Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?

Writing during work hours~.

Because I have no motivation at home.

Fuck.

Aaaahhh....

This is incredibly risky, just so you know.

But, then again, they don't pay me enough for me to care.

Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...

A few minutes later... - Sorcierre (Academy Training Grounds) - Alice's Point Of View...

Sometimes, when you are looking for someone, you tend not to find them at all.

Sometimes, you find them nigh instantaneously.

In the rarest of times, they find you.

This is one of these times apparently, as I found myself snacking on a mana biscuit. This little magical treat cost me a good twenty copper pieces in the cafeteria... twenty copper, for a piece of stale bread, a slice of chocolate and cream filled up with mana."Are you the young lady Pendragon?"

I quirked an eyebrow at the strange, mustached man that approached me with an annoyed look on his face."... the young, lady Pendragon? As in there's an elder lady Pendragon?"

The man scoffed."Pah, I had you figured for a peasant knave but to not know of one such as her ladyship, Martha Pendragon! Bah! Merchants these days... they don't teach their kids any manners, I swear." My quirked eyebrow was quirked even higher.

Then I let out a laugh."I have to wonder whatever gave you the opinion that I am the child of a merchant, sir." My question ended up as a statement more then anything else, but the rude man seemed adamant on answering nonetheless."That cookie you are consuming child, costs about twenty coppers. Mere peasants do not have the money to buy that treat and not eat it ever so delicately."

A blink. Nah, make that two."Huh... an astute observation."

I jumped off of the bench I was sitting on as the man formed a proud posture."Well, of course! I am the one and only Fredrick Von Kravenheim! Master Martial Instructor and the best duelist in all of Sorcierre and beyond." Then he offered me an inquisitive glance."Though.. this is the first that that I've heard a child, more surprisingly one of ignoble birth, use the word *astute*, correctly at that."

A spree of cheery laughter was his answer."That's because I am not of ignoble birth, Sir Von Kravenheim. Anyways, I was told that you were looking for me earlier."

Now it was his turn to be momentarily confused as the man tilted his head, utterly flabbergasted."W-what? I? Looking for y-Oh. Ohh... You ARE the young lady Pendragon!.. but.. as in there's an elder lady Pe-"

He suddenly quieted down."I... I beg thy forgiveness, young lady. I was not aware."

"Its fine, Ser Instructor. Let us move on to more important details, please." The amount of nonchalance I presented seemed to shock the man and force him to form a face of pity. Thankfully, he quickly fixed his posture."I see. Very well, then! Walk with me, if you would, young lady." He pivoted on his heel and pointed towards a specific location within the training grounds, a rather walled off location which seemed to be excessively decorated with high quality maps, trophies and ... songs, etched into and onto the walls?

Each of them appeared to tell the tale of an immense, legendary battle. All that glory, yet not one spoke of the consequences, no mention of the cost of victory. I found myself smirking as I recalled my own virgin battlefield. Not all battles have friendly casualties, anyways~.

Clanking sounds entered my ears as the mans breastplate struck lightly against one of the walls. These corridors are quite narrow, even if fairly well lit. The man in front of me wore a helmet without a visor and an opening on the back to allow for the growth of a ponytail, a trademarked sign of a knight from Greater Yoryn, though I seem to have forgotten the name of that particular order of knights. Anyways, he was also wearing a tabard over the weighty chest plate which bore the symbols of the aforementioned Kingdom; a crowned, roaring and armored lion, standing atop a field of endless green.

A lie, if what I've been told by other nobility is correct.

The greenery, that is. Their kingdom is desolate and the people starved, surviving only on warfare and the aid sent from other kingdoms. But well, such is the fate of all lands ruled over by peasant upstarts who dare proclaim themselves kings and queens.

One should not expect a blacksmith to tailor clothing, just as no peasant is meant to rule.

Their country does have one mayor benefit though: they have an open trading pact with several elven nations from across the seas. A work of great pride by their former king... a tribute to prosperity which saw him dethroned as the very merchants he employed rebelled against him, their greed fueling hatred and empowering every mistake, while belittling his every success.

Even as his grand work filled their vast treasuries with even more gold than they could have ever dreamed of having.

And then people wonder why we nobles are so against aiding our subjects... Your lands have a bandit problem? No! Rather, you have free population control. The bandits got too good to keep around? Kill them. The peasants will love you for a few years for your heroic actions.. aka, even better population control.

My musings are interrupted by the martial instructor coughing into his fist with clear discomfort."A-ah, forgive me, instructor." I bowed slightly before continuing."My attention has been rather shallow these past few days. Too much on my mind."

"Y-yes, w-well, it is not me that you should apologize to, young lady." I blinked in confusion and decidedly took a closer look at my surroundings. A bunch of children my age were all around us, many of them dressed in finery not unlike the high courts of our own Kingdom. Ah, the children who would be kings and queens.

Otherwise known as Class S, the specials."So do you accept my challenge or not!?" A young boy exclaimed under his breath, reeking of reckless pride as I turned my head around to the left, finally managing to notice the exquisite blade pointed at my throat."Um... who are you?"

Taking a better look at the person wielding the massive sword made me pause. His body was rather slender and far too muscled for a nine year old boy, not that I have any right to comment, his skin was pure white and hair golden, traits indicative of an elven heritage, but not exactly that of a half-breed. He wore what seemed to be a very personalized set of mail armor, light and so enchanted that I could see the wisps of magic seeping out of the metal. He also wore a royal white, blue and golden outfit which I did not think could have been made by mere human hands.

A quick glance around the rest of his body only served to further confuse me as I could not detect any sort of banner or symbol marking his dynastic heritage, not that I wear mine around all the time either but you get the point."... Are you just.. going to stare at me without saying anything?"

"Maybe she's fallen for you already, Bohemond." The boy seemed to go from shock to blushing in about three seconds flat before pulling his blade back and stumbling. I blinked as my brain processed what I just heard."Wh- What the hell, man?!" The now named Bohemond turned towards another male student and offered him a rather incredulous gaze. The other guy just shrugged and our audience laughed merrily, including the instructor.

Somehow, I managed to keep myself still as I tilted my head."Eh, you're cute enough, I guess." I swear those words didn't come out of my mouth just now. In any case, Bohemond turned back to face me, his expression somewhat darkened, even if a blush still adorned his features. How...

Adorable?

...

I think I need to mentally slap myself before I do or say something I regret.

But what can I do?... he's just my type~.

"I'll take that as a compliment..." He trailed off before sizing me up and bowing."Though, you are not exactly unsightly yourself, milady." Now it was my turn to blush as the semi-stoic expression I had on my face broke apart."A-ah, t-thanks? I -uh, you-there was something you wanted from me?" Thankfully, my heart is colder than ice and I managed to somehow steady myself again.

That didn't stop him, or any other male around me for that matter, from grinning victoriously."I asked your ladyship for a duel."

A duel?

My emotionless expression was back in full now."What exactly do you mean by duel?..."

The people around me tilted their heads in confusion."Ahem." The martial instructor caught my attention."Lady Pendragon, as you may know, I am the teacher representing Class S. My students claim to have seen you exhibit great power and authority on several occasions and have decidedly looked into exactly who you were. Once they gathered enough information, they approached me in order to demand that you be switched to my Class S instead of Class C, because you being among peasants was clearly some form of dishonor."

He cleared his throat once again as he pointed towards what appeared to be a small dueling arena of sorts. A bounded field of magic, with healers and alchemists waiting right outside of it in case something goes wrong."While I myself know of your mother and your father's prowess, there are those within my class who doubt your capabilities and wish to test you before you are granted the right to switch classes."

"You assume that I want to." I pointed out, much to the dismay of those around me."What, so you don't want to join up with the most prestigious class for Nobles on this side of the entire world?" One arrogant princess spat, her words followed by immediate belittling laughter from her entourage of spoiled brats.

I shook my head in negative."No. I do not. Unlike you, I no longer have mommy and daddy around to make things easy for me." The princess seemed to be intelligent enough to catch the meaning of those words and retreated backwards alongside her entourage with a rather depressive mutter."O-oh."

"Oh, indeed." I let out a laugh of my own, not unlike that she let out a few moments ago."My people need a ruler, someone to guide them to prosperity and protect them from the ravages of war, famine and regular banditry. Yet, I am also expected to carry out judiciary work and continue my own education as if it was all too easy to do!"

The martial instructor seemed to contemplate stopping me from ranting but did nothing even as I offered him an opportunity to stop me, so I continued."I also got attacked on the road, both by bandits and by monsters, my dear coachman was skewered mid-flight by the wheels of my own carriage. Some orcs raided a village and I was gifted the beautiful sight of its aftermath... Oh and, there was a ratman infestation in one of my county's main cities! You should have seen the mountain of corpses really, the rats threw even their newborns at us."

No need to mention how I never saw the village burn or how the main event recently was me slaughtering a horde of peasants led by a prince of my own country.

Most of the young nobles looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here by now. Then I turned back to Bohemond and asked."That all said and done, I suppose I could use the diversion. I accept your challenge, Bohemond."

He swallowed down hard and nodded."T-to the ring then, if you w-would, Lady Pendragon." Huh, he didn't mention the fact that I didn't use a title when addressing him.

I suppose my trials have earned me a tinge of respect. We walked over to the ring as our audience quickly gathered to watch with keen interest."Combatants, introduce yourselves!" The martial instructor spoke with a tone which can only come from years of commanding troops of all shapes and formations. A sergeant, true to his heart and his country, despite the latter's many, many shortcomings.

"Ladies, first." Bohemond said with another grin, eliciting a rather surprised smirk on my part. I'll admit that he has spunk~.

"As you wish." I straightened my posture, taking the distinct appearance of a duelist wielding a rapier, left hand on my back and right to my chest as I summoned my sword."Tius!" Once the blade appeared fully, I relaxed my posture and bowed."Lady Alice Pendragon, High Lady of the Duchy of Axilar and overseer of the Edgelands beyond it."

Our audience nodded, mostly subconsciously as they all likely already knew who I was."Is.. is that a... a wraithblade?" A priest muttered in the background with a tone of fear."She looks like a pirate." The arrogant princess from before muttered under her breath, reeling with hate."I know, right? So manly~." Her entourage seemed to be oblivious to their leaders hate, though.

As quite a few girls seemed to look in my direction with interest, I felt myself turning away from them. Bohemond then coughed and bowed."Prince Bohemond, of the Lionheart dynasty, of the Kingdom of Irysia." The girls swooned at his voice alone while all the guys spat in disgust.

.... a prince?

Well that...

I should have seen that coming from a mile away."Bohemond Lionheart, eh?" I tested his name on my lips, something which the boy caught and seemed unsure how to react to."Combatants! Your match will begin in 3." The instructor took our attention and put it back on track.

"2." He readied his sword and exhaled, preparing himself to charge as I relaxed my posture even further. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting much out of him, despite all the magical mail and clothing. His sword may be exquisite, but that seemed to be the end of that.

It wasn't any legendary blade that I knew of, at least.

"1!" The instructor exclaimed and rose his hand high.

Then, without any further numbering, he slammed it downwards and I only had a moment to react. Bohemond charged towards me with a speed I would have expected from a horse, not a human and much less a boy. His golden eyes gleamed in the shallow, afternoon light of the dueling arena as he appeared in front of me in a crouched position, his sword reaching from down to up, seemingly indenting to slice my unprepared self in half.

Shit, what to do?

The world seemed to slow down to a crawl as I weighted my options. Do I dodge to the left? To the right? No, the sword might still reach me!

Do I duck? NO THAT'S STUPID!

Do I jump?... what would this accomplish?!

The sword was nearing my right leg now. Panic caught me, instinct's flared and finally, just as the sword was about to cut into my flesh, my body moved to the side, pivoting on my left heel and striking Bohemond in the back of his head. Or well, that was the plan. He seemed to smile for a brief moment, before his body disappeared in a flash of blinding light."Argh!"

The world was back to normal now, but I wasn't. My instinct's flared up again and I swung my sword with every ounce of might that I could muster before my brain could even register the direction. Only the clanging sound of steel striking against steel woke me up enough to realize that I had turned my entire self around, clashing sword to sword with Bohemond."I knew it! The sword wasn't lying!"

He laughed and swung my blade to the side, sending a kick towards me which I caught with my left hand and moved to strike his forehead with the handle of my blade. He teleported behind me again just before I reached him."You are really a worthy opponent!" I had to leap to the side as his blade struck the ground, cracking the stone as it did.

A blink, as realization struck me.

My sword...

Did not cut through his sword.

Focus returned to my panicked gaze as the hysteria was slowly replaced by blood-thirst, a strange feeling welling up from deep inside of me as I regained my footing and took up a crouched form, not unlike the one he started the fight with."Heh.." I let out an uncharacteristic chuckle as I charged towards him, catching my own twisted expression in his golden eyes.

Golden... eyes?..

My eyes were.. glowing?

Crimson.

Like that of a mad beast, an animal lost in conflict.

A berserker.

A savage grin etched itself upon my features as I reached him, appearing directly in front of him just as he did to me mere moments ago. Alas, it was not a sword swing that I used to attack, but a fist. My metal, left hook. He didn't manage to properly block it, or rather, he didn't use his sword but his own flesh to defend himself, which resulted in several wicked sounds echoing out as he grunted in pain.

He leaped backwards and promptly stared at his busted arm, his royal clothing drenched in blood. His face twisted into a grin much alike to my own."Reform." He said as light began to manifest from his other hands fingers and I watched in amazement as his wounds closed nigh instantly.

Our terrified onlookers weren't so thrilled however."S-sir.. wh-what is going on? They're actually killing each other!" To his credit, the martial instructor did nothing to stop us, merely prevented the other children from panicking as best he could. My eyes quickly darted across the room and I took note of several other children my age who weren't even slightly bothered by what was going on.

Rather, they were staring with silent intent."Where are you looking?" My opponent screamed out in glee as our swords met once again, clashing with equal strength."Sorry about that! I must say that I'm actually reconsidering your offer!" Placing great effort into my swing, I manage to push him back."Good! We could certainly use more chosen ones!"

I blinked in confusion, even as we continued the fight, clashing blades deafening everything else out but our own voices."Chosen ones?"

"HEROES!" He exclaimed as if it explained everything, yet it only served to further confuse me."Heroes... are you a-"

"OBVIOUSLY! NOW SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" He leaped back and poured holy energy into his sword."Heavenly Slash!" A bright flame engulfed the blade as he swung it towards me."Wind blast!"

Thinking quickly, I sent a blast of wind in his direction."Hah, that won't put out my fire!" He continued his charge seemingly unimpeded by the force of nature, yet I offered him a smile."Good, because that wasn't its intention." His confusion was however, as it left him defenseless against my counter-charge.

Our swords met yet again as I quickly channeled mana into my left hand, opening it and forming a gout of hellish fire on my palm, a fireball mid-cast. To my dismay, Bohemond grinned right back at me and caught my hand, fireball in place. The magic exploded outwards, yet when the dust settled, the both of us appeared unharmed.

Confusion etched itself on my face as he explained with a proud gaze and gesture towards his left hand. Upon his pointed finger was a crimson ring, strange runes etched into every inch of its gold metal."A ring of fire resistance?" His grin seemed to stretch even further."Immunity!"

Another blink and a tilt of my head was his answer."Wha-? That's just ridiculous!"

"It matters not either way!" He happily exclaimed as he eased up his hold on my hand and seemed to intertwine his fingers with mine."E-eh?!" My blood-thirst dispersed nigh instantly, replaced by confusiona and embarrassment."Wh-what are you doing?!"

Strangely, I wasn't really ... y'know, fighting back."To think I doubted my god, my lord and glorious ancestor Caesor!"

...

Caesor?

The god of justice and chivalry? What does he have to do with this?

"Uhm, what?"

Bohemond beamed a bright smile at me and sheathed his sword, standing upright. This allowed me to take note of the fact that he was quite taller than me, by at least a few inches."Nothing much, just you see... I'm gonna be king one day~." He said with a beaming smile on his face as I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.

He took my other hand into his."And I swear to you Alice, that when that day comes, you're gonna be, a Queen!"

...

...

"Hah! I like this guy already. Alright, he has my approval!" Father's voice echoed through my skull.

Indeed.

Such confidence is a desirable trait.

I fully support this as well.

...

...

".... eh?"

Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...

HAHAHAHHAHAHA!

Finally managed to get this guy in!

Man, I didn't expect this to be so fun to write tbh~.

As per usual, I will remedy all my mistakes a bit later.

Its time to sleep now, I think.

Maybe not.

Anyways, read and review! And good morning/day/night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!