Not-So an Extra

The reason why Nathaniel was against their sparring was that Adrian had lost his memories.

Which took away his recollection of how cruel that old man could be.

There was a time when Adrian had sparred with him and he passed out with a body full of bruises.

That was the first and the last time they sparred, or you could say, Walter had lost interest in Adrian.

So, why now?

Was it because Adrian was able to run for 30 minutes?

Nathaniel didn't understand the old man's way of thinking.

His golden eyes stared at the scene present in front of him anxiously.

Adrian and Walter were standing in the middle of the field with three knights; they acted as referees.

"Haa…"

Nathaniel couldn't help but sigh nervously.

He just hoped his little brother would be all right.

Adrian looked at the wooden sword in his hand.

'What a surprise.'

Who would have thought the HEMA club he joined just for fun in his previous life would come in handy?

HEMA, which stood for historical European martial arts, was a realistic re-creation of duels based on the fighting techniques of the Renaissance era.

It had only been around since the late 90s when scholars began translating over 400 years of German and Italian battle treatises into English.

The most popular form of HEMA was the basic longsword technique, so he shouldn't have any problem as it was no different from fencing.

"En garde!"

Adrian took a deep breath and clutched the hilt tightly before standing on guard stance.

Walter sneered, just look at that little imp.

Let alone remembering every kind of stance, the old Adrian didn't even know how to hold the sword properly.

Just–how far did he hide his power?

"Prêts?"

The knight eyed Adrian and Walter in turn to make sure they were ready.

"Aller!"

His voice echoed; marking the start of the sparring session.

–Bang!

Adrian parried the sword that aimed at his throat and immediately took a step back.

The boy was surprised.

He didn't know that Walter would strike right after the referee's word fell.

Luckily he managed to stop the sword from grazing his neck.

"Hahaha."

Walter chuckled wryly and murmured.

"You little brat."

Adrian's brows furrowed at the old man's snide remark.

"I see, so, you've been fooling me, huh."

Despite mumbling, Adrian could still hear it; but not with the people around them.

"Pardon?"

Without warning, Walter swung his sword diagonally.

–Bang!

Their swords clashed and Adrian could feel his hands stinging in pain.

Yet, it didn't stop, Walter continued to engage him.

–Bang! –Bang! –Bang!

The more their swords collided, the more numbness spread to his arms.

"So, how does it feel to be able to fool everyone? Is it fun?"

He had no idea of what that old man was spewing about.

But wait.

'Fooling everyone?'

The wrinkle on the boy's forehead deepened.

Was that referring to how he faked his memory loss?

–Bang!

Adrian deflected the blade and hopped backward to create some distance.

"Haa… Haa…"

He was short of breath and his hands shook from the impact.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sir."

"Ha!"

Walter scoffed before jumping and making a vertical slash.

–Bang!

"Urg!"

Their blades connected as the edge of their swords bit into each other.

Adrian's footing slid a few centimeters back due to the gap in their strength.

He raised his head only to find Walter's feral eyes looking down at him.

"What do you gain from doing so?"

Since responding would only make his lie more obvious, he chose to remain silent.

"..."

"Why don't you answer?"

Deafening his ears, Adrian tilted his wrist to turn the blade's surface to the flat and shoved his weapon away.

However, Walter's sword returned at a rapid speed–leaving Adrian with no chance to breathe.

–Bang!

He blocked the old man's strike and when it came back towards him, Adrian hastily grabbed Walter's wrist; halting his attack.

Little thing he knew, Walter's offensive had the same pattern.

Of course, Adrian wasn't just defending himself.

He studied his opponent's behavior to look for opportunities to counterattack.

Walter's expression showed how surprised he was and wasting no more time, Adrian swung his sword.

–Clutch!

"!"

Adrian flinched, this time it was he who was stupefied.

The old man caught his hand, imitating his action.

Adrian glanced and the smirking Walter could be seen.

"Nice try."

"Urk!"

Saliva jumped out of the boy's mouth as Walter kicked him in the abdomen.

Soon, Adrian was sent flying and he rolled on the ground several times.

"Cough, cough!"

His heart felt tight and his whole body screamed in pain.

"Haa… haa…"

It might look like a dirty trick, but on the battlefield, the enemy didn't just use weapons–they would use anything to kill their opponent.

And it was foolish of him to think that this was similar to fencing.

Adrian sat and groaned.

"Argh!"

He clutched his head from the unbearable dizziness that was swirling in.

"Haa… haa…"

Adrian had reached his limit.

What was worse, he was on the verge of fainting–the symptom said it all.

Something landed on his neck and Adrian lifted his head, but everything was blurred.

"You died."

Walter spoke coldly with a face devoid of any expression.

Seeing how exhausted the boy was, he assumed that Adrian had not fully recovered.

More importantly, he was certain that the little imp was indeed hiding his power.

Because everything was clear; there was no doubt about it.

If it had been the old Adrian, the fight would have ended with the first strike, yet the boy didn't.

He was able to fend himself well and also perform a clever counterattack–although it failed.

"You little brat, I will uncover all of your lies."

"..."

Adrian had no idea how or where the old man found out he was faking his memory loss.

However, the fact that he spoke so quietly the whole time meant that Walter didn't want this to be known by anyone; he wanted it to remain a secret.

Of course, it was only his wild guess, nevertheless, he just hoped it was true.

–Piii.

"The winner is Sir Walter!"

The knight announced the victor.

With that, Walter withdrew his sword.

"You can rest."

"Thank you."

And honestly speaking, it sounded like heaven's blessing to Adrian.

Shortly, he forced himself to get up but suddenly his body felt light and Adrian lurched forward.

Luckily someone caught him before he kissed the ground and a worried voice pierced his ears.

"Are you okay?"

It was Nathaniel.

He turned but his eyes refused to give him a sight.

"Haa…"

The black-haired boy sighed.

What a stupid question he asked.

Just look at him, Adrian was panting heavily, sweat dripping all over him and his body was trembling like a newborn deer!

Nathaniel carried Adrian on his back and moved sideways.

"Thanks."

It was barely audible but Nathaniel was able to catch it, and his lips curved up.

"Don't mention it."

However, his smile vanished when a voice echoed throughout the training ground.

"Get your ass over here once you're done!"

The corner of Nathaniel's mouth quivered in annoyance.

'Stupid old man!'

He placed Adrian on a bench.

"Wait here okay?"

Adrian nodded weakly and Nathaniel veered around to Walter.

He took out his real sword and ran towards him whilst shouting.

"I will kill you!"

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.

.

Adrian stared at the black-haired boy sitting next to him.

His body and face were covered with bruises; there were even some bloodstains at the corner of his mouth and under his nose.

"Are you… okay?"

Nathaniel glanced at him and frowned; he looked at Adrian as if he saw a strange creature.

"You should worry about yourself."

He said so because the white-haired boy's appearance was no different from his.

They took turns sparring with Walter until the Martial Arts class ended–it was hell.

Nathaniel raised his fist high and spoke exasperatedly.

"I will kill that old man one day!"

It was true that he did turn back time, but the only thing he had was his memories, not his power.

So he had to start everything from scratch–which was annoying.

Nathaniel took out two potions and offered one of them to Adrian, yet, the little boy shook his head.

"I'm fine, thanks."

Nathaniel sighed.

"You can rest assured, this is not poison."

"I know."

"Then why?"

He demanded an explanation.

"I want the wound to heal by itself."

Adrian wanted his body to get used to pain.

It wasn't that he was a masochist, but learning to endure it could increase his endurance.

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Nathaniel sighed once again; he gave up.

He drank the potion and put another back into his Magical Sphere.

Fredinand approached them and bowed.

"Pardon me, Your Highness, it's time for your next schedule."

"I understand."

Adrian stood and Nathaniel shadowed him.

"I heard you're leaving for the Academy tomorrow?"

"That's right. You will see me off, right?"

Nathaniel smiled gently and looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Upon seeing it, somehow, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

"Right?"

Nathaniel asked once more and Adrian eventually answered.

"I'm sorry."

"Ah…"

Nathaniel's arched lips fell into a thin line and surprise colored his face.

"I… I see…"

His hope was shattered.

Regardless, he forced himself to smile and shrugged.

"You're still recovering, so it's understandable."

"..."

"Ah, I have something for you."

Nathaniel took out something and extended his hand.

"Here."

There was a pouch over his palm–a familiar one.

Even without peeking at the content inside, Adrian knew…

It was cookies.

And the recollection of how he wept all night long flooded his head.

Without beating around the bush, Adrian spat his mind.

"Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline."

There was no way he would eat those things again.

"..."

Nathaniel's smile dissipated into thin air.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, surprise–everything mixed into an indescribable expression.

The atmosphere thinned and awkwardness filled the air as Nathaniel remained silent for a full minute.

It feels uncomfortable and suffocating at the same time.

In the end, Adrian spoke to break the silence.

"If there's nothing, then I will take my leave. Goodbye."

Nathaniel withdrew his hand and responded.

"Goodbye."

With that, Adrian and Fredinand marched towards the entrance of the training ground.

His golden eyes watched them walk away until their silhouettes were no longer visible and he let the pouch slide down from his hand.

"Haha."

Nathaniel laughed dryly as he saw the scattered cookies on the ground.

"It's over."

The trust he had built over years crumbled into nothing.

He clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white and blood dripped from his palms.

"It's… over…"

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A/N:

End of the Prologue / 1st Arc.

FYI, we will enter the prelude to the 2nd arc in the next chapter.