Decker, who had been desperately blocking Carlyle's sword with his breath almost at his chin, was astonished.
He had been pushed back quite a bit from the center of the training ground where the sparring had started, yet to be praised so highly. It was clearly mocking.
But Carlyle was sincere.
He suddenly sheathed his sword and nodded.
"So you're the strongest warrior in Pervaz? It's quite impressive."
Decker gasped for breath, rolling his eyes.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Carlyle seemed about to attack suddenly.
"Your strength is exceptional. If you have speed, it would be perfect, but it's not a problem that can be solved in a short time."
Carlyle continued, not bothering to understand Decker's confusion, inspecting his sword to see if it was damaged.
"Unconventional swordsmanship seems to be a characteristic of Pervaz warriors, but you have a good sense beyond that. No one has blocked my attacks this far."
Only then did Decker realize that Carlyle was genuinely praising him.
Immediately, he tried to correct Carlyle's words.
"Thank you for the compliment, but the strongest warrior in Pervaz is not me, it's Asha, no, it's our lord."
At that, Carlyle chuckled.
"I know. The Countess of Pervaz is a different matter altogether."
The memory of fighting barbarians with her was still vivid. As Decker said, Asha was a woman who could lead Pervaz.
Just as he was about to say something more, a cold raindrop suddenly fell on his cheek.
"I haven't had much fun yet, but I guess I have to go now. It seems like it's going to pour heavily."
Carlyle threw his sword into the sheath and picked up the clothes he had thrown aside.
Decker also hurriedly tidied up his sword and followed Carlyle.
***
"It's raining quite heavily."
Carlyle returned to the room, shaking his hair and plopping down on a chair.
He was actually a little disappointed.
He thought Decker would be able to hang out with him for an hour or so.
'I hate to admit it, but he's really good.'
Even within his order, there were not many who could spar with him for an hour.
It was also rare for a knight to block more than five combinations.
But Decker, despite being a little awkward, managed to keep blocking his attacks.
It was clear that if he was just given a little guidance, he would definitely become a better knight than he was now.
Knowing that, Decker looked a little different.
"Today's sparring was really meaningful to me. Thank you for your many teachings."
Decker greeted him politely, even though it must have been a blow to his pride that he hadn't been able to swing his sword properly once. In the blunt tone of a Pervaz man.
'I can't even hate him properly....'
Carlyle grumbled for no reason.
I know. That I'm being childish thinking this.
In fact, there was no reason for me to hate Decker.
If I was the reason why Asha and Decker broke up, then Decker should be the one hating me, but I was acting like a victim.
Carlyle laughed out loud to shake off the self-loathing he had never felt in his life.
"If you're okay with it, would I be asking too much if I asked you to hang out with me sometimes?"
"Yes? Y-yes, it would be an honor! If you call me, even though I'm lacking...!"
"You're not lacking at all. You're the right-hand man of the great warrior Asha Pervaz. You can be a little more stiff."
"T-thank you."
A faint smile spread across Decker's face.
It was probably because Carlyle had praised not only Decker, but Asha as well.
'I used to think they were really emotionless people....'
He used to think that they were just like Asha, blunt and expressionless.
However, after seeing them for over a year, he realized that they were actually very honest people who expressed their emotions. It's just that it wasn't the way people from the capital did it.
'I wish Countess Pervaz would show me her heart as much as I do.'
Carlyle smirked and took out a cigar from the wooden box.
Decker, who had been glancing at him, opened his mouth, wondering if it was a cheeky remark or if he was a little worried.
"You seem to have been smoking cigars and cigarettes for a long time…"
"Are you going to nag me too? This is the only joy in my life, so don't tell me to stop this too."
Decker tilted his head at that.
"Do you mean 'only joy' literally, or do you mean it's really the only one?"
He said that because it was ridiculous that a man who could hold all the pleasures of the world in his hands could say that the only joy he had was a rolled-up tobacco leaf.
However, Carlyle was not talking nonsense.
"What other pleasures are allowed to me? In fact, Sir Raphelt is making a fuss about stopping this too, saying that someone might have mixed poison in it."
Carlyle lit the cigar with a long wooden match.
The smoke of the cigar began to rise in the quiet room.
Decker twitched his lips and asked cautiously, as if he couldn't help but be curious.
"I understand what Your Highness means, but why do you have so many women around you then? There must be spies and assassins among them."
At that, Carlyle's movements stopped.
"Women?"
"I apologize. I didn't mean to be disrespectful, I was just curious…"
"Ha…!"
Carlyle closed his eyes tightly and rubbed his temples.
'Are you accusing me of taking another woman after taking my lover as my wife?'
The image of a lecher was deliberately inflated by not correcting people's misunderstandings.
If everything seemed perfectly defended, the enemies would come up with outrageous ways to attack, and it was safer to make the controllable parts look vulnerable than to take that risk.
So he had no intention of correcting that image until now, but it was a bit unfair that the people of Perbaz, including Asha, saw him as a lecher.
"Is it because of Lady Dupret and Lady Raphelt that you think that way?"
"That's part of it, but the reason Your Highness was dethroned in the first place…"
"Oh! You mean because I was caught trying to usurp my father's mistress?"
A sigh came out on its own.
No, in fact, if the person who brought up this topic were another noble, he would have effortlessly played the licentious prince.
But he didn't want to do that now.
More precisely, he didn't like the idea of Asha seeing him as such a lustful dog.
"Have you seen?"
"Yes?"
"Me being with women, have you ever seen that?"
This time, Decker was speechless.
'How am I supposed to see that? No, is that what he's asking?'
Carlyle nodded his head as if he could read Decker's mind.
"I can't explain it in detail, but anyway, it's not like that."
"What do you mean by 'like that'?"
"Not a desperate randy dog for women. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Carlyle exhaled as if really sighing, emitting a theatrical sigh.
It seemed like the conversation would end there, but suddenly, as if getting annoyed, Carlyle began to press.
"Why the hell do you and the Countess of Pervaz both treat me like a horny beast?"
"Yes? Th-there's never been such a thing!"
"If that were the case, even if I had put them under strict supervision, rumors would have spread among the lower ranks. Isn't that right?"
"That, that's right…."
"Just because my wife, Countess Pervaz, spent a night in my room, rumors spread so quickly. Imagine if a stranger woman did the same?"
"You're right."
"And so does the mistress! I don't want to see the sight of me being seen as my father's property, no matter how beautiful a woman is. Am I regretting that my father's hand was injured because I coveted what belonged to him? …Except the throne."
Decker's mind was getting deeper into the maze.
'Why are you explaining this to me? I'm not even curious about that.'
Whether to say or not, Carlyle grumbled discontentedly.
"It seems like the Countess of Pervaz sees me as some 'used up stuff.' It's ridiculous how much she thinks she knows about me."
"Our lord would never do such a thing!"
"If that's not the case, then why...!"
Carlyle barely stopped himself from saying what he wanted to say.
He couldn't summarize it in a single sentence, and it was too ridiculous to say to someone else.
'If that's not the case, then why are you acting like I'm not hurt at all? You're acting like nothing happened with the man you kissed and slept with, and you think I'm okay with that? You're the one who's leaning on your ex-lover behind my back...!'
In truth, he wanted to grab Asha by the collar and shake her while asking her that.
That night was my first time too, and I can't forget the kiss we shared. Why are you treating me like a used up stuff while you pretend to be clean?
But it was also something he could never say out loud.
"Well, whatever... I'm not saying I'm that kind of person either."
"I never thought of Your Highness that way, absolutely. I think there may have been some misunderstandings as well."
"It's okay. It's not important."
Carlyle clicked his tongue and took another drag on his cigar.
The day Asha would know his truth would never come, and there was no need to feel resentful about it.
It was going to be a short relationship anyway.