“Who is the young master getting his initiation today?”
“I heard it’s the young master of the House of Portran.”
The guards standing watch at the West Gate were chatting.
“Is he Baron Oren’s son?”
“Yes. His name is Dien Portran.”
“I see! Since he’s Baron Oren’s son, we should wrap things up within five hours as a special favor.”
“Captain, do you think Young Master Dien can even wait five hours? Hahaha.”
The sound of their snickering drifted over the castle walls.
“Hahaha, I suppose you’re right.”
It was a so-called initiation.
It was a sort of prank the guards played on young nobles entering the palace for the first time. To humble the young nobles who didn’t know their place, they would make the entry process difficult and harass them.
Young nobles often grew incredibly arrogant due to the treatment they received during their childhood. However, where they were stepping now was the royal castle—a place where nobles were as common as grains of sand.
Because the guards saw nobles every day, they were well aware of the social distance between them, yet they always considered the arrogance of young nobles to be an eyesore. Furthermore, their methods didn’t openly challenge a noble’s authority, and because of the family’s reputation, the nobles couldn’t act out against the palace guards. For those reasons, the initiation had become a tradition.
“Let’s decide after seeing his attitude.”
Usually, it took five hours. If his behavior was poor, they would make him wait in front of the castle for up to eight hours.
“There he comes.”
A guard looked into the distance at Dien, who was approaching while carrying a fruit basket.
“He’s more modest than I thought.”
“Indeed. The young master of Emily’s family brought ten servants with him.”
“Thanks to that, he stood outside the gate for eight hours. Hahaha.”
Dien arrived at the West Gate of the palace. It was the first time they had seen a noble entering the palace without a carriage.
“Should I go out?”
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
“You, Captain?”
“Yeah. I have a personal acquaintance with Baron Oren. Besides, I’m curious about that young master.”
Jericho, a Decurion of the guard, shifted his scabbard to the front of his belt. It was a move intended to intimidate the young noble, Dien.
“Stop and state your identity.”
“This is the young master of the House of Portran.”
When Jericho blocked Dien’s path, Nue stepped forward and spoke on his behalf.
“There is an identity verification process, so wait here.”
“Hey! What kind of attitude is that in front of the young master of the House of Portran!”
When Jericho stood with his weight on one leg as if he had been waiting for this, Nue barked out in anger.
“The identity verification isn’t done yet. How am I supposed to know if he’s really the young master of the House of Portran or not? Just wait.”
Nue gasped at his absurd attitude, unable to find words. But Jericho continued regardless.
“This is the royal castle where His Majesty resides. Isn’t it only natural that there are procedures?”
Nue shouted in frustration at his nonchalant attitude.
“We submitted the entry forms yesterday! What are you talking about? The young master is scheduled for successor lessons this afternoon!”
“Silence! I told you! How do I know if you’re really a servant of the House of Portran?”
Jericho bellowed. It was a more aggressive reaction than expected. At that moment, Dien stepped in.
“Nue! That’s enough!”
“Young Master! But this man is…”
“I said stop.”
At Dien’s restraint, she grabbed the back of her neck in frustration.
“Step back for a moment.”
Pressing him here would only be counterproductive. He had a clear justification in the name of identity verification, and this was the royal castle, where security had to be tight. They likely acted this way because they knew that. Therefore, Dien was the one who had to change his attitude.
Having assessed the situation, Dien sent Nue to the back and stood before Jericho with a pleasant smile.
“You’re always working hard, aren’t you?”
“I told you, I don’t know who you are~.”
Jericho replied indifferently while looking off into the distance.
“You are Decurion Jericho, right? I heard you served in the North. I heard your bravery was like that of a tiger, and the monsters of the North trembled in fear when they saw you. Seeing you in person, your spirit is truly extraordinary.”
“Well, that’s…”
Jericho’s eyes widened in surprise at Dien knowing his personal history.
‘It was a good idea to look up his background.’
The only fact Dien actually knew about Jericho was that he had served in the North. The rest was mostly exaggeration he threw out. However, it seemed the exaggeration worked. Jericho turned his body toward Dien and straightened his posture.
“That’s an old story. Stop it.”
The corners of his mouth, which had been set in a firm line, began to twitch. He seemed to be trying to hide his pleasant mood, but Dien wasn’t about to leave him alone.
“No. The capital is peaceful thanks to people like you, Jericho. I am simply grateful to you.”
Dien’s sociable attitude seemed quite flustering. They had many nobles they were close to from seeing them often, but it was rare for a newcomer entering the palace for the first time to show such friendliness. Especially since they had never met before.
“Ahem.”
However, Jericho did not find his friendliness unpleasant. The words praising him were far too sweet.
“I heard the North is quite cold. How does it compare to here? I’ve only ever been in the capital, so I haven’t been able to go anywhere else.”
Dien took another step closer to him.
“It is incomparably cold. Especially the Cortablue region; words can’t even describe it.”
“Cortablue?!! You mean that place where White Orcs live? Did you happen to see a White Orc?”
“Ahem… I even cut off a White Orc’s arm…”
Jericho said, scratching his head.
“Wow! Is that true? I’ve only heard about it, but hearing it for real makes it even more amazing! Could you please tell me what happened back then?”
Dien’s voice rose with excitement. It was an intentional effort to keep boosting him up. Jericho’s mouth twitched violently before finally breaking into a wide grin.
“Hahaha, well… it wasn’t that big of a deal. I was in my second year in the North back then, and those White Orc bastards raided our barracks at dawn. But who am I? Aren’t I Jericho, the Tiger of the North? Even though I had just woken up, I charged in an instant, took their heads, and woke my comrades. If it wasn’t for me then, many of them would have become orc food. This was possible because I never let my guard down and tried to remember the training with my whole body…”
Jericho began to chatter excitedly. Dien burst into laughter as if the heroic tale was fascinating, and even gave him a thumbs up. He continued to shower him with admiration.
“You are truly incredible. I want to hear more of your heroic stories, but…”
“Ahem. It’s not that big of a deal… I just did what had to be done…”
“No. I’m very curious. But to do that, it would be better to move to a different spot, wouldn’t it? Since there are other people around.”
“Hmm.”
Jericho looked around.
“Could I perhaps stop by the guardroom?”
“Well… if you’re just going to listen to stories about the North before leaving…”
As Dien pulled on his arm, Jericho scratched his cheek and accepted the suggestion. Before long, the initiation for Dien was being erased from Jericho’s mind.
“Even a young noble recognizes me.”
“It looks like the initiation is over.”
They were all making various noises, each with different thoughts. Dien had expected some degree of trouble since it was a notorious initiation, but it seemed even that was no match for forty years of seasoned, sweet-talking experience.
‘Once a line is crossed, it’s over.’
Dien was certain. Since he had set foot in the guardroom in front of the gate, the path inside the gate would also be easily cleared.
‘If I had acted like a typical noble, it definitely would have backfired.’
He had realized it the moment Jericho first treated him that way. This was a planned dismissal backed by a justification. In times like this, flexibility was far more helpful than stiffness.
Meanwhile, the three on-duty soldiers guarding the back of the guardroom watched.
“What is the Captain doing right now?”
“Why is he laughing and chatting in front of Young Master Dien?”
“Exactly… Has he forgotten that the initiation is a guard tradition?”
“Maybe he stayed in the North so long he got heatstroke…”
As they watched the conversation between Dien and Jericho deepen, their curiosity began to pique.
“Why does it look so fun? I’m dying of curiosity about what they’re talking about. I want to join in and laugh too…”
“Hey! Don’t forget the initiation! If you look easy to young nobles, there’s no end to it!”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon, the guards noticed the two walking toward them.
“What! Why are they coming here? Damn… everyone back to your positions.”
At the senior guard’s command, the junior guards hurriedly returned to their spots.
Click!
The door to the guardroom opened.
“Boys, say hello. This is Young Master Dien.”
Jericho introduced Dien with a very excited voice.
“Huh?”
“What?!”
“What?!!”
The guards’ mouths fell open at Jericho’s bright introduction. And then, Jericho saw the wide eyes of the guards. Goosebumps began to crawl up his back.
‘Damn! I said Young Master Dien!’
Realizing his mistake, he tried to fix his words.
“No! No! I mean… this person said his legs were hurting, so for a moment in the guardroom…”
But the water was already spilled. He couldn’t take back the words “Young Master Dien” that he had already spoken. Dien did not miss that split second. His eyes flashed sharply.
“I suppose the identity verification is already over? Since you know my name. I didn’t mention my name today… regardless, the rumor about the guard’s efficiency is true. It’s impressive.”
‘We’re caught.’
Jericho and the guards held their heads. It was as if they had ended the initiation they had prepared themselves.
“No, we still have a few more things to check…”
One of the guards tried to salvage Jericho’s words. But Dien wouldn’t allow it.
“I bought some fruit to give to the Captain and all of you. You work hard day and night guarding the castle gates; I couldn’t possibly come empty-handed.”
At Dien’s gesture, Nue ran over with the fruit basket as if she had been waiting. The fruit basket had also been prepared in anticipation of the initiation.
“It’s fine…”
The guard who had been trying to salvage the situation soon found the fruit basket in his hands.
“No. This is okay.”
“Please, accept it. It is a token of my gratitude for finishing the entry procedures so quickly. I’ll just be looking at documents indoors anyway. These things are necessary for the guards who are suffering outside.”
His sociability exploded. Following the fruit basket attack, the guards’ eyes began to waver. The guard stared blankly at the fruit basket in his hand.
‘We’ve been had…’
If they continued the initiation now, it would be nothing more than confessing that they were senseless human beings. The excuse of identity verification was gone, and they had already accepted the gift.
“Since it seems to be over, may I head inside? Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha…”
At Dien’s hearty laughter, Jericho and the guards followed suit with awkward laughs.
“Please… head in…”
It was the moment the notoriously difficult initiation ended very easily. Jericho also judged that continuing the initiation was impossible.
“Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”
“The pleasure is ours…”
The guards on duty felt as if they had been hit in the back of the head with something. Completely swept up in Dien’s pace, they could only stare blankly at Dien’s back as he entered the kingdom.
***
By the time the brains of the guards, who were sitting in dejection, began to function again, Dien was already gone.
“Who had the shortest record?”
“I heard it was Finance Minister La Pierre thirty years ago, at two hours.”
“Then what about Young Master Dien?”
“…Fifteen minutes? …No, ten minutes?”
“Don’t you think this was Young Master Dien’s intention from the start?”
“Whatever it was, he’s no ordinary person.”
The initiation performed by the guards also included another meaning. It was an evaluation of the qualities of a noble entering the palace for the first time. As the waiting time grew longer, the young nobles would slowly reveal their thin patience and true character. Most would mistreat their servants or give up on waiting and return home.
However, very rarely, a few would wait for entry calmly, and most of them went on to seize real power in the royal castle. Therefore, the initiation for the castle soldiers was also a process of finding which noble to align themselves with.
“How should we assess Young Master Dien?”
“Indeed.”
Thirty years ago, Count La Pierre set foot in the royal castle in just two hours, and now he was the head of the Finance Department, enjoying more power than a Duke. If that was the case, then Dien, who recorded ten minutes—faster than La Pierre.
“Let’s set it as unmeasurable for now.”
The guards nodded as if agreeing with Jericho’s words.
“Anyway, this is a big problem. If rumors of this get out, the other squads will look down on us.”
“We’ve left a huge stain on the tradition of the royal guard initiation. It’s enough to make me ashamed to face our seniors.”
Checking the time, the guards could only let out sighs of dejection.