"Please think thoroughly about it, Edward. Participating in the tournant is dangerous and not a good way to prove yourself. It is not late to back out."
In the emperor's office in the Imperial Palace, Emperor Alfred Dixon was reprimanding his son's decision in regard to his participation in the tournant. He summoned Edward to his office imdiately after Edward returned from the tournant registration.
"I know how dangerous it is, Father, but my decision is final. I had co prepared, and I am confident I can give the audience entertainnt."
"But still. Even if you have co prepared, there is no way to guarantee your safety. Frankly, winning the tournant is near impossible for an inexperienced and a first-tir in the tournant like you."
"It doesn't matter."
"I just don't understand you, Edward. You have been always up to sothing without telling us, your family. Why are you acting so unprincely lately? Have you been bewitched by that girl?"
"Edith has nothing to do with anything, though she was my inspiration. She has been proven to be a mber of the Aethel family, so you should be supporting us fully by now."
"I already knew that, but I am still not happy with how you could just abandon Christine so easily. Our relationship with the Grise family has never been better. Don't make any foolish decision again, Edward."
"Christine and her family have nothing to do with this, so it would not be going to affect them anyway. I will not back out from the tournant. Well then, see you again, Father. I have many things to do."
"Edward, wait..."
Before Alfred could stop his son, Edward promptly turned around and exited the room. Alone in his office, Alfred let out a long sigh before leaning his back against his seat and staring at the ceiling.
"Why are you like this, Edward...?" Those words slipped out of his mouth.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
Clink! Clink!
Late afternoon, at the palace's courtyard, two n were crossing their blades. One was Prince Edward, and the other one was Francis. Other than them, Celeste Korper and Warren Clavel were on the bench as they took a rest after a match.
Clink!
Edward slashed his blade and successfully parried Francis's attack, sending it flying. With no weapons, Francis raised both his hands.
"It seems like it's your win again, Your Imperial Highness. You have gotten better and better every day."
After Francis declared his defeat, Edward sheathed back his blade. Edward looked at the horizon and realized how orangey the sky was.
"It's getting late. Let's call it a day."
"If you say so, Your Imperial Highness."
Francis picked up his sword before they walked to Celeste and Warren. They imdiately throw canteens of water to Francis and Edward to rehydrate their tired bodies.
Since Edward was going to fight in the tournant, he had to make so preparations. He had been training with his friends since the afternoon to improve his skills and battle experience.
But the tournant was not just a walk in the park. Edward would be fighting veterans and legitimate warriors, and his life could be in danger. His level alone was barely at their dinsion, so he had been doing so physical training as he had a lot to improve.
"Edward, to be honest, I don't think you should be fighting in the arena," Warren said to Edward with concern. "Your opponents there would be a lot more powerful than us combined. You could die even if killing is strictly prohibited."
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"Warren is right, Edward." Celeste agreed. "I also thought you are not strong enough to compete with real warriors, let alone the Supre Rank adventurers and the last year's champion. Your safety is not guaranteed in the arena, Edward.
"I know that you all are worried about my safety, but I will be fine. And thank you for training with ."
"Well, I don't think training with us is helping you, though," Warren said as he scratched his head. "We cannot be compared to those warriors in the tournant."
"Yeah, we are sorry for not helping that much," Celeste said. "It would really help you if Azrael was here. With his power, I am sure he can compete decently even with the Supres."
"I would like to, but it isn't like he is always available."
"It is too pity that we could not train directly under Azrael right now," Francis added. "His ho is on the Southern Continent, and we cannot just pull him into our problems."
The last ti Azrael visited them was around weeks ago, and they did not have an update about him yet. But in reality, Azrael had been monitoring them all the ti, even when he was on another continent. Unbeknownst to them, Azrael was wearing the mask of Erik and roaming around the Imperial Capital.
"Well anyway, I would imdiately ask him to train once he paid us a visit."
"Edward, I know that you are doing this for Edith, but I have been wondering why you are so confident despite knowing that he would be clapped instantly in the arena."
Warren asked that question with a serious tone, and everybody was looking at him. They knew that what he just said was true, and they had been wondering of that as well. Edward thought for a few seconds before he opened his mouth.
"I think it is the right ti to reveal it to you. Do you agree with that, Francis?"
"It's up to you, Your Highness."
"Alright then. I will put my trust in you two, Warren, Celeste. Whatever I will tell you today is confidential and should stay within ourselves, okay?"
"We promise, Edward."
"Okay," Edward scanned the surroundings and found the spot clear. "Actually, I have a secret weapon under my sleeve. Francis lent their family's secret heirloom artifact that will help win the tournant."
"Wait, you are going to cheat?"
"You're just an idiot, Warren. It is not prohibited to wield any weapon or item in the arena as long as it doesn't affect the contestant negatively, such as life-draining artifacts. Or it really is?"
"Fret not, guys," Francis responded. "It wasn't sothing like that."
"Okay, that's a relief." Warren breathed out a heavy. "If you have such an artifact, then I should be cheering for you, Edward."
"I'll explain the details later in a more private area. For now, let's have a dinner with Edith."
The four of them washed themselves before going back to the academy.
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