In practice, “skills honed razor-sharp” meant that in addition to rigorous training during the day, I would devote my evenings to extra instruction from Dame Selene, Countess Solana, or a specialist she brought in for this express purpose. The topics ran the gamut from etiquette to exsanguination, which meant I had to get somewhat creative with my responses to the interrogations from Rufus and the girls.

“XXXXX!” Ruby spotted me from across the training field and ran over, with Sapphire trailing behind her. “Are you alright? I haven’t seen you in a few days… the countess hasn’t been working you too hard, right? If all those midnight rendezvouses wear you out, it’s not too late to run away…”

Upon hearing the word “midnight”, Sapphire turned bright red and grabbed Ruby by the ear in a panic. “Have you gone mad? You can’t talk like that in public! Someone might hear…”

Ruby shrugged. “It’s nothing compared to what some of the knights have been saying…”

“But they have titles, you brat! They earned the right to run their mouths!”

“Who’s a brat? You’re not even older than me!” While saying this, Ruby pouted in a mature and sophisticated manner.

“Try acting your age for once, then, you little-” Sapphire’s tirade was interrupted as Rufus approached and tapped them both on the shoulder.

“What’s today’s dispute?”

“Proper decorum.” I explained, “and whether it’s necessary to observe once you earn a knight’s title.”

“I see, I see.” He nodded at me and then poked Ruby in the cheek. “You should learn from the dame’s example. You two have what it takes to be real knights, but you still lack the poise and determination befitting the role.”

Sapphire blanched. “You sound like my dad.”

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“Your dad cusses more, though.”

I smiled and waved goodbye to the trio. “Sorry, but I have to go back to training…”

Rufus returned my wave, while Ruby performed an exaggerated salute in my direction, earning a punch in the gut from Sapphire.

------

One of the “educational opportunities” available to me was joining the countess’s meetings with her vice-commander. I quickly gained an appreciation for the vast number of convoluted schemes at play within the kingdom. As it happened, one of the names on today’s agenda was familiar to me. My first target.

“Baron Rydberg again.” Selene explained, handing a sheet of paper to the countess, who skimmed it briefly before handing it to me in turn.

Solana sighed with frustration. “If I wasn’t in such a good mood, I’d have the man assassinated.” She turned to me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Actually, maybe I should. What do you think?”

“Well… that goes against my beheadings policy. But from what I know about the man, it wouldn’t be completely unwarranted.”

The dame nodded. “It’d be one thing if his mismanagement only affected the barony, but we’re up to 5 missing persons reports from the county alone, and the trail leads straight to his territory. Sooner or later, we’ll have to do something about this.”

The countess swirled the tea in her teacup and stared at it pensively. “The king won’t be pleased to hear that I’ve killed another baron…”

I attempted to lighten the mood. “Perhaps you could just imprison him? Or if you prove that his son’s behind the disappearances, what about blackmail?”

Lady Solana’s face lit up. “Blackmail! Now that’s a delightful suggestion. But you’d best not defame the heir to a barony with such accusations, even in my presence.”

I downed the remainder of my tea in one go. “If I’m not mistaken, Countess, it’s only defamation if it’s false. And I know where to find sufficient evidence to settle the matter.”

The countess leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “has my little bird become a messenger pigeon?”

Lady Solana enjoyed it any time I played up my unusual traits, and by offering tiny scraps of Helian’s prophecies, I was able to further enhance my status as an entertaining novelty. I would eventually have to disclose the source of this information, but for now I could focus on proving myself useful.

The dame, however, grew visibly uncomfortable any time I behaved this way. She clearly believed this was all an act engineered by a third party. Though that wasn’t entirely wrong…