Chapter 63…
“Shall I bring more Stich?”
But adding more Stich berries, which they couldn’t even eat all at once, would just be a waste.
Clearus pondered for a moment, then headed straight for the food and medicine storage himself.
“This was delicious.”
He grabbed a handful of a tonic he remembered eating and enjoying, and put it into the box.
But that wasn’t all.
“This one was good too. Bring a bigger box.”
“Ah, yes.”
“This one is great for relieving muscle pain if eaten before bed… I think we’ll need a sack.”
“…I’ll fetch it.”
The steward clicked his tongue and brought a sack, sighing.
“You won’t be able to eat everything anyway, right?”
“That’s correct. It would just go to waste.”
“Hmm…”
After a moment’s thought, Clearus left the storage room.
The steward slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh.
If he wasn’t careful, they could have nearly emptied the household supplies.
However, instead of returning to the carriage, Clearus suddenly changed direction toward the equipment storage.
“Your Grace?! Why there?!”
“Exercise is the best for health, isn’t it?”
The equipment storage housed farming tools, cooking utensils, cleaning equipment, and various other implements—including exercise equipment.
These were spare items kept in case the ones in use broke.
“Is this still too difficult to use?”
“…You mean, Your Majesty?”
Dulcen, who had been quietly observing in the food storage, spoke up.
“Yes.”
“I suppose you could use it in about ten years, assuming you train consistently all that time.”
“…So if I bring it now, it sets a ten-year goal?”
“What good is exercise equipment if all you do is look at it for ten years? Give the appropriate stage for training as a gift.”
“Hmm…”
Clearus rummaged through the corners and found equipment he had used when he was very young.
“This should be fine, right?”
“…Yes. That would be helpful.”
“Of course, you are a year younger than me.”
“….”
The young Clearus, a whole year older than the royal, nodded firmly and selected pieces that were in good condition.
“…Hmm, but wouldn’t it be better to also teach the training methods?”
Consistency is key in training, but knowing the method makes it much more effective.
Dulcen’s hair stood on end.
“You don’t intend to leak the family treasure, the training manual, do you?!”
Dulcen’s voice, suddenly tense, snapped Clearus back to reality.
Of course… that wasn’t the plan…
“Ah, no…”
But his heart had already committed to giving it all.
Clearus loaded the bundles into a carriage and arrived at the palace.
“Your Majesty?”
“He is at the training grounds.”
The steward, who had come to greet Clearus upon hearing he was coming personally, immediately guided him.
‘Training grounds…’
The word made Clearus’s heart race.
Though he trained because of family matters, knightly training suited Clearus’s disposition well.
Just knowing that Eli was doing what he loved made his chest swell.
“Let’s go quickly.”
Clearus practically ran toward the training grounds.
The adult steward struggled to keep up, panting heavily.
“This way, please!”
“Ah.”
Ordinary people rarely got to visit the palace training grounds. Only the royal guard used them.
It was natural that Clearus didn’t know the location.
But in his urgency, Clearus seemed to know the way and ran ahead of the steward.
“Slow down, huff… keep up!”
“…Can you walk faster?”
“I’m not part of the guard, so impossible.”
“….”
Clearus glared at the steward’s back in dissatisfaction.
Effective training required everyone around to help.
It was a huge difference between lying in bed eating snacks all day and waking up early to run together.
Training begins with mindset.
‘The steward can’t possibly help His Majesty…’
Recently, the Bernt family’s butler had also started training.
Clearus was determined to intervene in this matter at least.
After following the steward’s frustratingly slow pace for a while, they arrived at the training grounds.
Compared to the Bernt family’s training ground, this one seemed like a modest front yard. Yet, it was equipped with modern tools and models effectively arranged.
‘Not bad.’
Even to Clearus’s eyes, this was acceptable.
“Your Majesty?”
But at this excellent training ground, Eli was nowhere to be seen, training and sweating.
Standing alone in the center was Lilkia.
“Have you finished your training, Your Majesty?”
Clearus asked as he approached.
Lilkia even had her eyes closed.
“Oh. Duke Bernt? What brings you here?”
“I’ve brought the items Your Majesty requested personally.”
“Ah…! Could it be… you brought Stich?”
Clearus’s gaze hardened.
How did the captain of the guard know that?
“How do you know about it?”
“Oh, I recommended it.”
“…The captain of the guard?”
Lilkia shrugged.
“Your Majesty asked what was good for the body besides exercise, and while answering, the topic of the Bernt family’s Stich berries came up.”
Since it was something sold publicly, no huge secrets were revealed.
Clearus felt a pang at the thought that Lilkia seemed to know another secret between him and Eli.
“Where is Your Majesty?”
“Oh, I have to find him now.”
“?”
Why did the captain have to search for the person they were guarding?
Clearus looked at Lilkia in confusion.
“Oh, we were playing hide-and-seek. I’m ‘it.’”
“…Excuse me?”
Lilkia’s explanation made even less sense.
Hide-and-seek… in the training grounds?
“What about training?”
“Oh… training naturally happens while running and playing, doesn’t it?”
“While playing hide-and-seek…?”
Clearus couldn’t accept it.
He had trained since he started walking. He likely even trained while crawling.
Such systematic training was necessary for fast growth.
‘“Naturally” while playing’ wasn’t in Clearus’s mindset.
“If you have complaints about my curriculum, first find His Majesty and then protest.”
Reading Clearus’s frustrated expression, Lilkia smiled.
It was amusing that a small child dared to criticize the training of the captain of the guard.
But this was Duke Bernt, not just any child.
This was a chance to observe the Bernt family’s training methods firsthand and broaden his perspective.
“…Understood.”
Clearus set off to find Eli, taking the game very seriously despite it being hide-and-seek.
Lilkia silently smiled, secretly amused.
“Duke Bernt, since it’s a game, shall we make it a bet?”
“A bet?”
“The first to find His Majesty gets to play with him.”
Clearus’s eyes shimmered.
He wanted to play with Eli!
“And the loser?”
“Either quietly watch or return, I suppose?”
Clearus’s competitive spirit ignited.
The reward was too sweet.
“The royal guards were here from the start. Didn’t they see where he hid?”
But Clearus carefully pressed for details instead of accepting immediately.
He wanted to win badly.
“I really had my eyes closed. I truly don’t know. And don’t signal each other with your eyes!”
“Yes!”
Even the guards confirmed.
“…Good. Do we only search within the palace?”
“Otherwise, it would take all night. Only within the training grounds.”
Clearus’s eyes lit up. That was doable.
“But what about His Majesty’s choice?”
Clearus paused before starting and asked.
“Oh, that’s true. But His Majesty likes both of us, so either way, he’ll like it, right?”
Lilkia said confidently.
Clearus felt confident about that as well.
“Hmm… then perhaps His Majesty should also participate in the bet.”
Clearus had a sparkling idea.
“If neither of us finds him within the time limit, His Majesty can play whatever game he wants. If found earlier, the finder gets to choose the game.”
“Sounds good.”
That was a reasonable condition.
“Your Majesty! Did you hear? If you aren’t found until the end, you get to play whatever you want! If you don’t want to, you can tell us now and hide again!”
“….”
Lilkia shouted and waited briefly. Eli gave no response.
Permission was granted.
“Shall we start?”
“Yes, start.”
The two nodded at each other.
The bet between Duke Bernt and the captain of the guard began, leaving no room for compromise.
The tension in the training grounds was as intense as a royal martial arts tournament.
Hide-and-seek—does it really need to be this serious?
The thoughts of the observing guards didn’t reach the two competitors.
