Special Chapter – Gabel's POV
*This story depicts the happenings in Calypse Castle before leaving for the expedition to Livadon.*
One spring day at the Calypse Castle.
Gabel ruffled his hair roughly with one hand as he sat in the conference room of the knights' quarters, sorting letters from the informants. When Uslin Rikaido left for Livadon with some members of the knights, the work was naturally divided among the knights who were left behind.
He took on Elliot Caron's work without putting much thought to it, then realized after that he was in big trouble. It surprised him how Elliot managed such an overwhelming workload and had not heard a single complaint from him.
Elliot was in charge of overseeing the weapons stored in the warehouses, while organizing and decoding cryptographic documents that came from all parts of the kingdom. He also kept track of the knights' skill progress from time to time. Gabel groaned a sound of pain as he gazed down at the codes scribbled so roughly that they were unrecognizable. Back when he was the second-best knight under Lord Triden, he did learn military codes and mathematics, but he wasn't a very diligent student.
As he was trying to decipher a letter coming from the north, Gabel eventually muttered profanity and threw his quill in frustration. He has been reading parchments all day long and his head was already aching. If only he had known that this would happen, he would've joined the expedition by all means.
I am a knight, not a scholar. He grumbled as he got out of his seat and opened the window. Without realizing it, the weather had gotten noticeably warmer. Perhaps, Livadon's weather would be much warmer than Anatol. As the faces of his fellow knights marching under the scorching heat in heavy armor flashed in his mind, his inflated discontent subsided, anxiety taking over.
It's not that he didn't trust the skills of his fellow knights, but there was no telling in a war, one mistake could blow someone's head off. He had witnessed countless situations with his fellow senior knights, sharing murky life-and-death situations. What's more, based on the report letters coming in from the informants, the war didn't seem likely to end in the near future. There was a possibility that Whedon would order for additional reinforcements.
He shifted his gaze towards the far north, his expression turning serious. At that moment, he heard a knock on the door. Gabel exclaimed over his shoulder.
"Come in."
"Pardon me for the intrusion."
As the door opened, it revealed Kyle Hager, one of Hebaron Nirta's apprentice knights. Gabel let out a sigh as he saw his morose expression, catching a gist of what had happened.
"Has Lord Nirta disappeared again?"
"I haven't seen him since the training this morning." Kyle shrugged and sighed in lamentation. "A training for the general guards is scheduled today. There are 300 guards waiting in the training field, but we couldn't find anyone who would be conducting the training..."
"Isn't there anyone else who could take over aside from me?"
"Sir Calypse has gone out of the castle to do work on the construction site, the rest of the senior knights also went out to patrol along the walls. Can't Sir Laxion take over it?"
Gabel looked down at the pile of parchment on his desk. He was a little exhausted, but he couldn't neglect his duties. He shook his head.
"I have an important report I have to deliver to the commander by this evening. Just ask Brimann to take over for now. He will most likely be at the watchtower."
"Sir Jacque Brimann?" Kyle questioned, his tone a little confused, doubting if it was alright to hand a strategic training to a knight who had just been recently appointed. "Sir Brimann has no experience in conducting any training yet. Will that be alright?"
