Laius’ hand, which was tightly gripping the sword, trembled slightly.

He had lived for quite some time believing that being calm was the most basic virtue of a knight. However, it seemed as if the god Luce wanted to test him recently.

It had become so common for something this disturbing to happen.

‘I think I should go to church more often.’

Eventually, he even had that thought, but that didn’t change the situation.

He looked at the huge indoor gymnasium in front of him.

It was an excessive place to be built for personal training. It was larger than three or four average halls combined, and the floor was covered with volcanic rock without any gaps.

The walls were decorated with huge windows, and the candles placed here and there were already brightly lit.

If it weren’t for the various weapons and wooden swords for training hanging from stands on one side, it could be mistaken for a luxurious hall.

However, this training ground had been almost abandoned until recently. This was because Cantares had moved to the main castle for work and had naturally stopped visiting.

But why was Laius suddenly standing here looking for the god Luce?

The instigator of it all was Arendt von Eckhart.

And this damn apprentice knight was presently sparring with the second highest ranking man in the empire.

“You’ve let a place like this sit idle all this time? What a waste of money.”

“There’s nothing I can do. After becoming Crown Prince, I don’t even have time to eat or die.”

When did they become so comfortable with each other… No, he doesn’t even think about pointing that out anymore.

It was Arendt who stopped Laius, who was finishing up work and preparing to go in late at night.

First of all, he went along without asking any questions when Arendt told him to follow him, and this was the result.

From the moment he entered the dark, dark Crown Prince’s Palace, Laius realized that something was seriously wrong.

“Arendt.”

“Yes?”

Arendt looked back.

Because of that innocent face, he felt like he was going to burst into flames. Laius, who barely managed to pull himself together, opened his mouth sternly.

“A knight who demands payment from his lord for carrying out his orders. That’s ridiculous…”

“Oh, really. Why are you so stuffy?”

But before he could finish speaking, Arendt interrupted with a frown.

“Captain, are you receiving activity funds?”

“Uh?”

The unexpected question caused Laius to let out a dumbfounded sound.

That was a mistake.

“You receive a salary. I heard that the captains receive about three times more than other knights. In addition, the other two captains received fiefs and titles. You, the captain, declined the fief but instead own a mansion within the imperial capital.”

“…Yes.”

Since it was true, Laius nodded blankly.

Arendt added bluntly:

“Isn’t that all compensation for performing one’s duties?”

“…”

“That’s right. The captain can ask for extra pay for a special mission. You get paid a lot of money for that, but I can’t.”

“No?”

This time too, Laius asked back without realizing it and regretted it in less than 3 seconds, but it was already too late because Arendt’s mouth opened wide.

“Do you know how much an apprentice knight’s salary is? It’s less than a third of what the captain makes. It’s even less than what my seniors make, and I just roll around like a dog.”

“…”

“You work as much as you receive. That’s the law of the world. Why should it be different just because you’re a knight? If you don’t like it, then first of all, give back everything you’ve received as a captain and practice chivalry yourself.”

It was a boldness and shamelessness that showed no shame in one’s claims.

Laius simply chose to rest his forehead on his hand and shut up.

He could hear Cantares muttering softly.

“It would have been better if he didn’t say anything.”

It seemed like the one who would take charge of this empire in the future was different. How could he figure out how to deal with that damned bastard so quickly?

Arendt waved his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered to say anything more.

“Anyway, if we’re not going to stay up all night, let’s get started. Captain, did you bring the ring?”

“…I brought it. For now.”

Laius tried to suppress all the words that were rising inside him and answered calmly. He could tell without a second thought what the ring Arendt was talking about.

The Shadow of the Strong.

Although he rarely had the chance to use it, he never took it off his body unless absolutely necessary. He realized that he could only hide the magical power flowing out of the ring if he wore it.

“Try it here.”

“What?”

Arendt nodded toward the wide expanse of the training grounds, blurting out the command.

“Try it. It’s useless if you just keep it.”

Only then did Laius figure out what was going on. Cantares, who had been warned beforehand, simply watched the two with his arms folded.

“Surely… that was why you went to the training ground?”

“Then why else? It’s not for you, Captain.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders and began to walk slowly toward the center of the training ground.

Screech.

His sword was pulled out smoothly with a cold clank.

“If possible, I would like the captain to use it.”

Arendt turned around and faced the two people again, slightly raising the corners of his lips.

“I also want to use what I have properly. It might be too much for Senior Arthur, but if it’s the Captain, I can attack with peace of mind.”

“…”

He could tell quite a lot from those words just now.

Laius’ eyes calmly sank.

“The scars left on the bodies of the assassins… I guess that’s a story related to that too.”

Screech.

Laius also drew his sword with a clean movement.

Arendt saw Laius approaching him with long strides, and he snickered and readjusted his sword.

“I don’t need to tell you how to use the artifact, right?”

“Of course not.”

After all, it would be faster to experience it himself rather than just listening to a lot of words.

Laius warned Cantares.

“Your Highness, I suggest you step back a bit.”

Cantares obediently distanced himself from the two men.

Although he had the ability to protect himself, he had no idea what would happen from now on.

The moment the safety of the Crown Prince was secured, they stopped hesitating.

The first one to strike the ground was Arendt.

Laius, who saw that his sword had turned white, also activated the artifact. A darker blue aura than usual rippled across the sharp blade.

Kwaaang!

The two men’s swords clashed with a loud noise.

Arendt had thrown his weight behind the strike, but Laius held on without flinching.

“Cold air. Certainly… it might not be enough for Arthur to deal with.”

Feeling the chill creeping in, Laius commented briefly.

It wasn’t a question of swordsmanship. What mattered was whether or not one could block the artifact’s magical power.

Arendt’s eyebrows furrowed as he stood with his sword against Laius. Normally, at this stage, Laius’ sword would have slowly started to freeze.

However, the black sword that seemed to have been temporarily eroded by the cold only showed a clearer sword energy as if nothing had happened. The power of the Frosty Touch was blocked by Laius’ magic.

“Tch.”

Arendt clicked his tongue briefly and took a step back.

Without missing the gap, Laius charged forward.

Kwaaang!

Arendt, who defended himself from the sword that was aimed at his side, took a deep breath due to the shock inflicted on his entire body.

Arendt, who had just shaken off Laius in his defensive stance, immediately spun around and counterattacked. However, the attack flying towards his neck was quickly blocked by Laius’ sword.

Laius lightly struck back with his sword and then swung it sharply at Arendt’s empty chest. Arendt ducked just in time, and the blade, covered in a blade of sword energy, passed over his head with a whoosh.

Arendt, who had been leaning forward and hitting the floor, aimed for Laius’s back and brought his sword down.

Laius looked back reflexively.

At that moment, a pure white snowstorm obscured his vision.

‘What?’

The moment he opened his eyes, a sword enveloped in pure white aura rushed through the snowstorm.

That couldn’t be stopped with normal defense.

Laius had that feeling and adjusted his grip on his sword.

Kwaaang!

Once again, a loud crack tore through the air in the training ground. It was Laius blocking the sword strike coming down from above.

‘Uh?’

This was too strong.

At the moment their swords clashed, Arendt and Laius had the same thought at the same time.

The two bewildered people’s eyes met in the air.

And then, the next moment, Arendt flew away.

Bam, bang!

Arendt, who was thrown to the floor, screamed.

Cantares burst into laughter and admiration.

“That’s amazing.”

The sight of Arendt flying in a parabolic arc was quite impressive. Laius, who had never expected it to turn out like that, just looked at Arendt in bewilderment.

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t you know what strength control is? I almost died.”

Arendt sat up abruptly.

There were no serious injuries, but his body was drenched in sweat, as if his stamina had been depleted after only a few rounds.

Laius, his sword sharpened, opened his mouth to address Arendt.

“Is your sword okay?”

“Haa… yes, for now.”

Arendt, who had caught his breath, checked the blade.

Despite the several rough clashes, Arendt’s sword remained clean. If it had not been for the Frosty Touch, Arendt’s sword would have broken into halves in the final clash.

‘And Arendt would have been split in two too.’

It was a terrifying thing to even imagine.

Laius opened and closed his ringed hand several times.

“You’re right. It’ll take some getting used to if I want to use it properly.”

“That’s right. Ugh.”

Arendt answered in a weak voice and staggered to his feet.

Even in such a situation, Laius did not forget to give advice to Arendt.

“It would be impossible to keep using the artifact since it consumes a lot of magic power. It would be better to learn how to activate it quickly at any given moment.”

“I’ll listen to your advice. What about you, Captain? I don’t know if I could do anything when I was your opponent.”

“Hmm…”

Laius’ eyebrows furrowed.

“Rather than raising physical abilities… it’s more like using magic to gather strength into one place and explode it. If you concentrate your strength into one blow like that, your speed will inevitably slow down.”

“That too is reinforced by artifacts?”

“Yes, it is.”

When Cantares suddenly intervened, Laius nodded.

Cantares’ gaze turned to Arendt.

“So, what are these monstrous things? They don’t look like ordinary artifacts. Where did they come from?”

“I stole mine from them. It was shoved in the corner of the East Safe, and Captain’s was used by the guy who attacked Senior Arthur.”

Arendt responded, dusting himself off and getting up.

Cantares frowned slightly at the mention of the East Safe.

“No way…”

“This must have been the real purpose of the men who raided the vault. I asked Manager Neumann to collect it for me. He was very willing to give it to me.”

“…”

Strong distrust filled the eyes of Cantares and Laius.

He gave them away meekly?

“You didn’t threaten him, did you? You didn’t commit extortion or fraud?”

“Manager Neumann seemed overly cooperative. But surely…”

“Oh, really! Do I sound like the kind of person who would make threats or extortions at the drop of a hat?”

When Arendt suddenly burst into irritation, the two people turned their heads away.

At that moment, Cantares discovered something and let out a short exclamation.

“Wow, this is really amazing.”

“Yes?”

Arendt and Laius looked at Cantares at the sudden sound.

Instead of saying more, Cantares blurted out.

“The floor.”

Laius and Arendt lowered their gazes.

“Ah…”

At every step where there had been a violent collision, the ice had remained intact. Furthermore, where Laius had struck the last blow, the ground was deeply sunken in the shape of his powerful footsteps.

“Don’t wear them outside unless absolutely necessary. They leave too many traces.”

The two knights could only nod their heads blankly at the serious advice given by Cantares.