“Can I ask you something, Your Highness?” I said, and Cedric nodded. “How much do you know about Prince Leon?”
This question surprised him, hesitant as he was to expand on his thoughts.
“Please don’t hold back,” I coaxed him. “I don’t mind if you include speculation.”
That finally convinced Cedric to speak. “Prince Leon Adonis Coronaria is the firstborn prince of Anemone. He’s a well-known man, being the heir to the Anemonian throne. Anemone itself is one of the greatest trade hubs in the world and an ally of Freesia, whom they’ve maintained friendly relations with for many years. They formed an alliance just seven years ago, but they’ve grown incredibly close since then.”
Cedric prattled on and on, hardly pausing to breathe.
“Prince Leon attracts a lot of women at formal events and ceremonies, thanks to his good looks. He’s also a man of upstanding character and extremely popular with his people. They say he’s making great progress in developing Anemone’s trade relations as well. He’s a brilliant trader, negotiator, and ship captain, and his subordinates place great trust in him. He also treated my brothers and me very well during our voyage. During the defensive war, he protected the Cercian gates with only a few men, and he lent his aid to our country’s people after that…”
I continued throwing blows at him all throughout this, but his every word only confirmed my theory. Cedric possessed the gift of perfect recall; he was in the middle of recounting every last fact he knew. The more he spoke, the more he shifted from Leon to Anemone itself, like he was reciting descriptions from a book or an encyclopedia.
As impressive as it was, it was also pretty amusing. Cedric had all that knowledge in his head…yet he had no idea Leon was Pride’s ex-fiancé.
Finally understanding why Tiara had been so mad at Cedric the last time they met, I struggled to stifle my laughter. Cedric had begun to wrap up his speech, so I tried to focus on his words. But then…
“I believe Prince Leon is likely one of Tiara’s marriage candidates.”
At that, I had to whip my face away from the dead-serious prince. I knocked Cedric’s sword aside, trying my hardest to bite back a mocking smile, and peered at Arthur instead. The knight blinked at the look on my face.
I fought the urge to tell him everything, forced myself to act composed, and turned back to Cedric. “I-I see…”
It was a struggle to respond while tamping down my laughter, but Cedric didn’t seem to see through my act and continued right where he left off. “Tiara…feels very strongly about you, Prince Stale. It’s almost comical how much more she loves you than me.”
Cedric’s voice, more melancholic than before, hit me like a ton of bricks. The helplessness with which he said each word honed them into blades pointing at his own chest.
At length, he repeated his question from earlier. “What are your feelings toward Princess Tiara, Your Highness?”
I’d correctly pinpointed Cedric’s massive yet amusing misunderstanding. I maintained a stern expression while tensing my shoulders to keep them from trembling.
Evidently, Cedric took my silence to mean something else entirely. He doubled down, almost pleading with me. “Prince Stale, I love Tiara very much! All I want is for her to be happy. If you love her too, then I will—”
“Th-that’s enough, Prince Cedric! For both our sakes, don’t say any more!”
Voice strained, I smacked Cedric’s sword right out of his hand. Cedric furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth, wondering at my refusal to answer…and then gave in.
“Forgive me,” he said, as though he’d overstepped in asking at all.
I fanned my face to cool it down; I’d flushed from the sheer passion behind Cedric’s words. Then I smirked, sizing up the despondent prince. “Prince Cedric, shall we have a real match this time?”
Cedric lifted his head. “A real match?”
Suppressing a chuckle, I told him, “If you win, I’ll answer any question you have for me…even if it’s about Tiara.”
Cedric flinched. “Do you really mean that?”
I smiled and nodded. Even I felt this was a bit mean-spirited, but I allowed the moment to stretch on.
“Very well. I accept your challenge.”
Once Cedric made his determination known, I shot a look toward Arthur. My friend paled as he met my gaze, but he obediently hurried over despite his unease.
I placed my hand on Arthur’s shoulder when he joined us. Ignoring his confusion, I addressed Cedric instead. “The rules are simple. We’ll have a mock battle using hand-to-hand combat in addition to our swords. If you manage to land one hit on Arthur or myself, victory will be yours.”
“Huh?!” Arthur blurted out. He snapped his mouth shut, but his wide eyes screamed, What the hell are you talking about?!
Instead of addressing Arthur, I resumed my explanation. “You lose if you take a knee, collapse, or drop your sword. You win if you strike your opponent with your blade. As a knight, Arthur will fight without a weapon. I won’t use my special power either.”
This time, Cedric was the one taken aback. He didn’t seem to mind me not teleporting, but Arthur would be unarmed. The knight was going up against a sword with no weapon of his own, not to mention a much shorter reach. It wasn’t just a disadvantage; Cedric could end up hurting Arthur by mistake.
When Cedric blanched, I assured him, “Don’t worry. Arthur is one of the imperial knights who protects my elder sister. He’s rather strong, I’d say.”
I patted Arthur a few more times—a bit proudly, or so it would seem. He, on the other hand, was confused about the point of going through this whole mock battle. “Um…could someone please explain this to me?!”
I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him close, whispering into the knight’s ear, “This is revenge for the food. Don’t go easy on him.” Arthur gulped. I gave him one last slap on the back, sending him out in front of Cedric. “Okay, go ahead and begin.”
Cedric readied his sword. “By the way, Prince Stale, what happens if you both beat me?”
Even Arthur, preparing himself for their match, looked at me for an answer. Unlike Cedric and myself, he was wearing full armor and had a sword at his hip.
I stepped back to get out of their way, mischief all but shimmering in my gaze. “If you lose to both of us, then you won’t get to ask about anything we’ve discussed. How does that sound?” I asked with a smirk.
Arthur flinched, and though he didn’t say as much, I would’ve bet anything that I reminded him of Gilbert in that moment. Just like the prime minister often did, I’d put forth a sly proposal to do away with what I deemed inconvenient. Arthur looked guilty when Cedric asked if that was really all. Arthur sighed, removed his armored gloves, and left them on the ground.
“You don’t…want to keep those on?”
Perplexed, Cedric eyed Arthur’s bare hands. He and I were both wearing gloves ourselves.
“It will be safer this way,” Arthur said.
Arthur kept his sword in its sheath at his hip and fell into a fighting stance. Cedric seemed dubious about Arthur’s claim, but the knight had insisted; the other prince must’ve assumed he simply wanted to free up his hands or something along those lines.
At my signal, Cedric darted forward. He charged at Arthur, thrusting his sword, but the knight jumped out of range. Cedric stumbled but didn’t pursue, instead taking three steps back and bringing his sword up. This time, Arthur kicked off the ground and flew up to Cedric’s chest…all from the momentum of that single kick.
Cedric cried out in shock. Arthur had closed the distance between them far faster than he’d expected. He arched back and raised his sword to block.
Wham!
Before he could defend himself, Arthur’s fist connected with Cedric’s stomach.
“Oof!”
Cedric wore training armor, but the hit still knocked the wind out of him. The Cercian prince managed to stay on his feet, unable to do much aside from clutching his stomach. He flicked his sword back into the correct grip and swung it at Arthur’s blind spot now that they were so close.
Arthur grasped his hand mid-swing, leaned forward, and tossed Cedric over his shoulder. Cedric slammed into the ground, armor and all, a look of purest shock in his wide eyes. The intensity of the impact knocked the breath out of him all over again, and it would be a while before he could get back on his feet.
It was over in the blink of an eye.
Cedric stared at the sky, dazed. Yet no matter how many times he replayed that moment with perfect clarity, he’d never make sense of it. Arthur had moved so fast, Cedric was on the ground by the time he realized the knight had his arm. His mouth hung open as he tried to contend with the match ending so quickly. He’d never let his guard down, but Arthur was just that much stronger than Cedric had imagined. He lay there for a while, completely befuddled, until Arthur peeked down at him with a face even paler than his own.
“I-I’m so sorry, Prince Cedric! I didn’t mean to! A-are you hurt?! Please forgive me!”