The Legendary Spearman Returns

“Duke Aden von Agnus greets the fourth light of the Empire.” Duke Agnus bowed in front of the intent gaze of the Fourth Prince; even while bending his knee, his pride and dignity shone through. His courtesy was neither excessive nor insufficient.

“I am honored to meet Duke Agnus, the pride of the Empire.” Kaiser stepped down from his white horse. His gaze covered the whole crowd in front of him.

The audience was dumbfounded when Prince Kaiser bowed his head with a gentle smile.

“Your Highness!” an embarrassed Evergrant shouted. No matter how high-ranking an aristocrat was, the fourth prince was a direct descendent of the Emperor himself, the one above every other man in Avalon, in an age where the Imperial family had never been stronger.

It was said that lower-rank nobles were to treat dukes and princes much the same, but for a prince to treat a duke as a peer was uncalled for.

“That the Imperial Knights are watching is one thing, but the Duke’s family are watching. The actions of Your Highness could undermine the authority of the Imperial family…” Evergrant hurried forward and whispered worriedly into Kaiser’s ear. His voice was small, but most of the knights present, including Duke Agnus, had superhuman hearing. Curiosity twinkled in the Duke’s eyes.

Kaiser smiled at the Duke.

“As a powerless fourth prince, if I have to posture in a situation like this, I’ll spend my life being ridiculed.”

The Duke was subtly surprised. The prince wasn’t wrong. His first and second brothers had the greatest influence and were the most likely candidates for the throne. Even the third prince, who was relatively inferior, had a higher chance of taking the throne than the fourth prince. Those who had power had their own pride, and power was precisely what Kaiser lacked.

“I apologize for the sudden visit, Duke Agnus. I was appointed by His Majesty as the imperial envoy, but I fear I may not be up to the task of representing His will. So please, kindly understand my immature behavior...”

“I don’t mind, Your Highness.” Duke Agnus nodded in response to Kaiser’s apology.

‘It’s odd that there’s almost no talk of the Fourth Prince throughout all of vast Arcadia. This cub is keeping his claws hidden…’

Duke Agnus kept his thoughts to himself, just as Joshua did.

Since the troop had arrived, Joshua had been staring at Kaiser with a smirk on his lips, like an old man looking back with regret at his poor life choices.

‘This is the guy. A hypocrite who pretends to have no self-respect on the outside, acts like a gentleman, and dresses himself up with all kinds of rhetoric, but is exactly the opposite on the inside.’

How many people had bled for that false grace?

How many people had died for that smile?

Joshua was one of them. In the end, he had been betrayed by his trusted master, and his life vanished in the nameless wilderness…

‘It will be different this time, Kaiser.’?Joshua wore a bitter smile.

Had he felt Joshua’s gaze? Kaiser turned his attention from Duke Agnus to Joshua. Startled when they suddenly met eyes, Kaiser forced a smile, in spite of the cold sweat that trickled down his spine.

“Hah! You must be the famed Young Master Joshua.”

Joshua didn’t answer, prompting the 9th Battlion Commander Valmont to step forward. Though he was known for slacking, he knew what he had to do now. He was here to protect not only the lives of the Imperial family, but their prestige. Above all, this mission came directly from His Majesty the Emperor.

“Don’t be rude, Young Master Joshua. Compose yourself before His Highness.”

At his words, the entire 9th Battalion scowled at Joshua.

‘If it were Duke Agnus himself, I wouldn’t say anything. But how dare a bastard—’ Valmont’s expression curdled. His sword was drawn in an instant, and the rest of the Imperial knights rested their hands on their own weapons.

The Duke’s Knights tensed. To them, Duke Agnus was greater than any Emperor. When their master was threatened, they would fight, Imperial Knights or otherwise.

The tension started to build, reaching its highest point.

“You arrogant...” Valmont clenched his sword.

“That’s funny.” Joshua laughed, bursting the tension like a soap bubble.

“Wha-what?” Valmont’s eyes popped.

“There cannot be two suns over the Empire. Excepting their liege lords, the law of the Avalon Empire states there is only one person that a Knight can salute. In such a situation, is there any reason I would salute a self-proclaimed ‘fourth prince’?”

‘Is he crazy?’ Valmont’s jaw dropped. For the first time, Valmont discovered someone who was an even worse shitter than himself.

No other knights in the Avalon Empire could present such power as the Knights Templar did. Who else would they be escorting except the Imperial family?

Are you claiming they have to present His Majesty’s decree to receive courtesy?

“What an arrogant kid!”

“How rude!”

“How dare you? He was cleaning horse dung not long ago, wasn’t he? He must’ve fallen into a dung heap and gone crazy!” The Prince’s retinue was in an uproar.

'There cannot be two suns over the Empire.'

At first glance, it seemed obvious. The Emperor, Marcus ben Britten, was the center of their universe. It seemed like an expression of infinite respect, but under the circumstances, what Joshua meant was more than obvious: he refused to show respect to the rest of the Imperial family members.

In an brief moment, the tension that had been defused by Joshua's earlier laughter returned in full force. He dared to make light of Avalon's nobility? Such words had no place being uttered in front of the Imperial Knights. 𝚋ｅｄｎ𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

“Damn!” Standing next to Valmont, Joker drew his sword in anger. His cross-shaped scar appeared pale against his reddened cheeks.

Shing!

All of the knights followed suit, ready to kill for their respective masters.

“Stop!” A voice loaded with mana blanketed their surroundings. The knights groaned under the impact.

The source of the voice, Duke Agnus, strode forward with a grim scowl.

“Showing this damn attitude in front of the prince? Do you want to die?” His voice chilled them to the bones. He swept his gaze across the crowd, implying that his sermon was not targeted just at a certain somebody. Even the Imperial Knights couldn’t challenge the weight of authority in his voice.

This is the power of one of the Nine Stars, Duke Aden von Agnus…” Admiration painted Valmont’s face.

“Knights! Sheathe your swords!”

“Yes!” The Duke’s knights obeyed without question.

“We’re in front of His Highness!” Valmont came to his senses and shouted urgently, “9th Battalion, sheathe your swords!”

“...Yes!”

Duke Agnus had instantly defused the situation once more with his overbearing charisma. He then turned to Joshua, who was standing next to him.

“Your hasty words and actions caused this. Apologize to His Highness.”

Joshua smirked bitterly. He’d lived a whopping half century, and yet… He thought his mind and body had grown enough, but his mind was still like a child’s. He despised Kaiser so much that, when he had seen the latter’s face, he had been so far swept away by his emotions that he had no intention of bowing his head…

Joshua steeled himself, but Prince Kaiser spoke just before he could step forward.

“Don’t mind it. It’s already done… and he’s not entirely wrong.”

“Your Highness—?” Evergrant whirled around, bewildered.

“Young Master Joshua is right. The only person who deserves the salutes of the Knights is my father, His Majesty the Emperor.” Prince Kaiser wore a polite and benevolent smile. “I’m fine, so don’t worry about me, my dear knights.”

“Your Highness…” Some of the knights teared up.

As royalty, Prince Kaiser was of the noblest blood. It was clearly a lie when he claimed that his pride had not taken a blow. Naturally, the knights thought that Prince Kaiser was putting his pride aside to resolve a meaningless conflict.

“Also, knights need to prove themselves with their skills…” Prince Kaiser beamed at Joshua. “I believe you’re well aware, Young Master Joshua?”

Joshua couldn’t help but chuckle. Kaiser truly was a clever spokesman; he’d quickly taken control of the atmosphere and affirmed the trust of his subordinates in one move, and now he smoothly segued into testing Joshua.

‘A master manipulator. Then, let me match your pace…’ Joshua stepped forward with a sharp smile.

“Anytime you’re ready.”

“An arrogant bastard until the end, I see…” Joker came forward with a sly grin. “Your Highness, Battalion Commander, I ask your permission to perform this mana test.”

“Joker?” Valmont shot a worried glance at the Duke.

Joker was careful to keep his fangs hidden. His voice was calm and collected as he replied, “Don’t worry. I just want to see if the Young Master has the skills to back his words.”

“Hmm…”

“Let him do it.”

“Your Highness?” Troubled, Valmont turned to the Prince.

“Sir Joker has already surpassed the expert level, right? If I recall correctly, he's in the intermediate B-Class”

“That’s…”

“Taking the Young Master’s safety into account as well, I think Sir Joker’s experience would be helpful.”

Joker beamed contentedly as Valmont was forced to shut his mouth. He took another step forward.

“You have the confidence, don’t you? Young Master, if you can handle my first attack, you will pass the exam. Of course, I won’t be using any of the skills of the expert level. I will only test you with the power of a C-Class—”

“You talk a lot.” Joshua interrupted him.

The space was immediately filled with a suffocating silence.

“Whatever you do or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”