The Heroine Died!? Did The Plot Armor Fail? (Hiatus)

4) The 3rd Prince

Leo had a hard time getting off the bed. Thanks to yesterday, his body was bruised all over. It wasn't an exaggeration when he said he needed a stretcher. Lesson learned, never get on Yule's bad side. Quiet types are the scariest!

Leo was about to give up and sleep when something kicked him off. He fell with a loud thud and rubbed his aching neck. Oh no, was Yule still angry? That boy had a streak for biting back, but it wasn't this bad before! He didn't want to know what happens when Yule's real pissed.

"Ow, what was THAT for!?" Leo complained.

"... You're too heavy for me to lift." Yule shrugged.

Yeah right, you made me into a god damn sandbag!

"I see..." Leo forced a smile.

"Come on, we'll be late for morning session if we don't go now."

Leo hurriedly put on his plated armor. To be honest, it was just a chest plate, barely enough to cover his body. It was part of building muscles since it's heavy. Fine, heavy for a kid... I mean, I'm slowly getting there, maybe.

The other boy already had his armor on, so they didn't dare delay. From a supposed dorm, the entrance wasn't flooded like one would expect. Sure there were about 500 trainees, but the majority that here was senior knights and veterans. Compared to them, 1/3rd of the trainees aren't used to this schedule. If a certain someone wasn't his dormmate, Leo might've joined the late group for a 10 lap run around the capital! He felt sorry for those guys.

When they arrived at the field, there was 5 minutes left before the session began. The late morning trainees flooded in last minute, all out of breath. Captain Bauda separated the unlucky ones into a group. He had them line up in rows of 5, about 10 person for each row.

"You see this group here?" He directed to the late trainees. "One more soldier in battle could make a life saving difference. Whether their own or someone else's, those odds will increase."

There was a long silence. The atmosphere was tense, and the faces of the late knights paled. Some of the senior knights seem uncomfortable but they didn't show it. At first, Leo was intimidated by the oppressive aura, after forcing himself calm down, it wasn't so bad.

"We always assume the worst when one goes missing. It's not a matter of cowardice but death. There is nothing wrong with running away. As long as we live, there is always tomorrow."

Captain's voice became softer. The only sound was him talking, loud enough to hear an audible sigh from him.

"But-" He shouted. "Without effort, I guarantee that you will die out there and drag the rest of your group down! Do NOT waste your time if you cannot change yourselves! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone was in sync.

"Then stop slacking off and give it your all!"

In seconds, the knights resumed their training session. They gathered in pairs after getting a sword, each strike with vigor. As for the other group, they had to swing their swords for 2 hours straight. This morning was noiser than usual.

Leo was paired with a kid a couple years older than him. His dark, ginger hair stood out and his sharp, yellow eyes radiated diligence. Leo recognized him from those eyes. In front of him was Magnus Rezni, a prince of this kingdom and one of the major villains. Gods, I have the worst luck!

No, no, Leo thought a bit more. In the future, Magnus IS a villain, so perhaps he could change that aspect. But is it okay to alter the story...? Eh, what could be worse when the heroine's already dead? The events are all screwed up, so he had nothing to lose!

Since Magnus didn't seem willing to talk, Leo readied himself.

"Please go easy on me." Leo made the first strike.

For 3 matches, barrages of hits raged on. Even though he lost all 3, Leo thought he did good to dodge, parry, or counter it, but he took more hits than the other boy. Compared to him, Magnus' swordsmanship was graceful and light. During the 4th match, ginger boy spoke.

"You're Leonard Reinfel, right?" Magnus asked.

When Leo heard Reinfel, he almost frowned. Did Captain Bauda register his form wrong? He shouldn't be part of Reinfel anymore. He also didn't want to get false imprisonment by mistake either.

"Well yes, but I'm no longer part of House Reinfel, Your Highness..."

"Ah, so you were part of their family."

"Why the curiosity?" Leo inquired.

"Is it wrong-" Magnus knocked Leo's sword off. "-wanting to know?"

He struck with the handle of his sword. Leo was slow and took the hit. At the same time, Magnus tripped him and Leo fell. He wondered how the hell did this happen when he realized he stopped moving for a moment. These games of his, Leo's determined not to get swept in them.

"I'm not the only one with secrets." He smiled. "Let's start over. Magnus Rezni at your service. Treat me as an equal."

Damn, Magnus wasn't a villain for nothing. In one meeting, Leo already screwed up big time. As the 3rd prince, Magnus only appeared once to the public a year after he was born. Higher nobles knew how he looked when they debuted at the right age. Leo himself hadn't debuted either, but that chance was long gone.

"Hope we can get along!"

"Looking forward to it." Leo faked a smile.

Each day, his future looked grim. If there was any hope at all, he hoped there is no next time with Magnus. On the bright side, the possibility of stopping his plans early existed. Leo couldn't make up his decision. Whatever, he'll take action when it gets to that point.

After morning session, the senior knights went on patrol. The trainees were left to do individual training, a handful had downtime.