In Time And Memories

Chapter Thirty-Two

Several knights has gathered on the training grounds to have a spar as their training. There are a lot of them who got amazing skills and abilities. Some knights are also women.

The head advisor for imperial knights is currently guiding me around and telling me some rules that a knight should abide.

It's similar on how the Laurenze dukedom manages its knights so it is not hard for me to follow.

A loud striking of wooden swords can be heard in every corner of the training ground. Some fell, some are laughing, and some are standing idly by as they watch their fellow knights spar each other.

"This is the Crimson Gherrad battalion, Princess. It's led by the young duke of house Harckion," the head advisor introduces them.

The knights are wearing a red and yellow uniform, that signifies the color of their battalion.

If it's led by the house of Harckion, then this battalion is probably the ones who are assigned in the security of Azeroth.

"How many battalions are there?"

"There are currently 23, Princess. Eight of those battalions are led by the crown prince, while the emperor has one elite battalion. The rest is led by different families," he answered.

I never knew that Prince Urus has a wide power in the imperial knights. From what I know, Black Zierg is his main battalion and also the battalion who are always with him.

As we walked closer to the training ground, the knights immediately stopped when they saw us coming.

"Greetings to the crown princess of the Meliean Empire," they all greeted in unison. I nodded at them as another way to greet and acknowledge them.

A tall and muscular man went us and bowed his head. Looking at his different uniform, he must be the commander of this battalion.

"Greetings, Princess Azelaine," the young duke of Harckion greeted me. He's Prince Pierre's cousin. As far as I can remember, his name is Cain Harckion.

The advisor cleared his throat. "Crown Princess Azelaine will start training in order to join the imperial knights. I am hoping that you will assist her well."

"Yes, My lord!" The knights saluted at the head adviser.

Different knights will train me but since the Crimson Gherrad is here, they will be the first one to train me. I don't even think that I will meet the queen nor Prince Pierre here since they have no interest in the imperial knights.

After the head advisor's briefing, Cain gave me a wooden sword and we settled on the corner of the training ground.

"Why did you chose the imperial knights, Princess? Is not too dangerous for you?"

I swung my sword on the target but unfortunately, it broke. Perhaps, my mood suddenly got spoiled because of his question.

I threw the remaining piece of wood on my hand and heaved a sigh. "Commander Harckion, I am not here for a small talk. So, I would appreciate it if you keep your opinion to yourself about whether this is dangerous for me or not." I smiled at him sarcastically.

That's pretty rude for our first meeting but I couldn't care less. I just told him the truth.

I saw him smirked before turning his back on me to grab another wooden sword. After that, he didn't say anything unnecessary and proceeded to train me.

Although, I know how to fight, there are some things I still learned from him. He wasn't so bad, I guess. He's not as annoying as Xiel but I can feel his hostility towards me.

Several hours have passed since I started training and I'm starting to feel tired. The sun is also setting.

"Do you want to spar, Your highness?" Cain suddenly asked me out of nowhere.

The middle of the training ground is currently empty since the knights are taking a rest. My eyes went to the wooden sword he's giving me and without any second thoughts, I accepted it.

I can feel the gazes of the knights as we walk towards the middle. Some of them are whistling and cheering.

Cain took his position and smirked at me. "Don't fall on the ground, Princess." My eyebrow raised and took my position.

Cain is the first one to attack and swung his sword towards me. I immediately blocked it with my own sword but I still felt the strong impact on my body. It even made a small crack on my sword.

I see... he has no plan on going easy to me.

After I regained my composure, I ran towards him and landed my attack. When he blocked my sword, I landed a kick on his right side; where he left defenseless.

The knights reacted in surprise and followed by some cheering.

Our spar continued and Cain tried to land another attack on me. Somehow, I can read his movements but he still managed to land some attack on me. I can feel some of my body parts are aching.

"Beat his ass, Your highness!"

"Go, Commander!"

"Wow... The princess is strong."

I tried to land an attack; one after another, leaving Cain with no time to react. He's occupied blocking my sword so I tried to land another kick then lowerd my body to sweep his feet using my own.

There's loud thud after Cain fell down and he let out a loud groan. The knights cheered and teased their commander.

"How can a lady be so strong?" Cain asked after he regained his composure.

I lowered my body to level my eyes on him and smirked. "How can a man be so weak?" My lips formed into a smirk after mocking him.

"Oh!" The knights expressed.

Cain just stared at me, speechless. I stood up properly then threw the ragged wooden sword on the ground. I hurriedly to walk away since the snow are starting to fell since the sun has already set.

Days passes by and I dedicated myself on training until the day Celestia is ready to deliver her child.

I'm alone on the training grounds and trained myself like a madman, trying to let out the anger I have in me. I may have left them for a while but my anger is still here. Their betrayal and abuse are carved in me so that I won't forget it easily.

I trained and trained until my arms feel like falling apart while in the other side of the imperial palace, Celestia is giving birth.

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