* * *
Sylvian casually handed over a box of chocolates and disappeared with his younger brother, saying he’d go share them with the knights.
“There are already enough places looking down on the viscount’s house, and this will just stir things up more.”
The chocolate was sweet. Aihin exhaled deeply as he crunched down on the piece Sylvian had given him.
“Sylvian!”
“Yuri!”
Following a knight’s orders, Yuri had fetched some training gear from the supply room.
The moment he saw Sylvian chatting with the other knights, he ran over excitedly.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now. Want some chocolate too?”
“Yes, please! Are you really going to train today?! Is it already okay for you to do that?”
Yuri twirled around Sylvian, face beaming. In his eyes, Sylvian still looked delicate, like he might be blown away by a winter breeze.
“Yeah! My younger brother came with me too. First time meeting, right?”
“Greetings. I’m Martius Nertian.”
He’d lost count of how many greetings he’d made today.
As the youngest of the Fourth Knight Order, Martius had bumped into many people during his comings and goings, but this was the first time he’d introduced himself directly.
“Hello! I’m Yuri, the third son of Count Holt.”
Yuri’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the handsome new face who resembled Sylvian.
But though the resemblance was there, he didn’t find him as strikingly beautiful as the duchess.
“He looks… tense.”
Losing interest at the sharp tilt of Martius’ eyes, Yuri went back to excitedly chattering with Sylvian about today’s training.
“Hyung, are you sure it’s really okay?”
Sylvian nodded as he gently ruffled Martius’ hair—who, now that they were in the capital, was speaking more formally to him.
Seeing that, Yuri’s eyes sharpened with envy.
‘Even I don’t get that very often!’
Whenever the duchess’s slender fingers combed through his hair like that, his body would straighten involuntarily. It made him shiver—but in a good way—until he melted from the pleasant sensation.
‘Is it just because he has a younger brother with him?’
“Watch me. See how much healthier I’ve become.”
“You’re already plenty healthy now.”
Yuri, noticing Martius’ anxious expression, smirked and said teasingly,
“Sylvian will only get stronger. So don’t worry—I’ll be right by his side to help. You can count on me!”
Despite the confident, beaming smile, Martius didn’t trust him one bit.
Even though he had no grounds to object to the duke-approved training, having grown up watching his brother collapse time after time, he couldn’t put his heart at ease.
“I can’t let this slide. I’m off today too, so I’ll train with you.”
Martius threw off his outerwear, revealing a slim but toned body.
“I can’t just leave my brother in someone else’s hands.”
Sparks flew as his eyes locked with Yuri’s.
“Is it okay to train together, even if we’re from different knight orders?!”
‘Isn’t this going to be a problem?’
Sylvian looked at him, clearly worried, but Martius just shook his head.
Of course, it could be a problem.
Even the smallest misstep could get you in trouble with superiors.
When a newbie from the office team got scolded after helping another department, it was frustrating.
But if they came back having been treated better than you?
Then it was just jealousy.
That’s how it worked.
Sylvian sighed deeply and picked up his brother’s clothes.
“It’s your day off. You don’t have to train too. I just asked you to come because I wanted you to see how much stronger I’ve gotten.”
“Then we can get stronger together.”
Martius didn’t budge.
The way that mutt of a guy looked at his brother was not normal.
‘He’s already married. Why is that guy looking at him like that?’
He didn’t have any friends, but he wasn’t clueless either.
“What, Sir Nertian’s training with us too?”
The Crown Prince, lazily strolling toward the training field, grinned when he saw the noisy trio.
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s my day off, but I wanted to join my brother.”
“Well, well. The future of the royal knights is bright. Giving up your break to train? Admirable!”
“I’m not giving up my whole vacation. Just while my brother trains—”
Flustered, Martius quickly shook his head, but Aihin wasn’t listening.
The more people sharing his suffering, the better.
“Don’t worry if training with the order causes any issues. I’ll personally talk to the commander of the Fourth Division. Spe-ci-fi-cally.”
Martius knew at that moment—he was doomed.
“How many days off do you have left?”
“Th-three days!”
It was bound to come out anyway.
Unable to hide his gloom, Martius voluntarily confessed the rest of his break.
“Excellent. I can feel your burning desire to become stronger. We shall train hard together. Right, Yuri?”
‘I want out…’
Yuri wanted to say, but instead shouted, “Yes!” with forced enthusiasm.
Even though the duchess visibly flinched at his volume, all else faded in the face of training with the duke.
“What’s going on here?”
“Ah, Duke. You’re right on time.”
Zeroth, who arrived just in time for the training session, greeted Sylvian with a kiss on the cheek.
“Keep that lovey-dovey stuff at home.”
Aihin scratched his arm awkwardly as he watched.
“Then maybe you should look away.”
“…That’s quite the solution.”
A not-so-subtle way of telling them all to avert their eyes.
The Second Order knights were already used to it.
They just gave a polite nod and looked elsewhere when the duke entered.
“And who’s this?”
Though they’d met before, Zeroth acted like it was their first time and gestured at Martius.
“My younger brother. Martius, say hello. This is Duke Zeroth Graham.”
Sylvian introduced him while nestled comfortably in Zeroth’s arms.
“I’m Martius Nertian, of the Fourth Order.”
“A trainee?”
“No. I was recently knighted.”
Though he knew full well, Zeroth asked the question with deliberate rudeness, and then ignored the answer as he turned back to Sylvian.
“Did you stop by the market?”
“Yes. I bought gifts for everyone. I ran into my brother, so we came together. Is that alright?”
“Of course.”
Martius noticed immediately—there was no warmth in the man’s eyes.
Just annoyance.
Like he’d been saddled with an unwanted nuisance.
“I’m curious to see how well Sylvian’s little brother does.”
Zeroth smirked and led Sylvian toward the break room.
“You sure you want to train on your first reunion in a while?”
“I want to show him how much healthier I’ve become.”
With a determined clench of his fist, Sylvian made his vow.
Zeroth helped him take off his coat and planted a kiss on his neck.
“Ah—”
“Shame I can’t leave a mark right now.”
As the sensation brushed against his nape, Sylvian pressed his hands against Zeroth’s shoulders to push him away.
“Today’s for training, remember?”
“Then will you let me mark you tonight?”
‘…Nod.’
His face flushed as he nodded, and Zeroth finally backed off.
“Shall we change into training clothes?”
“Ah, my brother needs some too.”
“Get Sir Nertian a training set.”
Even before Sylvian finished speaking, Zeroth opened the tent flap and gave the order.
“Yes, sir!” came the loud response, followed by hurried footsteps.
“Are you planning to keep watching?”
“I’ll watch my own, thank you very much.”
Zeroth blocked the entrance, unapologetically.
He’d made sure a separate set of training clothes was prepared—just in case.
At his gesture toward the clock, Sylvian bit his lip and reluctantly started to undress quickly.
“Oh my goodness! Martius! What happened to you?! Your face is half gone!”
* * *
