To Live & Conquer [under revision for wattys]

Chapter 2: The Royal Tutor & Knight

Felix was in the training grounds; doing his usual morning routine to hone his skills. It was a day like any other; he'd meet up with Claude later to discuss some things and then serve his position as the Royal Knight. 

"Felix!" A voice called out, making him stop with his routine.

He turned around and was met with gold eyes. He smiled, his heart at ease when he saw the familiar man approaching him. 

"Nico!" He greeted, putting his sword back. 'Nico' approached the knight and gave him a friendly hug. "It' s been awhile, hm?"

Nico pulled away from the hug, looking down on Felix. He was taller than him. "Yeah! Say, what brings you here anyway?" he asked and led 'Nico' to the training room. "Shouldn't you be guarding the barriers up North?"

The light-grey haired man laughed. He took a seat on the training bench. 

"I should, yeah. But weren't you the one calling for help about a certain job position in the Ruby Palace?" He reminded Felix. 

And Felix eyes' widened. It's been a week since the Princess' request, but he still isn't able to do it.

But.... wait, what did Nico just say? 

"Are you telling me that..." he looked down on his lap. "You want to be the Princess' mentor?"

The other man nodded, but a bit surprised when Felix said 'Princess' 

"Princess? I thought Prince. The job opening didn't say who I was supposed to teach, just a member of the royal family." He confessed. 

Not that he didn't like teaching a Princess, but he was the greatest knight out there. Heck, they nicknamed him the Prince of the Battlefield, next to Claude. Claude trusted him well enough to assign him to guard the barriers. 

Could a princess handle his way of teaching?

Felix faced him. "Yep, surprising, right?" he paused. "You still in it? I wanted to teach her myself, but with His Majesty's schedule, I'm afraid I can't."

'Nico' put a hand on his chin. It was surely interesting, though.

 A princess, wanting to yield a sword? What made her think that way? That enough wanted him to pursue his teaching. And this was Claude's daughter; this was the least he could do for the man who was with him during the war.

"A princess is still a princess, regardless of what she wants." He stood up, and looked at Felix with a smile. "I'll make her the greatest in the field of swordsmanship." At that, Felix eyes' practically sparkled. 

He was lucky enough for Nico to teach Athanasia himself. "Let's get you settled in then," he guided Nico to the Ruby Palace.

———————

It's been a week since my birthday. It's also been a week since my request was sent to my beloved 'father' And of course, there was still no reply. 

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Claude still hasn't read my letter. He probably threw it away, too. Maybe the story wanted it to maintain its original plot? Eh, I don't know anymore. I sighed, placing the pencil on the table.

"If we look at it carefully.." My teacher, Miss Vivienne Corbyn, pointed to the map. 

She was teaching me the basic geography of the whole empire. It was easy, though. I memorised it already just by looking at it, but of course I didn't show that. Vivienne was one of the smartest scholars in the Empire. 

I don't even know how I managed to get a tutor without Claude's permission, but here I am.

I nodded, listening to her.