Chapter 68: Changer
Kane Erez was a knight currently on rest due to an injury and would return to duty soon. His father, Marquis Erez, said, “Watch the second prince.”
“Yes?”
Kane was the firstborn of the Marquis of Erez. As the eldest son who would inherit the title, he had a talent for swordsmanship. For this reason, he had been escorting the royal family ever since he was knighted. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“While you were resting, your assignment changed.”
Kane was originally stationed in the first princess’s palace. The Marquis of Erez had been supporting the Crown Prince with Duke Ernest for generations, but Kane was more comfortable working in the first princess’s palace.
“I changed it.”
Kane sighed after hearing his father’s proud words.
“What is the reason?”
“You’re quite talkative today. Naturally, I thought I should keep an eye on the second prince’s side.”
“….”
Kane bit his inner lip, confused. While he was resting to recover from his injuries, rumors had spread about a new prince. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. He heard that this prince was the son of a beautiful woman who had spent one night with the emperor long ago. In short, the woman’s son had been living outside the palace but had made a significant contribution upon his return to the capital, and was now officially appointed as a prince.
“Watch closely and report any suspicious activities immediately. This is very important for the family,” Marquis Erez ordered.
Kane didn’t like the order, but there was no point in arguing with his father, so he agreed for once.
“All right.”
As a result, Kane Erez was officially assigned to work at the second prince’s palace, against his own will.
“Fuuu…”
Kane sighed as he walked through the palace gardens where the prince’s residence was located. Today was his first day on the job. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. It was customary to greet the prince, the owner of the palace, first. However, the prince was meeting a guest. Kane mumbled as he stood in the garden.
“I’ve been swept up in annoying things.”
Kane didn’t know what kind of person the second prince was and disliked this assignment. At twenty-seven, and having already established himself as a knight, he obviously didn’t want to engage in anything he considered pointless.
“I can’t believe he changed my assignment arbitrarily…”
In the first place, Kane wasn’t interested in politics personally. He intended to put an end to the damn political disputes that had been ongoing for generations.
Eventually, Kane arrived at the exercise hall.
“—Why is everyone doing this?”
When Kane arrived, he saw men lying on the dirty floor. Surprisingly, they were all knights of the Imperial Palace. Some of them were familiar to him. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
A knight slowly raised his hand to greet him. “Hey, Kane, you actually came.”
Kane replied bitterly, “Yeah, it’s been a while. But why is everyone doing this?”
The knights, who usually talked about the honor of knighthood, were wriggling like caterpillars. To be honest, it was kind of funny.
“It’s hard.”
“What?”
“Of course, it’s training.”
Kane put on a puzzled expression. “How can you guys say training is difficult as knights? Haven’t you all done it once or twice?”
A few other knights, who had been squirming on the floor, turned their heads and looked at Kane. It was like a scene from a zombie movie, making Kane flinch.
The knight who was talking to Kane gave him a compassionate look. “You haven’t been through training here yet. Training here is different from other places.”
“What does that mean?”
The knight waved his hand in annoyance. “Just try it first.”
“….”
When a colleague says something like that in a new workplace, anyone would feel uncomfortable. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘What kind of personality does the prince have? Why is everyone doing this?’
Was he a huge weirdo? Or was he very arrogant due to his sudden rise in status overnight?
Kane soon had an answer to his question. Sigren returned to the exercise hall after finishing his conversation with Fiona.
The knights who saw the prince’s appearance groaned.
“I thought today was the end…”
“I guess Lady Fiona went back early.”
Who was this Lady Fiona?
Kane was unaware of recent developments in noble society since he had been away for a while. But he finally saw his new boss. They said the prince had just turned twenty, and he certainly looked a bit younger in Kane’s eyes. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘You must be popular because you’re handsome.’
Aside from that, the prince’s eyes were sharp and cold for his age, and Kane couldn’t help but stare. But that was the end of his first impression of the prince.
“Why is everyone lying down?”
The knights stood up immediately, despite their exhaustion.
Seeing that the knights had regained their posture, Sigren turned his head to look at Kane.
Their eyes met.
“Kane Erez. This is the first time I’m meeting you, Prince Sigren.” At the same time, Kane lightly placed his left knee on the ground, adopting the posture of a knight greeting the imperial family. “From today on, I’m tasked with protecting Your Highness’ palace.”
Placing the left knee on the ground was the proper formal etiquette for greeting the imperial family. Normally, this would be replaced with a light bow of the head. Kane knew this too, but on a first meeting with an imperial family member, it was standard to show formal etiquette, which is why he did it. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Sigren looked at him as if he were a strange creature.
Kane was confused. ‘What did I do wrong?’
He wondered if he had placed the wrong knee on the ground, but he was certain he had used his left knee.
“Get up, Sir Erez.”
“Yes.”
Kane stood up. “Ah, if possible, I would appreciate it if you could call me by my name.”
“Let’s do that.”
As he answered, Sigren continued to stare at Kane with a ‘what the hell is this guy doing?’ expression.
Kane suddenly felt it was a bit unfair to receive such a stare. Fortunately, his curiosity was soon resolved. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“This is the first time someone has greeted me with formal etiquette.”
“Is that so?” Kane didn’t understand why others, despite being knights, didn’t follow basic etiquette.
Sigren put on an apathetic expression. “Well, that’s fine. First, I’d like to see your skills.”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t impress me, I’ll kick you out right away.”
“Wait, I can’t believe you’re kicking me out as soon as I arrive—”
Sigren didn’t listen. “Draw your sword.”
The other knights nearby looked at Kane with sympathy. It was then that Kane realized why everyone seemed to be dreading this. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘That’s why everyone wanted to die.’
“Hurry up. And just so you know…”
Sigren drew his sword.
“I don’t wait long.”
KLANG!
The sound of swords clashing echoed through the exercise hall.
Kane quickly blocked the sword Sigren swung.
A faint smirk appeared in Sigren’s eyes as his sword was blocked.
On the other hand, Kane felt like he was dying. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
KIIK!
The sound of swords clashing echoed horribly.
‘I heard he’s twenty years old, but his skills…’
It was obvious that if Kane made any mistakes, he would be hit instantly. The welcome ceremony was very harsh.
Kane, who suddenly had a sore throat, said, “I’ll do my best not to get kicked out.”
Sigren grinned. “Good attitude.”
KLANG!
The sword struck again.
Kane barely held his breath. Apparently, the new boss had decided to kick him out from the start.
‘It’s all Father’s fault!’
The sound of iron clashing against iron rang out in the exercise hall. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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