The sun shined brightly up high at the training grounds. The tunic stuck to John’s skin underneath the stuffy gambeson and cuirass. Admittedly, both had become much less cumbersome ever since his advancement, now making no difference at all to his movements.

John pivoted on the ball of his feet, narrowly avoiding the blade coming towards his shoulder. The risky maneuver paid off, and John caught Rody with the guard completely down, scoring a strong blow to his leg and bringing the larger man to his knees. He then rested the flat of his sword against Rody’s shoulder, signaling the end of the match, before helping him back to his feet.

Marleya approached as soon as the match ended. “Well done, John, seems like you’re getting used to being a Crusader. As for you, Rody, you’ll have to put in more effort if you hope to get any more coins from me.” Marleya maintained her policy of paying anyone who manages to defeat John, with an increased reward due to him being a Crusader now.

Rody nodded resignedly before limping away.

“What about me,” John asked, “shouldn’t I get some sort of reward for winning these matches?”

“Your reward is being able to learn from me, and that’s more valuable than platinum even.”

“I thought that was already my reward for maintaining your equipment every day.”

Marleya shrugged. “Call it inflation then. War is coming, so we need to adjust prices accordingly.”

“Or we could simply not take part in the war at all. Rochdale won’t be disrupted anymore, and there is the added bonus that you won’t have an excuse to exploit me.”

“You call it exploitation, I call it your obligations, and you’re sorely mistaken if you think I need an excuse. That's because I’m the knight and you’re the squire, and I’m the Paladin while you’re just a Crusader. Now stop complaining and let’s continue.”

“I’ll complain to Athalia, that’s what,” John muttered under his breath.

Marleya simply ignored him and looked for his next opponent. “Neina, come here.”

Neina, who had been standing at the edge of the sparring ring, scuttled closer. Her anger at John for the carriage incident had diminished with time, though she remained a bit salty over it.

Marleya picked a training sword from one of the weapon racks and tossed it towards Neina. “It’s your turn, try to last longer than Rody did.”

Neina nodded and looked back at John. “Don’t worry, you can keep the coins after I win. Beating you will be enough of a reward.”

John feigned a look of surprise. “That’s harsh. Aren’t you supposed to protect me?”

“That’s only when we’re outside,” she responded while giving a couple of testing swings with the sword. “Right now, I’m going to teach you a couple of lessons in pain.”

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John simply smiled, saying nothing else. He led with the right foot, the training sword held on both hands and its point slanting down and behind, poised for an upwards swing. He was about to go forward when an obnoxiously loud voice cut through the air. “Good morning, commoners.” Even years later, the sound of his voice still evoked an involuntary groan from John.

Jacke swaggered into the training grounds, a confident smile on his face and a group of bodyguards following closely behind. Whereas previously the bodyguards were all gruff looking men, now they had all been swapped by young women. One of them, the shortest, looked even younger than John, and he wondered if she was even a Crusader. She probably offered nothing in terms of protection but, knowing who they all served, her real job probably lied elsewhere.

“Dame, miss, half-bred,” Jacke complimented the three, and, to his credit, he no longer seemed to tremble in his boots at the mere sight of Marleya. “Miss Ina, I must say that you look more beautiful every time I see you.” He attempted to hold Neina’s hand but she immediately recoiled. Unfazed, he continued, “There’s still an open spot for you to work under me if you’re interested.”

He kept getting closer to her until John finally came forward and placed himself in between the two. “What the hell are you doing here, weren’t you enrolled at the academy?”

“For your knowledge, I’m on the academy recess. Now shut it and get out of my face you savage, your betters are speaking,” he barked at John, who remained rooted to his spot.

Having spent so long training for the chance of enrolling at the academy, John took the time to study more of its inner workings. The academy had a two months-long recess period during winter for all of its students. Starting at the last week of spring there was a smaller, three weeks long recess for the King’s Tourney, where the elite students of all twelve war academies competed for the laurel wreaths.

Jacke being here at this time served as just another evidence that the man was all talk, and John wanted to make sure to point it out. “Oh, I get it. You’re too weak to even take part in the King’s Tourney, so you came here to try and hide your embarrassment. God, you’re pathetic.”

Jacke’s face flushed and he looked ready to attack John when Marleya shoved his bodyguards aside and yanked him by the collar. A shame, John would love another chance to beat the fool down.

“My lord, would you mind telling me why you’re causing a ruckus in here?” Marleya asked, her politeness contrasted by the fact that she was still holding him by the collar.

Jacke gulped and turned to look at the knight. “D-Dame Marleya, I’m here accompanying my grandfather while he talks to earl Hagen. I-I’d like to remind you that my grandfather is a viscount, so you better release me at—” He gulped. “—at once.”

That explained where Jacke’s sudden courage came from, and John wouldn’t lose the chance to further humiliate him. “You came here all high and mighty and now you want to hide behind your grandfather? You’re nothing but a pitiful coward who had the luck of being born noble. I’ve seen maggots with more of a spine than you.”

Someone chuckled and John finally noticed the audience that they had as everyone else had stopped to look. Even one of the women following Jacke showed a hint of a smirk before looking the other way to try and hide it.

Jacke’s face flushed even brighter than before. “Y-You damn savage, you’ve insulted me for the last time! A duel. I demand a duel for honor!” he yelled and tried in vain to struggle free from Marleya.

“A duel, didn’t you learn anything the last time I beat you?”

“Shut it, half-bred, that was before while we were both Fighters. Now I’m a powerful Crusader, and I demand a duel.” He waved his arms around as if trying to slap John across the face before turning to Marleya. “And I also demand that you release me.”

John scoffed. The fool didn’t know that John had already advanced. “I accept,” he spoke before Marleya could refuse both demands. He then grabbed the training sword from Neina’s hands and tossed it to Jacke.