8- I don't want to be an emperor.

He sneaked out again at night. This time he wore a long cloak since he was heading to the slums, where his nobleman's face might draw unwanted attention.

He walked into the dark alleys, then stopped.

This place was a den full of dirty and corrupted criminals, that’s what he was told, going there blind would only waste his time.

It's better to know where to go for accurate information rather than waste time searching.

But where can he find a suitable person to search the area for him?

He didn't have manpower in his hands and couldn't talk to Hugo, or he would expose himself for sneaking out.

A gust of wind hit him. He grasped the hood of his cloak over his head and sensed the wind waving his hair and earrings.

Earrings!

'The little friends' he got from contracting with Blue, invisible, and untouched particles who can go anywhere.

That's the best he got.

He touched his earring, and voices filled his ears.

{You won't believe what we saw!}

{Let me tell you a story!}

{We have a lot to tell you, first.}

Raihle's head throbbed; he rubbed his temples and said, "First, can you do me a favor?"

{Of course!}

{I don't know; it depends.}

{Tell us! Tell us!}

They all had different sounds; some sounded childish, others sounded playful, and others had husky voices, but all of them felt equally annoying to Raihle.

"I want you to check around this place. I'm looking for someone who sells information_"

{That's pretty easy! I'm going right now!}

"Wait," Raihle stopped them, "I don't want to deal with a dirtbag; if you can, find me the most descent person you can get."

{Ok!}

{Leave it to me!}

{We will tell you everything about everyone later! Count on us!}

Raihle quickly touched the earring again and switched to silence.

He will have to come back later.

Raihle's level improved faster after taking double classes, one with the professor and one with Loka.

He was getting closer to a normal teenager's level of education, and it was comforting for both him and Hugo.

Hugo never saw him after the last time, but he was getting reports from the servants and Loka.

Today, a new person arrived at his office.

"So, you want me to train him?"

Hugo shook his head. "No, just teach him a few tricks." He clicked his tongue. "That boy looks like he would break like a twig."

The knight's captain, Douglas Sirr, had a stern face as he leaned closer. "But isn't he going to the emperor? He will have to go down the Abyss. If he isn't trained properly,

"No, no," Hugo shook his hand carelessly, "don't get your hopes up; he will probably be declared crazy before that happens." He opened his drawer and picked up a fancy bottle of wine. "Before going, would you like a drink?"

Douglas's eyes wrinkled, and he refused. "Then I will summon his highness after his classes." He said this before excusing himself.

Hugo didn't pour his wine and drink from the bottle itself; he looked at the view outside his window.

It was the knight's practice spot; he will be able to watch Raihle training from up here.

Hopefully, he would see his ass kicked for calling him an old man the other day.

After Loka's lessons ended, he guided Raihle to the training range.

The few knights who worked there moved their places, and there was only the captain waiting for him.

He was tanned and coated with sweat; he stopped swaying his wooden sword when Raihle and Loka came.

His eyes scanned Raihle closely, and he felt an urgent need to sigh and rub his temples.

Raihle looked like the typical beautiful and fragile nobleman.

Like a decorative sword that is put on display to be admired but has no actual use in battle.

It was hard to change a person's nature in a few days or months.

‘I heard he killed the Devil’s grandson?’

Now that he saw him with his own eyes, he knew instantly that it was a false rumor.

Douglas felt pity for this prince, who had never wielded a sword in his life. 

While Douglas gave him sympathetic, glowing eyes, Raihle's focus was on the traumatic memories brought up by looking at the swords and the training ground.

Hyun Wa wouldn't have picked up a sword before his mother forced him to go and train with their neighbor's daughter, who apparently didn't have friends to train with.

It only took him five minutes to realize why.

That girl was absolutely crazy.

She took the instructions from her tutor and turned them into a whole new style of viciousness. His body was covered in bruises every day; he even called her house the monster's den, while his brother, who had nothing to do with martial arts, laughed at his pain.

Thanks to her weird style of fighting, he also ended up developing a weirder technique.

It was driven by his defense mechanism and perfectly suited her monstrous martial arts.

Even to this day, the sword of all weapons gave him a blood rush, reminding him of his childhood pains.

"Your highness, I'm your new knight's captain, Douglas Sirr. I will start training you for some time, but beforehand I want to test you." His eyes met Loka's.

"And you are?"

"Loka Chiron."

Douglas opened his eyes.

'The Marquis's son? No wonder.'

This young nobleman had much better shape than Raihle, and he now assumed it was only natural since he was the son of a famous nobleman.

A son of that powerful, intelligent man will definitely be top-notch in everything.

*Ahem*

"Why don't we let Mr. Chiron here spare with you?"

Loka's face turned colorless. "What?"

"I will be watching you two."

"Sounds good."

Raihle didn't mind and moved to pick up one of the wooden swords, while Loka was still frozen in his spot.

"But your highness..."

"What?" He didn't look at him and focused on choosing what sword felt right to him.

"What if... what if I hurt you?"

Raihle took a long, thin sword with a firm hilt, then turned at him with a slightly tilted head and narrowed eyes, asking, "Do you want to hurt me?"

Loka shuddered as if he were taken by surprise and closed his lips. "Of course not."

"Pick up a sword, then."

Raihle gathered his hair into a ponytail and stood facing Loka with a straight back. His gaze never changed, making it hard for Douglas to know if he was completely solemn or just unbothered by this small battle.

'At least his posture is good.'

He assumed that he probably copied it from the knights he saw.

On the other hand, Loka's back was still facing Raihle, his fists clenching and unclenching on the swords. He looked as if he couldn't choose which one to fight with, but Raihle saw him hesitating about something else, but he didn't know what.

"Whenever you are ready," Douglas said.

Loka fastened his grip on the hilt of a similar long sword and turned toward Raihle.

"Alright, then you can start." Douglas stated, however, that none of them moved.

Raihle kept the tip of his blade pointed at Loka, but he stared silently.

Loka's hand was sweating already, his knuckles were turning white, and his throat kept swallowing.

"Do you want to start?" He asked in a dry voice.

Raihle wanted to test something, so he said, "No. You start."

"Okay," he said, moving one step ahead. "Don't get hurt." He jumped forward and clashed his sword with Raihle's.

What he didn't expect was that Raihle would withstand the impact and not move an inch while he pushed his sword into his.

He looked into the glaze of his greenish eyes. "I won't." He assured him with icy words.

Loka gritted his teeth and sent another hit again, slamming the two wooden blades, Raihle stopped it, stopped the next, and dodged when he swayed it again.

Douglas observed while crossing his arms over his chest.

Loka was pretty good; he had the expected skills for a person who had been tutored by experts all his life.

But what had him frowning was Raihle.

He expected him to be on his back from the first hit, but he somehow managed to withstand Loka's attacks, and not by coincidence.

‘He is actually good.’

Raihle felt the power in Loka's hits getting stronger; he was putting more weight on them, and from the expression on his face, he could tell he was losing the hold on his emotions.

He should start now, then.

In between Loka's attacks, Raihle removed his blade from his face and raised it at him.

Loka wasn't expecting him to drop the defense and go for the attack; he barely managed to stop him from crushing his head.

The clash of the two swords was so loud that it made Douglas subconsciously flinch.

Loka had to hold his sword in his hand; his knees were shaking. The weight Raihle threw at him in his hit made it feel like a whole carriage fell on him.

There was no shift in Raihle's cold face; his skin shone with a few sweat beads, and his cold voice made Loka's body shudder.

"Don't get hurt." He repeated the same words back to him.

A swarm of attacks rained at him in a matter of seconds, and he was pushed backwards with every hit. 

He was faster than him; he couldn't breathe, and he couldn't see the sword.

He was aiming for his leg when he defended his shoulder, and he attacked his waist when he protected his leg. He couldn’t see through his movements and didn’t have the time to process before getting attacked again.

Every time the wood touched him, he felt as if his bones had broken.

He clenched his jaw hard until he felt like crashing his teeth.

His lungs shrank; no air was able to enter his body.

Raihle preyed on him without skipping a beat.

Raihle went for his head, and he was sure his scale would definitely crack if he hit it. 

He quickly gathered all his strength in his arms to stop it, but Raihle attacked his wrist instead, and the sword was sent flying while Loka dropped to the ground, gasping.

His face was glazed with sweat, his hair got stuck on his skin, and his clothes were a mess.

Raihle used the tip of his sword to lift his chin.

Compared to his burning eyes, Raihle's were as cold and ferocious as a deadly blizzard.

"Are you okay?"

That was the last thing he expected to come out of Raihle's mouth—not with that empty face, not after what had just happened.

He avoided his eyes; his chest was still throbbing, and his whole body felt like it was about to explode.

"Fine." He said it in a throaty voice.

Raihle kept his eyes on him.

'Did I hurt his feelings?'

That wasn't his intention; he wanted to see to what level Raihle's body corresponded with his original body and to test whether Raihle had any hidden physical strength. He discovered that, despite his appearance, Raihle actually possessed a fair amount of strength and stamina.

He turned at Douglas, who forgot to close his hanging mouth.

"How was the test?"

Douglas quickly closed his jaw and rubbed his face.

"Ah, it was good; I mean, you were good." He looked at Loka on the ground. "Why don't we pause the lesson for today? Mr. Chiron, please get some rest."

Loka got up and walked away without putting his eyes on Raihle.

Raihle watched him go with a bitter taste in his mouth. He had no reason to break that kid's confidence or pride.

"Is there anything else you want from me?"

Douglas also wanted to run away with Loka, but he gathered himself and shook his head.

Raihle threw his sword to the ground and went back inside.

Hugo waited for him to disappear from his sight before he closed the window.

"What the hell was that?"

How can a kid who can't even read wield his sword like a mass murderer?

He had never witnessed such material arts like this before, despite the fact that he had learned plenty of them.

What Raihle did was absolutely vicious and brutal; it was a style to be used to slay beasts, not humans.

If those swords weren't made of wood, the ground would be covered in blood, and Loka's body would be so severely distorted that even his parents wouldn't recognize him.

Hugo got goosebumps just by imagining it. He turned away from the window and rubbed his skin.

"He isn't just disrespectful but also terrifying."

Raihle wanted to sneak out tonight; if those little friends of his haven't finished their search yet, he might as well explore the city more, but on his way out, he saw a light reflection on one of the library's windows.

"Don't tell me..."