Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

Even though we were on the ground and passing the busy knights, almost no one bat an eye on our presence. Apparently, Sergei noticed how the knights behaved around us and was curious about it.

"I noticed that the knights do not seem to mind your presence and focus on training instead." He noted as he looked around. "Is that how the queendom disciplines them?"

"Protecting the queendom as well as maintaining peace and order are their top priorities, not just serving the royal family. For that reason, we strictly discipline our knights and soldiers to focus on that purpose, and the diligence you are seeing right now is one of many ways to improve themselves."

"I see. Even though they did not halt what they were doing to greet His Highness Raphael, they are still following your orders, which could also mean showing their respects to you.

"Precisely. We want them to just focus on their responsibilities and avoid as many distractions as possible, including the presence of a member of the royal family themselves."

"It surprises me how disciplined the knights of the queendom are."

"And if there are times when we need to get their attention, we just have to announce it formally, and they will immediately pay attention to us." I briefly paused for a second and glanced at the woman next to me. "Dane."

"Right away, Your Highness! Attention, everyone!"

As Dane said that, she quickly put her clenched sabaton on her chest, causing a sharp sound to catch the attention of the knights. Hearing that, they immediately knew that we had the intention of being here before they stopped clashing their blades to give us a heed.

The entire training ground lost its intensity, and it was exchanged with a few mumbles of what was going on. I heard some of them talking about the new face and started scanning him. When we thought that we had their attention, Dane resumed speaking again.

"Proud knights of the Queendom of Raevender, I would like to tell you that His Highness Raphael has a matter to settle here. Please pay attention to what he is about to say, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The knights' affirmation rang out in the courtyard in unison before I started speaking.

"Our dear knights. Today, we are here with this man named Sergei. Some of you might have heard of him before as the first adventurer to clear the 30th floor of the Raevender Dungeon after it was opened to the public, all by himself. He has also passed the 40th floor, and he is currently making his way to the fiftieth."

When I revealed some of the feats that Sergei had made so far, the knights recalled who he really was, and some had become keener on him, slightly livening up the atmosphere.

"His feats are good enough for me to recognize his strength, and I even offered him to work for us, which he accepted just recently. He is already a Queendom knight and ready to fulfill his duty today. But before that, let us witness what he is capable of through a mock battle."

"Ooh!"

The knights suddenly became enthusiastic when they heard that Sergei was going to show off today. I let them express their excitement for a few seconds before I continued.

"As you have noticed, I am present here. The reason for that is, I would be his opponent."

"Your Highness?"

Not only the knights did, but also Sergei himself took a glance at me as he was caught off guard by my words. I just put on an assured smile at him in response.

"You heard it right. I will be your opponent. If you were asking why, I just say that I wanted to test your battle prowess myself."

"... I understand, Your Highness. If that is what you desired, then it is my honor to accept your invitation."

"That's what I wanted to hear." I said before I looked around and glanced at the knights. "I want you to remember that this will be a mock battle only for the two of us, and I strictly order you not to intervene in the fight. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" The knights immediately responded.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

A few minutes later, the knights dispersed away from the center of the courtyard, creating a space large enough for the participants of the mock duel to fight comfortably. Today, the knights could only be audiences in this duel.

In that space, two men clad in light leather armor were standing in the middle with a proximity of fifteen meters between one another. Between them was Michael, who served as the official of the day.

With a dull steel sword in one of our hands, Sergei and I were about to engage in a friendly battle.

"You seem eager to start our fight, Sergei."

"Fighting the son of the Sword Saint is a huge honor, so I am kind of thrilled by excitement. Even though I can already foresee the outcome, I wanted to test how far I can reach and also learn how to improve myself."

"You are overestimating me, but thank you for the compliments. Even though I am not as strong as my Mother yet, I promise you I will give you learning experience."

"That ignites me more, Your Highness."

To be honest, I had surpassed my Mother in some aspects. I was statistically more powerful than hers, and I thought that our skills in swordsmanship were about the same. But overall, I was confident enough to say that I could beat Mother in a battle and also in bed.

"You have known the rules, yes?"

"I have, Your Highness."

"If so, then let's get started."

Afterwards, I glanced at Michael and nodded before he raised his right hand.

"The mock battle between His Highness Raphael and Sir Sergei has begun."

Upon his mark, Sergei and I rushed toward one another.