Time passed slowly for some and quickly for others. Two weeks later, four people arrived in the city. They all had armored guards, and Albert greeted these individuals at the gate. These people were the teachers Albert had begged for. They immediately went to work and began teaching William, keeping him busy.
William had no time to take his mind off his education. Every morning he either endured beatings until he couldn't get up, ran, or lifted weights, followed by lessons from his four teachers. And that wasn't all; in the afternoons, he learned from Albert about the social structure and nobility of the Empire. The few hours of free time he had were not spent playing games, but playing chess with Albert or the other teachers. It wouldn't be wrong to say that these were the only moments when he could truly rest.
William worked like a machine until he was exhausted, but he couldn't say a word. Although he wasn't afraid of anyone, he wasn't very optimistic about speaking. That's why he just persevered.
In his mind, his mother and her smiling face kept appearing, but as time went by, that smiling face also began to fade. The education he received from his teachers accelerated his maturation and made it easier for him to become aware of certain things.
***
"Ding!" The sound of clashing swords could be heard in the back courtyard of the castle. The guards had formed a large circle, cheering and adding to the excitement as they watched two people fight in the center.
The one fighting in the middle was Goar. He was the fastest scout among Albert's soldiers. Not only was he fast, he was smart. His father was a hunter, so he had started out as a hunter himself, skilled in many useful things like setting traps, using a bow, and surviving in the wilderness.
Over the past year, Goar had carefully taught William everything he knew. Like a sponge, William had soaked up all the lessons. He now stood bravely against Goar, even though he was still a bit smaller. He was about one hundred and sixty centimeters tall, but much sturdier than his peers. Today was his twelfth birthday, and the guards wanted to honor the occasion.
They couldn't help but be amazed at Prince William's determination and effort. In their eyes, the child was filled with perseverance and tenacity. No matter how many times he fell, he would always get up and strive to do better.
As William grew older, Albert gradually revealed to him the reason he was here. This created something of an ultimatum effect on William, spurring him to work even harder. There was a mixture of feelings inside him, including a bit of revenge, some fear, and most of all, a sense of loneliness. He had never returned to the capital, and never received any letters of invitation. By now, he should have received traditional proposals such as marriage offers, but he hadn't seen any of these traditional gestures from the capital. Although this made him deeply sad, it further strengthened his determination.
William looked seriously at Goar, who was holding two daggers. His white hair had grown quite long, and he had tied it back because he didn't want to cut it. Inside his training armor, he was no different from the other guards except for his hair. He held a short cavalry sword in each hand, both with curved points and twisted handles. Since the first time William held a sword, he had fallen in love with cavalry swords. These swords were easy to maneuver and excelled at cutting, allowing him to dance on the battlefield.
William had progressed so rapidly lately that even Matz feared he would soon surpass him. The reason he had chosen Goar as his opponent today was to measure how close he had come.
Otto had lost to William two years ago. Teja eight months ago and Tufa three months ago. These people were the closest to Matz in the rankings and one by one they fell.
Matz looked anxiously at Albert on the balcony as they watched. When he received no response from Albert, he shook his head. Fortunately, William's anger had slowly shifted to the capital over time, and his initial resentment of Albert had faded after a few years. For it would be Albert's turn as well. Because Albert was the most powerful person in this city. Because the person who had made William work so hard, forced him to grow and made him suffer was Albert.
While everyone thought William hated Albert, he didn't really feel that way. On the contrary, he was grateful. He had heard what his older brothers were doing in the capital. None of them were good people, and even though he had not yet become Emperor, his older brother continued to cause trouble for William. Suddenly, the thriving and growing Highrock City imposed an embargo, keeping merchants as far away as possible.
Albert was very clever in this regard. He managed to attract many traders to the city with its booming economy, and they had even discovered a mine. After he took over the administration, dozens of shops opened, the number of farmers increased, and there were hardly any unemployed people left. The only problem was that they still didn't have a large enough population, so they couldn't afford to hire more soldiers. Although the city's monthly income exceeded a thousand gold coins, Albert spent every penny on further investments, and he didn't even have enough money to support an army. The money he earned from his own lands was barely enough to cover the expenses of his soldiers.
Every time he thought to himself, "If only we had a little more money," he would lament his financial situation.
Meanwhile, the battle below began. The first move was made by the faster one. Goar tried a thrust with his two daggers. Unfortunately, it was quite predictable, and William took a step back, deflecting his daggers with his swords. Then, as one of Goar's daggers was aimed at his chest, the other was aimed at his left flank.
Goar's first strike resulted in a minor scratch on his flank. Then he tried a countermove. If he wanted to defeat William, he had to find the rhythm, and this was a challenging duel at the moment. Both of them used light weapons and their speed was almost identical.
Goar twisted his waist slightly and made a slashing motion first, spreading his daggers. He knew it would be a futile move, but it was a setup for his next move. As his arms spread, he twisted his waist like a vise and at the same time spun around quickly, trying to cut William's chest. But there was something he didn't notice at that moment.
As soon as Goar had turned his back, William had seized the opportunity. Despite his short stature and his nose almost touching Goar's chest, he had come very close to Goar, crossing the two cavalry swords around Goar's neck.
"You are dead," William said with a calm expression on his face.
Goar dropped the two daggers he was holding and chuckled, scratching his head. "Yes, I'm dead."
"The winner, Prince William!" Matz announced, and the crowd burst into applause. The soldiers had gotten used to William by now. They no longer saw him as a prince, but as one of their own, a fellow soldier, at least when he was in his training clothes. Whenever they saw him at other times, they bowed and saluted.
William, amidst all the applause and congratulations from everyone, turned his head and looked at Matz. Despite the loud cheers from the crowd, William's voice cut through it all.
"Trainer Matz! I challenge you!" William shouted. This was like adding fuel to an already frenzied crowd. The crowd became even more enthusiastic and the cheers grew louder. The cheers, especially those calling for Matz to come on the stage, didn't diminish the respect they had for the man who had trained them for years, but it did infuriate Matz.
"Are you sure, Prince William? I think a little more training wouldn't hurt," Matz said. When William first challenged him, Matz had turned his head and looked at Albert, as if saying, "Look, see what he's doing."
In his opinion, William was not yet at his level, but if he made a mistake, it would definitely not escape William's notice. In the battle between them, he had to make flawless moves. Otherwise, defeat would be inevitable. This would also mean that Albert and Matz would have completed the training they had planned for William.
They began their duel quickly. At first, William darted around like a mad bee, trying to tire Matz, but Matz was experienced. He responded to William's attacks with small foot movements and the blunt side of his sword. This made William the first to tire.
William's exhaustion led to an inevitable mistake, and Matz took the opportunity to trip William. Unable to dodge in time, William took the hilt of Matz's sword to his forehead. This meant that the duel between them ended after exactly thirty-five moves.
William was sad about his defeat, and Matz was also sad because he realized that the gap between them was narrowing. In their previous duels, he had only managed to defeat William in ten moves. Now, the duels were getting longer and longer, and as William's stamina grew, Matz's stamina dwindled over time.
As the duel ended and Matz helped William up from the ground, Albert's deep voice echoed from the balcony.
"Matz is the winner!"