Just now, I witnessed a young man lecturing an older man—and that older man happened to be my dear friend, Anthony.
And Anthony, holding his sword, was defeated by an unarmed young man. That young man was Karen, the one person in this entire kingdom we absolutely must never offend.
Originally, I had something very important to discuss with Karen. I intended to summon him, but since he would most likely refuse, I decided to come straight to his home instead.
I even brought my wife and daughter along because they wanted take a walk. After that, the important matter completely slipped away—Karen kept diverting the topic, and I couldn't find the right timing at all.
Now, back to what happened: Karen mentioned that he had nothing to do the entire day. That made Anthony furious—he always believed Karen spent every day diligently training with a sword. Even though I repeatedly warned him not to do it, Anthony still challenged Karen again.
And then, in the same exact manner as last time, Anthony got defeated and ended up kneeling on the ground, bawling like a child. I felt utterly ashamed. If I had known this would happen, I would never have brought him.
Then, somehow Anthony said something wrong and angered Karen. Karen declared that he would defeat Anthony barehanded—even if Anthony drew his sword. That only made Anthony even angrier; it was basically trampling on the pride of someone known as the sword saint.
But I had long given up worrying—after all, his opponent was Karen. Anthony didn't land a single counterattack before he was knocked down. Karen even struck a stylish pose afterward, as if it were nothing.
Then Karen started lecturing Anthony. To sum it up, he said Anthony was too obsessed with the sword and neglected other kinds of training—whatever that meant, I didn't fully understand.
Although Anthony eventually said he understood, I wondered if someone as upright as him truly grasped the meaning of "all's fair in war." But he probably did; Karen had spelled it out very clearly.
After that, Karen went to prepare lunch while Anthony put on the armor he'd taken off for the spar and returned to my side. I immediately spoke to him.
"Anthony, tell me—how should I even scold you for this?"
"Please turn a blind eye, Your Majesty."
He actually dared joke with me. Looks like I'll have to discipline him later. Then my queen—my wife—Leanna, spoke up.
"Edward, don't be angry. Brother is just an idiot. It's fortunate Grace isn't here. If she heard that her father knelt on the ground crying, her illusion of him would shatter."
Anthony and Leanna are siblings, which makes Anthony related to me as well. Grace is Anthony's daughter. She deeply admires her father, the sword saint, and sees him as her role model. She's currently a knight.
Anthony always acts like a flawless father in front of her. If she ever saw him crying because he lost, his perfect image might crumble.
He dotes on Grace excessively—borderline overprotective. Every day he consults me about how to make Grace give up being a knight, terrified of even the slightest danger she might face. If war ever broke out, he would use himself authority to send her to the safest place possible.
I heard Grace's swordsmanship was already second only to Anthony's, with the potential to become the next Sword Saint. I'm not sure if it's true, but I'll look into it later.
"Leanna, I beg you—please don't let Grace hear about this."
As soon as she finished speaking, Anthony dropped to his knees, pleading with her. I knew Leanna was only teasing him—the two of them are extremely close. Anthony was overly protective of her as well when they were young, which annoyed her quite a bit.
As for how Anthony and I became best friends, it goes back to when I was six and became engaged to Leanna. Anthony was furious and told me that if I wanted to marry her, I had to defeat him first.
I didn't understand anything back then. I felt challenged, so I fought back—and lost miserably. I was a child; of course I refused to accept defeat. After that, I kept challenging Anthony. I lost every time, but we gradually grew closer and eventually became friends.
At the time, my repeated challenges made Leanna misunderstand. She thought I liked her and wanted to defeat Anthony out of affection. Later, when we attended the academy, I truly did fall in love with her. Her encouragement and kindness healed me, pushing me to train even harder.
But in the end, I never managed to beat Anthony. It was my love for Leanna that convinced him to give us his blessing. That is the greatest achievement of my life!
"I'm not that petty. You two knights over there—you saw nothing today, correct?"
"YES!"
Today's events must never spread. When Anthony was defeated by Karen the first time, Grace already looked slightly disappointed. I kept that news suppressed to prevent the sword saint's prestige from dropping.
"Leanna, what do you think about Karen?"
She had been saying for a long time that she wanted to see what kind of person he was.
"He's incredibly impressive. And this cake tastes even better than the one made by the royal chefs. Do you think I could ask him to make one for me to take home?"
Her answer bored me—I don't care about cake at all and can't tell one from another.
"That's not what I meant."
Leanna laughed lightly and continued.
"Karen is strong and capable—he's an excellent man. Women would probably adore him. But he talks a bit too much, thinks about everything from all angles, and never indulges in unrealistic fantasies. He might not be the romantic type."
I agreed with everything except the part about romance—but I didn't know why.
Then I asked my eight-year-old daughter, Sophia.
"What about you, Sophia?"
"He's really cool."
Sophia had a dangerous look in her eyes—one of admiration. If she ever fell for Karen, she would definitely be heartbroken. Karen would reject her without hesitation—I can guarantee that.
Before something like that happens, I must protect her from emotional damage. I spoke sternly.
"Sophia, Karen is someone even your father cannot afford to offend. You must not be disrespectful to him. Understood?"
"...Yes."
Sophia answered with disappointment. She was a smart child. I would find her a better man than Karen someday. Then Leanna asked another question.
"Edward, is Karen married? You said earlier that girl named Lina was his wife?"
I didn't know if Karen and Lina were married, so I asked Anthony—he always hears information from the knights.
"I'm not sure. Anthony, do you know?"
"I think they're not married yet."
"Edward, if they're not married, doesn't that mean there's a chance? And our kingdom allows polygamy, doesn't it?"
Leanna had clearly forgotten what I said earlier. I understood she cherished Sophia, but for the royal family, this would be no different from trying to recruit Karen. And Karen cannot be recruited—or made an enemy.
I spoke seriously.
"Leanna, consider this a warning. If you say anything foolish, you will regret it."
Sophia is royalty. Karen is a commoner. Karen refuses to be a noble. Sophia cannot abandon her royal identity. This is impossible from the start.
If Leanna told Karen something like that, he would get angry. Lina would get angry. And then I… would be doomed.
"Leanna, give it up. Even I can't save you from this."
Anthony also advised her to stop. When the topic wasn't swords, he actually had a brain. Leanna pouted slightly.
"Fine…"
But knowing her, she hadn't given up at all. I could only hope Karen wouldn't get too angry and might just give her a light scolding.