Seiyad quickly left Ressas’s quarters to avoid his unwelcome confession. Ignoring the prince who was following to see him off, he stretched his long legs and walked briskly out of the palace. Only after reaching the external corridor that connected to the outer gardens did he finally slow his pace. Ressas hadn’t followed.
‘When did this all start going wrong?’
Ressas had claimed to be certain of his feelings, but Seiyad didn’t believe him in the slightest. They had met when they were too young to even understand what love meant, and they’d been apart for years. Even when they’d reunited six months ago, Ressas had been sharp-tongued and full of disappointment. There was no time in between where he could’ve possibly developed romantic feelings for Seiyad.
It was a common mistake—confusing physical desire with emotional attachment. Seiyad himself clearly remembered his first Purification with Aster, that vivid moment when their lips met. First kisses were always intense. After all, giving away your lips was an intimate act that would never happen outside of a deep relationship. Ressas must have felt the same intensity.
But emotions getting tangled up in a Purification were dangerous. From the start, it was risky for a Tither and a Guide to form emotional attachments. Battles against Nir’a always came with the assumption of risking their lives. When emotions entered the equation, mistakes happened, judgment faltered. Just like the last time—when Ressas had foolishly entered the forest alone in search of Seiyad. Every action he’d taken that day had been irrational and dangerous. Reckless, just like a headstrong young man.
Seiyad suddenly halted. Remembering how Ressas had acted that day made him pause—was it really just his personality? But he quickly shook his head. That day had been nothing more than a reflection of Ressas’s character. He’d always been like that—throwing himself into danger to save others, never able to stand by and watch.
Enough.
Seiyad forcefully pushed the thoughts away. Every time his mind wandered, it led back to Ressas. It wasn’t worth the trouble. Obsessing over something so meaningless was a waste of energy. Once he grew accustomed to performing Purifications with other Tithers, those confused feelings Ressas harbored would surely scatter.
“Ah, good afternoon, sir!”
Right on cue, a voice cut through the clutter in his mind. Seiyad looked out toward the garden where two knights were on patrol. One had a familiar face; the other, unfamiliar. Vine, was it? If memory served, the man was fairly capable.
Good. This would be a fine chance to ask about the red-haired knight he’d seen earlier.
Seiyad didn’t shy away from the encounter. He answered the greeting with a slight glance, and Vine’s expression immediately brightened. He approached quickly. The other knight, a woman with short, crimson hair, followed behind him with an intrigued look. She was about average male height and solidly built, but her frame marked her clearly as female. Such female knights were rare, and Seiyad studied her with mild interest.
“Have you been well, sir? Thank you for last time!”
Vine greeted him cheerfully and launched straight into gratitude. Seiyad replied coolly.
“For what?”
“For saving my life, sir.”
“I believe I’ve already heard that once. There’s no need to repeat unnecessary words.”
When was that again? Seiyad frowned slightly, and Vine scratched the tip of his nose awkwardly. The knight beside him stepped forward to introduce herself.
“Greetings, Your Excellency. I’m Rigda. It’s an honor to meet you.”
She placed a hand over her heart as she bowed politely. Vine gave her a side glance full of disbelief.
“Why are you talking like that? It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m always polite to people who are strong and handsome.”
Rigda replied with a small smile. As Vine bristled, looking ready to jump into a pointless argument, Seiyad cut them off and went straight to the point.
“Among your fellow knights, there’s a red-haired one. Do you know anything about him?”
“She’s got red hair too,” Vine quipped.
Rigda, thankfully, had the correct answer.
“You must mean Jasper. Are you referring to the young knight with freckles?”
“Yes.”
Rigda narrowed her eyes slightly and responded with caution.
“In that case, Your Excellency may want to ask Prince Ressas directly. He’s the one who personally brought Jasper in.”
Seiyad’s lips curved into a faint smirk. A sharp, competent knight was never a waste to take under one’s wing. He’d already scouted some reliable personnel from the North to use as his limbs during winter, but Rigda was tempting.
“Caution is commendable. But you are still obligated to answer my questions. I don’t mean any harm, so just tell me what you know. If I meant to kill, I wouldn’t be asking—I would have done it already.”
Vine nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. Jasper was real rude to you last time, and yet he’s still alive. Makes sense.”
Rigda still seemed hesitant to speak about her colleague, but after a moment of deliberation, she relented and gave a general overview that wouldn’t cause any issues.
“He’s a young knight who entered Prince Ressas’s service before we did. He wasn’t chosen through the royal knight order, but was selected directly by His Highness, like us. He comes from a common background. I’ve heard he used to serve in the knight order of the Shildras duchy.”
“Yeah, he always brags that the late Duke of Shildras personally recognized his talent and brought him in. But I gotta say, he’s pretty skilled.”
‘Sirkhan Shildras personally brought him in?’
Seiyad’s eyes briefly flashed with sharp focus. As the knight named Jasper’s hostile attitude overlapped in his mind with memories of Sirkhan Shildras, it became certain—there was something about that boy.
“How old is he?”
“He’s nineteen this year. He hasn’t been officially knighted yet.”
“Tell me where he is.”
Just as Vine was dutifully replying, Rigda cut in.
“If Jasper has been rude to Your Excellency again, perhaps it would be best to report him directly to His Highness for punishment.”
“Your prudence is commendable, but knowing when to speak is also a knight’s duty. I have no intention of harming your lord, so stop acting rashly.”
Seiyad’s voice turned cold. His expression, until now impassive, chilled like ice, bearing down on Rigda. The very air around him turned sharp with cold tension. Rigda looked as if she were overwhelmed by the pressure—yet oddly, her face also showed a hint of awe.
“His Excellency is right. He was the one who saved His Highness, after all—why would he do anything to hurt him? Besides, you’re the prince’s Tither.”
The phrase slipped out without much thought—his Tither—something Ressas had repeated endlessly until it became exhausting. The frozen air shattered.
“Who told you that? Prince Ressas’s Tither has already been officially designated as Zion Shildras for the upcoming banquet.”
Seiyad’s stern tone startled Vine as well.
“Huh? But whenever His Highness talks about you, he always calls you that. Rigda, you heard it too, didn’t you?”
“Only once. Wasn’t it the day Seiya bit his finger and ran off?”
“Right! He said something like, ‘She imitates my Tither—how cute,’ in this super creepy voice.”
Apparently, even Ressas’s own knights weren’t quite in their right minds. The conversation had derailed into a strange digression about someone named Sei or Seiya, which was starting to become headache-inducing.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Enough of that—tell me where Jasper is.”
“Yes, sir! Jasper just headed to the palace gate for a shift change. That was about five minutes ago, so you should be able to catch him.”
“Well done.”
The brief praise Seiyad offered for the easily given information lit up Vine’s face. Despite his skill, it seemed he wouldn’t become a flawless knight until he learned how to manage his expressions. If he ever spilled sensitive information to the wrong person…
Seiyad stopped himself. It was an unnecessary concern. Ressas’s only real weakness was his lack of healing power, and that wasn’t something his subordinates would be aware of yet.
“If you really think I’ve done well, then, uh—if it wouldn’t be too much trouble—could we spar sometime? Just once, even a single exchange?”
Just as Seiyad was about to turn and head off to find Jasper, Rigda threw out the question. When he glanced back, her brown eyes were burning with determination. Normally, even knights in the royal order wouldn’t dare request a duel with someone of Seiyad’s rank, but they were commoners—and Seiyad was always lenient when it came to this kind of thing.
“I’ll consider it sometime soon.”
“Thank you!”
Rigda bowed deeply, her joy plain on her face. Seiyad nodded in acknowledgment and resumed his steps toward the corridor. That talk about someone named Sei still nagged at him, but he shoved the thought aside—he would not, even accidentally, think of Ressas any more than necessary.
Seiya seiyad. My poor dense eid