Inside the carriage that was heading towards the west of the Capital, two young boys sat in deep silence.

They had started their journey more than an hour ago and now they were nearing their destination, the Royal Academy of Rosenhyde.

Howard St. Claire looked at his friend with his deep blue eye which seemed like troubled waters during a raging storm.

He had just learned why the man whom his father had invited to be Yvonne's tutor was named as 'Spawn' by the members of his squadron.

"So they call him 'Spawn' as in, Neo's spawn?" He asked the same question once again in disbelief.

The answer he received was the same as the last time he had posed the question, a nod of the head from his best friend, Taylor Tanner.

Taylor had explained why the knights and squires in the Order of Red Scorpion Knights all feared this man.

"He is called the vicious god, Neo's spawn thanks to the hellish training he puts his disciples through." He revealed to the ignorant boy who did not seem to know this piece of information.

Of course, it was valid that he did not know this as only the people who had access to the Tanner family's training grounds were privy to this information.

The only people who could enter that place were the knights under the Duke's command and his family members.

Taylor shuddered and his imaginary puppy ears drooped thinking of the little girl who might be under his torturous training right at this moment.

"How do you know about this?" Howard asked as he was still oblivious as to why Taylor seemed to know so much about the insider information.

The training modules of the squads were well-kept secrets as they did not want the other house of knights to steal their training methods.

Blue Dragon Knights were the biggest competitors of the Red Scorpion Knights and they would do everything to keep their training methods secure.

Taylor cringed when he heard this question that was aimed at him and then looked his friend in the eyes before divulging a certain truth that he had kept a secret until this moment.

"I know that because…" He began the sad tale of his early life story.

___

The atmosphere in the second carriage was quite opposite to that of the first carriage.

Damien could not stop laughing when he heard the snippets of different interactions that the Tanner boys had with Captain Desmo Reel.

"I can't believe that Taylor fainted after just one hour of training!" He slapped his thigh like an old man would and continued laughing.

Topher also snickered when he recalled how the Captain had to carry his little brother like a delicate princess and take him inside the house.

The Tanner family's training grounds were located on the Southern side of their mansion.

A large area of the land was allocated for the knights and squires in training for them to practice and hone their skills.

Not only were they given a place to train, but they were also given living quarters for those who did not have a place to stay.

Their father would often be busy with matters pertaining to the overall management of his order of Knights and his meetings with His Majesty, King Ophire.

Hence, he did not have enough time to spend with his sons in order to give them proper and dedicated training.

So he had come up with the best possible plan of action which was to get his best captain, Desmo Reel to take up the responsibility of their training.

This did not mean that the father would neglect his duties, every weekend he would test his sons and grade their learning arc.

As always, the heir apparent, Topher aced his tests but the younger son, Taylor would barely scrape by the acceptable mark.

Taylor would rather spend time with his mother in the garden to admire the beauty of the flowers in their garden than waste his time with the boorish men who were 'no good' according to him.

However, what Duke Tanner considered to be the bare minimum was already expert level in the eyes of Taylor's peers.

If he put his mind to it then he might be even better but Taylor was not one to care for such things.

He had already made up his mind to not follow in the footsteps of his brother and father but instead, he wished to spend his days in leisure and comfort.

Hence when Captain Desmo was made their tutor, the one to struggle and suffer the most was this younger son of Duke Tanner.

"I seem to have lost count of the times that he had cried to be spared but Spawn never let him go until he completed his daily training." Topher chuckled as he mentioned this.

He had always enjoyed the snot-filled face of his little brother when such an incident took place.

But now, imagining that cute little girl in the same situation made him frown.

"I hope he does not go too hard on her for she is but a mere child." He uttered in hopes that this might be true.

Sadly, the chances of her crying to be left alone at this very moment were higher than what he had hoped for.

Damien's cheerful chuckles after hearing Taylor's grief turned to a frown when he heard that girl being mentioned once again.

He did not seem to like it that his friend was so concerned about her since Topher never showed his care for any girl before.

"Why do you care if that spoiled child cries or not?" He polled and raised his brows as curiosity filled his heart.

Damien was already aware of Captain Desmo's ruthless training methods so he felt bad for her when he first realized what was going on.

However, that sympathy had faded soon after he had entered this carriage but it seemed as though this friend of his could not let the matter rest.

Topher could not understand what Damien was trying to imply so he tilted his head and waited for an explanation.

"You keep talking about her… Why is that?" He elaborated on his earlier question to help him understand better.

Topher smiled sheepishly and scratched his neck when he saw the suspicious look that his friend was shooting at him.

'What is wrong with his face? Why is it turning pink?' Damien leered to make sure that he was not seeing things that weren't there.

Topher turned away from his searching eyes and then stared out of the window.

At a distance, he could see the two tall towers of a large and magnificent looking structure which would be their home for the next month.

Damien too turned in the same direction and smiled when he saw that they had almost reached the end of their journey.

"Now do you care to answer my question?" He turned his gaze to his friend as he repeated his question which was yet to be answered.

Topher rolled his eyes when he noticed that he was not going to be let loose until he cleared the suspicions that his friend might have developed in his mind.

"Do you remember when we met her at Marquess Kiron's tea party?" He questioned and got an immediate nod from Damien.

'How could I forget that incident where she cried so bitterly as though I had bullied her?' Damien recollected those beautiful amethyst eyes which were shedding tears as she stayed in his embrace.

Topher could make out that this boy was thinking of the same moment as he was.

"Did you not feel an ache in your heart when you saw those big eyes which spilled such fat tears?" He polled and this time chuckled.

The reason for his chuckle was the disgusted look that Damien had shot at him but he did not seem to mind it.

"What do you think would happen when that same girl who cried when she was pushed aside by accident is made to train using Captain Desmo's ruthless methods?" He placed a pressing question before him.

Damien froze for a second because he did not know how he could respond to this.

Nevertheless, he felt irked that the little girl had managed to melt Topher's heart which would only mock others who shed tears before him.

Topher on the other hand was amused, seeing the variety of expressions that appeared and disappeared on the brown-haired boy.

"Maybe I am adopting that fool's traits of liking pretty things because I spent too much time with him during the vacation." He shrugged his shoulders as he guessed what might be the reason for this strange behavior of his.

He sneered at his little brother who was rubbing off on him and decided to stay away from him when he was at the Academy.

Damien narrowed his eyes when he heard the word 'like' coming from the red-haired boy's mouth.

'Was my previous assumption correct? Does Topher like that annoying brat?' He wondered and felt an ominous sensation arising in his heart.

However, Topher had failed to notice the weird changes in Damien's expressions and diverted their conversation in a different direction.

"What did they say at home? Could you coax him to let you stay at the Academy with me?" He inquired with nervousness which was visible on his face.