Swords can be used in multiple ways. The variations are as endless as the universe. I had swung my sword for hours. I knew it from the beginning, but I had no talent for the sword. Actually, it wasn’t even talent, I just knew nothing about the sword itself. Despite my past being that of a writer, not like I ever trained for the sword. All I did was make a character swing and the other swing in ways that could look cool and thrilling.

  The ways on how to swing, how to hold a sword, or where you even correctly place a sword around your body. Everything just felt awkward, I even tried imitating animals because that was how the first type of martial arts was made, however, even that was useless.

  “There is only one way to fix this. Kidnap a knight, feed him the same thing the original body fed that servant, and make him teach me swordsmanship.”

  After the words left my mouth, I immediately withdrew my body. I was either happy, shocked, or disappointed. The original body, there is a chance I can gain back its memories.

  “Or maybe I really am just as heartless as he is.”

  Staying silent surrounded by my words, I came to a conclusion.

  “I’m just gonna have someone properly teach me swordsmanship. But… how… I should be notorious in the palace, who would even teach me swordsmanship? Actually, if I expose myself openly, I don’t know how many people would try to kill me! Though, Orfield did nothing to me, will someone actually try to kill me?”

  As I pondered about my plans for the day, the ground suddenly shook. The ground cried a horrifying sound like mountains were toppling against an eruption. The earthquake continued violently, tripping my balance and making me fall. There were no dust nor cracks on the walls, but the ground shook violently and it felt like I was on a boat fighting a huge storm.

  I pressed the ground hard, holding my embarrassing position tightly from collapsing. My arms and legs were spread like I was birthing a child. I could have just let go of my body and fell on the pressure but just as a person can’t immediately stop running once they have gone all out, I just continued for stupid reasons.

  The shaking eventually stopped a few minutes later and in that span, I had decided to go back up. I fixed myself from the ground and rubbed the dirt across my shirt. However, after all the rollings I’ve done, the white shirt had already turned brown. If I ripped my shirt and pants a little I would easily be a handsome and smooth-skinned beggar.

  After putting back the sword, I walked up the stairs until I reached the door. Surprisingly the metal spikes didn’t activate and I was able to open the door without being surprised. Once I had gone outside and shut the door, I heard the sounds of metal multiple times, stopping after a few seconds.

  I simply brushed my shoulders and ignored it. Before anyone could see me in my attire and tarnish my reputation more into not only a heartless prince but also a lowly beggar, I hurriedly returned to my room.

  I installed qi onto my legs and jumped two times. First was to the ground vertically adjacent to my room and the second jump was to land at the front of my door. I quickly changed my clothes into the same outfit but just cleaner and headed outside of the mansion through the front entrance.

  Once I had walked out of the mansion, I first looked to my left seeing nothing but the encompassing wall across a large grass plane, but just slowly gliding my head to the right, I saw something that made the main castle seem tiny in comparison. To the left of the main castle’s back was a giant tower almost twice as tall as the castle. It was a single long and thick cylindrical tube going into a cone-shaped roof.

  “A magic tower? Orfield?”

  “Correct.”

  The hair of my skin jumped and I almost screamed from the surprise. A voice similar to Orfield's replied beside me. I got back my composure and didn’t even look, just as I assumed it really was him.

  “So it was true.”

  I already expected from the very beginning, but he was a powerful mage to be able to heal my injured hand. As I recall my memory, magic towers are extremely special. Only the most powerful mages in the world can even own a magical tower. As I slowly gazed upon the tower, golden-colored letters started to appear along with the plain wall turning blue. If there were ranks in mages, he would definitely be the highest.

  “You really are a rank-”

  “-four mage. I expect no less from the crown prince.”

  I hid my head from the eyes of Orfield as my eyes grew as large as they could. Thankfully he cut me off or I would have said rank 1. What the fuck, that was incredibly close. I think I just used all my luck at once.

  “Well, I didn’t mean to deceive you, the king just tasked me to confirm something.” He paused a little and then continued. “As you have learned, I am the Great Sage Milan. However, I was not lying about my name, Milan is just my family name. So, you can still call me Orfield, if you want.”

  “It seems you completed what my father wanted, so why are you still here?”

  “Didn’t I say I’ll keep watch on you? Making my home just took a little bit of time, but now I’ll be here watching you.”

  I didn’t have to look behind me to imagine the creepy face of a man who never stops smiling but only grows more happy by the second. I was lost in thought about how a mage like him is only a fourth rank that I glossed over the fact he just said he needed to confirm something.

  What is the thing the King asked him to confirm? What is it? There is nothing I can think of other than. But that can’t be. They can’t know that fast. There is no way. A story like this can’t be revealed that fast! But if it did… am I screwed? No, Orfield hasn’t killed me nor has the King ordered him to. They are sparing me, I’ll just take this as a chance.

  “Put up a barrier,” I said, turning to Orfield.

  Magic forming a circle appeared from the ground until they met at a single point making a dome.

  “I’m not stupid Orfield. But I guess I do lack some things, I was just a little reckless.”

  His smile grew even bigger, it was like the devil was staring at me.

  “Hahahahahaha! I don’t know who you are, but it doesn’t seem like you are any different from the original.” He hugged himself tightly, bending his upper body front and back like an inflatable.

  “What else do you know about me?”

  “What? Nothing else.” He covered his mouth with a single finger.

  “Yeah I never expected you to answer that, so what else are you here for?”

  “I’m just here to watch you.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah, why? Want more?”

  I paused for a little, pondering on why the King hadn’t ordered to kill me. I wasn’t really his son, he knows that, so then why? Does he love the original that much? No, there is no way he could love the original.

  “No, but it seems like my father doesn’t want me gone yet, huh.” I walked off a little.

  “A crazy person will love a crazy person.”

  I don’t love you.

  “So that means you’ll protect me?”

  “No.”

  I looked back at him. Nothing inside my head could follow what was actually going on, but by channeling my hidden thoughts, also known as the, it will be my death if someone with a sensible mind sees me, I could follow by pure improv.

  “It isn’t of the contract.”

  “Then is making the tower part of it?”

  “No, I just felt like I needed a home.”

  As his smile fell by an inch, he was about to raise his hand.

  “Put down your hand.”

  “What, not like you have anything else interesting to say. I have never met you prior than recently, but after coming back, I’m quite disappointed to miss the Crown Prince who was the proud jewel of your father.”

  I really didn’t. I was stuck, but I had to get something out of this guy. Whatever it is, I have to get something. If not, I would be a dog on a leash inside a cage. However, in the last line he said, there was something I could get there.

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  “Orfield, I don’t plan to be the King.”

  “So, what does it matter to me?” For once, his smile had completely disappeared. It didn’t stem from anger or irritation, but boredness. After talking to me, not as the Crown Prince, but as the man inside his body, I extremely let his expectations down.

  “Let’s make an alliance.”

  “Alliance? What am I even going to get from you? Let me remind you, fake, you have no power. I have assessed that you don’t have it in you. Unlike the original body I’ve heard, you have absolutely nothing.”

  “How about you enter the royal family?”

  “This royal family?” He scorned. “There are dozens of royal families better than this one, and you think that was going to convince me? What? Are you gonna make me marry one of your sisters? What type of fucking offer is that?”

  As his hands began to remove the barrier, I just vaguely said something to get more information, however now I was about to enter something I can not escape from.

  “I’m not talking about that type, I was talking about… if you wanted to be the King.”

  His smile erupted. The hole at the top of barrier was immediately fixed as he began to cast something else.

  “And how will you even achieve that? Hahahaha! Okay, you made me actually laugh, that was the best joke I’ve ever heard in my entire life! A child like you! A fake! Expect to make, me! The King!”

  The outside of the magic dome began to turn darker as fogs of mana blocked everything. Sound then eventually disappeared from the heels of my feet. I shrugged my clothes as I acted to walk a little, however, even my clothes emitted nothing. After observing from my feet, as my eyes led to the ends of my mouth, I could still hear myself breathing.

  There was not much more time until I had to say something or I was going to fail and this time I don’t think I’ll get any other chances. I couldn’t even think properly and just trusted myself to say what I needed at the current moment.

  “I know, it sounds absurd. Not only is your reputation horrible, but I have no political power either. At the same time, not like you can gain any power by joining the family through marriage. That’s why, the only option left is to kill my father and take over the palace.”

  “Hahahaha! Kill your father!”

  “You heard it, my father allowed me to use magic.”

  His eyes rolled up and down, staring down at my insides. He smirked and then scoffed until it led to another frenzy of laughing.

  Once he had stopped, “You don’t even have an ounce of mana.”

  Orfield laughed at me. Even now it seems like he couldn’t see the existence of my dantian. That meant that the way mages detect mana through a person isn’t efficient. Despite being a rank-four mage, he doesn’t even have anything special. I took all of the qi inside my dantian and released them all throughout my body.

  “What? What! Where are you hiding all that mana from!”

  I then placed a finger in front of my mouth and said, “Secret.” Then I immediately took all of my mana back to my dantian so he wouldn’t have the chance to look any further on the off chance he might figure something out.

  “No-no-no-no. There is no way.” He grabbed both of my shoulders and shook me. “You have to tell me how you did that!”

  “Calm down Orfield. But isn’t showing you something even you don’t know, enough proof that you can trust me.”

  “Hahaha! That definitely makes me believe in your ability, however, that doesn’t mean I trust you. Do you think I don’t know that anyone who ever worked with you is dead?”

  “That’s why it’s an alliance.”

  “Even then, anyone who associates with you, no matter who has died. You think I don’t know that?”

  “I’m different. Don’t you already know that?”

  Orfield finally let go of my shoulders and turned around. “Maybe you were influenced by the original’s body? How would I be sure you're not?”

  “Just trust me, not like I have the ability to betray you. You're not that weak, right?”

  “Hahahaha! Fine! Fine! I’m not gonna lose anything by working with you either. Let’s do a mana oath.”

  OH SHIT! After all of the things I had gone through, my lack of knowledge about mana was about to make me meet my downfall. No! I have a chance, there is no way I know how to do a mana oath, I’ll just say a verbal agreement is better. And if he doesn’t agree, with his personality he would just. Well, it will work out then.

  “I think a verbal agreement.”

  Orfield quickly grabbed my hand and mana entered inside me.

  “We’re doing this by an oath, or else I won’t agree.”

  Without knowing anything, I just did the same thing he did. I moved my qi out of my dantian and met his mana. Once our mana had touched, he started to recite.

  “By the power given by the world, a gift of miracles to reach dreams, I lend my faith to you.”

  Before I could forget it I recited the same thing. Then he began to declare his demands.

  “I will not harm the other, no matter the condition.”

  “I shall do the same,” I said, even adding the word shall just because it felt fitting.

  While Orfield was reciting his demands I got to thinking. We didn’t even talk about what the deal was. He just decided to do an oath out of nowhere. I never even told him anything. What the fuck?

  “Until I have become the King of Zan, my life will be put on the line under this oath of the gracious path.”

  He stopped? Is it my turn? Is that how this works?

  “The other will serve me as my master for learning magic.”

  “I object.”

  What? I couldn’t think of anything and said that, but he dared object.

  “The other will act as my master for learning magic.”

  Okay, he said nothing now. Was it because of the word serve?

  “The other will provide me a single favor of anything in the future, excluding a favor that harms the other.”

  Okay, that works too, I should probably stop with the demands, he didn’t even ask anything out of me. Now I have to say my condition to end this, is his becoming King is way too controlling of this agreement.

  “Until I have escaped the duties of a Crown Prince, my life will be put on the line under this oath of the gracious path.”

  Shit, that was hard to say, thankfully I remembered it.

  Then once I had said those words, Orfield’s mana disappeared inside. Right after, he fell to the ground and screamed. He held his chest tight and looked at me with a smile. “Hahaha! It seems you really don’t feel any pain.”

  Was there supposed to be? But I do feel pain.

  “You monster. Well, it seems like I made a deal with a cub.” Orfield stood up using his knee and reached out his hand.

  “To the path of your arrogance, fake.” Then the mist blocking the sun disappeared along with the barrier.

  I didn’t even reply and just laughed at his remark as I shook his hand. Just now I got a way to survive in this world. Maybe I’m still overreacting from the real dangers of the palace, however, being too safe is never a wrong thing. I just hoped nothing bad would happen to me soon.

  “Now that my brother is home, maybe I should visit him a little. He even lost his favorite knight.”