"Again," Luna said, looking down at my sweaty body.

 

"C- can I catch my breath?" I asked, and Luna raised her eyebrow before sinking her sword into the ground.

 

"Fine, five minutes," Luna said. I let out a sigh of relief, moving to Edith. She handed me a towel, and I smiled at her. Ever since Luna arrived, the main topic of conversation was me and her—some good, some bad, but nothing too extreme. I thought Luna would have trouble with everyone here. Still, surprisingly, she kept to herself, and nobody seemed to bother her. After Luna arrived and appointed Michael as my assistant, I have been busy with my work. I had no time for distraction; when I say distraction, I mean Angela. She has been requesting to see me, and I've declined all of them. Michael informed me that she asked for an audience with my father. I assume she is getting desperate now, but I'm not worried.

 

"Okay, times up, back to work," Luna said, and I sighed, picking up my wooden sword.

 

"So this is who you replace me with? A woman?" I heard. I turned and saw Magus standing with his arms crossed, looking at the two of us. I thought he would be furious about his demotion, but he was pretty calm, which threw me off because Magus is known for being hot-headed.

 

"Yes, but not because she is a woman. It is because she is talented," I said, and Magus scoffed.

 

"Really, because I remember that you never mentioned anything about a mentor or that she is a woman," Magus said. I clenched the wooden sword a bit harder. Why did I ever see him as a friend or even a respectable knight? I felt my blood boil, and before I let my anger get the best of me, I heard Luna laugh. I looked back, and she was hunched over, holding her stomach. After a while, she straightened her spine, looking at Magus with amusement dancing in her eyes.

 

"Wow, I never assumed an imperial knight would be so cynical. But I applaud that you made it this far as the prince's knight with your incompetence," Luna said, and Magus's cool façade faltered.

 

"You think you are strong enough to be a protector, let alone a knight?" Magus said, and I looked back at Luna, and her eyes darkened as she pulled her sword from the ground.

 

"Let us see, shall we," Luna said as she approached Magus.

 

"Fine, but care to make a wager?" Magus said.

 

"Sure," Luna said, and Magus gave her a wicked smirk.

 

"If I win, then I stay the prince's knight, and you will work under me," Magus said, looking Luna up and down, licking his lips, and I began to feel disgusted.

 

"Magus-" I called out, and Luna held her hand out.

 

"Fine, but if I win, then you will be my servant," Luna said.

 

"Absolutely not," Magus said.

 

"So you can make deals, but I can't? Wow, and you call yourself a man?" Luna said, and Magus frowned.

 

"Fine, if that is what you want, then so be it. It is not like you are going to win anyway!" Magus shouted, pulling out his sword. I grabbed Luna's arm, pulling her closer to me, and she looked back 

frowning.

 

"You don't have to do this," I said.

 

"What, you think that I am not going to win?" Luna asked.

 

"No, I just don't want you to get hurt. Magus plays dirty," I said, and Luna removed my hand, holding it for a bit.

 

"Well, news flash, I play dirtier," Luna said, letting my hand go and walking toward Magus.

 

"Your Highness, you should move away from the fight," A knight said to me, and I nodded, moving next to Edith with a clear view of the fight. I watched the Magus smirk at Luna, holding his sword at her.

 

"You better be prepared to bleed, girl," He said.

 

"You know, I am starting to think that the only thing you are good at is running your mouth," Luna said, looking at her nails.

 

I watched Magus huff and charge at her, but he was on the floor in the blink of an eye, and his sword clattered on the ground. She tilted her head, looking at him with a bored look painted across her face.

 

"Do you yield?" Luna asked, and Magus rushed to his feet and grabbed his sword again, charging at her once more. I thought she would knock him on his behind again, but she just dodged Magus's sword easily with little to no effort. Then Luna started to laugh with each swing Magus did. I bit my lower lip, holding in the laughter bubbling in my chest when I locked eyes with Luna, and she gave me a smirk and a wink before dodging Magus again. I started to feel hot under my collar, and I cleared my throat, ignoring the stares that I was receiving from Edith. After dodging a couple more times, I noticed that Magus was getting more frustrated, and he swiped his sword into the ground, kicking up the dirt and blinding Luna. I felt my heart still when I heard Luna groan, jumping back to rub the dirt out of her eyes. I turned my attention to Magus, watching the wicked grin form on his lips, knowing he had won. I opened my mouth to call out to Luna, but the words died at the tip of my tongue when I looked at her. Her eyes were closed, and she faced Magus, gripping her sword tightly. Magus charged at her, and in an instant, Luna managed to knock Magus's sword from his hand and landed a few feet away from him. Magus stood there dazed and confused, but it was only for a second because it was soon replaced with anger as he pulled out a smaller blade and charged her again. Luna dropped her sword and spun around, lifting her leg in the air, and her foot connected with the side of his head, knocking him back a few feet and rendering him unconscious. One of the knights ran up to Magus, checking on him, holding a hand out to ensure he was still alive.

 

"He is unconscious!" The knight shouted. There was a silence, and all the knights were staring at Luna, who was rubbing her eyes. I clapped loudly, and everyone turned their attention toward me.

 

"Well, it looks like we have a victor. Edith, can you tend to Luna because her vision is a bit impaired?" I said to Edith.

 

"Of course, Your Highness," Edith said, grabbing the bucket of water and a rag and running over to Luna. I watched Edith help Luna, and she smiled at her once she could see again. I approached them, giving Edith a smile, which she returned.

 

"Are you alright?" I asked lowly to Luna, but she only looked past me, scowling at Magus's limped body.

 

"Edith, may I see that rag, please?" Luna asked. Edith nodded and handed her the water-soaked rag. She took it and approached the group of knights that were surrounding Magus. Luna cleared her throat, and the knights parted the way for Luna. She walked up to the Magus, kneeling at him before she slapped the wet rag covering his whole face. Luna huffed and reached her hand out to Edith.

 

"Edith, the bucket," Luna said, and Edith ran over, handing her the bucket. Luna took it, and she dumped the water onto his face. Magus jerked and shot up, ripping the rag off his face, coughing and spluttering as he looked around before his eyes settled on me.

 

"Y- Your Highness, you cannot allow this girl to be your knight," Magus said.

 

"I still find your incompetence astounding to me," Luna said, and I noticed that her hair was red. I looked around, but nobody seemed to notice.

 

"I am not speaking to you, woman," Magus said, and Luna grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him in the air.

 

"I don't care who you are, but if you think that you can come here and insult me knowing that you were just knocked on your ass, then you have another thing coming," Luna said.

 

"L- let g- g- go," Magus said. I looked at Luna; she looked angry, but this time felt different. I walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she snapped her gaze to me, and I held back a gasp because I was right. The whites in her eyes were replaced with eerily black, and the center was filled with a fiery red that matched her hair. I had seen her mad once before, but this was different. It was almost chilling.

 

"Luna, let him go," I said to her softly. Luna dropped him, and he landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He began to cough and wheeze to regain the airflow that he lost. I knelt and looked at Magus in his watered eyes, feeling nothing but disappointment.

 

"St- Stephen, you cannot have this monster as you-" Magus looked at me and flinched.

 

"Magus, I am only going to tell you this once. You are an imperial knight, and you chose to protect this family. I am keeping you here because of Angela, but you are walking along a very thin line. If you cross the line one more time, then I will be requesting our head. Understand?" I said.

 

"Surely you won't, Your Highness," Magus said, and I smiled at him, leaning closer.

 

"We shall see, won't we," I said, and Magus pursed his lips, holding his head down.

 

"Now my training has been spoiled. Let us take our leave," I looked back at Luna, but she was not there. I looked at Edith, and she only shook her head. "Edith summons Charles to my study and tells him that I would like to speak with him," I said, walking past Edith.

 

I left the training ground with only one thing on my mind, more like who.