
“Hey, Ciel, what you just…”
“Your Grace, was Tekarke’s class very difficult?” asked Ciel.
Cedric missed training without Tekarke’s approval because he had insulted me, which I’m aware of since I overheard him talking about me the other day.
Apart from that, I didn’t anticipate his lesson to be challenging.
“No, Ciel. It’s not like that…”
Cedric shook his head and said, “It’s not that Brian’s class was difficult, it’s just that I’m not good enough…”
Cedric spoke in a voice that I could barely make out because of the gloom covering his face.
A dejected face, lacking in confidence in oneself.
He only made that face visible at the beginning of my class.
‘I assumed that by merely instructing him in mana controlling class, I was making it simple to understand.’
Finally, it was claimed that he still lacked trust in his fundamental swordsmanship.
“I don’t think so, Your Grace. It’s not like that at all when I see you in our class. Why didn’t you tell that to his highness?”
The Emperor wasn’t as strict as I thought. If Cedric wants a more basic lesson that fits his level, the Emperor would fully understand him.
‘The Emperor could have taken action if Cedric had informed him,’
Biting his lip, Cedric sighed softly and responded,
“… I didn’t want to be found out that I couldn’t even keep up with basic swordsmanship classes…”
The mana entered Cedric’s hand, which was grasping mine as if to bear an unpleasant emotion.
“Father would be disappointed…”
I forgot for a moment. Cedric had a really challenging upbringing that set him apart from other children, though I wouldn’t know for sure.
“Ah. I’m sorry, Ciel. You probably don’t want to hear this.”
“No, no problem. You can talk freely.”
I spoke while holding Cedric’s hand, which was slightly at ease.
“I know how you feel.”
It was a word that spontaneously sprang to mind.
The instant the words left my mouth, I realized.
They had entirely different backgrounds and attitudes, yet perhaps I recognized myself in Cedric.
When I first caught people’s attention, I might have been looking at myself, afraid of being left again.
Cedric glanced at me in wonder when I stated that.
He gave me a long, unblinking stare, his eyes unclouded, before he bowed his head and mumbled.
“I, of course, love holding hands with Ciel.”
“What?”
While I couldn’t wake my senses at the sudden attack, I pulled Cedric’s hand toward me and laughed happily.
How many people would expect a child with such a bright smile to become a tyrant who would cut people’s throats in the future?
“I didn’t know holding hands with other people could feel so good.”
Cedric, who had his face tinted red, opened his mouth, “It makes me feel warm.”
The fact that he didn’t know that holding hands with others felt like this meant that he had never had a chance to hold hands with others until now.
Despite living surrounded by so many people in the palace.
“I, I’ve never held anyone else’s hand before. Ciel was the first person to hold my hand.”
“You haven’t even held Paul’s hand?”
Then Cedric answered with a sullen face
, “Oh, Paul was tall… I’m more used to holding onto his pants or the hem of his clothes than holding his hand.”
“Ah.”
Cedric mumbled quietly as he nodded his head in intense realization.
“Aside from Paul, actually, nobody reached out to me first.”
And he said, smiling with his clear eyes folded in a crescent shape,
“So I’m grateful to you.”
After hearing that, I couldn’t say anything.
⚔️
‘That man was like trash who threw away his humanity; this was evident in both his words and deeds. It would be strange for him to teach.’
A few days ago, Cedric inadvertently said that Brian’s class was difficult, and I’ve been struggling with that problem lately.
Cedric has done a good job of adhering to my instructions, and from what I gathered, his other classes went smoothly as well.
Rather, academic teachers such as history, monarchy, and language praised Cedric to the point where their mouths went dry, saying that he was obviously a genius.
Only the swordsmanship classes were difficult for him.
‘Despite how many times I consider it, I don’t want to let it slide.’
I chose to remain still for the time being because Cedric didn’t appear to want to admit to the Emperor that he was having trouble in his class, but I didn’t intend to keep silent.
It’s pointless to learn how to control mana if your sword skills are unable to sustain it.
The mana adjustment class was now only at a basic level, but when it advances, its limits caused by the absence of sword skills are going to be apparent.
‘I’m working for 200 million kerta, and I’ll do my best.’
And for my part, I hoped Cedric would grow more comfortable wielding his sword.
Because it was disastrous to constantly be under the strain of a sense of powerlessness that you couldn’t do it and keep up.
“I think it’s here.”
On the first floor of the main palace, this window was situated in the east corridor.
‘And now it’s 3 pm.’It was time for Brian to teach Cedric how to use a sword.
Cedric learned how to use a sword at the outdoor training facility in front of the main palace’s east exit.
In other words, I would be able to observe Cedric’s training a lot from this place.
‘Okay, I could see pretty clearly in this place.’
Sure enough, there was a recognizable figure on the lush grass floor of the swordsmanship training area outside the window.
Cedric and Brian were in class, as I anticipated.
‘Wait, what’s that…?’The horrifying scene that played out in front of my eyes caused me to halt as I continued watching them.