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“Ray, what the hell are you doing?”

“Stay still.”

“What?”

The mask of composure slipped from Claude’s face.

He was glaring at Ray, who was aiming an arrow at him, with an incredulous look.

“Aren’t you going to lower that bow now?”

“Just stay still.”

“How dare a mere knight aim an arrow at me…”

Whoosh!

As Claude raised his voice and took a step towards Ray, intending to lower the bow himself, Ray released the bowstring.

A streak of red barely grazed Claude’s silver hair and whizzed past him.

Thud.

“Argh!”

A scream sounded from behind. Claude turned, eyes wide.

A knight who had been hiding in the background stood there with a vacant look, struck by Ray’s arrow.

“… Ah, thought I wasn’t seen.”

Bright red was clearly smeared across the knight’s dark green armor.

Claude, having stared at the stain, looked back at Ray. Ray met his gaze and said, “That’s 28 now.”

Bwooo Booooooo-!

A distant trumpet sounded. The official hunting exercise was over.

Claude 27, Ray 28.

“Heh.”

“I won.”

Narrowly defeated, rage bubbling up, Claude dramatically pushed his hair back and locked eyes with Ray.

“Fine, you won. Guess I’ll have to propose to Young Lady Iva myself…”

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“I can’t let His Highness approach her.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I’m in love with her.”

For the first time, Ray, who had always kept his emotions hidden, laid them bare.

He couldn’t hide any longer from Claude, who was staking a proposal to Iva on a bet.

Although his promise to her had been broken, he couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“Heh, finally spilling your guts, huh?”

Claude smirked.

“Do you really think your feelings will be an issue to me?”

“No. The emotions of a mere knight wouldn’t be a problem for you.”

It was a jab, reminding him of when he’d belittled Ray just moments ago.

The words, coming from Claude who always spoke of their deep friendship, surely hurt.

Furthermore, Claude’s choice not to correct him made it even harder to maintain composure.

“Right, your feelings don’t concern me.”

“As long as I am the captain of the knights, it has to be that way. But what if I were to step down?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I’ll resign from my position.”

Claude gritted his teeth.

“Are you saying you’d abandon your duty just for her?”

“Yes. That’s how deeply I love Iva. Would you be willing to give up your royal status?”

“Do you even realize what you’re suggesting?”

To ask the prince to renounce his royal status was akin to telling him to cause a scandal. It was unimaginable for Claude, who longed for power.

“I can leave the palace and abandon my position any time if it’s what she wishes. As long as I can be by her side, nothing else matters.”

This time, Ray provoked by pointing out Claude’s vulnerability.

“But His Highness can’t do that, can you? The palace is what’s most important to you, isn’t it? Between someone who can leave and someone trying to pull her in, who do you think she’d choose?”

Ray deliberately mimicked Claude’s unique way of speaking.

Finding himself on the receiving end of a taunt for once made Claude extremely uncomfortable.

“I won’t answer that. I don’t owe you any explanations.”

With an air of not wanting to continue the conversation, he turned to leave the woods.

“You seem scared.”

“What?”

But with that one remark from Ray, Claude halted in his tracks.

“You think you have no ties with her either. Do you feel like you’d lose to a mere knight?”

“How dare you speak to me like that…!”

Claude, provoked once again, couldn’t contain himself any longer and grabbed Ray by the collar.

Ray, without blinking, stared intently back at Claude.

“Your Highness? Where are you?!”

“Captain!”

Just as the tension between the two seemed to reach its peak, voices belonging to Aide Chase and Vice-commander Hans could be heard.

Having not seen the two emerge from the forest even after the trumpet sound, they had come looking for them.

Hearing the approaching voices and footsteps, Claude roughly shoved Ray away. He quickly brushed through his silver hair, trying to wipe off the faint red paint smeared on it.

“Ray Castello, for pointing an arrow at me today, I’ll charge you with the crime of threatening royalty.”

“I’ll accept it with my resignation from the captain position.”

“Simply doing as you wish can’t be a punishment. I will decide a special penalty.”

“Then, I shall return to my mansion.”

“No, you will serve as Julian’s escort within the palace for the next two weeks.”

“Pardon?”

Ray’s face crumpled at the unexpected assignment to guard Princess Julian. It was a move from Claude, who seemed anxious, possibly considering that Ray might indeed resign and leave with Iva.

“Your Highness, I’d rather serve my penalty at my mansion…”

“Punishments aren’t for you to decide; they are for me to decree.”

However, Claude had no intention of listening. If Ray had continued the conversation, it seemed it would only prolong his sentence. With no other choice, Ray begrudgingly accepted it.

“Your Highness? You were here? I was worried you might have been hurt.”

“Chase, Ray Castello will serve a penalty inside the palace for two weeks.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

“Send a knight to Grace territory the moment Ray steps out of the palace.”

“Y-Your Highness?!”

In Grace, Ray’s ailing father and brother resided. Threatening his family left Chase and Hans at a loss for words.

Ray’s fists tightened even more. With Claude’s statement and his turned back, Ray no longer felt they were friends.

“From this moment, Ray Castello is not to step a foot out of the palace.”

It was the moment when Claude and Ray’s relationship took a drastic turn.

•?••? ? ?••?•