Sir Pelton slumped in exhaustion, but his gaze contained boundless fury. He shouted, "Do you two even know how to fight? You're always jumping in my way! If you don't know how to fight, then get lost!"
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that," Lady Rainie snarled. "You were the one with the ridiculous flaming sword, spreading fire everywhere. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have to move around constantly. Who uses a flaming sword? What are you, an idiot?"
"You!" Sir Pelton fumed. It looked like a fight was about to explode.
"We shouldn't be bickering. Sir Benedict is here." Sir Melvin intervened.
Sir Pelton clicked his tongue and looked away. Lady Rainie hmphed and stepped back. Sir Melvin looked at Benedict apologetically. He was thoroughly ashamed of their attitude. He thought Benedict would have been upset or disappointed like their other instructors have been in the past. What he never could have imagined was that… Benedict was actually lost! That was right. Benedict did not know what to say or do. Thankfully, his face was rigid and fixed, which instilled the impression of a cold and aloof expert. Otherwise, everyone would have seen how foolish he was. And the reason for that was he had very shallow teaching experience. The only time he taught was teaching Shirley how to use Martial Energy in the Xingyuu Empire, but that was briefly. So, Benedict hesitated on the correct way to teach these aspiring knights. He recalled how his father and master taught him and decided to copy their styles.
He coughed and straightened his back, assuming a dignified pose. "I have a better idea of your shortcomings now. Your main strength is that you have high flexibility. Since each of you uses a different spell and style, it can quickly catch people off-guard. If everyone fought at once, the resulting force could be overwhelming. But at the same time, your poor coordination creates flaws that I can exploit. That was how I evaded your assault."
"See what I said?" Sir Pelton sneered.
"He was talking about you," Lady Rainie replied coolly.
Benedict looked at them stiffly. According to what his father or the Sword King would have done, he should have yelled at them. It was not just for the sake of releasing his anger. It was supposed to plant a sense of respect, fear, and admiration towards their teacher! Without it, they would learn to disrespect him. The relationship between teacher and student would break down. Except… Benedict was unwilling to do that. He remembered those painful moments where his father yelled, criticized, and beat him. Flesh may heal, but scars on his heart would never recover. Their family bonds were broken, and reforged into something else, something twisted. That was the Hawken Household's legacy. The feeling between father and son would probably never return. Benedict did not want to subject these aspiring knights to the same treatment he once received. That was one thing he was certain of!
"Stop it! You're being rude to Sir Benedict!" Sir Melvin silenced everyone.
"No, it's alright," Benedict said with a smile. "You can speak if you want to. I won't stop you."
"This…"
"I'm not perfect or all-knowing. I can make mistakes too, so if you find any, you can tell me." Benedict had a lighthearted tone, reminiscent to a spring breeze. Everyone was understandably confused. This was not the reaction they expected from a famous war hero and Royal Guard. Their impressions of him got flipped upside down! Benedict continued, as though he did not notice, "Like I was saying, it's easy to interrupt your spells and tempo. It might not cause a backlash, but that break in concentration can be deadly on a battlefield. Furthermore, your swordsmanship is too crude, and your fundamentals are all over the place. I would focus your efforts here, since swordsmanship should be your foundation."
"Will you teach us your sword styles?" Sir Melvin perked up.
Benedict shook his head. "I don't have the right to do that. What I can do is point out your mistakes and suggest how you can correct them. For now, let's start with five hundred sword swings. Begin!"
"One! Two! Three!" the knights shouted in unison, as they swung their weapons on the spot. Their grunts could be heard across the large courtyard. Benedict started walking around and inspecting everyone's form. In the back, there were inevitably some people who took it easy and chatted to themselves. Their instructor said it was okay after all.
"Hey, do you see those girls behind us? Who are they?" one of them gestured to his friend.
"I don't know, but heavens… That girl is…" He wiped the drool from his mouth, hiding a lecherous gaze. "Do you think I have a chance?"
"No way, not a chance. She probably has a lover already. I'm more interested in her two maids."
"Hehe, I didn't realize you still had an appetite since devouring those girls last time."
"Ugh. Can you stop talking like that? It's making me sick." A girl voiced her disgust.
"Why do you care, ugly?"
"It's your fault for listening," the two boys shot back.
"The only ugly people here are you two!" She had dark lines written across her face.
"I think you people don't know death," a fourth person warned with a whisper. "Don't you know who those ladies are? That's Lady Kalasena of the Dewshard Household and her two maids. She's a Grand Lady!"
The two boys sucked in a cold breath. Their muscles tensed up and their blood turned to ice. It felt like they fell into a bottomless pit. They were talking about a Grand Lady that crudely and that closely? A Grand Lady! Heavens! They stood at the apex of the Alzar Kingdom and had far greater power and influence than the Zino Kingdom's Engelsheft Families. A flick of their hand and they could summon crashing waves everywhere they went. Especially Lady Kalasena, the famous Solitary Wind, the Dewshard Household would do almost anything for their young princess. Even if these two boys had a thousand times their courage, they would never tease her. They were truly courting death! What was funny was that their instructor, Benedict, was a former Grand Lord and they did not consider this. They quickly shut their mouths and resumed practice, praying that their conversation went unheard. Sadly, it did not go their way.
Standing under a tall tree and watching were three girls. Two of them wore a standard maid uniform. The first was sheltering their lady with an umbrella, while the second was holding a set of swords. The lady in question, Lady Kalasena, wore a basic training outfit for ladies. It was rather tight-fitting and uncomfortable for people of sizable figure like her, though she did not seem to mind it. She stood there quietly and calmly, stoic as ice. A breeze whipped up her long white hair, exposing her deep, dark pupils. It made her unapproachable, almost too holy for the mortal world. It was no wonder she was called the Solitary Wind. It was an excellent description! Although she heard the two boys' conversation, she did not show any reaction. The same could not be said about her two maids though. They had been paying close attention since the start.
"Did you hear what they said, sister?"
"Yes, I did, sister. We should think about how to punish them."
"They offended our lady with their lustful eyes. We should gouge them out," the cute maid said shocking words with a casual face. It was quite the contrast.
"No, no. Since they seem so fond of it, we should cut off their members instead," the other refuted with an equally brutal statement.
Judging by how nonchalant their words were, it was anyone's guess if they were joking or serious. One thing was for sure though. As Half-Perception Realms, they absolutely had the strength to carry it out! That was the scariest thing. During their talk, Lady Kalasena did not say anything. She retained her ever usual coolness. Benedict eventually wrapped up his inspection and walked over. He knew they would be there.
"Sorry for making you wait," Benedict said to Lady Kalasena, but it was her maids who answered.
"No worries. That was part of our agreement."
"But we do have to wonder if those junior knights had a higher priority than our lady?" the maid asked fiercely.
"Haha…" Benedict laughed awkwardly.
Admittedly, it could be seen as rude, because he made a Grand Lady wait, but he thought differently. He made his plans with the junior knights first, then Lady Kalasena agreed to observe later. He was not going to abandon the knights to see her first. That would be truly rude! Of course, part of the reason why he did that was he was a former Grand Lord too, meaning he did not have any fear towards her. They were old acquaintances, in a way.