Waking up with a blistering headache, Jonghyun found himself in bed, covered in a thick fur pelt. Kneeling beside the bed was a tired looking Taemin, his eyes red.

"What's the matter with you, lad? Haven't you slept last night?"

"My Lord, you're awake!"

”What are you talking about, boy? Ugh, what happened? Why can’t I move?”

”You’re injured, My Lord”

”The fight....the bandit..”

”The bandits were easily routed, but you need to rest, My Lord. I had called for the physician who has ordered a weeks rest"

"The tournament...I need to train"

"Please rest, My Lord"

Jonghyun felt a searing pain in his torso as he tried to get out of bed, which forced him to lie back into the covers. For the life of him, Jonghyun couldn't understand what had happened to him and why. He, who was known to have been undefeated in combat, was now lying in bed like an injured wolf. The last thing he remembered was the bandit leader drawing his sword, about to attack the lad. Jonghyun had reacted instinctively and had protected the boy with his own body. It was too bad that he hadn't been able to take a swing at that bandit. For now, all he could do was to take all the medicines provided by the physician and rely on his strength to get better soon and go back to training.

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Jinki couldn't stop thinking of what he had done. He had broken the one promise that he had made to himself. The promise that he would never take a life. Who was that young blonde boy? Could he have been a relative of the elusive Prince Jonghyun? There was surely something mysterious about that kingdom, and Jinki would soon get to know more about it. A noise outside brought him back into reality.

"Your Highness, I have the list of warriors who have accepted to join in the tournament"

Nodding, Jinki took the list from his courtier and smiled as the saw the first name on the scroll. Prince Jonghyun. So it seemed as though he would finally have the chance of meeting him face to face. Wondering if Prince Jonghyun would participate or send in someone as his proxy, Jinki found his thoughts going back to the previous day. When he'd left, the boy had been kneeling on the floor, almost cradling the man who had scared even him. Jinki was certain the man was alive. After all, he had only left a flesh wound that was bound to heal soon. There was no reason for him to feel guilty over what he had done, but why did he still have this strange feeling of disappointment? Would it be worth going back to that kingdom in disguise just to check what had happened after he had escaped? No, he couldn't risk anything at this point. All he could do was wait with bated breath to see if he would hear anything on the grapevine.

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Jonghyun who had spent a week in bed, just resting and recuperating, had almost got all of his strength back, thanks to the efforts of his excellent physician. His muscles all ached to get back into the usual routine of training, and because of the previous incident, Jonghyun had insisted in the lad getting trained as well. With absolutely no skill to speak of, it was surely going to be difficult for the little lad to assume his true title when required. How would he even be able to defend himself during battle? Jonghyun planned to introduce the boy as Prince on the day of his sixteenth birthday and now had three full years to teach him how to fight. Serving as a page would help Taemin know how a prince should act and would save Jonghyun a lot of time and effort.

"Lad, come here"

"Yes, My Lord"

"You will need to serve another prince as his page, as part of your training. Choose which kingdom you would like to go to"

"I can't leave you, My Lord. I beg of you not to send me away. I promise to do my duties well"

As usual, the tears that were b in the boy's eyes made Jonghyun grant his wish instantly. It had always been this way, ever since the child took his first steps in the kingdom. Though he knew his station, the boy had preferred to be by Jonghyun's side. Even when he had been born, the crying child would instantly quieten at the sound of Jonghyun's voice. How could Jonghyun ever think of sending the child away, although he knew that it was the best thing for him? 

Wiping off the sweat from his brow, Taemin tried again to lift the heavy longsword that had been given to him, and attack his lord. After weeks of practice, his own lord was testing his skills in combat. Try as he might, Taemin still wasn't able to raise the sword more than his shoulder. Throwing it to the ground, Taemin picked up his small knife and sprang to attack. 

"Good lad, you've practiced hard. Last week, you couldn't lift the sword more than your knee"

Smiling to himself as he saw the boy flush with pleasure, Jonghyun knew that this small word of praise would be cherished by Taemin for the rest of his days. He planned to take the boy along with him, for the tournament. If Taemin showed even more improvement, then it would even be really interesting to enter him into the tournament and see how he would perform. He knew there would be a few contests for pages and he would personally feel really proud if Taemin would shine in them. Taemin was moderate at archery, terrible in wrestling, but was proving to be quite promising in the art of swordplay. His lanky, slender stature would surely make him a sitting duck for wrestling and it was definitely vital for the lad to bulk himself up a little bit, so as to not embarrass the kingdom he would represent. Jonghyun made a mental note to himself to speak to the cooks about feeding the boy even more porridge every day and he would increase Taemin's training so that he could be ready a month before the tournament.