CH 91

Ryzen was quick to notice Calix’s apparent agitation.

He was so cautious that he dared not speak to him, his lord was showing mixed emotions that were difficult to put into coherent form under his blood-colored eyes that were shifting back and forth.

Has he ever seen his lord like this? No- Never. Ryzen shook his head.

He was a master who did not show his emotions easily. To him, emotions were like traces that had weathered and dulled over the years. Never had he seen his brow furrowed even when he was slicing through an enemy army on the battlefield.

But now…

Ryzen swallowed dryly at the intuition that something was about to happen.

“Ryzen.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“I’m going to the knights’ training grounds.”

The ominous feelings were definite.

* * *

The knights of the Benvito family were experiencing hell.

The rigorous training was going on for several hours now since the morning. Although all knights had been trained through all kinds of ordeals and performed numerous missions, this was not a level they could endure.

But none of them could say anything in the deadly atmosphere of the training ground, where it seemed that any one of them could be killed at any second.

“Stand up.”

“Your Highness, no more… haha, I can’t… Haa!”

“Next.”

Calix called the next victim with a blank look on his face. The faces of the knights waiting for their turn gradually turned white.

Half of the knights had already turned to corpses and were scattered around the training grounds like wet laundry. The other half was not in very good condition either. Still, there were only two people who still seemed to be in decent condition.

Zeke and Ryzen.

“Tell me honestly. What happened?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Don’t lie to me! There must be a reason why the lord suddenly makes all this fuss in the morning!”

Zeke persistently urged him to reply, but Ryzen turned his head away without replying.

“It’s good to spar with knights once in a while but at this point, it’s just torture.”

Zeke glanced at Calix as he murmured. Even though he was competing with all the knights, his lord did not seem to get tired; heck, there wasn’t even a drop of sweat on his face. Meanwhile, the knights seemed to be a strand away from dropping dead.

Just then Ryzen checked his watch and murmured.

“Two minutes and thirty seconds. This one is enduring quite a bit longer than the others.”

Before he knew it, the sparring match was over and the next knights staggered towards Calix like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse. Zeke clicked his tongue.

“It’s the first time I envy the boys who went out scouting at dawn. No wonder they wanted to follow them.”

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to spar with his excellency in person.”

“That might be true for a monster like you. These guys will probably have to lie down and recover in bed for a couple of days.”

Meanwhile, another poor victim fainted and was carried away.

“Are you sure you won’t tell me?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then what about the state of the lord? Why is the groom, who should be getting along with his bride by now, standing in this dull training ground beating up these pitiful souls?”

Zeke’s ability to read the atmosphere was running at a rapid pace, this was the same ability that helped him survive in the slums where he had no one to take care of him as a child, and it turned out to be quite useful up until now.

“Did my lord get stood up last night?”

“…. No…”

“No shit! You took too long to reply! No way!”

Zeke’s eyes widened as he unexpectedly guessed the right answer by randomly asking the right question.

“Really? You mean to tell me that the lord was stood up, not the other way around?”

“Watch your words, Zeke.”

Ryzen tried to restrain him, but to no avail. Excited, Zeke forgot his place and began to fuss gleefully. His eyes lit up like a puppy who has found a new toy that piques his interest.

“I didn’t see that coming. Surprisingly Her Highness is more formidable than I expected.”

“You’re talking too loud. That’s enough.”

“I thought she was the quiet and docile type, but I was completely mistaken.”

“I told you to stop.”

Ryzen anxiously tried to cover Zeke’s mouth. He cast a glance over to confirm, fortunately, Calix was still sparring. But given Zeke’s habit of getting louder when excited, it was no longer safe.

“I wondered why the lord was giving out deadly vibes today, but I finally understood. So the reason for this mess is because the bride kicked him out on their wedding night, isn’t it?”

“Who was kicked out?”

“Lord…!”

Zeke retreated, frightened as if he had seen a messenger from hell.

“Lord, Lord!”

He screwed up.

That was the first thought that came into Ryzen’s head as soon as he saw Calix.

The situation was out of control to the point that he even felt dizzy. Calix, who, not long ago, was over there wielding a wooden sword against the knights, was here before he knew it.

Zeke asked with an awkward smile.

“D- Did you hear that?”

Crazy bastard. Ryzen cursed at Zeke. Indeed, he was a guy who was as transparent as glass when it came to what he was really thinking. Still, if you have an empty head, you could at least be tight-lipped.

‘I should have stitched that bastard’s mouth shut sooner.’

While Ryzen was regretting his decisions, Calix had a big smile on his face as he stared at them. Seeing his master laugh so much was definitely not a good sign. It was very bad.

“You guys must have been feeling relaxed lately. Don’t you think so?”

The calm voice was even more horrifying. Although he was clearly smiling, Zeke shuddered. That beautiful smile on Calix’s flawless face gave him goosebumps.

Ryzen closed his eyes as he thought. Please, let’s hope it’s not a spar on the training ground.

“I’ll give you three hours. A hundred laps, run.”