Chapter 24
Blair stepped forward and picked up a wooden sword that matched his arm length. It was much lighter than a steel sword. Holding a sword in his hand felt quite good. The wooden sword’s handle fit snugly in his palm. After all, Blair loved swords very much. He swung the wooden sword lightly through the air. Though different from the feel of wielding a real sword, this roughness had its own charm. Once the students had picked up suitable wooden swords, the professor spoke again.
“This wooden sword will be your constant companion during the early part of the year, so take good care of it. Don’t lose it, and if you’re worried, leave it here.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Is everyone ready?”
The professor nodded after confirming that all students had picked up their swords.
“Stretch out both hands and assume a horse stance.”
All the students came down to the center of the training ground and took their positions. Professor Plienta demonstrated by bending his thighs at right angles to the ground, making fists, and stretching his arms out to maintain balance.
“Today, the entire class is about maintaining this stance for 10 minutes. You can rest if it gets too difficult. Use whatever means necessary, just somehow last 10 minutes. I can’t watch everyone, so of course you can cheat if you want. But the physical exam at the end of the semester will be exactly this, so it’s in your best interest not to slack off. Oh, and for reference, there are no partial scores for the physical exam. It’s either pass or fail. And yes, that means you can fail the course.”
The professor was skilled at handling students. Was it like this in the past too? Blair couldn’t remember exactly. Everyone spread out with surprised expressions and assumed their positions.
“We’ll do this 10-minute horse stance before class every week, so it would be good to train your thigh and shin muscles whenever you think of it. Now, begin!”
At the professor’s signal, the students began to take their positions. Blair also pressed firmly on the ground with his feet and lowered his body. He straightened his upper body, made fists with both hands, and extended them forward. The professor, who was checking the students’ postures, spotted Blair.
His stance was unwavering, pushing against the ground with his feet, with his thighs forming a perfect perpendicular angle to the ground. Since his young body hadn’t yet developed much strength or muscle, his thighs trembled. Though the sensation was disappearing from his thighs, Blair endured through mental fortitude. Despite sweat pouring from his forehead, Blair kept his back straight. Professor Plienta looked at Blair with a pleased smile.
“Good stance. Have you learned swordsmanship separately at home?”
“I learned a little, just for self-defense.”
“Hmm.”
Blair answered without breaking his stance, raising only his eyes. The professor let out a short sound of admiration, impressed. Professor Plienta observed Blair’s stance once more before moving on. After five minutes, the students’ postures began to collapse one by one. As if expecting this, the professor nodded a few times and clapped his hands. At this signal, the students slumped to the floor.
“Good work, everyone. Your muscles will be sore tonight, so make sure to stretch well. That’s all for today’s class.”
Groans of exhaustion could be heard throughout the training ground. Blair, who had maintained his stance perfectly until then, slowly straightened his body. He felt his erector spinae muscles stretching and being trained. His legs were wobbly, but thoroughly working his entire body wasn’t so bad. Blair had always enjoyed training.
Kyle and Aaron had already sat down on the ground to rest and were observing the changes in Blair’s facial expression. The two admired Blair’s unwavering expression. After composing himself and gathering his wooden sword, Blair briefly greeted Kyle and Aaron.
“Well Aaron, good job, I’ll be going now. See you in the next class. I’ll head out first.”
“Uwah, Blairrr…”
Aaron, sprawled out like a slug, grabbed Blair who was about to leave.
“Blair, let’s go togetherrr. Please don’t abandon me.”
Aaron stood up, holding his trembling thighs, and clung to Blair’s shoulder. How did someone who looked half-dead like a zombie find the strength to get up? It was surprisingly fast, almost unbelievably so.
Since Blair hadn’t finished growing yet, he wasn’t very tall. Of course, Blair would become quite tall once he finished growing. But Aaron remained short even as an adult. Even now, he was similar in height to Blair, who was two years younger. It was the perfect height to hang onto Blair’s shoulder. Aaron leaned his forehead on Blair’s shoulder, hugging his neck and clinging desperately.
“It’s lunchtime after this anyway. Don’t you need to eat too? Blair, let’s eat together. I’m hungry. Eat with me.”
“Aaron.”
Blair showed a troubled expression, but Aaron was persistent. It was impossible to tell if he was genuinely oblivious or just pretending to be.
“Do you have class after this? We all do this to survive. You need to eat properly first. Let’s go to the cafeteria, come on. My legs feel like they’re going to die. Support me, Blair. I won’t ask you to carry me.”
Aaron, who hated physical movement to death, grumbled that his thighs hurt so much he couldn’t possibly walk. Blair, caught up in Aaron’s pace, was dragged to the student cafeteria while groaning. Now as before, Blair simply couldn’t handle Aaron. Caught off guard, Kyle also followed the two heading to the student cafeteria.
Eventually dragged along by Aaron, Blair sat down at a table in the student cafeteria. He looked at the two sitting awkwardly in front of him with a displeased expression. Aaron was grinning, while Kyle was avoiding eye contact with an awkward expression. Blair slightly furrowed one eye. Kyle aside, the leech-like Aaron was always the problem.
Blair inwardly hurled insults at Aaron. Stupid, useless bastard. Having known each other for 20 years, this level of harshness wasn’t really that severe. In the past, they had exchanged much more aggressive expressions with each other.
No, actually, he was the stupid one. Getting caught up in Aaron’s stubbornness at this age. A sigh escaped at his own foolishness.
Blair ran his hand over his face. Aaron, the very person who caused this situation, was still shamelessly grinning, while Kyle was the one checking the atmosphere. After all the fuss about deliberately distancing himself from Kyle, the situation had taken an even worse turn.
Kyle was sitting awkwardly, rolling his eyes around. Blair didn’t want to make Kyle, who hadn’t done anything wrong, feel uncomfortable. He needed to act casual, normal, and natural. Blair let out a short sigh and composed his expression. Being significantly older than the kids in front of him, he shouldn’t act the same way. He was an adult.
Aaron quickly caught that Blair’s expression had softened. Whether he was suppressing his anger or had actually calmed down, Blair’s mood didn’t seem that bad now. This was his chance.
“Well, so. We should introduce ourselves properly, right?”
Aaron cleared his throat and began introducing both sides with exaggerated gestures like a performer.
“This one, you might already know? This is His Highness Prince Kyle Owentree Crassia. The Second Prince.”
“Ah, I see. Pleased to meet you, Your Highness.”
Blair greeted him impeccably politely, perhaps excessively so. Kyle felt an inexplicable disappointment at this clear boundary-setting. But in any case, he couldn’t complain about someone being too polite. Kyle smiled brightly as he accepted Blair’s greeting.
“And this is Blair Shuho Monetery. The third son of Count Monetery. He’s the youngest brother of Viscount Theodore, who’s currently working at the Imperial Palace.”
“Ah, Monetery. I see, nice to meet you. Please call me Kyle.”
Kyle smiled gently and extended his hand. Blair stared at the hand held out in front of him and lightly took it. The Kyle that Blair knew had a mild case of mysophobia. His mysophobia, which he had suppressed during his time in the army and on the battlefield, became more pronounced after he became Emperor. Kyle disliked touching or being touched by people who weren’t admitted into his personal space. Only a very select few were allowed to enter his room. Blair also knew that the maids who helped him dress every morning had considerable difficulties. Numerous lovers and even the Empress couldn’t enter Kyle’s bedroom.
Blair was the only one who was freely admitted into that space. Thanks to this, Blair had helped Kyle dress several times. Trimming his long hair was also Blair’s responsibility.
‘Really, calling a duke to help you dress? Isn’t that a bit much?’
‘How about officially becoming my attendant?’
‘No thanks. I already clean up after Your Majesty enough as it is. Any more and I’d have two jobs. Will you take responsibility if I die of overwork?’
‘Of course.’
‘Never mind, what overwork? Just make sure to pay me well for the overtime.’
He remembered the conversation they’d had jokingly.
Did he not have mysophobia when he was young? Even in his youth, though not prominent, he seemed to have been quite wary of people. Blair tried to recall his hazy memories.
“I look forward to our acquaintance, Your Highness.”
After a light handshake, Blair picked up his utensils and started eating lunch. There was no need to avoid Kyle as if he were avoiding someone with a plague. Such behavior might actually arouse unnecessary curiosity. Perhaps remaining as mere acquaintances who only knew each other’s faces would be much better for maintaining distance.
[To be continued in the next chapter…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
