Chapter 9
An Unexpected Visitor
“Do you mean that there was a restriction on visitors until now?” Sungjin asked Edith as he took a bite out of the plain toast that was served before breakfast. “Since when?”
“I’m not sure when it started exactly, but I’ve been here for two years. It must have started before then, so it’s been longer than that,” Edith replied, pouring out a cup of water.
According to her explanation, the few staff members and resident knights aside, no visitors had been allowed to enter the Pearl Palace. If someone really wanted to visit, they had had to submit an application to the Main Palace. There had been no exceptions, even for members of the imperial family. And since most applications were rejected, the palace had practically been a restricted area.
“Wait, am I allowed to leave, though?”
Edith shrugged. “I don’t think there were any rules about that. It was simply that you hated leaving the Pearl Palace, so you never really left in the first place.”
Sungjin was relieved to hear that Morres hadn’t been imprisoned in the Pearl Palace. He recalled how Morres had refused regular audiences with the holy emperor just because he couldn’t bother to visit the Main Palace once a week. How could a prince of the holy empire have such a pathetic social life?
“Every two months or so, though, you went to the Townhouse to see a friend.”
“A friend?”
“Yes, I believe you mostly met with Lord Scarciapino.”
So Morres hadn’t been completely friendless.
“Hmm.”
Sungjin thought about it as he chewed on some salad. Apparently, there were no such restrictions on the Blue Rose Palace or the Silver Rose Palace, where the other princes and princesses lived. So the restriction had been aimed solely at Morres. Perhaps it had something to do with how few staff members there were at the Pearl Palace. But even if he had been a notorious scumbag, was it right to isolate Morres by prohibiting visits, even from his friends and family? Morres had been belligerent, sure, but he hadn’t committed any atrocious crimes. Such imprisonment may have had an adverse effect on his personality and reputation.
“You said the restriction was partially lifted? Why wasn’t it completely lifted?”
“His Majesty is still prohibiting high priests and holy knights from visiting.”
“That’s…”
That meant that no one with strong holy power was able to enter the Pearl Palace at all.
You’re right. It’s really suspicious.
What exactly was the holy emperor up to? If only he had known this would happen, he would have been more proactive about gathering information while the demon king still had the power to scan others’ souls. Sungjin, still filled with worry, finished his meal and sighed.
Well, there’s no use racking my brain about it now. I can’t read the holy emperor’s mind anyway. Whatever the reason had been, the holy emperor had lifted the restrictions right after the audience with Sungjin. That meant that he had left a pretty good impression. Maybe he just thought I didn’t seem like I would cause so much trouble even if I had some freedom now. Let’s just focus on what I can do now.
He pushed all his trivial thoughts out of his mind and ran to the training ground.
“One, two! One, two!”
As always, Sungjin started his training with laps around the training ground. Now, he could walk consistently at a brisk pace without overwhelming his body. Compared to how he had practically crawled around the training ground on the first day, this was impressive progress. He had added the occasional weight training to his routine too, since he was losing weight faster than he had expected and was worried about muscle loss.
The knights of the Pearl Palace had grown accustomed to Sungjin’s appearances and had resumed their training, keeping out of Sungjin’s way. Their thorny stares hadn’t disappeared, but they weren’t being openly hostile like before.
That’s right. This is my training ground. They’d better watch themselves.
Sungjin scoffed as he caught his breath. He noticed someone he didn’t recognize standing at the entrance to the training ground. He was a large, muscular man with a perfect posture. He looked around at the entrance for a bit, then noticed Sungjin and approached with a smile.
Hmm? He’s like an innocent golden retriever. Where have I seen him before?
“Your Highness!”
The man strode forward, his brilliant blond hair fluttering, then put his right hand to his chest as he gave a perfect, angular bow.
“Prince Morres.”
Sungjin stayed silent. So, where have I seen you before?
The man’s eyebrows drooped. “It’s Masain Klanos, the captain of the Second Order of Knights of the Imperial Guard, Your Highness.”
Oh, the nice knight captain that escorted me at the Main Palace.
Feeling guilty, Sungjin greeted him with an exaggerated laugh. “Sir Masain! I didn’t expect to see you at the Pearl Palace. What brings you here? Are you off duty today?”
The captain was not in his knight uniform but in simple, comfortable, everyday clothes with only a sword at his belt.
Sir Masain smiled a little and scratched his head. “I heard that the visitor restrictions were lifted as of today. I never got the authorization to visit before. I’m deeply sorry for never visiting you at your sickbed.”
Sungjin blinked at the unexpected answer. Was the man saying that he had often applied for visitation before his illness too? And had he been the first one to come running as soon as the restrictions were lifted? Wait, was this knight captain, like, close to Morres or something?
The demon king told him off sullenly.
Damn it, I’m so sorry for not recognizing you, Sir Masain. Sungjin tried not to cry at the guilt pouring in, but the knight captain didn’t notice at all. He asked cheerfully, “I heard you’re working hard to train your body. Do you always come to the training ground around this time?”
“Yeah, I spend most of the day at the training ground if possible.”
“That’s excellent!” Sir Masain nodded, a warm smile in his eyes. “Then, from now on, I should come to the training ground around this time too, if possible.”
“You, Sir Masain? Why?”
“It’s an order from His Majesty. He asked me to look over your sword fighting in my spare time.”
The holy emperor had said that he would send “someone suitable” and he had sent a whole knight captain. That had only been yesterday. The holy emperor didn’t waste any time.
“I’m not very skilled, but I have a knack for basic aura practice lessons. I’m sure I can help.”
“Whoa, really?”
“Yes. I’m usually the one to train new squires.”
He was young but already a knight captain. Sungjin was sure that he was skilled, but he was just being humble about it. Considering his humble attitude, his confidence in his basic training signaled that he really was an excellent teacher for it.
Masain read the admiration and anticipation in Sungjin’s eyes. He laughed sheepishly and scratched his head. “It’s embarrassing, but I myself was quite late to learning aura. I studied the basics for far longer than others, so I developed a solid base.”
Was Masain one of those people who learned to feel aura late but mastered it quickly? His skill was guaranteed and he had a good foundation. The holy emperor could not have chosen better.
Sungjin grinned. “I trust you entirely. I look forward to training with you, Sir Masain.”
“Yes, Your Highness!” Masain bowed his head, grateful.
“Hmm, anyway…” Sungjin felt that something was missing and looked around the training ground. Just as he had thought, all of the Pearl Palace resident knights that had been cramped in corners, hard at training, had disappeared without a trace. Why was that? He was sure that before Sir Masain had shown up…
Sungjin was looking suspiciously around the training ground when Masain asked, “Your Highness, I usually teach sword fighting, but do you have any weapons that you prefer to use in particular?”
“Weapons?”
Sungjin considered this. When he had been fighting against monsters on Earth, most of the world’s infrastructure had been destroyed and the supply of everything was lacking. It had been the same for weapons. Firearms did nothing to monsters’ thick skins, and the few weapons that weren’t firearms were easily chipped or broken after a few slashes. Therefore, hunters had to get by on their reinforced bodies alone. They could rely on nothing else. Sometimes they would roughly sharpen a monster’s nails, pincers, or teeth and swing them around, but could those really be called weapons?
“I don’t think so.”
“Then do you have any memory of learning sword fighting as a child?”
“None. It’s all completely gone,” Sungjin said with a cheerful smile.
Masain sighed. “Okay. Then I think we should start off with the standard sword discipline used by the Imperial Knights and the Banahas practice.”
“Are there other choices?”
“The Imperial Order of Knights study the sword and the spear in parallel, but as for aura practices, the standard principle is not to branch out to other practices until you’re familiar with one of them. Generally, we start students off with the intuitive Banahas practice rather than the Wirose, which was developed for the spear discipline. Though, in the end, you’ll have to learn both anyway,” he explained.
Sungjin tilted his head sideways and asked, “Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just focus on one practice until you master it completely? I heard that at a certain level of mastery, the difference between various practices doesn’t matter much.”
“Huh?” Masain made a strange face. “Who told you that?”
“My father told me that the aura flows naturally to where one intends…”
“Shush!” Masain suddenly yelled, his expression stiff. Sungjin flinched. It was scarier when a usually gentle person grew angry. “A certain level of mastery? At exactly what level of mastery do you think that’s achieved? How many people do you think could even approach that level, even if they poured their entire lives into it?”
“Uh…”
“Naturally to where one intends? What? That’s no advice for a beginner, is it? Is it?”
Hey, now, don’t get mad at me.
Sungjin had broken out in a cold sweat when Masain shoved his face right up to Sungjin’s nose and said sternly, “Do not ever think of learning anything from His Majesty! If he told you anything at all, you must forget all about it right here, right now. It’s imperative!”
Sungjin stayed quiet.
“Do you understand?”
You said it. Sungjin suddenly had the feeling that his classes with Masain weren’t going to be a breeze.
The first class was something to celebrate, but they didn’t immediately jump into learning how to swing a sword. Masain joined Sungjin on his laps around the training ground and lightweight exercises, meticulously checking his overall physical capabilities. Whenever Masain had the chance, he explained the history of the standard sword fighting style of the Royal Order of Knights and the characteristics of various aura practices. And just like that, the morning went by. Masain ended the class with an explanation of a simple meditation technique.
“If I start working late at the Main Palace, I’ll be free to give you lessons in the afternoons as well. If I can’t, I’ll use some of my vacation days!” the knight captain said, his motivation on fire.
Sungjin waved his hands in shock. He was going to keep up his hours at his main job and even use his holidays to do this job? Despite his reliable first impression, Sir Masain proved more and more to be wide-eyed and gullible.
* * *
Sir Masain wasn’t the only surprise visitor that day. Sungjin had just finished lunch and was doing light exercises in his room when Edith knocked on the door with a concerned face.
“Your Highness, Princess Amelia is here. I’ve led her to the parlor for now.”
Who’s Amelia?
The demon king had gathered some information before he had been nerfed into a navigation system.
The first princess?
“Nobody told me anyone was visiting. And you just let her in?”
Even if the holy emperor had given up on Morres, the palace of a prince was not somewhere that one could visit at will. Even Empress Consort Lizabeth sent messages before every visit.
“Uh… She just barged in. She said she absolutely had to see you, Your Highness.”
Oh. Of course, she’s a princess, so Edith was probably torn between letting her in and sending her back.
Anyway, this was another sudden situation. Hadn’t the demon king said that Morres hadn’t been too friendly with the other princes and princesses? It also seemed unlikely that the princess was paying him a visit because he had been sick.
Whose fault was that?
Sungjin had no words. There was no way that the visit would be a pleasant one. Sungjin sighed.
“Take me to her.”
Sungjin trudged his way to the parlor with a heavy heart. Before Edith even opened the door, however, he heard a chair inside drag on the floor as if someone was jumping out of their seat, followed by the light taps of heels on the floor.
“Huh?”
The door burst open so suddenly and forcefully that Sungjin almost fell backward before the door. Puzzled, he looked in front of him to see a tall girl staring intently at Sungjin’s face, her hand on the doorknob.
Wow!
The demon king and Sungjin exclaimed at once, mesmerized. The girl in front of their eyes seemed angelic, as if she had just appeared out of holy flames. Her hair tumbled in soft curls, and she was wearing an elegant white dress. Above her cheeks, delicate like a ceramic doll’s, the shadows of her long lashes trembled. A girl as beautiful as a rosebud was looking at Sungjin with tears in her eyes.
“Morres.”
“Uh…”
So, this is Amelia, right? Why was she looking at Morres so affectionately? It didn’t seem like she had the kind of relationship with Morres that the demon king had mentioned. The demon king spouted more useless information.
Shut up!
Sungjin felt cold sweat running down his back as he said, “Uh, um, Sister? What are you doing…”
But Sungjin couldn’t finish his sentence. As soon as he spoke, as if a dam had burst, the girl started crying buckets. And then…
“Morres!” she exclaimed as she threw herself into Sungjin’s arms, making him, at last, fall backward.
“Huh? What?”
“Morres, Morres, Morres!”
The girl didn’t seem to notice that Sungjin had fallen to the floor. She only kept calling out to him as she dug deeper into his arms. She seemed desperate, like a babe to its mother. His chest was soaked with tears in no time.
What the hell is going on? Sungjin couldn’t hide the dismay on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it and pat her back with both his hands instead. The girl’s small, thin shoulders were shaking pitifully. She sobbed sorrowfully as she started talking to herself, repeating, “Oh, you’re alive! I’m back. I’m back again… I’m so, so glad!”
Excuse me?
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