With Charles departure, everyone was in frenzy about what just happened. The spar was a surprise but the fact that Richard was acknowledged by Charles as his son in law was the bug news of the decade.

If not for Lance and Rose, the people at the grounds would have rushed Richard and asked about the details.

Nonetheless, they talked amongst themselves while the trio walked away.

Lance was at the front while Richard and Rose followed him as they walked towards the benches under the shade of the trees.

“I am very happy with the situation, so don’t take it the wrong way. My anger was directed at the pain I felt, understood?” Lance spoke to clarify the event or Richard might think he was angry at him.

“I already know that, everyone knows that.” Richard replied with a smile as he slowly operated Ki inside the body to help him heal from the minor injuries.

He couldn’t really focus on the procedure while talking so the Ki was just circulating. The Ki circulation inside Richard was faster than the day before as he had started utilizing the centrifugal force, meaning his Ki was rotating in one place before shooting towards the rest of the body. None of the fighters had realized and attributed it to Richard’s talent.

Richard had achieved it easily but it was still being done manually and depended on his Ki control. He had yet to experiment with his Ki moving in four directions simultaneously but had already used Ki in his legs and arms without doing the full circulation.

Without such steps, Richard would need more practice and power before achieving such a result.

Hearing his tone and seeing his smile, Lance couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement. He couldn’t deny that sometimes he was very easy to read.

Everyone in the village knew his love for combat.

“Right…so, how did you come up with those moves? I have never seen anyone do it like that. Also, your Ki circulation was so smooth. How did you do that in a month?” Just as they sat down, Lance couldn’t help but ask the questions on his mind.

He was always looking for ways to get stronger and liked talented fighters, so his interest in Richard had increased even further.

They were not exactly friends, but Lance found him closer than many others.

“I got it through trial and error. During the sparring session, I am always trying to find better ways to finish the fight. Plus, I try to do that even while watching others fight. Moreover, I imagine different scenes in my head where I find a way to continue the fight when the foe has blocked my attempt.

That’s all. As for the Ki circulation, I am just good at it naturally and I found a way to do it better. Instead of circulating it all over the body, I just move it towards the place where I need it.” Richard replied calmly like it was no big deal. He didn’t think these were good enough to keep as secrets and he needed to show his excellence to increase his importance for the family.

Lance was quiet for a moment, “That is mind blowing, Richard. How does your mind think of such ways? I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I do the same during the battles but I have never put myself in another’s shoe or imagined what if.”

Lance was excited as he saw the advantages of such a method. As for the Ki circulation, he already knew about it and people with experience would eventually get to that way of usage.

Regardless, it was definitely impressive.

Rosalina was also impressed by him but it was dampened by the fact that they were getting married. She pinched Lance before he got lost in to his topics about muscles.

Feeling her sharp nails, Lance saw the look and remembered why he needed to talk to Richard.

“Thank you for the compliment, but I believe you can definitely do better.” Richard stopped himself from critiquing Lance.

He had the habit of giving advice and critiquing people because he wanted them to reach optimum levels.

But, not everyone liked to hear such things and some took it the wrong way. It would be especially harmful in the current situation.

Lance wasn’t stupid. He just had too much on his plate as the heir, so there weren’t many opportunities to think freely. Combat was his passion and stress reliever.

“Of course, but everyone has their specialty. It seems your talent shines during hand to hand combat, and in devising unique methods.

Richard, we are going to be related soon and we will be working together a lot. So, I want you to trust us and treat us like family.

Rose is my lovely sister, so you have to be patient with her and care for her needs. I want our relationship to be stronger, therefore avoid ruining it…” Lance calmed down and spoke in a controlled tone, imitating his father.

He put his hand on Richard’s shoulder and stared at him directly before standing up.

“I will be leaving now, so get along.” Lance gave them both a look and walked away while Rose felt like slapping the back of his head. He was supposed to warn Richard about messing around and remind him to stay in line.

‘Now I have to do this personally, how distasteful.’

Richard wished Rose would leave with her brother, but it seems he had to talk with the kid. Knowing her personality, he could guess her issues.

Both of them were silent as Richard really didn’t feel like talking at the moment and just stared at the ground while Rose thought about how to handle him.

It was a new experience for Rose. Richard seemed too calm and he didn’t even glance at her. She didn’t like him but she took that as an insult.

‘Did he think I wasn’t attractive enough for him?’ She was very proud of her looks, so that definitely pressed some wrong buttons.

‘Look at his undignified attitude; he doesn’t even know how to treat a lady.’

“I am sorry about the awkward silence, my lady. I needed to focus on my body for a moment to finish the treatment.

I am aware of my position, and will follow your commands.” Richard spoke up after a minute or so. He was just feeding her white lies for the moment before he was strong enough to avoid the situation.

Rose was taken aback by his words. She thought he would be over the moon and imagine some nonsense.

But, it seems he understood his position.

“Superb, I am happy that we can come to an agreement so easily. But, how do you intend to act?” Rose clapped her hands and smiled as she looked at him.

Those words were a trap, but Richard wasn’t really caring about other women so he missed it.

“I will continue to act normally and follow any command you have.” Richard answered but it was clear that he lacked the enthusiasm and interest.

Rose frowned as she heard those words, she felt disrespected.

“Are you not going to act romantic and win my heart?”

Richard thought that she wanted him to avoid acting like a love struck idiot.

“I will be sure to avoid causing you any trouble, my lady.”

“Do you think I am not pretty, Richard? Are you implying that I lack any charm?” Rose questioned and her tone was anything but happy. It seems the rose was ready to prick him with its thorns.

“I would never imply such a thing. I just believe that it would be a bother for you, if I did such things.” Richard finally clued in on the situation and tried to fix it.

It was unfortunate but Rose had a hard time believing his words now.

“Don’t be a coward, Richard. We are about to get married, so I expect you to be romantic… You hear me?” Rose sat closer to him and placed her iron nails on his neck.

Even though she didn’t want him, she didn’t want her situation to look like a sham. It would be embarrassing for when she met friends or other nobles.

It would be a point of weakness that could be utilized to weaken her position during any function. Of course, it also had to do with her pride.

She felt extremely annoyed by his disinterest especially since they were about to get married.

Richard felt truly annoyed by her nonsense. If it wasn’t for her position, he wouldn’t even give her a second of his time.

It was unfortunate but he had to play along with the farce.

“I understand. I will try my best to win your heart. But, I think we should be friend’s first. As I believe that it is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages…

Will you be my friend, Rose?” Richard suppressed his negativity and talked in a friendly manner. She was just a child, so he had to show patience and care.

Rose was taken aback by his words once again. Repeating them silently, she couldn’t help but agree.

“Hmph, Fine. We can be friends from now on.” Rose said as she gave a proud smile, happy with his surrender and at the victory of her beauty.

Rose was emotional and prideful, but she was also cunning and very smart like her parent’s. She might have not received similar level of combat training as Lance, but the rest was very similar.

She was being trained by her mother to be the mastermind behind the scenes or the close advisor for her future husband.

She knew that throwing a tantrum or messing around with Richard would lower her position in her father’s eyes.

He had been chosen, so she had to comply and play along.

It was fortunate that Richard was talented and smart. His speech and mannerism weren’t uncultured like the rest of the villagers, and she would have been mortified being with him if he was an idiot.

With that small talk out of the way, Rose left Richard to continue his training. She wasn’t interested enough to spend more time with him.

Those few minutes were enough for the moment and the same went for Richard.