Seren could hear everyone cheering loudly for those two.
“Go, Your Majesty!”
“Perfect execution of royal swordsmanship!”
“You can do this, Commander!”
“Sir Calhoun!”
As if they had let go of their shackles, the two men’s movements became more intense. One could see the strong lines of muscles tightening with every swing they make. Each brandish of the sword went faster and faster until—
Shatter!!!
Silence reigned inside the training grounds as everyone seemingly froze in shock. Unnoticed by the crowd, the practice swords in their hands already had multiple cracks in them from their long bout, and no longer able to bear their last attack, both of their swords broke into half.
“T-The result of the sparring match is… a draw!” one of the high-ranking knights announced.
It was an anticlimactic development.
The excitement-filled environment gave quite a round of applause, but it was visible that their energy was lower than how it was minutes ago. Most of the knights and guards had disappointment covering their faces.
“Such a pity, it’s a draw…”
“I really thought Commander was going to win this match.”
“What are you saying? The last attack came from His Majesty the King—”
As the swords broke, the match was ultimately a draw and they didn’t get any winner. The two factions started to argue with each other. Despite that, they could not deny that it was fascinating to see these two skilled swordsmen exchange moves.
“These weak swords saved you today,” Drayce commented as he looked at Slayer.
“Same goes for you,” Slayer countered.
Both of their aides brought clean towels for them so they could wipe their sweat. Ruven, who was acting as Drayce’s aide, looked at Slayer. “If not for the breaking of the sword, the result would be your defeat, Sir Calhoun.”
“Those swords saved your older brother from the embarrassment of defeat instead,” Slayer countered, not caring that he spoke rudely in front of a royal. Ruven was Drayce’s brother, and given they were sparring as friends at this moment, there was no need for formality.
“Talk for yourself, Slayer. Do you know who’s truly saved? Your men. Look around. Those swords saved your knights from getting tortured under your defeated self’s foul mood. I am sure they are the happiest people at this moment.”
Glancing around, the smiling knights who happened to meet his gaze immediately lowered their heads or looked away, as if they were afraid their reaction would upset their commander.
Slayer silently sighed. “They ought to thank me. The harder they train, the higher their chances of survival are on the battlefield. Even swords turn rusty with disuse, what more people.”
“Poor knights,” Ruven mumbled under his breath.
Slayer caught those words and looked at him. “Your Highness, if you are not returning to the Royal Academy, I will see you here tomorrow first thing in the morning.”
Ruven awkwardly cleared his throat as he thought about what was better—going back to the Royal Academy or suffering under Slayer. Every inch of his body was still aching from the training he had with Slayer the previous day.
“Umm, I am sorry to disappoint you, Sir Calhoun, but I have to return to Royal Academy. I remember there is an important lecture that I cannot afford to miss in the afternoon.” He then looked at where Seren was standing. “Ohh, even Sister-in-law is here. I should greet her!” He immediately escaped the arena to go towards where his sisters and Seren were standing.
Slayer and Drayce simply stared at his retreating back as they walked to the sidelines. The people in charge of the arena started cleaning up the broken sword shards while the crowd began to disperse.
“He is not bad, but your brother is not truly interested in the sword,” Slayer told Drayce. “It is hard to learn when your heart isn’t in it.”
Drayce agreed. “He doesn’t need to be a high-level swordsman. After training him to block and parry, we can leave him to do what he wants to do. Can’t leave him to the point where he can’t even protect himself.”
Slayer agreed and then spoke, “You can get off my face now. Don’t say you are not dying to go to your wife.”
“And I know you are dying to torture your knights. You are nothing but sexually frustrated and take it out on them.”
“Fuck off!” Slayer gritted his teeth and left to go to the group of high-ranking knights, who were not aware that their commander’s mood was really foul and they were going to get tortured.
The young king chuckled at the way he replied. ‘It’s good to see him lose his calm.’
Drayce then found that Ruven had reached his wife. Ruven, who successfully evaded Slayer’s clutches, seemed happy to chat with her.
“Sister-in-law, did you enjoy the spar?” Ruven asked.
“I do but it seems like you enjoyed it a lot as well,” she replied.
“Of course, when Brother Drayce is sparring, how can I not?” he replied with a grin and said, “By the way, Sister-in-law, I will be returning to Royal Academy today.”
“So soon?” she asked.
“I wish I could stay longer but… The semester is still ongoing, and only the official letter of the head of the house could request a student to take a leave of absence. Since I left of my own volition, I am going to get punished once I return.”
“I hope they don’t punish severely.”
“Umm, it’s fine. Not like it’s the first time I am getting punished.”
“Are you still here?”
They heard the dignified voice of Drayce and turned towards him. Seren’s gaze was boldly stuck at her husband’s exposed body.
“I was about to leave,” Ruven nimbly replied and hurried away after bidding a quick farewell to his sisters.
Once Ruven left, Drayce walked towards his wife’s bold gaze.
“If I knew my Queen loves seeing me shirtless, I would not have kept you waiting for so long.”
