Arthur diligently polished the wooden floors with several rags like any other day. The halls were spotless, as not a single bit of dust was left under his supervision. Once Arthur finished his section, the only thing left was to check on Claire and Raphael's area and see how well they did.

Arthur slowly dragged his finger across the windowsill in Claire's section and examined the tip of his finger. Surprisingly, not a speck of dust was seen, but as Arthur checked the other areas Claire cleaned, a small pile of dust was found in a corner.

"Hehe…" The corner of Claire's lips formed an upward arc as she innocently played with her hair.

"Claire, you can't just hide the mess in a corner…make sure you toss it in the garbage." Arthur scolded her before checking Raphael's section. As he inspected Raphael's area, it became clear that Raphael didn't even bother to clean it. Arthur turned towards Claire with a pleasant smile that betrayed the glare in his eyes and softly asked. "Where's Raphael?"

"He's training with the muscle man and the mean-looking man!" Claire instantly sold out her sibling before scuttling away from Arthur.

Arthur grabbed the rags from the soap bucket and began wiping down the halls and windowsills. Knowing Paul, he most likely found Raphael early in the morning and dragged him to the training area with Mark as a witness. At this point, it was a rite of passage that everyone who could wield a weapon had to go through. With a simple step back, Arthur observed the area he had just cleaned and nodded contently. The sunlight brightly reflected off the floorboards as the scent of spring loitered in the air. Arthur diligently polished every nook and cranny of the halls three times, resulting in a surface that gleamed in delight.

Lost in his thoughts, Arthur wandered around the area until he arrived at a new hallway. There were several doors with nameplates, and even though most of them were unfamiliar to him, one caught his attention. Arthur stood before the door and knocked several times, yet no response came from the other side.

"Hello? I'm coming in." Arthur slowly turned the doorknob and carefully pushed the door open as the blinding light entered his sight.

As the door creaked open, Arthur noticed abnormal dust covering every surface. It was as if the room had been neglected for weeks, and no soul had stepped foot in it. The corners of the room were covered in wide cobwebs as spiders built their home with complex patterns.

Luckily, Arthur was still carrying the cleaning supplies from this morning, so without any delay, he began wiping down the surfaces with a rag. Once most of the room was clean, the desk and the windowsill were the only areas left.

Arthur cleaned the windowsill and then the desk promptly before noticing a small white picture frame on the corner of the desk. Upon closer examination, he saw David and Stella both happily smiling. Stella rested her head on David's shoulders while his arm wrapped around her in a warm embrace. Yet, there was one thing that caught Arthur's attention the most. The picture didn't fit perfectly in the frame, as a tiny gap was visible at the top.

Curious, Arthur gently picked up the picture frame and turned it around. Several clips were turned in the back to lock the cover in place, and after turning them, the cover quickly came off. A few words on the back of the photo caused Arthur's eyes to widen, and he had no clue what they meant. He placed the cover back and repeated his actions before returning it to its original position.

Looking outside the window, he could see the training area where Raphael, Paul, and Mark were. Even from afar, he could tell that Raphael was struggling as Paul relentlessly attacked him from all directions. Raphael's state was miserable. Dirt covered his entire body, the white shirt he had been given had been dragged through the ground, and his stance was broken. It was clear even to Arthur that Raphael was barely standing, so why was Paul still attacking?

"Arthur?" Carl's voice resounded throughout the room as he stared at him with both hands behind his back and asked. "What are you doing here?"

Every surface had been properly wiped down and polished as it reflected the soft glow from the sunlight. Even though Arthur only started working for the past few days, it was amazing how much of a difference it made. The attention to detail and cleanliness of each area he passed by made Carl feel like Arthur was born with a talent for cleaning.

"I'm cleaning David's office, sir." Arthur quickly saluted Carl as the dirt-covered rag hit his face.

"I see that, but David wouldn't let anyone into his office, so I'm guessing you didn't get permission." Carl opened the empty drawers and stared at the empty shelves. It was clear that the room was already deserted. A pitiful sigh escaped Carl as he patted Arthur on the back. "Well done, but don't enter the other rooms because it's their personal space. As for this room, you can keep cleaning it. Just make sure you don't break anything."

"Understood, sir." Arthur nodded firmly with a bright gleam in his eyes.

"Don't bother with that. No one salutes these days. At most, all you have to do is call me Captain." Carl smiled at Arthur, who tried to be as polite as possible. "You've done an amazing job so far. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Captain." Arthur felt a sense of accomplishment at the praise but did his best to conceal it.

Both of them remained still as the room itself seemed to freeze under the weight of the awkwardness. Carl, who was bad with children, and Arthur, who didn't know how to behave in front of their boss, made the room bear witness to their strained interaction.

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In an attempt to break the awkward silence, Carl let out a dry cough with one hand before his mouth and asked. "Is there anything you would like to ask?"

Arthur thought for a minute before asking, "Why is someone as strong as you working as a town guard?"

When Arthur first met Carl there was a feeling of unease that loomed over him. It wasn't obvious nor in plain sight, but Arthur could tell that the person beside him was unbelievably strong. The only other time this feeling occurred was with the bald old man in his memories.

"Me? Strong?" Carl burst into lively laughter with a grin on his face. "I wouldn't call myself strong because there are many more people out there who are stronger than me. This is also my retirement job."

"Retirement job?" Arthur wore a perplexed expression. The notion of retirement brought more questions to the table.

"Yes, I tried to retire and stay at home, but after a while there was nothing for me to do." Carl answered in a soft tone. "You see when you reach my age, not many people you grew up with are around anymore so it gets very lonely."

"You were lonely? Wouldn't your kids visit you often?" Arthur innocently asked.

"Well…" Carl found it hard to answer in a way that would properly explain the situation, but he said it in a roundabout way. "I wasn't the best father. I kept pushing my children to be the best, and because of my own pride, we no longer talk to each other."

"Oh… that's not good." With no clue what to do, Arthur quickly wiped the walls as the question plummeted the conversation.

"Ha! You're right. It's not." Amusement flickered in Carl's eyes as he saw Arthur's honest and immediate response.

Arthur's straightforward nature was a breath of fresh air compared to the numerous people Carl had met. If he had to choose between Arthur and the political bullshit that he had to deal with in the past, then he would always choose Arthur. He detested the two-faced nature of nobility and couldn't stand how they smiled with daggers drawn behind them.

Finding himself in a cheerful mood, Carl casually gave some advice. "Don't be like me, and don't let your pride take control of who you are. Sometimes, it's best to put your head down and be reasonable."

Arthur didn't utter a word for a moment as he considered what Carl said. To him, Carl was a kind and generous man who gave them a chance to live, but to himself, it was the opposite. Carl had lived longer than Arthur and experienced life nearly to its full extent, but that didn't mean one would stop learning.

"I don't think you're as bad of a person as you think you are." Arthur said in a sincere tone, "You care about the people around you and go beyond helping."

Carl's eyes were filled with remorse, and he commented, "Sadly, I can't help everyone. Take David, for example. There's not much I can do for him to ease his grief."

"His grief? I thought he was drinking for fun." Arthur's gaze hardened for the first time. Something felt off upon meeting David, but since no one stopped him, Arthur brushed it aside as a bad day.

"David has been struggling with alcoholism since he lost his child. It's his way of coping with the grief." Carl's explanation made Arthur's jaw drop.

"How long has it been since this started?" Arthur inquired more about the situation as Carl raised a brow.

"Perhaps a month has passed since then. I thought about stopping him from drinking but if he doesn't drink here then he would just do it at some bar." Since there was no harm in answering Arthur's question, Carl decided to continue and replied. "The best solution I could think of was to have Welt and Cain watch over him without overstepping my boundaries."

"Isn't there more you could do? I mean if we just leave things as they are, wouldn't David just do the same thing next month?" Arthur hurriedly asked.

"It's complicated, I can't be too noisy in the personal lives of the other guards." Carl had thought about an intervention of sorts for David, but after witnessing the fight between Paul and David, that idea was immediately discarded. Suddenly, as Carl stared at Arthur, a thought crossed his mind.

What if we had Arthur try something?

Carl entertained the idea in his head and thought about the possible dynamic. Guards usually patrolled in pairs, and since Arthur was officially employed by the Western Guards, he needed a partner.

"Arthur, do you have a patrol partner?" Carl asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"No, why? Do I need one?" Arthur returned the question with another question as he wiped a smudge off the window panel.

"Yes, it's required if you plan to go patrolling." Carl nodded in response while stroking his gray beard. "I'll assign David to be your patrol partner. Besides, I can't have you go by yourself."

"Isn't he drunk, though? I plan to leave now to patrol the city."

"Now? It's the morning, so I imagine he won't be drunk until the afternoon." Carl took the cleaning supplies from Arthur and added. "It's best to go now. You'll find him at the entrance of the gate."

"That's the only place they ever go…" Arthur responded dejectedly at the thought of being paired with David, but it was direct orders from Carl, so there wasn't much he could do. "Alright, I'll be back in a few hours. Do I just tell him to follow me, and you said so?"

"Yes, keep it short and concise and tell him it's a direct order from me. Make sure to look after him." Carl patted Arthur's back while silently offering condolences. "Get going and be safe."

"Leave it to me, Captain! The streets will be safe under my watch." Arthur turned towards Carl, holding out an open palm, and gestured for him to do the same. As Carl mimicked Arthur, their palms met, creating a burst of sound from the crisp slap.

Carl blankly stared at Arthur, who triumphantly high-fived him in confusion. "Is this your replacement for the salute?"

"Yep, how was it?" Arthur eagerly awaited Carl's response.

"We…will have to work on it." Carl glanced back and forth between his red palm and then Arthur. "No more high fives."

"I'll think of something better than the salute later." Arthur made his way to the door, but before he left, he looked at Carl and asked, "Is David already here?"

"No, he shouldn't be. They will probably arrive in an hour or so," Carl answered with a perplexed expression. He then asked, "Why?"

"No reason, I was just curious," Arthur's wide grin made Carl feel uneasy.

Carl smiled back at Arthur, whose eyes radiated a profound sense of determination, but for some reason, he began to second-guess himself.

I'm sure everything will be fine…I think…