Translated by Lara

“Yes, I won’t make the same mistake.”

Only Prince Steven, who bowed his head, didn’t understand and answered.

Would you still like the answer?

“The gymnasium is all good, but there is too much dust. Shall we go inside and have another cup of tea?”

Empress Isabelle took the lead in changing the atmosphere.

“Oh, that’s great.”

“May I drink something cold?”

The frozen aristocrats shivered.

“Of course. Come on in. It was nice meeting you today, Aesvin.”

Empress Isabelle left with the aristocrats.

I also paused when I saw one person trying to get out of this place.

There was no Prince Steven who was excited earlier.

He looked as depressed as Luciano, who lost the match.

I was bothered by him, who was so daunted, but Luciano was more important to me.

I just turned around.

However, I thought something as I walked away leaving Prince Steven alone.

Was the reason Empress Isabelle made Prince Steven do that because he was her beloved son?

Perhaps because she thought he was her own tool.

‘Then he...’

* * *

“Prince!”

I arrived at Luciano’s palace and searched everywhere.

“Prince!”

I gave him a little time, so I thought he would have cleared his intense feeling a bit, but it was probably not like that.

“Hey! Luciano!”

Luciano couldn’t be found inside the palace.

He knew I would find him, and he was avoiding me on purpose.

I understand his desire to be alone.

He didn’t even want to see my face.

But at a moment like this, I didn’t want to leave Luciano alone.

I couldn’t leave him alone because he would be in bad thoughts again.

So I finally found Luciano.

I found him crouching in the garden’s corner with his knees bent.

‘Even if you ran away, you were in the Imperial Palace.’

I deliberately approached with a footsteps sound, but he didn’t raise his head.

“Prince.”

Luciano’s answer came only after I sat down with my buttocks next to him.

“I want to be alone.”

“I know.”

He asked me to get out, but I didn’t move.

Luciano has always been mature, but occasionally, very occasionally, he showed that he was still young like this.

I stared at his small round head.

The back of his back was also pretty.

Maybe it was because he was the male protagonist, there was no place that wasn’t pretty.

“Go away. Leave me alone.”

Oh, there was one place that was not pretty.

A foul mouth that speaks like that.

“I don’t want to.”

It was only then that Luciano raised his head.

The slightly wet eyes glared at me.

“I told you to go.”

“I said no.”

Luciano’s breathing became intense.

“You’re so insensitive.”

Look at him.

“No, I’m affectionate.”

I came to comfort you.

“...”

What, why?

Luciano turned his head like he didn’t want to talk.

“Are you upset because you lost? Are you ashamed?”

Luciano shot a glare again to see if there was a different answer or if he didn’t like the question itself.

He was going to explode if I did more.

The already mentally unstable child got to the point before he got any more twisted.

“The prince did a good job today.”

Luciano’s shoulder shook slightly.

He clenched his fist in anger when he thought about it again.

All kinds of thoughts would come to him.

It was unfair.

It was miserable.

It would make him even resentful.

Luciano knows it wasn’t fair.

“I lost. I didn’t do well at all.”

Luciano’s head went down again as he was unable to bear his anger.

I felt a lump even in those short words.

Today’s match would not be the only reason.

It must have included the opportunity to learn swordsmanship last year.

Even if he wasn’t a knight commander, if he had been learning from a proper knight.

The thought that he would never have lost will constantly linger in his head.

That was also true.

That’s how talented Luciano was.

“Winning isn’t everything, prince. The prince worked hard and that’s enough. The prince did a great job today.”

I praised him as much as I could.

“I wanted to win...”

Luciano’s mood seemed to have loosened up a bit.

But the depression remained.

Luciano was like this when he was rejected by the knights last year.

He was disappointed and depressed by the reality.

“I know how you want to win. We can win next time.”

Luciano’s eyes, which had been slightly relieved, darkened again.

“Winning isn’t everything.”

“You also like to win.”

He was making me speechless.

It was not once or twice that I struggled to beat Luciano, but there was nothing to refute.

“Of course I like to win. But even when I lose, I accept it neatly.”

Luciano shut his mouth and spoke with his eyes.

You’re lying.

Well, he was also getting more honest.

“Anyways, you can lose in your life!”

“.. But I wanted to win.”

“Why do you want to win so much?”

“.. It’s.”

Luciano’s murmur was too small to be heard.

“Huh?”

“It’s cool...”

I couldn’t hear well this time either.

Why was he speaking so quietly?

“What did you say?”

When I asked him to repeat it, Luciano glared at me.

Ah, why?

Why were you angry when I didn’t hear you because you said it quietly?

“I didn’t hear it. Tell me again.”

“You don’t have to know.”

Luciano replied coldly.

Then he put his arm on his knee and leaned his cheek against it.

He shut his mouth again.

He keeps being sullen.

I felt sorry seeing him sad.

Then, Empress Isabelle’s words earlier lingered in my head.

– Don’t make the same mistake next time.

Next time.

It meant that there would be another harassment under the guise of sparring.

“Don’t worry. You will definitely win next time.”

“It’s impossible.”

There was no strength in Luciano’s voice.

It sounded unlike him.

He was a person who had the royal family’s pride and tried to be dignified at any moment.

It seemed futile as if everything was over now.

‘How hard it must be...’

Luciano did the same last year.

He swallowed his misery when he heard that he couldn’t learn swordsmanship.

I didn’t do anything then.

I did a little consolation from the side, but I was a bystander in hindsight.

“No, it’s possible.”

But I won’t do that this time.

‘If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have given up then.’

It was a regret I had heard before.

Had I been too blunt?

A curious light appeared on Luciano’s face.

However, he quickly gave up and showed a look of resignation.

“There’s a limit to practicing alone. There will be a wider gap in the future.”

“I’ll let you win.”

I looked Luciano in the eye and told him.

‘I don’t want to have the same regrets.’

Did the sadness pile up to the limit?

Or did my words touch Luciano’s insides?

Luciano’s eyes corners, which seemed to be calm, became cloudy.

The sadness seemed to pile up and overflow.

Luciano’s hand grabbed my hand.

I felt a sense of desperation in the grip.

“Will you give up on me or help me?”

Luciano mumbled.

I couldn’t hear him well because he said it quietly, but I thought he changed his words in a hurry.

Luciano’s eyes were desperate anyway.

Would you help?

I didn’t know how you could help.

I wasn’t sure if it would help.

And yet Luciano caught me.

That’s how desperate he is.

It must be the feeling of wanting to hold on to a straw.

He was not asking for help, believing that Luciano would really get better.

It was a pleading to want anyone to be on his side.

It just showed a sign of desperation and difficulty.

But Luciano.

It wasn’t empty words.

“Yes, I will help you.”

I wouldn’t just stand by this time.

“So trust me.”

Because I know the way.

* * *

The next day I visited Delia.

“Please find one person.”

Delia paused for a moment at my sudden visit but soon responded naturally.

“Who can I find for you?”

“Drunken knife.”

That was probably what it’s called.

“And?”

“That’s all I know. Oh, it must be somewhere in the capital.”

“As expected, it’s a difficult request.”

“Look for pubs. You’ll find out if you ask.”

He’s a drunkard, so he’s probably hanging out at the pub.

“.. Are you going to find a real drunkard?”

Delia asked, seemed feeling absurd.

She must have thought that the nickname drunkard didn’t mean a real drunkard.

If he became a real knife, it would be crazy.

Because he was a drunkard.

But just because he was a drunk didn’t mean he would be drunk all the time.

He was still in bad shape, though.

He was the man who would be Luciano’s teacher in the future.

After the conversation yesterday.

Luciano regained his composure again.

–I’m fine. Go back now.

–Are you sure you’re okay?

–Of course. Don’t worry about it too much. Go get some rest.

He acted as if nothing had happened.

So I could see Luciano had slipped my promise to help him.

He really didn’t seem to believe there was any way I could help.

Then I have to put that method right in front of him.

Although it was still too early to know if the drunkard had come to his senses.

“Please find that person. As fast as possible.”

If he’s a drunk, I can just beat him up and make him sober.

I decided to twist the original book flow and let Luciano meet his swordsmanship master.