Four years later.

A lot of time passed since the day Nero showed his talent. Gustav stopped teaching other children and started spending all his time with his disciple.

Starting with basic vocabulary, grammar and reading, soon they moved to more complicated topics like history, geography, and math. Even though such topics were difficult, Nero showed how good his memory was and forced Gustav to broaden his educational system. The old man could discuss medical herbs and plants which could heal fever or talk about the battle composition of two opposing armies. Soon, Nero became famous for his knowledge and villagers and replaced Gustav as an herbalist, to whom they came when somebody was ill. In such a manner, Nero grew up and learned more and more till his 5th birthday when his physical exercises started.

Right now, the 5 - years boy was gasping, covered in sweat. He was busy swinging a small wooden sword as Gustav sat on the wooden chair nearby.

“Try harder. Control your breath, don’t forget about breathing technique, and inflict all your strength into the thrusts.” Nero only growled, ignoring the old man as he continued to swing his wooden sword.

“Teacher, how long will I train with this sword? It has already been 2 years since you gave it to me. When will I get the real sword?” asked the boy, continuing to hit the air. Gustav only smiled when he heard him.

“Don’t worry. You will get your sword at the right time. You better remind me which thrust it is?” said the old man, caressing his gray beard.

“It’s 439th,” growled Nero.

“Then, you still have 561 more to make,” said Gustav as he took a book to read. Nero could only grit his teeth and continue training while his master started reading another interesting book. So, the boy increased his pace. He just couldn’t let that more knowledge slip away from him. It was their own little game. If he finished his training early, his teacher would let him read those books or spend some time talking with his disciple.

...

..

.

Several hours later.

The exhausted boy was lying limp in front of the old man. He was recovering his stamina.

“Not bad,” said Gustav as he put a book inside his space ring.

“Now, since you need some time to catch your stamina, let me tell you a story,” said the old man as he ignited his tube.

“A long time ago, there was a brave general who defeated all his opponents on the battlefield. He was like a storm, killing everything in his way. His army stopped the three times bigger armies. His followers were like living swords, while his commanding skills became legendary. He was the best shield of the kingdom that was always ready to protect it.”

“Once, enemies captured the king’s daughter and the king ordered him to return her. The brave general signaled his army. Soon, two huge armies met on the battlefield. The battle was fierce, bloodshed like a river while heroes died in packs. His army was at the edge of defeat when their allies escaped, but the general beheaded the enemy leader and reversed the situation. His skills and sword changed the course of battle and opened the path to victory. He once again proved his glory and saved the princess,” Said the old man, halting his speech and sighing.

“What happened next?” asked Nero, with curious flames in his eyes. He always loved to hear about such stories from the moment he heard the song about the 'Last knight'. The old man only sighed at him.

“He fell in love, my disciple. He fell in love,”

“Was it the princess?”

“Yes. She was beautiful and was the best beauty in the kingdom. Even the brave general who smashed bigger armies and fought the stronger enemy did not differ from an ordinary man. That day when he fell in love was the day when tragedy began,” said Gustav as he released the smoke.

“What happened next?”

“The general returned the princess and asked the king for her hand,”

“What!” said Nero as he widened his eyes. He already knew that princesses rarely married by their own choice and happy love stories among royal members happened only in the tales.

“The king refused him. The general wasn’t noble and he couldn’t let his daughter marry peasant’s son,”

“But he was a hero, the one who saved his kingdom,” said the boy.

“Yes, he was, but at that period, the king had a son who had to become the next king. Besides, the situation in the kingdom wasn’t stable, and he planned to marry her to a foreign prince to get an ally for his son.”

“Politics,” said the boy with an understanding expression on his face.

“It is,” said Gustav.

“What happened next?”

“Beautiful woman happened,” said Gustav as he looked at the confused Nero’s expression.

“The princess knew brave general fell in love with her. Besides, she never planned to leave the kingdom and aimed at the throne herself. So, she escaped the palace and quickly met the general. She was so beautiful, that no wonder that hero fell to her pleas. He knew he would lose her if he didn’t act. He knew he didn’t have a choice,” said the old man as he watched how his disciple furrowed his brows.

“Soon, the brave general proclaimed the queen and started the rebellion. He broke his vow, unleashed his sword at former allies and colleagues, killed friends and relatives. Soon, his army and his queen were standing at the gates of the capital,”

“What’s next?”

“The battle, the battle. The brave general once again proved his name and smashed the defending army, killed all royal guards. He killed his Lord - the king and strangled the prince. The rebellion was over and the capitol proclaimed the queen,” told Gustav as he smoked his tube.

“People believed he would marry a princess and become her husband. I think he also thought the same,”

“It didn’t happen, right?” asked the purple-eyed boy. The old man smiled and caressed Nero’s head.

“That’s right. The brave general died several days later from his injuries a week before the queen’s coronation,” Nero made a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know, disciple. Some say that he learned that the queen never planned to marry him because of his origin and poisoned him in their bed. Others say that he left his kingdom when his heart was broken and the queen expelled him. The last say that he died in battle with murders to save the queen,” said Gustav as he felt how he ran out of tobacco. The old man put away his tube and turned towards his disciple. "After his death, Empire and its Griffon riders came and captured that kingdom. Without that hero, they easily captured the kingdom and the queen lost her throne."

“Now, tell me why he died and when he made a mistake,” asked Gustav, as he narrowed his eyes at the boy.

“When he broke his vow and proclaimed rebellion?” said Nero with clear hesitation in his voice. Gustav only shook his head.

“I would say it was when he gave his heart to the princess,” said the old man as he turned and looked at the horizon.

“But why teacher?” asked the boy with a dumbfounded expression on his face. The old man only sighed.

“Remember my words. Trust no beautiful woman in case it’s not your mother or your daughter.”

Though Nero heard him, he didn’t understand their meaning and only looked at the teacher’s back, which seemed much older and lonely than before.

“Palace is not the place with flowers and idealistic aroma, as you heard from tales. It’s a dangerous place that killed more heroes than any swords or staff. You can't even imagine how many people suffered because they didn't know this truth.” said Gustav as he dived into his memories.

“The brave general wasn’t skilled in intrigues and schemes, and made his first mistake when he exchanged his campaigns for the camp near to capital for the chance." said the old man as he smoked. "The queen on the other hand used him and won through schemes, but she failed to consider realities of real battles and had nobody to protect her when Empire invaded. This is a real example from the history of what might happen when you are too good on one battlefield and bad on the another."

"You can learn many things from this story. It's possible to become undefeatable on the real battlefield, but the second battlefield needs much more than a sole strength or wisdom. It's much more dangerous than the first one and any mistake can result in your death. That's why if you ever enter into politics and won't have any choice except participation in it, don't make his mistake," said the old man as he looked at his disciple’s serious face.

“Think about it, my disciple, and now go ahead do push-ups. You need to do at least a hundred before your mother returns,” said Gustav, returning to his seat.

...

..

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Several hours later, the sun already settled.

Nero was standing near his mother. Her arms were covered in blood, and a dead deer was below her. Finishing with preparation, Tiona raised her short sword and looked at Nero.

“Now, watch me, son, I will show you to get the meat from the deer,” said the beautiful woman as she lowered her knife.

“At first, gut the deer and take all its organs out. Hurry, in case you don’t want to spoil the meat,” explained Tiona, as she showed everything in real. Soon, Nero saw how his mother was quickly taking one organ after another from that deer.

“Remember son, strong rule this world. You either fight or eventually replace this deer when someone stronger comes to you,”

“But, we aren’t beasts, right? Why should I replace this deer?” asked Nero, pointing at it. Tiona only smiled and continued her work.

“Tell me, dear, do you remember what happened when several lonely drunkards came to our house and wanted to do something bad with me?”

“Yes, you kicked their asses and sent them into the flight,” said Nero with a proud expression on his face. Tiona also made a proud expression on her face.

“That’s right. But what would have happened if I couldn’t do that. What if a band came instead of them?” asked Tiona, watching how her son shook his head.

“They could easily kill me, you and Gustav if we were weak and take anything we had,” said Tiona with a calm expression on her face.

“But, villagers would have helped us. Village's elder could save us. I heard he was a knight before,” said the boy with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Tiona only smiled and continued her work.

“My dear, if that band was truly strong, the elder would have been busy trying to save himself. Remember, weaklings, can’t decide their fate. Any strong knight or mage can kill them at any moment,”

“I don’t want to be weakling, mother. I won’t let anyone harm you!” said the boy as he swung his little wooden sword. Tiona smiled as she looked at him.

“That’s why, my son, you must get stronger, learn, study, and try new things. The more you can do and know, the more chances you would have,” said the woman as she took the last organ from the deer.

“Now, it’s time to skin it,” said Tiona as she hung the deer.

“Watch what I do,” said the woman as she slowly started leaving sword cuts at the deer’s body. She started leaving cuts along the body, starting with the legs and finishing with the neck.

“What are you doing, mother?” asked the curious boy. Tiona only smiled and continued her business.

Soon, she lowered her short sword and took another much sharper one.

“Now you will see how those cuts will help me,” said the woman as she started cutting one part of the deer after another. Nero saw how his mother started to butcher one part after another. Now he realized why she made those cuts. The whole procedure continued for some time till Tiona finally finished and transported meat to Gustav, who raised his hand and froze the meat.

“Why do we freeze the meat, mother?” asked Nero.

“To save it. Ice helps to stop its spoiling. That’s why Gustav always uses his magic skills each time I deliver meat to him,” Nero nodded with an understanding expression on his face.

“Mother, will I also learn how to do it, I mean, make the meat freeze? When will the teacher teach me what is magic?” asked the boy. Tiona only smiled and caressed his black hair.

“In due time. Now, let’s go, help me cook our dinner,” said the mother as Nero followed her.