My friend dropped to his knees, placed his hand on Cedric’s back, and gently helped him sit up. Cedric stared at the knight, unable to reply as he took in Arthur’s horror. Only once he realized Arthur was checking him for signs of fainting or injuries—something the knight definitely had experience with—did he scrounge up a response. “It’s no big deal.”
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and offered his hand to the prince on the ground. “I’m truly sorry. I didn’t think it would be so…”
He hung his head. Cedric shook his head, waving off the apology. He studied the knights’ bare hands, and understanding dawned on his face. That “safety” precaution was for Cedric’s sake, as he was the one taking the hit. Cedric shuddered, surely imagining how much force the armored gloves would have added. It had already been an intense blow, and Cedric had protection too. Without those precautions, Arthur would’ve had no trouble breaking his ribs.
As Arthur frantically apologized, I spun away and hunched over in a fit of laughter, hand clapped over my mouth. I could tell Arthur had truly given the practice battle his fullest efforts. The Cercian prince had assumed Arthur took off his gloves to go easy on him, but it was the exact opposite! Now Cedric knew full well that Arthur did have some lingering resentment, despite hesitating to participate at first.
Not only had Cedric made severe missteps in the past, but he’d eaten food meant for Arthur and become a marriage candidate for Tiara, who was like a sister to the knight. Deep down, Arthur probably harbored a childish grudge about the misunderstandings Cedric had caused over his relationship with Pride too.
From the moment I first suggested a mock battle, I was certain Arthur would land a good punch on Cedric, if nothing else. And Arthur could’ve done a lot worse with that shoulder throw, so he must have held back.
How could Arthur, of all people, beat up a prince?!
Laughter threatened to overcome me again, but I couldn’t let Cedric think I was mocking him in his defeat, so I bit my cheek to hold it in. Once I’d safely assumed a serene smile, I approached the pair and asked if they were all right.
Facing Arthur, I went on, “I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you. Even I was surprised to see how quickly you overpowered His Highness.”
Not that the overpowering part was a surprise, I thought as I took my place next to Arthur.
“What did you think?” I asked.
Cedric’s response was instant. “I can tell how incredibly skilled you are, being one of Pride’s imperial knights and all! That’s something I could never imitate.”
Despite the beatdown, his tone was surprisingly cheerful. Being unable to imitate someone was highly unusual for Cedric, but there was no copying the raw power Arthur had mustered up for that first punch.
Cedric showed only a newfound respect for the knight, so I figured it was time for him to face me. I stepped forward, taking Arthur’s place, and asked if the prince needed a break. Cedric shook his head.
“All right, then. It’s my turn.” I rolled my shoulders and picked up my practice sword. Arthur took note of my good mood and backed up a few steps, clearly skeptical.
Unlike Arthur, I was at a similar level as Cedric when it came to swordplay. Neither of us had extra restrictions either; we could end up at a stalemate once again.
At Arthur’s signal, we sprinted at each other. We initially stuck to blocking and parrying like last time. When Cedric found an opening and swung, I predicted the trajectory of his blade and sidestepped just in time. I sent back an answering slash, and Cedric sidestepped in the exact same manner I had.
Clang! Clang! The sound of blows echoed off the walls once more. It was a battle of stamina, but Cedric looked like he doubted his ability to prevail. While I’d had some time to recover, he was dueling back-to-back.
Cedric grounded himself in his stance, sending that strength into his arms when our swords met. Using this tactic, he pushed with his full body weight behind the blade—granting him a physical advantage. I bent backward, taking a step back to steady myself, and dug my heels into the ground. Just as our swords started to rattle against each other from the pressure…
Struggling to maintain my balance, I met Cedric’s eyes. “I’m grateful to you, Royal Prince Cedric.”
At first, Cedric narrowed his eyes, like my flattery was some mere distraction. He kept his guard up and met my gaze. Having already lost to Arthur, this fight with me was his last chance.
“In all honesty…Elder Sister and I were saddened by the idea that Tiara would move away,” I said, smiling sadly. “It’s a big relief to know she’ll be able to stay in our country, as embarrassing as that is to say.”
Cedric frowned as a series of emotions flitted across his face. To him, it might’ve seemed that my expression concealed my true intentions. Perhaps I spoke as a man, perhaps as an older brother. We pushed our swords together as hard as we could, while I twisted my already bent back to remain in perfect alignment with Cedric.
“Not only that, but Elder Sister has also wanted to implement an international postal service for three years now. It’s thanks to you and Hanazuo as a whole that we’ve managed to put that in motion.”
My smile softened. I used every last bit of strength I had, all while revealing the tenderest expression Cedric had ever seen on me.
“Truly, I want to thank you. I expect great things from you as the postmaster general, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Let’s make the postal service the best it can be.”
Cedric was startled by my earnestness. His eyes widened as it dawned on him that I was giving him my approval, and some of the tension eased out of his posture. When he caught himself relaxing, he clenched his jaw and snapped out of—
“But still…”
Suddenly, my voice pitched deeper than before. I did it in a blink to throw Cedric off-balance.
“I don’t think you’re the right partner for Tiara, nor do I have the slightest intention of forgiving you for how you mistreated Elder Sister.”
Grinning, I sprang backward to leave Cedric teetering. He doubled over for a second, but that was all the time I needed to swipe his legs out from under him.
Before Cedric could fall, he stuck his sword in the ground and tried to rest one foot on it to keep himself upright. That was when I grabbed his shoulders. For a brief moment, Cedric’s red eyes met my jet-black ones, and then I yanked on him. As Cedric pitched forward, I pushed off his shoulders, using them as a springboard to smoothly jump over him. I twirled through the air, landed behind Cedric, and kicked him in the back without even turning around.
Arthur caught my evil smile as I sent Cedric flailing. The force of the kick finally knocked him down. He threw his arms out to catch himself, but since his knees hit the floor, it was over. Cedric had lost.
He crouched there in a stupor, struggling to comprehend how he’d been rapidly trounced yet again. His hands curled in bitter disappointment.
“I’m not going to get in your way, though,” I told him. “Now, can you stand?”
I stood in front of Cedric, returning to my usual gentlemanly demeanor. Kneeling, I offered him my hand. Cedric thanked me and took it, face gloomy as he brushed the dirt from his pants. It seemed my words had come as a greater shock than his defeat.
He knew I’d never fully forgiven him for how he treated Elder Sister, but hearing me say as much—as well as that he wasn’t the right partner for Tiara—had rendered Cedric speechless. He’d experienced defeat on every level today. The prince blushed as though reliving his cruelty toward Pride, though the look in his eyes carried a hint of something more intense.
“We should probably head back. I need to return to the seneschal soon, and isn’t it almost time for your training exercises, Arthur?”
Cedric smiled through his sadness at my chipper tone. When I suggested as much, he headed toward the changing room.
After teleporting Arthur away, I stood in front of a separate changing room. Before entering, I called out, “Prince Cedric?”
The slumping Cercian prince, his messy blond hair caked with dirt, turned and took in my pleasant smile.
“Just so you know, Tiara is my dear sister. She’s family to me, and that will never change. Tiara feels the same way about me too.”
With that, I made for the changing room, leaving Cedric rooted to the spot. He didn’t budge when I left him with that parting message, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Fresh hope blazed in his red eyes.
“Does that mean…?!”
His dumbfounded look shifted into awe. He reached in the direction I’d gone, though there wasn’t much point to it. Cedric trembled, mouth flapping as though he wanted to speak, but nothing came out.
Little did he know that I was moments away from smirking to myself in the changing room, having gotten my revenge at last.