Raised in Dungeon

"One two, one two, one two."

"One two, one two, one two."

The prince had been having a hard time with his dance training. He was rehearsing with Sabine, who was trying to teach him the steps of the walzer dance. He was finding it much more difficult than he initially anticipated and was having a lot of trouble keeping up with Sabine's instructions.

"Ow! Your highness, oversee your step and follow my movements well. Right now, I am the one who leads you to shows you how to lead. At the party, you will be the one who leads your partner!" Sabine insisted as the prince stumbled and almost tripped over his own feet again.

"Ugh, why do I have to do this." groaned Prince Francis.

After Maximilian dragged Prince Francis back to Sabine's place, Sabine immediately yelled at Prince Francis for acting arbitrarily.

Sabine then promised the prince a sword practice after her class ended. At first, Francis wasn't too enthused when Sabine promised him sword practice after every lesson, but knowing that his training partner would be Tobias, one of the knights of rounds, he quickly accepted her terms.

And now, he has a little regret for accepting her terms. He had to attend Sabine's boring classes and heard her yelling voice many times. Plus, he hates The dance classes because they drain his energy and soul.

"One two, one two, quick step, and spin."

During the quick step, Prince Francis slipped and fell.

"Ah, what a fool thing am I doing?! I can't do this anymore!" grumbled Prince Francis.

"You've only been learning for a while; of course, it feels quite difficult. Walzer is the easiest type of dance to learn, so in five days, you should be able to master it. Remember, if you don't learn properly, I will ask Sir Tobias to stop training you."

"Umnungungungu!" grumbled an annoyed Francis, he then continued his practice.

The class ended when the midday bell rang. And right after the chime,

"HOORAY! IT'S OVER!"

Francis slipped out of Sabine's grasp and left.

"Why he was so excited with a sword..." Sabine sighed, but smiled afterwards.

After changing her clothes, she went straight to the training ground in the open field at the back of the castle building. Walls surrounded the castle's training grounds, just like Wolverlope's residence. There were many types of weapons on the shelves around, the place was quite spacious, and many soldiers were also practicing sparring, but some stopped, stunned at something. It was Tobias who had gotten there first. He was swinging his great sword at a stagnant speed. Prince Francis who came along, was also stunned and amazed by how big Tobias' body and muscles were. Then he recalled what Maximilian had told him, that Tobias was one of the people who became a knight of rounds because of his hard work.

As Francis walked up to Tobias, Tobias stopped swinging, aware of Prince Francis approaching him.

"Your highness! You have arrived."

Francis nodded, still looking at Tobias who seemed very cool to him.

Tobias sheathed his great sword and picked up two wooden swords.

"How about we start with sparring?" Tobias suggested as he tossed one of the wooden swords to Francis.

Francis did not reflexively receive the wooden sword, so the wooden sword hit his head,

"Ouch!"

"Your highness! Are you alright?! Forgive me for suddenly throwing it!" said Tobias.

The soldiers who saw him immediately chuckled,

"Why he felt sorry. How could it be Sir Tobias' fault."

"Most people will reflexively pick it up."

Of course they said it in a small voice so as not to be heard by Prince Francis.

The prince then picked up the fallen wooden sword and said,

"O-okay, let's begin."

For some reason, his body trembled a little from being seen by so many people. He began to feel afraid to show his embarrassing side.

"You are free to attack me, I want to see your skill and your moves."

Gripping his sword tightly, Francis advanced forward while shouting.

"HYAAAAT!"

He was trying to stab with his wooden sword towards Tobias' head. Of course, Tobias immediately struck his wooden sword to make his attack miss.

In the end, Francis just randomly attacked Tobias, thinking, "as long as I can hit him."

Despite Francis' poor moves, the onlookers didn't laugh at him because each of his moves was filled with vigor, and Tobias cleverly parried them so he didn't disgrace Prince Francis. The onlooker slowly returned to their activities, choosing not to look further into their training.

After repeatedly attacking, Tobias finally hit the hilt of Francis' sword, which made the wooden sword fly upwards.

"Well, I guess this is where sparring ends," Tobias said.

"How was it?! Did I fight well? How am I doing?" Francis asked with some concern.

"Your body moves too much, and your swing is still weak; then you clearly showed me the direction of your attack, so it's very easy to read. You still have a lot to learn."

"I-I see… What should I do then?!"

Tobias then handed Prince Francis his wooden sword. Telling him to hold the sword.

"Have you never practiced the sword before?"

"I have, but only the basic moves."

"If you have, you shouldn't have attacked me like that; trying to stab suddenly only creates a chance for your opponent."

"I-I thought it would be an unexpected attack."

"Why would you do an unexpected attack in sparring?"

"Because it would be cool if I could hurt one of the rounds."

Tobias let out a long sigh; he finally understood what Sabina meant by saying he was a "slightly troubled prince."

"To get stronger, you must be patient, study consistently, and most importantly, don't give up!"

"That's easy! I can do that!" answered the prince excitedly.

"No, you are holding a sword not just to become stronger."

'But because you're hungry for attention,' Tobias thought, deciding he didn't need to say it for now.

"Of course, I want to be stronger! I know my own desires!" shouted Francis.

Tobias then had a deep thought; he was sure that his teacher's teaching method would not be suitable for Prince Francis. Tobias wants to give up because of that, but he already promised Sabina to train the prince; he forces himself to believe that Prince Francis will one day become a great prince, so he continues training him.

"All right, your highness. Let's continue,"

Prince Francis stood up and nodded vigorously.

...

In the afternoon, their training was finally over. Prince Francis looked so exhausted that he could only lie down while breathing heavily. As for Tobias, he felt that his soul was tired from having to teach the stubborn prince.

When they were exhausted, Prince Francis suddenly said

"Hey, can I use that too?" Prince Francis pointed to the great sword leaning against the wall, which Tobias was swinging.

"Do you want to use that?"

Francis nodded.

'I knew it; he must just want to be conspicuous,' Tobias thought.

"I can't, your highness. You are still small and weak. Your body will not be able to lift it."

"What?! Are you underestimating me too!"

"No, that's not it. You just can't yet."

"Hmph! What the hell? You think I'm not stronger than my other brothers, right?!"

Francis looked at Tobias with a disappointed face, thinking that Tobias was just like everyone else.

Tobias then replied

"What? No. You're already pretty good! You've been learning the basics of the sword since you were a kid. When I was your age, I only did scratch for food in the trash. You will definitely become stronger in the future!"

His words touched Prince Francis deeply, and gave him a spark of hope. He understood that Tobias was only trying to motivate him, and with that newfound confidence, Prince Francis was determined to practice more to become a better swordsman than Tobias. He believed that if he put in more effort, he would definitely be better than Tobias. He became optimistic, thinking he could solve all his problems if he tried.

But that was immediately shattered when suddenly two people came to the practice field,

"Eala?"

"Eala Eala?"

"Don't tell me it's the spoiled little brother?" said one of them.

"Or maybe it's the lazy little brother?" said another.

"Hwi! Or maybe it's the weak little brother! Nyahahahaha," they both said simultaneously while looking at each other's faces.

Francis immediately became annoyed and looked at the two men while pointing at them with his sword.

"Leave me alone! Get lost!" said Francis.

They were the 11th prince and the 12th prince of the Wildenhal kingdom. The 11th prince, Edward Helena Wildenhall. The 12th prince, Edmund Helena Wildenhall. The two were twin brothers who looked almost exactly the same. If not for their differently combed hair, then no one would be able to tell them apart.

"Eala! Does our cute little brother just brandish his sword at us!"

"What should we do? Does that mean we're being challenged to a duel?"

Pointing your sword at another person was the same as inviting them to fight, but since they were currently inside the palace, it would be considered an invitation to a duel.

"No! I'm not-" But before Francis could say that, he looked at his sword and Tobias' face. Suddenly he gains confidence.

And with pride, he exclaimed

"That's right! I challenge you to a duel! Come here! Both of you will be defeated by this sword."

'I'll show you the results of my training with the knight of rounds!' Francis thought naively.