"Please think thoroughly about it, Edward. Participating in the tournament is dangerous and not a good way to prove yourself. It is not late to back out."
In the emperor's office in the Imperial Palace, Emperor Alfred Dixon was reprimanding his son's decision in regard to his participation in the tournament. He summoned Edward to his office immediately after Edward returned from the tournament registration.
"I know how dangerous it is, Father, but my decision is final. I had come prepared, and I am confident I can give the audience entertainment."
"But still. Even if you have come prepared, there is no way to guarantee your safety. Frankly, winning the tournament is near impossible for an inexperienced and a first-timer in the tournament like you."
"It doesn't matter."
"I just don't understand you, Edward. You have been always up to something without telling us, your family. Why are you acting so unprincely lately? Have you been bewitched by that girl?"
"Edith has nothing to do with anything, though she was my inspiration. She has been proven to be a member of the Aethel family, so you should be supporting us fully by now."
"I already knew that, but I am still not happy with how you could just abandon Christine so easily. Our relationship with the Grise family has never been better. Don't make any foolish decision again, Edward."
"Christine and her family have nothing to do with this, so it would not be going to affect them anyway. I will not back out from the tournament. Well then, see you again, Father. I have many things to do."
"Edward, wait..."
Before Alfred could stop his son, Edward promptly turned around and exited the room. Alone in his office, Alfred let out a long sigh before leaning his back against his seat and staring at the ceiling.
"Why are you like this, Edward...?" Those words slipped out of his mouth.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
Clink! Clink!
Late afternoon, at the palace's courtyard, two men were crossing their blades. One was Prince Edward, and the other one was Francis. Other than them, Celeste Korper and Warren Clavel were on the bench as they took a rest after a match.
"It is too pity that we could not train directly under Azrael right now," Francis added. "His home is on the Southern Continent, and we cannot just pull him into our problems."
The last time Azrael visited them was around weeks ago, and they did not have an update about him yet. But in reality, Azrael had been monitoring them all the time, even when he was on another continent. Unbeknownst to them, Azrael was wearing the mask of Erik and roaming around the Imperial Capital.
"Well anyway, I would immediately ask him to train me once he paid us a visit."
"Edward, I know that you are doing this for Edith, but I have been wondering why you are so confident despite knowing that he would be clapped instantly in the arena."
Warren asked that question with a serious tone, and everybody was looking at him. They knew that what he just said was true, and they had been wondering of that as well. Edward thought for a few seconds before he opened his mouth.
"I think it is the right time to reveal it to you. Do you agree with that, Francis?"
"It's up to you, Your Highness."
"Alright then. I will put my trust in you two, Warren, Celeste. Whatever I will tell you today is confidential and should stay within ourselves, okay?"
"We promise, Edward."
"Okay," Edward scanned the surroundings and found the spot clear. "Actually, I have a secret weapon under my sleeve. Francis lent me their family's secret heirloom artifact that will help me win the tournament."
"Wait, you are going to cheat?"
"You're just an idiot, Warren. It is not prohibited to wield any weapon or item in the arena as long as it doesn't affect the contestant negatively, such as life-draining artifacts. Or it really is?"
"Fret not, guys," Francis responded. "It wasn't something like that."
"Okay, that's a relief." Warren breathed out a heavy. "If you have such an artifact, then I should be cheering for you, Edward."
"I'll explain the details later in a more private area. For now, let's have a dinner with Edith."
The four of them washed themselves before going back to the academy.