"Are you watching your little student?", Julius asked, stepping up next to his colleague Loys on the ledge.

A warm breeze greeted him before he let his gaze wander over the new soldiers taking part in today's test. They were currently completing the practical part and demonstrating their sword skills by following the official's movements. Most of them were sweating profusely and seemed to be struggling to breathe as they continued their training under the blazing midday sun.

"I'm doing my wife a favor. Because of school enrollment today, she can't cheer on Cedrik, so I'm here in her place", Loys of Freigoud replied calmly. Cedrik's father was an old acquaintance of his, which is why he had often trained with the young man in recent years. But now that he was going to become a soldier, those days were over, and Loys mourned them a little. Time had flown by.

"Isn't Benjamin already 7?"

"She's the principal of the state institute for youth education since this year, didn't I mention that? She has to supervise the exams for the new students today", Loys explained to him.

"No, you didn't. Sounds like a rather stressful day - for the both of you."

"Definitely."

"So, how is Cedrik doing so far?"

"Far too sloppy", Loys replied abruptly. "I've told him so many times that his posture is bad and he needs to pay attention to it, but look at him. Far too uncertain and weak, like a little child."

"But compared to the others, he's pretty good, don't you think?"

"The others didn't learn from me. He'll get an earful later."

"Don't be so hard on him, he's only 19, Loys."

"I know", Loys confirmed and fell silent.

Curious, Julius let his gaze wander over the other soldiers, leaning his hands on the fence in front of them. He spotted a few potential soldiers who seemed to have talent, while others couldn't even hold a sword properly. After the test, they always loose more than half of the applicants, and in the following six months, some would leave them again. So this year, they will probably also work with about 200 new soldiers, even though there were slightly more applicants than expected compared to last year.

"Did you noticed number 217?", Julius Venlan replied some time later when he spotted a blond-haired soldier.

The man had caught his attention mainly because of his unusual appearance, but what he saw aroused Julius' curiosity. His posture was significantly more confident than that of the other men, and his concentration and stamina did not wane over time. They were conducting these tests primarily to test the men's determination before investing time and money in their training. This made it all the more surprising to the man that one of the nearly 100 new recruits possessed such maturity.

"Yes, I did. The boy is good, don't you think? They've been doing this exercise for half an hour now and he's showing no signs of exhaustion."

"Impressive. The man seems to have great potential."

"I agree. Look at how he moves. He doesn't make any unnecessary movements, yet every strike he makes has such elegance and power, as if he were risking his own life. His posture is what I always try to teach Cedrik. Rock solid and defying every danger, you'd think his feet were once rooted to the ground. As if he were grasping it."

"But his technique is a little different? None of the noble fighting styles of Sylve, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Probably a commoner."

"A commoner with such skill? I doubt it."

"Only residents of Sylve are allowed to take the exam, you know that", Duke Loys of Freigoud replied, calling for one of the supervisors in front of him.

She hurriedly ran up to him, holding a list in her hand, which Loys gratefully took. It was a list of participants in which the supervisors made their comments on the examinees and intervened if they noticed that it was becoming too physically strenuous for them. The names and numbers of the young examinees were noted on this list, so Loys went down the list and stopped at number 217.

"Zod Adenia", he read aloud.

"Never heard of him."

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"Me neither. No noble title that I'm aware of."

"Then he really seams to be a commoner."

"Or he comes from Frignez, considering his appearance", replied Loys, handing the soldier her note back so she could get back to work.

"That could be, yes. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Perhaps he's related to the House of Mornet. Inae von Mornet originally comes from Frignez and married into the family, if I remember correctly."

"Possible. We should definitely keep an eye on him, he seems to have good prior knowledge", Loys announced, turning around. "I have to go, Julius."

"All right", Julius called after him and turned his gaze back to the front.

He watched the graceful Frignezer for a while before turning his attention to the other men. He recognized some of them, as they came from well-known noble families, but most were new faces. There were comparatively few women in this group, which led him to suspect that they would start this year with only a handful of female support.

Unintentionally, his gaze fell back on the young man with the number 217. To his surprise, he glanced diagonally behind him at Cedrik Tanneur, who was standing a few meters away. From this angle, Julius couldn't really see what Zod Adenia was doing, but Cedrik grinned and began to strike his weapon more forcefully.

"Do you know each other?", Julius muttered, holding a hand thoughtfully in front of his mouth.

Several other soldiers also seemed to have noticed something, because they too gathered new strength and tried to exert themselves more. Zod Adenia, on the other hand, turned his attention back to the front, striking his sword in rhythm and falling into his own world - or so Julius believed. However, when his gaze turned directly to him and their eyes met, Julius gasped in surprise. Zod Adenia stared at him for a few seconds, but then turned away without further reaction. Irritated, Julius watched him, who had given him goose bumps for a brief moment.

With a quiet sigh, he finally turned away from the candidates and walked toward the royal palace. He just wanted to get an overview of the new men to get an idea of what he could expect this year. Something was always happening in the capital, and knowing reliable soldiers was always helpfull.

"Even if muscles and endurance aren't everything", Julius added aloud, striding through the well-kept annex with his head held high. Inside, he was looking forward to seeing how this year's candidates would perform on the written exam.

For over 10 years, Julius had been primarily responsible for the questions and enjoyed picking the smartest ones to introduce to Loys. It was one of the tasks he had taken on and which gave him pleasure every year. The other was being allowed to teach the princes himself and enjoying a prestigious reputation as a result. Crown Prince Edward and Prince Marion were comparatively easy to teach and always interested in what he had to say. This had awakened in him a great desire to become a teacher. Prince William would also be joining his lessons in a few weeks, although Julius was not sure if that was a good idea. In addition to their lessons, all three princes had other subjects such as etiquette and dance, which the youngest prince would also learn from one day to the next.

Julius was a little worried.

As he walked across the courtyard with a queasy expression on his face, he spotted some men carrying boxes on their way to the administration building in front of them. When they noticed him, they quickly stopped and bowed to him.

"Good afternoon, Sir Venlan", greeted the leader of the small group.

"Greetings. Are those the written exams?"

"They are, Sir Venlan. We are about to start correcting them."

"All right. Would you please send me a list of the top 20 participants as soon as you are finished?"

"Very well, Sir", he confirmed, and with a polite thank you, Julius took his leave.

Julius walked relaxed through the corridors of the palace when, after a few meters, a shadow began to follow him. Julius didn't say a word, but simply opened the door to his office and let the shadow enter. Even though he couldn't see him, Julius knew who it was. Only when the door closed did the two men begin their conversation.

"Did you see the Frignezer?", the shadow asked immediately, removing his mask.

"Yes. His name is Zod Adenia. He has talent, in my opinion. And Loys says the same."

"Not just talent...", the man replied as Julius walked around the table and took a seat. "I'm pretty sure the Frignezer is a sword master."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, that could be interesting", Julius muttered, letting his gaze wander out the window. He couldn't see the training ground from his office, but he knew that the test was gradually coming to an end. "Did he seem suspicious to you in any way?"

"He's far too calm. He may be more experienced than the other candidates, but being so... being so relaxed during a test seemed unusual to me."

"Did you observe him more closely?"

"Yes. During the written part, I practically didn't take my eyes off him."

"And?"

"You'll see the results later, but he wrote like a madman. As if life and death depended on it. It felt like he wasn't thinking at all."

"Mindless memorization, perhaps?", Julius replied thoughtfully. "Although that doesn't help with all questions..."

"That's not all", his guest interrupted him. "I had the pleasure of observing him for over three hours, and he... his body language... at no point did he seem nervous. Except for one single time."

"When?"

"When he noticed Loys", the man - who belonged to the first group of shadows and ensured security in the palace - clarified. "But that's what was strange. From one moment to the next, he suddenly became tense and glanced inconspicuously toward the terrace. When I followed his gaze, Loys emerged from behind the building at that very moment and began to observe the students."

"He became nervous before he even saw Loys?"

"Yes. And after that, he devoted his full attention to his sword skills. As if he wanted to prove himself to Loys."

"Strangely suspicious, yes..."

"Be careful with that man and be sure to check his identity more closely. I don't trust him at all."

"I will. Thanks for the tip", replied Julius. "Did anyone else strike you as strange?"

"A few, but nothing that was really worrying. Otherwise, I would have said something."

"I see. Thank you very much. I'll look into it right away and talk to Loys about it. If he really is a sword master... Gods forbid... what he's planning."

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