"I hereby declare Team 10 as the winner. Congratulations, Captain Reich!" said Evelyn in front of her soldiers.
Seeing the result of the test, the most senior of the Leonardo knights came forward and slightly bowed in front of Hilda.
"Your order, Captain Reich!" said the knight.
With Hilda proving herself better than the rest of the soldiers, the senior knights and all the other soldiers accepted the outcome and finally welcomed Hilda as their captain.
"I'll be relying on you from now on, soldier." replied Hilda with a smile. She directed her gaze to the rest of her comrades. "I hope we can all work well together."
The knights and squires straightened their posture and shouted, "YES, CAPTAIN!"
Evelyn went to Hilda to give the captain a remark of her own. The expression on her face though was not at all pleased.
"Impressive display of skill, Captain Reich. But the same could not be said to the rest of the soldiers." said Evelyn with a disappointed gaze. "Team 1 to Team 9 each had five members in their group but the team with the highest number amongst them still fell 10 points short from you whom hunted alone."
Hilda nodded to her commander's observation with uneased expression.
"Forgive me, my lady. I promise to quickly improve the soldiers up to your standard."
"You've got your work cut out for you, Captain Reich. Especially on those in Team Two." said Evelyn. "Not that the rest of the teams were actually exceptional."
She tapped the Lucerna to the ground, causing the gargoyle replicas to vanish.
Evelyn continued with her evaluation.
"And remember, I didn't even cast the Gale of Nightmare for our training this time. Imagine how all of you would've performed under such spell!"
The Leonardo soldiers lowered their heads upon Evelyn's remark. They understood why she was disappointed at them.
Despite having newfound respect on Hilda, the soldiers knew it was shameful to be beaten by just one person. It showed them the gap they had with their captain.
It was more to their lack of skills that worried the soldiers. How they still were not on the level their commander, Evelyn, expected them to be.
It made them feel disappointed on their self.
Seeing how depressed her soldiers had become, Evelyn stepped forward to give them an address.
"Use the results from the past week as your motivation. I know my words might be hard on some of you but remember the enemies you will be facing in our future quests." said Evelyn. "Imagine if those were real gargoyles you were chasing down earlier. Real demons. Imagine what would have happened if your arrows missed."
The soldiers gritted their teeth as they bear the thought of that scenario. They definitely would had been killed considering how many shots they missed on the target.
"There are many things that factor in in the outcome of a battle." said Evelyn. "But your own skill definitely contributes to the difference between your own life and death. Make sure you remember that every time you train."
Evelyn proceeded to whip the rein of her horse and galloped away. She gestured her soldiers to follow suit.
"TRAINING'S OVER! ALL SOLDIERS, RETURN TO GUARDIA!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
Evelyn and the Leonardo soldiers retreated from the forest and made their way back to the Leonardo Estate in Guardia.
Once they all arrived in front of the mansion and Evelyn was about to dismount from her horse, a 13-year-old dark-skinned boy welcomed the Leonardo heiress.
"Allow me to take your horse back to the stable, my lady." said the boy.
Evelyn responded him with a warm smile.
"Sure, Camille!" said Evelyn handing the rein over to the boy. "I see you're working hard as always."
Camille Reich, Hilda's very own son. His face was the spitting image of his mother.
He was tall for his age and had a pretty good build, indicating how well Hilda been raising him. The boy would surely grow up to be a great man.
"After appointing my mother as the captain of your army and providing a house for us in Guardia, the least I could do to repay your kindness is by being your stable boy."
Evelyn observed Camille's strong physique. It urged her to inquire him about something.
"Camille, do you perhaps any good with the crossbow?"
"My mother taught me how to use it once I was strong enough to hold one." answered Camille. "Since then I practice target-shooting every once in a while."
"You're 13 now. By next year, you could start training as a squire if you wanted."
Camille put on a bittersweet smile after hearing Evelyn.
"My mother doesn't want me to become a soldier, my lady. Neither do I." said Camille. "I plan to become a farmer or maybe a merchant where I can always stay with my family all the time."
Evelyn nodded to the boy's response. She respected his desire to not want to step into battlefields where he could get killed.
"I see…"
"CAMILLE!"
Hilda approached them from the direction of the stable. She just finished sorting all the soldiers to return their horses.
"Mother!"
"The horses just arrived. Go help the other stable men settle them back to their pens." said Hilda to her son.
"Of course!" Camille nodded to his mother and bowed to Evelyn. "Excuse me, my lady!"
The boy then went off to the stable along with Evelyn's horse.
Seeing he had gone away, Hilda talked to her commander.
"Did my son cause any trouble, my lady?"
"Oh no! We were just having a small conversation." said Evelyn.
The Leonardo noble decided to keep the fact she asked Camille whether he wanted to be a squire or not a secret for the moment.
"By the way, on our way back you said you wanted to see me, my lady?" asked Hilda.
Evelyn nodded to this statement and walked to the mansion. She gestured Hilda to follow her.
"Come! There's something I need to show you."