An Aspiring Knight From A Foreign Land

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Gossip. People love to gossip about everything, anything. Be it affairs of royalty, loyalty of aristocrats, transactions of merchants, lives of commoners, or daily routines of slaves. Regardless the social status you had been labeled upon will never escape the gossip. And whether you are the gossiper or the topic of gossip, it may be a secret or false, gossip has no boundaries as long as it entertains people, bring advantage to them, or connects to other.

Today's main gossip was of a prince from a vast land and powerful kingdom, once again.

The male students gossiped about him almost all the time, of course aside from flaunting their family's riches and achievements.

According to the gossipers, the prince of Luville Kingdom had managed to gain genuine respect from the instructors and fellow students right from the very first day of the training camp. He excelled in a handful of classes and was good at every outdoor activity; swordsmanship, hunting, swimming, and horse riding. He was never bad at anything. Because of this, he was given the nickname the Golden Prince by both students and instructors.

As I sat in the mess hall among fellow students who were in a similar position as myself, a group of jealous gossipers spoke badly about the Golden Prince.

There were countless noble boys in the training camp to pick, like the aristocrats only by name, but they choose to be foolish daring to badmouth and spread lies about the prince, who was from a formidable territory that could destroy another kingdom with just a single word.

"What's so good about him anyway? We all know that he's not that great," a boy from the Merlan Kingdom remarked, a smug expression on his face. "There are plenty of princes and nobles who exceed him."

These idiots were too busy enjoying their gossip that they didn't notice the Golden Prince who happened to pass and overhear much of their conversation, but who wouldn't when they practically shouted so that more students could hear them.

It was well known in every kingdom of the prince's appearance. It would be weird if people call him Golden Prince if he doesn't fit the description, plus his striking and regal demeanor.

Five days after I arrived at the training camp, I finally saw the prince who had become the central topic of conversation among the students.

A prince of age seven stopped in his tracks and looked towards the group who were three or more years older than him. His hair shines like pure gold and unreadable eyes of honeyed gold color.

A hushed silence fell over the entire mess hall, abandoning the food and chats just to observe quietly. The exception was the oblivious group, still unaware of what was happening.

"I don't need to be great at everything," the prince said with a clear unwavering voice, a voice who was born to rule.

Rather than seeking forgiveness or expressing regret, the group stared down at the prince. They all were smiling as if there was something to be proud of.

Perhaps they thought of him as harmless due to him being small.

Fools.

"And why is that, Golden Prince?" The boy who seemed to be the leader of the group, sneered.

On the other hand, the prince's expression remained unchanged as he answered, "Because excellent people will be working under me. A position that represents according to their talents."

In short, the people who will serve him one day will make their master become greater than he already is.

At the back of my head, I wanted to follow this person someday. Not just me but most of the students here who witnessed the prince's proclamation felt the same way. But who would have thought after this I would find myself in the same group as the prince? And see the real Crown Prince of Luville Kingdom, Aiden Nile Arias.

A crazy bas—

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My family lives in a small country called Alysse. My mother was a local and the only child of a Marquess. While my father was born in the Luville Kingdom with a vague noble background. He didn't talk much about his life aside from his family especially his youngest brother. Every time he told stories about him, father's face was full of fondness that one would know how he dearly loved his brother but at the same time he looked sad as if he was guilty.

Grandfather believes in love that's why he never forces my mother to marry out of money. Marquess was just a title and nothing more. We don't have money in the treasure room nor we had a room for treasure to begin with. Basically, we live like a commoner only with a title hanging by our name.

People like me, stood on a line between nobility and being a commoner, tend to be cast away. It would be much better if my family was a commoner rather than trying to fit in both social statuses. If it wasn't for my father's brother's recommendation letter I wouldn't be here in the first place.

And because I was recommended by a citizen of Luville Kingdom, I was placed with the group from that kingdom.

Lucas Bismarck was my father's younger brother whom I hadn't seen throughout my years. My heart nearly stopped when the prince told me that my uncle worked under the king. A Captain of the Imperial Guard.

Does father know about this? Ah, he probably does.

The last person who arrived in our three-member group had the same distinctive atmosphere as the prince. If the prince emanated the aura of day, this student was undeniably a child of the night with his dark hair and deep blue eyes.

[ Author's Note | To those who know who he is pertaining, I change the color of the eyes from red to blue. If not, please don't mind this.]

Observing the prince closely for nearly three years, I discovered a side of him that was rarely seen by others. He was a very sensitive person when it came to his sister. The prince never spoke about his sister but since he was mostly the topic of gossip his sister sometimes pops into their conversation.

They referred to her as the Abandoned Princess.

I wasn't fond of gossiping but I was curious. I couldn't bring myself to ask the prince after watching him mentally torture someone when this kid gossiped, that the prince's sister has a huge scar on her face that's why her family abandoned her because she was ugly.

The prince then made an objective to destroy groups, which I had become a part of whether I liked it or not, at every challenge–may it be individual or team–whoever spoke about his sister whether the intention was good or bad. It became an unspoken rule that one shouldn't utter a word about the Abandoned Princess.

On the last day of the training camp, we were given some free time. We decided to go to the local market to buy souvenirs for our family. I bought some cheap sweets and wood carvings.

The prince was looking undecided as he stared at the glass piano by the window of a music store.

I then overheard him muttering to himself, "Will she love this? It would be great if someday she'll play a piece for me. Or should I buy her a villa here? She did say she wants a vacation."

Is that how royal children spend their money? That's the prince for you, I guess.

"How about a ribbon." The child of night who also heard the prince suggested.

"What?"

"You're going to buy your sister a present, right? Ribbons would do," he said and yawned deprived of sleep. By the looks of it, he wanted to go back quickly and sleep.

After thinking it through the prince turned towards me and asked for my opinion, "What do you think?"

"Gold colored ribbon so it represents you," I said offering my suggestion.

"I see. Let's go then," said the prince and quickly walked toward the shop that sells ribbons.

As we followed the prince, I couldn't help but say, "He's quite a sister complex."

"He is." He quickly agreed. This guy had been sharing a room with the Golden Prince for the past few years. "He even sleeps with a paper that his sister gave him. It has a drawing of him and his sister on it. Last night he couldn't find the paper, so he turned our room upside down. I had no choice but to help him or else I'd be hearing him whine all night. It was already passed midnight when we found it... in his pocket."

I could already hear the exhausted yawn from him before it could happen.

"You have it hard." I watched the prince who looked frustrated when he couldn't find a store that sells ribbons. Of course, he wouldn't, he went to the street that only sells armor and weaponry. I couldn't help but release a sigh. "He's also a bit stupid."

With a slightly raised eyebrow, he said, "I don't think you should describe someone who's the same as you."

"Huh?" What is he talking about?

"Are you done buying gifts for your family?" He asked after yawning.

"Yeah." I nodded, pulling out one of the trinkets I bought for him to see. It was a small wooden house with adorable flower beds on the wall. "My mother loves to collect cute wood carvings, a hobby she inherited from her mother. For my father, I bought a knife for his hunting expeditions. And a few snacks that go well with my grandparents' herbal tea." I glanced ahead making sure that we hadn't lost the prince in the bustling market. "You were knocked out at a bench and didn't see you entering a store. Are you not buying anything?"

He blinked his sleepy eyes. "I already bought in advance. Both gifts are custom made."

"Both?"

"Mmhm. Nothing special, just a collar brooch for my father," he replied, his voice slightly slurred. "You already saw it yesterday at my dorm."

"Oh, the ruby one, or was it a red diamond? I heard it's very rare." After years together I can't believe I'm friends with a crown prince and high rank noble kid. "Is it your favorite color?"

"Quite the opposite." He frowned but it quickly disappeared as he continued. "It would be great if they had red diamond or ruby but this place doesn't have much mining area and a bad location for merchants and traders when it comes to artistry."

He was right. This place has a population of only 500 and most of them live a humble life.

"The gem is made from garnet. Father said he likes the color red and is his favorite," he said with a small smile. The way he looked says that his father likes that color meant great to him.

If I pushed more it would definitely become a heavy topic so I decided to set aside my curiosity and shift the conversation.

"What about the other gift? Is it for your mother?"

His smile disappeared, and with a hardened voice, he answered, "No. It's a doll for my sister."

So much for changing the topic... I noted myself to avoid asking about his mother in the future.

I used to think that these wealthy children had it all and wouldn't have to worry. But after interacting with these two for years I realized that my preconceptions about them were wrong. Noble or commoner, I guess we all are the same at some point. Whether it's a conflict within self, outside, or with one's family we are just human in the end.

I'm glad I came to this camp.

In an attempt to lighten the mood I made a joke, "You also got a sister complex?"

He crunched his nose in mock annoyance and almost used his magic on me when we heard a shout diverting our attention.

"Hey, you two! I found the shop!"

A sigh of relief escaped from my mouth.

"Don't ever group me with Aiden or you'll find yourself flying like a newborn bird. Now, would you be a gentleman and carry me on your back?" He said, casually placing his arm over my shoulder even though I hadn't agreed to help him. "Hopefully I won't have to witness him marrying his own sister."

"Ye–yeah," I said dryly while dragging him towards the prince who was waiting for us with a smile in front of a ribbon store.