# 375
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375
They had arrived at the place where the target was.
“what?”
Asuka’s eyebrows rose.
He doesn’t have a very good memory for people, but that depends on what kind of person he is.
Even more so, if you have something similar to your grudge against.
The crown prince pointed with his chin and asked vaguely.
“Do you remember?”
Two noble children, guided by maids, were standing in front of me. They are all scholar-types who have a neat and respectable appearance and seem to smell like paper.
They were both around the same age as Helmut and Asuka. They are undoubtedly children of a prestigious noble family.
‘Is this your father’s masterpiece? I never thought I’d see these guys here.’
Asuka slowly scanned their faces. And then he spat it out with a grin.
“I know. Aren’t they my old childhood friends? Of course, we were only friends for a short time.”
Bad memories and emotions bloom again. Asuka’s eyes also became cold.
“long time no see. Asuka. “This is Levy of the Marquis de Moran.”
“This is Anthony of Count Logos. I heard that you graduated from Greta Academy’s swordsmanship department with excellent grades and returned to the Empire. “I’m glad to see you again.”
Undaunted by Asuka’s cold reaction, they greeted each other politely.
They were polite and had polite smiles. A face full of calm, as if he had never raised his voice even once after being asked to live with such a refined demeanor his whole life.
However, I felt some awkwardness in their smiles. Unlike Asuka, who was quite calm after meeting them, they were greatly shaken.
That’s because for them, their friendship with Asuka was an extremely rare ‘failure’.
They are nobles who live their whole lives in social contact. It is a great shock to the royal family, and even to them, to be hated by the only legitimate son of Archduke Farnese, who is the younger brother of the current emperor and wields enormous power.
The importance of friendship with the royal family in the empire is so great.
In reality, they are not the same age as the crown prince or the prince, and there are noble children around them who are already close friends.
Their friendship with Asuka was also an opportunity for them. An opportunity to access the very heart of power.
It was a mistake that happened because they were young at the time and did not know that Asuka had grown up in special circumstances.
But this time the opportunity came again.
It is unclear whether the crown prince’s intention to call them was to give them another chance, but they had to make up for their mistakes.
“Excellent grades? You have to say it properly. “I was the head of the swordsmanship department at Greta Academy.”
Asuka proudly straightened her shoulders and exhaled. It is not enough to simply describe it as excellent grades.
“I was a senior too.”
Helmut calmly opened his mouth. With just that one word, Asuka frowned slightly and all eyes turned to him.
“This person…”
“A friend of mine from my academy days. “Please don’t ask me for details.”
Asuka thought about introducing her as a commoner and seeing their reaction, but she swallowed the urge.
Helmut, the legitimate son of the Archduke of Linosa, cannot be called a commoner.
And if he were not introduced as a commoner, Helmut would not have seemed like that at all.
Because he could feel the intimidation of oppressing a weak opponent, something that cannot be expressed with words like ‘gwitti’.
“Please keep your mouth shut to anyone about the person you met here today and the conversation you had here. “If it leaks, I will punish you severely.”
The Crown Prince’s instructions solidified the impression that Helmut was no ordinary guy.
Probably royalty from another country or something similar. Rinosa if you have black hair?
But Prince Rinosa’s only son is blonde. Could it be an illegitimate child?
However, such rumors did not spread even in the imperial social circles where rumors spread quickly.
The two people’s heads spun.
“Where is the other one?”
Looking at them intently, Asuka suddenly asked. There were three noble children that he hung out with. And what happened at that time…
I remember it clearly without a trace. The boys who made Asuka feel shocking anger and disgust were not these two.
“Oh, you mean Gwen? “He…”
The prince, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
“I was banned from entering the imperial palace for three years because I assaulted a maid who gave me wrong directions. Was that half a year ago? “Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring him here because it was an order given by His Majesty the Emperor himself.”
He thought it would be quite funny to see Asuka grabbing him by the collar. Creatures outside the standard are a good source of interest for him who lives an institutionalized life.
“…I can’t change my habits. “They say you recognize people from the beginning.”
Asuka sighed and looked at the faces of the two people. Levy slowly looked away. However, Anthony responded politely.
“I think it’s too early to figure out the shape of the buds. “Because people can change as they grow.”
“It’s when you are placed in an environment that will change.”
Asuka raised her chin and looked at them with downcast eyes, as if you, who had been raised as nobles and lived in an aristocratic society all your life, would know anything.
When they met, ten-year-old Asuka was a much smaller boy than them.
But now Asuka has grown up enough to look down at them.
And Asuka is not only a member of the royal family, but also has the skills she has honed in swordsmanship.
A skill that gives you confidence and confidence more than anything else. An achievement achieved entirely through his sweat and talent.
Anthony responded calmly.
“Asuka is not the only one who studied at the academy. We also went to the academy and learned a lot by seeing and listening.”
‘These bastards would have picked on a commoner and tormented him?’
There was doubt in Asuka’s eyes, as she had already been victimized. However, unlike old memories, both guys seemed gentle enough to bother someone.
His desk smells like he studied to death during his academy days.
Levy answered.
“As I grew up, I realized that we had been foolish in siding with Gwen’s harsh treatment because she was noble. “I understand why Asuka kicked us out.”
“We now recognize that persecuting the weak is unfair, and I think we should have dissuaded Gwen.”
Asuka snorted.
“You’re not just pretending to change your mind because it’s in front of me?”
“If you tell a lie, you will get votes. Because thoughts are bound to be revealed through actions. “Why don’t you check for yourself whether our thoughts have changed or not?”
Anthony responded boldly. In fact, there was something about them that could be said to be unfair.
As children, it’s easy to be swayed by the one with the loudest voice, and Gwen was the most powerful and influential boy among them.
Because of that, everyone was just trying to please him. So there was no other option but to side with Gwen’s actions.
In addition, the child’s characteristic insensitivity to mindlessly tearing up a bed and killing it caused the incident.
As they grew up, Gwen’s personality became more vicious, and their relationship became more bleak.
“That’s right.”
Asuka looked at them with an ambiguous expression. In fact, it was just an incident from a time when I could just dismiss it as an old, immature time.
Also, Asuka was not harmed. It just gave me a reason to get fed up and give myself a chance to run away.
No, it may have been the highlight. Asuka was clearly not adjusting to the life of the royal family at that time.
“Okay, okay. “Give me one chance.”
Asuka responded arrogantly. Anthony and Levy smiled happily, without any unpleasant traces. You don’t know the inside.
Asuka also decided to just leave the past behind. Because he had promised his father that he would adapt to this life, and he had to keep that promise.
“So are you ready to enjoy the game I’ve prepared for you?”
As the tense atmosphere relaxed for a moment, the crown prince who was watching the situation asked vaguely.
Asuka shrugged her shoulders.
“The level of competition is a bit questionable. “Your Majesty the Crown Prince, you may have shouted loudly, but what kind of competition is the addition of two people who used to sit at the desk?”
“I thought you would say that, so I prepared a few more people.”
When the crown prince gestured, four imperial knights walked out from the other side. They were knights who thought they were acting as a knight’s escort. It looked familiar.
Asuka pointed her finger at them and screamed.
“You damn kidnappers!”
Aren’t they the ones who brought them to the empire? At the time, Archduke Farnese had sent elites from the Imperial Knights to capture his son safely and securely.
Adapting to life as a royal family means adapting, and making that choice itself was forced.
Asuka did not forget the unlucky imperial wizard or these knights.
If they had fought 1:1, they would have never lost, but they came in droves and there was nothing they could do.
the crown prince asked.
“Do you feel a little motivated?”
“very.”
Asuka quickly nodded. His eyes were burning.
“I am there too.”
One person appeared late and raised his hand shyly.
Ralph was said to be one of the few commoners among the imperial knights. We also lived together as knights for a while.
Asuka feels that she is below my rank. It’s not much of a threat.
“Okay, work hard, you too!”
The crown prince spoke as he passed by.
“Ralph won the imperial boat archery competition last year. “You’d better not look down on me.”
“Okay, so it’s archery.”
Asuka snorted. Arrows loaded with vis ignore wind resistance. In other words, all he had to do was aim and fire an arrow containing vis. What could be difficult?
However, his expression immediately distorted at the words the crown prince spoke next.
“Oh, by the way, the use of Vis is prohibited. Since this is done in the garden, there is a risk that the garden trees may get damaged. And wouldn’t that make it a fair competition for everyone?”
Only at the end did the crown prince’s smiling face shine as he spoke the most important truth. This is Yoon who wants to be smashed like porcelain.
“Someone with confidence should avoid finishing in last place.”
The crown prince clicked his tongue and took the bow in his hand.
Long, outstretched fingers held the bow straight and set the arrow on the string.
It was a neat, undisturbed movement that reminded me of the smell of coriander.
He was the first in line.
