Time flew by quickly, and before long, it was the day of the princess’s birthday banquet.

From early morning, Hilda was busy preparing to adorn the princess. The sky-blue silk dress that Dana would wear to the banquet, along with various accessories to match, were all laid out.

“What should we do?”

Hilda asked, pointing to the gift sent by King Taras from the capital. The amber-adorned necklace was beautiful, but it didn’t quite complement the aquamarine bracelet Dana wore or the dress they had prepared. Dana shook her head. Hilda closed the lid of the gift box from Taras and neatly placed it inside the large jewelry box that the maid was holding open.

While Hilda busied herself with selecting the crown and hairstyle, Dana listened to Countess Vicar about the state of the banquet preparations. Hearing that the instruments, musicians, food, and drinks were all well-prepared, Dana nodded, her expression tense.

“Is there anyone among the attendees who has expressed their intention to decline at the last minute?”

Dana asked worriedly. Countess Vicar responded with a firm expression.

“Who would dare do such a thing? It’s the princess’s birthday banquet.”

Dana breathed a sigh of relief. The main purpose and most important attendee of this banquet was a man who had ignored and declined all previous events. However, as Hilda and Countess Vicar had mentioned, he could not ignore the princess’s birthday celebration. Dana recalled Hilda’s excitement upon hearing the reply from Baron Leonas, confirming his attendance.

‘It must go well as expected.’

It would be disastrous if the knight merely made an appearance and then disappeared into an unseen corner.

“Oh, it would be fine to leave it down or braid it… What do you think?”

Hilda, deep in thought, asked, while Countess Vicar suggested a half-up, half-down style.

While the two women deliberated, Dana sat quietly in front of the mirror, even though the room was filled with sparkling accessories and jewel-encrusted shoes.

‘Will any of this help, even a little?’

Would any of this impress the knight she needed to negotiate with today? Dana wasn’t sure. She thought that, to the knight, the image of a lady adorned with beautiful jewelry might be less important than the role of a princess who could grant a high title.

‘No, wait. Should I dress even more extravagantly?’

Should she demonstrate her noble status by showcasing her high rank?

As Dana’s thoughts reached that point, Hilda opened a jewelry box containing a necklace and asked,

“I was thinking of this necklace. What do you think? Or…”

Dana gazed at the necklace. Inside the box was a silver necklace adorned with sapphires. It was undeniably beautiful and precious, but…

“Is that all?”

Dana asked without thinking, causing Hilda and Countess Vicar to widen their eyes in surprise. Hilda snapped the box shut and, after pausing with one hand raised in the air, said,

“Please wait a moment.”

Then the search through the jewelry box began again. This time, Dana and Countess Vicar joined in the search.

Although there was still plenty of time until the banquet, which would be held at night, it felt insufficient for the young ladies who were preparing.

* * *

Sunlight poured down onto the training ground.

In the expansive training area, only one person was moving. Normally, there would have been knights waiting to learn from this knight. On one side, there would have been others who, despite watching the knight’s sharp movements, found it difficult to keep up and were left in awe.

But not today. Today, the owner of the training ground stood alone, sword in hand.

Swish!

With a sharp sound, the blade sliced through a straw dummy set up at the end of the training area. Not satisfied with a single cut, he slashed it several more times, reducing it to pieces. The man’s muscular body, illuminated by the sunlight, had long since discarded any bothersome upper garments.

His powerful arms sliced through the air. With each swing, his back muscles rippled, and as he twisted his waist, his defined abs flexed, showcasing the time he had dedicated to training. Sweat beads formed between his broad chest muscles, trickling down the deep groove of his back.

His well-trained body was drenched in sweat, yet his movements remained swift and unwavering.

Creak.

As the sword sliced through the air with relentless precision, a squire entered through the door of the training ground. However, the owner of the training ground did not turn his head or eyes, focusing solely on his practice. In truth, it wasn’t merely training. It was a desperate attempt to calm and release the tension that was on the verge of exploding.

Even though he must have noticed the squire’s presence, the sword slicing through the air did not stop. The blade continued to cut through the straw dummy and the air with fierce momentum.

With a soft thud, the man’s sweat dripped onto the floor of the training ground. His jet-black hair, damp with perspiration, swayed slightly. Harsh breaths escaped through his clenched teeth. Usually steady even after several sparring sessions with other knights, today his breathing was uneven, and his brow—typically unperturbed even when facing a horde of monsters—was deeply furrowed.

The squire, waiting at a distance, eventually called out to the knight.

“Sir Leonas?”

The knight who had entered the training ground was Kaiden Leonas’s squire, Yenton. The young squire stood straight, his face clearly displaying signs of tension.

In a typical knight-squire relationship, the squire would wait for the knight to speak first. However, this squire knew that the knight he served wasn’t one to be concerned with such formalities. What truly bothered the knight were not outdated manners or rules, but incompetence, interference, ignorance, and misunderstanding.

With a sharp sound, the sword cleaved through the straw dummy with fierce speed. Only then did the movement finally cease. The knight, who had been swinging the sword, stood at an angle, catching his breath.

He roughly pushed back his sweat-drenched hair with his hand and looked into the distance. Sweat droplets fell from his sharp jawline onto his heaving chest muscles.

Sensing the situation, the waiting squire decided to speak up again. He knew that if he waited too long, he would face harsher punishment from the knight. Speaking out of turn might breach etiquette, but failing to complete his task would surely earn him the knight’s ire.

“Sir Leonas, it’s the time you mentioned.”

The squire had come to inform him that it was time to prepare to leave. Although he had been ordered to do so, it was indeed an unusual occurrence.

Kaiden Leonas despised being interrupted during training, or rather, having anything he wanted to do interrupted. He disliked attending banquets even more. If he started something, it had to be by his own will and necessity, and it should end in the same manner.

Yet today, both things he hated were happening. He had to attend the princess’s birthday banquet that night, which had resulted in his training being canceled for the day.

‘But canceling training for banquet preparations?’

Normally, Kaiden Leonas wouldn’t even consider attending a banquet, let alone preparing for it. He was more suited to storming into the banquet hall in sweat-soaked armor than dressing up elegantly. Even among his own knights, he was more often seen as a mercenary than a knight.

The fact that the main character of today’s birthday banquet was the kingdom’s princess didn’t seem to matter much to this wild beast of a man. Watching him train only reinforced that impression. His fierce demeanor and eyes seemed ready to end anything at any moment.

‘Is there another war? Or maybe a horde of monsters?’

But there was no such news. Was Kaiden Leonas really planning to ruin the princess’s birthday banquet that he was forced to attend?

‘That would be an insult to the royal family.’

Yet this knight, who seemed to exist solely to pierce and destroy, didn’t seem to fear even insulting royalty.

As the squire watched anxiously, Kaiden Leonas cooled down and steadied his breathing.

That day. The day he had dreaded had finally arrived. He had imagined such a day might come. No, he had envisioned countless times what he would do if that moment ever arrived. Receiving the invitation, sending a reply, and counting down the days until today made him feel increasingly suffocated.

Last night, when it was finally time to lie in bed, he couldn’t sleep and spent the night wide awake. Unable to fall asleep, he got up early and went to the training ground. Unable to spar with such a troubled mind, he trained alone. But no matter how much he exercised or wielded his sword, he couldn’t calm his thoughts.

How could he possibly calm down?

Kaiden squinted as sweat trickled into his eyes. His piercing sapphire eyes narrowed. Even with his brow furrowed, his sharp features, including his nose and even his clenched lips, looked like they had been meticulously sculpted.

Kaiden lifted the sword in his hand. His reflection was faintly visible on the smooth blade. Only then did he realize how disheveled he looked, drenched in sweat. Ah. In this state…

Gazing at his reflection on the blade, Kaiden raised his head and asked his squire,

“…How do I look right now?”