The game had never made mention of a second son. It focused purely on Piers. JiYeong didn’t understand why that was but she couldn’t exactly question it.

“Hello to you too, Mathieu. Would it be wise for me to take a Lord Knight from his post unless absolutely necessary to do so?” She rose an eyebrow in response. Though it sounded as if their relationship was strained at best, JiYeong could see a hint of a smile on Adaora’s lips. Looking back at Mathieu showed a smile played on his lips as well. The smile looked better than the stoic expression he had before.

“I am glad to see your summoning did not come with bad news. At least I hope not.” He looked at Piers this time. “You did not get a girl pregnant, did you?”

“Now why is that your first thought?” Piers rose an eyebrow, chuckling. “Trust me, you’d be the first to know if you were to become an uncle.”

Mathieu shook his head lightly, his hair bouncing with the action. “How flattering. Why then did you call me in here, mother?”

Adaora gestured to JiYeong, acknowledging her for the first time since Mathieu walked in. His eyes went to study her and she suddenly felt uncharacteristically shy under his scrutinizing gaze, averting her own gaze.

Annoyance tickled at her. She wasn’t the most outgoing person but she was far from shy or self-conscious. The fact that his gaze affected her so was unsettling.

“This is our Champion, JiYeong.” Adaora said. “JiYeong, my youngest son and Lord Knight, Mathieu.”

“I know very well who she is.” His words brought her eyes back to his, and she was shocked to find he was still watching her. In response to his nod, she gave a slight bow, finding herself unable to look away from his eyes again. What was this?

“Yes. I have something to request of you."

Mathieu turned weary eyes toward his mother.

"I need you to train her.”

“Why does the Champion need training? From what I have heard and witnessed, she is a rather skilled Guardian. She should hardly need help from me.”

“Yes, but as skilled a warrior as she is, she has not had the formal training that comes from going to an Academy. Many who chose to be adventurers by trade do not attend schooling at a young age.”

“Besides,” Piers added. “She is not from around here. I do not think they do much Knight training outside of Whitewall.”

“And from what I have heard,” Adaora hummed, “she has not done much proper fighting for...a while.” The way she hesitated and looked at JiYeong caused alarm but she waved a hand in the air dismissively. “I am sure she will benefit from training and you will do well with being away from the Outpost for a while.”

JiYeong fought to keep the wince off her face.

Adaora continued, “Being a Champion brings with it many different skills Guardians do not know. She hasn’t had the extensive training you’ve had. Nor has she ever fought in a war, for us or otherwise. Who better to teach her than the Lord Knight?”

Mathieu returned his look to JiYeong, and she had to force herself not to look away from his gaze. Why was he affecting her so? Piers's gaze, while scrutinizing, didn't hold as much judgement.

“Very well, if you wish it. When will training start?”

“Three days from now. Do not worry about your other duties, I have arranged for those to be handled for you." Adaora stood, motioning for Piers to do the same. The look her youngest son gave her went ignored. “Can I trust the care of our Champion to you, Mathieu? I have some things I need to discuss with Piers.”

The question sounded heavier than implied. JiYeong wasn’t sure if she was reading into it or if either occupants of the room caught it as well, but Mathieu simply nodded. She quickly bowed as Adaora and Piers left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Her body immediately stiffened in defense when Mathieu began walking towards her. He was incredibly tall. Where she stood just above Piers’ shoulder, she barely reached Mathieu’s chest. He was certainly intimidating, especially with the way he was watching her with that scrutinizing look. That same look both his brother and mother had given her before. But she wasn’t afraid of him. Uneasy sure, but not afraid.

“So then, Lady—.”

“JiYeong.” He was quickly interrupted. There was absolutely no way she was going to let someone else start with the formalities, Prince or otherwise. “Just JiYeong.”

“It seems my mother has put me in charge of getting you prepared for possible war.” Mathieu continued talking as if he hadn’t heard her request. “She must like you quite a bit to give you three days’ rest instead of diving into your training straightaway, Champion.”

“I am quite fond of your mother as well, Prince.” That twang of annoyance at him returned when he used the honorific. Was he doing it on purpose, or did royals have the need to be respectful ingrained into them?

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Do not call me that.” Annoyance was clear in his voice.

“Oh? Should I call you Captain instead? My Lord? Your Highness?” JiYeong was unable to stop the words from flowing. Where she got the bravery from when she could swear his looks would kill only moments ago, she would not be able to say.

“Just call me Mathieu.” Beyond her irritation of his demands despite his refusal to afford her the same, JiYeong wondered why he was insistent on being called Mathieu. Did he treat his subordinates the same way? She couldn’t imagine he demanded Knights to call him anything other than Lord or Prince. He was certainly more accustomed to the formalities than she would ever be. He didn't wait for a response, not looking back to see if JiYeong was following him as he made his way to the door. “I will show you where the training facilities are, as well as the armory.”

JiYeong took a small breath, following him silently.

“So then, Champion."

“Yes, my Lord?”

Though she refused to crane her neck to look at him, JiYeong could easily imagine the frown on his lips. What was so wrong with calling her JiYeong?

“Where then do you come from, if not Criesal?”

“Sinuipo.” The answer came quickly this time. It was the Kingdom that made the most sense. At least in her mind it was.

Unfortunately, and much to her ever present annoyance, Mathieu gave her the same look Piers had given her the previous night. Sinuipo wasn't that far fetched. Sure Tariadene was mostly inhabited by Dragoneve, but there were plenty of Humans there as well. Claiming to be from there shouldn’t have seemed so out of place.

“Sinuipo? Interesting.” He folded his hands behind his back, keeping his gaze forward. “What brought you here to Criesal, then?”

“Er,” Another question she hadn’t anticipated. “There isn’t much in the way of Guardian training in Tariadene. Whitewall has the biggest Knight guild from what I understand.”

“Hm, that is correct. There aren’t very many humans dwelling in Tariadene though, are there? Last I knew it was mostly Dragoneve lands.”

JiYeong sucked in a sharp breath, stopping and crossing her arms. They were legitimate questions, but her unease with Mathieu and general unpreparedness for the questions got the better of her. Just like with Silvvyr, she allowed the anger and confusion drive her next words. “Okay what is it with you and your brother and the interrogation? Is it really that rare for others to come from other lands to train? I’m sure the Sylph’s aren’t scratching their heads wondering why people come to them to learn Weaving or the Elcres rejecting those wanting to learn Archery!”

It was a completely empty argument. Even in game Elcres were well known to be biased against outsiders wanting to learn their ways, teaching with the most reluctance possible. And she couldn’t speak for the Sylph’s, as that was an inaccessible area on top of an unplayable race.

Mathieu stopped walking as well, regarding her with a wary look. “It is simply polite to engage in small talk. If it bothers you so, I will refrain from doing so in the future.” His response was curt, and left little room for reply. He began walking again. JiYeong let out a breath but followed him silently, all fight leaving as soon as it’d came.

A part of her, a very small part, felt bad for snapping on him like that. It wasn't deserved, he didn’t have anything to do with her being here, and he was being as friendly as she believed was possible for him. Especially given the circumstance. JiYeong had essentially been dumped onto him without much say from either of them. It had to be burdensome, being pulled from his job to do this.

But wrong as she was, JiYeong was also grossly unprepared for the questions. Coming up with a believable lie, especially on the spot like this, was not something she was good at. She should apologize later, when she could get a realistic sounding backstory together. Mathieu wasn't the enemy. Despite how much his cold gaze said otherwise.

The rest of the walk was done in silence. It was short, the pair reaching a door which Mathieu pushed open, gesturing for JiYeong to step inside first.

“Woah.” It was much bigger than she’d expected, and there were various things inside she had zero idea how to use. Or what they were for that matter.

“Everything in here is up to date with the newest technology. You are free to use this room as you wish outside of our scheduled training sessions.”

Mathieu had stepped further into the room paused at a door, opening it and stepping inside, motioning for her to follow. “This is the armory and weapons room. You will not need this just yet, but it is fully stocked.”

The majority of these weapons didn’t exist in game. What else was in this world that she had no idea about?

“You will have two other sets of armor made for you, as well as a set of training clothes. I cannot very well see it being very practical for you to train in a dress, and armor training we will get to at a later date.” Mathieu explained as he ushered JiYeong out of the door. “Training will begin in three days, before the sun rises.”

The only time JiYeong was up before the sun was when she was still in college. She'd purposefully chosen to work the mid day shifts for the sole purpose of not having to be up early.

“You will be following my own personal training regime. Though we will start at a light pace because I do not know your strength or stamina just yet.” He paused, looking down at her. He looked as if he wanted to say something else but simply shook his head. “If you are indeed worthy of the title Champion, it should not take long for you to catch up.”

“Your training can’t be that hard."

"You do not know what my training entails."

"The others are probably just letting you win, with you being their Prince and all.”

“Being the second born does not afford me the same privileges, or respect, Piers gets.”

Mathieu was visibly annoyed at that question. It was easy to tell she'd hit a nerve. But instead of keeping her mouth shut like she should have she said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot how hard it is being a royal. Having everything handed to you and not having to work a day in your life.”

Before JiYeong had time to register what was happening, Mathieu had her backed against a wall, his hands on either side of her head. The closer he moved to her, the harder her heart pounded in her chest.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Champion." His eyes darkened, and he moved closer to her as she tried to shrink further away. "Do not speak as if you know me. You have no idea what it is I’ve had to work for. Unlike you, I had to fight for my title. You would do well to remember that.”

He shoved away. JiYeong was shocked to find her body was trembling.

Mathieu began stalking out of the room, not looking back at her as he said, “Three days. Before sunrise.”

JiYeong watched him leave, hands still gripping the wall behind her. She rose one shaky hand to her chest, drawing in a shuddered breath. The encounter with the Faerie Scout had been less terrifying than the Prince she’d just angered just a moment ago.

“Stupid, JiYeong.”

It took a moment to steady herself before she too left the room, intent on going to her room and hiding for the next three days.